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

[Malvolio]

Slow process indeed. That's why whenever the Democrats do win, instead of celebrating the win, some on the left can only complain about how long it took.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

Dems on coming to power always like to resume "normal" politics, i.e. institutional deliberation, "cooling of temperatures" and so on.

It's their biggest, and most obvious, vulnerability. It's what hurt Obama in the 2010 midterms.

It doesn't surprise me that they are doing this again, at the same time the situation is so crazy -- with open fascists like Hawley in the Senate and a coward and traitor like Ted Cruz alongside him, that there's a sense of urgency among some.

Will it be enough, who knows?

[numberthirty]

The Democrats are losing the war though, they've been losing since the 1980s and they keep trotting out the same old strategy and expecting a different result.

How much are they actually even fighting the war?

While I absolutely get that the aid package was "Has To Happen..."(and, honestly? Something Democrats should have been at the table on back in October...), it is not really "The War..."

Biden was Vice President in an administration that promised to deliver on Card Check.

Is it anywhere on his agenda for this year while he actually has an outside chance of getting things done?

I'm willing to allow for that it is, and that it just got lost in the shuffle. I just haven't heard anything that points to that it is any sort of a priority while they have something like a chance in Congress.

[worstblogever]

50 Republicans go out and punch the 99% of Americans in the face.
48 Democrats try to stop the bleeding, two are slow to the rescue.

People on the internet are silly enough to blame all 50 Democrats, and not the motherf***ers who keep punching them in the face.

It's predictable, repetitive, and the same people pushing this stupid narrative keep at it without ever holding those who punch them in the face accountable. Like... really? I'm frustrated with Sinema and Manchin right now, but is this Stockholm Syndrome, where you've become sympathetic to the people who took you hostage, or...?

So dumb.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

People on the internet are silly enough to blame all 50 Democrats, and not the motherf***ers who keep punching them in the face.

The purpose of the Democrat Party since Nixon has been to protect the world from the Republicans.

To put it mildly, their record (protecting the world from the Republicans) is not very commendable on that front.

The Moderate Dems didn't fight hard enough for the 15$ minimum wage which would have made them superpopular. They keep banking on politics as usual while not enacting their mandate, while the Republicans pretend they have a mandate and represent a majority even when they don't.

I am happy the Stimmy got passed and I hope Biden and others have the sense to make this into a victory parade and milk this for all its worth but if the people feel that 45 gave them a bigger check than Uncle Joe did then that will be a problem.

[Gray Lensman]

The purpose of the Democrat Party since Nixon has been to protect the world from the Republicans.

To put it mildly, their record (protecting the world from the Republicans) is not very commendable on that front.

The Moderate Dems didn't fight hard enough for the 15$ minimum wage which would have made them superpopular. They keep banking on politics as usual while not enacting their mandate, while the Republicans pretend they have a mandate and represent a majority even when they don't.

I am happy the Stimmy got passed and I hope Biden and others have the sense to make this into a victory parade and milk this for all its worth but if the people feel that 45 gave them a bigger check than Uncle Joe did then that will be a problem.

Every time you call it the Democrat Party and not the Democratic Party you demonstrate how well that bit of Republican rebranding has worked.

[AnakinFlair]

The purpose of the Democrat Party since Nixon has been to protect the world from the Republicans.

To put it mildly, their record (protecting the world from the Republicans) is not very commendable on that front.

The Moderate Dems didn't fight hard enough for the 15$ minimum wage which would have made them superpopular. They keep banking on politics as usual while not enacting their mandate, while the Republicans pretend they have a mandate and represent a majority even when they don't.

I am happy the Stimmy got passed and I hope Biden and others have the sense to make this into a victory parade and milk this for all its worth but if the people feel that 45 gave them a bigger check than Uncle Joe did then that will be a problem.

Here's the thing- they never were going to get the $15 an hour in this bill. No Republican was going to vote for it, because they think being obstructionists and denying the Democrats ANYTHING will win them seats in the midterms. And even if they had every single Democrat on board, and even if Vice President Harris would have overruled the Parliamentarian, they would still need to get 10 Republicans to beat the filibuster. And for whatever reason, there are still some Democrats who don't want to do away with the filibuster despite it having been used against them almost exclusively for the past 20 years or so.

So no, no matter how hard they fought here, they couldn't get it passed. All they could do was hold a symbolic vote to put each member of the House and Senate on record, in the hopes of using that in the midterms. And in the meantime, they can try pushing for a separate bill, or the can stick it into a must-pass piece of legislation, like a defense spending bill.

[numberthirty]

Here's the thing- they never were going to get the $15 an hour in this bill. No Republican was going to vote for it, because they think being obstructionists and denying the Democrats ANYTHING will win them seats in the midterms. And even if they had every single Democrat on board, and even if Vice President Harris would have overruled the Parliamentarian, they would still need to get 10 Republicans to beat the filibuster. And for whatever reason, there are still some Democrats who don't want to do away with the filibuster despite it having been used against them almost exclusively for the past 20 years or so.

So no, no matter how hard they fought here, they couldn't get it passed. All they could do was hold a symbolic vote to put each member of the House and Senate on record, in the hopes of using that in the midterms. And in the meantime, they can try pushing for a separate bill, or the can stick it into a must-pass piece of legislation, like a defense spending bill.

Serious question...

Do you believe that these blockheads will get this nonsense passed?

https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics...ht-to-work-act

GOP lawmakers introduce National Right to Work Act

That it is probably going nowhere fast?

Non-Issue.

Those fools are fighting the war.

If folks get the feeling that Dems are not doing the same?

They just lost House seats in what should have been a gimme.

How will they do if they have a couple of years of not really getting enough done?

[numberthirty]

With a friend like this, who needs enemies?

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/ele...ttees-n1259824

Trump sends cease-and-desist letters to GOP campaign committees

[Jack Dracula]

The purpose of the Democrat Party since Nixon has been to protect the world from the Republicans.

To put it mildly, their record (protecting the world from the Republicans) is not very commendable on that front.

The Moderate Dems didn't fight hard enough for the 15$ minimum wage which would have made them superpopular. They keep banking on politics as usual while not enacting their mandate, while the Republicans pretend they have a mandate and represent a majority even when they don't.

I am happy the Stimmy got passed and I hope Biden and others have the sense to make this into a victory parade and milk this for all its worth but if the people feel that 45 gave them a bigger check than Uncle Joe did then that will be a problem.

I read peoples comments about not fighting "hard enough" and am compelled to ask for a definition of how hard that exactly is.

Serious question...

Do you believe that these blockheads will get this nonsense passed?

https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics...ht-to-work-act



That it is probably going nowhere fast?

Non-Issue.

Those fools are fighting the war.

If folks get the feeling that Dems are not doing the same?

They just lost House seats in what should have been a gimme.

How will they do if they have a couple of years of not really getting enough done?

You call it a "gimme" but clearly it wasn't. If it were Democrats would've swept the House and Senate.
Don't blame the Democrats for the level of crazy commitment in the GOP base.

With a friend like this, who needs enemies?

That's exactly what I'm thinking right now.

[numberthirty]

You call it a "gimme" but clearly it wasn't. If it were Democrats would've swept the House and Senate.
Don't blame the Democrats for the level of crazy commitment in the GOP base.

...

Politely, you are just plain incorrect here.

While I get that "Crazy GOP Commitment..." is seemingly the excuse for the way that Dems face planted?

It is an excuse.

The way that the GOP was taking a blowtorch to their chances right in the middle of a pandemic?

That is a gimme.

You will never get another confluence of calamity and office holder stupidity like that again.

Gimme.

[DrNewGod]

The purpose of the Democrat Party since Nixon has been to protect the world from the Republicans.

To put it mildly, their record (protecting the world from the Republicans) is not very commendable on that front.

The Moderate Dems didn't fight hard enough for the 15$ minimum wage which would have made them superpopular. They keep banking on politics as usual while not enacting their mandate, while the Republicans pretend they have a mandate and represent a majority even when they don't.

I am happy the Stimmy got passed and I hope Biden and others have the sense to make this into a victory parade and milk this for all its worth but if the people feel that 45 gave them a bigger check than Uncle Joe did then that will be a problem.

Jack, I get ya. I even agree with you.

But until we rip Dark Money wide open to the clear light of day, genuine servants of the greater good are going to be fighting with one hand handcuffed to their opposite ankle. They can only make The Deep Pockets so angry, or they go back to being struggling lawyers, with half their potential client base hating them.

I'd like better public servants than that, it ain't what we got. We got politicians, not kamikaze pilots. They're not going to die for the better world they know we all need.

[PwrdOn]

Jack, I get ya. I even agree with you.

But until we rip Dark Money wide open to the clear light of day, genuine servants of the greater good are going to be fighting with one hand handcuffed to their opposite ankle. They can only make The Deep Pockets so angry, or they go back to being struggling lawyers, with half their potential client base hating them.

I'd like better public servants than that, it ain't what we got. We got politicians, not kamikaze pilots. They're not going to die for the better world they know we all need.

The thing about that is, the campaign finance laws are what they are because they serve to keep the people who wrote them in power, and in order for anyone to change them, they would first have to be in power, which is pretty difficult if you insist on following rules explicitly designed to prevent that sort of thing. Whether you're talking about campaign finance, or the electoral college, or gerrymandering, or court packing, or any of that stuff, change isn't going to come about by appealing to some non-existent referee that's going to come along and level the playing field for us.

[numberthirty]

I read peoples comments about not fighting "hard enough" and am compelled to ask for a definition of how hard that exactly is.

...

Fairly simple...

Let's say we have this guy who is Vice President. While he was, he and the President promised to deliver on Card Check.

Actually fighting hard enough?

A good starting point would involve getting back to work on Card Check without folks having to point out that it is something that you never delivered on once such a guy wound up being elected President.

Never mind if this guy has Congress when he winds up being elected President.

[shooshoomanjoe]

Fairly simple...

Let's say we have this guy who is Vice President. While he was, he and the President promised to deliver on Card Check.

Actually fighting hard enough?

A good starting point would involve getting back to work on Card Check without folks having to point out that it is something that you never delivered on once such a guy wound up being elected President.

Never mind if this guy has Congress when he winds up being elected President.

How can anything get done when one party is denying what the other party wants to pass?