Hillary Clinton's testimony before the House Benghazi Committee last Friday was a remarkable display in many respects. She has rarely been more impressive, and a political show trial has not been more obviously exposed as a partisan witch hunt since the McCarthy hearings of the 1950s. You can watch C-Span footage of it here.
Secretary Clinton, in short, mopped the floor with her Republican interrogators. She kept her cool through a grueling 11-hour marathon of grilling, accusation and unfounded innuendo, answering each question forthrightly. Some tried to make the case she didn't care about the men who died. Several tried to raise questions about her email server, or the fact that she is friends with Sidney Blumenthal and got a lot of emails from him. A couple insinuated she ordered a CIA security team to stand down, or prevented military forces from flying in from Italy. (The CIA team got to the Benghazi compound in 24 minutes. Forces from Italy would have taken hours to get there.) Most questioners adopted an unprofessional tone of badgering rudeness rather than that of an objective panel trying to find new facts about what happened and good ideas about preventing the next such incident.
This was the eighth investigation into the Benghazi attack, but this is the only one that hasn't bothered to interview the military or intelligence officials involved. They have only wanted to talk to Hillary Clinton and her aide Huma Abedin. Their "investigation" has lasted longer than the Pearl Harbor and 9/11 commissions. It's even surpassed the Watergate hearings. Yet they have released no report and no recommendations. To give you an idea of how a responsible, bipartisan committee operates, here is a link to the Senate Intelligence Committee's report and recommendations on the same topic.
Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy was the first to officially admit what everyone suspected all along, letting the cat out of the bag by admitting the committee was an exercise designed to damage Clinton's poll numbers. Watch him here. Republican Representative Richard Hanna of New York admitted the same thing. As a result, and combined with Mrs. Clinton's well-prepared and unflappable testimony, their plans have backfired. Following the committee hearing, her poll numbers have actually soared, as you can see here.
As usual, transparently mean-spirited Republicans have overplayed their hand. Instead of hurting the Clinton campaign, they have succeeded in providing her a forum in which she looked to the whole nation as just what they didn't want--presidential.
Monday, October 26, 2015
Sunday, October 18, 2015
New California Laws for 2016
Near the end of each year I like to do a feature on new California laws that will take effect the following January. Here are some noteworthy ones that have passed the legislature, been signed by Governor Brown and will come into force in 2016.
1. Right to Die. Patients who have less than six months to live as determined by two physicians will be able to ask for life-ending drugs. Open and private meetings are required, the patient must be capable of making an informed medical decision and of self-administering the drugs.
2. Vaccinations. All school-age children must have vaccinations in order to attend public school. Additionally, day care centers and homes must maintain records to show their staff members have been vaccinated for flu, pertussis and measles. Tuberculosis screening had already been required.
3. Antibiotics in Livestock. SB 27 will curb the use of low doses of antibiotics in livestock to promote faster growth. The practice is a major contributor to the evolution of drug resistant germs
4. Voter Registration. AB 1461 will direct the Department of Motor Vehicles to automatically register everyone who is an eligible citizen to vote when they come into contact with them. The person will be able to opt out if they wish.
5. Wage Theft: The State Labor Commissioner will have expanded authority to collect unpaid wages on behalf of workers who have been cheated by their employer, thanks to the passage of SB 588.
6. Ride-Sharing: State employees will be able to use ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft and rental services like Airbnb on state business.
7. Smokeless Tobacco: AB 768 bans possession or use of smokeless tobacco on professional baseball fields. AB 216 forbids the sale of vapor products to anyone under 18, even if they contain no nicotine.
8. Franchisee Rights: AB 525 will give franchise owners greater scope to resist mandates from their corporate franchisers
9. Concealed Weapons: SB 707 prohibits concealed weapons permit holders from bringing their weapons onto school property. Retired law enforcement is exempt, and police chiefs and school districts could set their own policies on this.
10. Disclosure: Under SB 21 nonprofit organizations have to disclose the names of donors who pay for travel gifts for elected officials.
1. Right to Die. Patients who have less than six months to live as determined by two physicians will be able to ask for life-ending drugs. Open and private meetings are required, the patient must be capable of making an informed medical decision and of self-administering the drugs.
2. Vaccinations. All school-age children must have vaccinations in order to attend public school. Additionally, day care centers and homes must maintain records to show their staff members have been vaccinated for flu, pertussis and measles. Tuberculosis screening had already been required.
3. Antibiotics in Livestock. SB 27 will curb the use of low doses of antibiotics in livestock to promote faster growth. The practice is a major contributor to the evolution of drug resistant germs
4. Voter Registration. AB 1461 will direct the Department of Motor Vehicles to automatically register everyone who is an eligible citizen to vote when they come into contact with them. The person will be able to opt out if they wish.
5. Wage Theft: The State Labor Commissioner will have expanded authority to collect unpaid wages on behalf of workers who have been cheated by their employer, thanks to the passage of SB 588.
6. Ride-Sharing: State employees will be able to use ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft and rental services like Airbnb on state business.
7. Smokeless Tobacco: AB 768 bans possession or use of smokeless tobacco on professional baseball fields. AB 216 forbids the sale of vapor products to anyone under 18, even if they contain no nicotine.
8. Franchisee Rights: AB 525 will give franchise owners greater scope to resist mandates from their corporate franchisers
9. Concealed Weapons: SB 707 prohibits concealed weapons permit holders from bringing their weapons onto school property. Retired law enforcement is exempt, and police chiefs and school districts could set their own policies on this.
10. Disclosure: Under SB 21 nonprofit organizations have to disclose the names of donors who pay for travel gifts for elected officials.
Saturday, October 3, 2015
Obama, Tired of Games, Demands Budget
President Obama held a remarkable press conference yesterday. He served notice that he's not finished addressing gun violence, but of potentially even greater importance, the President gave congress what amounts to an ultimatum to work with him on getting a permanent budget in place with a deadline of December 11.
First, on the latest gun massacre he made a couple of good points in a new way. He compared the ongoing carnage to reducing auto accident deaths. He admitted that yes, the types of common-sense laws that have been proposed won't end all gun deaths, just as things like seat belts, air bags and better car and road engineering haven't ended all auto crash deaths. But they have reduced the rate by 75%. To say that because we can't save every life means that we should not try to save any lives or as many as we can is fatalistic and not in the normal American character. His other point on this topic was that to make headway the majority who favor these common sense improvements will need to make them a voting priority in order to get congress to change. That's because the minority of intransigent pro-gun voters are single-minded in that way and their intensity must be matched by the other side if they want to win. The President vowed to keep speaking out on the issue.
In what may have been his most important statement, President Obama laid down a marker regarding the budget. Referring to the stopgap continuing resolution to keep the government funded for 10 weeks through December 11, the President said he would not sign another such bill. He is going to insist that congress produce an actual budget. The national budget is frozen at sequester levels "temporarily" agreed to four years ago. They are pegged to the 2006 budget. Since then our population has grown 8% and the national economy has grown 12%. Many things need more money to provide the same service, some things need increases to meet new needs, and some things should be scaled down or cancelled, since they either don't work or have achieved their objectives. The resulting straight jacket produces a spending pattern that is increasingly out of sync with national needs. He was right to call it irresponsible. He is ready to negotiate on taxes and spending priorities and calls upon the Republican leadership in congress to do likewise.
Also relating to the budget, Obama put some things off limits. First, the debt ceiling needs to be raised even before December 11. There will be no negotiation on this; congress just needs to do it. Second, he will not give in to blackmail over Planned Parenthood. Some in the GOP are threatening a new shutdown over it. Obama said he understands their intensity of feeling on the matter, but it is inadmissible to jeopardize the entire economy and the full faith and credit of the USA over it. He said he feels the same way about the importance of gun legislation, but would never use that as a lever to threaten to wreck the American economy and hurt millions over an unrelated issue. Imagine, he said, if I threatened to crash the American economy if I didn't get my way over gun laws. It would be crazy. For them to threaten to do so over the debt limit for money they've already spent, or on the budget itself, is nothing less.
In our constitutional system, the President concluded, neither he nor congress can work their will without the other. They need to confer and negotiate. Because they have differing views, there will need to be compromises. He is tired of the posturing, resolute about rejecting blackmail, and ready to talk and get something done. He's right. Enough extremism is enough, it's time to govern.
First, on the latest gun massacre he made a couple of good points in a new way. He compared the ongoing carnage to reducing auto accident deaths. He admitted that yes, the types of common-sense laws that have been proposed won't end all gun deaths, just as things like seat belts, air bags and better car and road engineering haven't ended all auto crash deaths. But they have reduced the rate by 75%. To say that because we can't save every life means that we should not try to save any lives or as many as we can is fatalistic and not in the normal American character. His other point on this topic was that to make headway the majority who favor these common sense improvements will need to make them a voting priority in order to get congress to change. That's because the minority of intransigent pro-gun voters are single-minded in that way and their intensity must be matched by the other side if they want to win. The President vowed to keep speaking out on the issue.
In what may have been his most important statement, President Obama laid down a marker regarding the budget. Referring to the stopgap continuing resolution to keep the government funded for 10 weeks through December 11, the President said he would not sign another such bill. He is going to insist that congress produce an actual budget. The national budget is frozen at sequester levels "temporarily" agreed to four years ago. They are pegged to the 2006 budget. Since then our population has grown 8% and the national economy has grown 12%. Many things need more money to provide the same service, some things need increases to meet new needs, and some things should be scaled down or cancelled, since they either don't work or have achieved their objectives. The resulting straight jacket produces a spending pattern that is increasingly out of sync with national needs. He was right to call it irresponsible. He is ready to negotiate on taxes and spending priorities and calls upon the Republican leadership in congress to do likewise.
Also relating to the budget, Obama put some things off limits. First, the debt ceiling needs to be raised even before December 11. There will be no negotiation on this; congress just needs to do it. Second, he will not give in to blackmail over Planned Parenthood. Some in the GOP are threatening a new shutdown over it. Obama said he understands their intensity of feeling on the matter, but it is inadmissible to jeopardize the entire economy and the full faith and credit of the USA over it. He said he feels the same way about the importance of gun legislation, but would never use that as a lever to threaten to wreck the American economy and hurt millions over an unrelated issue. Imagine, he said, if I threatened to crash the American economy if I didn't get my way over gun laws. It would be crazy. For them to threaten to do so over the debt limit for money they've already spent, or on the budget itself, is nothing less.
In our constitutional system, the President concluded, neither he nor congress can work their will without the other. They need to confer and negotiate. Because they have differing views, there will need to be compromises. He is tired of the posturing, resolute about rejecting blackmail, and ready to talk and get something done. He's right. Enough extremism is enough, it's time to govern.
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