It's Come to This: Republicans Want to Raise Taxes on Consumers

The overthrow of Libyan dictator Moammar Qaddafi is the important story of the day, to be sure. Foreign policy wonk Steve Clemons calls it a "huge win" for both the Libyan people and President Obama, while showing some understandable trepidation over what happens next. Juan Cole breaks down what the event means through the process of elimination, shooting down myths we're sure to see crop up again and again in the coming days and weeks. For once, the story of the day deserves to be the story of the day.

But the problem with the big stories is that they tend to crowd out other stories. With a 24/7 news media, this should not be the case, but it is. It's rational in a sort of televised car chase way; even if nothing's happening right now, it's inevitable that something will -- the chase will end one way or another -- and if you cut away to cover something else, you may miss the big crack up (or, as is more often the case, the anticlimactic peaceful arrest). In this case, if network cameras take their viewfinders off Libya, they may miss the money shot of Qaddafi himself being arrested or gunned down or blown up or even fleeing.

But the real world doesn't cooperate with the media world's programming decisions. Things are scheduled to happen linearly; people in the world aren't waiting for Qaddafi's last hour as dictator to run out before moving on to other things. It all goes on simultaneously, with stories overlapping. If one story becomes the story, other stories get sidelined. Take, for example, the fact that Republicans want to raise taxes on nearly half of Americans:

Associated Press:

News flash: Congressional Republicans want to raise your taxes. Impossible, right? GOP lawmakers are so virulently anti-tax, surely they will fight to prevent a payroll tax increase on virtually every wage-earner starting Jan. 1, right?

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Impeaching Obama Over Libya -- An Incorrect Solution to the Wrong Problem

As much as I like Dennis Kucinich, I've got to disagree with him -- the president not only shouldn't be impeached over what amounts to an undeclared war in Libya, but he can't be impeached for it. Rep. Kucinich is just barking up the wrong tree here.

Talking Points Memo:

A number of Democratic and Republican lawmakers are concerned about the White House's air assault on Libya, but Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) raised the rhetoric to 11 on Monday, suggesting President Obama should be impeached.

"President Obama moved forward without Congress approving. He didn't have Congressional authorization, he has gone against the Constitution, and that's got to be said," Kucinich said in an interview with Raw Story. "It's not even disputable, this isn't even a close question. Such an action -- that involves putting America's service men and women into harm's way, whether they're in the Air Force or the Navy -- is a grave decision that cannot be made by the president alone."

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Egypt

It looks like yesterday's reporting that Hosni Mubarak would step down as President of Egypt were premature -- but barely. I was going to write about something else, but there's only one real story today. Mubarak has stepped down and there's dancing in the streets of Cairo and Alexandria. If Mubarak had hoped yesterday's speech would save his butt, he was about as wrong as he could possibly be.

Juan Cole:

After the crowd at Tahrir Square absorbed the news that Mubarak was still president and that his gestures to them were mostly vague or symbolic, they were from all accounts angry. Some took off their shoes and showed the soles, a sign of disrespect. To their credit, the protesters mostly quietly dispersed in order to get some rest for Friday, when they were already calling for major protests.

But, some were so exercised that 3,000 headed toward the presidential palace, where they staged a demonstration. Another 10,000 headed toward the television station, which they surrounded. The symbology here was dire, since the first thing a coup-maker in the Arab world does is to send tanks to surround the television station.

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