Rachel Maddow's Blog, page 3358

RNC's Priebus threatens networks

Associated Press

NBC and CNN are planning to run specials on Hillary Clinton in the not-too-distant future, and it appears Republican Party officials aren't taking the news well.

The chairman of the Republican National Committee threatened on Monday to refuse to partner with CNN or NBC on any presidential primary debates if the two networks move ahead with plans for television projects on Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Reince Priebus, the chairman, said in letters to the two networks that he considered the projects to be a "thinly-veiled attempt at putting a thumb on the scales of the 2016 presidential election."

Priebus is being cheered on by state Republican officials in Iowa and South Carolina, who are also threatening to exclude CNN and NBC from co-sponsoring presidential debates in the 2016 cycle unless the networks abandon their Clinton projects.

But it's Priebus who's being especially aggressive, saying he intends to hold a "binding vote" at the RNC's summer meeting, blocking NBC and CNN from partnering on party sanctioned debates. In fact, the RNC went on to say presidential candidates would be "punished" -- how, we don't know -- if they agreed to participate in debates aired by the networks.

Hmm. It was just a few months ago when Republican Party officials agreed that the party needs a broader reach to the American mainstream, and should look beyond Fox News and far-right blogs like RedState.com. Now Priebus is looking to dictate to NBC and CNN, threatening to exclude them during the next presidential race?

Brian Beutler added, "[I]t's sad commentary on the state of the GOP that the allure of gaping at the Republican primary train wreck is a source of negotiating power for the party."

David Plouffe, chimed in, too, suggesting the RNC stick to debates in a "hermetically sealed Fox studio" so that swing voters may not hear the "crazy s*#t" the party's eventually nominee might say.

The wrong message for the wrong issue

The U.S. State Department issued an unusual warning on Friday, alerting U.S. citizens traveling abroad to an al Qaeda threat that led American diplomatic outposts to close throughout the Middle East and North Africa. As of this morning, many of those same diplomatic posts remain temporarily shuttered due to the terrorist threat.

For the most part, the possibility of an attack hasn't been politicized, at least not by policymakers -- House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mike McCaul (R-Texas) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) praised the Obama administration's handling of the threat on the Sunday shows yesterday.

But Igor Volsky noticed a different approach from Fox News personalities and guests. Former Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) said on the network, "Our attempt to placate parts of the world ... and the perception of weakness in this administration is encouraging this kind of behavior." Fox News contributor Peter Johnson Jr. added, "Is this a creeping abdication of American exceptionalism?"

I'll confess, it didn't occur to me that Fox would even try to exploit the closing of embassies for partisan gain. And yet, here we are.

But if they're really interested in having this conversation, maybe it's time to bring back this chart.

There's just no reason for the kind of rhetoric being repeated on Fox. The idea, apparently, is to blame President Obama for the existence of the threat -- were it not for the "perception of weakness," U.S. foes wouldn't even consider possible attacks on our diplomatic outposts.

The problem, of course, is that reality keeps intervening. Indeed, looking at the argument with the above chart in mind, Fox seems to be arguing that Reagan encouraged terrorist threats with his weakness, while President Obama has done the opposite.

This last came up in the immediate aftermath of the attack in Benghazi, when Republicans coalesced around an offensive talking point: if Obama projected "strength," there wouldn't be terrorism because our enemies would "respect American resolve."

The cheap rhetoric didn't make any sense at the time, and the argument hasn't improved with age.

I can appreciate why Republicans are a little defensive on the broader issue -- they like to think the GOP owns national security, but it was the Obama administration that got Osama bin Laden, crushed much of al Qaeda's international network, and prevented a series of deadly attacks.

But there's no excuse for their frustrations to play out in such an ugly way.

Monday's campaign round-up

Associated Press

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes

Today's installment of campaign-related news items that won't necessarily generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers:

* Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and his likely Democratic challenger, Alison Lundergan Grimes, appeared at Kentucky's Fancy Farms picnic over the weekend, effectively marking the beginning of the state's campaign season -- 15 months before Election Day. My favorite quote from the event. "Let's tell it like it is," Grimes said. "If the doctors told Sen. McConnell he had a kidney stone, he wouldn't pass it."

* On a related note, while PPP shows Grimes leading McConnell by one point, a poll from the Mellman Group shows Grimes up by two, 44% to 42%.

* And speaking of McConnell, Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Mike Lee (R-Utah), and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) were each asked separately last week whether they support the Senate Minority Leader's re-election. All three of the far-right senators dodged the question. Hmm.

* Environmentalist billionaire Tom Steyer has taken a keen interest in Virginia's gubernatorial race and intends to launch television ads on behalf of Terry McAuliffe (D). If Steyer's name sounds familiar, it's because he also came to Ed Markey's (D) aid in the recent U.S. Senate special election in Massachusetts.

* The news isn't all good for McAuliffe, however -- the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating an electric-car company the Virginia businessman helped create.

* In South Carolina, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) hoped to avoid a primary challenger, but over the weekend, he ended up with one anyway -- Nancy Mace, a small business owner and the first female graduate of The Citadel, kicked off her GOP bid. [Update: businessman Richard Cash is also in the primary field, and state Sen. Lee Bright is also reportedly interested.]

* And in New Jersey, Rep. Rush Holt (D) is launching a $350,000 ad buy, hoping to narrow Newark Mayor Cory Booker's lead in the Democratic primary for the upcoming U.S. Senate special election.

This Week in God

Associated Press

First up from the God Machine this week is a look at some of the religious rhetoric coming from Virginia Republicans, which strayed awfully far from the American norm.

On Thursday, E.W. Jackson, the Virginia GOP's right-wing candidate for lieutenant governor, doubled down on his previous theological condemnations of those he disagrees with politically.

Jackson has said in the past that he thinks believing in God and voting Democratic are fundamentally incompatible, so WLEE host Jack Gravely asked if he still believes it. Gravely explained that he's a Christian and tends to vote Democratic, just like his parents and family. Jackson didn't back down.

"You are saying for us, we're all wrong, leave that party. And all I'm saying to you is, if you said it before, you still have to believe it, why did you say it?" Gravely asked. "Oh, oh, oh I do believe it," Jackson responded. He continued: "I said it because I believe that the Democrat Party has become an anti-God party."

As a rule, major-party candidates for statewide office simply don't talk this way in the United States. American politicians have argued about religious issues since before we were even a country, but those hoping to represent a diverse constituency of millions of people generally don't argue -- out loud and in public -- that one party is "anti-God" and one party is pro-God.

Jackson, in other words, whose rhetorical excesses have made him a caricature of what a ridiculous candidate looks like, is pushing the envelope beyond traditional American norms. He's also lying -- while most secular voters gravitate towards Democrats, there's literally nothing about the Democratic Party or its platform that's hostile towards religion or the supernatural, and most Democratic voters nationwide consider themselves religious.

Indeed, Jackson went so far that Pat Mullins, chairman of the Virginia Republican Party, distanced himself from the candidate's extremism. "I do not agree with that statement," he told Salon in a statement. "My parents were Democrats, and I've got a lot of Democratic friends in Christian churches all around Virginia."

To provide some context, it's not at all common for a state GOP chair to criticize a statewide GOP candidate's rhetoric three months before Election Day. Jackson has apparently gone so far, he's too extreme for far-right Republicans.

Also from the God Machine this week:

* Pope Francis raised eyebrows around the world this week when he said, "If someone is gay, who searches for the Lord and has goodwill, who am I to judge?"

* A church in Minneapolis has been vandalized three times in recent months after expressing its support for marriage equality. According to a local media account, "Officers say the reporting party said several eggs were thrown at the front door and messages 'referencing homosexuality' were written on the siding."

* Expanding hate crimes data: "The Justice Department will begin keeping numbers on hate crimes committed against Sikhs and six other groups, in connection with Monday's one-year anniversary of the killing of six Sikh worshippers in Oak Creek, Wis." (Thanks to my colleague Tricia McKinney for the heads-up.)

* An unexpected success story: "Lukas Novy says he's a member of the 'Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster,' a satirical faith which teaches that a creature composed of pasta and meatballs 'created the world much as it exists today.' ... Novy, a resident of the Czech Republic, insisted that he be allowed to wear a pasta sieve on his head while being photographed for an official government ID. And he succeeded."

* Anti-Islam activists in Tennessee continue their efforts to challenge construction of a mosque in Murfreesboro, including appeals to the state Supreme Court. (Thanks to reader R.P. for the tip.) [Clarification: The mosque already exists, but the right-wing activists are challenging the process that led to the house of worship's construction. Indeed, the anti-Islam conservatives hope to prevent the mosque from being used by the congregation for worship.]

* The Kentucky chapter of the American Family Association is not only pushing for government-sponsored religion in public schools, it's now arguing that government-sponsored religion will "boost student test scores, lower the crime rate and even decrease the rate of HIV infection."

* And radical TV preacher Pat Robertson was asked by a viewer this week what to do about his home, which the viewer believes may be "haunted." The televangelist replied, "[I]f it was me I'd burn the house down and move on," but added that an exorcism might be more cost effective.

Watch on YouTube

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Cocktail Moment: The Stop the Madness and Start Things Moving Bipartisan Smoothie

As described by Melissa Harris-Perry.

First, a banana. Because the actions of our current Congress are bananas. So... a banana. 

Add strawberries -- red for the Republicans, 

And blueberries for the Democrats.

Add some ice for cool nerves to ignore the corporate spending and ideological extremism by special interests.

Add a little sparkling water to keep interparty cooperation bubbling

And last but not least, a teaspoon of milled flaxseed to get all this moving through the system.

Force bipartisanship with a thorough blending. 

Submit these ingredients to as much forced cooperation as necessary to create a smooth and appealing outcome. 

Links for the 8/2 TRMS

Citations for Friday night's show are listed after the jump.

Samantha Power gets past Cruz, heads to the U.N.

ATF nominee narrowly wins Senate confirmation

U.S. unemployment rate hits lowest level since December 2008

Congress finally votes to cut student loan interest rates

Pelosi predicts no farm bill by October deadline

The House farm bill unexpectedly failed. So what happens next?

Republicans to propose $40 billion cut over decade to food stamps program

'The American people should be outraged'

House Votes To Quash Obamacare, For The 40th Time

And then there were 40

Political Violence Against Americans 2011 (pdf)

Travel Alert - U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE - Bureau of Consular Affairs

British embassy in Yemen to close as 'precaution'

Abortion Providers Sue As Wisconsin Governor Signs Bill

Federal judge again blocks Wisconsin's new abortion law

Arrested Venice Skateboarder Ronald Weekley: Don't Be Angry, Fight for What's Right

Police Work Is Not Always Pretty

LAPD to try voluntary mediation in racial profiling cases

Stop And Frisk Facts

Racial Disparities in Arrests in the District of Columbia, 2009-2011 (pdf)

The New Bomb Threat : A Wave of Anthrax Hoaxes Sweeps the Country

Anthrax threats are keeping clinics on heightened alert.

State shuts down Asheville abortion clinic

What's next for FemCare?

NC regulators close 3 abortion clinics in 3 months

Records show abortion clinics already inspected, cited

Ahead on the 8/2 Maddow show

Tonight's guests:

Congressman Rush Holt, (D), New Jersey, Education and Workforce Committee
Evan Kohlmann, NBC News terrorism analyst and senior partner of Flashpoint Global Partners
Bryonn Bain, prison activist, wrongfully arrested by the NYPD in 1999 while studying at Harvard Law School. Today he is an author, artist and educator dedicated to helping reform the so-called "prison industrial complex"

And here's executive producer Bill Wolff with a preview of tonight's funky Friday show:

Friday's Mini-Report

Today's edition of quick hits:

* A highly unusual warning: "A worldwide alert has been issued for all U.S. citizens traveling abroad due to an unspecified al Qaeda threat, State Department officials warned Friday. The terror group and their affiliated organizations 'may focus efforts to conduct attacks in the period between now and the end of August,' a statement said."

* Pentagon: "Sixty troops have been fired as sexual assault counselors, recruiters or drill instructors after the military investigators found they had committed violations ranging from alcohol-related offenses to child abuse and sexual assault, USA Today has learned."

* Zimbabwe: "The party of Robert G. Mugabe, Zimbabwe's long-ruling president, appeared to be on track to win a huge majority in Parliament after Wednesday's elections, the Zimbabwe Election Commission announced Friday, allowing it to recapture parliamentary control from its main challenger, the Movement for Democratic Change."

* Filner: "San Diego Mayor Bob Filner's office canceled a scheduled new employee and management sex harassment training session in his first months in office according to a published report."

* Shield law: "In the wake of the many different scandals surrounding the government's surveillance of journalists, senators are attempting to craft a new federal shield law that would ramp up some of the protections for reporters. But, as McClatchy reported on Thursday night, the politicians have hit a bit of a snag: they can't agree on who is a journalist and who isn't."

* House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) wants the chamber to forgo its four-week break to get work done. "This is an aimless Congress," she said. "It's falling into chaos. It's a make-matters-worse Congress."

* Affordable Care Act: "Personal health care costs rose in the 12 months ending in May at the slowest rate in the last 50 years, as spending on hospital and nursing home services declined, the White House announced Monday."

* Confirmations: "The Senate confirmed Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Martin Dempsey to a second two-year term by voice vote on Thursday.... The Senate also approved Joint Chiefs Vice Chairman Adm. James Winnefeld and a host of other military nominations."

* Overdue: "Two high-ranking senators released a bipartisan measure to overhaul the Postal Service (USPS) this week, as lawmakers search for an elusive deal to stabilize an agency losing billions of dollars a year."

* Finally: "Women's health advocates have fought for over-the-counter access to emergency contraception for more than a decade, and their efforts were finally realized this week. Thursday, August 1 marked the day that pharmacies and grocery stores across the country were supposed to begin stocking Plan B on their shelves, available for purchase without a prescription."

Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.

Samantha Power gets past Cruz, heads to the U.N.

It turned out to be one of the year's easiest confirmations.

The Senate on Thursday approved the nomination of Samantha Power as the next ambassador to the United Nations, a relatively smooth and quiet process that lacked the partisan acrimony of other recent confirmations.

Only 10 senators voted against Ms. Power. Eighty-seven supported her, including 33 Republicans.

Of the 10 senators who opposed Power's nomination, all were Republicans, including some folks who may have their eyes on a national race in 2016: Marco Rubio (Fla.), Rand Paul (Ky.), and Ted Cruz (Texas).

All 10 knew she'd be confirmed anyway, but wanted to be on record opposing the Pulitzer-prize winning scholar who has spent most of her professional life combating genocide and raising awareness of human rights abuses and global humanitarian issues. Up until recently, Power has served as the senior director for multilateral affairs and human rights at the National Security Council.

But what I found especially interesting was a statement from Cruz, who sought to explain his vote by saying Power's positions on the United Nations "suggest she agrees with President Obama in giving the United Nations authority over fundamental rights, such as our right to bear arms."

First, Cruz appears to be referring the Arms Trade Treaty, which he clearly does not understand.

Second, it's fun to speculate sometimes as to whether far-right senators actually believe their own rhetoric, or whether they know their arguments are nonsense but find it useful to treat their base like easily fooled rubes. I'm hoping in a case like this, it's the latter.

That's not what 'constructive' means

Associated Press

Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.)

We talked at length yesterday about the failure of the Transportation and Housing and Urban Development (or "THUD") appropriations bill in the House -- a move that sent the Republican budget process into chaos -- so it's only fair to note what happened to the Senate version of the same bill.

In short, nothing good.

Early on Thursday afternoon, a few hours before the start of a month-long summer recess, the U.S. Senate held a doomed vote on a $44 billion package of transportation and housing funds. The vote was 54-43, six short of cloture, most Republicans making sure that the bill with the accidentally perfect name of THUD (Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development) went down in flames for now.

Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey, whose work on a gun control amendment this year gave him the temporary glow of a centrist, walked from the Senate to a special, open live-streamed meeting of the Republican Study Committee, all about the Obama administration's scandals. Anyone watching the Tea Party Patriots-sponsored feed could hear Toomey tell a colleague that "we did something constructive today" in the Senate.

"We denied cloture on the THUD bill," said Toomey. "I told you we'd kill it, and we did."

We talk from time to time about the post-policy nihilism that's come to define so much of Republican politics, and this is rather striking example.

The Senate's THUD bill was expected to pass with relative ease. It had bipartisan support; it was pulled together responsibly; and it sailed through the committee process as non-controversial bills should. As Joan McCarter explained, "The transportation funding bill has always been a non-controversial, reliable bipartisan effort, because there was something tangible in it for every member of Congress to take home: jobs, infrastructure improvements, a display of federal dollars at work for their constituents. That's all changed."

And not for the better.

After the House Republicans killed their own version of the bill, GOP leaders feared a moderate, bipartisan THUD package would give Senate Dems the upper hand in a conference committee. What's more, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was eager to prove how right-wing he is to conservatives back home, so he lobbied Republicans who supported the bill to change their mind.

The result? A bill that was supposed to be approved easily was killed with a filibuster -- which in Pat Toomey's mind, is evidence of doing "something constructive."

The larger point, of course, is that policymakers used to have a less ridiculous definition of what "constructive" means. Not too long ago, members of Congress used to think they did "something constructive" when they, you know, passed a bill. Or maybe reached a compromise. Or perhaps struck some sort of deal.

The hallmark of post-policy nihilism is the belief that policy outcomes and substantive governing are largely irrelevant. Officials have begun defining themselves solely by what they can block and destroy, rather than what they can accomplish, even if that means opposing what they support.

And that's not good.

What's more, as McConnell panics about his re-election bid, this dynamic is likely to become more common. Yesterday, for example, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) hoped to see the Senate pass the bipartisan bill, but quickly found herself on the losing side of a McConnell broadside.

Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the top Republican on the panel that wrote the $54 billion transportation bill, appeared to grope for an explanation for why Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) worked so hard to kill her legislation.

Asked if McConnell's upcoming primary fight with a tea party challenger might have something to do with the pressure, Collins told POLITICO: "I can't speculate on why. All I can tell you is he has never worked harder against a member of his own party than he did against me today."

For context, note that Collins and McConnell have worked together for 16 years -- and she's "never" seem him work this hard to beat another Republican.