Abbreviated Pundit Roundup: Extraordinary times call for extraordinary vigilance

[Brexiter]

Charlie Sykes/Bulwark:

Misreading the Politics of “Normalcy”

These are profoundly abnormal times.

Biden and his allies need to disabuse themselves of the notion that we will see a return to “normalcy” anytime soon.

That means a re-calibration not only of his agenda, but his rhetoric, and the let’s-return-to-the-old-norms approach of his Justice Department. (Grand juries, anyone? Special Counsels?)

Perhaps Democrats could also take a break from their own internecine bloodletting long enough to make the case that the GOP has become an extremist, nihilistic, and reckless danger to the Republic.

If democracy really does face an existential crisis, perhaps the Administration and Congress should act like it.

It's almost as if voters don't actually care about policy... Or rather, as if elections and approval ratings are more complicated and related more to identity, conflict, media narratives, and general disaffection with the status quo. https://t.co/IlaJVGSGhI

— Lee Drutman (@leedrutman) November 15, 2021

Angus King/Boston Globe:

A constitutional crisis is unfolding before our eyes

History shows us that our system is not guaranteed, and democratic experiments can fail — rarely from external attack, almost always from the corrosion of the system from within.

It doesn’t have to be this way. It shouldn’t be this way. Congress has the constitutional authority to change direction and protect the democratic process by enacting a set of basic guardrails to maintain the sacred right to vote. We must claim that role as the trustees of a tradition that goes back to Jefferson and Lincoln, carried on by Margaret Chase Smith, John McCain, and countless others. All were partisans to an extent, but all shared an overriding commitment to the idea that animates the American experiment. The idea that the people — all the people — are the ultimate arbiters of power.

New from me: it ain’t just Eastman anymore. In the last week we’ve learned about two more memos that Trump loyalists wrote justifying an overturning of the election results. And honestly, it’s wild that they all just…wrote these things down? https://t.co/XnhlzbyVLE

— Hayes Brown (@HayesBrown) November 16, 2021

Charles Bethea/New Yorker:

Is This the Worst Place to Be Poor and Charged with a Federal Crime?

The Southern District of Georgia does remarkably little to provide for indigent defendants.
Last year, the United States Sentencing Commission released a report on federal sentencing practices from 2005 to 2017, dividing the years into three different periods to reflect changes in sentencing guidelines. The Southern District had some of the highest sentencing averages in the country, exceeding the Middle and Northern Districts of Georgia in nearly every criminal category. The report found that sentencing disparities had increased since 2012, when a similar study was done. David Patton, who serves as the federal defender in the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, and who has written extensively on the need for independence in federal public defense, urged caution when evaluating such data. “As someone who’s given a lot of thought about how to judge attorney performance, I’ve not found a useful way to use data to make those assessments,” he told me. “This is something that’s vexed the profession, generally,” he added. (The court, when presented with these statistics, also maintained that there were factors other than the quality of defense that played a role.) Nonetheless, Patton said that all districts should have a defender program: “I have a very strong belief that the level of practice is much higher when you have a well-run defender office in the district.”

Monmouth poll: 73% of Americans approve of having the Jan. 6 select committee look into whether members of Congress played a role in the riot 67% approve of the committee looking into whether Trump played a role

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) November 16, 2021

Chantal Da Silva/NBC News:

Covid is surging in Europe. Experts say it’s a warning for the U.S.

U.S. states could look at Europe and take it as “a sign that the U.S. might still see resurgences, as well,” evolutionary biologist Tom Wenseleers said.

As Europe finds itself at the center of the Covid-19 pandemic once again, experts say it should serve as a warning to the U.S. and other countries about the coronavirus’s unremitting nature.

Case numbers have soared across the continent — more than 50 percent last month — and the worrying trend has continued this month as winter begins to bite.

Dr. Hans Kluge, the director of the World Health Organization’s Europe region, warned Nov. 4 that the region was "back at the epicenter of the pandemic," and his words proved prescient.

The WHO said Friday that nearly 2 million cases were reported across Europe in the previous week — the most the region has had in a single week since the pandemic began.

This pattern happens over and over again. Migrant caravans, racial justice run amok, communism creeping to America… they are election games. The people running the show don’t believe a damn word of it. They just know how to sell. https://t.co/n5GfxEyqao

— Jared Holt (@jaredlholt) November 16, 2021

Neil Irwin/NY Times:

How America’s Pandemic Economic Response Fought the Last War


A focus on the challenges of the Great Recession has fueled some of the challenges of this crisis.

Last year, when the government sprang into action to respond to the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, it was with these experiences in recent memory. Key policymakers in Congress, two presidential administrations and the Federal Reserve were determined to avoid repeating missteps that had prolonged the problems of a decade ago.

The good news is they succeeded. The bad news is that it increasingly appears they were, in key respects, fighting the last war. Their focus on the challenges of the last crisis has fueled some of the challenges of this crisis.

NEW: @UKHSA study finds Pfizer booster is extremely effective against symptomatic infection, both compared to the unvaccinated and to those with 2 doses https://t.co/8OaeEGPJMU Whether first 2 doses were AZ or Pfizer, a Pfizer booster sends vaccine efficacy up to 93-94% ? pic.twitter.com/Y7QjIKInKN

— John Burn-Murdoch (@jburnmurdoch) November 15, 2021

Expect more to join NYC, CA, NM, and CO in offering boosters to those who want it. Check in with the large chains like CVS or Rite Aid to see if you can get yours now.

Hailey Branson-Potts/LA Times:

As infections rise, the San Joaquin Valley becomes the land of the eternal COVID surge

Over the last year and a half, the rural, agricultural San Joaquin Valley has been a perpetual hot spot for the virus — the land of the eternal COVID-19 surge.

Case numbers and hospitalizations plummeted across California, including in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area, after the height of the summer surge. But not in the San Joaquin Valley.

“We kind of have been feeling like the forgotten area of California as we read that, statewide, things are improving,” Gary Herbst, chief executive of Kaweah Health Medical Center in Visalia, told The Times. “It’s like we’re almost in a different country, even though we are right here in the middle of the state.”

The San Joaquin Valley this week has the state’s highest rate of COVID-19 hospitalizations. For every 100,000 residents, the region had 24 people hospitalized with COVID-19. Southern California, by comparison, had eight per 100,000 residents hospitalized with the virus. The San Francisco Bay Area had four.

A lot more people were hired for new jobs this summer than we originally thought. The federal government underestimated job growth by 626,000 jobs from June through September — the largest underestimate of any other comparable period since the 1970s. https://t.co/rzUSZ2Cn04

— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) November 16, 2021

Steve Beschloss/substack:

Crime, Justice and the Surviving Belief in Governance

Four major stories offer a picture of two different versions of America

Yes, governance is often ugly…and frustrating…and infuriating when it reveals the fractures in perspective that fail to recognize and address the real needs of Americans. It’s made worse by a 50-50 Senate split with Republicans who refuse to participate in legislation that can meaningfully improve lives. But at a time when the country is confronted by the arrogance of extremists who relish violence and hunger to destroy democracy, the commitment to governance remains a reason for optimism—indeed, a crucial counterpoint.

A rare story (above) that highlights GOP refusal to participate in governance.

The other problem with not having a good strategy/toolset to deal with the freak show is that you end up inadvertently emboldening stuff like this. https://t.co/iEpLh364gB

— Liam Donovan (@LPDonovan) November 16, 2021

But stories like the above might not be so rare.

And here’s your quick economic summary:

US Retail Sales hit another all-time high while Consumer Sentiment is at its lowest level in 10 years. Watch what they do, not what they say. pic.twitter.com/x2Md4zFAj0

— Charlie Bilello (@charliebilello) November 16, 2021

Reuters:

EXCLUSIVE Rating agencies say Biden's spending plans will not add to inflationary pressure

The two pieces of legislation "should not have any real material impact on inflation", William Foster, vice president and senior credit officer (Sovereign Risk) at Moody's Investors Service, told Reuters.

The impact of the spending packages on the fiscal deficit will be rather small because they will be spread over a relatively long time horizon, Foster added.

(Bloomberg) - The number of containers sitting on docks at the port of Los Angeles has declined 29%, CEO Gene Seroka says. (via @business @conorsen)pic.twitter.com/H8f0zabcTC

— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla) November 16, 2021

And finally:

It does not belong to you. Box it up and I will pay the cost of postage, Jake.

— Dionne Warwick (@dionnewarwick) November 15, 2021

Included because I love this tweet.