I don’t have a firm enough grip of economics to decide with any confidence whose predictions to believe about the direction of the economy. And there’s enough different about this recession from all or most of those of the post-war era to give me some pause when people cite historical norms for how recessions operate. But we do seem to be seeing more and more evidence that the recovery is at risk of stalling, if not falling back into recession, which seems possible too. And as that is happening, both the elite and the popular/political policy debate seems to be going to those who believe we should ramp back government spending even though history suggests that is the best way to choke off the recovery and toss the economy into a double dip recession or worse. Read More
Lindsey Graham tells Tea Partiers (via the NYT) that he expects their movement to “die out.”
We just published this striking photo of the late Sen. Byrd (D-WV) lying in state in the Senate chamber today. Now I know the usual routine is for revered political leaders to lay in the Capitol Rotunda. And I thought it was either rare or unprecedented for someone to lay in the Senate. So we looked into who the last person was. And it turns out it was Sen. William “Wild Bill” Langer (R-ND). Read More
It looks like the Florida GOP credit card / Crist / Rubio / Greer scandal has officially entered the hooker phase of the scandal.
Young Conservatives Rage Against The D.C. Machine At Anti-Kagan Rally
Embattled R2K pollster Del Ali lashes out at Kos in response to lawsuit.
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) tonight announced she’s coming out in favor of the financial reform bill. She had been one of the two Democratic holdouts; Russ Feingold being the other.
Cantwell’s statement after the jump … Read More
Michael Steele tells crowd at a fundraiser that we shouldn’t be in Afghanistan at all, that it’s Obama ‘war of choice’ and unwinnable.
The funny thing about this is that what Steele says isn’t that controversial … if, that is, you’re on the left of the Democratic party, or among the relatively few Republicans Realists left out there. (Here’s Steele’s spokesman trying to make sense of the comment.) Read More
Things are getting nasty in the Republican Florida governor’s primary, which wasn’t even supposed to be a race because Bill McCollum had it in the bag until disgraced health care CEO Rick Scott got into the race and started burying McCollum under an avalanche of money. You’d think McCollum would have a good enough record hating on gays since he personally hired the male-escort loving non-gay homosexuality expert George Rekers as a Florida government expert on the evils of homosexuality. But apparently not. Scott now says McCollum doesn’t meet muster on gay hating since he “endorsed pro-abortion and pro-homosexual rights candidate” Giuliani. Find out about all the fun down in the Sunshine State.