Daily Clips: November 30th, 2015
You are more than 7 times as likely to be killed by a right-wing extremist than by Muslim terrorists: Our Supreme Troublemaker, Nick Hanauer, shared this fascinating article on Twitter and I thought it deserved a place in today’s clips. While we are still not sure of the motivations behind the Colorado Springs shooting, the shooter’s “actions…appear to be an act of politically motivated terrorism directed against an institution widely reviled by conservatives.”
60% of Ted Cruz’s tax cuts go to the 1%: How to solve income inequality? Create more of it! Of course!
Speaking of Ted Cruz, could his bromance with Donald Trump be coming to a close? The tweet below suggests as much:
Ted Cruz on Donald Trump: "I don’t believe Donald Trump is going to be our nominee and I don’t believe he is going to be our president."
— Jessica Hopper (@jesshop23) November 30, 2015
Up until now, Cruz has been extremely congenial towards Trump and his easily offended supporters. However, it looks like the gloves may be coming off. With the Iowa caucuses approaching rapidly, Cruz must start snatching some of Trump’s base if he hopes to win. And winning Iowa (or coming a close second) is a must for the Cruz campaign.
Why the economic fates of America’s cities diverged: “Despite all the attention focused these days on the fortunes of the ‘1 percent,’ debates over inequality still tend to ignore one of its most politically destabilizing and economically destructive forms. This is the growing, and historically unprecedented, economic divide that has emerged in recent decades among the different regions of the United States.” Here’s a fascinating read on the geographical convergence (and divergence) of wages in America.
Fear wins, Obama loses: Paul Waldman notes, “manipulating the public’s emotions has never been Obama’s strong suit.” He’s not wrong. Yet, we know that “Campaign Obama” was quite effective at creating a powerful sense of hope in the public’s emotions. So why doesn’t he carry on that sort of rhetoric as president – especially when it comes to foreign policy? Waldman concludes, “the trouble is that it’s hard to get the public’s blood pumping by telling them the things you don’t want to do—and by telling them that the fears the other side is stirring up are ungrounded. Even if you’re right.”
