Some of the day’s best reads:
- Stuart Taylor Jr. on the Supreme Court shortlist: “The four shortlisters are Solicitor General Elena Kagan; federal Appeals Court Judges Diane Wood of Chicago and Merrick Garland of the District of Columbia; and (though some count her out) Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano….It would be hard for Senate Republicans to justify or sustain a filibuster against any of these four, based on what’s known about them.”
- Third Way’s Jonathan Cowan on Rep. Bart Stupak’s (D-MI) retirement: “Rep. Bart Stupak’s retirement announcement should not be read as a harbinger of the fall elections any more than the 18 House Republicans who have said they are leaving Congress signals peril for the GOP.”
- Floyd Norris on the economic recovery: “The American economy appears to be in a cyclical recovery that is gaining strength. Firms have begun to hire and consumer spending seems to be accelerating.”
- Jonathan Bernstein on deficit reduction: “The truth of that matter is that for at least twenty years, and really more like thirty-five years, the Democrats are the party of fiscal responsibility and the Republicans are the party of deficits.”
- Mark Kleiman has an idea: why not get a CBO score for a health care repeal?: “[E]very Democratic candidate in November whose Republican opponent is running on a repeal platform can honestly say ‘According to the Congressional Budget Office, my opponent’s proposal would add one point three trillion dollars to the national debt.’”
