And Sleepy Joe Will Get The Credit: US Politics January 2021

Famously, deals with the devil end when you celebrate what you illicitly got and part with the devil as friends. https://t.co/fdu9Bxtk0y

— Jon Lovett (@jonlovett) January 6, 2021

Can we stop talking about GOP "fissures" and "cracks" and "ruptures"? We can celebrate -- rightly and loudly -- without assuming the GOP ain't gonna insist on more voter suppression and attacks on POC.

sadly and as usual otm

Who's assuming that? These people are a disease, regardless of how much power they have.

https://www.denofgeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/cobra_poster.jpg?resize=620%2C349

Whoa, sorry I said the word fracture everyone, but that is not what I was trying to say. Obviously they’ll keep doing what they do, I’m just glad we have an opportunity to try to stop them and try to keep their hands off the levers of power.

i am a man
who will fight
for your honor

Yeah GOP is going to immediately become scorched-earth fuck-you opposition-at-all-cost minority party, all with eyes on ‘22 and ‘24. There will be some handwringing and so forth among party elders, but mostly they’re just gonna keep on doing what they have been doing. Except even louder and screechier since being in the minority they don’t have to be accountable for anything they actually do.

McConnell had a pretty strong grip on his caucus even during most of Trump’s reign, and that’s what has been fracturing ever since Trump went completely off the rails about losing. But the GOP isn’t going anywhere. We just have an opportunity to make things harder for them going forward.

They were already prepared to be an opposition-at-all-costs majority party, preventing Biden from doing anything. I’d much rather have them as an opposition-at-all-costs minority party.

Totally agree! This is, with all necessary caveats, a fucking great day.

DC/PR statehood should be a legit top priority if the Dems see any chance of unfucking things more quickly.

Biden now has a chance to do some good in the next couple years. Let them posture and point fingers. If the Dems can pass some legislation now that tangibly benefits people, it’s going to make it harder for the GOP spin machine and for their chances in 2022/2024.

I'm aware that 2 major obstructions to justice etc have just been removed from being an immediate problem.
But presumably one or more of tehm are going to be a major pain as somewhat lesser obstructions anyway.
It's not like the Dem majority is in any way major which would have been the ideal result.
Maybe does keep people reminded that things aren't in any way perfect so prevents out and out complacency.
& hope that whatever momentum was in action because of t being such an obvious ogre and Mitch being similar doesn't dissipate.

It will be such a contrast from the GOP no-platform platform and do-nothingism.

so which guy is the junior and which is the senior senator from georgia

Oof, I hadn't quite made the mental connection that Warnock has to run again in '22

Doesn't the 2022 "map" reportedly look more favorable for the Dems?

That was my impression. That seemed to change when the GOP did so well downballot in November, but I think this changes the momentum back.

When was the last time Democrats took advantage of a favorable electoral map? The MO seems to be a) scramble when backed up against the wall; b) overperform when things are wholly, absolutely dire; c) proclaim "huzzah, now we can lay back and let our glorious demographic advantage take the wheel"; d) lose a fuckton of winnable elections; e) cry; f) repeat

so which guy is the junior and which is the senior senator from georgia

I guess let’s hope things are different now that we’ve lived through the Trump era. It feels like that was a real wake up call.

re: 2022

the ruling party nearly always loses seats in the midterms, but the GOP really only has the opportunity to gain three senate seats - kelly and warnock's special terms are both up in 2022, and nevada is usually pretty swing-y.

meanwhile, the dems have the opportunity to gain in wisconsin and pennsylvania, and maybe one of florida, iowa, ohio, or north carolina if you're feeling frisky

I understand the urge to focus on the positives, and no one ever lost money betting on gop cynicism beating actual internal gop political beefs but I’m sorry this is very funny

Don Jr to Republicans who might not object to the election results: "If you're going to be the zero and not the hero, we're coming for you."

— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) January 6, 2021

She's right

This is our shot, we can go big or go home.

It’s time to organize, mobilize and push for transformative change.

Millions of people have now put their trust in Democrats governing on their behalf and we must meet this moment.

— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) January 6, 2021

Omar otm

oh indeed

the question of trumps ongoing influence is interesting, imo the culture he helped cultivate will be a bigger deal than he is personally because not being president is much less compelling than being president and especially considering wingnuts have switched from watching fox to mainlining the most insane conspiracy theories on facebook, but! i think trump will have more influence than your standard ex president because hes obvs going to try to become some sort of media demagogue and obvs hes very good at media, tho i wonder if he has the energy for say a daily cable show

cosign!

(re Omar)

Ossoff just won a 6 year term, warnock won a 2 year so I think ossoff is senior.

wouldn't it be the other way around, because Warnock's seat is already four years old?

I don't have much confidence in the Dems either but I really do not think they're going to sleepwalk through the next decade because everything is back to normal. for one, there is a legitimately popular progressive wing of the party that is growing every election cycle. for two they now know for a fact that the balance of power in the United States is not guaranteed to be a pendulum anymore and that, given the chance, the GOP will lock them out of power forever

LOLwry otm:

Republicans have likely lost control of the Senate, but will have the consolation prize of being able to marinate for hours tomorrow in delusional schemes to indulge the conspiracy theories of the man who did more than his share to lose these races

— Rich Lowry (@RichLowry) January 6, 2021

“Other way around” in the sense that warnock is technically the “senior”? Maybe. I’m 99% certain he has to run again in 22 though.

for two they now know for a fact that the balance of power in the United States is not guaranteed to be a pendulum anymore and that, given the chance, the GOP will lock them out of power forever

They've known this about the Republicans since 2000

xp yeah he def has to run again in '22, but his seat is backdated to 2016

Yeah, Omar can be an erratic, er, tweeter, however well intentioned, but she is otm there.

Don Jr. obviously still thinkin' 'bout Vanilla Ice's New Year's Even performance.
https://media.giphy.com/media/YOXcKQwsTvbbO/giphy.gif

congrats to the new senators pic.twitter.com/f07WRMfCIP

— chelsea (@chellzyeah) January 6, 2021

tbh I am 100% in favor of Don Jr threatening sitting Congresspeople and then getting arrested for it

re: 2022

the ruling party nearly always loses seats in the midterms, but the GOP really only has the opportunity to gain three senate seats - kelly and warnock's special terms are both up in 2022, and nevada is usually pretty swing-y.

― boz conspiracy by toby hus (voodoo chili), Wednesday, January 6, 2021 10:46 AM (two minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

this rule of thumb i think is not really that iron clad, which is to say its not a metal thumb, one thing is the party that wins the presidency often does so in a wave election they pick up a lot of swingy house seats that are easily lost the next cycle, the dems definitively did not do that this time they lost seats and lost every one of the ~30 races generally listed as toss ups, so that effect is not present this time, and the second big one imo is that the dems absolutely never do anything that anyone likes when theyre in power, im not holding out a lot of hope for that one to change but who knows, i think if they started sending everyone monthly checks and did nothing else theyd prob cement a permanent majority lol, which is part of what omar is saying up there

obvs hes very good at media

Assumes facts not in evidence. He was very good at saying things that will keep the camera on him from 2015-2016, but the last four years have rubbed a lot of the shine off him as far as non-Fox/OAN/Newsmax journalists are concerned. He is not gonna be somebody Chuck Todd's gonna book on Meet the Press to talk about what he thinks of whatever Biden's doing.

To be clear -- this clip is *not* edited. This really happened. https://t.co/ptS2MkgiW4

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 6, 2021

Lmao No one watches meet the press except like three people on this thread xp

lol yeah trump literally had the top rated tv show before any of this shit and has been a media presence pretty much his entire adult life

I think if Biden & the Dems handle Covid well and life gets somewhat 'back to normal' next year they'll do fine in the midterms

well, depends on how well they handle the arrival of General Zod later this fall

MAGA rallies are basically circuit parties for exurbanites AFAICT

He is not gonna be somebody Chuck Todd's gonna book on Meet the Press to talk about what he thinks of whatever Biden's doing.

He won't do this sort of gig, but, like, Pat Buchanan was a loser asshole with the stink of racism and anti-semitism around him, and he was on TV all the time. Or, for another example, Rick Santorum, who is a professional loser talking head, too. Trump, however, is not particularly ambitious, just egotistical and narcissistic. I wouldn't be shocked if he just did rallies for the rest of his life, except he'll charge for them.

But ultimately, who the fuck cares. As long as I get to experience his death.

I think if Biden & the Dems handle Covid well and life gets somewhat 'back to normal' next year they'll do fine in the midterms

― frogbs, Wednesday, January 6, 2021 11:00 AM (thirty-seven seconds ago) bookmarkflaglink

prob what they think too lol

I do not want to experience Trump’s death

Imagine all the farts