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

[Mister Mets]

Thats my big thing. The reality is its highly likely Dems could lose the Senate. So if you are dealing with reality he seriously should be looking at the exit in the next few months. And Dems just get in their prime target dont even pretend to care about any GOP votes

One special election or one Democrat switching parties is enough to make McConnell majority leader again.

I suspect Breyer made the decision to leave at the end of the term, but doesn't want to announce it yet, and is worried that it would make the court look more political.

I do think it is an unfortunate position for a supreme court justice to be in, and this speaks to the benefits of term limits, so that justices don't have the personal incentive to stick around as long as possible, and don't have to choose between their political preferences and maintaining the vision of the court as being above politics.

The Democratic Party controls four out of five of the boroughs in New York City. That leads to two things. 1. Democrats who would be moderate Republicans almost anywhere else, and 2. Democrats who have so much power that they fall to the temptation to abuse that power. I'm not saying that makes it right. I'm just explaining how it happens.

I do think it would be a mistake to assume that Eric Adams just happens to be the one sketchy Democrat in New York.

It's a big city, and there are a lot of Democrats who end up doing stupid and/ or corrupt things. Most of them just don't have the scrutiny that comes with being a major candidate for mayor. It's possible that someone else will win tonight, but Eric Adams won't be the Democratic party's only flawed machine politician (and there are also going to be weirdos outside of the traditional machines; those of you who favor establishment Democrats probably won't assume that every Bernie Sanders supporter running for office knows what they're doing.) With 47 council members, 62 members of the state assembly coming from the city, roughly 25 state senators coming from the city, assorted other officeholders and failed candidates for all those offices, they're not all going to be FDR. Hell, they're not all going to be Schumer.

This reminds me of all the stuff that came out about Karen Bass when Biden was considering her as a running mate. I'm pretty sure she didn't become Speaker of the California State Assembly or chair of the congressional black caucus by being significantly more corrupt than all of her colleagues. She was just under more scrutiny for a brief while than most of them ever were.

[Tami]

One special election or one Democrat switching parties is enough to make McConnell majority leader again.

I suspect Breyer made the decision to leave at the end of the term, but doesn't want to announce it yet, and is worried that it would make the court look more political.

I do think it is an unfortunate position for a supreme court justice to be in, and this speaks to the benefits of term limits, so that justices don't have the personal incentive to stick around as long as possible, and don't have to choose between their political preferences and maintaining the vision of the court as being above politics.

I do think it would be a mistake to assume that Eric Adams just happens to be the one sketchy Democrat in New York.

It's a big city, and there are a lot of Democrats who end up doing stupid and/ or corrupt things. Most of them just don't have the scrutiny that comes with being a major candidate for mayor. It's possible that someone else will win tonight, but Eric Adams won't be the Democratic party's only flawed machine politician (and there are also going to be weirdos outside of the traditional machines; those of you who favor establishment Democrats probably won't assume that every Bernie Sanders supporter running for office knows what they're doing.) With 47 council members, 62 members of the state assembly coming from the city, roughly 25 state senators coming from the city, assorted other officeholders and failed candidates for all those offices, they're not all going to be FDR. Hell, they're not all going to be Schumer.

This reminds me of all the stuff that came out about Karen Bass when Biden was considering her as a running mate. I'm pretty sure she didn't become Speaker of the California State Assembly or chair of the congressional black caucus by being significantly more corrupt than all of her colleagues. She was just under more scrutiny for a brief while than most of them ever were.

No one is perfect. Any voter who expects perfection from their candidate is going to disappointed eventually.

However, there is a difference between being flawed, being unethical, being criminal, and being, well, crazy if I can use that term.

Nearly every politician is flawed in one way or another. Some get haunted by their past, some by what they have said or written, some by who they have associated with.

It's the ones that go beyond simply being flawed that we all need to worry about.

[Tami]

Senate Republicans block debate on elections bill, dealing blow to Democrats’ voting rights push

Senate Republicans banded together Tuesday to block a sweeping Democratic bill that would revamp the architecture of American democracy, dealing a grave blow to efforts to federally override dozens of GOP-passed state voting laws.

The test vote, which would have cleared the way to start debate on voting legislation, failed 50-50 on straight party lines — 10 votes short of the supermajority needed to advance legislation in the Senate.

It came after Democrat after Democrat delivered warnings about the dire state of American democracy, blaming former president Donald Trump for undermining its foundations by challenging the 2020 election results, which prompted his supporters in numerous state legislatures to pass new laws rolling back ballot access.

“Are we going to let reactionary state legislatures drag us back into the muck of voter suppression? Are we going to let the most dishonest president in history continue to poison our democracy from the inside?” Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said before the vote. “Or will we stand up to defend what generations of Americans have organized, marched, fought and died for — the sacred, sacred right to vote?”

But Republicans stood firmly together in opposition, following the lead of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who on Tuesday lambasted the Democrats’ bill, known as the For the People Act, as “a transparently partisan plan to tilt every election in America permanently in [Democrats’] favor” and as “a recipe for undermining confidence in our elections.”

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Senate Republicans block debate on elections bill, dealing blow to Democrats’ voting rights push

Qpublicans know a voting rights bill would kill them since cheating, gerrymandering and preventing people of color from voting is the ONLY way they can win.

[worstblogever]

Thats my big thing. The reality is its highly likely Dems could lose the Senate. So if you are dealing with reality he seriously should be looking at the exit in the next few months. And Dems just get in their prime target dont even pretend to care about any GOP votes

The only thing the Democrats have going for them with Senate races in 2022 is the GOP have far more seats up for grabs. Democrats only have to play defense on 11, the GOP have 22 up for grabs. And they don't have incumbents in PA or MO.

With voting rights restrictions, though, it's going to still be goddamned tough for Democrats to flip anything, unless they literally make the race about getting farther in control of the Senate to build a coalition without Sinema & Manchin to eliminate the filibuster and get s*** done.

And then Sinema and Manchin can be on their own in '24 in primaries for being so goddamned stubborn.

[Tendrin]

The only thing the Democrats have going for them with Senate races in 2022 is the GOP have far more seats up for grabs. Democrats only have to play defense on 11, the GOP have 22 up for grabs. And they don't have incumbents in PA or MO.

With voting rights restrictions, though, it's going to still be goddamned tough for Democrats to flip anything, unless they literally make the race about getting farther in control of the Senate to build a coalition without Sinema & Manchin to eliminate the filibuster and get s*** done.

And then Sinema and Manchin can be on their own in '24 in primaries for being so goddamned stubborn.

Barring a significant turn around, Sinema is a goner. Her attempts to craft a moderate, 'maverick' image at this moment in time is going to cost her *dearly* and, unless she takes steps to shore up support from actual Democrats, she will not make it to a second term. That isn't a prediction I make lightly.

[worstblogever]

Barring a significant turn around, Sinema is a goner. Her attempts to craft a moderate, 'maverick' image at this moment in time is going to cost her *dearly* and, unless she takes steps to shore up support from actual Democrats, she will not make it to a second term. That isn't a prediction I make lightly.

This is how the local left-leaning paper is covering her:



I mean... when you've made yourself that kind of notorious with your antics when you're needed to step up to do what's necessary to sidestep Mitch McConnell, the Senate's Grim Reaper, if you were any more toast, they'd cover you in a thin layer of butter.

[worstblogever]

On this date in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, as well as 2020, "Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day" published profiles of the current U.S. House Representative from New Jersey’s 4th Congressional District, Christopher Smith, who is currently serving in his 19th term in office, and who we gave praise for his work in stopping international child sex trafficking. That however, does not change the fact that Smith is one of the worst anti-abortion zealots in our entire government, and has been linked to "7 Mountains" Dominionist groups of Fundamentalists who believe Christians are destined to take over all of American life. He has compared abortion to the Holocaust, and referred to it as "child slaughter" and prior to the 2012 election as well as in 2015 said that Barack Obama is “the abortion president” who has promoted “radically pro-abortion” people to the government who are promoting “evil” with an “anti-child, anti-woman mentality.” Not surprisingly, whenever a controversial pro-life bill hits the floor of the House, Rep. Smith is usually a sponsor or co-sponsor, including Personhood legislation, and attempts to redefine the definition of "rape" by doing things like classifying if it's "forcible" rape or not. When the Center for Medical Progress released their fraudulent video to frame Planned Parenthood (which Smith refers to PP as “Child Abuse, Inc”) in 2015, Smith still didn't hesitate to fire off one of the most unhinged press releases when the story first hit, graphically describing "crushing babies" and accusing Planned Parenthood supposedly selling "baby body parts". (Which were the exact things the mass shooter at the Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood was rambling about… so nice use of stochastic terror triggers there, Rep. Smith! As extreme as he is on the issue of abortion, he's also rather appalling on the issue of LGBT rights, not just being opposed to gay marriage, but trying to argue that homosexual rights are not human rights, and going with Rep. Trent Franks to the United Nations to demand they not give recognition to the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, siding with nations against them like Egypt, Angola, Burundi, China, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia and Sudan. (In all those countries but China, LGBT people can be jailed, fined, or whipped.) Nothing like allying yourself with the world’s classiest countries to deny rights to gays, right?

Christopher Smith was still re-elected in 2020 with 60% of the vote, and his voting record since shows he’s still feverishly hyper-conservative:

• March 7th, 2019: Smith votes against HR 183, a resolution to condemn anti-Semitism as a hateful extension of intolerance.
• October 23rd, 2019: Smith is one of 41 Republicans who, while staring down the possibility of Donald Trump being impeached, stage a ridiculous publicity stunt in response by crashing a classified impeachment inquiry hearing for a “protest”.
• December 18th, 2019: Rep. Smith ignores his Congressional duty to hold a president who has been proven to commit high crimes and misdemeanors accountable and votes against the first impeachment of Donald Trump.
• May 15th, 2020: Smith votes against the HEROES Act, to further support the healthcare industry and citizens affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
• December 10th, 2020: Smith signs his name to an amicus brief to the Supreme Court, begging them to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The same election that he won re-election in.
• January 6th, 2021: Chris Smith votes for the objection to the electoral college’s votes in the 2020 election, a failure to send any sort of message that he wasn’t intimidated or sympathetic to those who attacked the Capitol to attempt a violent coup.
• January 13th, 2021: Rep. Smith votes against the second impeachment of Donald Trump, because the Republican Party no longer feels like they should be accountable for anything, including failed coups that result in the deaths of both their participants and police officers.
• February 4th, 2021: Chris Smith votes to keep Marjorie Taylor Greene’s committee assignments, because he wouldn’t want her to be accountable for all the bigoted remarks and conspiracy theories she’s spread online (probably because she’s a kindred spirit).
• February 25th, 2021: Smith votes against HR 5, the latest version of the Equality Act, that would provide workplace protections for LGBTQ Americans.
• March 3rd, 2021: Rep. Smith votes against HR 1, a bill created to prevent the corruption of money in politics, and protect voter access to the ballot box.
• March 3rd, 2021: Chris Smith votes against the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021.
• March 10th, 2021: Smith votes against the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, because he feels people deserve to die in poverty during a pandemic.
• March 17th, 2021: Rep. Smith votes against the re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act, likely because they feel the 2nd Amendment remaining absolute is more important than preventing people with a history of domestic abuse from owning a firearm (which statistics show, makes them more likely to use those firearms against women in their lives).
• May 19th, 2021: Chris Smith votes against HR 3233, the creation of a commission to investigate the Capitol Attack.

Again, we want to be clear. Congressman Chris Smith has done a great deal of good with the office he has held for 40 years. His work in preventing human trafficking is commendable. He has, in the past few years, argued for a permanent renewal of the Zadroga Act. But when it comes to women's rights and LGBTQ rights... well, those are a whole other story. He’s still been yelling his head off about Planned Parenthood and calling them “Child Abuse, INC” when he speaks in front of religious right groups. However, outside of “safe places” where he panders to his own element, Smith has spent the better part of the past four years hiding from his constituents in New Jersey’s 4th District like a coward rather than face them regarding a lot of his votes, and they were forced to host a town hall without him in February 2017. Of course, Rep. Smith hasn’t hosted a town hall in over a quarter century, so there’s that.

New Jersey’s 4th District still has a +8 Republican lean, and Christopher Smith is now trying his best to blend in with the worst members of his party, claiming in the wake of the attack on the Capitol that he’d seen protesters with “hammer and sickle tattoos”, because you just know all those folks weren’t Trump supporters, they were secret communists so committed to framing Trump supporters for their crimes that they couldn’t be bothered to wear sleeves. Meanwhile, weeks later, he became one of the few Republicans to have been in Congress long enough to vote to impeach Bill Clinton for lying about a blowjob that also voted against impeaching Donald Trump for attempting a violent coup upon our country’s legislative branch.

This is a man who when our country needed him the most, left it wanting. Just having someone with a modicum of a spine would have been nice.

[Amadeus Arkham]

The White House is expected to extend the federal moratorium on evictions for another month.

The Biden administration plans to extend the national moratorium on evictions, scheduled to expire on June 30, by one month to buy more time to distribute billions of dollars in federal pandemic housing aid, according to two officials with knowledge of the situation.

The moratorium, instituted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last September to prevent a wave of evictions spurred by the economic downturn associated with the coronavirus pandemic, has significantly limited the economic damage to renters and sharply reduced eviction filings.

Congressional Democrats, local officials and tenant groups have been warning that the expiration of the moratorium at the end of the month, and the lapsing of similar state and local measures, might touch off a new — if somewhat less severe — eviction crisis.

President Biden’s team decided to extend the moratorium by a month after an internal debate at the White House over the weekend. The step is one of a series of actions that the administration plans to take in the next several weeks, involving several federal agencies, the officials said.
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Other initiatives include a summit on housing affordability and evictions, to be held at the White House later this month; stepped-up coordination with local officials and legal aid organizations to minimize evictions after July 31; and new guidance from the Treasury Department meant to streamline the sluggish disbursement of the $21.5 billion in emergency aid included in the pandemic relief bill in the spring.

White House officials, requesting anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the issue publicly, said that the one-month extension, while influenced by concerns over a new wave of evictions, was prompted by the lag in vaccination rates in some parts of the country and by other factors that have extended the coronavirus crisis.

Forty-four House Democrats wrote to Mr. Biden and the C.D.C. director, Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, on Tuesday, urging them to put off allowing evictions to resume. “By extending the moratorium and incorporating these critical improvements to protect vulnerable renters, we can work to curtail the eviction crisis disproportionately impacting our communities of color,” the lawmakers wrote.

Many local officials have also pressed to extend the freeze as long as possible, and are bracing for a rise in evictions when the federal moratorium and similar state and city orders expire over the summer.



Gov. Gavin Newsom of California announced on Monday that his state had set aside $5.2 billion from federal aid packages to pay off the back rent of tenants who fell behind during the pandemic, an extraordinary move intended to wipe the slate clean for millions of renters.
Still, groups representing private landlords maintain that the health crisis that justified the freeze has ended, and that continuing the freeze even for an extra four weeks would be an unwarranted government intrusion in the housing market.

“The mounting housing affordability crisis is quickly becoming a housing affordability disaster fueled by flawed eviction moratoriums, which leave renters with insurmountable debt and housing providers holding the bag,” said Bob Pinnegar, president of the National Apartment Association, a trade group representing owners of large residential buildings.

lol on the bolded part. The health crisis that justified the freeze has not ended. Herd immunity has not been reached yet. What the heck are these jackals on?

[AnakinFlair]

The White House is expected to extend the federal moratorium on evictions for another month.

lol on the bolded part. The health crisis that justified the freeze has not ended. Herd immunity has not been reached yet. What the heck are these jackals on?

They are seeing housing prices skyrocket, and want in on the action. But first they need to kick the people who haven't been able to pay rent to the curb.

[worstblogever]

The White House is expected to extend the federal moratorium on evictions for another month.

lol on the bolded part. The health crisis that justified the freeze has not ended. Herd immunity has not been reached yet. What the heck are these jackals on?

Unfettered capitalism without empathy, would be my answer.

[BeastieRunner]

Unfettered capitalism without empathy, would be my answer.

That is a good answer, BTW.

Too bad they don't see it that way.

[Mister Mets]

The White House is expected to extend the federal moratorium on evictions for another month.

lol on the bolded part. The health crisis that justified the freeze has not ended. Herd immunity has not been reached yet. What the heck are these jackals on?

The health crisis is declining significantly.

New daily cases in the United States are less than a tenth of what they were at the peak.

The same is true of the daily death rate. Covid is now lower as a cause of death than strokes or accidents (and significantly lower than heart disease or cancer.)

They are seeing housing prices skyrocket, and want in on the action. But first they need to kick the people who haven't been able to pay rent to the curb.

Obviously, they want to make money.

But there are additional problems with the eviction moritorium.

It's really hard to kick out nightmare tenants.

https://www.thecut.com/article/kate-...llage-nyc.html

[Mister Mets]

Barring a significant turn around, Sinema is a goner. Her attempts to craft a moderate, 'maverick' image at this moment in time is going to cost her *dearly* and, unless she takes steps to shore up support from actual Democrats, she will not make it to a second term. That isn't a prediction I make lightly.

Do you think Sinema's unlikely to make it to a second term because she'll lose a primary or because she won't be able to turn out progressives during the general election? Is the latter relevant in a swing state in a presidential election year?

The only thing the Democrats have going for them with Senate races in 2022 is the GOP have far more seats up for grabs. Democrats only have to play defense on 11, the GOP have 22 up for grabs. And they don't have incumbents in PA or MO.

With voting rights restrictions, though, it's going to still be goddamned tough for Democrats to flip anything, unless they literally make the race about getting farther in control of the Senate to build a coalition without Sinema & Manchin to eliminate the filibuster and get s*** done.

And then Sinema and Manchin can be on their own in '24 in primaries for being so goddamned stubborn.

If Democrats ran openly on a platform of making Joe Manchin and Krysten Sinema less powerful, do you see that as a strategy that has a great chance of success, or is it more of a potential hail mary, something that could work, but you're not sure about it?

Will it help Val Demings against Marco Rubio in Florida, or Maggie Hassan against Chris Sununu in New Hampshire?

No one is perfect. Any voter who expects perfection from their candidate is going to disappointed eventually.

However, there is a difference between being flawed, being unethical, being criminal, and being, well, crazy if I can use that term.

Nearly every politician is flawed in one way or another. Some get haunted by their past, some by what they have said or written, some by who they have associated with.

It's the ones that go beyond simply being flawed that we all need to worry about.

It's a fair distinction on the difference between crazy and flawed. But there are different levels of flaws. Getting upset at the decision to expel a member of a state legislature who was convicted of slashing an ex-girlfriend's face with glass is pretty bad (although not as bas as the guy who was on trial.)

[shooshoomanjoe]

The White House is expected to extend the federal moratorium on evictions for another month.

lol on the bolded part. The health crisis that justified the freeze has not ended. Herd immunity has not been reached yet. What the heck are these jackals on?

Not every landlord is a conglomerate. Some are just average people making a few extra dollars. I make a decent wage and was unemployed early when the pandemic happened and my unemployment payments were far higher than my regular wages. I don't see how people fell behind their rents if they made more money during the pandemic.