Tuesday Open Thread [3.31.15]

Filed in National by on March 31, 2015

First Read: “The political battle lines have now been drawn in the first cultural fight of this very early presidential contest, with all the major Republicans backing Indiana’s controversial religious-liberty law, and with Hillary Clinton opposing it. But there are some differences among the GOP candidates: Jeb Bush states that Indiana’s law is being misunderstood and it’s not discriminatory, while Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio flat-out argue that people of faith (and by extension, the companies they own) should be able to live out their lives according to their religious beliefs.”

“Yesterday, we wrote that the Indiana law has produced a split between two major parts of today’s Republican Party — social conservatives and big business. Well, we know which side the GOP candidates are on. They’re with social conservatives.”

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“I’m going to get my economic policy from Milton Friedman and others like that, not from the Pope. And as it relates to social doctrine, I do think where my faith comes into play is most as it relates to the most vulnerable in our society.” — Jeb Bush, quoted by National Journal, on the extent to which his Catholic faith informs his policy-making. So helping the poor is economic policy, rather than social policy. Interesting.

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Bloomberg: “A direct comparison of the Gallup approval ratings between the last two U.S. presidents shows that President Obama has enjoyed significantly higher approval ratings than his predecessor, George W. Bush, at the same juncture in their time in office.”

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A new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds that by a nearly 2 to 1 margin, Americans support the notion of striking a deal with Iran that restricts the nation’s nuclear program in exchange for loosening sanctions.

“But the survey — released hours before Tuesday’s negotiating deadline — also finds few Americans are hopeful that such an agreement will be effective. Nearly six in 10 say they are not confident that a deal will prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, unchanged from 15 months ago, when the United States, France, Britain, Germany, China and Russia reached an interim agreement with Iran aimed at sealing a long-term deal.”

So while the GOP may freak the fuck out, remember that they desire war and the death of thousands of Americans so as to line defense contractor pockets. Remember that they do not represent the American people.

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The New York Times on Indiana Discrimination Law:

Religious-freedom laws, which were originally intended to protect religious minorities from burdensome laws or regulations, have become increasingly invoked by conservative Christian groups as gay rights in general — and marriage equality in particular — found greater acceptance nationally. Besides Indiana, 19 states have adopted such laws, but the laws in the other states apply to disputes between individuals and the government; Indiana’s law also applies to disputes between private citizens […] If Mr. Pence is genuinely concerned about why people may be misunderstanding the law, he could start by looking in the mirror. Under persistent questioning on ABC News’s “This Week” on Sunday morning, Mr. Pence insisted that the law “is not about discrimination,” but about “empowering people.”

That claim is impossible to square with his refusal to consider a statewide law protecting gays and lesbians from discrimination (about a dozen Indiana cities, including most of the largest ones, already have such laws).

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  1. bamboozer says:

    “Religious Freedom” is yet another contrived term, the result is discrimination , and that is the intent. Indiana’s law high lights this. As for war with Iran it will be a rare defeat for the Military Industrial Complex and the politicians it owns, both Republicans and Dems. Memory of Iraq and Afghanistan is too fresh, the taste too bitter, to launch yet another manufactured war in search of yet more profit. This time even the rank and file conservatives don’t want, and will not tolerate, another war.

  2. John Manifold says:

    Nigeria just did a Dennis P. Williams.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/01/world/africa/nigeria-election-muhammadu-buhari-goodluck-jonathan.html

    So terrified that they’re throwing in their lot with a professed hard-ass, whatever the baggage.

  3. Which reminds me, Williams was nowhere to be found when the consultants released their recommendations for reforming the Wilmington PD today. His spokesperson said he ‘experienced scheduling conflicts’ which, of course was total bullshit. Especially since he refused to even meet with the consultants:

    http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/local/2015/03/31/markell-crime-report-revamp-wilmington-police-force/70745042/

    It must be said, Williams is a total jerk.

  4. AQC says:

    I think it’s very possible Williams will be a one term mayor.

  5. kavips says:

    On Iran, you can’t really base policy on a misinformed public. We have only been shown the side of Iran which is dominated by their idiot Conservatives. We too have idiot conservatives… in fact they control one branch of our government, and almost have a majority in the third…

    Despite that, they are idiots of the first degree. If we, the greatest nation on the planet cannot control our insane brethren, we must realize that Iran likewise is in a similar boat… They too elected a moderate national leader who presides over a government run by absolutely insane kooks….

    Yet there are half of Iranians who are moderate and even progressive… Like us, sometimes they all come out and vote… and sometimes they don’t….

    Point being, that Americans have only been shown the one side by the sound machine coming from the midEast (Israel). They have no idea that Iran is full of highly rational and sophisticated people as well.

    It is no secret that most nations literally have no idea that rational and sophisticated people live here and almost control most of America… Because our sound machine only talks about our kooks… Cruz, Rubio, Paul, Boehner, McConnell, and all others….

    All of which are crazier than 99% of all Muslim clerics…. Until our press starts calling these kooks, a kook, Americans will continue to be misinformed and not trust Iran to do the right thing….

    For if I were Iranian, and it looked like Republicans might win the White House?….. I’d rush to create a nuclear deterrent too. But if only Democrats ran Washington? I’d say… they’re cool… We don’t need one….