Rachel Maddow's Blog, page 3384

In just 99 days...

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In early May, Kevin Drum raised a point that resonated with me: "Dems need to be promoting Obamacare with the same fervor Republicans bring to the attack, pointing out its benefits and upsides at every opportunity. So far I haven't seen this ... but it better start happening soon."

In context, Kevin was making a political point -- the GOP intends to use condemnations of the Affordable Care Act as part of its strategy in the 2014 midterms -- but there's also a substantive angle to all of this: the public needs to know about the law, have some understanding of its benefits, and participate in the system. So far, we've seen no real public-relations campaign to speak of.

That's changing quickly and promotional efforts are gearing up in ways we haven't seen up until now. The above ad is being aired by Organizing for America, and within the Obama administration, the push is taking on a new urgency. To get a better sense of the pitch, take a look at the newly revamped HealthCare.gov, unveiled this morning.

In the meantime, Enroll America, a nonprofit led by several former Obama campaign staffers, is spearheading enrollment efforts, "knocking on doors, advertising on television and radio and partnering with churches, civic groups, hospitals and celebrities."

All of this seems to be happening at once, and the timing is not coincidental: Sarah Kliff reported yesterday that there are now just 99 days remaining until Oct. 1, the point at which "millions can begin enrolling in the health care law's insurance expansion." It's an exciting opportunity, but the prospect of federal officials establishing insurance marketplaces in dozens of states is, to put it mildly, daunting. Complicating matters is the number of Americans who may not realize they should show up in the marketplace -- 42% of Americans still don't realize the Affordable Care Act is federal law, intact, not repealed, and not struck down by the Supreme Court.

Kliff followed up today with a related piece, explaining that there are "at least 99 things that need to happen between now and October," and though the administration will have some help, there's no guarantee that all 99 will get done.

Taking a trip to 'Boehnerland'

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When we think about the sphere of influence for the Speaker of the House, we would ordinarily think first of the House majority caucus. After all, that would make sense -- John Boehner should have power on the Hill, where he leads over 200 federal lawmakers who chose to put a gavel in his hands and put behind only the Vice President in the presidential line of succession.

But in practice, Boehner's sphere of influence is fairly limited in the chamber he ostensibly leads. His operation is far more impressive about a mile and a half away from the Capitol, in the city's lobbying corridor.

A top aide to Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) is leaving his post to run the Washington office of American Express, becoming the third-high ranking staffer to depart the office in recent months.

Brett Loper, one of Boehner's key conduits to the White House during the doomed "fiscal cliff" negotiations of 2012, is returning to K Street after a brief stint in the Speaker's office where he most recently served as deputy chief of staff.

The Speaker's chief of staff, Barry Jackson, left in Feburary to work at two separate firms -- Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, a lobby shop, and Lindsey Group, an economic advisory firm. Earlier in February, Boehner's health adviser, Emily Porter, left to become a vice president at the lobbying firm Nickles Group.

As these departures mount, it's only natural to wonder if the Speaker's career is in in decline, and there are rumors that Boehner, frustrated by his complete inability to govern, may retire in the near future. The resignations will only further fuel the speculation.

But there is another explanation -- there's long been a revolving door in Boehner's office, with aides (a) leaving his staff to become lobbyists; (b) leaving lobbying to join his staff; or (c) occasionally making more than one trip in each direction.

Indeed, in a statement thanking Loper for his service, the Speaker said the staffer "will be missed throughout Boehnerland, our Conference, and the entire House."

This may sound like an odd choice of words, but for a significant group of people, "Boehnerland" is an actual thing.

Long-time readers may recall that this has been an ongoing area of interest for me, dating back to 2010 when I first learned what "Boehnerland" is.

He maintains especially tight ties with a circle of lobbyists and former aides representing some of the nation's biggest businesses, including Goldman Sachs, Google, Citigroup, R. J. Reynolds, MillerCoors and UPS.

They have contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to his campaigns, provided him with rides on their corporate jets, socialized with him at luxury golf resorts and waterfront bashes and are now leading fund-raising efforts for his Boehner for Speaker campaign, which is soliciting checks of up to $37,800 each, the maximum allowed.

Some of the lobbyists readily acknowledge routinely seeking his office's help -- calling the congressman and his aides as often as several times a week -- to advance their agenda in Washington. And in many cases, Mr. Boehner has helped them out.

Of course he has; many of these lobbyists worked in his office.

While many lawmakers in each party have networks of donors, lobbyists and former aides who now represent corporate interests, Mr. Boehner's ties seem especially deep. His clique of friends and current and former staff members even has a nickname on Capitol Hill, Boehner Land. The members of this inner circle said their association with Mr. Boehner translates into open access to him and his staff.

It's probably worth emphasizing that all of this is legal and permissible under congressional ethics rules. The point isn't that Boehner is guilty of anything untoward; rather, the point is Boehner takes his relationship with DC's lobbying industry quite seriously.

And as we talked about last fall, this relationship manifests itself in ways that reinforce its value. When Congress worked on a jobs bill in 2010, Boehner and his team huddled with corporate lobbyists. When work on Wall Street reform got underway, Boehner and the GOP huddled with industry lobbyists. When Congress worked on health care reform, Boehner and the GOP huddled with insurance lobbyists. When an energy/climate bill started advancing, the GOP huddled with energy lobbyists. In 2012, when the STOCK Act was being considered, the GOP huddled with financial industry lobbyists.

This is just Boehner's m.o. And as more staffers depart the Speaker's office for more lobbying gigs, the population of Boehnerland just keeps growing.

'Freedom Federation' prepares to defy marriage equality

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Tony Perkins and James Dobson

The more I think about this, the less sense it makes (thanks to R.M. for the heads-up).

A coalition of social conservative activists say that they'll defy any Supreme Court ruling that comes down in favor of same-sex marriage, though it's so far unclear how they would do so.

As Raw Story first pointed out, over 200 conservative activists released a letter under the name "Freedom Federation," writing that "Like many other concerned Americans, we await the opinion of the Supreme Court of the United States on two cases which open up the possibility that the institution of marriage will be further undermined by a judicial opinion. We pledge to stand together to defend marriage as what it is, a bond between one man and one woman, intended for life, and open to the gift of children."

More specifically, the letter from the "Federation" goes on to say, "While there are many things we can endure, redefining marriage is so fundamental to the natural order and the true common good that this is the line we must draw and one we cannot and will not cross."

The list of far-right voices signing onto this is not short, and includes some high-profile heavy hitters in the religious right movement: Ralph Reed, Mike Huckabee, James Dobson, Tony Perkins, Gary Bauer, Ken Blackwell, Franklin Graham, Bill Donohue, and Oklahoma State Rep. Sally Kern (R), among many others.

What I don't understand is what, exactly, the "Federation" intends to do. I don't really expect the Supreme Court to approve marriage equality for every state, but if the justices take that step, what difference does it make if these 200+ activists and movement leaders consider it a line they "will not cross"? Neither the court nor anyone else needs their permission.

As best as I can tell, unless any of the "Freedom Federation" signatories are actually sitting justices on the U.S. Supreme Court -- they're not -- why would anyone give a darn what they can or cannot "endure'?

Unless these folks are planning to literally move to some other country if the Supreme Court says marriage rights apply to everyone, including same-sex couples, their bluster rings hollow. If, however, they are vowing to leave the United States because they can't "endure" living in a country that extends marriage rights to all, that would be interesting.

Video: In Texas 'rape kits' debate, the sound of abortion politics

TX House SB 5 from The Rachel Maddow Show on Vimeo.

A reported 800 people turned out in Texas yesterday for the legislature's debate on anti-abortion bills that could close 37 of the 42 women’s clinics in the state. The House debate lasted 15 hours, and the vote happened around 3:25 this morning.

With Republicans in firm control of the chamber and united behind the bill, the outcome was not really in doubt. But as we have seen in Virginia, Wisconsin and Ohio -- to name a few -- the minority Democrats managed to get the bill's Republican supporters on record about their explicit belief that government has the right to control women's private medical needs and their understanding about what, in practice, that means.

Representative Jodie Laubenberg

Thus the Texas bill's sponsor, Republican Representative Jodie Laubenberg, found herself making this argument last night about why she opposed adding an exception for women who have been raped (apologies for the quality of the video, which is after the jump):

[I]n hospital emergency rooms, we have funded what’s called rape kits that will help the woman, basically clean her out. And then hopefully that will alleviate that.”

She was then interrupted by Democratic Representative Dawnna Dukes, who wanted to hear that part again, please:

Representative Laubenberg, you said these ladies would be able to acquire an abortion at one of the emergency rooms?

And so Laubenberg said it again, only more so:

In the emergency room they have what's called rape kits that the woman, she’ll get cleaned out, basically like a D&C, and emergency contraception, where they can also do the morning-after pill.

Now Laubenberg's "seeming confusion" about the kits used to collect forensic evidence will outlive this week in Texas legislative history, as will the issue of whether the courts will allow the state this level of decision-making about individual women's health. After another couple of hours delay, the Texas House gave final approval to the bill just after 10 A.M. local time. It now goes to the Senate, where Democrats say they will try to filibuster it until the clock runs out on the special session at midnight on Tuesday.

Adding: As you can see in the Texas Tribune video below, Democratic lawmakers thanked the protesters for delaying the bill this long. "You bought us 12 more hours in a very limited time," says Representative Jessica Farrar, our guest Friday. "It's conceivable that there could be a filibuster now, because of what you did."

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Second addition: Texas Senate Republicans may use the absence of a Democratic senator -- for her father's funeral -- to suspend the rules requiring a 24-hour wait and vote today.

After the jump, the video we've got (while we're looking for better). For now, it looks like the video of Representative Laubenberg talking about rape kits is the best we're going to get, so I moved it to the top. 

Posted by the Texas Democratic Party

Yesterday at the Texas Capital.

Thanks, Marina Bingham, for forwarding the picture from the Texas Capital. We love getting pics, etc., through our Facebook page or here.

Helping Paul Ryan with arithmetic

After House Republican leaders suffered an embarrassing setback last week, watching their members defeat their own farm bill, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) reflexively blamed the House Democratic minority for the failure. It didn't matter that it was the House GOP that killed the bill; what mattered was an incoherent attempt at playing the blame game.

But that was last week, and the dust had not yet settled. After taking the weekend to think about it, clearly prominent Republican lawmakers will have come up with more sensible talking points, right? Wrong (thanks to my colleague Tricia McKinney for the tip).

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) said Monday that Republicans in the House "can't govern" if Democrats do not keep their word on how they plan to vote, laying blame for the defeat of last week's farm bill at the feet of the minority party. "The Democrats promised 40 votes and they didn't deliver the votes that they promised," Ryan told MSNBC's "Morning Joe." "Our leaders brought the bill to the floor based on the commitment that the Democrats from the agricultural districts made, and then during consideration on the floor, they reneged on the promise."

Look, I realize Paul Ryan has a terrible memory, and he's not especially good with numbers, but this is demonstrably ridiculous.

Indeed, it's not at all complicated. There were 40 House Dems who intended to vote for the Republicans' farm bill, but many balked after GOP lawmakers moved it further to the right, which hardly constitutes a broken promise. In the end, 24 of the 40 supported the legislation.

But here's the key: if those 16 Democrats who balked had voted for the bill, it would have fallen short anyway. Ryan doesn't even need a calculator: the bill had 195 votes. Add 16 to that, and you get 211 votes -- seven short of what was needed.

Ryan's party killed its own legislation, and this drive to blame Democrats isn't just foolish, it's also at odds with basic arithmetic: 195 + 16 = 211, not 218.

Are House Republican leaders so allergic to responsibility that they can't own up to their own obvious failures?

In the same interview, Ryan claimed to be "focused on poverty."

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) said Monday that he's focused primarily on addressing poverty, a week after he complained that the farm bill did not include enough cuts to the food stamp program.

"Look, I'm a conservative who believes that our constitutional principles, founding principles are the key principles for the day and they're the best if applied to our problems to solve problems," Ryan said during an appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." "And we need to have that kind of temperament. This is why I'm focused on poverty these days, this is why I'm focused on -- we've got the 50th anniversary of the war on poverty coming up next year. We don't have much to show for it."

First, as I hope Ryan understands, the investments of the Great Society were extremely effective at reducing poverty, but as Washington gave up on the efforts, the programs stopped having the desired effect. He made it sound as if we've been on a constant, 50-year struggle in which Washington's commitment to anti-poverty programs has been consistent and fully funded. That's plainly untrue.

Second, Ryan's budget plan was brutal towards families in poverty, and just last week, he pushed for more cuts to food stamps. He's "focused on poverty these days"? By this does the far-right Wisconsin congressman mean he's focused on new ways of making struggling Americans suffer more?

Monday's campaign round-up

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:

* Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R), his party's gubernatorial candidate this year, was asked by MSNBC's Chuck Todd whether his running mate, E.W. Jackson, was his first choice to be the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor. Cuccinelli refused to answer.

* Massachusetts' U.S. Senate special election is tomorrow, and Republican Gabriel Gomez appeared on Fox News yesterday, making comments suggesting he expects to lose. "As a former general once said, 'I shall return,'" Gomez said, adding, "I ran a clean race. I can look myself in the mirror and know that I ran an honorable race and I'm proud of that."

* The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is planning to launch a television and radio ad campaign in support of comprehensive immigration reform, featuring pro-reform comments from Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) as well as Rep. Paul Ryan (R. Wis.). The spots urge viewers to "support conservative immigration reform." (It's worth noting that Rand Paul has already said he intends to vote against the bipartisan reform plan.)

* Organizing for Action's fundraising is reportedly struggling so far in 2013, and the non-profit group supporting the president's agenda has already cut its $50 million fundraising goal in half.

* It seems hard to believe, but South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) said last week that she "could absolutely see" not running for a second term in 2014.

* Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) has conceded that he may skip his own re-election bid and instead run for Congress. With Rep. Mike Michaud (D-Maine) running for governor, there will be an open-seat contest in the state next year.

* And in Minnesota, where Sen. Al Franken (D) will seek re-election next year, a new Minnesota Poll shows the senator's approval rating reaching an all-time high of 55%.

This Week in God

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President Obama at a visit to a Northern Ireland school this week.

First up from the God Machine this week is a look at the uproar among conservatives over comments President Obama made in Northern Ireland about religious schools.

To hear the right tell it, the U.S. president issued a scathing attack on sectarian institutions. Drudge told his readers Obama made an "alarming call" for an "end to Catholic education." The conservative Washington Times ran an 800-word article on the "backlash" to Obama's comments. Sean Hannity and Ann Coulter cited the remarks as proof of the president "attacking America while he's abroad." David Limbaugh said it was "unbelievable" to see the president "attacking Catholic schools," adding, "How much evidence do people need to understand the breadth and depth of Obama's radicalism?"

"Unbelievable" is certainly the right word under the circumstances.

What, exactly, did the president say that got the right so worked up? Obama was speaking to young people at a town hall meeting in Belfast on Monday, and stressed the importance of "breaking down the divisions that we create for ourselves."

"Because issues like segregated schools and housing, lack of jobs and opportunity -- symbols of history that are a source of pride for some and pain for others -- these are not tangential to peace; they're essential to it. If towns remain divided -- if Catholics have their schools and buildings, and Protestants have theirs -- if we can't see ourselves in one another, if fear or resentment are allowed to harden, that encourages division. It discourages cooperation.

"Ultimately, peace is just not about politics. It's about attitudes; about a sense of empathy; about breaking down the divisions that we create for ourselves in our own minds and our own hearts that don't exist in any objective reality, but that we carry with us generation after generation."

Generations of religious strife in Northern Ireland is certainly a difficult issue, but to characterize Obama's emphasis on breaking down barriers of division as "attacking Catholic schools" and "attacking America" is absurd, and for Fox News and pretty much every conservative site on the Internet to try to turn this into an important religio-political scandal is quite silly.

The context, as Andrew Lawrence explained, is everything. Michael McGough added, "Northern Ireland is not the United States. Even in my childhood, when Catholic kids were encouraged to attend Catholic schools and there was an arguably Protestant ethos in many public schools, Catholics and Protestants weren't as isolated from (or as distrustful of) one another in this country as they continue to be in Northern Ireland.... Society in Northern Ireland is much more stratified, and the role of religiously defined schools more problematic. You can be perfectly comfortable with the role of Catholic schools in the American context and worry about their contribution to estrangement between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland."

Also from the God Machine this week:

* End Times radio host Rick Wiles told his listeners this week that he heard from "demon-possessed" viewers of The Rachel Maddow Show following Tuesday's show.

* An odd religious liberty case out of Oklahoma: "A Methodist pastor of a suburban Oklahoma City church is suing the state, claiming its license plate image of a Native American shooting an arrow into the sky violates his religious liberty. Last week, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver ruled his suit can proceed. The pastor, Keith Cressman of St. Mark's United Methodist Church in Bethany, Okla., contends the image of the Native American compels him to be a 'mobile billboard' for a pagan religion."

* Danielle Powell has a more compelling case against a conservative Christian college in Nebraska, which she left after falling in love with a woman: Grace University expelled her and "then sent a bill for $6,000 to reimburse what the school said were federal loans and grants that needed to be repaid because she didn't finish the semester." Powell is fighting back, "arguing that her tuition was covered by scholarships and that federal loans wouldn't need to be repaid in that amount."

* Drones for Christ: "Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., was founded by televangelist Jerry Falwell. Its publications carry the slogan 'Training Champions for Christ since 1971.' Some of those champions are now being trained to pilot armed drones, and others to pilot more traditional aircraft, in U.S. wars. For Christ" (thanks to reader R.B. for the tip).

* And finally, all's well that ends well? "Margaret Doughty, an atheist and permanent U.S. resident for more than 30 years, was told by immigration authorities this month that she has until Friday to officially join a church that forbids violence or her application for naturalized citizenship will be rejected." Once a controversy ensued, officials backed down and Doughty's application was approved (thanks to reader R.P. for the tip).

Decryptomaddowlogical #71

It is unexpected that a millionaire vintner in California would find the Massachusetts senate race so relevant that he would spend $1.2 million in support of Republican candidate Gabriel Gomez. One wonders what return he hopes for from such an investment. He must have 

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There's a thread for that.

*Remember to mention the number of the puzzle you're talking about.

Links for the 6/21 TRMS

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

North Dakota governor approves 6-week abortion ban

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell signs Virginia ultrasound bill

Alabama judge hears state bid to close abortion clinic

House Republicans promote 20-week abortion ban

Branstad approves plan requiring him to decide whether to approve Medicaid abortion funding

Wisconsin Planned Parenthood Clinics Begin Closing After State Eliminates Funding

Group tries to storm Senate to protest ultrasound bill

This Session, Texas Lawmakers Put Down Their Swords

Perry adds abortion regulation to special session

House Committee Quietly Approves Anti-Abortion Bills

Texas Senate approves sweeping abortion restrictions

Texas Republicans meet the 'Citizens Filibuster' and -- update -- schedule new abortion vote anyway

'Let Her Speak!' - Abortion hearing erupts into an emotional match

This is Texas on SB5

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES NOTICE OF FORMAL MEETING

Under Fire, Paterson Ends His Campaign for Governor

Paladino: Parody? Performance art?

Updated: Gov. LePage's most controversial quotes, 2010-present

LePage uses sexually vulgar phrase to describe actions of legislative opponent

Bill Nemitz: Governor no longer amusing

Jeb Bush to headline LePage re-election event

Jeb Bush: Immigrants are 'more fertile'

LePage says he's considering run for Congress

Spain arrests 8 with suspected links to al-Qaida

New wave of foreigners in Syrian fight

Washington Institute: Convoy of the Martyrs in the Levant (pdf)

Update: U.S. training Syrian rebels; White House 'stepped up assistance'

In Syrian chemical weapons claim, criticism about lack of transparency

Animals and Pets Poll: American Prefer Dogs; Fear Snakes

Latinos could be GOP allies

This survey was organized and funded by John Jordan, a Republican donor and activist

GOP Mystery Donor in Mass. Senate Race

UML poll gives Markey 20-point lead

Second poll in two days puts Ed Markey up by 20 points in Senate race

Texas Republicans meet the 'Citizens Filibuster' and -- update -- schedule new abortion vote anyway

Photo: Nick Swartsell/Texas Observer

The Citizens Filibuster.

The Texas House State Affairs Committee debated sweeping new restrictions on abortion last night, including Mississippi-style requirements that would shut down most of the clinics in Texas. According to press reports from the debate, 700 opponents of the bill showed up and asked to testify.

They called it the Citizens Filibuster, people lining up one after another. Just before 4 A.M., the House committee adjourned without taking a vote. Angela Mata writes that the event seemed to come together in a flash:

The movement to organize a community filibuster to force the bill to “die” in committee occurred mostly through e-mails and phone calls from political organizations to their networks, and through word of mouth between those that are politically involved.

The first time I heard about this in any capacity was Wednesday, June 19th.  The speed at which women responded to an urgent call to action was one of the strengths of the organizing.

Women traveled from all over Texas, some from many hours away, to testify against HB 60 before the committee.  People started arriving to register to testify at one in the afternoon, and the committee started hearing testimony at a little after five.  When I arrived at 7pm, there were just over 200 people registered to testify, but as the evening went on that number climbed to over 700.  People, mostly women, although there was a strong male presence too, were prepared to wait their turn all night to speak against the bills. 

In addition to the hearing room itself, there were multiple overflow rooms crowded with people waiting their turns. ...

I do not think that anyone is completely sure what will happen from here since it’s a special legislative session, but we should know soon.

Just now AP reports that the House committee chair has called a new meeting today, with two hours' notice, "in a room that can hold only 30 people and does not have a video feed." AP says the committee is likely to pass the new restrictions then. The bills have already passed the Senate.

By way of Blake Rocap on Facebook

Captioned on Facebook as: "That was the Reagan building at 15th and congress at 2am where the state affairs hearing was last night."

ADDING: Video: Care for millions of American women at stake in Texas abortion fight