Joe Money, Joe Problems: the November 2021 U.S. Politics Thread

Don't go messin'

it stares back at you, iirc

Actually doing anything elicits a yawn. The press loves Dems in disarray discourse cause it feeds into our predjudices.

Disarray, dat array, everything's in array.

I guess government dysfunction is more newsworthy than functioning government.

Passing the BIF because some people panicked because McAuliffe lost isn’t really an example of functioning government, is it? Doing a 180 on political strategy should be the story there.

who did the 180? who was directing the strategy?

there were 6 house democrats, on the day of the vote, saying they'd refuse to vote for it unless it got a CBO score (which would be impossible at that point). did they do the 180?

did manchin and sinema do a 180?

can i do a 180, on tony hawk pro skateboarder? yes i can.

my point is that, for the millionth time, it's a 50/50 senate and house with only 3 votes to spare, and congress is full of giant fucking rich assholes

jesus christ wouldn't be able to get manchin and sinema to have any sense of personal responsibility or guilt

my point is that, for the millionth time, it's a 50/50 senate and house with only 3 votes to spare, and congress is full of giant fucking rich assholes

How is that a counterpoint what I said? The strategy changed after five months of “holding the line” and resulted in passing a bad bill. That’s not functional government and the strategic shift is a better and more telling story.

Let me be really clear on this: We will not take up a bill in the House until the Senate passes the bipartisan bill and a reconciliation bill. If there is no bipartisan bill, then we'll just go when the Senate passes a reconciliation bill," the California Democrat said Thursday during her weekly news conference.

"There ain't gonna be no bipartisan bill, unless we have a reconciliation bill," she said. "As I said, there won't be an infrastructure bill, unless we have a reconciliation bill. Plain and simple. In fact, I use the word ain't. There ain't going to be an infrastructure bill, unless we have the reconciliation bill passed by the United States Senate," she reiterated.

Last quote in case you were still curious about whose strategy was reversed there.

That you have to describe it as the only possible outcome thanks to two Democratic Senators would belie the functional bit, really. Functional government wouldn’t let Joe Manchin define climate policy.

That’s not functional government

Correct. It isn't like the legislative branch of our government has been truly functional for any purpose other than emptying the treasury into the pockets of billionaires since this century began. It was an attempt to exert maximum leverage, but it failed because the assholes who've aligned themselves with all the Republican assholes decided the implicit threat from the House progressive caucus did not threaten them. This "bad bill" was the nearest to functionality the progressive caucus could obtain under that circumstance, because they couldn't shake the votes loose for a better bill. They tried.

I think I'll start sending Kurt Schrader daily reminders that he's lost my vote forever.

in conclusion, the US government is very not good. i learned something today.

lock thread

trying to imagine pelosi saying ain't gonna be no

it's difficult because "pelosi" means "a platoon of yes"

Seen some twitter people noted that GA flipped 41 seats in 21 counties across Georgia last week, with next to no national reporting or notice. If it bleeds, it leads. Meanwhile, on milk:

When I asked Krista Stotler from this CNN story if her family had received extended child tax credits over the last few months, she told me: "We only have three kids under the age of 18 and don't really have a comment on that. … We're just trying to raise our kiddos." https://t.co/lW0THTDoeA

— Daniel Lippman (@dlippman) November 8, 2021

So these assholes buy 12 gallons of milk for a household with only three kids under the age of 18?

these legal adults are all pissin' white!

nearly everybody in that house is fully grown and constipated. the stotlers wonder why their plumbing bills are so high under President Biden as they feed their 28 year old son another glass of milk on the fury road.

Their milk bill might be high but imagine what they spend on potpourri to hide the pervasive odor of wet farts.

Yeah, with only three of those kids under 18, I retract my half-hearted defense. That is a bizarre amount of milk for a house with grown ass adults.

https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/12/bathemilk.jpg

that milk story's been done to death here already

we milked that cow dry

that milk story's been done to death here already

just a few new details in a meaningless inconsequential story indistinguishable from clickbait

Counterpoint: a funny story is now twice as funny.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

It's gone from 2% to WHole

we're just skimming the surface

get the milk talk off Carton-Eyed Joe's thread

just a few new details in a meaningless inconsequential story indistinguishable from clickbait

― more difficult than I look (Aimless), Monday, November 8, 2021 6:07 PM (sixteen minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

december thread title!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=in58wtVI9sI

Well this seems bad (respondents are all Youngkin voters)

We ask: Which party has better policy proposals?
54%: Democrats
14% Republicans
32% About the same

— Danny Barefoot (@dannybarefoot) November 8, 2021

Life in these United States:

Okay and last question: If Democrats had passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Package before the election would you have considered changing your vote?

91%: No
9% Yes

One woman laughs and says "what does that have to do with anything?"

— Danny Barefoot (@dannybarefoot) November 8, 2021

Write a deadline poem about THAT, Calvin Trillin

lol

is andy borowitz still pulling in the most views for the new yorker?

We ask an open ended why did you vote for Glenn Younkin? Some of the responses.

"All McAuliffe had to say was he was like Trump. Listen to Youngkin talk, that's just silly."

"Democrats have to get gas prices under control I wanted to send a message."

— Danny Barefoot (@dannybarefoot) November 8, 2021

Will consultants still try to run against Trump in 2022?

Yes.

Congratulations, Mr. Youngkin! You’re Governor but also Gasoline Czar

"Biden 2024 - an electric car in every driveway, never pay for gas again!"

Absolutely true that McAuliffe had no message.

Quite agree. "Don't vote for the Trumpy guy" works for me. In fact it is all I needed. "NOT THEM" works fine for me, in fact it has been my entire politics for decades, more or less.

But for loads of voters "Don't vote for the Trumpy guy" was insufficient, and Terry never quite put forward a positive case for his own election.

One thing to consider though: the governor of Virginia typically doesn't do shit, or control mich of anything. It was intentionally written as a weak office where term limits effectively limited the degree to which any particular governor could move the political football in any direction.

When people turn their attention to the Virginia governor's race, it is WAY MORE about what it means in terms of the horse race - who's up, who's down, who's dispirited and who's emboldened - than actual stiff happening in the world.

Which is why my main disappointment with the race is that it emboldens the wrong people. My life will continue more or less as it has. Might need to keep getting weed from DC, though. Bummer.

Some of the responses.

Drive down the street can't find the keys to my own fucking home
I take a walk so I can curse my ass for being dumb
I make a right after the arches stinking grease and bone
Stop at the supermarket people stare like I'm a dog
I voted Youngkin

Best Springsteen song in ages

thought that focus group said a lot, at least for suburban women. the democrats win on policy but lose badly on culture issues, and the culture war beats policy

Democrats made school a bummer for our dear little Kameron and Kaitlyn.

:)