David Safier by David Safier One thing I won't do is question Tom Horne's intelligence. Integrity? That I'll question. Honesty too. For all I know, he may be self-deluded as well. But he's too accomplished in too many areas not to be a smart guy. That's why I say Horne can't possibly believe that most people who … Read more
by David Safier Dr. Word, as readers of his occasional posts are well aware, is not a man much given to emotions. However, he found himself falling victim to what is often referred to in the current lexicon as a "man crush." The object of his affections: Steve Benen, who writes on the Maddow blog. … Read more
by David Safier Dr. Word appreciates the linguistic distinction David Sirota made recently between the terms "The State" and "The Government." In a column about the government shutdown, Sirota commented that in our current political culture, institutions which are part of The State are venerated and have been left open while The Government is lambasted, … Read more
by David Safier All bets are off. I've read analyses of what's going on with the shutdown and the debt ceiling, and I have yet to find anyone who has come up with a decent prediction of what will happen next. Shutdown? Continuing resolution? Debt ceiling? No debt ceiling? No one seems to know. The … Read more
by David Safier
Today's NY Times article, A Federal Budget Crisis Months in the Planning, isn't so much news as confirmation of what we already knew. The federal shutdown has been planned for months. It's a heavily funded, last ditch effort to wipe out Obamacare before people begin using it. They know any efforts after January 1 will be too late.
To many Americans, the shutdown came out of nowhere. But interviews with a wide array of conservatives show that the confrontation that precipitated the crisis was the outgrowth of a long-running effort to undo the law, the Affordable Care Act, since its passage in 2010 — waged by a galaxy of conservative groups with more money, organized tactics and interconnections than is commonly known.
[snip]
The billionaire Koch brothers, Charles and David, have been deeply involved with financing the overall effort. A group linked to the Kochs, Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce, disbursed more than $200 million last year to nonprofit organizations involved in the fight. Included was $5 million to Generation Opportunity, which created a buzz last month with an Internet advertisement showing a menacing Uncle Sam figure popping up between a woman’s legs during a gynecological exam.
The article is filled with details, including the dual efforts to get young people to refuse to sign up, which would harm the revenue needed to keep the program viable, and to get the elderly — meaning people on Medicare who don't participate in Obamacare — angry enough to turn out for Republican candidates in large numbers.