Beware the Ides of March -- U.S. Politics March 2021

except for the political cost, i'm not sure why FEMA isn't dispatched to build temporary housing tbh

FEMA has been involved since mid-March.

okay... and why is that not addressing the problem? brb, gonna read a bit.

seems to be a question of prioritizing allocation of resources, a problem that varies radically in size depending on numerous exigencies, a lack of competency and compassion from local/federal officials and general political quagmire? also doesn't seem clear quite what FEMA is doing at the moment.

One might assume that the Trump administration weakened infrastructure and judicial/legal capability for processing amnesty cases when everyone knew these things needed strengthening, intentionally creating a crisis in order to rally the base, and when he lost the election, Trump deliberately left Biden a pile of shit to sort out and fix, and it’s the kind of thing that can’t just be fixed on Day 1! Cue the media stories and finger pointing as this becomes Biden’s fault!

Watch as Democrats do the GOP’s messaging work for them!

it's not his fault but it is for sure his mess to clean up in a way that is not atrocious. The media fucking sucks and we all know that, they are going to gravitate to whatever pulls ratings and grabs attention.

Stunning to see corporate owned media seeking to distract from progressive legislative priorities. Obviously this is a humanitarian crisis but who are we to say this isn’t being fixed as quickly as possible? Let’s just speculate that nothing is being done!

It isn't being fixed as quickly as possible, and the Biden administration continues to deport people needlessly.

It's also disgraceful that every time people come at Biden from the left, people say we're "doing the Right's work for them." Give me a break.

Obviously this is a humanitarian crisis but who are we to say this isn’t being fixed as quickly as possible?

holy shit haha

Sorry, carry on speculating, this is fruitful. What is being done? What isn’t being done? What should be done and how? Is that already being done? Are you sure?

sounds like you're out of the loop

you're right we should have been down there with Ted Cruz to investigate for ourselves xp

From what I know about the details, which I admit is very little, I can't disprove the assertion that "it isn't being fixed as quickly as possible", but from what I am being told in this thread, nobody here is backing up that assertion with even one instance of what could be done, why it is certainly possible to do it under the fiscal, legal and administrative constraints that the Biden administration must observe, yet the administration has chosen not to do it.

holy shit haha

this argument is known as "appeal to prejudice"

Exactly, thank you

Just because Biden isn’t laying all his cards on the table right now and giving us the details of his plan doesn’t mean he is twiddling his thumbs, or doesn’t have a plan, or is being actively malicious.

And who the f knows what kind of land mines the Trump admin left for them that they have to deal with first. Count me as very suspicious of the current narrative. Sorry for taking that out on anyone here.

I heard immigration reporter Dara Lind explain the situation on a podcast recently, but all I really took away was "It's complicated."

GET THE KIDS OUT OF THE GODDAMNED CAGES

that "simple" enough for you

I love how AOC said that people criticizing the Biden admin for keeping kids in cages are operating from a privileged position

when/where did she say that?

In the official rag of the DSA (puke), she was asked:

"Some on the Left have looked at Biden’s record and his difference with the Bernie wing of the party, and they conclude that no progress is going to come out of the Biden administration. What’s your view?”

She replied:

"Well, I think it’s a really privileged critique. We’re gonna have to focus on solidarity with one another, developing our senses for good faith critique and bad faith critique. Because bad faith critique can destroy everything that we have built so swiftly. And we know this because it has in the past, and it’s taken us so many decades to get to this point. We do not have the time or the luxury to entertain bad faith actors in our movement."

hm? is she directly referencing the current situation in that quote?

that "simple" enough for you

if that were the sum total of your position, then I doubt anyone here would have the slightest grounds for disagreement. you reached beyond that and were called on to back up what you stated as true. that may anger you, but it is a legit response.

That's a moronic Beltway question for starters.

So:

- The official rag of the DSA is bullshit
- AOC is bullshit
- Biden is bullshit

Am I missing anything?

tbh I have my own personal sympathies here, but I feel like almost all of these kinds of arguments boil down to a repeating cycle of:

A: we should be focusing on the principle
B: we should be focusing on the process
A: sounds like you're letting Dems off the hook for not changing things
B: sounds like you're ignoring the incremental way that political change works
A: political change won't happen if you don't stand up for principles
B: political change won't happen if you write off the process
A: fuck you
B: fuck you

I'm mostly unclear on why my default assumption should be that Biden is doing his best/trying to do what's right/fix[ing things] as quickly as possible. Nothing in his five decade political career has earned him the benefit of the doubt.

after waltzing into a bunch of climate change deniers after making a comment on a post from my region's national weather service account on facebook, i'm in a "just choppy choppy the white people over 50" kinda mood.

I 100% agree with getting kids out of cages, overcrowded temporary housing, etc. Where should they go? What is your policy recommendation and how would you enact it? Can you ensure their safety and well-being as part of your plan? Let’s have some damned substance here.

No one here makes policy, Big Donebb

Map I am not quite at 50 yet but I say fuck that generalized sentiment

"This situation isn't right" and "the most powerful human being on the planet should be doing better" do not demand that Joe Schmoe have a comprehensive plan that's better. Joe Schmoe isn't President, isn't even in the House of Representatives.

It's on the President to be telling us exactly what the fuck is going on and what he's doing to improve things - rather than blocking media access to the camps.

milo fuck that as well, I have been here for 10+ years under this name alone

I am just asking where you would put the kids

The Four Seasons.

It's more important that we know where Joe Biden wants to put the kids and why they're not there, though.

To clarify the above, I also did not have a different name >10 years ago, I just was not here.

So it sounds like the problem is that Joe Biden isn’t walking us through his plans and the roadblocks he is facing- not that he isn’t working to make things better.

Yes, but the problem is that without the former, we can't disprove the latter. And like milo I don't see any particular reason to extend the benefit of the doubt that he is working on it. I'm also not going to assume he's sitting in the Oval laughing over photos of imprisoned kids but still.

just ftr this is what AOC actually said about kids in cages:

This is not okay, never has been okay, never will be okay - no matter the administration or party. https://t.co/AEV7s7QQnB

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 23, 2021

Of course that's what she actually said about kids in cages. We all knew this and this is why table's nonsense is indistinguishable from right-wing talking points. If you don't like that characterization of your words, don't make it an easy one to make.

Where should they go? What is your policy recommendation and how would you enact it? Can you ensure their safety and well-being as part of your plan? Let’s have some damned substance here.

They should go to relatives in the US, whether those relatives are undocumented or not. They should all be given citizenship. If relatives are not able to be found here, then attempt contact with families in home country to see what the family there wishes. If that can't happen, then allow for adoption by families and communities, and KEEP TRACK OF THE KIDS so that families might be able to locate them in the future. If all else fails, put them all up in any number of vacant luxury hotels, condos, apartment buildings, or office parks. Plop down some yurts on the front lawn of the White House. Move some into the Biden residence in Delaware.

And to be clear, the bone I am picking here is not "why aren't you extending Biden the benefit of the doubt", it's "why are you turning on one of the few people in a position of power who has more consistently done the right thing in her career than not in a manner that makes you sound like Tucker Carlson"

Sorry, saying stuff on Twitter doesn't mean shit to me.

tables--why are they so hard to impress?

It would be nice to see more concrete action from AOC - and far more importantly, Bernie - on the matter, rather than disapproving tweets (which are getting ever more tedious). Block every Biden nominee until we know what the plan is, Bernie.

So, as is often the case, I will acknowledge that yes, AOC does care about the kids in cages. You got me there, DJP.

That said, posting stuff on Twitter and other social media doesn't mean much if the kids aren't out of the cages.

At a certain point, I've become exhausted by what feels like the 'mainstream left' essentially running a good optics campaign and then coming up with no results, and always with excuses...some valid, and some quite laughable.

Also, since Rob is right, I'm going to once again silence myself here for a bit.

If all else fails, put them all up in any number of vacant luxury hotels, condos, apartment buildings, or office parks.

I disagree with "if all else fails."