Re: I don't get it.
 

Clinton only gets a B+ from you? I'd say he earned an A, but for the oval sex thing, so on balance I'd go A-.

Re: D*mned teachers unions are trying to do to Texas what they've done to other state
 

I agree with you that he didn't mean what he said, and instead is just an idiot.

The point, though, is that people need to question everything else he says about the economy because he has demonstrated himself to be an idiot.

Re: D*mned teachers unions are trying to do to Texas what they've done to other state
 

We do need some other more plausible candidates, as Perry's treason comments aren't the best start to his campaign.

As Fallows put it, "For the past few months, Democrats have had the suspicion that Republicans are playing a double or even triple-game in opposing the Obama Administration on spending and deficit issues. At the most principled levels, they're upholding their belief in a smaller government. At the next level down, they're trying to limit Obama's operational successes wherever they can. And, most cynical of all, they understand the idea of "the worse, the better." The surest path toward beating Obama next year is for the economy to stagnate or decline.

Perry's comments about Ben Bernanke cut through any such subtlety. If Bernanke "prints money" in the next 15 months, toward the end of forestalling a recession or preserving jobs, Perry would consider that "almost treasonous." This is the kind of thing you just don't hear from national-level politicians, and for a reason. (For starters: the punishment for treason is death.)"

Weed, are you sure that Christie is still attached to Trenton? Now that the Applebees truck is out, perhaps we can persuade the Governor to travel a bit more, tour the country.

Re: D*mned teachers unions are trying to do to Texas what they've done to other state
 

Invading France is not inconsistent with Nazism, but Julius Caesar was no Nazi.

Re: D*mned teachers unions are trying to do to Texas what they've done to other state
 

How do you explain what Perry said about Bernanke?

Re: My God, you are an idiot.
 

ETA: Presses? Hold 'em. I sense a rustling in the wilds of Wisconsin. Could this Young Gun be preparing to toss his six-shooter in the ring?

Re: D*mned teachers unions are trying to do to Texas what they've done to other state
 

That's actually a prototype of his campaign bus. He's just waiting for the bar to be lowered far enough so that "not fucking batshit crazy" is enough of a credential for people like Club to hold their noses* and vote for him. We're almost there.

*chicken parm, if you were wondering what he smells like up close.

Re: My God, you are an idiot.
 

"I'll do to Al Qaeda what I'll do to Medicare."

Re: D*mned teachers unions are trying to do to Texas what they've done to other state
 

Ah, yes. W's old strategy. Isn't it time for someone to suggest Jeb?

Re: D*mned teachers unions are trying to do to Texas what they've done to other state
 

Romney could win Michigan. Is he nuts?

Re: D*mned teachers unions are trying to do to Texas what they've done to other state
 

This confirms what I suspected all along. You don't read posts.

Re: D*mned teachers unions are trying to do to Texas what they've done to other state
 

he is okay on FB, but here he is a troll, flat out. The fact that the other libs don't exclude him speaks volumes about why I can't bother to treat the PB seriously.

That people who claim they would like this board to be better treat him as a legitimate member says to me Ty/Sidd/adder don't really want this board to be functional.

Just in case
 

Some of you are thinking about backing Perry (doesn't seem to be the case), and are enamered of the Texas "jobs miracle:"

http://thinkprogress.org/wp-content/...age001_3-1.gif

Ygelsias says this shows how cheaper houses and in-migration make the bulk of the difference. I'd say it shows how what's different in Texas is that they haven't been as hard-hit in government jobs (thanks in part to Federal stimulus money, in-migration and oil).

Re: Just in case
 

This graph is the ratio of non-farm employment to population. Red is the US; blue is Texas:

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/...n1-blog480.jpg

Texas is creating jobs because of population growth, but it's not doing differently than the rest of the country, relatively speaking.

caption, please
 

Hey Rick
 

So how come if Scientistics are manipulating data to make money, they don't manipulate more of it to benefit the people who actually have money?

Re: My God, you are an idiot.
 

Re: My God, you are an idiot.
 

Yawn

Or was it a case of not reading posts?
 

Up late working on an answer to this?

Re: My God, you are an idiot.
 

For Sidd
 

Yglesias on the power of giving speeches and the Bush administration.

Re: Or was it a case of not reading posts?
 

First, no one on this board gives 2 shits about Perry.

Second, it's funny how this board tends to parrot the reactions of the WH. The Administration is engaged in amateur hour at almost every level. The president should not dip down to even acknowledge any GOP primary candidate. It is beneath him.

Third, the accounts I've read (I think AP) said that Perry said "almost treasonous"- that is quite a bit different than what was attributed to him more widely in the media.

Finally, the President wants credit for "jobs created or saved" which include government jobs, but Perry doesn't get the same credit.

Re: For Sidd
 

Funny how NCLB became a rallying point for Ds, when the D of all Ds was the sponsor/partner on the bill.

Re: Or was it a case of not reading posts?
 

If only the rest of the Democratic party could show such discipline . . . :(

S_A_M

P.S. You are remarkably off-base with your criticisms of the administration as "amatuer hour", but that is neither here nor there.

Re: Or was it a case of not reading posts?
 

I agree, but you appeared to be defending him -- or, at least, to dismissing the attacks against him, which Hank (at least) sees as the same thing.

IIRC, and I may not, the President did not go out of his way to attack Perry. The President was asked about him:

Bloomberg

You're seriously going to bother criticizing Obama for that? Are you kidding?

The people who are piling on are lefty bloggers and former W. aides, like Karl Rove. The latter seem to have some score to settle.

Not really. Perry's comments were ignorant, in condemning the Fed for doing its job, and unwise, in saying something that Wall St. donors won't like, but the real story was that he complained about Bernanke's policy before the next election, explicitly linking Fed policy and politics in a way that most people think should be out of bounds. (It also seems nuts to accuse Bernanke, a Republican and Bush appointee, to be carrying Obama's water.) None of that turns on just exactly how treasonous he thought it was.

Perry can get credit for whatever he's done, but it's not clear to me that Texas is remarkable for anything other than population growth and having a lot of oil under it, which helps its economy when energy prices are high. If Perry should get credit for putting the oil down there, color me impressed.

Re: Or was it a case of not reading posts?
 

He's not off base. Those talking points were sent out a couple of weeks ago, and Clubby hasn't gotten anything since, so it's all he's got.

Forget all the responses the last time this particular parrot squawked. I got the memo from RNC HQ, too, and it's amateur hour because:

(1) Bush lead us into two wars, and they were both good ones. Obama only has Libya to his credit, and, let's face it, that one doesn't even merit quagmire status. Even worse, Obama's managed to pull a bunch of troops out of Iraq.

(2) He STILL hasn't gotten us into a single recession. He pulled us out of the great recession the second quarter he was in office, and ever since then the economy has actually grown. There is some hope for him on this score, but he really has to rely on Republicans in the house if he is going to choke off growth in a serious way. Bush managed two recessions in his tenure, and the second one was the mother of all recessions.

(3) Obama hasn't overseen the response to a single major terrorist attack on US soil. How can you provide leadership without terrorism?

(4) Obama hasn't managed yet to pass major legislation which he subsequently undermined. Compare the Affordable Care Act and No Child Left Behind. One is steadily being implemented and moving forward, with constant activity, the other Bush was able to gut almost as soon as it was through by not funding any of the mandates.

(5) Worst of all, Obama's actually included some measure of M/M reform in the Affordable Care Act, while Bush was able to expand Medicare substantially with the drug benefits. How can you create a truly monumental deficit if you don't expand entitlements.

Leadership, man! Deficits, Wars, Recessions, Terrorism! That's the stuff leadership is made of - none of this entitlement and health insurance reform to improve government and people's lives. That's pussy stuff.

polarization: follow the money
 

We've talked before about the increasing unwillingness of legislators to cross party lines on the Hill. Here's one theory about what has changed:


Tom Ferguson

Re: Or was it a case of not reading posts?
 

Really? What did the White House say? I didn't get the memo.

I love it when people discover new rules that apply only to other people.

What else shouldn't Obama do (that every other pres has done previously)?

You're nuts, right? Because I know I said "almost treasonous" yesterday, and I know that I don't recall reading anything but "almost treasonous."

But Perry also said, "we would treat him pretty ugly down in Texas."

As for what was attributed to him in the media, google "Rick Perry treasonous." I see "almost treasonous" in every headline except this one.

Oh, he get's credit. He just doesn't get to say government jobs don't count.

Re: Or was it a case of not reading posts?
 

Definitely not defending him.

The Admin (not Obama) has been going after all of the top candidates. It's preemptive, but IMO, they are not worthy of the attention.

I generally agree with this. I thought the cruxt of the complaint from the masses (and GGG) was the treason comment, not the substance behind it.



I don't get this. The population could have grown without jobs. The likelihood is that it grew BECAUSE of jobs.

Re: Or was it a case of not reading posts?
 

I missed that. What are you talking about?

I will not speak for the masses or for GGG, but I thought calling it treason, or almost so, was just a rhetorical flourish on an incredibly misguided attack.

Population seems to be growing at the same rate as jobs, and both seem to move parallel to national rates:

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/...n1-blog480.jpg

What's the big deal? Population growth obviously tends to both create jobs (e.g., construction) and vice versa (people move to where they think jobs are). But that's true for the country as a whole, too.

Re: Or was it a case of not reading posts?
 

Really? How? And how have I been missing it?

Really?? I thought the crux of the complaint was the he was saying printing money would help the economy but Bernanke better not do it because that would help Obama.

Here's two posts from Yglesias (ETA: I had three, but forgot to put the links in the first time, and now only have two. Oh well.). Here's Tyler Cowen and a second one. Here's someone named Matthias Shapiro. Here's Krugman (trying to answer your question directly). Jonathon Chait (not as directly on point). Kevin Drum. The Economist.

I'm sure I've seen others, but that's a pretty good start for you.

Re: Or was it a case of not reading posts?
 

I hate it when you make me visit past exchanges. Here's the exchange. First, I say, in response to a conversation on Perry I'm generally not involved in:

Then you say:

Fair enough. You don't like him, and neither do I. So I respond:

Now, where was I so focused on his use of the word "treason"? I say some things about someone neither of us like, and then ask which of the R's wonderful options you prefer. My comments are not based on his use of "treason" but on the way he's trying to influence policy (a very tea partyish and counterproductive approach).

Frankly, I just kind of pull up a chair, grab some popcorn, and throw a few kernals at the screen during this stage of the Republican primary. I'll let you guys choose the idiot you want to run against Obama. What's under my skin right now is more the Republican party's hard line against being productively involved in the legislative process, and I see in the cocky Texan's half-assed going off on Bernake just another indication that the Rs are the party of the knee-jerk "no" rather than a party where any real thought takes place. I'd be happy to be proven wrong.

But I didn't really go off on the treason bit. I also don't get upset at three year olds who call their parents meanies.

Re: Or was it a case of not reading posts?
 

Thanks. Lots of mental gymnastics here. I understand that job availability fuels population growth, which fuels further job availability, but to say (mostly without proof) that the job story in TX is mostly attributable to population growth just doesn't ring true.

Re: Or was it a case of not reading posts?
 

You really need to broaden your news sources :)

Google Obama attacks [enter name of candidate] and tell me what you find.

Re: Or was it a case of not reading posts?
 

This is your quote where I thought that is what you were implying:

Re: Or was it a case of not reading posts?
 

It's kind of a chicken and egg problem, but at least some of the movement to Texas is coming across it's southern border, and isn't specifically conditioned on there being available jobs. Another part of the immigration is moving there (with money) for warmer weather.

Once you have more people, you have more demand (immediately for housing), thus you have more jobs. I think they both feedback on each other.

Ultimately it is certainly true that if people are moving there and not finding jobs they are going to leave again.

Re: Or was it a case of not reading posts?
 

Here's what I find for Bachmann. I don't see anything, but maybe I'm missing it.

There are a few stories for Romney. Sparked primarily by the Politico I guess.

One for Perry.

Not a whole lot of there there, but it isn't nothing.

I'll give you this though, which is Obama reacting to all of the GOP candidates refusing to compromise.

Re: Or was it a case of not reading posts?
 

What is the job story in TX? Unemployment in TX is higher than in NY and MA, among others.

Re: Or was it a case of not reading posts?
 

His "threats against Bernake" related to the treating him "ugly
comments, and my reference to his "characterization" of Bernake did indeed relate to calling him "almost treasonous". You're getting all worked up about my focus on him charging "treason" when I didn't even quote the word?

My real focus was in my conclusion - is this presidential behavior? It's not. It's a bunch of bullshit tea party rhetoric and what the Republican primary process is all about.

Re: Or was it a case of not reading posts?
 

It's pretty clear politico is shilling for Romney at this point. It's kind of fun to watch, but saddens me, because I've considered politico to date the best of the conservative sites at keeping their journalism and editorial content somewhat distinct (even if they clearly choose what to cover for editorial purposes).