Happy Birthday to Johnny Bench, 65.
Plenty of good stuff today:
1. Stuart Rothenberg has the best case I've seen for waiting a bit before diving into 2014 (or presumably 2016). I'm on the other side, but I have little to disagree with. See also Walter Shapiro. I disagree with more there (what's wrong with categorizing the nomination chances of potential/earlybird candidates?), but he makes some fair points.
2. Bad news for now for everyone who cares about good political reporting: David Dayen is leaving FDL, and generally going on hiatus. I feel as if the times I've mentioned Dayen (or he's mentioned me) we're usually disagreeing about something, but in fact I very much respect and appreciate his reporting, and I selfishly hope he continues, and soon, the kind of excellent policy and legislative journalism he's been doing.
3. A story that can't be told too often: James Madison, wartime president. Shane Harris has it.
4. If you don't know what all the fuss about Jim DeMint is about, try Dave Weigel's item.
5. Yet another precinct heard from: Sarah Binder on "Lincoln" and the House.
6. John Sides passes along research by Tim LaPira and H.F. Thomas III about lobbyists and Members of Congress (relevant to the post here a couple of days ago about leaving Congress, not to mention the DeMint story).
7. And if you're wondering about how much think tank head honchos make, Sarah Kliff has what you want.
Friday, December 7, 2012
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
Speaking of Madison tolerating dissent, General Stephen Van Rensselaer, while commanding the Niagara Frontier (the most active sector and arguably the most central front of the war), regularly issued statements to the press denouncing the war as unnecessary and unwinnable. This is thought to have added somewhat to the morale problems among the troops. (Gov. Daniel D. Tompkins got him the post because Van Rensselaer was a likely Federalist candidate for New York governor.)
ReplyDeleteAnother interesting point about Madison, given his favor among the Tea Party these days, is that his war bankrupted the government. As a consequence, when British troops broke open every locked room and strongbox in the Treasury, they couldn't find a dollar to confiscate.
My dad is a huge Johnny Bench fan. He literally has a room filled with memorabilia. Him and my mom even drove up to Cincinnati when my mom was pregnant with me to see his last game, in which he hit a HR. My dad was in line at the concession stand when he hit it.
ReplyDeleteKlein's piece on DeMint is good, too.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jonathan, appreciate the kind words. We don't always disagree!
ReplyDelete