Where Are We Runnin’? - American Politics Thread, May 2022

Those are just the people I remember saying various forms of not being on board with abolishing the filibuster in the last couple of years. Maybe some have softened, maybe not, but the equation changes when it's something they'd actually have to go through instead of having Manchinema to hide behind.

Even if they did some kind of one-off reform to 'codify Roe,' it's not like the party can point to actions they've taken to make anyone believe it would have teeth when it's inevitably side-stepped by or completely demolished by the Supremes. The problem with Marshall's idea of explicitly saying they're going to do something as a sales pitch to voters is the long history of Ron Howard's narrator stepping in to say "they did not, in fact, do anything."

And they’re not going to.

The problem with Marshall's idea of explicitly saying they're going to do something as a sales pitch to voters is the long history of Ron Howard's narrator stepping in to say "they did not, in fact, do anything."

oh, for sure. they're not going to do that. i think he's offering it up as an alternative to what is really happening (nothing) and the criticism that surrounds it. from the TPM reader mail posts, it seems he gets a lot of stuff from people like me who are just completely fed up with democrats and ready to burn it the fuck down. he's obviously not going to agree with that, and i'm glad that there are people out there who actually retain some sense of optimism that we are not, as we appear to be, completely fucked. that's not a winning strategy either. i don't think it's a realistic idea, with this group of senators and this democratic party, to be open with voters about the situation and the numbers and what they need and pledges about what they "will" do if they get 52 senators. it's a great idea but they are way too cowardly, and you have fucking chuck schumer and nancy pelosi running the show and they're at the U2 show with bill gates this weekend, sorry. but i also don't see a lot of other good ideas that have a remote chance of actually happening, either

which is why we're 0.000000000001 seconds to 99.9999999999% midnight

also, i agree the immigrant "angle" on the baby formula stuff may well be flood the zone shit, or have that effect, but am i the only one who feels a _little_ bit weird that it's just commonplace and expected for republicans to dehumanize anyone who isn't a white christian and casually suggest that maybe their babies aren't as worthy of life? is the proper response to just ignore it?

INBOX: ⁦@GovAbbott⁩ slams ⁦@JoeBiden⁩ ⁦@POTUS⁩ for providing baby formula to undocumented immigrants during a national shortage #txlege #tx2022 pic.twitter.com/OGhLYVl1Q5

— Evan Smith (@evanasmith) May 12, 2022

Reading this thread, I have never been more firm about a decision than to skip Charlie Crist's speech to my crew of local young Dems.

I really hope Beto loses it during a debate and Tommy Udos Abbott off a high stage into the pit.

You should go there and boo him. What a complete fucking joke that a former republican is supposed to the guiding light for democrats, in this time, right now. And didn’t he lose to fucking Marco Rubio? Are the democrats in FL trying to lose?

I’m serious: are they trying to lose? It appears from the outside that they’re throwing the election. Someone put Oliver Stone on this one

maybe the thinking is there is no way anyone is going to beat DeSantis, so Charlie Crist and Nikki Fried and all of the other democratic candidates are irrelevant

Annette Taddeo, the candidate who flipped a red district in 2017, is my pick and will bow out because Crist has the $$. My local group was told we will get no more money because the national party has given up on Florida to concentrate on Arizona and Georgia.

When he last spoke to us in May 2021, I said to him, "Congressman, don't confuse my honesty with impoliteness, but what makes you think someone with your record can win in 2022?"

Nice! What did he say?

omigod

We met at a park on the Saturday before Mother's Day during the vaccine honeymoon. He wore a shirt and tie and the smallest buckle shoes I've ever seen -- they could've been keychains. He said, "Alfred, take your glasses off. Let me look you in the eye." Then he delivered a speech about his Greek mom: how she taught him to stand against injustice, etc., and as a former governor himself he understood how to handle bigots like DeSantis.

It was most unconvincing, and everyone left making fun of him not two minutes after his departure. We even had state rep candidates whom his staff hadn't told him were running for office. He couldn't name them!

Val Demings a few months ago, however, was far more impressive. The first Democratic woman elected to the Florida legislature 20 years ago grabbed her hands and said, "Don't abandon us. You can win with the Cuban vote."

I am really sorry. For all of us, but especially you, trying to decide whether or not to remove the glasses and look at him in the eye

President Biden will urge states and cities to use unspent money from last year’s $1.9T Covid relief package to fund crime prevention programs and hire police officers. https://t.co/aWLTOesHww

— NBC News (@NBCNews) May 13, 2022

Slap in the face in more than one way, to entirely different groups of people, some of whom overlap.

ffs

My mom is one of those 5% of people over 65 who have NOT gotten vaccinated. She knows she’s on a death sentence and I guess I’ve made my peace with that, since I did scream at her several thousand times and she may have listened to a small fraction of what I said.

But fuck, can we just use the money that was allocated to covid to help prevent covid, not just for the sake of people who aren’t fools but also, more importantly, for the fools who aren’t taking precautions?

And if we do give that money away for other purposes, maybe it could go to literally any other group than cops?

He thinks that will help in the midterms? He’s doing well on unions and he seems to understand the situation with Ukraine/Putin (ie, that crushing Russia is not a viable victory condition), good for him on that.

However, I hope he goes to catholic hell for trying to give covid relief money to cops (who, from the first day, did NOT wear masks around BLM protesters. They took pride in being as being as antagonistic as possible in every way, including allying with proud boys)

No money for schools, public and accessible health care, public and accessible mental health care, anti-poverty initiatives, anti-displacement initiatives, free universal preK, nothing.

And acting as if Covid is over and still not a major threat to many lives.

I mean at least they’re not pretending to actually care about anything except ruling over the vast majority of people with the iron fist of a fascist mercenary army, but yknow, it really makes me question why anyone should ever pay attention to the “vote blue no matter who” crowd ever again.

And despite that, if there were even a small chance that doing so would help the democrats to avoid a landslide defeat in the midterms (and in 2024 - they won’t have to do the steal stuff because they’re on the way to just winning) I would say well fuck, go for it. When the odds are stacked against you and the leadership is so clearly clueless and wrong, you support anything that actually might help.

But no — there is ZERO chance that asking red states to take the covid money and using it on cops helps, anywhere. slap in the face

xp

Mr Choppy then launch the basket of heads into the sun

I live in Missouri and now I’m not voting for Biden

Nice job you cruel old man

what's wrong with condensed milk? that's what I grew up on and I'm 14 feet tall

NEW POLL: Madison Cawthorn's approval has hit a key bump in the road.

We find Republican voters nationwide disapprove of Cawthorn by a -41-point margin. 69% of voters agree he should resign from Congress.https://t.co/B5Iw1skbcx

— Data for Progress (@DataProgress) May 12, 2022

Nice

Doesn't really matter what 'nationwide' republicans think... it's about his district

man I was really hoping they’d ride with this one.

Kevin McCarthy after the coke orgy interview

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

This guy is blocking press from entering the Mastriano/Barnette rally in Philly. He won’t answer any questions or make eye contact. pic.twitter.com/LTWuHlDMSg

— Colby Itkowitz (@ColbyItkowitz) May 14, 2022

Lol I just drove past this place

wait, so if he won't eye contact, but he's the main guard for the event...

i admit i played a little too much metal gear solid when i was a kid, but i'm pretty sure his "cone of vision" is "very narrow"

ok, these are the heavy hitters they bring in when needed

A few of you have wondered why we didn’t just walk around the guy telling us we couldn’t get into the Mastriano/Barnette rally. When we tried they brought out all these guys to stop us. pic.twitter.com/sz2e52E10X

— Colby Itkowitz (@ColbyItkowitz) May 14, 2022

I had no idea Warminster was now Philly

Like sorry, to say that this event took place “in Philly” is nonsensical.

All of them ghouls...

https://www.businessinsider.com/buffalo-shooting-gop-lawmaker-says-shooter-was-fed-false-flag-2022-5

https://thumbs.gfycat.com/MealyDishonestBadger-size_restricted.gif

"Fed boy summer has started in Buffalo," Rogers tweeted

The fuck? Does she think she's Pusha T?

well fuck

https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/15/politics/fetterman-health-pennsylvania-senate-campaign/index.html

By "fed boy" maybe she was thinking of well-fed white teenagers.

is this real life

Oz: When you go to bed at night, put your head on that soft pillow, you’ll know Oz will be doing exactly what you want him to do if you were there next to him pic.twitter.com/M1lkJgqzmU

— Acyn (@Acyn) May 17, 2022

Soft pillow, hard pass

good morning!

Take the blue pill(ow) with Dr Oz!

absolute nightmare, with completely grim implications for the country at large

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/far-right-idaho_n_628277e2e4b0c84db7282bd6

Ehh, Idaho has kinda always been like this (Ruby Ridge, anyone?). I guess the normalizing of extremist views is something we're all dealing with, but Idaho is a place unto itself

Interesting angle buried in there on how the influx of California conservatives' cash is changing the socioeconomic context.

That Vanity Fair story published last month was something.

idk...Ruby Ridge = one family's armed standoff with the US Marshals; this piece = a range of explicitly white nationalist figures taking over the state GOP. Seems pretty different to me, even if, sure, there are precedents in Idaho that are discussed in the piece

Eric otm plus another interesting fact was that Idaho is the fastest growing state, obviously it's low-population but still

The article details how the coup is taking place in the most minor and formerly non-partisan of government positions. Systematic and awful.