Chris Gilson looks at the best in political blogging from the Beltway and across the States

Gilson, Christopher

LSE Research Online

blo gs.lse.ac.uk http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2013/09/13/us-blog-round-up-for-7-13-september/Cre d it: white ho use .g o vObama’s Syria speech fails to impress, de Blasio wins NewYork nomination, and is the Dow Jones index ridiculous? – USblog round up for 7– 13 September.Chris Gilson looks at the best in political blogging from the Beltway and across the States. Syria and foreign policy Syria once again dominated the news cycle and the blogosphere again this week with litt le movementtowards a US strike against the regime of  Bashar al-Assad. On Saturday, The Hill’s Congress Blog looked atwhy we care about Syria, especially when other nations appear indif f erent. On a similar vein, the New Yorkerwrote that potential intervention in Syria carries tremendous risks and f ew prospects f or resolution, andmight help the conf lict to spread to other parts of  the Middle East.The National Journal looked at the anti-war voice of  Republican Congresswoman Barbara Lee. From beingpilloried by conservatives f or her sole dissenting vote against using military f orce in Af ghanistan in 2001,Lee’s stance on Syria is one that many Republicans are now supportive of . Roll Call has ten Senators towatch this week on Syria who are likely to be inf luential in the lead up to a vote. The Atlantic concluded thatthe best outcome f rom Congress would be a “No” vote, as it would of f er Obama a way out of  what mightbecome a strategic mistake. By Monday, American Thinker says the majority of  the American public areagainst intervening, according to polls. Meanwhile, The Democratic Truth wondered if  Obama is wanderinginto an impeachment trap if  he decides to attack Syria without the approval of  Congress.On Monday, at a press conf erence inthe UK, Secretary of  State John Kerryrhetorically stated that Syria couldavoid an attack by turning over their stockpile of  chemical weapons to the international community. Thiswas in turn made into a concrete proposal by Russia, and then accepted in principle by Syria. The WhiteHouse Dossier says that this is another example of  the Obama administration making its Syria policy of f  thecuf f . American Thinker echoes this saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin is now the player on Syriapolicy, to Obama’s playee.Tuesday sees President Obama address the nation on Syria. While he praised the possibility of  a potentialagreement with Russia, while also making a case f or intervention, The Atlantic said that it did not resolveObama’s current paradox of  arguing f or a very limited intervention, which is likely to not make a great dealof  dif f erence to the regime. The American Thinker is much harsher, calling Obama’s address a ‘f lop’. Government and the Beltway The US has undergone a signif icant demographic change in recent decades. The Atlantic has new evidencethat Republicans can no longer win elections with white voters alone, as evidenced by Obama’s victories in2008 and 2012. Daily Kos has f ive states we should be looking closely at f or the Senate and House racesof  2014. Meanwhile, Roll Call looks at what 2014 might bring in terms of  polit ical advertising across thestates.The Political Carnival writes that Senator (and f ormer Presidential candidate) John McCain is movingtowards a pro- legalization stance on marijuana.The seemingly constant disagreements in Congress mean that the public of ten hold the institution inrelatively low regard. But Roll Call argues that divisions within voters themselves, which then f eed intoCongress, may actually be at f ault. The Political Carnival takes a crit ical look at those Republicans who holdBill d e  Blasio  (ce nte r) Cre d it: Bil l  d e  Blasio  (Cre ative  Co mmo ns BY SA)up President Ronald Reagan as a “GOP God”, crit iquing his record on Iran-Contra, Arms f or Hostages, andchemical weapons. The economy and society The Atlantic looks at f igures f or public sector employment since the start of  Obama’s term, and f inds thatthey have plummeted, especially in comparison with previous Presidents.The Monkey Cage, prof iling a new paper, writes that if  it  were not f or slavery, white Southerners would bepolit ically indistinguishable f rom Northerners. Af ter a spate of  sports f igures endorsing government policies, or government agencies partnering withsports teams f or outreach, the National Journal looks at how polit ics and sport of ten don’t mix.This week sees a change to three of  the thirty members of  the Dow Jones industrial average. Wonkblogtakes the opportunity to argue that the average is completely ridiculous, given that we can now easilycalculate indexes f or thousands of  stocks.As Republicans continue to try make the implementation of  Obamacare as dif f icult as possible, especiallyvia the Republican House Energy and Commerce Committee, Daily Kos reports that the Obamaadministration has had enough, and is responding by addressing the committee’s questions. Wonkblogsays that even if  states expand Medicaid, there will still be millions lef t uninsured, despite Obamacare.Across the States Northeast On Tuesday, primaries were held inNew York City to determine thecandidates f or November’s mayoralelection. Ahead of  the primary, The Atlantic prof iled the f ront-running candidate Bill de Blasio. Af ter deBlasio’s victory on Tuesday, the National Journal took the opportunity to ref lect on some moments f romthe nomination campaign of  another Democrat, Anthony Weiner.Blue Jersey looks at the appalling poverty levels in some parts of  the state, rates that, despite a boomingeconomy, have skyrocketed under the governorship of  Chris Christie. New Jersey also goes to the polls ina Senate vacancy election later this year. Save Jersey writes that Newark Mayor Cory Booker now has an‘insurmountable’ lead over his opponent, Steve Lonegan, according to the latest polling.Over in Maine, Dirigo Blue writes that the state’s Democrats are still looking f or ways to close what theybelieve is a skills gap, which is preventing workers f rom gaining employment. They argue that such a gapdoes not exist, and that is the party’s ‘Sasquatch’, or mythical being. SouthRoll Call looks at early polling f or the Virginia gubernatorial election, writ ing that Democrat Terry McAulif f ehas a narrow but clear lead over Republican (and current Attorney General) Ken Cuccinelli.Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi came under crit icism this week, according to SaintPetersBlog, f ormoving the date of  an execution which coincided with her re-election f undraiser.Burnt Orange Report looks at what will happen when f ood stamp benef its under the Recovery Act run outon 1 November, in a state that has the third highest rate of  f ood insecurity in the US.Meanwhile, Arkansas Blog looks at voter ID laws and the state, arguing that they are unconstitutional underthe terms of  the state’s constitution. They also say that the new laws will have very litt le impact on knownvoter f raud in the state. Midwest Roll Call looks at Nebraska’s open-seat Senate race in 2014, writ ing that despite drawing litt le attention sof ar, the Republican primary could be an interesting one, describing a potential ‘intraparty slugf est’.In Missouri, according to the Daily Kos, Democratic Governor Jay Nixon won a f ight with the Republicanstate legislature this week, by vetoing a $400million pro-business tax cut, which the House then f ailed tooverride with a vote.Plunderbund writes this week that Ohioans should be concerned at Governor John Kasich’s appointmentsto the state’s Medical Board, given their anti-abortion views. These appointments f ollow Kasich’s recentrestrictions on abortion care.North Dakota’s Say Anything  blog looks at a state legislator who lives outside the district that herepresents, and wonders if  he is actually able to do his job.West and Pacif ic This week, Colorado held two recall elections f or state legislators. The Daily Kos says that theselegislators had been targeted by the National Rif le Association f or their support f or gun saf ety legislation.They blame the apathy of  Democratic districts f or the def eat of  the incumbents in the elections.Calif ornia’s Capitol Alert says that a new bill which prevents law enf orcement personnel f rom detainingpeople based on their immigration status (unless convicted of  a f elony), was approved by the state Senate,and will now go to the House f or approval. Democrats say that the law will curb the f ederal SecureCommunities program, which casts a ‘too wide a net’. Several Republican counties in northern Colorado are keen on seceding f rom the state, which is currentlyrun by Democrats. Wyoming’s WyoFile writes that if  the secession f ails, the state shouldn’t help them outby annexing the counties, as it would likely not get enough out of  the deal.And finally… This week marked the 12th anniversary of  the 9/11 terror attacks on the US. Caffeinated Politics shows uswhat was making news on the morning of  11 September, 2001 – bef ore the attacks.The Atlantic has a simple rule f or advertising on 9/11 – don’t.Given President Obama’s rather f raught relationship with Congress, it may not come as a surprise that thisweek he cancelled the 2013 Congressional Picnic, writes Roll Call. 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,nor of the London School of Economics.Shortened URL for this post:   http://bit .ly/1au42p4CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 2014 LSE USAPP

Obama’s Syria speech fails to impress, de Blasio wins NewYork nomination, and is the Dow Jones index ridiculous? – USblog round up for 7– 13 September

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