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

[green_garnish]

The "Republican party" doesn't have to die.
It just needs a way to separate itself from the über-Conservative Trumpist side and become a more sensible alternative to the Democratic party (who have their own über-Liberal radical wing trying to assert themselves).
Maybe what we need is a stronger moderate, independent party for those people who feel uncomfortable with both ultra-extreme wings.

Wait . . . so at one point, Hawkman was reincarnated as Bernie Sanders?!?

Seems like Bernie is a better fit for a Sandman replacement

[WestPhillyPunisher]

The knives are out.

A lot of people raked Birx over the coals, and I agree she said a lot of dumb things, but I also think it was hard for her to be there and do what she did.

A lot of people, myself included, washed their hands of Birx after that infamous presser where Trump suggested people ingest disinfectants while she sat silent nearby. Has she ever addressed what happened that day?

[Tami]

Pro Tip. Paywalls are what they are, but post more relevant information if you're posting paywalled articles. WHY is the senate fighting, and grinding to a halt when Dems have control.

Edit: Assuming those details are given...

I added more details.

[MajorHoy]

A lot of people, myself included, washed their hands of Birx after that infamous presser where Trump suggested people ingest disinfectants while she sat silent nearby. Has she ever addressed what happened that day?

She may have just hoped enough people weren't dumb enough to think Trump knew what he was talking about and that people with real information could correct Trump when Trump wasn't in the same room with them.

[SquirrelMan]

The first Reuters Poll gives Biden an approval rating of 57, with 32 disapproving.

Their final poll for his predecessor gave Trump 35% approval, 63% disapproving.

I don't think Trump ever had 57% approval in any poll, even Rasmussen.

[PwrdOn]

Pro Tip. Paywalls are what they are, but post more relevant information if you're posting paywalled articles. WHY is the senate fighting, and grinding to a halt when Dems have control.

Edit: Assuming those details are given...

It's fairly simple really, if the Democrats don't nuke the filibuster they won't pass anything, because there's absolutely no chance of them swinging 10 GOP senators to vote for any bill. And if they're concerned about hurting their future electoral chances, they should probably realize that if they don't follow through on any of the promises they made during the campaign they're likely to lose the Senate in 2022 anyway. The sensible play is to just push through as much legislation as possible now, accept that this might create a backlash, but as the long term benefits of these policies start to play out and have positive impacts on society, that voters will be too be attached to them for any future GOP administration to undo them, just like what happened with Obamacare. Preserving the filibuster effectively favors the status quo, which suits Republicans just fine, and if four years of Trump weren't enough to hand the Democrats a 60 vote supermajority, then nothing will. This is not the time to play nice, this is the time to learn how to play power politics the way the right has been doing for 40 some odd years.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

The first Reuters Poll gives Biden an approval rating of 57, with 32 disapproving.

Their final poll for his predecessor gave Trump 35% approval, 63% disapproving.

I don't think Trump ever had 57% approval in any poll, even Rasmussen.

Lucian K. Truscott pointed out that Biden's done more in his first few days than Trump in his entire Presidency, that three days in, Biden acts like he's been POTUS for a year.

[Joker]

I added more details.

Thank you! Those were the details I was looking for.

It's fairly simple really,

Yeah, I get why they should. I'm wondering why they aren't. The whole point of Georgia being so important was control, and the ability to not be in this position right now. Ram through good policies, Republicans be damned!

Lucian K. Truscott pointed out that Biden's done more in his first few days than Trump in his entire Presidency, that three days in, Biden acts like he's been POTUS for a year.

To be fair, Biden has a lifetime of government experience, and 8 years as the VP, vs Trump's 0 years of any Government. I'd expect nothing less of Biden.

[Mister Mets]

The "Republican party" doesn't have to die.
It just needs a way to separate itself from the über-Conservative Trumpist side and become a more sensible alternative to the Democratic party (who have their own über-Liberal radical wing trying to assert themselves).
Maybe what we need is a stronger moderate, independent party for those people who feel uncomfortable with both ultra-extreme wings.

Moderates can have more impact by voting in primaries. Ten million people voting for an independent party won't help the party win, but five million people voting in the Democratic or Republican primaries would be an important constituency. Just under 37 million people voting in the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries, and turnout is much lower for other races.

I also suspect that moderates would also be temperamentally unlikely to do something radical like form a new party. If there is a new party it would probably come from people who think Democrats aren't left-wing enough, or that Republicans aren't right-wing enough.

[Jack Dracula]

The "Republican party" doesn't have to die.
It just needs a way to separate itself from the über-Conservative Trumpist side and become a more sensible alternative to the Democratic party (who have their own über-Liberal radical wing trying to assert themselves).
Maybe what we need is a stronger moderate, independent party for those people who feel uncomfortable with both ultra-extreme wings.

No. The GOP became antithetical to the idea of representative democracy back in the 1990s or earlier. They've had decades to walk it back but it's too late now. That became apparent on 1/6. If society is to move forward the GOP must go.

[CaptainEurope]

The "Republican party" doesn't have to die.
It just needs a way to separate itself from the über-Conservative Trumpist side and become a more sensible alternative to the Democratic party (who have their own über-Liberal radical wing trying to assert themselves).
Maybe what we need is a stronger moderate, independent party for those people who feel uncomfortable with both ultra-extreme wings.

As a German, I flinch every time the fascist wing of the Republican party is called "conservative", qualifier or no qualifier. Appreciate the umlaut though.

[MajorHoy]

No. The GOP became antithetical to the idea of representative democracy back in the 1990s or earlier. They've had decades to walk it back but it's too late now. That became apparent on 1/6. If society is to move forward the GOP must go.

Oh, please . . .
the problem is what is perceived as the "Republican Party" in terms of extremes.
There are Republicans out there who are not as ridiculous as the likes of Ted Cruz, but idiots like Cruz are so bombastic that they drown out the others in the party. Yes, there need to be more Republicans who speak up AND can work with the other side at times. (Its times like this I miss guys like John McCain, a person who could agree with other side some times.)

[MajorHoy]

As a German, I flinch every time the fascist wing of the Republican party is called "conservative", qualifier or no qualifier. Appreciate the umlaut though.

Sorry about that, but the "Conservative" and "Liberal" labels have been associated with Republicans and Democrats for about as long as I can remember. It just seems natural to use that terminology when talking about the two parties here in the U.S.

[myownlittleusername]

Lucian K. Truscott pointed out that Biden's done more in his first few days than Trump in his entire Presidency, that three days in, Biden acts like he's been POTUS for a year.

Didn't Obama sign an executive order when he started to close Guantanamo? Yet it's still open today.

Apparently executive orders do not always work that well, so remains to be seen how it works out for Biden.

[MiddleMan]

Oh, please . . .
the problem is what is perceived as the "Republican Party" in terms of extremes.
There are Republicans out there who are not as ridiculous as the likes of Ted Cruz, but idiots like Cruz are so bombastic that they drown out the others in the party. Yes, there need to be more Republicans who speak up AND can work with the other side at times. (Its times like this I miss guys like John McCain, a person who could agree with other side some times.)

and they refused to stand up to the Ted Cruz and Josh Hawleys and Trumps of the party

so they are collaborators

aka enemies of the US

run them all out