All purpose news and politics thread part VII: News & Politics Total Landscaping

[CaptainEurope]

I love this headline

On the Border, Republicans Set a Trap, Then Fell Into It

It's like this is the second time they're the dog that caught the car - first by ending Roe, now by getting a border bill offered they cannot, but might refuse.

[babyblob]

I love this headline

On the Border, Republicans Set a Trap, Then Fell Into It

And the sad thing is it wont matter to their base. They will spin about how the Dems did everything to kill the bill and their base will eat it right up.

[kidfresh512]

What a shocker. Tucker had to run to Moscow for a Putin interview to find some relevance. I am sure that won't be pure propaganda.

[Gray Lensman]

And the sad thing is it wont matter to their base. They will spin about how the Dems did everything to kill the bill and their base will eat it right up.

The base is a lost cause, the important part is how this affects swing voters. If people who might vote Republican are turned off by this, the move was a good one for Biden.

[Mister Mets]

Is there a general consensus yet among historians how highly Obama ranks overall among Presidents?

He rates pretty well, although part of it comes down to biases. For progressive historians, he is one of the least-bad Presidents by modern standards (you could argue other politicians did more to change the country, but they've got terrible views on all sorts of issues.)

At this point, it's too soon to determine his overall ranking. We don't yet know the long term consequences. His Vice President is running for another full term against his immediate successor.

Gut feeling is that Reagan had a load of luck, being President at a good time. But I guess its hard to argue that he wasn't exceptionally good at communicating and coming across as pleasant. (Who was it who said "if you can fake sincerity, you'll always do well"?)

Reagan was a great communicator, but he was also right on an important international question, helping the Soviet Union destroy itself.

Jennifer Crumbley found guilty of Involuntary Manslaughter

From everything I heard, she seemed really unsympathetic and made some terrible decisions.

Gaetz, Stefanik offer resolution declaring Trump ‘did not engage in insurrection’


They are so embarrassing.

This seems dumb.

The best case scenario would be a Streisand effect after a new airing of the charges against Trump which necessitates bringing it up again.

In Poland, I Saw What a Second Trump Term Could Do to America

This is a potentially useful comparison.

[Mister Mets]

The base is a lost cause, the important part is how this affects swing voters. If people who might vote Republican are turned off by this, the move was a good one for Biden.

Democrats don't need to persuade that many voters to win big.

Getting a majority of the other side's base in a presidential election is pretty much untenable.

But shifting five person of total voters would be an electoral college bloodbath.

I love this headline

On the Border, Republicans Set a Trap, Then Fell Into It

Yeah, Republicans played their hand badly here.

The smartest thing Democrats have done is releasing information (including the details of the bill) at the right moment, undercutting the Republican talking points.

This Thursday at 10 AM the SCOTUS will be hearing Oral Arguments on Trump/Colorado case to determine if he can stay on ballot or get thrown off. The argument will be publicly accessible via their website. Went there and saw a link to the filings in the case so far and you wouldn't believe how many Amicus Briefs are listed, it's as if everyone and their grandmothers each want a say in this case.

There was a decent point on a legal podcast I listen to that too many lawyers get involved in amicus briefs.

The only purpose is if somebody is a specialist bringing attention to an important argument.

But now it's become a fundraising ploy, even if the amicus brief just wastes a lawyer's time.

No probably about it. That’s EXACTLY what happened. The election of Obama drove scores of racist whites batshit insane, and they’ve NEVER gotten over that.

Seems a bit weird that Obama got more of the white vote than the next Democratic nominees.

Okay, I’m getting out in the weeds a little bit.
My point is, we should want systems of government that allow for rules of conduct to be bent or broken occasionally when the cause is morally or ethically just. The representatives from Tennessee did that for the betterment and safety of their community.
The representatives Mets was comparing them to were doing the opposite in an effort to preserve the status quo and make the situation arguably worse for vulnerable members of their community.
The two situations are not equivalent.
I don’t think I can make it any simpler.

How do we have a system of government in which rules of conduct are bent and broken for a morally or ethically just cause?

Who should have the power to say that this exception is okay, and that exception is not? And how do they get that power, and hold onto it? It seems obvious that bad people will do worse things if they get their hands on this power.

The other side thinks they're correct. They're as confident in their rightness as you are in yours.

For this reason, I do think it's important to address process questions neutrally. I do appreciate your honesty in expressing a view that is probably held by the majority of the population (that the people I have determined to be morally correct and ethically just should extra leeway to bend the rules.)

I remember when Mets lectured me as anti-trans bill after anti-trans bill was introduced into GOP legislatures that these bills didn't REALLY have a lot of support and asked 'how many voted for them'. Now that these bills have majority support, demonstrably, of republican legislatures across the country and are accelerating in their impact on not just trans children, but trying to delegitimize the transitions of transgender adults, his silence speaks for itself.

If you have a post you disagree with and want to relitigate, include a link so that people can see the context and whether it's summarized correctly.

[Catlady in training]

I was almost going to ask what happened to Democratic primaries, as I've heard nothing about them this year, but now I read that Biden won South Carolina by a landslide. Not unexpected since he apparently has only two opponents with no chances, but it still looks good, I would say.
Funny, 4 years ago, it was almost the opposite, with over 20 democratic candidates campaigning for months and no republican competition. Is it always like that when the current president runs for re-election? I guess it makes sense for the president's party to not offer serious competition if he wants to continue.

[Tendrin]

If you have a post you disagree with and want to relitigate, include a link so that people can see the context and whether it's summarized correctly.

I am not going to go hunting for your posts because you want me to, Mets. I'm not 'relitigating'. There's nothing to litigate. Your refusal to take a stand against your party's anti trans positions is pretty clear, as is your unwillingness to accept you were previously dismissive of people concerned about it, as you are dismissive now.

[kidfresh512]

I was almost going to ask what happened to Democratic primaries, as I've heard nothing about them this year, but now I read that Biden won South Carolina by a landslide. Not unexpected since he apparently has only two opponents with no chances, but it still looks good, I would say.
Funny, 4 years ago, it was almost the opposite, with over 20 democratic candidates campaigning for months and no republican competition. Is it always like that when the current president runs for re-election? I guess it makes sense for the president's party to not offer serious competition if he wants to continue.

Yes, although the down ballot offices in the primaries people are really going for. Ours is March 5th and it is all the down ballot candidates I am going for

____________________________
In stunner, House GOP bid to impeach Mayorkas fails

A House GOP effort to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas failed in an embarrassing fashion Tuesday as three Republicans joined Democrats in voting against what would have been the second-ever impeachment of a Cabinet official.

The 214-216 vote is a stunning loss for a GOP that has faced continual pressure from its right flank to impeach a Biden official, even as the party has waffled over which one to focus on.

The failure came about because of the surprise appearance in the chamber of Rep. Al Green (D-Texas), who showed up unexpected to vote against the bill.

Republicans entered the vote with two expected “no” votes, but then a third House GOP lawmaker, Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), also voted against impeachment.

A fourth Republican, Rep. Blake Moore (R-Utah), the vice chair of the GOP conference, then flipped his vote to “no” seconds before the vote closed, a procedural move that allows the conference to bring the legislation back to the floor at a later date.

[Gray Lensman]

I was almost going to ask what happened to Democratic primaries, as I've heard nothing about them this year, but now I read that Biden won South Carolina by a landslide. Not unexpected since he apparently has only two opponents with no chances, but it still looks good, I would say.
Funny, 4 years ago, it was almost the opposite, with over 20 democratic candidates campaigning for months and no republican competition. Is it always like that when the current president runs for re-election? I guess it makes sense for the president's party to not offer serious competition if he wants to continue.

He also cleanly won in New Hampshire, where he wasn't even on the ballot. Both states, (NH and SC) have a lot of liberals in the party but very few leftists. Whether or not Biden could have issues going forward might have a different picture later, but for right now he's looking as strong as Trump pretends to be.

[Tendrin]

rep Bodin: "The trans community says they are proud to be trans, maybe it would be appropriate to identify that in some sort of way"

I guess a pink triangle for LGBTQ people is back in style amongst the right.

https://twitter.com/ErinInTheMorn/st...35668168434086

[Reverse Happy]

I love this headline

On the Border, Republicans Set a Trap, Then Fell Into It

Enough already. Months of humoring Republican blackmail and starving Ukraine of ammo to let this farce inch along. And now today Avdiivka's defense is on the brink, just for these vermin to welch, again, like always. Next week Congress goes on another 2-week recess. If they don't pass some aid this week, Blinken needs to use his goddamn emergency authority to send Ukraine ammo, not fricking Israel!

[AnakinFlair]

Yes, although the down ballot offices in the primaries people are really going for. Ours is March 5th and it is all the down ballot candidates I am going for

____________________________
In stunner, House GOP bid to impeach Mayorkas fails

Apparently, Scalise wasn't there, having to go get treatment for his cancer. I'm hearing that he'll be back tomorrow, at which time they'll vote on it again.

[Tendrin]

https://twitter.com/ChudsOfTikTok/st...96588869177654

I'd say it's unbelievable, but it's actually all too believable.

[kidfresh512]

Apparently, Scalise wasn't there, having to go get treatment for his cancer. I'm hearing that he'll be back tomorrow, at which time they'll vote on it again.

1) Republicans strategically scheduled a vote while a Democrat was undergoing surgery so he’d be absent

2) Democrat rushes from the hospital to go vote, causing Republicans to fail

3) Greene says there was a conspiracy by Democrats “hiding” members to “throw us off”