US Politics, May 2023: May 1 never happened

I'm just a poor waybacking stranger
Traveling through this world below
There's no sickness, no toil or danger
In that bright land to which I go

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7FJFy6Pzjw

I don't think I will ever think of Hamilton the same way again

We are so fucked. https://t.co/1VIjkAnKsQ

— Jena Friedman (@JenaFriedman) May 27, 2023

Have we talked about Michael Flynn's amazing new scam?

https://www.businessinsider.com/michael-flynn-launches-4thepure-online-website-covid-19-unvaccinated-people-2023-5

A very-fashy dating service/blood bank/sperm bank/breast milk bank for COVID-unvaccinated people only. What do you want to bet Flynn's donating his own sperm?

Watched a bit of the Texas AG impeachment presentation, this corrupt asshole who has been under indictment for close to a decade is so not going to get convicted.

I should note, not going to get impeached despite the recommendation of a bunch of Republicans.

oh shit, I guess it did happen after all! I have been watching, but then set the computer down for a while.

I was about to say, his supporters mouthed off but then they were absolutely crushed in the vote.

I was surprised by that vote too, I figured they'd impeach him but I assumed it would be a razor-thin margin

but the whole thing is utterly mystifying... why now?

Yeah I feel like we haven’t gotten anywhere near the full story

The Texas legislature's heart grew three sizes

It’s the same cocaine orgies that brought Madison Cawthorn down

Maybe they want to get ahead of more scandals that haven't gotten out yet

It's purely because he's an asshole and not a team player who can be replaced by someone with his exact politics who's less of an asshole to fellow Republicans.

What’s this about? Haven’t been paying attention.

DETAILS OF THE AGREEMENT, per source w/direct knowledge:

—Two-year approps deal
—No budget caps after 2025
—Work requirements: no changes to Medicaid
—Phases in & then sunsets (in 2030) SNAP time limits to people up to age 54
—WH pushed to reduce # of ppl subject to time limits

— Andrew Desiderio (@AndrewDesiderio) May 28, 2023

Phases in then sunsets SNAP time limits? This is just cruel.

McCarthy told House Republicans on the GOP call that there is "not a single thing in this bill" for Democrats.

— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) May 28, 2023

Well, there's someone to take seriously.

Here's how we square the 6 years v. 2 years circle. Republicans say it's a 6-year agreement; WH notes that after two years, "There are no budget caps... only non-enforceable appropriations targets"

— David Dayen (@ddayen) May 28, 2023

The WaPo:

The details of those cuts are not year clear, though Republicans — who initially sought to slash spending by roughly $130 billion — presented them as far more significant in size and scope. In the 2025 fiscal year, nondefense spending would see a 1 percent increase, with “nonenforceable” appropriations targets in future years, the source said.

Biden and McCarthy agreed to offset additional reductions in domestic spending by clawing back and redirecting other money. That included funds set aside to help the IRS pursue unpaid taxes, which Republicans long have opposed, according to two other individuals who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the sensitive negotiations. The two men also agreed to rescind some money previously authorized to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

Biden and McCarthy also agreed to several provisions unrelated to federal spending and the nation’s fiscal health. They came to terms around new rules that would ease permitting around energy projects. And they brokered a deal around a key GOP demand: new work requirements on low-income Americans who receive food assistance under the program known as SNAP, one of the individuals said.

The new rules would apply to recipients up to age 54 who do not have dependents, raising the current limit of age 49. However, the bill would include some new exemptions for former military service members and people who are homeless, a source said.

Otherwise, the emerging compromise did not make any changes to programs including Medicaid, as Republicans previously demanded, although the full range of the newly proposed new work requirements is not entirely clear.

Work requirements only seem apply to over age 50 something poor people seeking medical assistance it seems I think (oh wonderful)

Summary of deal as I understand it:
— Debt ceiling raised 2 years
— Domestic programs frozen next year, up 1% ‘25. Inflation-adjusted cut
— Boosts defense, VA $
— Some tightening of work requirements on TANF, SNAP
— Energy permitting (details tbd)
— Claw back some new IRS $

— Jeff Stein (@JStein_WaPo) May 28, 2023

Now that he's whittled out some pseudo compromise that he's supposedly close to OK with, McCarthy is so not going to be able to rally his army of stupids to vote for it, is he? Gonna be like his speakership vote redux.

Enough Dems may go for it to negate the Republican holdouts

And I say this with all due respect to all parties involved: Fuck you, eat shit

otm

It is very bad that, every so often, we make a set of arbitrary and damaging policy decisions that have no real impact on the debt in the name of solving a debt problem that is not really a problem, and I hope we have an administration invested in putting an end to this someday.

— Osita Nwanevu (@OsitaNwanevu) May 28, 2023

How i break it down

Yep!

Biden and his new chief of Staff seem obsessed with trying to be bipartisan and centrist, but not interested in strongly making the case ifor Democratic priorities. Just behaving defensively while McCarthy was out there pushing an extreme right plan and then settling for a slightly less extreme rightward “compromise “ that may only pass if Dems vote for it

More pegging discussion today from an unexpected quarter. David French:

The release of the Missouri senator Josh Hawley’s new book on manhood is the latest peg for a national conversation about men,

Taking Manhood up a Peg by Josh Hallway

Dems have never once played hardball to get Dem policy priorities in debt limit negotiations under Republican presidents.

It's partly bad tactics, I agree, but there's also a point where it's just not being willing to create mass instability. The perennial problem of asymmetrical ideological warfare.

Who’s having a national conversation about men except the ball-tanning weirdos. Sorry you feel emasculated brahs meanwhile we’ll be over here having great sex with our partners.

I love the whole "men need a sense of purpose" thing, like "how about, don't be an asshole?" That's a pretty good sense of purpose.

Ron DeSantis' sense of purpose is to be so embarrassing.

NEW: “If she were a Democrat, she’d be on every fashion magazine. … They would be making her out to be the biggest deal. But because we’re conservative, we know that that’s not what happens."

– Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R)https://t.co/wJb5DNe2Vl

— The Intellectualist (@highbrow_nobrow) May 28, 2023

America's first wife guy President

At least he doesn't call her Mommy. Or does he?

McCarthy was so wrong, there is a single thing in this bill for a Democrat. Can you guess which “Democrat”? That’s right…

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-05-28/manchin-gets-mountain-valley-pipeline-side-deal-into-debt-bill

PHOENIX -- Karrin Taylor Robson, a wealthy Republican businessperson who was seen as the likeliest establishment candidate for a crucial Arizona Senate contest, said Thursday that she won't run for the seat now held by independent Kyrsten Sinema.

This pretty much clears the way for Kari Lake to get the nomination.

Most annoying Senate race ever.

Sounds like the IRS reduction is now $20B not $10B, although the idea is that current funding won't change, it will expire in 8 years instead of 10.

if Kari Lake runs as the republican candidate, Kyrsten Sinema as the independent, and Ruben Gallego as the democrat in the Arizona Senate race, that seems like a disaster to me

what's wrong with Gallego

nothing, I like him! I'm just thinking in a three-way race Sinema and Gallego will split the democratic vote allowing Kari Lake to win

I've seen people speculate that Sinema's standing with democrats is so bad that she won't take away a significant number of votes, but I have no idea how true that is.

I don't think that's true, she won her last election and we're talking about Arizona democrats here, I think if it's a three-way race Kari Lake is likely to win

polling supports the idea that sinema is HUGELY unpopular with AZ dems, but how it all plays out in a 3-way race is not particularly clear. it wouldn't even take her getting to double digits to throw the outcome into a very gray area.

Lake got 1,271,000 votes to Hobbs' 1,288,000 votes in the last gubernatorial election. She has a lot of support in the state. It just seems like a split vote could easily get her elected