The GOP’s slip is showing - The Washington Post

The GOP’s slip is showing - The Washington Post
The Skinny from Gene:

There are only two possible reasons for House Republicans to behave the way they did. Maybe they are so blinded by ideology that they no longer care about the impact their actions might have on struggling American families. Or maybe their only guiding principle is that anything Obama supports, they oppose.

The week’s events offer a lesson for Obama, too. One reason for all the Republican angst was that public opinion has become more sensitive to issues of economic justice. This may be partly due to the Occupy protests. But I’m convinced that Obama’s fiery barnstorming in favor of his American Jobs Act has played a big role. People are hearing his message.

The president has been on the offensive. It’s no coincidence that, for the first time in quite a while, Republicans are backing up.

Radicals in power offer no help in governance. Radicals only serve to push the pile. It's up to all of us to push back.

More work to do.

Merry Christmas! One and All, From President Obama and the EPA

President Obama's Christmas Present to America | Mother Jones

It is estimated that the cost of the new policy to the Coal companies is in the neighborhood of 10 Billion and a logistical headache as ancient coal-fired power plants will be shut down.  Compare this to the benefit as predicted by the EPA:

 The total health and economic benefits of this standard are estimated to be as much as $90 billion annually....Combined, the two rules are estimated to prevent up to 46,000 premature deaths, 540,000 asthma attacks among children, 24,500 emergency room visits and hospital admissions. The two programs are an investment in public health that will provide a total of up to $380 billion in return to American families in the form of longer, healthier lives and reduced health care costs.

This is the essence of good governance. This is government doing what it is supposed to do, protect the well-being of it's citizens and provide a counterweight to the necessary but sometimes oppressive influence of unchecked capitalism. 

Much more to do....

Dwight Eisenhower, Conservative Hero (No kidding!)

Words well spoken. I'm often amazed by the prescience of former President Dwight D. Eisenhower. That his brand of conservatism is now so grotesquely out of style is a commentary of our times. His observation that "they are stupid," is pointed and true. The conservative movement has been co-opted by ideological purists who compete with themselves over who is truly pure, dragging themselves farther and farther towards a wingnut wonderland that doesn't and can't exist in this world.

It is truly stupid to insist on wishes and wonder as policy. It is truly stupid to resist the needs of a nation for the sake of an imaginary pot of gold at the end of a mythical rainbow. It is truly stupid to resist expertise, knowledge, and education. It is truly stupid to try and roll back the tide of culture, music, and art. And it is truly stupid to try and force the nation into a tiny box of religion-based social engineering against their will.

Dwight Eisenhower was a hero. Never would he have expected this from his Grand Old Party. Well spoke sir, well spoke.