A few links and quick thoughts on three different subjects today:
1. George Shultz passed away away on Sunday at the age of 100 (!). Shultz was a Republican of a different era, who no doubt looked at the GOP of today with a combination of confusion and frustration. Perhaps, as my straight ticket voting grandmother has said, he was glad he was near the end and wouldn't have to deal with politics anymore. Shultz was Secretary of State for Ronald Reagan when Reagan decided it was time to take action to limit the compounding damage to the Earth's ozone layer. As this 2019 article from Forbes notes, there was far less conclusive science in the 1980s about the damage to the ozone layer than their is today regarding climate change.
Thing about that: in the 1980s scientists were legitimately divided on the issue of the ozone layer being damaged, to what degree, or what to do about it. And a conservative Republican President, in the words of Shultz:
"(D)id something that nobody ever does anymore ... (President Reagan) went to the scientists who didn't agree and put his arm around them and said, 'We respect you, but you do agree that if it happens it's a catastrophe, so let's take out an insurance policy."
Imagine a Republican at any significant level of government doing something similar today with their own party. Staking out a position that, if wrong, still wouldn't hurt us, but if right might save us. It's hard to imagine any Republican taking a progressive stance on combating climate change, let alone the party head (as President Reagan was) doing so. Shultz truly was from a different era, and era that is rapidly passing on.
2. Interesting fact check from The Dispatch on the minimum wage debate. While this site is pretty conservative, they cite legitimate sources in establishing that President Biden's statement that "all the economics show" that a minimum wage will be a boon for the economy isn't accurate. Of course, the Democrats would cite other studies and statistics to tell you raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour will be like a rising tide raising all ships. Ultimately, the truth is that it's unlikely that all economists will agree on anything, given their various economic-political view points. But it's probably a pretty safe bet to say that whatever action is taken (including inaction) will have far reaching consequences. Given that many states (29 plus the District of Columbia) have already established minimum wages above the national standard of $7.25 an hour there is probably a middle ground that makes sense. It would probably also make sense to tether the minimum wage to economic factors year to year or every five to ten years to ensure that we don't end up in a situation where the federal minimum wage is so far below the poverty line again.
3. Finally, Axios reported that Kevin McCarthy, the House Minority Leader, told Liz Cheney she needed to apologize for voting to Impeach President Trump. Cheney, a skilled tactical politician, called the bluff and survived the secret ballot in the Republican caucus to remove her from the leadership. She remains the number three in the GOP House hierarchy, and has continued to stake out her position as an anti-Trump voice in the party. It is hard to imagine how badly McCarthy and other leadership must hope President Trump fades into oblivion to allow them to unite against the Biden administration without litmus tests of loyalty to MAGA. That said, with fringe candidates like Representatives Taylor Greene and Boebert continuing to stake out more and more real estate on the conspiracy theory fringe it's hard to imagine the party unifying over much in the near term. At any rate, good on Representative Cheney for sticking to her position, voting her conscious, and staring down the attempt to get her to reverse course for political survival. Our government would be far better with more members, on both sides of the aisle, willing to do the same.
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