Yves Smith seems to be engaging in hand waving. She’s unconvincingly conflating efficacy and advocacy for justice. I have no doubt that White is effective, but like her work at P&D, she is going to be taking her marching orders from a corporatist administration; it’s going to take a hell of a lot of advocacy, gumption, and fire to stand up to Obama, much less deliver some heads on platters. That may not be entirely White’s fault, but without that profile, color me unimpressed with this pick.

Don’t really follow the strange red herring Yves throws in there about Warren. I have no opinion about Warren, really, but in real sense, Warren has much greater latitude in defying Obama/Wall Street. I’m sure she won’t buck them, but she’s much more likely to, IMO.

Also, if you pay attention,only centrist types use the phrase “rein in entitlement spending” with frequency. Elected Republicans say simply, “cut out of control spending.”. That’s a world of difference. The latter refers to spending targeted to black people and squishy spending like education et al. The former is spending for white aunt Maude in central Missouri.

I don’t follow Walker’s sense of Obama’s strategy, but mine has consistently been: Obama has been thwarted again and again in his quest to get Republicans to join him in a grand bargain. The Rep aim has been to deny Obama any kind of bragging rights, cutting entitlements is definitely less important to Reps than it is to Wall Street Democrats. You know this because on the rare occasions that O has shown genuine frustration and anger, it’s been about the failure to a achieve entitlement cuts in a grand bargain. The other time was when Blanche Lincoln got primaried.

Honestly, I wish the Democrats would nominate a blueblood instead of an apple-polisher like Obama or Clinton. Bluebloods seldom need the ego boost of serving corporate masters. Or, at any rate, they would be okay with the status quo and wouldn’t feel the need to *constantly* pull toward corporatocratic utopia.

It’s what Jon is saying, plus a heaping helping of “pay no attention to the shitty, still-stalled-out economy.” He knows his legacy is going to be pinned to the economy, and he knows he’s not even going to be able to inflate a bubble without some Republican cooperation, so he’s grasping at anything to glue in his presidential scrapbook.

Pay no attention to those 12.2 million unemployed….

It took Ezra Klein less than 12 hours after passage of the bill to break out the pompoms (after having criticized it while it was unfolding ). Chait and Yglesias have been a little slower to suit up.

As soon as communism fell, it was checkmate on the hoi polloi. Twenty three years of capitalism laying on the gas. Don’t know where the breaking point is.

Of course it will. The only thing worth watching for is how long the breath-pause after passage before Klein, Chait, Yglesias and the rest of the scribblers start reframing this round of shock doctrine (after having criticized it in the making).

The point isn’t that Reid’s some kind of principled hardass, just that Biden/Obama are well to the right of an already-right-leaning Reid.

Alan Simpson’s parents should rise from the dead and drink battery acid for what they’ve wrought.

The victory of John of Patmos over John the Evangelist. I think most Americans know this country and this world is going to hell in a hand basket, and are simply riding the collapse down on creature comforts. Higher things, perhaps correctly, are not worth it. Nevertheless, one must continue to fight, even without hope.

E Patton’s argument is predicated on the belief that poor folk don’t know that Twinkies are bad for you. Which is nonsense. People eat stuff that they know is bad for them. Whatever’s stocked on the end caps at Sam’s and shuts the kids up is what they’re going to buy. I think Dayen was simply pointing up a universally accepted belief that Twinkies et al are profoundly bad for you, a fact not lost on the third shift nursing home worker. No need to throw up barriers where none exist.

I’d be delighted if the world’s shitwipers got Wall street bonuses. I hate twinkies and ding dongs and I grew up poor white in Kentucky. I just don’t like being surprised by squishy stuff in the middle of my food.

Not a bug. A feature.

38 years since the dawn of right-of-center national Dems, and they’ve only moved further to the right. Does “change take time” or do people like DrDick just enjoy projecting failure on third party voters for their stances while ignoring the abjectness of their embarrassing inconsequentiality within their own desiccated Democratic Party. Such fine results “working within the party.”. I can’t conceive of anyone wanting to try something different with results like Obama.

I’m glad you have no issues using old hobbled Steve as a prop in the drama of you.

Right. I was goiing to say that I undestood this blogger’s drive to write bait-the-left-leaning-3rd-partier stuff like this, as I assume the more hits and comments the better, but then this post, in its hamhanded earnestness, seems to belie that aim to an extent. Presumably, it’s not mere provocation he’s going for. I can only assume that he genuinely thinks a 3rd party Internet inquisition is a turnout winner.

Who are you referring to?

Again, if someone can explain to me the need for legacy party supporters to deride third party voters when any sensible gaming out of the election will prove that 3rd party voters have net zero effect on the outcome of the election I’m all ears. I guess in theory I understand going after nonvoters, but even then, I don’t know. It just seems like a lot of hyperventilation and a waste of effort. It’s a little too Holy Roman Empire for my tastes.