All purpose news and politics thread part VI: This Is Not The Time For Posing

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Best advertisement for the vaccine ever.

Ain’t THAT the truth!

View from the helicopter as trump makes his way from the airport to Mar-a-Lago on his final ride in The Beast!

If I post the image, I risk getting banned. But it's really funny.

I saw the picture on Twitter before I swung by here. And yeah, it’s hilarious!

[Mister Mets]

The. Call. Was. Correct.



You say this like you're upset he couldn't convincingly pull off the Big Lie. The one that he did anyway, but not enough people believed. But the ones who did believe, were inspired to carry out a violent coup attempt for him.

I'm gonna repeat something I've advised... you don't have to carry water for Donald Trump, whether you realize you're doing it or not, you still are. You can do the sane thing and stop. Hell, Mitch McConnell is the ultimate partisan f***snake, and even he's given it up.

If a person needs to roll a six to win a game, it wouldn't be appropriate to declare the game over even if there is an 83% chance he'll lose. Saying "The. Call. Was. Correct." doesn't counter that there was a chance that it could have been wrong.

The Fox News call could have been the equivalent of that, especially since they were calling a state where the difference ended up being 0.3% on Tuesday Night.

It's not clear that the level of certainty was warranted. No one's presented that argument. I featured an expert who doesn't like Trump, who thought the call was premature.

I'm not sure how you read a statement with the words "It was good for the country that Fox News made the announcement" as me being upset about that result. It seems to fit an interpretation that it doesn't matter what someone says, but what side they're on, which is the argument Trump supporters use to defend his lies. It's a catastrophic approach to political discussion.

Because the Decision Desk was smart enough to calculate that Trump had no hope of getting the votes he needed to take Arizona since the lead wasn't where it needed to be before the outstanding votes of Maricopa and Pima.



Nate Silver is jealous that he didn't get to call the Election and someone did things better using traditional means. That's all.

The world is not wired to his rear end.



Fox called it not for "the good for the country" but because it made sense with their calculations just as it did in 2012 when they called Ohio or in 2018 when they called the "blue wave".

What's the necessity of going after an analyst's character?

It is worth noting that the difference in Ohio was ten times the difference in Arizona, so it's not an equivalent situation. A race that is won by three percent can be called earlier than a race that is won by .3 percent.

[Robotman]

Yup. They got played as surely as the people who enrolled in Trump University got played.

I’m sure they will treat it the same why charlatan preachers react when they’re prophesied “end of days” doesn’t come to pass. “It looks like God/Q changed their plans. Everything will come to pass. In the meantime, let’s continue the fundraising!”

[Revolutionary_Jack]

If a person needs to roll a six to win a game, it wouldn't be appropriate to declare the game over even if there is an 83% chance he'll lose. Saying "The. Call. Was. Correct." doesn't counter that there was a chance that it could have been wrong.

Election projections by news organization by its nature is all-or-nothing, either you make the smart daring call and you are right, or you do it and scar your reputation for good.

In this case, they called it.

If you wish to propose a system such as a national election law by which mail ballots and early voting are counted early across all states, and overseen by an independent multi-paristan organization, then I suggest you do it.

Otherwise you are just railing for no reason.

[Iron Maiden]

There needs to be a religious reckoning for these idiots.

I am Christian and I am fairly confident God has nothing to do with this.

They are worshiping an orange Florida spray tan man. Talk about false idols ...

*facepalm*

That post reads more like she is a practicing witch rather than being a member of the Christian faith.

[Iron Maiden]

There sure will be a lot of Senate seats on the ballot for the midterms.....14 for the Democrats and 20 for the GOP

Democrats – 14
Bennet, Michael F. (D-CO)
Blumenthal, Richard (D-CT)
Cortez Masto, Catherine (D-NV)
Duckworth, Tammy (D-IL)
Padilla, Alex (D-CA)
Hassan, Margaret Wood (D-NH) – possible challenge from Gov. Sununu
Mark Kelly – running for full term
Leahy, Patrick J. (D-VT) – possible retirement – 80 years old
Murray, Patty (D-WA)
Schatz, Brian (D-HI)
Schumer, Charles E. (D-NY) – potential primary challenge from AOC
Van Hollen, Chris (D-MD)
Warnock, Raphael (D-GA)
Wyden, Ron (D-OR)

Republicans – 20
Blunt, Roy (R-MO)
Boozman, John (R-AR)
Burr, Richard (R-NC) – has announced will not run again
Crapo, Mike (R-ID)
Grassley, Chuck (R-IA) – possible retirement – 87 years old
Hoeven, John (R-ND)
Johnson, Ron (R-WI) – several potential challengers, including Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson
Kennedy, John (R-LA)
Lankford, James (R-OK)
Lee, Mike (R-UT)
Moran, Jerry (R-KS)
Murkowski, Lisa (R-AK)
Paul, Rand (R-KY)
Portman, Rob (R-OH)
Rubio, Marco (R-FL)
Scott, Tim (R-SC)
Shelby, Richard C. (R-AL) – possible retirement – 86 years old
Thune, John (R-SD)
Toomey, Patrick J. (R-PA) – has announced will not run again
Young, Todd (R-IN)

[Revolutionary_Jack]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/polit...n-oval-office/

Biden's already taken to redecorating the Oval Office. He's removed the portrait of Andrew Jackson and other Trump stuff and put in a bust of Cesar Chavez, MLK and RFK and he's centered his Office around a big portrait of FDR. He's also put more portraits than anyone before it seems.

In some ways the choice doesn't speak about Biden but more about the expectations and ideas the electorate has of him. Like I doubt if Cesar Chavez really did have such a big impact on him. But Biden wants the people who voted for him to see aspects of their expectations in his office.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

Schumer, Charles E. (D-NY) – potential primary challenge from AOC

Only if Schumer f--ks things up really bad over the next two years (and make no mistake, dude's got in him to screw up but not on that epic a scale), but even then I don't think AOC will risk primarying the Senate Majority Leader, especially in 2024 when Kirsten Gillibrand is coming up. It would be a huge career risk and divide the party.

[Iron Maiden]

Only if Schumer f--ks things up really bad over the next two years (and make no mistake, dude's got in him to screw up but not on that epic a scale), but even then I don't think AOC will risk primarying the Senate Majority Leader, especially in 2024 when Kirsten Gillibrand is coming up. It would be a huge career risk and divide the party.

Agreed, this would not be a good move on her part. Her time will come some day but she should just try and keep peace in the party for now. We've had enough drama in the past 4 years.

[AnakinFlair]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/polit...n-oval-office/

Biden's already taken to redecorating the Oval Office. He's removed the portrait of Andrew Jackson and other Trump stuff and put in a bust of Cesar Chavez, MLK and RFK and he's centered his Office around a big portrait of FDR. He's also put more portraits than anyone before it seems.

In some ways the choice doesn't speak about Biden but more about the expectations and ideas the electorate has of him. Like I doubt if Cesar Chavez really did have such a big impact on him. But Biden wants the people who voted for him to see aspects of their expectations in his office.

I was surprised that he kept the gold drapes. I always felt they looked too gaudy; that they belonged in a casino, not the White House.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

Agreed, this would not be a good move on her part. Her time will come some day but she should just try and keep peace in the party for now. We've had enough drama in the past 4 years.

Well I think AOC should hold the party accountable and push it to the left, I am for that. And I want her in the senate too. But Schumer's just not gonna be voted out in 2022 on a ballot where he's
a) Senate Majority Leader.
b) First Senate Majority Leader from NYS.

If Schumer passes major legislation in the next 20 months, he's secure.

[Amadeus Arkham]

[Mister Mets]

There sure will be a lot of Senate seats on the ballot for the midterms.....14 for the Democrats and 20 for the GOP

Democrats – 14
Bennet, Michael F. (D-CO)
Blumenthal, Richard (D-CT)
Cortez Masto, Catherine (D-NV)
Duckworth, Tammy (D-IL)
Padilla, Alex (D-CA)
Hassan, Margaret Wood (D-NH) – possible challenge from Gov. Sununu
Mark Kelly – running for full term
Leahy, Patrick J. (D-VT) – possible retirement – 80 years old
Murray, Patty (D-WA)
Schatz, Brian (D-HI)
Schumer, Charles E. (D-NY) – potential primary challenge from AOC
Van Hollen, Chris (D-MD)
Warnock, Raphael (D-GA)
Wyden, Ron (D-OR)

Republicans – 20
Blunt, Roy (R-MO)
Boozman, John (R-AR)
Burr, Richard (R-NC) – has announced will not run again
Crapo, Mike (R-ID)
Grassley, Chuck (R-IA) – possible retirement – 87 years old
Hoeven, John (R-ND)
Johnson, Ron (R-WI) – several potential challengers, including Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson
Kennedy, John (R-LA)
Lankford, James (R-OK)
Lee, Mike (R-UT)
Moran, Jerry (R-KS)
Murkowski, Lisa (R-AK)
Paul, Rand (R-KY)
Portman, Rob (R-OH)
Rubio, Marco (R-FL)
Scott, Tim (R-SC)
Shelby, Richard C. (R-AL) – possible retirement – 86 years old
Thune, John (R-SD)
Toomey, Patrick J. (R-PA) – has announced will not run again
Young, Todd (R-IN)

Not all of these are flippable.

Warnock is much more vulnerable in Georgia than Hoeven is in North Dakota. If Fetterman runs in Pennsylvania, which seems really likely, it probably represents the best chance anyone has of flipping a seat, especially with ambitious Republicans having the alternative of an open Governor's race.

I could see AOC running against Schumer, although it seems like a catastrophically bad idea. She would be a serious underdog.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

There's a good article here on what Senate Majority Leaders do for their Home States:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/08/n...ty-leader.html

There has never been a Senate majority leader from New York, let alone one from Brooklyn.

But after Democrats claimed razor-thin wins in a pair of Georgia runoffs, Senator Chuck Schumer will soon be taking charge of the legislative agenda in Washington’s upper chamber, and — by extension — place New York in line to reap the benefits.

The state, in theory, should have already been in that position, but President Trump rarely adopted stances that benefited his former home state. That is expected to change with Mr. Schumer, with Democrats across New York thrilled to have a direct line to a man in charge of vitally needed federal aid and other assistance.

[...]

How much can a Senate majority leader do for his home state?
A lot. There is a long bipartisan tradition of majority leaders helping their home states out, whether it be through direct funding of projects, such as water plants in Mississippi, under the leadership of Trent Lott, a Republican, or more recently, the advocacy of Harry Reid, a Democrat, to sell off public lands and allow Nevada to use the profits for improvements.

In Washington, Senator Mitch McConnell, a Republican, is primarily known for his uncanny ability to keep his conference in line and on schedule, delivering major victories for Mr. Trump on tax reform, the confirmation of three Supreme Court justices, and, of course, the president’s acquittal on impeachment charges last year.

But the outgoing majority leader was also known for bringing money to his home state of Kentucky, which regularly ranks as one of the top “taker states” in the nation — meaning that it receives far more federal assistance than it provides in tax revenue.

In late 2019, Mr. McConnell claimed to have brought $1 billion to Kentucky as part of two end-of-year spending bills, with money for everything from a veterans hospital in Louisville to a “forage animal production lab” devoted to horses and cattle at the University of Kentucky.

Mr. Schumer, a diligent practitioner of old-fashioned politics, seems perfectly suited to carry on this tradition. He makes a habit of traveling to all of the state’s 62 counties every year and announcing ample servings of pork: $8 million for a Cornell lab, $81.5 million for the Rochester Institute of Technology, $14 million for Covid-19 efforts. And that was just since New Year’s Day.

If people want to know why Mitch defeated Amy McGrath in Kentucky...well there's your answer. Dude legally embezzled the Fed. gov to provide Socialism to Kentucky...aka stuff the Dems would have been happy to do (i.e. start a veteran's hospital and so on) had he co-operated and not been an obstructionist.

So yeah, Schumer would have to fail colossally by 2022 to even reach a state where AOC could primary him, or for her to win. Because the thing about AOC is that she would never enter an election unless she had a realistic strong chance she could win, nor would she throw a spanner without cause.

Like for instance, despite her criticisms about Nancy Pelosi she has voted for her as Speaker multiple times because she wouldn't risk the alternative to Pelosi to be a more conservative Dem Speaker.

[Steel Inquisitor]

Well I think AOC should hold the party accountable and push it to the left, I am for that. And I want her in the senate too. But Schumer's just not gonna be voted out in 2022 on a ballot where he's
a) Senate Majority Leader.
b) First Senate Majority Leader from NYS.

If Schumer passes major legislation in the next 20 months, he's secure.

He's "secure" right now, it's like unseating Pelosi in California. AOC come a long way but she hasn't proven she's able to knock out an opponent as popular as Schumer. He's not a doofus slacker like Joe Crowley. She also has shown less ambition since her last election, her experiences and expectations since getting elected have rattled her. And she keeps getting people trying to assassinate her. She's not going to get become the Majority leader if she does somehow unseat him, she hasn't got those connections in the Senate. People really need to stop thinking she's the next Hillary Clinton.