This nation is called The South iirc
― TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 25 November 2019 20:19 (four years ago) link
this is the year i finally learn that winning elections is about quickly getting what you want before the crowd turns on you. dems think it's about winning offices and holding them for years to slowly get things you want. then they lose and blame their modest policy demands, so they come back with a weaker hand the next time around. gop meanwhile knows they're unpopular and dont give a shit.
― i'm not a government man; i'm a government, man. (m bison), Monday, 25 November 2019 20:20 (four years ago) link
that's what really bummed me out about Obama's presidency - the most fertile time for accomplishing big things legislatively is within the first two years of a first term, and he was handicapped by/had to expend a significant amount of his political capital on the economic crash
― Οὖτις, Monday, 25 November 2019 20:22 (four years ago) link
The situation in the federal courts is getting dire and soon there will be no good solutions available at all. Court packing would be legal, but politically too hot to handle right now. Impeachments of judges would be another legal avenue, but impeachments could only be pursued on the grounds of corruption or incompetence, not a judge's reactionary politics. Ignoring the courts would be a total political disaster.
― A is for (Aimless), Monday, 25 November 2019 20:23 (four years ago) link
gop courts with political disaster as a matter of course. like i get that ppl would be mad and it would require the dems to cede the "moral high ground" but also fuck it, do power grabs constantly and then you will have power to do the things???
― i'm not a government man; i'm a government, man. (m bison), Monday, 25 November 2019 20:30 (four years ago) link
like what good is a constitutional crisis if it's only one side testing its limits in pursuit of its goals???
― i'm not a government man; i'm a government, man. (m bison), Monday, 25 November 2019 20:32 (four years ago) link
Naked power grabs don't bother the reactionary base of the GOP because they are convinced in the necessity for preemptive strikes against the evil that is progressivism, so all the Republicans need to do is find a fig leaf, so that their noise machine can confuse things just long enough for most of the other voters to tire of it and soon forget it ever happened.
Naked power grabs by the democrats will instantly stimulate the right wing noise machine into paroxysms of outrage, prompting liberals to have a crisis of conscience at the violation of their high ideals, which will stimulate revulsion against the power grabbers and be used as a battle cry by the GOP for decades, like "borking" or "Benghazi".
Sometimes you can't win for losing.
― A is for (Aimless), Monday, 25 November 2019 20:46 (four years ago) link
otm
― TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 25 November 2019 20:51 (four years ago) link
but i wanna do criiiiiiiiiiimes
― i'm not a government man; i'm a government, man. (m bison), Monday, 25 November 2019 20:53 (four years ago) link
so why not go ahead and do the thing they're gonna accuse you of doing anyway
― frogbs, Monday, 25 November 2019 20:56 (four years ago) link
one reason is that power grabs work a lot better when you have an entire media complex that is set up to lie to constituents and distort any opposing information. democrats have nothing that compares to fox news, let alone conservative talk radio/christian radio (which is essentially the same now)
― Peaceful Warrior I Poser (Karl Malone), Monday, 25 November 2019 21:05 (four years ago) link
and one reason they don't have their own fox news is because if democrats develop a comparable version of fox/rush limbaugh/focus on the family i will puke so hard over everything
― Peaceful Warrior I Poser (Karl Malone), Monday, 25 November 2019 21:06 (four years ago) link
― american bradass (BradNelson), Monday, 25 November 2019 21:17 (four years ago) link
to which conservatives, without lying, will say, "You guys have the NYT, WaPost, social media, college professors, and the regulatory agencies." This has been their argument since Goldwater.
― TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 25 November 2019 21:27 (four years ago) link
'you guys have dennis perrin'
― mookieproof, Monday, 25 November 2019 21:28 (four years ago) link
good ol DP
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 25 November 2019 21:33 (four years ago) link
New Deal and Great Society both required democrats to assertively wield political power. Flexing power isn't a function of fundamental differences between D and R voters, and it doesn't require a propaganda machine, it just requires majorities and willpower
― Dan I., Monday, 25 November 2019 21:33 (four years ago) link
also and lemme just make sure we're on the same page but also crimes
― i'm not a government man; i'm a government, man. (m bison), Monday, 25 November 2019 21:36 (four years ago) link
crimes goes without saying, naturally
― Dan I., Monday, 25 November 2019 21:55 (four years ago) link
aw, thanks m@tt
*rereads thread* wait, hold up
― brigadier pudding (DJP), Monday, 25 November 2019 21:57 (four years ago) link
uh he hates liberals (you know, like me)
― a Mets fan who gave up on everything in the mid '80s (Dr Morbius), Monday, 25 November 2019 22:00 (four years ago) link
Dem's hem and haw, wondering what the fictional independent strawman in some bumfuck suburb will think ("won't somebody think of the deficit"), while Rep's are "Let's just do it and be heroes."
― Mazzy Tsar (PBKR), Monday, 25 November 2019 22:02 (four years ago) link
The republican party is controlled by radicals and ideologues and the democratic party is not
― treeship., Monday, 25 November 2019 22:28 (four years ago) link
This has been true for some timd
Some people who dont follow politics too closely fail to understand this. “Conservative” doesn’t capture the idea that we should take an axe to the entire federal government, knowing this will have massively destructive ripple effects for ordinary citizens.
― treeship., Monday, 25 November 2019 22:29 (four years ago) link
"arsonists" might be a better term
― a Mets fan who gave up on everything in the mid '80s (Dr Morbius), Monday, 25 November 2019 22:33 (four years ago) link
the DC Circuit Court case decision from earlier this year came in, McGahn must comply with House Judiciary Committee subpoena
― Dan S, Monday, 25 November 2019 23:01 (four years ago) link
“The case involves a subpoena from the House Judiciary Committee to former White House counsel Don McGahn. It predates House Democrats’ formal announcement of an impeachment inquiry into Trump, but represents the first test in court since Trump took office of an argument the administration is pushing to stymie the impeachment inquiry: that current and former senior White House officials have “absolute immunity” from congressional subpoenas.”
― Dan S, Monday, 25 November 2019 23:06 (four years ago) link
on to the Supreme Court
― Οὖτις, Monday, 25 November 2019 23:49 (four years ago) link
Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch and Kavanaugh seem like locks to vote to reverse. Ginsburg, Breyer, Kagan, and Sotomayor presumably will vote to uphold. Our boy Chief Justice John ('John-Boy Walton') Roberts seems likely to be The Decider.
But if Congress can never subpoena senior WH officials for any reason then, almost automatically, no court or prosecutor would ever be able to, either. That strikes me as an unhealthy amount of immunity. Y'know.
― A is for (Aimless), Tuesday, 26 November 2019 00:04 (four years ago) link
give the people a kingThe people demand a king
― Peaceful Warrior I Poser (Karl Malone), Tuesday, 26 November 2019 00:08 (four years ago) link
http://d279m997dpfwgl.cloudfront.net/wp/2019/03/AP_18334546967309-1000x666.jpg
― TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 26 November 2019 00:10 (four years ago) link
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/22/Richard_Thomas_2015.jpg/1200px-Richard_Thomas_2015.jpg
― A is for (Aimless), Tuesday, 26 November 2019 00:12 (four years ago) link
Indeed, the current dispute is only about whether Mr. McGahn must show up to be asked questions. Even if the Supreme Court were to ultimately say he must, it would leave unanswered whether the questions that lawmakers want to ask him — primarily about conversations with Mr. Trump detailed in the Mueller report — are subject to executive privilege, so the litigation process might have to start all over again at that point.
― Peaceful Warrior I Poser (Karl Malone), Tuesday, 26 November 2019 00:13 (four years ago) link
I mean, if you're inclined to favor despotism, the best time to formalize your preference is when your country is being led by someone who has proven to have basically no loyalty to anyone that didn't have dirt on him. Someone who couldn't care less about the interests of those seeking to solidify his power.
― War Crimes Tribunal of the Network Stars (Old Lunch), Tuesday, 26 November 2019 00:28 (four years ago) link
another Congress vs. executive branch battle:
Supreme Court blocks House committee from immediately reviewing Trump’s financial records:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/supreme-court-blocks-house-committee-from-immediately-reviewing-trumps-financial-records/2019/11/25/b73a26ac-0d79-11ea-97ac-a7ccc8dd1ebc_story.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/25/us/politics/supreme-court-trump-tax-returns.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage
― Dan S, Tuesday, 26 November 2019 02:17 (four years ago) link
fucking bastards
― treeship., Tuesday, 26 November 2019 02:18 (four years ago) link
I remember reading Steve Vladeck’s comments on twitter mentioning that “there are plenty of reasons why a Justice who is otherwise inclined to vote against Trump on the merits might still want to freeze the status quo until the full Court can conduct plenary review.”
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1195044031321034753.html
― Dan S, Tuesday, 26 November 2019 02:33 (four years ago) link
not expecting anything good from this court though
― Dan S, Tuesday, 26 November 2019 02:37 (four years ago) link
Trump Tells Allies He Wants Absolved War Criminals to Campaign for Him
If Donald Trump gets his wish, he’ll soon take the three convicted or accused war criminals he spared from consequence on the road as special guests in his reelection campaign, according to two sources who have heard Trump discuss their potential roles for the 2020 effort.Despite military and international backlash to Trump’s Nov. 15 clemency – fallout from which cost Navy Secretary Richard Spencer his job on Sunday – Trump believes he has rectified major injustices. Two people tell The Daily Beast they’ve heard Trump talk about how he’d like to have the now-cleared Clint Lorance, Matthew Golsteyn, or Edward Gallagher show up at his 2020 rallies, or even have a moment on stage at his renomination convention in Charlotte next year. Right-wing media has portrayed all three as martyrs brought down by “political correctness” within the military.“He briefly discussed making it a big deal at the convention,” said one of these sources, who requested anonymity to talk about private conversations. “The president made a reference to the 2016 [convention] and where they brought on-stage heroes” like former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell, who refused to execute detained civilians ahead of a devastating Taliban attack.
Despite military and international backlash to Trump’s Nov. 15 clemency – fallout from which cost Navy Secretary Richard Spencer his job on Sunday – Trump believes he has rectified major injustices. Two people tell The Daily Beast they’ve heard Trump talk about how he’d like to have the now-cleared Clint Lorance, Matthew Golsteyn, or Edward Gallagher show up at his 2020 rallies, or even have a moment on stage at his renomination convention in Charlotte next year. Right-wing media has portrayed all three as martyrs brought down by “political correctness” within the military.
“He briefly discussed making it a big deal at the convention,” said one of these sources, who requested anonymity to talk about private conversations. “The president made a reference to the 2016 [convention] and where they brought on-stage heroes” like former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell, who refused to execute detained civilians ahead of a devastating Taliban attack.
― shared unit of analysis (unperson), Tuesday, 26 November 2019 02:50 (four years ago) link
these people are truly sick
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 26 November 2019 03:04 (four years ago) link
jesus fucking christ
― an incoherent crustacean (MatthewK), Tuesday, 26 November 2019 03:14 (four years ago) link
extremely in favour of him making this a major plank of his campaign, myself
― insecurity bear (sic), Tuesday, 26 November 2019 03:27 (four years ago) link
former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell, who refused to execute detained civilians ahead of a devastating Taliban attack.
Presumably Trump is working to have Luttrell court-martialed for this.
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Tuesday, 26 November 2019 04:34 (four years ago) link
please do it sir
― frogbs, Tuesday, 26 November 2019 04:45 (four years ago) link
sir,
― j., Tuesday, 26 November 2019 05:06 (four years ago) link
Rhonda,
― Jordan Pickford LOLverdrive (Neanderthal), Tuesday, 26 November 2019 05:16 (four years ago) link
I looked at him with tears in my eyes and said, "Sir, this is without a doubt the finest thing any world leader has ever done in the history of the world." Everyone in the room was crying. Even the dog was crying.
― A is for (Aimless), Tuesday, 26 November 2019 05:18 (four years ago) link
crying like a dog!
― insecurity bear (sic), Tuesday, 26 November 2019 06:52 (four years ago) link
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/472044-independent-support-for-impeachment-inquiry-rises-following-public-hearings
― Jordan Pickford LOLverdrive (Neanderthal), Tuesday, 26 November 2019 16:00 (four years ago) link