I’m not a Democrat. I’m an anti-Republican (the Rational Position)

Today, my voting record says I’m a Democrat. I voted for Kerry in 2004 and Obama in 2008 and 2012. I nearly always support Democrats in House, Senate, and gubernatorial elections. But I don’t identify closely with or feel deep loyalty to the Democratic Party, its agenda, or its electoral coalition.

You could say that I’m less a Democrat than an anti-Republican. I vote the way I do because I want the GOP to lose, lose badly, and keep losing until it comes to its collective senses, which at this point seems a very long way off indeed.

There are so many reasons why I’ve come to this position that I almost don’t know where to begin. So let’s just start with recent headlines — which means the Benghazi Obsession.

Four people died in the September 2012 attack on the American Consulate in Benghazi, including U.S. Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens. It was a tragedy. It was infuriating. It deserved to be investigated.

And it has been. Nine times.

via I’m not a Democrat. I’m an anti-Republican. – The Week.

I could have written this.  I didn’t but I could have, because I agree with nearly every word.

Robert Reich: 10 ways to close the inequality gap

We are near or have already reached that tipping point. As French economist Thomas Piketty shows beyond doubt in his “Capital in the Twenty-First Century,” we are heading back to levels of inequality not seen since the Gilded Age of the late 19th century. The dysfunctions of our economy and politics are not self-correcting when it comes to inequality.

But a return to the Gilded Age is not inevitable. It is incumbent on us to dedicate ourselves to reversing this diabolical trend. But in order to reform the system, we need a political movement for shared prosperity.

Herewith a short summary of what has happened, how it threatens the foundations of our society, why it has happened, and what we must do to reverse it.

via Robert Reich: 10 ways to close the inequality gap – Salon.com.

So much of this issue has been exacerbated by public policy that ignore the role of public policy that exacerbates this issue.

And to be clear, I’m not one that thinks removing regulations like a minimum wage would *help*.   I’m more along the lines of wondering why we tax income from wealth at a lower rate that income from work.

And the other stuff Reich covers.  Lots of stuff that we can do, but we have to actually do it.

Just to be Clear, Every State Looking to Curtail Voting Rights has Something in Common

Missouri’s constitution provides that “all elections shall be free and open; and no power, civil or military, shall at any time interfere to prevent the free exercise of the right of suffrage.” This is a problem, according to a large bloc of the state’s lawmakers who want to prevent the free exercise of the right of suffrage. So they are currently pushing a state constitutional amendment that will strip away some of this right. The amendment already passed the state house and is currently pending before the Missouri senate.

via Missouri Lawmakers Want To Amend Their Constitution To Allow More Voter Suppression | ThinkProgress.

And it’s R-Gov.

Legal Pot in the US Is Crippling Mexican Cartels

The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that pot farmers in the Sinaloa region have stopped planting due to a massive drop in wholesale prices, from $100 per kilo down to only $25. One farmer is quoted as saying: “It’s not worth it anymore. I wish the Americans would stop with this legalization.”

via Legal Pot in the US Is Crippling Mexican Cartels | VICE News.

File this under the “duh” department.

Koch-sas Feels the Heat

On Sunday, May 4th, the temperature in Wichita peaked at 102°F — breaking just about every kind of heat record kept. It was not only the hottest May 4 on record, it was the hottest temperature ever recorded for the month of May. Before Sunday, the earliest date Wichita has seen 102°F was June 4, 1933 — a whole month later in the season.

via From Snow To Sweat: Kansas Skips Spring | ThinkProgress.

I’m pretty sure the Kochs got a law passed on Kansas that directly prohibits global warming, so this shouldn’t be an issue.

Kansas was also recently downgraded by Moody’s, because, well, basing your state’s economy on ideological fantasies looks really bad when rational people run the numbers.

 — Plummeting revenues, underfunded pensions and millions in court-ordered school spending led Moody’s Investors Service on Thursday to cut the state’s credit rating by a notch.

The ratings agency slightly lowered the state’s

credit rating because of mounting financial pressure on the Kansas state budget, partly from massive income tax cuts that Republican Gov. Sam Brownback signed into law in 2012 and 2013.

[full story]