American Politics: A Brand New Day

sgamer82

https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2022/04/27/day-463/

1/ The White House is attempting to cobble together a narrower version of Biden’s Build Back Better bill that would win Joe Manchin’s support ahead of November’s elections. “There’s real fear inside the building that Manchin’s stonewalling will run out the clock on Biden’s legislative agenda throughout the rest of the year, leading the administration and congressional Democrats into November without anything else to offer voters,” one White House adviser said. Lawmakers in Congress view July 4 as the deadline for action – even if leaves out most of what Biden had initially hoped to accomplish. Manchin, meanwhile, hasn’t told the White House what, exactly, he would support in a final agreement, but privately told lawmakers recently that he wants Congress to approve a bipartisan energy deal in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and wants Biden to restart new offshore oil and gas lease sales to boost domestic fossil fuel production. Manchin also met with Chuck Schumer to discuss a party-line package focused on raising taxes and reducing the budget deficit to combat inflation. Climate advocates, meanwhile, have scaled back their expectations, saying “this is the last chance” for legislation that speeds the growth of clean energy – even if it requires a short-term boost in fossil fuels – fearing that any chance for climate action will be blocked if Republicans win control of Congress in the midterm elections. (Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / Politico / Bloomberg)

2/ Biden expressed openness to forgiving some student loan debt, which could affect more than 43 million borrowers who hold more than $1.6 trillion in federal student loan debt – the second-largest debt held by Americans, behind mortgages. During a meeting with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Biden signaled multiple times that he was prepared not only to extend the current moratorium that lasts until Aug. 31, but to take executive action to forgive federal student loan debt outright. Senate Republicans, meanwhile, introduced legislation – called the Stop Reckless Student Loan Actions Act of 2022 – to stop Biden from “abusing” his authority to extend the federal student loan payment pause. (CBS News / Washington Post / NBC News)

3/ Dr. Anthony Fauci said the U.S. is “out of the full-blown explosive pandemic phase,” but made clear that the pandemic is not over and the U.S. could still see new waves of infections from highly transmissible variants. “We are in a different moment of the pandemic,” Fauci said, adding: “we don’t have 900,000 new infections a day and tens and tens and tens of thousands of hospitalizations and thousands of deaths. We are at a low level right now.” The Biden administration, meanwhile, renewed its push for $10 billion in Covid-19 supplemental funding, noting that without funding, the U.S. would not be able to secure enough second booster shots for every American if they’re needed this fall. (Washington Post / Associated Press / CNN)

4/ New York’s highest court rejected the state’s new congressional map as unconstitutional. New York Democrats drew a new congressional map that could have gained their party as many as three new seats. The Court of Appeals, however, found that the Democratic-led Legislature lacked the authority to redraw maps and that those they created “were drawn with an unconstitutional partisan intent.” Meanwhile, a state court in Kansas threw out a newly drawn map of congressional districts by Republicans in the State Legislature. The Republican plan divided Kansas City along both racial and partisan lines and would have threatened the only House seat held by a Democrat. (Washington Post / Associated Press / Politico)

5/ Biden reversed a Trump-era policy that relaxed requirements for energy efficient light bulbs. The new energy efficiency regulations will phase out old-fashioned incandescent lightbulbs and require lightbulbs to emit 45 lumens. The new standards will save consumers $3 billion each year in utility costs. In 2019, Trump complained that energy efficient light bulbs make him “always look orange.” (CNBC / Axios)

 Dept. of Swamp Things.

The New York grand jury hearing evidence in the Manhattan district attorney’s investigation into the Trump Organization’s finances expires this week. The six-month special grand jury will not be extended and last heard evidence last year. (CNN)
Text messages show that Rep. Scott Perry urged Mark Meadows to have the then-Director of National Intelligence investigate baseless conspiracy theories of election fraud. After top Justice Department officials refused to intervene in the election process on Trump’s behalf in late December, Perry repeatedly pushed Meadows to give Justice Department attorney Jeffrey Clark the “authority to enforce what needs to be done.” (CNN / New York Times)
Text messages between Mark Meadows and dozens of congressional Republicans, including Marjorie Taylor Greene, cast a renewed spotlight the Trump White House and efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The newly revealed text messages have prompted calls for the Jan. 6 committee to issue subpoenas or other punitive measures against lawmakers involved. (Washington Post)
Text messages show that Fox News host Sean Hannity promised Mark Meadows he would push an Election Day get-out-the-vote message as part of the broader pro-Trump campaign. Meadows asked for Hannity’s help with messaging and offered a slogan. Hannity responded: “Yes sir. On it,” before adding, “any place in particular we need a push.” Meadows suggested Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Arizona, and Nevada. Hannity replied: “Got it. Everywhere.” (Washington Post / CNN)
Kevin McCarthy defended his recently leaked comments saying Trump was to blame for the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and pledge to urge him to resign. McCarthy suggested that the leak was all part of an attempt to divide the Republican conference ahead of the midterms. (CNN / Washington Post / New York Times)
Republican Rep. Madison Cawthorn was cited for bringing a loaded handgun through a TSA checkpoint at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport. It’s the second time that Cawthorn has been stopped at an airport in his home state for carrying a weapon. (CNN / CNBC)

Robby

Biden signaled multiple times that he was prepared not only to extend the current moratorium that lasts until Aug. 31, but to take executive action to forgive federal student loan debt outright. Senate Republicans, meanwhile, introduced legislation – called the Stop Reckless Student Loan Actions Act of 2022 – to stop Biden from “abusing” his authority to extend the federal student loan payment pause. (CBS News / Washington Post / NBC News)

Its almost as if he could have ended student debt at literally any time if he wanted!

Satsuki

MTJ adding more fuel to the fire to hopefully get her booted off the ballot in November:
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/marjorie-taylor-greene-marshall-law-insurrection_n_62698a92e4b029505ded7875

Once again overshadowed by her idiocy when talking about "mashall" law.

sgamer82

@Satsuki:

MTJ adding more fuel to the fire to hopefully get her booted off the ballot in November:
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/marjorie-taylor-greene-marshall-law-insurrection_n_62698a92e4b029505ded7875

Once again overshadowed by her idiocy when talking about "mashall" law.

Are we sure she's just not a big fan of Tekken?

Envy

@Robby:

Its almost as if he could have ended student debt at literally any time if he wanted!

He better quit playing around and end whatever amount of student debt he's going to before the Republicans take control of congress.

Satsuki

So Elon Musk buys out Twitter (ugh), and then thousands of users unfollow liberal accounts and start following right-wing ones instead? And they're not bots? Spooky.
https://www.comicsands.com/extreme-follower-fluctuation-twitter-buyout-2657227299.html?fbclid=IwAR0k8QF1mtH73_YZ0uvFnRd-sIMClCPhAroZo4bO9oy49tfqg_saQ0258ds

Mark Hamill lost 8,000 followers. Katy Perry lost 200,000?! Something's not right.

sgamer82

https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2022/04/28/day-464/

Day 464: "A small price to pay."

1/ Biden asked Congress for $33 billion in additional funding for military, economic, and humanitarian aid for Ukraine and “its fight for freedom.” The funding request includes more than $20 billion in military and security assistance, $2.6 billion to support the deployment of American troops and equipment to the region, and $1.9 billion for cybersecurity and intelligence support, as well as $8.5 billion in economic assistance for the Ukrainian government to provide basic economic support. “Investing in Ukraine’s freedom and security is a small price to pay to punish Russian aggression, to lessen the risk for future conflicts,” Biden said. The request is more than twice the size of the $13.6 billion package approved last month and intended to last until the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30. “The cost of failing to stand up to violent aggression in Europe has always been higher than the cost of standing firm against such attacks,” Biden said. “That is as it always has been, and as it always will be. America must meet this moment, and do its part.” The House, meanwhile, passed legislation allowing Biden to use a World War II-era law to quickly supply weapons to Ukraine on loan. (NPR / Washington Post / New York Times / NBC News / Bloomberg / Associated Press)

2/ The U.S. economy unexpectedly shrank for the first time since 2020. In the first three months of 2022, gross domestic product in the U.S. declined at a 1.4% annualized rate. Economic forecasts had projected growth of roughly 1%. Last year, the U.S. economy grew by 5.7% – the fastest pace since 1984. Biden blamed the contraction on “technical factors,” citing the Omicron wave of the coronavirus, Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, companies with stockpiled inventories from 2021, and a jump in imports with a drop in exports. Consumer spending, however, grew at a 2.7% annual rate in the first quarter despite the Omicron wave, which limited spending on restaurants and travel in January. Consumer spending accounts for about two-thirds of the economy. (Wall Street Journal / CNBC / New York Times / Washington Post / Bloomberg / Associated Press)

3/ Senior Trump administration officials overruled Pentagon officials in 2020 to award a $700 million pandemic relief loan to a struggling trucking company. A report released by the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis describes career employees at the Defense Department concluding that the trucking company Yellow didn’t qualify for the pandemic loan program because it wasn’t critical to maintaining national security. Corporate lobbyists for Yellow, however, worked closely with Mark Meadows, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Defense Secretary Mark Esper to secure the loan anyway, with Esper certifying that the Yellow was “critical to maintaining national security.” Yellow lost more than $100 million in 2019 and was sued by the Justice Department over claims that it had defrauded the federal government for a seven-year period. Last month, Yellow agreed to pay $6.85 million to resolve allegations “that they knowingly presented false claims to the U.S. Department of Defense by systematically overcharging for freight carrier services and making false statements to hide their misconduct.” (New York Times / Washington Post)

4/ The Oklahoma Senate approved a bill that would ban all abortions in the state and incentivizes private citizens to sue anyone who “performs or induces” or “aids or abets the performance” of an abortion. The “Oklahoma Heartbeat Act” prohibits abortions after the sixth week of pregnancy – before many women even know that they are pregnant – and would immediately cut off abortion access in the state. Oklahoma is the second state to pass a restrictive law modeled after Texas’ six-week abortion ban and the state has absorbed about half of all Texas patients who have been forced to leave their state for abortions. The bill already cleared the Oklahoma House in March and now goes to Gov. Kevin Stitt, who is expected to sign it. (CNN / Washington Post / Axios / Axios)

5/ Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp banned the instruction of so-called “divisive concepts” pertaining to race and racism in the classroom. In all, Kemp signed seven education bills into law, including the “Protect Students First Act,” which defines “divisive concepts” as, among others, those that teach “the United States of America is fundamentally racist; an individual, by virtue of his or her race, is inherently or consciously racist or oppressive toward individuals of other races,” and “an individual, solely by virtue of his or her race, bears individual responsibility for actions committed in the past by other individuals of the same race.” The same measure also gives an athletic oversight committee the authority to exclude transgender children from playing high school sports. Also among the measures signed into law is a “Parents’ Bill of Rights,” that codifies the “fundamental right of parents to direct the upbringing and education” of their children, and a measure that bans books deemed “harmful” from school libraries. (NBC News / CNN / Axios / Fox 5 / WSB-TV)

6/ Boeing has lost $1.1 billion so far on costs associated with Trump’s Air Force One contract. CEO David Calhoun said “Boeing probably shouldn’t have taken” the deal to modify two 747 jumbo jets to serve as Air Force One. The deal was negotiated by Calhoun’s predecessor after Trump publicly criticized the existing contract in 2016, tweeting “Cancel order!” Later, in 2018, Trump bragged that “Boeing gave us a good deal. And we were able to take that.” (CNBC / CNN)

7/ Trump claimed that he feared protesters throwing tomatoes, pineapples, and other “very dangerous” fruit could have killed him at campaign rallies. In a videotaped deposition Trump gave in October 2021 as part of a lawsuit filed by a group of protesters who allege they were assaulted by his security guards at a 2015 campaign rally, Trump insisted that fruit can be “very dangerous stuff […] you can get killed with those things.” He added that “tomatoes are bad” and that “some fruit is a lot worse.” Trump told the attorney for the plaintiffs that he expected his security guards to “knock the crap out” of anyone who was “about to throw a tomato” at a rally, framing the violence as “self-defense.” (Daily Beast / Axios / Washington Post / CNN)

pariston_hill

@Satsuki:

So Elon Musk buys out Twitter (ugh), and then thousands of users unfollow liberal accounts and start following right-wing ones instead? And they're not bots? Spooky.
https://www.comicsands.com/extreme-follower-fluctuation-twitter-buyout-2657227299.html?fbclid=IwAR0k8QF1mtH73_YZ0uvFnRd-sIMClCPhAroZo4bO9oy49tfqg_saQ0258ds

Mark Hamill lost 8,000 followers. Katy Perry lost 200,000?! Something's not right.

It's Bot's, Carluxo already started running Bot farm 2.0 for his father here.

The D.

Hopefully twitter will finally die now. That place is a fucking cesspool.

pariston_hill

And din't know if put here or on the LGBT thread. But God Damn, even here where he have one of the highest rates of trans deaths we're not as much as straight forward into exterminate them.
https://twitter.com/GBBranstetter/status/1519395789910462466?s=20&t=nnvCMr6xEEaYIOc9Wo7q8Q

pariston_hill

KageKageKing

Wow, now they are trying to make rape feels less bad to defend arbotion.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/pregnancy-rape-rep-jean-schmidt-abortion-rights_n_626ad352e4b01131b1207beb

Green_vs_Red

It really be your own gunning you down with friendly fire.

I also like this bit

“This is not about keeping abortion alive, this is about keeping the mother alive”

Does she think not having abortions somehow increases mortality rates for mothers?

MetaMario

@Robby:

Its almost as if he could have ended student debt at literally any time if he wanted!

@Envy:

He better quit playing around and end whatever amount of student debt he's going to before the Republicans take control of congress.

like i said, lightning 9 times lol

pariston_hill

A pretty damn insightful video.

sgamer82

https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2022/05/02/day-468/

Day 468: "Strain."

1/ A special grand jury was seated in Georgia to help investigate whether Trump and others tried to illegally influence the 2020 election in the state. The case centers on Trump asking election officials to “find” him enough votes to overturn Biden’s win in that state. Trump lost Georgia by roughly 12,000 votes out of five million cast, and his efforts to reverse the outcome included direct calls to Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who oversees elections, and the lead investigator for his office. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis opened the investigation in early 2021, and the grand jury will have the power to subpoena testimony from witnesses and to obtain evidence. The probe is seen as the biggest threat of criminal prosecution that Trump currently faces. (Associated Press / CNBC / Wall Street Journal / Washington Post)

2/ New York City entered a higher risk level for coronavirus transmission as cases continue to rise. The city moved into the medium (yellow) risk category with nearly 2,500 new cases per day – a jump from about 600 in March – which could trigger a return to some public health restrictions. Preliminary research, meanwhile, suggests that two new Omicron subvariants – BA.2.12 and BA.2.12.1 – are about 25% more transmissible than Omicron (BA.2), which is currently dominant nationally. (New York Times / Washington Post)

3/ Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas reiterated his request from about a year ago for migrants to “not come” to the U.S. southern border. Mayorkas said Homeland Security is planning for the possibility of a record-breaking 18,000 border apprehensions per day if Title 42 is lifted – compared to the current number of about 7,000 per day – which would put a “strain on the system.” In April, the CDC said it would end the Trump-era pandemic restriction on May 23, which has been used to expel more than 1 million migrants at the southern border. (CNN / Politico)

4/ A federal judge allowed the Jan. 6 committee to obtain the Republican National Committee’s marketing email data leading up to the insurrection. District Court Judge Tim Kelly – a Trump appointee – said the committee had demonstrated its need for the RNC’s email data about efforts to fundraise off claims that the 2020 election was stolen. Kelly also issued an injunction to allow the RNC to appeal his ruling by May 5. The committee, meanwhile, said it wants to talk to three more House Republicans linked to the Jan. 6 attack, asking Reps. Mo Brooks, Andy Biggs, and Ronny Jackson to appear voluntarily. (Politico / Washington Post / CNN / NPR / ABC News)

5/ Antiabortion groups and some Republican lawmakers have started meeting about potential federal legislation to outlaw abortion after six weeks of pregnancy if the Supreme Court weakens or overturns Roe v. Wade this summer. While a nationwide abortion ban would be extraordinarily difficult to pass given the need for 60 votes in the Senate to overcome a filibuster, antiabortion advocates have spoken with 10 possible Republican presidential candidates, including Trump, about a national strategy. Most of them reportedly said they’d be supportive of a national ban and would make the policy a centerpiece of a presidential campaign. (Washington Post)

6/ The primaries for November’s midterm elections begin this month with voters in 13 states heading to the polls. All 435 House seats and 34 Senate seats are up for election in November. In the 50-50 Senate, 14 seats currently held by Democrats are up for election, while 21 are currently held by Republicans. Control of both chambers is in play. (NPR / CNN)

poll/ 47% of voters said they’re more likely to vote for the Republican in their district in November’s midterm elections, compared to 44% who said they’d likely vote for the Democrat. 10% said they were unsure which candidate they’d vote for, and the poll has a margin of error of 3.7 percentage points. (NPR)

poll/ 55% of Americans are in favor of increased military support in Ukraine despite 81% also saying they’re concerned that the war could expand to other countries or involve the possible use of nuclear weapons by Russia. (ABC News)

️ Notables.

Biden was warned that immigration and inflation could erode support for him and the Democratic party. “Despite the early warnings from his pollster, Biden and his top advisers have struggled to prevent either issue from becoming a major political liability.” (New York Times)
How Tucker Carlson stoked white fear to conquer cable. “A New York Times examination of the host’s career and influence at Fox News shows how his trajectory traces the transformation of American conservatism itself.” (Part 1; Part 2; Part 3)
Likelihood of a Trump indictment in the Manhattan district attorney investigation fades as the grand jury wraps up. “In the weeks since the Manhattan district attorney stopped presenting evidence to the jurors about Trump, new signs have emerged that the former president will not be indicted in Manhattan in the foreseeable future — if at all.” (New York Times)

Ubiq

A draft majority opinion overturning Roe vs. Wade has reportedly been leaked. If I recall correctly, several dozen states already have laws on their books making abortion illegal if Roe vs Wade is overturned so that'll be the case soon.

Demon Rin

I never want to hear anyone tell me I was being over dramatic when Trump won ever again.

Obgerfell v. Hayes and Lawrence v. Texas are next.

That's not even just me being scared, Alito mentioned them in the leaked opinion. It's happening. Then the arrests start… They're already priming the public to be ok with it by calling us "Groomers"...

pariston_hill

@Demon:

I never want to hear anyone tell me I was being over dramatic when Trump won ever again.

Obgerfell v. Hayes and Lawrence v. Texas are next.

That's not even just me being scared, Alito mentioned them in the leaked opinion. It's happening. Then the arrests start… They're already priming the public to be ok with it by calling us "Groomers"...

I don't know what I get for predicting Biblestan, but girl ya better run.

Demon Rin

@pariston_hill:

I don't know what I get for predicting Biblestan, but girl ya better run.

I don't know where to go… Most everywhere else is on their way to being this bad too...

The D.

If stripping rights away from people doesn’t light a fire under everyone on the left to vote blue no matter who, at least for the time being then nothing will.

Satsuki

–- Update From New Post Merge ---

THOSE. MOTHER. FUCKERS.
https://www.npr.org/2022/05/02/1096053620/supreme-court-roe-wade-leaked-draft-opinion-politico

Kaiolino

@Demon:

I never want to hear anyone tell me I was being over dramatic when Trump won ever again.

Obgerfell v. Hayes and Lawrence v. Texas are next.

That's not even just me being scared, Alito mentioned them in the leaked opinion. It's happening. Then the arrests start… They're already priming the public to be ok with it by calling us "Groomers"...

A lot of the savvy nerds on these threads spent years arguing that Republicans don’t ACTUALLY want to ban abortion because it’s good for fundraising.

Ah well nevertheless

FelRes

This is probably the thing to bring politics back to the forefront everyone's mind. I know it was expected, but this year is gonna be really long.

Green_vs_Red

@Kaiolino:

A lot of the savvy nerds on these threads spent years arguing that Republicans don’t ACTUALLY want to ban abortion because it’s good for fundraising.

Ah well nevertheless

People were actually making this point even when Republicans were very clearly passing and then signing laws at the state level?

pariston_hill

So here's a complied list of thing your about to lose:
https://twitter.com/a_h_reaume/status/1521316453944758273?s=21&t=qLosSBohVO8I2teaZ6Pz8g

Envy

@The:

If stripping rights away from people doesn’t light a fire under everyone on the left to vote blue no matter who, at least for the time being then nothing will.

It's too darn late. This is the result of the 2016 election. The stakes of the 2016 election were clear, but people still decided to not get out and vote for Clinton.

pariston_hill

Also for those in the back that didn't hear:

The D.

@Envy:

It's too darn late. This is the result of the 2016 election. The stakes of the 2016 election were clear, but people still decided to not get out and vote for Clinton.

It's only too late if you decide it's too late. This political battle with conservatives will always be a struggle. It never ends. I know it's hard, and I know it sucks. But giving up is the only way they win. This isn't the end, Envy. The people who came before us fought for their rights and they won. Now it's our turn to do the same. We've won before, we sure as hell will again. As long as we never give up. The only way forward is to keep going. Just keep going.

Demon Rin

@The:

It's only too late if you decide it's too late. This political battle with conservatives will always be a struggle. It never ends. I know it's hard, and I know it sucks. But giving up is the only way they win. This isn't the end, Envy. The people who came before us fought for their rights and they won. Now it's our turn to do the same. We've won before, we sure as hell will again. As long as we never give up. The only way forward is to keep going. Just keep going.

Unfortunately, we HAVE lost. Its over.

They have the Supreme Court and soon will have a super majority in congress and the presidency thanks to a combination of gerrymandering, voter restriction laws, and an angry un-unified voting bloc who are (rightfully) angry at establishment Democrats for their ineffectiveness but think punishing them by not voting for them and making sure they lose is the most important thing even tho it'll put the GOP in power.

2022: GOP super majority at midterms
2022-2023: Pass more voter restriction laws
2024: Trump elected for second term.
2025+: being LGBTQIA+ is outlawed on the federal level. The bill is called the "Save our children from Groomers" act or something like that. Public overwhelmingly supports it after years of "The gays are coming for your kids" propaganda
Then the arrests start.

And thats just for us. Thats not even getting into eat killing Loving or Brown will do.

The D.

@Demon:

Unfortunately, we HAVE lost. Its over.

They have the Supreme Court and soon will have a super majority in congress and the presidency thanks to a combination of gerrymandering, voter restriction laws, and an angry un-unified voting bloc who are (rightfully) angry at establishment Democrats for their ineffectiveness but think punishing them by not voting for them and making sure they lose is the most important thing even tho it'll put the GOP in power.

2022: GOP super majority at midterms
2022-2023: Pass more voter restriction laws
2024: Trump elected for second term.
2025+: being LGBTQIA+ is outlawed on the federal level. The bill is called the "Save our children from Groomers" act or something like that. Public overwhelmingly supports it after years of "The gays are coming for your kids" propaganda
Then the arrests start.

And thats just for us. Thats not even getting into eat killing Loving or Brown will do.

It's not over. And we haven't lost. I know you're afraid right now. Others are angry. Take your time to process your fear. But don't give in to it. It's easy to have hope and strength when things are good. It's when things are dark they really matter. There are more of us than there are of them. All it takes is enough of us to mobilize together. Hell, maybe this will do just that the same way it did in 2020. We only lose when we give up. That's what they want. They want you to think it's over so you just give up and accept it. I won't give up. And I know you're strong enough to keep going too. Take strength from those around you who refuse to give up. You're a fighter. Part of a community of fighters. It's time to fight.

pariston_hill

Sorry D, but I have too side with Rin in this one.
There's two overlapping projects that have been making progress since the '70s, The Koch Brothers "Save Capitalism from Democracy" and the Supremacist Theocracy.
And well 4 years of Trump made things align pretty damn well for both becoming touchdowns.

On the short turn -next 20-30 years- unless the Democrats do something big and NOW is game, match and set for the GOP.

The D.

@pariston_hill:

Sorry D, but I have too side with Rin in this one.
There's two overlapping projects that have been making progress since the '70s, The Koch Brothers "Save Capitalism from Democracy" and the Supremacist Theocracy.
And well 4 years of Trump made things align pretty damn well for both becoming touchdowns.

On the short turn -next 20-30 years- unless the Democrats do something big and NOW is game, match and set for the GOP.

I refuse. There will always be setbacks, but they only stick if we give up. Maybe others want to give up, but I refuse. We're at a tipping point and you say we should just give up and accept it because the opposition is too strong? Nothing would ever have changed if good people decided it was too difficult to fight. Conservatives winning is not inevitable. They're not fucking pre-destined to rule the United States. They win when enough good people decide it's not worth it. Or the fight is too difficult. That's what you're spreading right now. If you want to give up, fine. But don't try to drag others down with you. That's just disgusting.

pariston_hill

I already have my hands full with Bozo's schedule attempted coup.

But yeah give them the fight, make 2020 look like a picnic. Press the Democrats hard to ACT NOW, hell press even the small amount of non fanatical Republicans.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Robby

@The:

Conservatives winning is not inevitable.

Well yeah, long term it'll eventually sort out but short term they've pretty much locked it. They've been working at it for decades. "We'll eventually get the rights back" is inevitable sure, but it doesn't make tomorrow suck any less.

And unless they expand the supreme court (which they have no will to do) or Thomas, Alito or Roberts (or all three!) drops dead in the next two months, (leaving time to barrel through a nominee before November) the current heavily conservative supreme court is likely to stay in place for decades. We're only just now replacing people appointed in the Reagan administration.

If the Republicans gets the senate majority back, and they will as the current president ALWAYS loses seats in midterms, it's clear now McConnel will stall any nominations indefinitely unless its Rep president, and there's no reason to thing McConnel's replacement won't follow suit. He already stalled Garland for a year for no reason, there is zero chance he's not willing to stall a nominee for two years, or four.

And the way things are right now, there's no way Biden wins a second term. I'd say "Unless the republicans field a truly awful candidate" but that was Trump and he got the second highest vote count in history and wont he first tiemm without the popular vote so that doesn't even matter.

The D.

@Robby:

Well yeah, long term it'll eventually sort out but short term they've pretty much locked it. They've been working at it for decades. "We'll eventually get the rights back" is inevitable sure, but it doesn't make tomorrow suck any less.

And unless they expand the supreme court (which they have no will to do) or Thomas, Alito or Roberts drops dead in the next two months, (leaving time to barrell through a nominee before November) the current heavily conservative supreme court is likely to stay in place for decades.

If the Senate gets the majority back, adn they will, it's clear now McConnel will stall any nominations indefinately unless its Rep president, and there's no reason to thing McConnel's replacement won't follow suit. He already stalled Garland for a year for no reason, there is zero chance he's not willing to stall a nominee for two years, or four.

We can't depend on the supreme court to uphold human rights in the United States. We need a democratic majority in congress to pass actual laws. We need to vote. We need to get other people to vote. I'm just one man. I'm a shut in, there is little I can realistically do. But if I can inspire someone else to keep fighting and vote, then that's what I will try to do. That's what I can do.

–- Update From New Post Merge ---

@pariston_hill:

I already have my hands full with Bozo's schedule attempted coup.

But yeah give them the fight, make 2020 look like a picnic. Press the Democrats hard to ACT NOW, hell press even the small amount of non fanatical Republicans.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I apologize. I know I can come off as an aggressive ass in this thread, but my words are all I have. I don't want people to give up and accept injustice and bigotry as inevitable. If I can use my words to inspire just one person to keep fighting, I will do everything I can to do it.

Satsuki

I already live in one of the bluest states in the country, but I will still vote because I don't want to give the slightest possibility of them getting another congressman. Same goes with senators, although i'm less worried about that since the state as a whole likely won't let it (we love our Elizabeth!). But even we currently have a Republican governor (although that's because his opponent sucked, and he's retiring this term anyway). But Boston got a Chinese Dem for a mayor after decades of old (Irish) white guys, so even I have tiny hopes.

@pariston_hill:

So here's a complied list of thing your about to lose:
https://twitter.com/a_h_reaume/status/1521316453944758273?s=21&t=qLosSBohVO8I2teaZ6Pz8g

Do you have to rub it in?

Robby

@The:

We can't depend on the supreme court to uphold human rights in the United States. We need a democratic majority in congress to pass actual laws. We need to vote. We need to get other people to vote. I'm just one man. I'm a shut in, there is little I can realistically do. But if I can inspire someone else to keep fighting and vote, then that's what I will try to do. That's what I can do.

Sure. And if if a frog had wings it wouldn't bump its ass when it hopped.

Yeah, OBVIOUSLY "we need more people to vote and get more seats." No duh. The reality of a heavy propagandized and gerrymandered system where Fox News gets to keep running AS a "News" organization is that is basically impossible. THey have actively worked to break the system over the last three decades and made things more and more partisan.

Dems couldn't get a super majority of 60% with Obama's landslide win, they're not getting more than a bare majority any time soon, and will very likely lose even that in six months. At best we can hope to keep an even split to force some things through, but with fillibuster "traditions" in place nothing is getting done without the political will.

And when you have "majorities" where some are Dems in nae only like Manchin, they you don't actually have a majority.

Republicans WANT it that way. If they actually wanted to cooperate and get things done, they could oust McConnel at literally any time and put someone else in charge willing to meet in the middle and get things done. But that's not where we're at.

The D.

@Robby:

Sure. And if if a frog had wings it wouldn't bump its ass when it hopped.

Yeah, OBVIOUSLY "we need more people to vote and get more seats." No duh. The reality of a heavy propagandized and gerrymandered system where Fox News gets to keep running AS a "News" organization is that is basically impossible. THey have actively worked to break the system over the last three decades and made things more and more partisan.

Dems couldn't get a super majority of 60% with Obama's landslide win, they're not getting more than a bare majority any time soon.

You can take your attitude somewhere else, Robby. If your only contribution to the conversation is whining about fox news, then I'm not interested in it. I'm trying to lift people up. To convince them that this isn't the end. If enough people come together, we will win. We don't need to hear about how hard it will be. Everybody knows it won't be easy because it never has been easy. We don't need every fucking seat in congress, just enough to pass laws. Stop acting like that's an impossible task. No one needs to hear that shit right now.

wolfwood

Well now i know what an originalist means.

Wild that you have people making modern law based on guessing what an 18th century man would have prefered.

pariston_hill

@Satsuki:

Do you have to rub it in?

Not meant to rub, but to spark the fires of rebellion.

andre

I'm with you, The D. Can't stop people from venting, but I'm much more interested in rallying people to vote. I am very concerned with the state of our democracy.

Jabberwok

This fucking sucks.

The Supreme Court has fully revealed its naked partisan illegitimacy, and it's going to put millions of women at risk with this decision. But if there's a silver lining to any of this, it's that Roe v. Wade and the defense of other Right to Privacy issues like gay marriage are the rallying point that Democrats have desperately needed.

The House isn't lost. Redistricting generally helped Democrats, as most Republican states played defensively and Democrats tended to be more aggressive. The national margin Democrats need to win the House went from about 3% to 1%, and some oddsmakers give Dems a 1 in 3 or 4 chance of retaining the House. It's not over.

The Senate also isn't lost. Democrats have a moderately favorable field, as Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Wisconsin are all extremely possible flips. Losing Georgia or even Nevada doesn't mean defeat- the Senate is basically a toss-up according to polls.

It's not over. Keep fighting, keep protesting, keep up the pressure. The agenda may not have been accomplished, but pressure on the left led to the most progressive Democratic platform in basically ever. It stalled out just shy of the finish line, yes, but we've gotten closer than ever. You're still making a difference.

Don't give up hope.

Monkey King

The only time I hate us Millennials is when I read us talk about politics.
Because we've somehow managed to grow up into even more worthless defeatist sadsacks than the already worthless sadsacks that made up Gen X.

Talking out one side of your mouth about people not fighting hard enough when it mattered, and out the other side about it being too late or whatever comfortable numbness bullshit you want.

We're not the cringing kids any more, we're middle aged with beer bellies. There's kids coming up, fight for them you self obsessed navel gazing blobs.

The D.

I'm trying, man. I want to inspire other people to keep fighting, but I know I ain't the most eloquent man around. My words of encouragement don't mean jack or shit to most people, I get that. The people who have already given up and accepted defeat sure as shit won't be roused by one anonymous asshole on the politics thread of a japanese comic book forum. But I'm trying to reach the peoole who have even one percent of a fight left in them. People are stronger than they realize. I'm just trying to give them a little push. That's all I can do for them.

Robby

@The:

We don't need every fucking seat in congress, just enough to pass laws. Stop acting like that's an impossible task.

No, it's not impossible. But giving people false hope based on completely wishful thinking is lousy too.

Historically and statistically sitting presidents ALWAYS lose seats in the midterms. There's a small handful of exceptions where they will get one more seat, (like post 9/11) but the there's only like three cases in the last two hundred years where they gained multiple seats, let alone a lot of seats. Sitting party always gets blamed for current problems. You have to go back to Roosevelt to get a big net positive… but he ran for four terms and was during WW2 so thats a weird anomaly outlier anyway. Go to the 1800's and you find another couple examples, but it basically never happens.

Optimistically, at best, Dems are going to keep an even split. (And even then it's only even on paper. When two of the holdouts aren't voting in the block its till basically a minority that can't accomplish anything.) Gaining the THREE seats without losing any that we need to make Manchin and Sinema irrelevant and get an actual majority historically just does not happen during midterms. I'd love it if somehow that gets pulled off, obviously. Presidential elections it sometimes happens but not midterms.

Getting a full blown veto proof majority IS impossible. The guys in charge seem unwilling to nuke the fillibuster or expand the court, so with those options off the table we have to fight and claw just to stay even, let alone make progress

Yeah, of course keep voting, keep fighting. I still vote in every major election and I live in Canada so its a huge pain the butt to do so.

But you can't just tell people "it'll be okay because we're for sure going to turn it around immediately and the bad things that are about to happen aren't actually about to happen."

Hiopefully someone leaking the memo that they're going to axe Roe V. Wade gets enough pushback that one of them changes their mind, if they realize that "oh wait, this is actually an issue that voters care about and will mobilize them." Thankfully SOMEONE was a patriot and leaked a court ruling, which almost never happens, so there's a CHANCE it could change. Otherwise they were just going to announce it as a finished decision two months from now.

We might, MIGHT gain back ground in 2024, but we're almost certainly going to lose it this year. The rights that are about to be lost or attacked can be reclaimed... but they ARE about to be lost.

The D.

@Robby:

No, it's not impossible. But giving people false hope based on completely wishful thinking is lousy too.

Historically and statistically sitting presidents ALWAYS lose seats in the midterms. There's a small handful of exceptions where they will get one more seat, (like post 9/11) but the there's only like three cases in the last two hundred years where they gained multiple seats, let alone a lot of seats. Sitting party always gets blamed for current problems. You have to go back to Roosevelt to get a big net positive… but he ran for four terms and was during WW2 so thats a weird anomaly outlier anyway. Go to the 1800's and you find another couple examples, but it basically never happens.

Optimistically, at best, Dems are going to keep an even split. (And even then it's only even on paper. When two of the holdouts aren't voting in the block its till basically a minority that can't accomplish anything.) Gaining the THREE seats we need to make Manchin and Sinema irrelevant and get an actual majority historically just does not happen during midterms. I'd love it if somehow that gets pulled off, obviously. Presidential elections it sometimes happens but not midterms.

Getting a full blown veto proof majority IS impossible. The guys in charge seem unwilling to nuke the fillibuster or expand the court, so with those options off the table we have to fight and claw just to stay even, let alone make progress

Yeah, of course keep voting, keep fighting. I still vote in every major election and I live in Canada so its a huge pain the butt to do so.

But you can't just tell people "it'll be okay because we're for sure going to turn it around immediately and the bad things that are about to happen aren't actually about to happen."

Hiopefully someone leaking the memo that they're going to axe Roe V. Wade gets enough pushback that one of them changes their mind, if they realize that "oh wait, this is actually an issue that voters care about and will mobilize them." Thankfully SOMEONE was a patriot and leaked a court ruling, which almost never happens, so there's a CHANCE it could change. Otherwise they were just going to announce it as a finished decision two months from now.

We might, MIGHT gain back ground in 2024, but we're almost certainly going to lose it this year. The rights that are about to be lost or attacked can be reclaimed... but they ARE about to be lost.

You're putting words in my mouth. Never have I said winning is a sure thing. I'm saying if enough of us do this together, we can win. There are more of us than them, that is a fact. If we come together, we can win. That is not false hope, that is a fact. Things don't just happen in a democracy. Our votes actually matter. Doing nothing because you've already decided it's pointless is how they win. I'll say it over and over and over again. When we come together we win.
You keep saying we're definitely going to lose ground this year as if it's pre-destined to happen. Maybe we will, but we don't have to resign ourselves to it as inevitable. People, if we don't want to lose, we have to actually fucking do something. This isn't a mystery, voting matters. What's happening now is important. Defeatism is not helpful to the situation.

Envy

Us coming here and venting that things are hopeless doesn't mean that we've stopped fighting. I don't even know where that connection was made.

Robby

@The:

You're putting words in my mouth. Never have I said winning is a sure thing. I'm saying if enough of us do this together, we can win. There are more of us than them, that is a fact. If we come together, we can win. That is not false hope, that is a fact. Things don't just happen in a democracy. Our votes actually matter. Doing nothing because you've already decided it's pointless is how they win. I'll say it over and over and over again. When we come together we win.
You keep saying we're definitely going to lose ground this year as if it's pre-destined to happen. Maybe we will, but we don't have to resign ourselves to it as inevitable. People, if we don't want to lose, we have to actually fucking do something. This isn't a mystery, voting matters. What's happening now is important. Defeatism is not helpful to the situation.

Who the hell said anything about "doing nothing?" I'm still going to vote. I'm going to encourage others to vote.

But literally hundreds of years of history and precedent and overall human nature are against us on this one.

Without an extremely unusual catalyst (9/11, WW2, etc.) midterms go a certain way.

Our hopes and goals can be high. But our expectation needs to be tempered and realistic, or we get even more crushed by failures and setbacks.

But hey, Roe V Wade being undone might just be such a catalyst, its kind of unprecedented. Like 80% of the population wants it to stay and Reps didn't actually want it to ever pass, it was always a wedge issue. There's a reason they're talking about the leak rather than the actual thing. They're not trumpeting the fact that they got this done, they're cowering from it.

Satsuki

When discussing abortion with "pro-life" people gag, it's good to remember this: