Vaccines, Infrastructure, and Kids In Cages: US Politics April 2021

a couple holes in white supremacy. biden said “let’s fill in the gaps 😏” https://t.co/MhAjSqjSY5

— 🌱 (@noname) April 7, 2021

obviously that could be true, but from what I could tell the only primary source for that is a right-wing rag (the Washington Times)

same source but more context

As @n_th_n_ reminded me, Mayorkas, who said ICE has a “noble mission” and needs to “strengthen [its] policies and practices,” was Obama’s director of UCIS (2009-13) and then deputy secretary of DHS (2013-16). https://t.co/DgIa8aIAZs

— Zoé (@ztsamudzi) April 7, 2021

There have been stretches of walled barriers along the US-Mexico border since long before Obama was president. If some of Trump's new sections of barrier can be made contiguous with earlier sections at minimal cost, it makes a kind of sense. Not good sense, mind you. The wall is mostly useless. But filling in any smallish gaps appeals to one's natural sense of order and tidiness.

Hard to believe the Biden admin would like to discourage everyone to the left of Hillary and under 40 from ever voting again... but maybe.

the Biden admin would like to discourage everyone to the left of Hillary and under 40 from ever voting again

Yes. That must be their plan. Only possible explanation.

Lol nothing about borders makes any sense, period.

Americans lose their minds over many things, but (a) Israel (b) brown people racing across an open border to take assistant vice president of HR positions at Applebee's destroy them.

qft

Hey, that was my Applebee's position (for which I am wildly unqualified)!

imagine if a Guatemalan had jumped in line!

anti-Zionism is not anti-Applebeesism

McConnell was downright giddy about the Citizens United ruling, now he cautions corporations to stay out of politics. Hmmkay.

the "only roads are real infrastructure" semiotics/culture war stuff may not be the vote winner they think it is?

President Biden’s proposal is about anything but infrastructure. pic.twitter.com/fRtbPqg7QK

— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) April 7, 2021

What elicits the most intense Republican opposition in Biden's infrastructure plan? The part about electric vehicles. https://t.co/z0jDWGrTdW pic.twitter.com/5BzgF2Fzml

— David Roberts (@drvolts) April 7, 2021

How close are we to a major GOP politician literally complaining about lousy mooching war widows?

Pretty sure Trump has gone there already

Long term care = infrastructure. It's time for Congress to step up & pass the #AmericanJobsPlan. https://t.co/Kl8xBI2acW pic.twitter.com/3GAFW74ivD

— SEIU (@SEIU) April 7, 2021

haha "it's a care train and you need to get on it"

Note that Blackburn put her logo at the top of the $400 billion graphic; then she can claim she supported that part of it, but not all the bloated, wasteful electric car stuff.

"400 billion for elder care" intended as a scare quote suggests a great deal of disconnection with the needs of the people

Yeah but "elder care" is probably shorthand for Obama's death panels

I'm almost...unnerved at the lack of GOP response to any of Biden-Schumer-Pelosi's plans/considerations/musings. This is not what I've been trained to endure.

they seem to know they're beaten and that there's not much upside in arguing just now
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/04/democrats-get-one-more-bill-that-cannot-be-filibustered.html

quick reminder that in the past year under GOP rule we saw literal death panels as doctors were forced to chose whose lives deserved saving over others at least in part BECAUSE OF LACK OF INFRASTRUCTURE
likely no one in this thread needed that memory jog but it bears pointing out at every turn

I guess they await signals from their leader, but Trump, banished from Twitter, hasn't given a shit about policy anyway, and it's complicated by how popular the COVID relief bill and infrastructure bill are.

Still, a weird place to be in.

They probably feel pretty good that thanks to Manchin/Sinema/etc. Democrats get two more bills for this entire year that matter and that major Biden campaign promises like the public option, PRO Act and $15 minimum wage (not to mention the VRAA) are flatlining.

GOP doesn't really give much of a shit about policy either over the past few years as far as i can see beyond DEATH CULT MONEY MONEY

i'm enjoying the relative silence while i can

"400 billion for elder care" intended as a scare quote suggests a great deal of disconnection with the needs of the people

― G.A.G.S. (Gophers Against Getting Stuffed) (forksclovetofu)

And with a large segment of their base.

A couple of bills they can play deficit hawk on is the best case scenario when they could be facing down a radical reimagining of American politics with two DC Senators or abolishing the filibuster to pursue all the Democratic policies that enjoy supermajorities of support.

I'll believe it when I see it.

Biden wants to “take care” of your grandparents

He "wouldn't want anything to happen" to them.

I'm told this is real?

https://i.imgur.com/7Q8OYgd.png

Joe Manchin says he won't support filibuster reform because we need "a new era of bipartisanship."

Meanwhile, Mitch McConnell, Ted Cruz, Lindsey Graham and Josh Hawley are laughing all the way to the ballot boxes they're closing down.https://t.co/zydySkKA4d

— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) April 8, 2021

screw you joe manchin! fucking idiot clown

Yet Dems need him anyway. He goes, his seat turns red.

As usual with this clown he has a price so he can flash bipartisan semaphores to his constituents. Then he'll sigh, shake his head, mourn the loss of comity, vote.

It's probably time to retire the 'he's just holding out for flying cars in West Virginia' line.

Turn. all. screws. Joe. Tho if he bails the party, that would suck too.

Has anyone heard of Dems trying to turn a GOPer to Dem or indy?

Jim Jeffords.

Charlie Crist!

I think the best bet in this Senate would be persuading Murkowski to go independent.

Biden should work that famous charm on her.

My perception of the Republican position right now is that they're focusing heavily on the state governments they control and on redistricting. They can afford to write off two years of Biden getting some things done (while obstructing wherever possible), all in anticipation of controlling the House and Senate again in '22 and the White House in '24.

And then they use whatever maneuvers Biden and Schumer have concocted to ram literally everything they want through the Senate in about six months. Heck maybe they'll even pack the court themselves and add 5-6 more justices, who will proceed to roll back most of the past 160 years. It is entirely conceivable.

'the democrats clearly signalled their willingness to consider these changes, so it's pure hypocrisy for them now to attempt to block the same expansion when it's coming from our side" - which will have the added bonus of being correct

Good moooorning!

Hardly sufficient, but it feels like another step in the right direction:

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/04/07/us/biden-news-today

The ghost gun/parts kit bit is a classic bit of pretending to do something while actually doing absolutely nothing at all.

The problem is that unmilled/80% receivers are just blocks of metal. With CNC technology making it easy for any dipshit who can press a button on a communal machine to finish one, you have to tackle that through actual legislation.

https://www.thenation.com/article/economy/biden-infrastructure-plan-caregiver/

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/04/biden-tax-increases-infrastructure-bill-wages-class-warfare-without-the-war.html

Whoops!

JUST IIN: Joel Greenberg, a key figure in the ongoing investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz, is likely to strike a plea deal with federal prosecutors, his attorney said in court @PaulaReidCNN reports

— Ana Cabrera (@AnaCabrera) April 8, 2021