Surprise, surprise! What I’m reading, March 9, 2016 (updated)

Updated for articles on Hillary Clinton and Marco Rubio.


The Horse Race

It might finally be dawning on the so-called “free” traders that “[many] angry white males . . . feel trade has marginalized their jobs and prospects.”[1] What this misses, obviously, is that white men are by no means the only ones concerned with this issue.[2] What Clinton and her supporters fundamentally fail to understand is that the economy very much is also, and has been for a very long time,[3] a feminist issue and an issue for people of color. She fails to understand that as rationales for oppression, class, race, and gender are fundamentally inseparable.[4]

Meanwhile, Emily Crockett exposes abortion rights organizations as having spun Hillary Clinton’s more equivocal answer in a Faux News “Town Hall” on abortions after 20 weeks by claiming that “Clinton told a clearer story about how abortion rights are under attack.” In his response, Bernie Sanders was, at least as Crockett portrays it,[5] much more clear:

“Can you name a single circumstance at any point in a pregnancy in which you would be okay with abortion being illegal?” moderator Bret Baier asked Sanders during his time on stage.

“It’s not a question of me being okay,” Sanders said. “I happen to believe that it is wrong for the government to be telling a woman what to do with her own body.” . . . Sanders pivoted to his frustration with Republicans who want to “get the government off our backs,” yet “somehow on this issue, they want to tell every woman in America what she should do with her body.”

Baier followed up: “I guess the genesis of the question is that there are some Democrats who say after five months, with the exception of the life of the mother or the health of the baby, that perhaps that’s something to look at. You’re saying no.”

Sanders’s answer suggested that he had no interest in haggling over restrictions and exceptions: “I am very strongly pro-choice. That is a decision to be made by the woman, her physician, and her family. That’s my view.”[6]

But abortion rights groups have endorsed Clinton, who is, even by second wave (1960s and 1970s-era) standards, a fraudulent feminist. Sanders pointed to Republican hypocrisy while Clinton said she “[has] been on record in favor of a late pregnancy regulation that would have exceptions for the life and health of the mother.”[7] I might note that in a time when I did vote (I don’t now[8]), I decided I could not vote for Barack Obama because he would also be complicit in limitations.[9]

Gerald F. Seib, “Angry White Males Propel Donald Trump—and Bernie Sanders,” Wall Street Journal, March 8, 2016, http://www.wsj.com/articles/angry-white-males-propel-donald-trumpand-bernie-sanders-1457495579

Emily Crockett, “Clinton and Sanders were asked about abortion. Their answers weren’t the same,” Vox, March 9, 2016, http://www.vox.com/2016/3/9/11181870/clinton-sanders-abortion-questions-fox

Nolan D. McCaskill, “GOP superlawyer on contested convention rule: ‘In fact, that’s not a rule,'” Politico, March 9, 2016, http://www.politico.com/blogs/2016-gop-primary-live-updates-and-results/2016/03/ben-ginsberg-republican-contested-convention-rules-220499

Héctor Tobar, “Latinos’ Slow-Burn Anger,” New York Times, March 9, 2016, http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/09/opinion/latinos-slow-burn-anger.html


‘Brexit’

Deutschewelle, “Buckingham Palace complains to press watchdog over Brexit article,” March 9, 2016, http://www.dw.com/en/buckingham-palace-complains-to-press-watchdog-over-brexit-article/a-19104688


Hillary Clinton

Here’s what I’m seeing with Bill Curry: He writes that “thinking only tactically makes you a bad tactician.”[10] And I agree, but one also has to pay some attention to, though I loathe saying it, poll numbers, history, and the fact that a significant portion of the population is basically satisfied with the status quo.

One of the theories I looked into when I was exploring radical social change—even revolution—is critical mass theory. No one is quite sure how large a portion of the population is required to form a ‘critical mass’ that can prevail against the elites (functionalist conservatives) and I’m inclined to think that at least until we get to violent asymmetric conflict on a large scale, technology tends to magnify elite advantages (for example, with domestic spying) simply because the government can afford bigger machines and many more of them than the insurgency. More classically, there are all sorts of complications about what people believe versus what they say, what they’re willing to do about it, and how they decide to switch sides—often simply because they want to be on the winning side or fear being on the losing side, which in turn involve all sorts of judgments about how people judge which side is stronger or will ultimately prevail.

For instance, I am critical of abortion rights groups above because they have become spokespeople for Hillary Clinton. As much as I care about abortion rights, I feel I can no longer support these groups because I can no longer respect Clinton who, as Curry puts it, “[comes] off as entitled, presumptuous and condescending,”[11] or her supporters. I can understand why these groups have chosen to endorse her: They think they’ve chosen the winning horse and they are seeking to gain influence with her. But I cannot bring myself to respect that decision, in part because I see Clinton as part of the entitled establishment whose neglect virtually ensures I will never again find employment. The price of the status quo is one I can’t afford and I would be just as unemployed under a Republican as I am under mainstream Democrats.

So I have an interest in change, even change as limited as that which Bernie Sanders advocates. In my personal cost-benefit analysis, I only lose with Clinton, an erstwhile “Goldwater Girl,”[12] or the Republicans. I simply can’t care that much whether Clinton or a Republican wins because I don’t see enough of a difference between them to make a difference in my life. But with Sanders, I have a bare glimmer of hope, not enough hope to overcome my disdain for the two-party system[13] and of the electoral system to actually vote,[14] but a bare glimmer of hope nonetheless. In the context of critical mass theory, therefore, I may be sympathetic with the Sanders ‘insurgency,’ but I am not motivated to take action, in large part because I suspect that even if he climbs that incredibly steep hill to the White House, he won’t be able to effect real change on anything like the scale I need. Which is to say, I think the elites would prevail even with a President Sanders.

Other folks, especially those abortion rights groups or, for that matter, pretty much anybody making a decent living in the present order, may weigh that decision differently. Social justice just isn’t that pressing an issue for them. To them, Sanders poses a risk. To back him, they need to be persuaded that it is in their interest to do so. And right now, the establishment seems like a better bet. Even authoritarian populist hero Donald Trump might be a better bet, because they’re quite cozy with neoliberalism and it’s probably a safe bet that despite his rhetoric, there’s some reason to doubt that he would upset that apple cart too much.[15]

And in critical mass theory, it’s all about how many people weigh that decision which way and whether an insurgency gains enough popular support to overcome the forces aligned with the establishment. Howard Zinn effectively nods to this theory when he suggests that the history of the U.S. is largely about elites giving as little as they can to as few people as they can get away with to prevent an insurrection from succeeding. In this drama, blood has occasionally been shed as riots compel the elites to calibrate their response.[16]

In this calculation, I think Curry may be being too optimistic. He might be right, but it’s also worth noting that he was wrong in forecasting the imminent demise of Trump.[17]

Bill Curry, “It should be over for Hillary: Party elites and MSNBC can’t prop her up after Bernie’s Michigan miracle,” Salon, March 9, 2016, http://www.salon.com/2016/03/09/it_should_be_over_for_hillary_party_elites_and_msnbc_cant_prop_her_up_after_bernies_michigan_miracle/


Marco Rubio

Doomed.

Arturo Garcia, “CNN reveals sad state of Rubio campaign: Stadium rally on his ‘home turf’ draws next to nobody,” Raw Story, March 9, 2016, http://www.rawstory.com/2016/03/cnn-reveals-sad-state-of-rubio-campaign-stadium-rally-on-his-home-turf-draws-next-to-nobody/

Katherine Krueger, “Rubio Is Speaking To A Nearly Empty Florida Stadium,” Talking Points Memo, March 9, 2016, http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/cnn-rubio-florida-empty-stadium


  1. [1]Gerald F. Seib, “Angry White Males Propel Donald Trump—and Bernie Sanders,” Wall Street Journal, March 8, 2016, http://www.wsj.com/articles/angry-white-males-propel-donald-trumpand-bernie-sanders-1457495579
  2. [2]Jill Abramson, “‘Hillary, can you excite us?’: The trouble with Clinton and young women,” Guardian, January 24, 2016, http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/commentisfree/2016/jan/24/hillary-clinton-young-women-voters-jill-abramson; Michelle Alexander, “Why Hillary Clinton Doesn’t Deserve the Black Vote,” Nation, February 10, 2016, http://www.thenation.com/article/hillary-clinton-does-not-deserve-black-peoples-votes/; Dana Bolger, “Dear New York Times: The Real Reason Young Feminists Reject Hillary,” Feministing, December 17, 2015, http://feministing.com/2015/12/17/dear-new-york-times-the-real-reason-young-feminists-reject-hillary/; Amy Chozick and Yamiche Alcindor, “Moms and Daughters Debate Gender Factor in Hillary Clinton’s Bid,” New York Times, December 12, 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/13/us/politics/moms-and-daughters-debate-gender-factor-in-hillary-clintons-bid.html; Ta-Nehisi Coates, “Against Endorsements,” Atlantic, February 10, 2016, http://www.theatlantic.com/notes/2016/02/against-endorsements/462261/; Liza Featherstone, “Hillary Clinton’s Faux Feminism,” Truthout, February 28, 2016, http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/35006-hillary-clinton-s-faux-feminism; Husna Haq, “Are white women abandoning Hillary Clinton?” Christian Science Monitor, August 4, 2015, http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2015/0804/Are-white-women-abandoning-Hillary-Clinton; Bradford Richardson, “Gloria Steinem: Young women support Sanders to attract men,” Hill, February 6, 2016, http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/dem-primaries/268498-gloria-steinem-young-women-support-sanders-to-attract-men; Gail Sheehy, “The Women Who Should Love Hillary Clinton,” New York Times, January 29, 2016, http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/31/opinion/campaign-stops/why-dont-boomer-women-like-hillary-clinton.html; Donna Smith, “An Open Letter to Hillary Clinton from One Progressive Woman,” Common Dreams, January 23, 2016, http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/01/23/open-letter-hillary-clinton-one-progressive-woman; Karen Tumulty, “Poll: Sharp erosion in Clinton support among Democratic women,” Washington Post, September 14, 2015, http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/poll-sharp-erosion-in-clinton-support-among-democratic-women/2015/09/14/6406e2a0-58c3-11e5-b8c9-944725fcd3b9_story.html; Cornel West, “Why Brother Bernie Is Better for Black People Than Sister Hillary,” Politico, February 13, 2016, http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/02/bernie-sanders-african-americans-cornel-west-hillary-clinton-213627
  3. [3]Thomas Shapiro, ed., Great Divides: Readings in Social Inequality in the United States, 3rd ed. (Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2005).
  4. [4]Scott Sernau, Worlds Apart: Social Inequalities in a Global Economy, 2nd ed. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge, 2006).
  5. [5]Emily Crockett, “Clinton and Sanders were asked about abortion. Their answers weren’t the same,” Vox, March 9, 2016, http://www.vox.com/2016/3/9/11181870/clinton-sanders-abortion-questions-fox
  6. [6]Emily Crockett, “Clinton and Sanders were asked about abortion. Their answers weren’t the same,” Vox, March 9, 2016, http://www.vox.com/2016/3/9/11181870/clinton-sanders-abortion-questions-fox
  7. [7]Emily Crockett, “Clinton and Sanders were asked about abortion. Their answers weren’t the same,” Vox, March 9, 2016, http://www.vox.com/2016/3/9/11181870/clinton-sanders-abortion-questions-fox
  8. [8]David Benfell, “Why I do not vote,” Not Housebroken, February 25, 2016, https://disunitedstates.org/?p=8743
  9. [9]David Benfell, “No way,” Not Housebroken, July 9, 2008, https://disunitedstates.org/?p=1916
  10. [10]Bill Curry, “It should be over for Hillary: Party elites and MSNBC can’t prop her up after Bernie’s Michigan miracle,” Salon, March 9, 2016, http://www.salon.com/2016/03/09/it_should_be_over_for_hillary_party_elites_and_msnbc_cant_prop_her_up_after_bernies_michigan_miracle/
  11. [11]Bill Curry, “It should be over for Hillary: Party elites and MSNBC can’t prop her up after Bernie’s Michigan miracle,” Salon, March 9, 2016, http://www.salon.com/2016/03/09/it_should_be_over_for_hillary_party_elites_and_msnbc_cant_prop_her_up_after_bernies_michigan_miracle/
  12. [12]Robert Scheer, “Go Ahead, Back Hillary Clinton and Forget All About Her Record,” Truthdig, October 9, 2015, http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/go_ahead_back_hillary_clinton_and_forget_all_about_her_record_20151009
  13. [13]David Benfell, “A pox on both your parties,” Not Housebroken, February 27, 2016, https://disunitedstates.org/?p=8785
  14. [14]David Benfell, “Why I do not vote,” Not Housebroken, February 25, 2016, https://disunitedstates.org/?p=8743
  15. [15]Michael Barbaro and Ashley Parker, “The Party of Bush Yields, Warily, to a New Face: Donald Trump,” New York Times, February 20, 2016, http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/21/us/politics/bush-family-donald-trump.html; Jeet Heer, “Donald Trump Is Not a Populist. He’s the Voice of Aggrieved Privilege,” New Republic, August 24, 2015, http://www.newrepublic.com/article/122590/if-you-think-donald-trump-populist-you-dont-know-your-history; Dana Milbank, “Republican elites surrender to Trump,” Washington Post, January 22, 2016, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/republican-elites-surrender-to-trump/2016/01/22/32d06fee-c10a-11e5-83d4-42e3bceea902_story.html; Jonathan Swan, “Donors changing tune on Trump,” Hill, January 20, 2016, http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/266389-donors-changing-their-tune-on-donald-trump
  16. [16]Howard Zinn, A People’s History of the United States: 1492-Present (New York: HarperPerennial, 2005).
  17. [17]Bill Curry, “Hillary’s in danger, Trump is sunk: The hard truths America is ignoring this election season,” Salon, August 17, 2015, http://www.salon.com/2015/08/17/hillarys_in_danger_trump_is_sunk_the_hard_truths_america_is_ignoring_this_election_season_thanks_to_th

Bernie Sanders tries to pull his foot out of his mouth: What I’m reading, March 8, 2016 (updated)

Updated for primary election results and the FBI still being, well, the FBI.

There were additions to yesterday’s newsletter, but I forgot to update the publication time, so a notice didn’t go out.

CNN is projecting that Ted Cruz will win Idaho. Hawaii results are still outstanding.


Bernie Sanders

Danny Freeman, “Bernie Sanders Attempts to Clarify ‘Ghetto’ Comment,” NBC News, March 7, 2016, http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/bernie-sanders-attempts-clarify-ghetto-comment-n533466


Learning Management Systems

Michael Feldstein, “What’s Really to Blame for the Failures of Our Learning-Management Systems,” Chronicle of Higher Education, March 8, 2016, http://chronicle.com/article/What-s-Really-to-Blame-for/235620/


Donald Trump

The establishment is digging up the dirt on Donald Trump and the mainstream media, being controlled by those same functionalist conservatives, are putting it out. We’ll see what happens when they turn their attention to Hillary Clinton.

Corinne Ruff, “‘Trump U.’ Draws Unflattering Spotlight to the Candidate as Fraud Cases Move Forward,” Chronicle of Higher Education, March 3, 2016, http://chronicle.com/article/Trump-U-Draws/235573

S. A. Miller, “Trump stiffed casino builders as he spent $1 million per week on personal expenses,” Washington Times, March 7, 2016, http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/mar/7/donald-trump-stiffed-casino-builders-while-spendin/

Julia Preston, “More Latinos Seek Citizenship to Vote Against Trump,” New York Times, March 7, 2016, http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/08/us/trumps-rise-spurs-latino-immigrants-to-naturalize-to-vote-against-him.html

Jesse Byrnes, “Better Business Bureau: Trump University had D-minus rating in final year,” Hill, March 8, 2016, http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/272227-better-business-bureau-trump-university-receive-multiple

Alex Isenstadt, “Worried GOP scrambles to adjust odds against Trump,” Politico, March 8, 2016, http://www.politico.com/story/2016/03/donald-trump-gop-convention-scramble-220469


Control of Congress

The Hill is out with an attention-grabbing headline, but the short answer is, no, the Senate is much more likely to change control than the House, and I’m so convinced the Democrats are losers, I’m skeptical even about that.

Scott Wong, “Could Trump nomination put House up for grabs?” Hill, March 8, 2016, http://thehill.com/homenews/house/272145-could-house-be-up-for-grabs


Superbugs

Melody Petersen, “Deadly superbugs from hospitals get stronger in the sewers and could end up in the Pacific Ocean,” Los Angeles Times, March 7, 2016, http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-superbug-sewers-20160307-story.html


The Drought

Robinson Meyer, “Is El Niño Finally Ending California’s Drought?” Atlantic, March 7, 2016, http://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/03/rain-bay-area-el-nino-california-drought/472482/


Marco Rubio

This seems a bit odd to me. Rubio is allegedly the establishment favorite to stop Donald Trump, but I don’t see John Kasich coming under anywhere near this much pressure to withdraw. They might be resigning themselves to Ted Cruz, in which case, we can very strongly suspect that they’ll resign themselves to Donald Trump when the time comes.

Ed O’Keefe, Robert Costa, and Paul Kane, “Some supporters of Rubio say bad strategy, poorly run campaign killing his chances,” Washington Post, March 6, 2016, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/bad-strategy-poorly-run-campaign-are-killing-marco-rubios-chances/2016/03/06/d9a77e54-e246-11e5-846c-10191d1fc4ec_story.html


Melissa Click

So I’m a conservative now because I don’t agree with Melissa Click and do agree with the university’s decision to fire her ass? That’s sure an interesting criterion for conservatism. And the American Association of University Professors ought to be ashamed of itself for claiming “Click’s reinstatement is ‘the only acceptable resolution’” at the same time it is allegedly “opening” an investigation.[1] Suffice it to say, we already know how this “investigation” will turn out.

Rio Fernandes, “Melissa Click Says She Was Scapegoated, as AAUP Opens Investigation,” Chronicle of Higher Education, March 8, 2016, http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/melissa-click-says-she-was-scapegoated-as-aaup-launches-investigation/109304


The Tech Boom

David Streitfeld, “In San Francisco and Rooting for a Tech Comeuppance,” New York Times, March 8, 2016, http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/09/technology/in-san-francisco-and-rooting-for-a-tech-slowdown.html


The FBI

Lauren McCauley, “45 Years After COINTELPRO, FBI Still Thinks ‘Dissent is the Enemy,'” Common Dreams, March 8, 2016, http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/03/08/45-years-after-cointelpro-fbi-still-thinks-dissent-enemy


The Horse Race

Dylan Matthews, “2 winners and 3 losers from Tuesday night’s primaries,” Vox, March 8, 2016, http://www.vox.com/2016/3/8/11184296/winners-losers-michigan-mississippi-trump-sanders


Hillary Clinton

Sarah Wheaton, “Clinton pre-empted by Trump, frustrated in Michigan,” Politico, March 8, 2016, http://www.politico.com/blogs/2016-dem-primary-live-updates-and-results/2016/03/clinton-pre-empted-trump-michigan-220466


  1. [1]Rio Fernandes, “Melissa Click Says She Was Scapegoated, as AAUP Opens Investigation,” Chronicle of Higher Education, March 8, 2016, http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/melissa-click-says-she-was-scapegoated-as-aaup-launches-investigation/109304

Michael Bloomberg won’t run: What I’m reading, March 7, 2016 (updated)

Updated with stories about Marco Rubio possibly being advised to drop out before Florida to duck a humiliating defeat and Hillary Clinton’s appearance on Faux News.


Michael Bloomberg

As Bruce Ackerman argued in the Los Angeles Times, a split in the electoral college denying any candidate the required 270 votes would turn the decision over to Congress,[1] which, as Bloomberg now sees it, would hand the presidency to the Republican candidate, that is, Donald Trump or Ted Cruz.

Michael R. Bloomberg, “The Risk I Will Not Take,” Bloomberg, March 7, 2016, http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2016-03-07/the-2016-election-risk-that-michael-bloomberg-won-t-take


Supercookies

The FCC doesn’t think they’re so tasty.

Cecilia Kang, “Verizon Settles With F.C.C. Over Hidden Tracking,” New York Times, March 7, 2016, http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/08/technology/verizon-settles-with-fcc-over-hidden-tracking.html


Marco Rubio

Sara Jerde, “CNN: Some Of Rubio’s Aides Are Suggesting He Drop Out Before Florida,” Talking Points Memo, March 7, 2016, http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/rubio-aides-suggesting-drop-out-florida


Hillary Clinton

Clinton is still denying that classified information was sent or received on her email server and, as I have said before, the Republicans will not let go of this issue.

Gabriel Debenedetti and Hadas Gold, “Hillary Clinton gets the Fox News treatment,” Politico, March 7, 2016, http://www.politico.com/story/2016/03/hillary-clinton-fox-news-220399

Sara Jerde, “Fox News Host Grills Clinton At Town Hall On Her Email Server Use,” Talking Points Memo, March 7, 2016, http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/fox-host-grills-clinton-emails

  1. [1]Bruce Ackerman, “A presidential run by Michael Bloomberg could plunge the country into a constitutional crisis,” Los Angeles Times, February 25, 2016, http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-0225-ackerman-12th-amendment-bloomberg-20160225-story.html

Hillary Clinton’s emails are not going away: What I’m reading, March 6, 2016

Hillary Clinton

That Hillary Clinton sent classified emails undercuts a key defense and prompts an update to my post on her electability. Meanwhile, a Wall Street Journal editorial makes clear that Republicans will make this a campaign issue in a way that Bernie Sanders refused to do.

Wall Street Journal, “Clinton’s Email Jeopardy,” March 4, 2016, http://www.wsj.com/articles/clintons-email-jeopardy-1457136207

Rosalind S. Helderman and Tom Hamburger, “Clinton, on her private server, wrote 104 emails the government says are classified,” Washington Post, March 5, 2016, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/clinton-on-her-private-server-wrote-104-emails-the-government-says-are-classified/2016/03/05/11e2ee06-dbd6-11e5-81ae-7491b9b9e7df_story.html

 

Once again, I am a terrorist: What I’m reading, March 5, 2016

Updated first with an additional story on the immunity granted in the Clinton email investigation and with election results, then second with a revised version of the New York Times story on the election results and a Politico story which assumes Bernie Sanders is no longer in the race to win.


The ever broader definition of terrorism

Paranoia knows no limits.

Sarah Lazare, “The FBI Has a New Plan to Spy on High School Students Across the Country,” Truthdig, March 4, 2016, http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_fbi_has_a_new_plan_to_spy_on_high_school_students_20160304


Donald Trump

Last-ditch attempts to stop Trump are backfiring badly. That includes Marco Rubio’s suggestion that Trump has small hands (and therefore . . .).

Joel Pett, San Francisco Chronicle, March 5, 2016, fair use.
Joel Pett, San Francisco Chronicle, March 5, 2016, fair use.

Stephen Dinan, “Donald Trump endorsers derided as ‘sellouts,’ ‘traitors’ and worse — by fellow Republicans,” Washington Times, March 3, 2016, http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/mar/3/donald-trump-endorsers-derided-as-sellouts-traitor/

Michael Barbaro, Ashley Parker, and Jonathan Martin, “Rank and File Republicans Tell Party Elites: We’re Sticking With Donald Trump,” New York Times, March 4, 2016, http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/05/us/politics/donald-trump-republican-party.html

Bill Berkowitz, “Are Right-Wing Evangelicals True Christians or Just Another White Identity Cult?” Truthout, March 4, 2016, http://truth-out.org/buzzflash/commentary/are-evangelicals-true-christians-or-just-another-white-identity-cult

James Poniewozik, “A National Descent Into Trump’s Pants,” New York Times, March 4, 2016, http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/05/arts/television/a-national-descent-into-trumps-pants.html

Ben Fountain, “American crossroads: Reagan, Trump and the devil down south,” Guardian, March 5, 2016, http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/mar/05/trump-reagan-nixon-republican-party-racism

Ben Kamisar, “How the GOP could stop Trump at the convention,” Hill, March 5, 2016, http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/271877-how-the-gop-could-stop-trump-at-the-convention


Hillary Clinton

Michael Ramirez Washington Times, March 5, 2016, fair use.
Michael Ramirez, Washington Times, March 5, 2016, fair use.

Max Lewontin, “Clinton staffer given immunity in e-mail inquiry: sign of charges to come?” Christian Science Monitor, March 3, 2016, http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2016/0303/Clinton-staffer-given-immunity-in-e-mail-inquiry-sign-of-charges-to-come-video

Valerie Richardson, “Pagliano’s immunity deal could indicate grand jury probe into Clinton email server,” Washington Times, March 3, 2016, http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/mar/3/brian-paglianos-immunity-deal-could-indicate-hilla/

Katie Bo Williams and Cory Bennett, “Immunity deal raises stakes in Clinton email investigation,” Hill, March 3, 2016, http://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/271718-immunity-deal-raises-stakes-in-clinton-email-investigation


The Horse Race

Benjamin Wallace-Wells, “No One Here Can Save the G.O.P.,” New Yorker, March 4, 2016, http://www.newyorker.com/news/benjamin-wallace-wells/no-one-here-can-save-the-g-o-p

David Smith, “Hillary Clinton v Donald Trump: the looming battle for the soul of America,” Guardian, March 5, 2016, http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/mar/05/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-gereral-election-battle-american-future

Annie Karni, “Bernie bogs down Hillary,” Politico, March 5, 2016, http://www.politico.com/story/2016/03/democratic-primaries-2016-bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-220314

Jonathan Martin, “Cruz Keeps Up Pressure on Trump; Sanders Takes 2 on ‘Super Saturday,’” New York Times, March 5, 2016, http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/06/us/politics/primary-elections.html

Authoritarians, Right-Wing Authoritarians, and Authoritarian Populists: What I’m reading, March 4, 2016

Welcome to my new vehicle for my more-or-less daily newsletter.

For some time now, I’ve been sending out a listing of most of the stories I’ve been archiving as a way of sharing them. There are a number of limitations with that format that I’ve been feeling keenly. A WordPress blog just seems like a more comfortable place to compose: I can insert footnotes or images where I feel the need, I can leave the page open all day (and it will be automatically backed up every so often), and I can easily get in to edit the HTML to better control the format.

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Donald Trump

Vox has published an article which, based on recent scholarly work, appears to suggest a link between what it calls ‘authoritarianism,’ which I think is the same thing as what political psychologists call right-wing authoritarianism (RWA), and authoritarian populism.[1] Unsurprisingly, I have some comments.

First, the author seems to lack a historical understanding of authoritarian populism. This is by no means a recent phenomenon but has been a major force in U.S. politics since the beginning. In Colin Woodard’s scheme of eleven nations, I associate authoritarian populists with Greater Appalachia from which it’s clear they caused trouble for the Midlands folks in Pennsylvania, proved an unreliable ally for the Deep South slaveholders (probably Southern traditionalist conservatives), and I think they also caused trouble for the Tidewater elites (probably functionalist conservatives).[2] When James Madison was concerned about poor people violently envying the rich,[3] I suspect he had Greater Appalachians folks in mind.

I don’t agree that authoritarian populists cannot win a general election. The article suggests that even some non-authoritarians may start acting like authoritarians when under sufficient pressure[4] and despite mainstream media and economists’ denial,[5] there are a lot of people under severe pressure, as I argue here.

If, however, the link between right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) and authoritarian populism holds up, then first, RWA can no longer be dismissed as an extreme personality trait but must be regarded as something much more common within the population; and second, if authoritarian populists would embrace a federal government run by Trump and his ilk rather than despising it as they do now,[6] then the path to a fascist takeover (to the extent it hasn’t already happened) becomes a lot more clear.

Amanda Taub, “The rise of American authoritarianism,” Vox, March 1, 2016, http://www.vox.com/2016/3/1/11127424/trump-authoritarianism

Molly Ball, “The Trump Tipping Point,” Atlantic, March 2, 2016, http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/03/the-trump-tipping-point/471840/


The Horse Race

Apparently there are several reasons for doubting polls that show Bernie Sanders with a larger advantage over Republicans than Hillary Clinton. My argument remains here. Meanwhile, the Republican National Committee chairperson strongly doubts there will be a brokered convention.

Nick Gass, “RNC chairman: 85-90 percent chance of no brokered convention,” Politico, March 4, 2016, http://www.politico.com/blogs/2016-gop-primary-live-updates-and-results/2016/03/reince-priebus-brokered-convention-220260

Jeff Stein, “Bernie Sanders fans insist he’s more electable than Hillary Clinton. Are they right?” Vox, March 4, 2016, http://www.vox.com/2016/3/4/11158110/bernie-sanders-electability-clinton


Marco Rubio

Marco Rubio, the last establishment hope, has been slow to get his campaign off the ground in his home state and is apparently losing so far.

Marc Caputo, “Rubio scrambles to undo Trump in Florida,” Politico, March 4, 2016, http://www.politico.com/story/2016/03/rubio-scrambles-to-undo-trump-in-florida-220243


Ben Carson

Ben Carson finally figures out how to end it.

Kurtis Lee, “Ben Carson ends his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination,” Los Angeles Times, March 4, 2016, http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/la-na-ben-carson-ends-candidacy-20160304-story.html


The Economy


Unemployment data has been updated here. The employment-to-population rate remains at levels not seen since the 1970s and 1980s, the labor force participation rate remains at levels not seen since the 1970s, and we’re all supposed to celebrate President Obama’s handling of the economy.

Here, a New York Times editor tries to defend the Obama administration’s handling of the economy by blaming it on Republican obstruction. Nonsense. Obama and his administration have been complicit with Republicans in neoliberal policy since no later than November, 2009, when he said of the dire need for job creation, “We all know that there are limits to what government can and should do, even during such difficult times,”[7] differing only in the details of how much to starve the economy, how much to cut the social safety net, and how much to further line wealthy pockets, especially in the pharmaceutical industry.

Teresa Tritch, “The Road Not Taken to Better Jobs and Higher Pay,” New York Times, March 4, 2016, http://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/03/04/the-road-not-taken-to-better-jobs-and-higher-pay/

  1. [1]Amanda Taub, “The rise of American authoritarianism,” Vox, March 1, 2016, http://www.vox.com/2016/3/1/11127424/trump-authoritarianism
  2. [2]Colin Woodard, American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America (New York: Penguin, 2011).
  3. [3]James Madison, “Federalist No. 10,” in The Federalist Papers, ed. Garry Wills (1982; repr., New York: Bantam, 2003).
  4. [4]Amanda Taub, “The rise of American authoritarianism,” Vox, March 1, 2016, http://www.vox.com/2016/3/1/11127424/trump-authoritarianism
  5. [5]Ben Casselman, “The Economy Is Better — Why Don’t Voters Believe It?” FiveThirtyEight, November 12, 2015, http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-economy-is-better-why-dont-voters-believe-it/
  6. [6]Thomas Frank, What’s the Matter with Kansas? (New York: Henry Holt, 2005).
  7. [7]Barack Obama, “Remarks by the President on the Economy,” White House, November 12, 2009, http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-economy-jobs-forum

Hillary Clinton doesn’t excite, and other things I’m reading

They say the turnout for the primaries doesn’t reflect turnout for the general election. Perhaps. But Hillary Clinton is relying on fear that “the other guy is worse” rather than generating enthusiasm in her own right. At least Barack Obama did the latter.

Nicholas Confessore, “Beneath Hillary Clinton’s Super Tuesday Wins, Signs of Turnout Trouble,” New York Times, March 2, 2016, http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/03/us/politics/hillary-clinton-voter-turnout.html

Stephen Ohlemacher and Steve Peoples, “AP Delegate Count: Trump Not Yet On Track To Win GOP Nomination,” Talking Points Memo, March 2, 2016, http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/associated-press-delegate-count-trumpination

https://parts-unknown.org/drupal7/content/2016s-presidential-race-winner-will-be-0


Getting rid of Bashar al-Assad probably would simplify the situation. The real problem, which would be this author’s response, is that the U.S. has a terrible track record at this sort of thing.

Jeremy Shapiro, “Bashar al-Assad is a monster. But getting rid of him won’t fix Syria,” Vox, March 3, 2016, http://www.vox.com/2016/3/3/11139814/assad-monster-syria

https://parts-unknown.org/drupal7/content/obama-international-credibility-line-over-syria-0


She lives for another day:

Courtney Kueppers, “Former Wheaton Professor Who Wore Hijab Will Join UVa Faculty,” Chronicle of Higher Education, March 3, 2016, http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/former-wheaton-professor-who-wore-hijab-will-join-uva-faculty/109163

https://parts-unknown.org/drupal7/content/wheaton-college-ill-suspends-professor-who-donned-hijab-solidarity-muslims-0


Susan Page, “CPAC chief: The odds of Trump’s nomination? 75%,” USA Today, March 2, 2016, http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/03/02/cpac-matt-schlapp-donald-trump/81205348/

Haley Britzky, Luke Barr, and Andrew Dunn, “25 Republicans who won’t back Trump as nominee,” Hill, March 3, 2016, http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/271578-22-republicans-who-wont-back-trump-asinee

Eugene Scott, “Trump denounces David Duke, KKK,” CNN, March 3, 2016, http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/03/politics/donald-trump-disavows-david-duke-kkk/index.html

https://parts-unknown.org/drupal7/content/trump-paid-actors-cheer-his-2016-launch-report-0