Eating Lunch With Nanute; Cassandra's Not Always Right

     Please join me in giving best wishes to the reader Nanute as he faces back surgery on Thursday. Let's hope and wish him and his wife and family the best as he receives this important surgery. He's certainly in my thoughts.

     Today Nanute as is his wont, surprised me by showing up at Baldiwn Public Library where I hang out write most of what you can read at this blog and took me out to lunch at just about my favorite place in the world: Popeye's Chicken. Another recent friend I've made, Linda Forrest was with me at the library when he showed up and she accompanied me-she had never met Nanute.

    She couldn't believe it when I ordered 9 pieces of fried chicken-wings, breasts, and legs with the intention of finishing it during one lunch. However, Nanute assured her that this is exactly what I would do-and, yes, I did indeed scarf the whole thing down.

    Another interesting thing was where the two of them tried to explain me-Nanute declared I'm a "savant." I'm never sure how excited to get about the term, it always seems like the word "idiot" properly is part of the word.

     He also suggested I'm an Obama apologist. Actually, I copped to it and he agreed with my admission. Yet, this is the whole point of this blog Diary of a Republican Hater. It was meant to be the anti David Brooks. I think Garry Wills was onto something, when he argued that the most informed voters are the frankest partisans.

     http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0140055630/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1ZMSWN8P7M5C4

      Certainly being either "bipartisan" or "nonpartisan" doesn't make you either a genius or well-informed. If I'm on the Pollyanna side regarding the President, I've been right often enough. I certainly will argue that I was both right about the election and on analysis of where things will go since the election.

      In case you've missed it, I agree with the Kristol Premise that says that elections have consequences and that the GOP will have to work with the President on his agenda much more than they want to believe.

      In the last few weeks prior to the election, Obama had suggested that if he were re-elected the GOP would be able to forget about beating him and being actually participating in governing the country. Boehner and company heaped scorn on this arguing that they would come out even more implacably against everything if the President suggests it as they had vowed to do the night Obama was inaugurated in 2009.

      Yet this is not what we've actually seen. What we've seen so far is the President has gotten everything he has wanted. We have higher taxes on the rich-I hope people have gotten over quibbling about him "breaking his promise" because the higher rates are $450,000 rather than $250,000. We also have seen the GOP raise the debt ceiling till mid May-well after the sequester issue and budget question will be finished.

       Today we saw Sandy Relief pass with 62 votes in the Senate-the obstructing GOP Senator who tried to make Sandy aid dependent on dollar for dollar cuts to "pay for it" was struck down. Now we alive immigration that is clearly going to happen.

        Here we see real bipartisanship happening. Yet, the Very Serious People have been faulting the President for not being bipartisan anymore. No more Kumbaya. Here we have the first real bipartisan moments since prior to the Gingrich Revolution of 1994.

        "President Barack Obama is encouraged by work in the Senate on immigration reform, and he will now use his bully pulpit during a speech in Las Vegas on Tuesday to push for concrete legislation, aides said on Monday."

       "Administration officials briefed reporters on the speech Monday evening, on the condition they not be quoted directly. Obama's speech, which was announced on Friday, will come a day after a bipartisan group of eight senators -- dubbed the "gang of eight" -- released a framework for immigration reform. "

      "The White House knew the Senate group was working toward an agreement, but they didn't expect it to come so quickly, and did not think the president would have a concrete example of bipartisan agreement to point to in his speech, an official said."

      "Another official said the Senate group may have been sped along by the president's announcement of his Las Vegas speech, but the White House does not suspect any ill will. Rather, it's a good sign that lawmakers are jockeying for credit for immigration reform, the official said. Regardless of order, the president wants to see action, and he will acknowledge the senators' announcement as a positive step."

       http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/28/obama-immigration-speech-_n_2569934.html

       I know, say the naysayers, but what about the House? It won't pass there. Really? How did the fiscal cliff, the debt ceiling and Sandy aid get done then? Listen to one of the House's most conservative members, Steve King:

      "Rep. Steve King (R-IA), one of the most staunchly conservative members of the House, said on Monday that he broadly agreed with a bipartisan Senate agreement that would reform the nation's immigration laws."

      "I agree with most of the language in the very broad guidelines," King said in a cheeky statement.

      http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/rep-steve-king-i-agree-with-most-of

       Cheeky or not, that's as close to an endorsement you'll get from a Steve King-his vote won't be needed. Meanwhile we see jobless claims down to a 330,000 4 week average. Again, being a Cassandra doesn't make you right. It's like being a market bear. Eventually you have to be right. It's pretty easy to be a seer that way. The future's so bright we're going to have to wear shades.