The Keystone Cops Ride Again

Senate Democrats are looking like the Keystone Cops these days, as they try to work out a last session deal with the Republicans to approve the Keystone XL pipeline, over Obama's veto if necessary. Keystone Mary is leading the charge in a last ditch effort to hold onto her Senate seat , but Republicans have already promised her opponent, Bill Cassidy, an energy panel seat should he win. Too little, too late, Mary.

Harry Reid blasted the pipeline deal last month, but it seems he is open to some kind of deal that would free up the backlog of presidential administration nominees without having to resort to the "nuclear option." Obama has already made it known he wants to clear the slate before January, notably the confirmation of his attorney general nominee, Loretta Lynch. However, the Republicans want Lynch off the table, no doubt planning to make a big show trial next year over this contentious nominee.

Reid is also a marked man. The GOP has made it a top priority to oust Reid from the Senate in 2016, so you would think Reid wouldn't make it any easier on the Republicans before then. However, Harry is the consummate politician, always ready to deal, especially if he thinks it will help him hold onto his seat. How else to explain giving both Elizabeth Warren and Jon Tester greater roles in the Senate, when the two represent totally different interests.

The Democratic Party once again appears to be splitting itself. The Republicans hope to cleave off enough Democrats to gain a filibuster-proof majority in the new session, which would reduce Harry Reid to a hollow voice. This is what the Democrats tried to do back in 2009 when they lured Arlen Specter over from the other side to carry the vote on the Affordable Care Act. However, that move blew up in Harry's face as the Republicans took 7 Senate seats in the 2010 mid-term elections and have been blocking Democratic legislation ever since.

Alison tried to call attention to Filibuster Mitch in her campaign against him, noting the 413 times McConnell blocked Senate bills in one way or another, not to mention the countless number of presidential administration and judicial appointments. Obviously obstruction works, as Mitch held off pesky Alison and the Republicans overtook the Senate with a potential turnover of 9 seats this time, pending the Louisiana Senate runoff.

Keystone has always been an utter waste of time. This pipeline would do little to boost the economy, which is already booming as far as oil and shale is concerned. Gas prices continue to drop throughout the country. The only real benefit of Keystone is to Canada, which would have direct access to the ports of the Gulf of Mexico, and to the various American interests who have invested in the pipeline. These interests are the one's bankrolling the Republican Congressional campaigns.

Landrieu comes from a state that relies heavily on oil, so it is no surprise to see her pushing this bill. You can expect Jon Tester, Joe Manchin and other Blue Dog Democrats to join her. That's Big Joe behind Mary. It appears Dirty Harry has acquiesced to a floor vote, despite his once stern opposition to the pipeline. However, it is doubtful it will save Keystone Mary's seat, or even Harry's in 2016.

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

Welcome to this month's reading group selection. David Von Drehle mentions The Melting Pot , a play by Israel Zangwill, that premiered on Broadway in 1908. At that time theater was accessible to a broad section of the public, not the exclusive domain it has become over the decades. Zangwill carried a hopeful message that America was a place where old hatreds and prejudices were pointless, and that in this new country immigrants would find a more open society. I suppose the reference was more an ironic one for Von Drehle, as he notes the racial and ethnic hatreds were on display everywhere, and at best Zangwill's play helped persons forget for a moment how deep these divides ran. Nevertheless, "the melting pot" made its way into the American lexicon, even if New York could best be describing as a boiling cauldron in the early twentieth century. Triangle: The Fire That Changed America takes a broad view of events that led up the notorious fire, noting the gro

Dylan in America

Whoever it was in 1969 who named the very first Bob Dylan bootleg album “Great White Wonder” may have had a mischievous streak. There are any number of ways you can interpret the title — most boringly, the cover was blank, like the Beatles’ “White Album” — but I like to see a sly allusion to “Moby-Dick.” In the seven years since the release of his first commercial record, Dylan had become the white whale of 20th-century popular song, a wild, unconquerable and often baffling force of musical nature who drove fans and critics Ahab-mad in their efforts to spear him, lash him to the hull and render him merely comprehensible. --- Bruce Handy, NYTimes ____________________________________________ I figured we can start fresh with Bob Dylan. Couldn't resist this photo of him striking a Woody Guthrie pose. Looks like only yesterday. Here is a link to the comments building up to this reading group.

Team of Rivals Reading Group

''Team of Rivals" is also an America ''coming-of-age" saga. Lincoln, Seward, Chase et al. are sketched as being part of a ''restless generation," born when Founding Fathers occupied the White House and the Louisiana Purchase netted nearly 530 million new acres to be explored. The Western Expansion motto of this burgeoning generation, in fact, was cleverly captured in two lines of Stephen Vincent Benet's verse: ''The stream uncrossed, the promise still untried / The metal sleeping in the mountainside." None of the protagonists in ''Team of Rivals" hailed from the Deep South or Great Plains. _______________________________ From a review by Douglas Brinkley, 2005

James FergusonNovember 17, 2014 at 11:22 AM
Apparently, the Democrats are 2 votes short in coming up with the total 60 the Republicans need to carry the Keystone bill that Ms. Landrieu generously sponsored. Keystone Mary needs 15 Dems including herself to jump across the aisle. It just amazes me that the Dems would already start doing the Republicans bidding before they even assume the leadership of the Senate. Even still, they would need another 6 to override the President's veto, which he has said he would do unless they sweeten the pot with administrative and judicial conformations, including Loretta Lynch. I'm very curious to see how this little drama plays out.
James FergusonNovember 19, 2014 at 8:07 AM
It was nice knowing you Mary,

http://news.yahoo.com/supporters-oil-pipeline-scramble-last-vote-073742899--finance.html

I'm sure we'll see you again as an oil lobbyist in Washington.

Dispatches from Vilnius

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