The Jeb Bush Show (Fancy & Shame)

It would seem we were not the only ones who noticed.

Matthew Yglesias looked into the Jeb Bush’s suggestion of four percent GDP growth:

But 4 percent is not really a round number. The US economy grew faster than 2 percent in 2014, 2013, and 2012 and is projected by most economists to grow faster than 2 percent in 2015. Economists surveyed by the Associated Press, Politico, and the New York Times all doubted that 4 percent growth was achievable.

Wednesday, speaking in Iowa, Jeb defended the 4 percent target on the grounds that “aspirational goals” are important in politics.

According to James Glassman, Bush originally selected this goal at random, backed by zero substantive analysis of any kind:

That ambitious goal was first raised as Bush and other advisers to the George W. Bush Institute discussed a distinctive economic program the organization could promote, recalled James Glassman, then the institute’s executive director.

“Even if we don’t make 4 percent it would be nice to grow at 3 or 3.5,” said Glassman, now a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. In that conference call, “we were looking for a niche and Jeb in that very laconic way said, ‘four percent growth.’ It was obvious to everybody that this was a very good idea.”

No, really, is there any telling that doesn’t make the story sound incredibly stupid? As Howard Schneider and Steve Holland explained for Reuters, “Asked by Reuters during a campaign-style stop in New Hampshire on Thursday how he had arrived at the figure, Bush said: ‘It’s a nice round number. It’s double the growth that we are growing at. It’s not just an aspiration. It’s doable.'”

The End of a Short Chapter

And then it was over.

After facing a firestorm of criticism for racist comments he made publicly, incoming Assembly Speaker Ira Hansen announced that he would not lead the chamber during the upcoming legislative session.

After announcing to his legislative colleagues that he was stepping down, Hansen issued a news release today saying the controversy surrounding him had been an “orchestrated attack.”

“The deliberate character assassination and the politics of personal destruction have totally distorted my views and record,” he said in the release. “Ultimately, this whole attack has very little to do with my views. The powers that be are planning a massive, more than $1 billion, tax increase and I stood in the way as speaker. I have already served two terms as an assemblyman without any of these vicious attacks. It was only when I had risen to leadership that this smear campaign occurred. That is the real reason for this and it is vital the public understands that.”

(Roerink)

Sort of.

Start imagining how to posture this episode for conservative-cause fundraising.

____________________

Roerink, Kyle. “Nevada Assembly’s speaker-elect steps down amid racism controversy”. Las Vegas Sun. 23 November 2014.

The State with Legal Brothels

“Have you ever heard the case … of a young boy sticking his finger in his ear, getting ear wax and inserting it into a girl to test her for chlamydia?”

―Nevada Assembly Speaker-Designate Ira Hansen (R-Sparks)

This one is going to take some explanation.

Actually, in truth, it is pretty much inexplicable.

Hansen has consistently voted against legislation that would have modernized the state’s sex education curriculum. But in one odd exchange with a 19-year-old mother who had become pregnant as a 15-year-old, Hansen challenged her on her understanding of sex as a sixth grader and asked her to verify a rumor brought up by a prior witness.

Here are excerpts from the exchange:

Assemblyman Hansen: “You said that when you would talk with your parents about sex, they would tell you that they would beat up if you ‘did it.’ Did you know what ‘did it’ was at that time?”

Teenage mom: “No, not exactly.”

Assemblyman Hansen: “You had no clue about what sex was in sixth grade? When your parents asked you not to do it, did you ask what ‘did it’ was?”

Teenage mom: “I knew what they were talking about, but I did not know what to expect.”

Assemblyman Hansen: “Have you ever heard the case … of a young boy sticking his finger in his ear, getting ear wax and inserting it into a girl to test her for chlamydia?”

Teenage mom: “No, I have not.”

At that point the committee chairwoman interrupted the exchange.

(Damon)

So this is how it goes in Nevada. It’s what the people vote for. But, yeah. You’re welcome to try to figure out that one on your own.

Earwax?