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

[Adam Allen]

I keep hearing people say that they hope Biden toughens up and starts to talk more control and light a fire under the Dems. But the sad thing is he is not the guy for that. I mean he is not dumb he knows the GOP will not work with him. He knows that they will not support his stuff. Yet pretty much every time he is asked about it he does the whole "We will work with them. I want them on board and hope and think they will come around." He is not strong enough to just try and bully his way through them. I dont like Trump at all but he did have the "You dont work with us? Fine I will steam roll you out of the way." Not of this "I hope to have you on board." stuff. Biden just doesnt have the fire to be a strong leader because he is spending all of his time taking the high road and trying so hard to prove he can work with everyone that no one even a couple people in his own party are working with him.

I voted for Biden. I like the man and respect what he is trying to get done. But at some point his has to dig in his heels and say enough is enough. You guys are Dems start acting like it. Let's get crap done. Everyone says the guy in the White House is the Leader of the Party. Well Biden needs to act like more. How much crap has he let get dropped from his bill because he is being held hostage by 2 members of his own party? And let me tell you what. The GOP is running like Hell with those talking points.

You know what, I seriously hate to be that guy, but ... just have to point out, the whole argument for Biden being more "electable" than Bernie was that Bernie would be too extreme and not compromise enough to be able to work with the moderates. So, I mean ... Biden doing his best to work with moderate Dems and even Republicans is really doing what he was elected to do. He was supposed to try and compromise and get everybody working together. The big criticism for Bernie was that he would be too stubborn in his progressive ideals, and would never get more mainstream Dems on board with his agenda.

I mean, not even saying that would not have been true. Just saying -- Biden is doing the part he was hired for. He is being the kind of president Democratic voters apparently wanted. And you know, maybe it is not just better than if the last guy had been re-elected, but maybe a Sanders presidency really would have been an absolute dumpster-fire, by comparison.

Guess I'm saying -- maybe this frustratingly inadequate performance is really the best we could have ended up with, under the circumstances. At the least -- his approach is what the voters collectively asked for.

[babyblob]

You know what, I seriously hate to be that guy, but ... just have to point out, the whole argument for Biden being more "electable" than Bernie was that Bernie would be too extreme and not compromise enough to be able to work with the moderates. So, I mean ... Biden doing his best to work with moderate Dems and even Republicans is really doing what he was elected to do. He was supposed to try and compromise and get everybody working together. The big criticism for Bernie was that he would be too stubborn in his progressive ideals, and would never get more mainstream Dems on board with his agenda.

I mean, not even saying that would not have been true. Just saying -- Biden is doing the part he was hired for. He is being the kind of president Democratic voters apparently wanted. And you know, maybe it is not just better than if the last guy had been re-elected, but maybe a Sanders presidency really would have been an absolute dumpster-fire, by comparison.

Guess I'm saying -- maybe this frustratingly inadequate performance is really the best we could have ended up with, under the circumstances. At the least -- his approach is what the voters collectively asked for.

I get what you are saying. he did run on the I will work with everyone and be the president that brings us together. But there has to be a point when he wakes up and says that is not possible. There are people who wont work with him no matter how much he tries and he needs to change his tactics a bit. And he damn sure needs to kick the members of his own party in the ass and get them on board with what he and a lot of people want rather then just dropping everything 2 members of his party dont like. He is giving up on his own agenda in his own party. What is going to happen when the GOP gives major push back if The Dems can get a bill together that they all agree on. He just does not have the strength of character to play hard ball. You listen to him talk tough and you just dont buy into it. Talks tough on getting his spending bill and infrusture bill passed, police reform, voting rights. And you just know that he cant back up his tough talk. Is congress to blame? Partly yes. But part of it is also on him. he is not changing his tactics and mindset. He is seeing that people are standing in his way and he still wont change his game plan.

[kidfresh512]

Kyle Rittenhouse Trial Judge Boots Juror Who Joked About Why It Took ‘Seven Shots to Shoot Jacob Blake’

Saying that the “appearance of bias is present,” the judge overseeing the intentional homicide trial of Kenosha, Wis. shooter Kyle Rittenhouse on Thursday morning dismissed a juror who made an inappropriate joke about the police shooting of Jacob Blake.

Judge Bruce Schroeder talked with prosecutors and defense attorneys without the jury present to discuss the matter involving Juror #7’s purported joke on Thursday morning.

“Why did it take seven shots to shoot Jacob Blake?” the juror allegedly said (according to Schroeder’s retelling).

The juror was subsequently brought into court to answer questions for the record.

“I was told that while you were being escorted to the car the other day that you began to tell a joke about the shooting of Jacob Blake, and I wanted to see if that was accurate or not,” the Judge Schroeder said to the juror.

“It is?” the judge said in response to an inaudible response from Juror #7. “Are you comfortable repeating what the joke is, or do you just want to leave it alone?”

Juror #7 apparently answered that he did not want to repeat the joke when called to answer for it, though his comment was not audible on a live feed of the proceeding.

The judge was not amused.

Good lord Juror #7. Hold your racism in for a few weeks you coulda helped get your boy off then be racist again afterwards

[babyblob]

Kyle Rittenhouse Trial Judge Boots Juror Who Joked About Why It Took ‘Seven Shots to Shoot Jacob Blake’





Good lord Juror #7. Hold your racism in for a few weeks you coulda helped get your boy off then be racist again afterwards

That line for the movie Porky's come to mind.

"You are too dumb to even be a good racist."

How about the jury for the Ahmaud Arbery case. 11 white people 1 black juror. And the judge ever said there appears to be Intentional Discrimination. But he is still letting the trial go forward.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/03/us/ah...now/index.html

[JB]

You know what, I seriously hate to be that guy, but ... just have to point out, the whole argument for Biden being more "electable" than Bernie was that Bernie would be too extreme and not compromise enough to be able to work with the moderates. So, I mean ... Biden doing his best to work with moderate Dems and even Republicans is really doing what he was elected to do. He was supposed to try and compromise and get everybody working together. The big criticism for Bernie was that he would be too stubborn in his progressive ideals, and would never get more mainstream Dems on board with his agenda.

I mean, not even saying that would not have been true. Just saying -- Biden is doing the part he was hired for. He is being the kind of president Democratic voters apparently wanted. And you know, maybe it is not just better than if the last guy had been re-elected, but maybe a Sanders presidency really would have been an absolute dumpster-fire, by comparison.

Guess I'm saying -- maybe this frustratingly inadequate performance is really the best we could have ended up with, under the circumstances. At the least -- his approach is what the voters collectively asked for.

The fact remains that Biden was almost in last place after Iowa (and Harris dropped out before the primaries). The voters just weren't going for him until they had no remaining choice. Bernie was too much of a wild card.

Unfortunately we have a border crisis (10's of thousands sleeping under a bridge), rising costs on just about everything, and a supply chain issue that's getting worse. Congress can't be blamed for all of it.

[TheDarman]

I get what you are saying. he did run on the I will work with everyone and be the president that brings us together. But there has to be a point when he wakes up and says that is not possible. There are people who wont work with him no matter how much he tries and he needs to change his tactics a bit. And he damn sure needs to kick the members of his own party in the ass and get them on board with what he and a lot of people want rather then just dropping everything 2 members of his party dont like. He is giving up on his own agenda in his own party. What is going to happen when the GOP gives major push back if The Dems can get a bill together that they all agree on. He just does not have the strength of character to play hard ball. You listen to him talk tough and you just dont buy into it. Talks tough on getting his spending bill and infrusture bill passed, police reform, voting rights. And you just know that he cant back up his tough talk. Is congress to blame? Partly yes. But part of it is also on him. he is not changing his tactics and mindset. He is seeing that people are standing in his way and he still wont change his game plan.

The issue of course is that people who are more willing to take something over nothing are always in a worse negotiating position than people who would rather have nothing than too much. I’m sure Biden is frustrated and I’m sure he is relaying his frustrations to Manchin and Sinema, but he is limited in what he can do—especially to Manchin.

[kidfresh512]

The issue of course is that people who are more willing to take something over nothing are always in a worse negotiating position than people who would rather have nothing than too much. I’m sure Biden is frustrated and I’m sure he is relaying his frustrations to Manchin and Sinema, but he is limited in what he can do—especially to Manchin.

The issue is relaying this truth to voters. We know you stood in lines in a pandemic and we know you flipped Georgia blue after years of grassroots organizing. We know you have been under attack with more and more obstacles even after you thought you did enough to get Congress where it should be to start delivering.

But, we need more. Even though it should be obvious that not voting just lets the people that want to limit their representation, their voices maintain their outsized grip on power in proportion to the popular vote. It isn't unfortunately.


North Carolina legislature approves new US House map

The North Carolina General Assembly on Thursday gave a final stamp of approval to new U.S. House district lines that will likely give Republicans two additional seats in Congress in next year’s midterm elections, over objections from Democrats and anti-gerrymandering activists.

The vote, on a party-line basis, will put the new maps into effect. A North Carolina state law, passed in 1996, prevents Gov. Roy Cooper (D) from vetoing the law establishing the new boundaries.

North Carolina’s population grew by more than 900,000 residents in the last decade, enough to earn the state an extra seat in Congress, swelling its delegation to 14 members for the next decade.

The new maps will create 10 seats in which Republicans have a distinct advantage, three seats that are likely to be held by Democrats, and a single competitive district that likely tilts slightly toward Democrats. Republicans hold eight of 13 seats under the current district lines.

[kidfresh512]

The issue is relaying this truth to voters. We know you stood in lines in a pandemic and we know you flipped Georgia blue after years of grassroots organizing. We know you have been under attack with more and more obstacles even after you thought you did enough to get Congress where it should be to start delivering.

But, we need more. Even though it should be obvious that not voting just lets the people that want to limit their representation, their voices maintain their outsized grip on power in proportion to the popular vote. It isn't unfortunately.


North Carolina legislature approves new US House map

You Can’t Win Elections by Telling Voters Their Concerns Are Imaginary

Glenn youngkin’s victory over Terry McAuliffe for the governorship of Virginia should make Democrats—and anyone else who fears that a Republican Party still beholden to Donald Trump poses a serious threat to American democracy—very worried about what is to come.

Republicans are now favored to recapture Congress in 2022. Betting markets indicate that Trump is the most likely victor of the 2024 presidential election. Difficult though it is to draw lessons from any one election, the task is crucial if Democrats are to change the political trajectory on which the country finds itself.

Interesting article. And it is a valuable lesson that should be digested. Messaging matters. When the GOP grabs hold of a fearmongering slogan and starts the fear train it can't just be dismissed.

[Jack Dracula]

And I think that should be broadcasted far and wide. A successful evacuation of the remaining Americans would help alleviate the sourness people feel about the initial evacuation. But there are people that don't even know there are citizens trying to make it back.

Maybe people online should talk more about the 130,000+ people who were evacuated in just 2 weeks.

[CSTowle]

You know what, I seriously hate to be that guy, but ... just have to point out, the whole argument for Biden being more "electable" than Bernie was that Bernie would be too extreme and not compromise enough to be able to work with the moderates. So, I mean ... Biden doing his best to work with moderate Dems and even Republicans is really doing what he was elected to do. He was supposed to try and compromise and get everybody working together. The big criticism for Bernie was that he would be too stubborn in his progressive ideals, and would never get more mainstream Dems on board with his agenda.

I mean, not even saying that would not have been true. Just saying -- Biden is doing the part he was hired for. He is being the kind of president Democratic voters apparently wanted. And you know, maybe it is not just better than if the last guy had been re-elected, but maybe a Sanders presidency really would have been an absolute dumpster-fire, by comparison.

Guess I'm saying -- maybe this frustratingly inadequate performance is really the best we could have ended up with, under the circumstances. At the least -- his approach is what the voters collectively asked for.

It's also possible he'd be doing what the Republicans do and putting it all on the line to get the agenda they want accomplished. Meaning all the things even centrist Dems are asking for (abolishing the filibuster, playing hardball with moderates, packing the court) would be on the table at least as a threat rather than playing by gentlemanly Senate unwritten rules from a bygone era when Biden was a young man. Maybe the key to getting things done isn't meeting the opposition halfway, only to look up and see they've moved farther back and you need to keep moving right (and still not accomplishing anything of note). Maybe when the other side is saying "No!" to everything and not giving an inch you need to do the same, until you either get something done or you force them to come back to the table. Why would they bother compromising when they know they're going to get their way either through compromise from the centrists or by gridlocking government and getting to crow about government's inability to get things done?

But it's moot, we voted for Not-Trump and got Not-Trump. If that turns out to also be Not-Effective, we can at least say it's also Not-Trump. Stale oatmeal is still better than a flaming dog turd.

[worstblogever]

On this date in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, as well as 2020, “Fanatical Republican Extremist of the Day posted profiles of the U.S. House Representative from Illinois’ 12th Congressional District, Mike Bost, a man whose screaming, flailing, paper-punching meltdowns back when he was in the Illinois State Legislature made him a Youtube legend before he ever made it to Congress. The Chicago press, fascinated with his temper, did some digging, and as far back as an incident in 1986 where he got annoyed at a neighbor’s beagle for biting his daughter, and rather than wait for the proper authorities to handle it and decide if the animal should be euthanized, Bost instead supposedly opted to shoot and kill the dog with his handgun like he was Charles Bronson in a revenge movie. And during his 2014 campaign for Congress, he joked about putting a bullet in Ol’ Snoopy. Between that and the time he started yelling out lines from the Book of Exodus like “LET MY PEOPLE GO!” over worker pensions, or other incoherent rants… “Meltdown Mike” seemed to be a volatile commodity, even for a modern Republican.

With Mike Bost’s history of irrational outbursts, how has he held up against the pressure many Republicans have seen about hosting town halls? NOT WELL. Honestly, it might have been bad enough that he compared the opposition who might show up to Chinese Maoists… but to refer to them with the racist derogatory term “Orientals” while doing it?

"The amount of time that I have at home is minimal, I need to make sure that it's productive. You know the cleansing that the Orientals used to do where you'd put one person out in front and 900 people yell at them? That's not what we need. We need to have meetings with people that are productive."

How quaint. Even without a town hall, Rep. Bost has been chased down by constituents when he’s been in public, like having to face down one resident from his district whose wife has a pre-existing condition, and Bost’s voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act without a replacement including pre-existing condition coverage would have amounted to a death sentence for her. Bost’s response? “That’s just rhetoric.” (It wasn’t.)

Bost continues to vote almost completely along party lines in spite of being in a swing district:

• December 18th, 2019: Bost 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: Bost votes against the HEROES Act, to further support the healthcare industry and citizens affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
• December 10th, 2020: Bost 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 7th, 2021: Mike Bost 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. Bost 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: Mike Bost 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: Bost votes against HR 5, the latest version of the Equality Act, that would provide workplace protections for LGBTQ Americans.
• March 3rd, 2021: Rep. Bost 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: Mike Bost votes against the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021.
• March 10th, 2021: Bost 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. Bost 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: Rep. Bost votes against HR 3233, the creation of a commission to investigate the Capitol Attack.
• May 20th, 2021: Bost is one of 63 Republicans who vote against the Covid-19 Hate Crimes Act.

“Meltdown Mike” is someone you would THINK would be a vocal part of the Republican caucus, but he’s self-aware enough to know his career now is dependent on flying under the radar. After all, Illinois’ 12th Congressional District only has had a +5 Republican lean, meaning his seat was decidedly in jeopardy going into Election Day, but after missing the debate against his Democratic opponent due to testing positive for Covid-19, And… Mike Bost won re-election with 60% of the vote. His constituents angrily protested outside of his office after he contributed to “The Big Lie” prior to January 6th, and then still voted to not accept the electoral college votes after the attack on the Capitol. We can only hope that they remain as angry when he’s up for re-election in 2022.

[Xheight]

Well the first problem is none of them are Biden's "subordinates". The second being Manchin and Sinema. Everyone knows if the filibuster isnt eliminated or at least carved out for specific bills like Voting rights we can't get anything done without reconciliation.

Manchin is already taking the wrong lessons from Tuesday night saying the results validate his concerns about spending and inflation. There should be 0 argument by any Democrat about the Voting rights act federally. Bi partisan support is out of the question since we are basically talking about saving minorities rights across the country from being trampled by nearly every GOP state administration. There is no way we should go into midterms without this passed with a filibuster carve out. Yet still you hear sanctimonious I will never vote away filibuster from these two clowns.

I mean we have all seen the GOP cheerleading these two clowns in their internal meeting leaks. McConnel gets to sit back cackling with glee. All the while Minority districts are getting carved up and representation in the house is going to be even more solidly GOP leaning

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...JhM/edit#gid=0

It is not just Manchin and Sinema

""No, I think that -- I agree with Thomas Jefferson [who] said, you know, it's the saucer where things cool,"" Leahy responded. ""What I want to do though is see us come back to voting on things."""

Blow it up and see what happens.
eGh4cXpsMTI=_l.jpg

[TheDarman]

The issue is relaying this truth to voters. We know you stood in lines in a pandemic and we know you flipped Georgia blue after years of grassroots organizing. We know you have been under attack with more and more obstacles even after you thought you did enough to get Congress where it should be to start delivering.

The thing is: I actually understand the frustration with Congress and the Obama Administration during the first two years of his presidency. If the political environment were like today and Democrats had a 59 seat majority in the Senate and a 257 seat majority in the House, there would be more of a reason to be upset about Democratic inaction. Voters in 2008 delivered a HUGE mandate for Obama’s vision of the economy and future. They got a fair pay act that had been blocked by Bush, the watered-down ACA intended to win Lieberman’s approval, and the original, all-too-small Recovery Act that got three Republican votes, one of whom switched parties afterwards. As annoying as Manchin and Sinema are though, Obama was dealing with people like Lieberman and Nelson. And there was more widespread resistance to filibuster reform.

Voters here didn’t deliver that kind of majority to Biden. They delivered him a bare majority in the Senate where you need every Democrat, or at least one or two Republicans, to back a bill to get it passed. And they delivered him a House with 222 of his party’s members. And, yes, it’s great Georgians voted for two Democratic Senators to get stuff done. But it isn’t like those Senators are holding up progress. It’s the guy from West Virginia. And because of the feature of our Constitutional system where the Senate provides equal representation to all states, regardless of population, and all bills have to also pass through them, President Biden is limited by the Republican Party’s relentless obstructionism and one guy from West Virginia. That’s what Americans voted for. If voters want to change that, that means getting people in Texas to vote for Democrats. That means getting people in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin to also vote for Democrats.

Democrats could’ve sidelined Nelson and Lieberman if they wanted to. But this was still an era in which people believed in norms and there were FAR more moderates and less partisan sorting. Now, we live in that era, but the consequence is more division and a less effective electoral coalition which gives us the disadvantage in statewide races countrywide.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

The thing is: I actually understand the frustration with Congress and the Obama Administration during the first two years of his presidency. If the political environment were like today and Democrats had a 59 seat majority in the Senate and a 257 seat majority in the House, there would be more of a reason to be upset about Democratic inaction. Voters in 2008 delivered a HUGE mandate for Obama’s vision of the economy and future. They got a fair pay act that had been blocked by Bush, the watered-down ACA intended to win Lieberman’s approval, and the original, all-too-small Recovery Act that got three Republican votes, one of whom switched parties afterwards. As annoying as Manchin and Sinema are though, Obama was dealing with people like Lieberman and Nelson. And there was more widespread resistance to filibuster reform.

Voters here didn’t deliver that kind of majority to Biden. They delivered him a bare majority in the Senate where you need every Democrat, or at least one or two Republicans, to back a bill to get it passed. And they delivered him a House with 222 of his party’s members. And, yes, it’s great Georgians voted for two Democratic Senators to get stuff done. But it isn’t like those Senators are holding up progress. It’s the guy from West Virginia. And because of the feature of our Constitutional system where the Senate provides equal representation to all states, regardless of population, and all bills have to also pass through them, President Biden is limited by the Republican Party’s relentless obstructionism and one guy from West Virginia. That’s what Americans voted for. If voters want to change that, that means getting people in Texas to vote for Democrats. That means getting people in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin to also vote for Democrats.

Democrats could’ve sidelined Nelson and Lieberman if they wanted to. But this was still an era in which people believed in norms and there were FAR more moderates and less partisan sorting. Now, we live in that era, but the consequence is more division and a less effective electoral coalition which gives us the disadvantage in statewide races countrywide.

One thing to appreciate is how Obama was able to manage his image in comparison to Biden in the comparative timeframe. Obama avoided getting personally tarred by all the politicking stuff and he was able to massage expectations like a champ and remain cool and above the fray, whereas Biden isn't able to pull off that trick for now.

[TheDarman]

One thing to appreciate is how Obama was able to manage his image in comparison to Biden in the comparative timeframe. Obama avoided getting personally tarred by all the politicking stuff and he was able to massage expectations like a champ and remain cool and above the fray, whereas Biden isn't able to pull off that trick for now.

The issue is Barack Obama was an enormously skilled politician and leader. I don’t see anyone, left, right, or center, being able to come close to his electoral or political success for at least a couple more decades. Democrats comparing themselves to him is only going to make literally anyone look bad next to him.

But, additionally, I just don’t think voters have any appetite to have a president who is “above the fray” anymore. Certainly not base voters at least. Thankfully for Biden, he was always known to be a lot less temperate and cool than Obama. I think both candidates were probably suited to their moment in history. The thing that’s good for Biden is he is always viewed politics as an exercise in starting and maintaining relationships. I think that will allow him to ultimately get these watered-down bills through a Congress with bare majorities and a Senate that has Democrats from Montana, West Virginia, and Ohio in it.