Scandals
The Overview
So, there are some scandal-ish things. Yawn. "The crucial ingredient for a scandal is the prospect of high-level White House involvement and wide political repercussions. ... On Tuesday, it looked like we had three possible political scandals brewing. Two days later, with much more evidence available, it doesn’t look like any of them will pan out. There’ll be more hearings, and more bad press for the Obama administration, and more demands for documents. But — and this is a key qualification — absent more revelations, the scandals that could reach high don’t seem to include any real wrongdoing, whereas the ones that include real wrongdoing don’t reach high enough." Ezra Klein at Wonkblog.
No, Obama isn't Nixon. "Nixon, in a series of crimes that collectively came to be known as Watergate, directed from the White House and Justice Department a concerted campaign against those he perceived as political enemies, in the process subverting the FBI, the IRS, other government agencies and the electoral process to his nefarious purposes. Mr. Obama has done nothing of the kind. Nor is there much to support a lesser 'unifying theory' of this week’s scandals, which is that together they prove Mr. Obama guilty of a grand overreach of federal power." The Washington Post Editorial Board.
And Obama's approval ratings are still high. "Last week was one of the roughest weeks of the Obama Presidency to day, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at his job approval numbers: ... A CNN/ORC poll released Sunday morning shows 53 percent approve of the president ... Obama held a 51 percent approval in the last CNN poll conducted in early April. 'An approval rating that has not dropped and remains over 50 [percent] will probably be taken as good news by Democrats after the events of the last week." Doug Mataconis at Outside the Beltway.
No, Obama isn't Nixon. "Nixon, in a series of crimes that collectively came to be known as Watergate, directed from the White House and Justice Department a concerted campaign against those he perceived as political enemies, in the process subverting the FBI, the IRS, other government agencies and the electoral process to his nefarious purposes. Mr. Obama has done nothing of the kind. Nor is there much to support a lesser 'unifying theory' of this week’s scandals, which is that together they prove Mr. Obama guilty of a grand overreach of federal power." The Washington Post Editorial Board.
And Obama's approval ratings are still high. "Last week was one of the roughest weeks of the Obama Presidency to day, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at his job approval numbers: ... A CNN/ORC poll released Sunday morning shows 53 percent approve of the president ... Obama held a 51 percent approval in the last CNN poll conducted in early April. 'An approval rating that has not dropped and remains over 50 [percent] will probably be taken as good news by Democrats after the events of the last week." Doug Mataconis at Outside the Beltway.
Meanwhile, the GOP is trying to find the line between oversight and overreach. "The most pressing question for Congressional Republicans is ... how far they can push their cases against President Obama without inciting a backlash of the sort that has left them staggering in the past. ... The lessons learned from the impeachment of President Bill Clinton, which cost Republicans in elections in 1998, have been on display in recent days. Republicans took obvious pains to balance their investigatory zeal with a promise to stay committed to a legislative agenda." Jonathan Weisman in the New York Times.
Scandals might hurt the president. But they might also hurt the GOP. "If these investigations ultimately impede deal-making on issues such as immigration, they will imperil Obama’s desire for a legislative legacy and stunt his second term. Yet such a breakdown would also endanger the GOP’s need to expand its unsustainably narrow electoral coalition. Republicans could find that stoking the flames of scandal may sear not only Obama’s hopes but also their own." Ronald Brownstein in the National Journal.
AP
Republican hypocrisy is laughable. "Prior to their newfound concern for a free press, the GOP was just last year attacking President Obama for an imagined lack of zeal in pursuing leaks. John McCain even wanted a special counsel outside the Justice Department appointed to investigate national-security leaks about Obama’s 'kill list,' a story about which ended up in The New York Times. The 'kill list' strangely wasn’t the problem for the GOP. The leaks were." Kirsten Powers at the Daily Beast.
Benghazi
The White House emails are out. And they prove that the White House didn't do what the GOP critics accused it of doing. "The opposite is the case. In the initial round of emails, one CIA official reports that the White House signed off right away on the full initial CIA assessment. ... that mentions Ansar al-Sharia, al-Qaida, and that the CIA had produced numerous warnings about extremists in Benghazi. White House aides reviewed the talking points, made no substantive changes, and moved them along. When the language does eventually change in the talking points, it is clear that it is at the behest of State Department officials, not anyone in the White House." John Dickerson at Slate.
The real Benghazi scandal - House Republicans lying to the press. "House Republicans gave journalists bogus information, apparently on purpose, in the hopes of advancing the right's version of the Benghazi story. ... On CBS Evening News tonight, Major Garrett ... basically said straight out: Republicans told us these were the quotes; that wasn't true." Steve Benen at Maddowblog.
Five myths about Benghazi. Michael Hirsch at the Washington Post.
IRS
The IRS has a new acting commissioner - Daniel Werfel. "Daniel Werfel, a senior official at the Office of Management and Budget, has been named acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, according to a White House official. ... It is not clear whether Werfel will be nominated to fill the vacancy full-time, but he is considered to have a good relationship with Senate Republicans and has won confirmation from from the upper chamber before." Zachary Goldfarb and Aaron Blake at the Washington Post.
The screening practices probe is coming. "Senior lawmakers investigating what went wrong at the Internal Revenue Service are planning to focus on whether IRS officials misled Congress about a policy that targeted conservative groups for extra screening when seeking a tax exemption, congressional aides say." Zachary Goldfarb at the Washington Post.
Audits of conservative voters are, say it with me, n-o-r-m-a-l. "Even with no political targeting at all, hundreds of thousands of conservative voters would have been chosen for audits in the I.R.S.’s normal course of business. ... The fact that Ms. Noonan has identified four conservatives ... provides no evidence at all toward her hypothesis. ... This is exactly what you would expect in a country where there are 1.5 million audits every year. ... But the principle is important: a handful of anecdotal data points are not worth very much in a country of more than 300 million people." Nate Silver at FiveThirtyEight.
How will all of this implicate tax reform? "There’s a new threat to tax reform: the IRS.
The unfolding scandal over the agency improperly targeting conservative groups is forcing the chief tax writers in Congress to shift attention away from the comprehensive tax code overhaul they’ve been aggressively pursuing." Kelsey Snell at Politico.
Blame conservatism, not liberalism. "The laws and regulations that the Cincinnati crew so haplessly tried to enforce were not the result of a liberal dream agenda. They were the result of a triumphant conservative assault on a campaign finance system that has prevailed since the 1970s. 501(c)(4)s have emerged as the latest way to skirt limits and disclosure requirements for campaign contributions, an end-around that was given a big boost by recent court rulings, including Citizens United. If many big-government liberals had their way, there would be no office in Cincinnati vetting 501(c)(4)s at all because they would not exist in anything like their current form." Alec Macgillis at the New Republic.
For the love of God, this has absolutely nothing to do with the ACA. "The IRS treatment of tax-exempt applications is a serious matter, one that deserves public attention. But don’t be fooled. Republican opposition to Obamacare has nothing to do with the recent scandal—and everything to do with the fact that they oppose the very idea of universal health care." Jonathan Cohn at the New Republic.
For the love of God, this has absolutely nothing to do with the ACA. "The IRS treatment of tax-exempt applications is a serious matter, one that deserves public attention. But don’t be fooled. Republican opposition to Obamacare has nothing to do with the recent scandal—and everything to do with the fact that they oppose the very idea of universal health care." Jonathan Cohn at the New Republic.
Politics
Abortion
Judge blocks Arkansas' ridiculous anti-abortion law. "A federal judge barred Arkansas from implementing one of the nation's most restrictive abortion laws Friday, calling it "more than likely unconstitutional." The law, which the Legislature enacted over Gov. Mike Beebe's veto in March, makes abortions illegal after only 12 weeks of pregnancy. ... U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright granted a temporary injunction ... Wright said the 12-week standard criminalizes some abortions before the generally accepted medical standard of viability for a fetus, which is 24 weeks." NBC News.
Child Care
Changes that Obama can make without Congress. "With Republicans determined to reduce spending on early childhood care, rather than increase it, the chances of any significant investment passing Congress are slim. But there are some things the Administration can do on its own, without Congressional approval and without a lot of money. Establishing moderately better standards for childcare is one of them." Jonathan Cohn at the New Republic.
Elections
Blue Texas in 2024 is wishful thinking. "Even the most diverse TSDC scenario shows 40 percent less change in the white share of eligible voters than the WCVI projection. As a result, re-running the 2012 election in 2024 would still yield a clear Republican victory. A Democratic win might require a 2008-redux and higher Hispanic turnout. That’s more like today’s Arizona than a 'blue Texas.'" Nate Cohn at the New Republic.
Chris Christie is no moderate. "Christie is no moderate. He’s a social conservative who opposes reproductive rights, has defunded Planned Parenthood and has repeatedly rejected attempts to restore state funding for family planning centers. ... He vetoed marriage equality. Christie’s consistent when it comes to reading from the right’s playbook. ... Christie is at his most militant when it comes to implementing the austerity agenda associated with the most conservative Republican governors." John Nichols at the Nation.
Chris Christie is no moderate. "Christie is no moderate. He’s a social conservative who opposes reproductive rights, has defunded Planned Parenthood and has repeatedly rejected attempts to restore state funding for family planning centers. ... He vetoed marriage equality. Christie’s consistent when it comes to reading from the right’s playbook. ... Christie is at his most militant when it comes to implementing the austerity agenda associated with the most conservative Republican governors." John Nichols at the Nation.
The GOP nominee for Virginia's lieutenant governor is ... well, check out his views. "The Virginia Republican Party this weekend nominated for lieutenant governor a minister who has a history of virulent anti-gay statements, accuses the Democratic Party of enslaving African Americans, and criticized President Obama for having 'Muslim sensibilities.'" Nicole Flatow at ThinkProgress.
Filibuster Fights
Will Republican opposition to Obama's cabinet picks spur another round of reform? "Democrats say that Senator Harry Reid, the majority leader, in recent days has been trying to gauge whether there is sufficient support among Democrats to force a rule change that would limit the filibuster on presidential nominees. He could conceivably try to enact a rule change with a simple majority — a tactic known as 'the nuclear option.' Any revisions to Senate rules usually require 67 votes, a threshold that is impossible to obtain without significant Republican support." Jeremy Peters in the New York Times.
Harry Reid is eyeing July for the nuclear option. "Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is increasingly focused on the month of July as the time to exercise the so-called 'nuclear option' and revisit filibuster reform, and he has privately told top advisers that he’s all but certain to take action if the Senate GOP blocks three upcoming key nominations, a senior Senate Democratic aide familiar with his thinking tells me. ... Reid is eyeing a change ... that would do away with the 60-vote threshold on all judicial and executive branch nominations ... on the theory that this is a good way to immediately break an important logjam in Washington — without changing the rules when it comes to legislation." Greg Sargent at the Plum Line.
Why Harry Reid selected the correct strategy. "Reid is doing an excellent job at this complex game; leaking this threat now and generally upping the ante on nominations in general seems to be exactly the way to go. Sargent’s report has Reid ready to pull the trigger if Republicans defeat cloture on three specific upcoming executive branch nominees. That seems about the right way to play it; it’s a tough, specific threat (ratcheting up!) while still leaving plenty of ambiguity about whether a slightly different configuration of obstruction would also trigger reform." Jonathan Bernstein at the Plum Line.
Why Harry Reid selected the correct strategy. "Reid is doing an excellent job at this complex game; leaking this threat now and generally upping the ante on nominations in general seems to be exactly the way to go. Sargent’s report has Reid ready to pull the trigger if Republicans defeat cloture on three specific upcoming executive branch nominees. That seems about the right way to play it; it’s a tough, specific threat (ratcheting up!) while still leaving plenty of ambiguity about whether a slightly different configuration of obstruction would also trigger reform." Jonathan Bernstein at the Plum Line.
Fiscal Fights
The next targets for spending cuts, courtesy of the House GOP. "House Republicans late Thursday began circulating new spending targets for appropriations bills for the coming year with Labor, Education and Health and Human Services facing a nearly 20 percent reduction on top of the cuts already made in the March 1 sequestration order." David Rogers at Politico.
Food Fights
Obama's food aid reform proposal has met the enemy, and by that, I mean Congress. "One of the attention-grabbing ideas in the White House’s 2014 budget was a big overhaul of the $1.4 billion U.S. food aid program. Instead of buying food from U.S. farmers and shipping it overseas, some of the money would just be sent directly to poor countries. Development experts were enthusiastic, arguing the change would allow food aid programs to feed millions more people at lower cost. ... But the White House’s proposal has run into sharp resistance from members of Congress, who worry that U.S. farmers and ships will lose out. " Brad Plumer at Wonkblog.
Health
Obamacare 37, GOP repeal efforts 0. We might still see the 38th unsuccessful repeal attempt. But don't assume that these votes are meaningless. "In order for the Affordable Care Act to work, people actually have to participate ... Ignorance breeds failure -- if ignorance leads to less participation, costs will go up and the strain on the system will take a serious toll. So ... every person who asks, "Health care reform? Wasn't that repealed by Congress?" is slowly undermining the efficacy of the law itself. House Republicans aren't just spinning their wheels with these dumb votes; they're also slowly making the public more confused, and that confusion carries consequences." Steve Benen at Maddowblog.
Science vs fear - Portland fluoride month. "America is a fluoride nation. Beginning in 1945, when Grand Rapids, Mich., became the first city in the world to add the stuff to its water supply, the practice has spread across the United States ... In most areas it is simply understood that ingesting minuscule levels of fluoride is good for dental health. ... The nation’s 30 most populous cities consume it. With one weird exception: Portland, Ore ... Doubt and fear can trump rationality. ... And as we know from things like anti-vaccination efforts and the political debate over climate change, creation of doubt can be enough to win." Jake Blumgart at Slate.
Immigration
The roadmap for immigration reform. Jonathan Bernstein at the Plum Line.
Will the House stall reform? "There are still major hurdles before immigration reform can reach President Barack Obama’s desk. The biggest one is the GOP-controlled House. Right now, the Senate bill has no chance of making it to the House floor. Key senators such as Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) have stressed that their bill would need upwards of 70 Senate votes in order to enact pressure on the House. But House GOP negotiators flatly say the margin of votes in the Senate — no matter how big — won’t matter." Seung Kim and Jake Sherman at Politico.
Nominations
Moniz was confirmed as Secretary of Energy. "The Senate unanimously confirmed Ernest Moniz, a scientist and professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to be secretary of energy Thursday." Al Kamen in the Washington Post.
But we still need to get a lot of nominees from the President. "If Harry Reid is willing to spend serious floor time on nominations, he needs more nominees. ... In particular, he really needs those three DC Circuit Court selections that the president still ... hasn't sent up. ... Reid needs Obama to supply a full complement of executive branch nominees. ... With Reid signaling a window of available floor time, it sure would be nice to have as full a slate as possible of subcabinet executive branch nominations for the Senate to confirm. And, yes, as many of the other 50-plus judicial nominees as possible." Jonathan Bernstein at A Plain Blog About Politics.
A growing backlog is leading some to push for a new Secretary of Veterans Affairs. "The target is not an elected official, or a politician at all. It is President Obama’s secretary of veterans affairs, Eric Shinseki, the man being held accountable for his overwhelmed agency’s problems. And for one problem in particular: 'the backlog,' the huge and probably still growing inventory of claims for disability compensation filed by wounded or ill veterans. As of Monday, just under 600,000 claims qualified as backlogged, meaning they had been pending for over 125 days." James Dao in the New York Times.
International
Europe
France to buy Reaper drones from the US for use in Mali. "France will buy two medium-altitude Reaper drones from the US Air Force to back up its operations against Islamists in Mali, the Air et Cosmos specialist magazine reported Friday." AFP.
Meanwhile, Russia is working on some pretty cool anti-terrorism tech. "Russian experts are developing robots designed to minimize casualties in terrorist attacks and neutralize terrorists, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said on Friday. ... Other antiterror equipment Russia is developing includes systems that can see terrorists through obstacles and effectively engage them in a standoff mode at a long distance without injuring their hostages, he said." Ria Novosti.
Golden Dawn is stirring up more trouble in Greece. "The neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party is at the centre of another political row in Greece after one of its MPs was expelled from parliament amid cries of 'Heil Hitler'. The sitting president had already warned Panayiotis Iliopoulos for repeatedly violating parliamentary rules by insulting fellow deputies. After he had called them 'goats', 'scoundrels' and 'wretched people', security guards were called to lead him away." Euronews.
Middle East
Syria is fragmenting. "The black flag of jihad flies over much of northern Syria. In the center of the country, pro-government militias and Hezbollah fighters battle those who threaten their communities. In the northeast, the Kurds have effectively carved out an autonomous zone. After more than two years of conflict, Syria is breaking up. A constellation of armed groups battling to advance their own agendas are effectively creating the outlines of separate armed fiefs. As the war expands in scope and brutality, its biggest casualty appears to be the integrity of the Syrian state." Ben Hubbard in the New York Times.
Russia, this isn't helping... "Russia has sent advanced antiship cruise missiles to Syria, a move that illustrates the depth of its support for the Syrian government led by President Bashar al-Assad, American officials said Thursday." Michael Gordon and Eric Schmitt in the New York Times.
The Ayatollah's game plan for Iran's elections. "Should Khamenei’s strategy succeed, leaving him with the president of his choice, he will further consolidate his control of the government. ... A trusted next president would also guarantee continuity in Khamenei’s nuclear strategy and unwavering support for Syria, his top two priorities. If, however, Khamenei’s strategy does not succeed ... Khamenei’s further consolidation of power will become more difficult. ... To be effective, though, ... whoever wins the presidency, must ultimately still collaborate with Khamenei. ... Khamenei will remain Iran’s final decider, however the upcoming elections play out." Mohsen Milani in Foreign Affairs.
Military
Another successful test for missile defense. "The Raytheon-built SM-3 Block IB missile looks like it’s back on track, with yesterday marking the third successful test in a row, each against increasingly difficult targets ... The SM-3 IB is the latest iteration of the venerable Standard Missile, the main weapon fired by the fleet’s Lockheed Martin-built Aegis defense system, which makes it central to the Navy’s role in missile defense." Sydney Freedburg Jr. at Breaking Defense.
And the newest nuclear submarine is back from successful sea trials. "Pre-Commissioning Unit (PCU) Minnesota (SSN 783), the nation's newest and most advanced nuclear-powered attack submarine, moored May 16 at Huntington Ingalls Industry's Newport News Shipbuilding following its successful completion of Alpha and Bravo sea trials. Testing evolutions completed during Alpha sea trials included diving to test depth, conducting an emergency surfacing, and testing the submarine's propulsion plant to evaluate the ship's seaworthiness and operational performance. Bravo trials consisted of testing Minnesota's acoustic performance and combat systems." Jennifer Cragg at navy.mil.
Polisci
How foreign voices influence American wars. "Recent research raises the intriguing possibility that Americans’ views about U.S. foreign policy can be influenced not just by the president and members of Congress – the elites from whom the public typically takes its cues – but also by the leaders of other nations and the United Nations." Danny Hayes at Wonkblog.
Social networks and democracy. "Social media’s effects on democratization are not straightforward. The information spreading function of social media is limited when most of a country’s online social networking occurs on domestic platforms that are vulnerable to government pressure, as is the case in a clutch of the world’s most prominent authoritarian regimes. Indeed, one might speculate that one of the reasons that Russia was able to overcome its protest movement was that it was able to contain and control online dissent, while Egypt, which had no domestic social network, was unable to control the spread of information on Facebook and Twitter. But a note of optimism is warranted." Ora Reuter and David Szakonyi at the Monkey Cage.
5 insights on the racial tolerance and ethnicity maps. Max Fisher and Steve Saideman in the Washington Post.
Miscellaneous
Improving state birds. "Everyone knows that state birds are a big joke. There are a million cardinals, a scattering of robins, and just a general lack of thought put into the whole thing. States should have to put more thought into their state bird than I put into picking my socks in the morning." Nicholas Lund at Slate.
Embassies get some unusual requests. "British consular officials are completely fed up with fielding stupid requests for assistance from Britons abroad. Or, at the very least, that's the clear subtext of a ridiculous press release by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office that lists the most bizarre requests British diplomatic posts have received in 2012 and 2013." Elias Groll at Foreign Policy.
It's a moose. In a swimming pool. Video.
Just plain weird. "It took three police officers to safely extract an adult McDonald's patron from a toddler's high chair in which he had somehow managed to get himself stuck. The Cork, Ireland, resident ... spontaneously decided to see if McDonald's' baby seats could comfortably sustain an adult-sized derriere. While he was able to successfully lodge himself in the chair, he was unfortunately unable to subsequently remove himself from it. Witnesses say alcohol may have played a factor in the man's ill-advised science experiment." Neetzan Zimmerman at Gawker.
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