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

[GindyPosts]

Democrats enamored of Liz Cheney seem to have amnesia







The perfect Liz Cheney reality check article imo

It's as if the New York Times Opinion section nutted when Liz Cheney lost, thinking she would become a Democrat overnight. It doesn't work that way; it'll never work that way!

[JB]

Trump CFO Allen Weisselberg pleads guilty in tax scheme
https://www.axios.com/2022/08/18/all...ilty-tax-fraud

The big picture: Last year, the Manhattan district attorney’s office charged Weisselberg and the Trump family business for taking more than $1.7 million in "off the books" compensation from the organization.

- Under the terms of the plea deal, Weisselberg, who was facing up to 15 years in prison, has agreed to serve five months in prison as well as five years of probation. With time credited for good behavior, he is expected to about 100 days behind bars, the New York Times reported.
- Weisselberg must also pay nearly $2 million in taxes, penalties and interest, AP reported.
- Under the plea deal Weisselberg must also testify as a prosecution witness at the forthcoming trial for the Trump Organization
- Prosecutors alleged that the scheme allowed Weisselberg to skirt paying taxes on rent and private school tuition, per the Times.
- Weisselberg, 75, is the only person facing criminal charges so far in the investigation into the Trump organization's business practices.
- Weisselberg and the Trump Organization have tried to get the charges dismissed, claiming they were politically motivated.

[Mister Mets]

Democrats enamored of Liz Cheney seem to have amnesia




The perfect Liz Cheney reality check article imo

If the objection to Trump is that he’s a Republican, people are not going to agree with Liz Cheney on him.

It is worth noting it’s normal for Congress members to vote most of the time with the president if he’s a member of their party. This is more of a gauge of how they respond to bills that are brought to a vote.

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com...ongress-votes/

For contrast, Sinema votes with Biden more than Cheney voted with Trump. Manchin votes with Biden 88% of the time.

The problem progressives have right now is conservatives are showing that they are offering no compromise whatsoever with what they want and they are essentially getting away with it, while establishment Democrats are telling left-wing Americans "No, you are bad for America because you're too extreme". When you have those kinds of mixed messages, you cannot blame progressive Americans from feeling like their voices are purposefully being ignored, which in turn will help the far right movement in turning the United States into a totalitarian state.

How should political professionals compromise with progressives?

Since progressives want what moderate Democrats get (they typically want to go further) isn’t that already a compromise?

[Gray Lensman]

It's as if the New York Times Opinion section nutted when Liz Cheney lost, thinking she would become a Democrat overnight. It doesn't work that way; it'll never work that way!

Liz Cheney is about as far to the right as one can get without slipping into the Alt Reich wing - but she does still support something resembling democracy. Scary how that puts her in the minority of the GoP.

[useridgoeshere]

Unlike Cheney's 93%, the issue with Sinema and Manchin are more about the major things that they've derailed so they never get to a vote or when they do, they're less reflective of what Biden wanted and more about what those two will accept. If Dems had won two more seats with more aligned Senators, Manchin and Sinema's record would likely be very different.

[Gray Lensman]

The problem progressives have right now is conservatives are showing that they are offering no compromise whatsoever with what they want and they are essentially getting away with it, while establishment Democrats are telling left-wing Americans "No, you are bad for America because you're too extreme". When you have those kinds of mixed messages, you cannot blame progressive Americans from feeling like their voices are purposefully being ignored, which in turn will help the far right movement in turning the United States into a totalitarian state.

Republicans have long been a lockstep party. Deviate on any of the tentpole issues and your career is over. The opposition is a big tent of nearly everyone else, so they aren't going to operate the same. A large part of the issue with this is gerrymandering - it has shifted power in many elections away from the swing voters and towards primary voters, who are typically further towards the extreme than even the non-primary voting members of their own party. It's nearly impossible to lose a heavily gerrymandered district in a general election, as they are designed that way, therefore, only the primary matters.

There are other causes, of course. Business as usual politics have hollowed out the middle class, and finding someone to blame is easier than the hard and complicated work of fixing it. Plus, when your brand is to blow the system up, it makes it easy to push all the blame onto those who merely think the system needs an overhaul.

[Jack Dracula]

I don't see it happening anytime soon, unfortunately. Just look at Liz Cheney's primary loss.

I’m not talking about the electorate. I’m taking about the party leadership who actively prevent representatives from voting in favor of legislation intended to improve the lives of average Americans simply to create a state of dissatisfaction. Trump wouldn’t have been elected if he hadn’t run as the outsider looking to “drain the swamp”. A swamp of gridlock and stagnation largely created by the obstructionist Republicans.
I’ll add that Liz Cheney was as much a part of that obstruction as anyone in the party.

[SquirrelMan]

Anyone who does not understand the majority of this thread SHOULD be about Trump and his terror cult does not understand what the General understands:

[hyped78]

Anyone who does not understand the majority of this thread SHOULD be about Trump and his terror cult does not understand what the General understands:

Sure, if you want to focus only on the negatives, then yeah it makes sense to talk only about Trump

[SquirrelMan]

For the love of god. google what words mean before you reply.

[hyped78]

For the love of god. google what words mean before you reply.

Care to politely explain?

"For the love of god" - I don't believe in god anyways (but have no problem with people who do, to be clear)

Like I've said, I have no problem that many on this thread like to talk exclusively - or mainly - about Trump. That's fine. But there's more to politics than Trump, that shouldn't be hard to understand.

[CaptainEurope]

I smell a bankruptcy filing coming up.

The idea that Weisselberg is NOT cooperating against Trump is a fallacy; he has to testify truthfully at the upcoming trial of Trump Org on 10/24, or risk jail for a lot more than 5 months. At least as to the Trump org charges, which implicate DJT, he is cooperating.

https://twitter.com/AWeissmann_/stat...GQtp4yeDyhW9TA

People are underplaying how much trouble the Trump Org is in.

https://twitter.com/CREWcrew/status/1560247177947013121

Long-time Trump Org CFO Allen Weisselberg to plead guilty to 15 felonies. He must testify at Trump Org trial and will receive a 5-month sentence, which could be stiffer if he doesn't live up to the plea agreement during the trial scheduled for October. (NYT)

https://twitter.com/DonLew87/status/1560005290338254848

[CaptainEurope]

Ron Johnson is also struggling in the polls.

A new Marquette Law School Poll survey of Wisconsin finds a close race for governor and Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes with a 7-percentage-point lead in the race for U.S. Senate.

And incumbent being this far under water this early in the race is ... unusual.

[Scott Taylor]

Anyone who does not understand the majority of this thread SHOULD be about Trump and his terror cult does not understand what the General understands:

Apparently Trump and the Republicans haven't done enough warrantless domestic spying for his tastes!

[CaptainEurope]

Apparently Trump and the Republicans haven't done enough warrantless domestic spying for his tastes!

"Guy who had near unlimited access to information says Republicans are the biggest danger to the world" is not the get you think it is.