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There is no filibuster
Some Guy With a Website by August J. Pollak - xoverboard.com —
... I understand Matt Yglesias' frustration, but what I don't understand is how you can suggest that the problem with Republican obstructionism can be fixed by eliminating a procedure that isn't used. ...
Improve, But Don't Destroy, The Filibuster
Open Left - Front Page —
Over the past week, there has been grumbling among some Democrats and progressives that we should have let the Republicans destroy the filibuster back in 2005. Matthew Yglesias is an example of this, writing today that the recent difficulties with the stimulus package are yet another reason to get rid of the filibuster. ...
Should We Celebrate or Mourn?
The Mahablog —
... Futher, he says, this bill isn’t the only program in the works to stimulate the economy.
Treasury secretary Tim Geithner is rolling out a plan today to get credit flowing and protect homeowners. Soon, the administration will present a proper budget, in which it can signal priorities about things like transport and the greening of the economy, which are multi-year projects in the best of circumstances.
There’s also the view that a flawed stimulus is better than no stimulus.
Fat and muscle
Paul Krugman —
Matthew Yglesias says most of what needs to be said here . Yesterday Claire McCaskill and others were talking about how great the centrists’ intervention was. Today Sen. McCaskill asks whether the Senate stimulus, as negotiated, is better than nothing. Yes, it is — and if it comes down to that choices, a yes vote is the right thing to do. But let’s not have any illusions about what just happened. The centrists went to work on a bill that, perhaps inevitably, was a mixture of economic muscle and useless fat; as the price of their support, they cut deeply into the muscle while ...
It's Good to have Some Progressive Voices on TV
Open Left - Front Page —
... conceding now, that these compromises were to get to the 60 votes needed for cloture. Sen. McCaskill did this in response to a self avowed liberal and Nobel Prize winning columnist, Paul Krugman. Whether this is what she really felt or thought at the time she was negotiating the changes with the White House and the few Republicans that are not crazy, we don't know. We don't know if it's a understanding that will continue. And for my purposes now, it's not relevant.
http://yglesias.thinkprogress....
An early Valentine to Paul Krugman and Rachel Maddow in ...
Great Economic Thoughts
Dean's World —
From Matthew Yglesias, this gem:
Hey, if we just expand government enough, soon everyone will have a job! Working for the government! Paying more taxes to create more government jobs with! It’s win-win-win!
Eat your heart out, Maxine Waters. Matt’s view of rescinding the filibuster is pretty hilarious too, given that he called any restriction on it “abuse” back in 2004.
