People that you've never heard of, people that are in the dark shadows -- US Politics September 2020

do you think what happened to merrick garland was unfair?

i mean, the predictable course of that line of reasoning, i think, is that yes, what happened to garland was unfair. two rights do not make a wrong, why do the unfair thing to trump now? and then we can get into whether there is in fact a clear calendar date which delineates between a "fair" and "unfair", when a SC judge dies during an election year. if they die before july they should be replaced, afterward not? or maybe it's any time up to inauguration day, since at any time, technically the administration has the authority to nominate someone, and congress has the authority to vote on it (or not, in the case of garland).

so, bad question on my part, because the main point is that republicans are not playing the same game. or rather, democrats are still busy trying to follow the rules while republicans are busy rewriting them.

I interpret Tracer's comment literally. If one party controls the Senate and executive branch, then, yeah, obv the nominated justice will likely be seated (there have been many exceptions, though).

Dems gettin' together to work as a gang of assholes for once, however, is another question.

obvious rebranding for court packing should be "court reform" imo

i mean, the predictable course of that line of reasoning, i think, is that yes, what happened to garland was unfair. two rights do not make a wrong, why do the unfair thing to trump now?

yeah I've already seen a few people trot out the "lets not stoop to their level, let's just crush them at the voting booth" thing to which I say we already do crush them at the voting booth but it doesn't fucking matter cuz the GOP's willingness to play dirty has rewarded them with eternal minority rule and no amount of "doing the right thing" is gonna reverse that

It's almost like we live in a failed state or something

Collins now says vacancy should not be filled until 11/3.

That's three (Romney, Murk, Collins), but I know full well any of them can be "won back home" fairly easily.

Plus still need 1-3 more (1 for VP tiebreaker, at least 2 more to cushion any Manchins)

saw that fundraising for Dem Senate races beat all sorts of records yesterday, anyone know if there was a corresponding bump for the GOP?

Be sure to cushion your manchins

Xp

xpost hopefully corresponding bumps on their foreheads after people took a mallet to them

y'know what's really gonna be 'fun', is if Biden does win, and then COVID is finally contained, and everybody looks forward to finally feeling peace but instead, the PTSD starts to kick in for hundreds of millions of people

Bryan Cranston being brought in for questioning

https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2020/09/19/report-package-containing-ricin-addressed-to-white-house-seized-by-authorities/

People should care more about court packing and statehood and stuff, and those threats should be made, and they should be done, but this is the right approach to the election itself imo:

NEW: The Biden campaign strategy to deal with the passing of RBG and a Supreme Court vacancy: Focus on health care and defending Obamacare

A 2018 midterms playbook redux.

W/ the @katieglueck @thomaskaplan @GlennThrush @jmartNYT squadhttps://t.co/pyjoJLsQEu

— Shane Goldmacher (@ShaneGoldmacher) September 19, 2020

Biden campaign strategy to deal with the passing of RBG and a Supreme Court vacancy: Focus on health care and defending Obamacare

Hmmm. Seems to me that if The Federalist Society picks the next SC justice and the Senate Republicans seat the nominee on the court before Jan. 2021, then it is certain that the ACA will be firmly in place on Election Day 2020. With all current benefits in place there won't be much tangible backlash against the Republicans from voters on that issue. Then, the newly-degraded SCOTUS can kill the ACA later on and act as a political heat shield for the Republicans, by absorbing the public's anger.

Well possibly but I don’t think there’s a better option before the election.

It's one thing to run on "they want to sell you out if you let them, so don't let them" and another to run on "well, you don't feel it yet, and your vote today can't prevent anything bad, but trust me, they have already sold you out, so don't vote for them."

i barely understand your point, which may be correct, but i think you're overestimating the average voter

We need a feel-good story:

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/09/18/metro/how-transsexual-satanist-anarchist-trolled-new-hampshire-voters/

This was smart to say

https://www-forbes-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.forbes.com/sites/tommybeer/2020/09/20/trump-threatens-to-issue-executive-order-preventing-biden-from-being-elected-president/amp/?

https://www.forbes.com/sites/tommybeer/2020/09/20/trump-threatens-to-issue-executive-order-preventing-biden-from-being-elected-president/

Susan Collins might scowl and offer a strong rebuttal to that kind of talk!

The people wigging out over it are wasting their breath. He routinely says he might do things at rallies that he knows he can't cos his voters like it. Then he doesn't do anything.

Most of the harmful shit he's done hasn't been telegraphed like this

I’m Joe Biden and I approve this message. pic.twitter.com/TuRZXPE5xK

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) September 20, 2020

That's good! More of that, Joe.

whoa

that right there is one of the best political ads in US history

Just a little ... schadenfreude? Perspective? I don't know, but I stumbled on this and while I in no way agree it's nice to be reminded that the other side feels the same way.

https://www.facebook.com/dan.bongino/posts/3553283938097675

The New York Post reports:

New York City was among three cities labeled “anarchist jurisdictions” by the Justice Department on Sunday and targeted to lose federal money for failing to control protesters and defunding cops, The Post has learned.

Portland, Ore., and Seattle, Wash., were the other two cities on the list, which was approved by US Attorney General William Barr.

“When state and local leaders impede their own law-enforcement officers and agencies from doing their jobs, it endangers innocent citizens who deserve to be protected, including those who are trying to peacefully assemble and protest,” Barr said in a statement set to be released Monday.

Just a little ... schadenfreude? Perspective? I don't know, but I stumbled on this and while I in no way agree it's nice to be reminded that the other side feels the same way.

little bit of a dark, everything-is-meaningless lol at how it only takes two comments on this post for everyone to start agreeing that hillary clinton personally murdered antonin scalia

dan bongino's head looks like one of those expensive japanese watermelons grown into the shape of a cube

Really good, if somewhat depressing, interview with Ilhan Omar.

Barr should have been impeached right after Trump. Dude scares me at a level Trump doesn't (and even Sessions didn't)

yeah when people talk about their fear of competent fascists in the GOP I immediately think of Barr

yikes

Have any of your Republican colleagues ever reached out, publicly or privately, and said the use of violent imagery or language toward you is not OK? No. There are really no dissenters. We have now had a few death threats that have been very publicized where people have been arrested and are incarcerated for it. I can’t remember a public statement or private comment of support.

Really? No Republican member of the House or Senate has ever offered any words of support? Nope

been a while

Odds of stimulus checks: Down

Odds of government shutdown: Up https://t.co/yXXoJUPrqE

— Jeff Stein (@JStein_WaPo) September 21, 2020

According to 538, the only time in the last two years that Trump's approval rating has dropped below 40% was in January 2019, as the last shutdown dragged on.

that time it was undeniably trump's shutdown. it was all about money for his fucking Wall. he owned it completely. this time the democrats are likely to take the blame if it happens. i'm inclined to think Pelosi is playing at brinksmanship to deflect accusations that Democrats cave in too quickly.

A wild document. Felony collective punishment for anyone who attends a protest where property is damaged, while vehicular murder or manslaughter is effectively legalized. Plus if your city council acts to reduce the police budget, the state defunds everything. https://t.co/0scGoFd1XO

— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) September 21, 2020

jfc

Ice-T is...not wrong?

‘Tradition’ is Peer Pressure from dead people.

— ICE T (@FINALLEVEL) September 21, 2020

It never fails to amaze me how much of a hard-on the "pro life" party gets for being allowed to plow people down with their pickup trucks.

Is there a band yet called Toppling Monuments? Or maybe a podcast.

this time the democrats are likely to take the blame if it happens.

why?

if the government shuts down then the story will be that instead of agreeing to the Senate relief bill, containing hundreds of billions of dollars in relief, the House shut down the government, costing billions instead. but my belief is that Pelosi has watched every single government shutdown blow up in the face of the party deemed responsible for it and she will finally throw in her hand at the last minute, with the statement that Democrats tried, but Republican intransigence was to blame for not getting peple what they desperately need. This outcome is easily the most likely in my view.

how do you imagine it playing out differently?

Did the Democrats get blamed for not signing on to that bullshit Senate covid relief bill last week or whenever? At this point the lines are so demarcated that it's hard for me to believe the Dems get blamed for anything, per se. Anyone they lose with a light visible at the end of the tunnel was never going to vote for them anyway.

As of last week (and this one) the government is still funded.

i imagine all house dems getting run over by a pickup truck with a flag in it xp

legal in Florida!

Stand and Be Ground!

https://www.thedailybeast.com/redstate-covid-troll-streiff-is-actually-bill-crews-and-he-actually-works-for-dr-anthony-fauci

is this even real