Month: November 2010

Christianists In Tea Party Clothing?

Joe Carter argues that the tea party is actually a subset of the religious right:

A recent survey has shown that nearly half (47 percent) consider themselves to be part of the conservative Christian movement. And despite the perception of the movement being comprised of economically-oriented libertarians, the majority held social conservative views. Nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of Tea Partiers say abortion should be illegal in all or most cases, and only eighteen percent support same-sex marriage.

I think this is absolutely correct and makes the "tea-party" label a brilliant marketing move to repackage Fusionist Republicanism. It's a way to give fiscally conservative and socially moderate Republicans permission/cover to vote for Christianism again. But the Christianism is still there – just disguised – and, when exposed, as in Colorado, increasingly a negative. And at some point, surely, the mask will have to fall:

If the Tea Party were to completely drop its veneer of being focused on government spending and instead simply become a vehicle for the advancement of movement conservatism more generally, it would cease to have any real relevance whatsoever.  Indeed, it’s worth pointing out that each Tea Party-approved statewide candidate whose social conservatism became a campaign issue, whether by choice or otherwise, performed miserably or, at the very least, suffered a disappointing loss.

So let's see how the new GOP reacts to the live possibility of Don't Ask Don't Tell repeal, endorsed by the military brass. That will tell us where they stand.

Yes, The McRib Is Back!

Alex Balk urges us to live a little:

Everything that doesn't taste like crap is full of stuff that is in some way or another bad for you. You are going to die no matter what. Eat whatever you want. The oft-repeated Keynesian maxim that "in the long run we are all dead" is well and good, but it ignores McRib that fact that for a long time we are all alive. For, like, AGES. Think about how long today has been, and it's not even five yet!

Yes, life is a beautiful valuable thing and there are so many joys along the way and etc., but let's admit that 90% of it is suffering, misery, pain, standing in line behind some idiot who can't figure out how that he doesn't have enough money in his balance to withdraw the amount of cash he keeps asking for from the ATM, heartbreak, defeat and "Seinfeld" reruns. A couple of eggs, or a McRib, or excellent Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey sipped outdoors on a crisp day while you smoke a cigarette: if these things are going to shave a few years off the time you would otherwise spend drumming your fingers on the counter as you wait for the laggard at the Duane Reade to ring up your single-item purchase, so be it.

Yglesias Award Nominee

"Had congressional Republicans taken pragmatic steps on health reform between 1994 and 2008, PPACA wouldn't have happened. President Bush's reform of the tax exclusion for employer-provided health insurance alone would have made a significant difference, as would his plan for giving the states greater control over Medicaid. If you believe that the 111th Congress made many bad calls, Republicans in previous years deserve much of the blame. Major policy shifts are rare. But when it rains, it pours," – Reihan Salam, NRO.

Tweaking Healthcare: Look Beyond Washington

The president has said he's open to it. The GOP is pretending to want to abolish all of it. But both may be irrelevant in the next two years, given a veto. Aaron Carroll ignores Congress and points to the states:

It’s important to remember that insurance is regulated to a large extent at the state level.  Insurance commissioners are not appointed by the President or by Congress; they are appointed by governors.  And on Tuesday, Republicans picked up nine seats to control 29 states. Moreover, the exchanges, which still have to be set up, are also state based.  Again, state insurance commissioners will have a lot of power and control to set regulations on how the exchanges will work.  That will make a big difference in how reform functions in the individual insurance market – where most of the uninsured are expected to get insurance.