Pragmatism! Moody’s Investors Service, a leading credit rating agency, warned in a report on Monday that the tax cut compromise could imperil the U.S. government’s top Aaa rating, though a downgrade remains highly unlikely. The Moody’s report pointed to provisions such as a temporary payroll tax holiday and extensions of unemployment insurance and the Bush-era tax cuts as likely to produce “substantially higher budget deficits,” even accounting for an expected

Kiki McClean and Mark McKinnon discuss No Labels with Judy Woodruff at PBS. No need to watch the whole thing, though. Just listen to Kiki McClean’s first answer. What “party” is that, Kiki? Does the “party” you hope to “make stronger” have a name, dear? Does it already exist as a thing whose label you’ve decided it best to obfuscate? And Mr McKinnon: are you really comfortable being labeled a

Judge Henry Hudson: “The unchecked expansion of congressional power to the limits suggested by the Minimum Essential Coverage Provision would invite unbridled exercise of federal police powers.” Reading conservative responses to yesterday’s ruling out of the VA court left me very sad, frankly. And that’s because many of us actually found ourselves giddy that a federal judge looked at the plain language of the Commerce Clause and ruled that no,

From which tyranny is born: Keep your hands off my uterus! kid’s rainbow Gogurt!

Wait, David Frum? He’s that ‘no labels guy,’ right…?

Business as usual. Yes, they heard us. And yes, they got the message. They’re just choosing to ignore it, is all.

Does the model of human nature we embrace guide and shape everything else, from the economic system we prefer to the political system we support? Arthur C. Brooks and Peter Wehner seem to think so: The American founders believed, and capitalism rests on the belief, that people are driven by “self-interest” and the desire to better our condition. Self-interest is not necessarily bad; in fact, Smith believed, and capitalism presupposes,

WSJ: A Virginia federal judge is expected to rule Monday on whether the Obama administration’s health law violates the Constitution, opening a new stage in the administration’s defense of its biggest legislative achievement. The ruling by District Judge Henry E. Hudson is perhaps the most significant so far among a slew of state-based legal challenges to the law, which also faces attack by newly resurgent Republicans in Congress. More than

Jonah Goldberg: Hater. At least, that’s what David Frum might label him, given Goldberg’s refusal to sign on to the “no labels” idea. Writes Goldberg: What no-labelers really mean is that they don’t like inconvenient disagreements that hinder their agenda. And that’s what is so troubling, indeed so undemocratic, about this claptrap. When they claim we need to put aside labels to do what’s right, what they are really saying

Sign the petition here. Since this deal was announced I’ve been arguing against it, noting that in the wake of a massive electoral victory spurred on by the Tea Partiers and their message of fiscal responsibility and accountability, it makes little sense to be happy with the status quo on most tax rates, a tax hike of 35% on certain estates upon death, and an additional $200-$300 billion in unfunded