Brown's Win Evidence of 'Wretched' State of the Union, Whines Washington Post's Pearlstein

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Scott Brown replacing Ted Kennedy in the Senate really irritates the Washington press corps, as evidenced by Washington Post business section columnist Steven Pearlstein, who in Wednesday's paper cited Brown's victory as an example of the “wretched” state of the nation while he scolded Massachusetts voters for selfishness in picking Brown to replace Kennedy who had fought “for social justice.”

In “The State of the Union speech Obama would give in a more honest world,” Pearlstein, a former reporter who won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for commentary, recommended President Obama begin: “My fellow Americans, the state of our union is...well, quite wretched at the moment.” Amongst the “wretched” indicators:

Massachusetts, which for nearly half a century proudly sent a senator to Washington to fight for social justice and universal health care, has chosen as his replacement someone who campaigned in effect on the slogan “We've got ours, so the hell with everyone else.”

To get America “back on track,” Pearlstein urged, in his January 27 column, action on global warming via a tax hike:

Given the urgency of global warming and the political difficulties of passing a complex cap-and-trade bill, I am asking Congress, as an interim step, to impose a modest carbon tax beginning in 2011 equal to 25 cents on a gallon of gasoline, rising to 50 cents in five years, with the revenue to be used to reduce payroll taxes. That will result in no net increases in federal taxes.

Pearlstein in August: “Health Reform Threatened by Conservatives' Anti-Tax Fantasy”

And: “Smears GOP as 'Political Terrorists' on Health Care, But His Own Data Is Dubious”