American Politics Thread 2013: I'm a cool Rodham grandma in the USA

mccain and kerry's stature took hits in the senate after their losses but ted kennedy became the 'lion of the senate' after his run in 80. obv very different contexts but even w/ mccain and kerry whatever stature was lost was pretty quickly regained. actually kinda thought this yesterday - you know id like to see warren run even if hillary wins just to push wealthy inequality/corruption issues more front and center - that while if she did run she'd be 'no more' than kucinich etc but really on those terms she would be so much more than kucinich, she would have actual leverage and while i doubt her base of support would be enough to win many primaries it would still force hillary to take her seriously and she'd bring more to the race in terms of policy and shaping debate than cuomo or o'malley. she'd maybe even have a bigger impact than ron paul did and i think we can acknowledge that paul definitely helped shape the terms of debate for his party this century, i'm not sure i can name a republican whose had more influence in shaping the gop post-bush rebranding, unless it's like roger ailes.

they both love jelly bellies, and tbf who amongst us does not

well, the difference with Kennedy is that he only started legislating after he lost; he would have been a competent but undistinguished senator if he'd retired in 1980.

http://i1.nyt.com/images/2013/10/01/us/politics/01shutdown4_cnd/01shutdown4_cnd-hpMedium.jpg

http://www.underthegunreview.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/pixar-movie-sequels-we-want-up.jpg

so we're shutting down.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/house-gop-signals-shutdown-with-yet-another-anti-obamacare-vote

and it seems like it's going to be a while, if boehner continues with this stance:

"It's a matter of fairness for all Americans," Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) told reporters. Would he bring up a "clean" continuing resolution? "That's not going to happen," he said.

love this detail:

"The 2010 election was all about Obamacare. And I know me and my class members came to fight with every tool that we have," said Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC). "And so if we can delay, defund -- anything we can do with Obamacare, that's what we came here for."

What about the 2012 election? TPM asked. "I'm sorry -- ask that again?" he said, before adding: "Oh I was re-elected in 2012 too, so I can stand on that."

. "We are not going to mess around with Obamacare, no matter what they do. They have got to get a life," Reid told reporters. "Understand we are dealing with anarchists. They hate government."

maybe reid has some sort of consultant telling him this is a cool thing to say, but he really needs to quit comparing tea partiers to anarchists, it just makes him sound stupid.

seems like the gop can get out of this if they want by passing some fake obamacare amendment and declaring victory http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2013/09/30/vitter_amendment_is_total_bs.html

well yeah david graeber is gonna be mad but i think it's pretty funny

hahahahahahahahahaha

Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) had choice words for fellow House Republicans who are willing to see the government shut down over their opposition to Obamacare: “Lemmings with suicide vests,” he called them.

“They have to be more than just a lemming. Because jumping to your death is not enough,” he said.

“You have this group saying somehow if you’re not with them, you’re with Obamcare. If you’re not with their plan — exactly what they want to do, you’re with Obamcare. It’s getting a little old,” he said.

Nunes said he would support House leadership’s latest strategy: A bill that would keep the government open but delay the individual mandate for a year. But he said that approach means a government shutdown will be all but certain.

The result for his party? “You guys ever watch 16 Candles?” he asked a small group of reporters. “You guys remember Long Duk Dong at the end? That’s going to be us tomorrow, waking up on the grass, crashed automobile. That’s us.”

I have often though when looking at the Republican party that they really remind me of a racist caricature from the 80s

They're not lemmings if they are repeatedly leading these bullshit ops.

So is the shutdown worse/more destructive than the (ongoing!) sequester that no one talks about it? Or cutting the SNAP budget a couple of weeks back?

Also, why does everyone call it Obamacare? Talk about losing control of the message. Call it the fucking Affordable Care Act, which is what it is fucking called and what it fucking provides. Let the kooks call it Obamacare.

Dan, you're racist for suggesting that they are racist. They want to end racism!

obamacare is a better name tho

Obamacare sounds too fun/funny for such a serious thing that will literally improve the lives of millions.

obamacare is a better name tho

― lag∞n,

for racism

They can call it Obamacare when Obama caves and cuts some more shit.

Obamacaves.

Also, why does everyone call it Obamacare? Talk about losing control of the message. Call it the fucking Affordable Care Act, which is what it is fucking called and what it fucking provides. Let the kooks call it Obamacare.

― Josh in Chicago, Monday, September 30, 2013 4:05 PM (45 seconds ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

the whitehouse itself flipped on this more than a year ago now iirc. suddenly their emails came out calling it Ocare, selling swag like bumper stickers saying "i like obamacare" and so on. it was a thing.

this is what happens when you elect a black President, suddenly everything becomes about reclaiming words used against you

obamacare is a better name tho

― lag∞n,

for racism

― the objections to Drake from non-REAL HIPHOP people (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, September 30, 2013 5:07 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

idk seems like it might be kind of confusing

yep. maybe they're thinking that in 10 years, when the law is more entrenched and people are seeing its benefits and the push to repeal it is more of a distant memory, it'll actually be a positive thing that they want to be associated with.

it's the thing everybody calls it, why fight uphill by defining it as an insult alone?

imagine if medicare were known today as... johnsoncare. uh.

SIGN ME UP

If they called it Johnsoncare it might have earned more Republican support.

"taking care of you and yours"

after the obama's ACA reforms we could be calling it J/O-care

So here's more on that kerfuffle between Charles Ferguson and HRC:

In June, I attended a dinner for Bill Clinton, which was educational. Clinton spoke passionately about his foundation, about African wildlife, inequality, childhood obesity, and much else with enormous factual command, emotion, and rhetorical power. But he and I also spoke privately. I asked him about the financial crisis. He paused and then became even more soulful, thoughtful, passionate, and articulate. And then he proceeded to tell me the most amazing lies I've heard in quite a while.

For example, Mr. Clinton sorrowfully lamented his inability to stop the Commodity Futures Modernization Act, which banned all regulation of private (OTC) derivatives trading, and thereby greatly worsened the crisis. Mr. Clinton said that he and Larry Summers had argued with Alan Greenspan, but couldn't budge him, and then Congress passed the law by a veto-proof supermajority, tying his hands. Well, actually, the reason that the law passed by that overwhelming margin was because of the Clinton Administration's strong advocacy, including Congressional testimony by Larry Summers and harsh public and private attacks on advocates of regulation by Summers and Robert Rubin.

Wow, I thought, this guy is a really good actor. And I also saw one reason why Hillary Clinton might not be thrilled about my movie. I discovered others. In Arkansas, she joined the boards of Walmart and Tyson Foods. One of the largest donors to the Bill, Hillary, and Chelsea Clinton Foundation is the government of Saudi Arabia. The Clintons' personal net worth now probably exceeds $200 million, and while earned legally, both the money's sources and the Clintons' public statements indicate a strong aversion to rocking boats or making powerful enemies.

hence they are "the Clintons" in all matters political, these two unholy shits.

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/comment/2013/09/meadows-boehner-defund-obamacare-suicide-caucus-geography.html

hello there

more diffuse than i wouldve suspected

https://twitter.com/Alyssa_Milano/status/384796984889991169

tell 'em

Danny Pintauro ‏@dannypintauro 2 Mar 11

@moonfrye Soleil! Long time no see!

man it's a good thing we didn't go for the public option a few years ago or else the 2010 elections would have been a disaster and the GOP really would have thrown a fit

very possible pub option wouldn't have gotten full Dem support :-/

cutting edige democrats don't push major public policy initiatives unless they were originally conceived by conservatives (see cap and trade).

man it's a good thing we didn't go for the public option a few years ago or else the 2010 elections would have been a disaster and the GOP really would have thrown a fit

― druhilla (k3vin k.), Tuesday, October 1, 2013 12:45 AM (42 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I think if they had pushed for the public option we would have gotten the same bill but the Republicans would be slightly less insanely angry about it.

man, what a clusterfuck. looking forward to helping my partner sign up for health insurance tomorrow though!

About a quarter of the public supports the idea of shutting down the government to defund Obamacare.

Pretty sure this is the %age of the American public you can get to agree to anything by asking them a survey question about it

Yeah, there's a reason why no presidents approval rating ever drops below a certain level

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/poll-indicates-gop-has-been-deeply-damaged-by-shutdown-fight

I don't remember, does Quinnipiac tend left or right?

left, but not strongly

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/11/10/us/politics/fivethirtyeight-1110-accuracy2012-1/fivethirtyeight-1110-accuracy2012-1-blog480.png

hi iatee!

hi alfred

I guess the Post has lost the front-page crown

http://retired.talkingpointsmemo.com/images/new-york-daily-news-house-of-turds-cover-boehner.jpg

haha wow

you work at the daily news now

HA

just on Tuesdays

God, I just noticed the dripping hands