USApp Managing Editor, Chris Gilson looks at the best in political blogging from around the Beltway

Gilson, Chris

LSE Research Online

blogs.lse.ac.ukhttp://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2015/04/24/omalley-moves-to-the-left-lynch-is-confirmed-as-attorney-general-and-the-huge-cost-of-gun-violence-us-national-blog-round-up-for-18-24-april/Official White House Photo by Pete SouzaO’Malley moves to the left, Lynch is confirmed as AttorneyGeneral, and the huge cost of gun violence: US national bloground up for 18 – 24 AprilUSApp Managing Editor, Chris Gilson looks at the best in political blogging from around the Beltway. Our round-up of state blogs will follow on Saturday afternoon. President Obama, the Democratic Party, and the GOPOn Tuesday this week, PoliticusUSAreports that thanks to a growing economy,President Obama’s approval rating of 48percent is at its highest level since May2013. They comment that Obama is aspopular as President Ronald Reagan wasat the same time in his second term. OnFriday, Townhall looks at another poll withmuch more negative news for thePresident. They say that only 28 percentof Americans are satisfied with thecountry’s direction, which they attribute toObama’s tenure being an ‘unending rantin favor of high taxes’. President Obamahas garnered a great deal of criticism from those on the right for his use of executive actions in recent months.Crooks & Liars takes the opposite line, praising the administration for its plans to draft new rules on who qualifiesfor overtime compensation. The new regulations will force more businesses to pay time and a half to people whowork more than 40 hours a week.Moving on to the Republican Party, Roll Call’s At the Races reports on Monday that the National RepublicanCongressional Committee (NRCC) raised $10.3 million in March, $2.1 million more than its Democraticcounterpart. They say that it brings the NRCC’s cash in hand to nearly $7 million, and no debt – something whichis rare for a party this early in the cycle. Wonkblog uses the example of Senator Marco Rubio’s (R-FL) frustratedefforts to get his party to support comprehensive immigration reform to illustrate how hard it is for the RepublicanParty to advance policy. Political Animal , meanwhile writes that Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) has called fellowRepublican Senators, Lindsay Graham (SC) and John McCain (AZ), ‘lapdogs’ for President Obama’s foreignpolicy, in response to accusations from some members of the GOP that he is an ‘isolationist’.Elections and the road to 2016 Looking ahead to the 2016 elections for the House of Representatives, Roll Call’s At the Races comments on thecandidates who are hoping to follow in their parent’s footsteps by winning House elections.  They say that thereare currently 18 members who had a mother or father who served in Congress before them and that the new setof candidates are likely to take advantage of name recognition and an existing donor base.The fact that the 2016 presidential election is more than 560 days away has not diminished the appetite forcommentary and predictions on the race and its outcome. The Monkey Cage this week offers a very honestresponse to what many journalists are asking about the election – they key point being that, at this early stage,very little is certain. Daily Kos also weighs in on the 2016 election, writing Sunday that the election is not about thepresidency. Instead, they say, it’s about the Supreme Court, given that the next president is likely to nominateFormer Governor of Maryland, Martin O’Malley Credit: Maryland GovPics (Flickr, CC-BY-2.0)several new justices.Turning to the Republican 2016 field, on Saturday, Outside the Beltway writes that former Arkansas Governor,Mike Huckabee has announced that he would be making an announcement about his presidential plans in earlyMay. They say if Huckabee does run, then he will have his work cut out for him given that other candidates suchas Ted Cruz and Rand Paul will be competing for the social conservative vote.On Monday, Americablog looks at another likely GOP presidential candidate, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.They report that conservative ‘megadonors’ Charles and David Koch have stated that they are ready to backWalker’s White House bid ahead of other likely opponents. The Koch brothers are reportedly budgeting nearly$900 million for the 2016 election cycle. Staying on Walker, Wonkblog writes that this week he appears to havecompletely reversed his position on immigration policy. They comment that while two years ago, he was arguingfor a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, he has now suggested that legal immigration may bedepressing native-born wages.Some commentators have suggested that Florida’s Senator Marco Rubio and former Governor Jeb Bush mayhave an advantage in the Sunshine State if they were to gain the GOP’s 2016 presidential nomination. NationalJournal reckons that neither can count on Florida, given the state’s changing demographics, and the decline inimportance of Cuba as a polarizing issue for voters in the state.On Tuesday, The Atlantic  looks at the position of potential Republican candidates on gay marriage. Theycomment that a handful of contenders, including Marco Rubio and Scott Walker, have stated that even thoughthey oppose gay marriage, they would still attend a gay wedding. Opposition to same-sex marriage appears to bea losing fight for the GOP, especially with the Supreme Court likely to rule on the matter later this summer.Moving on to the Democratic bench for the2016 election, Political Animal  this weekcomments on the ‘draft De Blasio’movement, after a report that the Mayor ofNew York was positioning himself as aprogressive alternative to Hillary Clinton,They say that even if the report is untrue(which it likely is), we have to wonder whyanyone would consider Bill de Blasio tohave a legitimate shot at the nominationgiven that no previous New York mayorshave gained the presidency. Hit & Runlooks at an actual likely contender for theDemocratic nomination, the formerGovernor of Maryland, Martin O’Malley.They write that O’Malley seems to be moving further to the left by pushing for expanded Social Security benefits,and a $15 per hour minimum wage. They say that his strategy appears to be working, with him getting moremedia attention that other ‘prospective anti-Clintons’ such as Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and former VirginiaSenator, Jim Webb.Turning to Hillary Clinton herself, The Federalist wonders if Americans want to live in her’ village’, marking twodecades since the publication of her book, ‘It Takes a Village’. They say that we now may finally get a chance tosee what Clinton’s ‘village’ will look like, and that she wishes to rule it, and that it does not have anything to do withempowering people.  On Monday, Outside the Beltway comments that the growing questions over the influence offoreign donations to the Clinton Foundation could hurt Clinton’s campaign, ahead of the publication of a bookwhich investigates these donations.Government, the Beltway and Congress’ agenda On Monday, PoliticusUSA reports that the Supreme Court has vacated the North Carolina State Supreme Court’sdecision to uphold 2011 electoral maps drawn up the Republican legislature. They say that the Supreme Court’sHarry Reid Credit: Ralph Alswang, Center for American Progress Action Fund (CC-BY-SA-2.0)decision matches its ruling in a similar case concerning Alabama in March.The Daily Signal this week says that a new report from the House Ways and Means Committee has found that theInternal Revenue Service deliberately cut funding for customer service. The report’s GOP authors have alsostated that its findings raise serious questions about the nature of the agency’s budget crisis, and that it hasmisused $60 million of its funding.The big news out of the U.S. Senate this week is the confirmation of Loretta Lynch as the first African-Americanwoman Attorney-General, after a wait of 166 days. The Atlantic writes that Senate Majority Leader MitchMcConnell (R-KY) had made Lynch wait until the Senate resolved an abortion dispute in an anti-trafficking bill.Outside the Beltway says that after railing against Lynch’s nomination (citing her ‘lawlessness’), Senator Ted Cruzof Texas missed the vote on her confirmation due to his attendance of a presidential fundraiser in Las Vegas.A deal to give President Obama tradepromotion authority is working its waythrough Congress, having cleared theSenate’s Finance Committee on Wednesday.White House Dossier reports that SenateMinority Leader, Harry Reid, has stated thathis position on the bill is not only ‘No’, but‘Hell no’. Wonkblog points out that one of theamendments proposed to the bill while it wasin committee would prevent Congress fromfast tracking treaties with countries that theState Department considered to be out ofcompliance with international standards onhuman trafficking. That list currently includesMalaysia, which could be problematic as it isalso a party to the Trans-Pacific Partnershipwhich is being negotiated.On Thursday, Americablog reports that a cook in the Senate’s cafeteria, Bertrand Olotara, has gone on strike overhis $12 an hour wage. Olotara has stated that the wage is not enough for him to support himself in WashingtonD.C. They say that the strike raises the question of why the U.S. government is contracting out labor to a foreigncompany. Foreign policy, defense and trade This week Political Animal  presents two national defense stories – the first, on the cost overruns for thePentagon’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter project which has been plagued by software bugs and hardware problems,and the second, the recent landing of a gyrocopter by a Florida mailman protesting campaign finance on theCapitol lawn. They say that conservative politicians should be looking askance at the tremendous amount ofmoney wasted by the Pentagon, but they actually prefer taking privileges away from those on welfare instead.Staying on military matters, Americablog reports that potential GOP presidential candidate; Mike Huckabee hasstated that young people who are currently considering joining the military should wait until 2017, when theoccupant will be friendlier towards Christians. His attitude apparently stems from the ‘promotion’ of gay rights inthe military.On Monday, RedState says that Iran is getting a $50 billion ‘signing bonus’ for its recent agreement on its nuclearprogram, by having its assets unfrozen. They comment that the bonus is a payment for doing nothing – not evenrenouncing terrorism. The Monkey Cage also comments on the Iran deal, writing that it is a logical extension ofU.S. non-proliferation policy of brokering pragmatic deals with countries to limit their nuclear programs.President Obama announced this week that two hostages of al-Qaeda in Pakistan, one Italian and one U.S.citizen, had been accidentally killed by a U.S drone strike in January. They say that the killing shows that usingdrones to fight global terrorism has its limitations.Credit: Will O’Neill (Flickr, CC-BY-2.0)Obamacare and health policyOn Saturday, Outside the Beltway wonders if Republicans have given up their fight against Obamacare. They saythat while the GOP has used the Affordable Care Act to fight President Obama for the past five years, they may berecognizing the political reality that a bill repealing Obamacare would never become law as long as BarackObama is President.  Perhaps one reason that the GOP is no longer keen to repeal Obamacare is its popularity.Daily Kos writes on Tuesday that a new poll has shown that more people now favor Obamacare than are opposedto it.The biggest challenge currently faced byObamacare is the King v. Burwell case, whichis currently before the Supreme Court. Thecase centers on the ability of federal healthinsurance exchanges operating at the statelevel to be subsidized. The Hill’s CongressBlog writes on Monday to recommend alimited remedy to Secretary of Health andHuman Services, Sylvia Matthews Burwell, toaddress the uncertainty caused by the case.They say that introducing rate filing flexibility(with two sets of rates that assume subsidiescontinue or are struck down) would helpinsurers to prepare rates.Even if the Supreme Court throws out the Obamacare subsidies, Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin has a plan.He has introduced legislation which would maintain Obamacare’s tax credits through to the end of August 2017.Crooks & Liars comments that the move would protect the Republican Party politically during the 2016 electionswhen they might otherwise be blamed by the Democrats for taking away the insurance coverage of millions. TheAtlantic takes up this point further, writing Wednesday that the question that is likely to decide the 2016 election is‘Will you take away my health insurance?’.On Monday, Daily Kos looks at a new report which has found that just four states account for 61 percent of thefour million people who are in the Medicaid gap. They say that Florida, Texas, Georgia and North Carolina havemost of the people who aren’t covered.The economy and societyOn Saturday, Crooks & Liars writes on what they say is the ‘shocking’ cost of gun violence – in 2012 it amountedto more than $229 billion. They say that the cost of gun ‘liberty’ is more than what the Affordable Care Act costsannually and that is one of the reasons why guns should be much more carefully regulated. Staying on the topic ofcriminal justice, The Atlantic  discusses this week the increasing rarity of the death penalty in America. They saythat only 59 of the more than 3,100 counties in the U.S. sentenced people to be executed in 2012. They say thatmuch of this decline is down to prosecutorial discretion and the sheer cost of death penalty cases.The American Prospect has a close look at how the decline of southern white Evangelicals is related to thepassage of religious freedom laws in some states. They say that changing attitudes towards same-sex marriage(which 61 percent now support according to Outside the Beltway) and changing demographics mean that thebacklash against such laws has been greater recently than in the past.This week also saw Comcast, the largest cable and broadband provider in the U.S., announce that it wasabandoning its planned merger with Time Warner, after the Federal Communications Commission told thecompany that it would ‘not help consumers’. The Atlantic says that the news is welcome for many who wereconcerned that it would create a real lack of competition at the national level.And finally… FreakOutNation reports on the final request of Larry Upright, a North Carolina Republican in his obituary: don’tvote for Hillary Clinton. Are politics in America still fun? Occasionally, says Political Animal.  The Atlantic has an in-depth look at Hillary Clinton’s campaign logo, and how it compares to those of otherpresidential candidates. Please read our comments policy before commenting .Note:  This article gives the views of the author, and not the position of USApp– American Politics and Policy, norof the London School of Economics.Shortened URL for this post: http://bit.ly/1bB4R5bCC BY-NC-ND 3.0 2014 LSE USAPP

O’Malley moves to the left: Lynch is confirmed as AttorneyGeneral: and the huge cost of gun violence: US national bloground up for 18 – 24 April

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