Sunday, March 11, 2012

What Mattered This Week?

I'm just way behind in reading things that I'm not going to write about immediately, but I better get this up now rather than wait until I get caught up. So here goes, but I probably need more help than usual for things I totally missed.

International: Syria, again, and Afghanistan, again.

Back home...the jobs numbers are certainly important, both in themselves and as a hint of what's to come. I suppose it was a very big week in the GOP race, but I'm not sure how much of it mattered...I suppose the biggest thing there that didn't happen that mattered was the lack of a Santorum breakthrough. No surprise, but had he won big in Ohio and, say, Alaska...maybe that would have indicated something significant was going on? As it is, they're still just playing out the string there.

Two Members were defeated in Ohio, one in a Member-Member contest after redistricting, and another by a challenger.

So, what else? What am I missing? What do you think mattered this week?

5 comments:

  1. I think a few things...

    - The appearance of consolidation of power in Iran of Khamenei which could mean a clearer voice on Iranian intentions going forward (and some claims that they are not planning to develop nuclear weapons).

    - Few rumblings from the AIPAC meeting or Netanyahu/Obama meeting regarding relations between the two countries. Obama seems stronger vis-a-vis those who feel he's not hawkish enough in defense of Israel (and vis-a-vis Netanyahu).

    - Romney's relatively weak showing on Super Tuesday considering how late things are and how weak his opposition is. If he's struggling against someone who lost his reelection bid for Senate by 18 points, spending vastly more than this person, he looks remarkably weak.

    - The fallout from the Limbaugh episode which has the Democrats positioning the GOP as the anti-woman party which will make things difficult for the GOP (particularly as their candidates are emphasizing their economic offerings even though that is where they would be able to beat the Democrats).

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  2. I agree on Couves point (should've remembered that, and I feel as if I should be writing on it more, although there's plenty of good stuff out there about it).

    Agree about Iran. Not convinced on the AIPAC point or Super Tuesday.

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  3. I agree with David about the Limbaugh episode. Unless the SoCons in the GOP dominated House and state capitols back down, there will be reminders from now through referenda on Election Day about how the GOP wants to dictate women's private decisions.

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  4. Oh definitely the murders in Kandahar province. In addition to condolences to the families affected, there's also sympathy for the increasingly impossible plight of our troops, and to some extent, President Obama.

    Don't know about you, but I find myself thinking about how easily our polity swallows Afghan war memes. Thinking someone might have asked, several years and several thousand casualties ago, why southern Afghanistan was ripe for progressive revolution when the Taliban government, with all its incredible baggage, was nevertheless stable before we showed up.

    Well, one group did ask. The libertarians. Also thinking tonight that, for all the crazy that goes on in that tent, the racism and denial of certain realities (e.g. the masses who would be starving in the street with zero government), there's nevertheless important reasons you have to love the libertarians. Ideological opposition to the madness of Afghanistan is near the top of the list.

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  5. CSH: If you honestly think racism is a significant part of the libertarian movement, I think you should spend more time listening to what they have to say -- I think you'll be surprised.

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