Retire, Breyer: another September 2021 US Politics thread

The valley is a cesspool, I lived in Tehama County and Butte County during the 2016 election and its aftermath and it was really unpleasant.

seems important, but the more in tune with living in 2021 you are, the more you're supposed to just shrug at this and not let it dominate your thoughts.

Twice in the final months of the Trump administration, the country’s top military officer was so fearful that the president’s actions might spark a war with China that he moved urgently to avert armed conflict.

In a pair of secret phone calls, Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, assured his Chinese counterpart, Gen. Li Zuocheng of the People’s Liberation Army, that the United States would not strike, according to a new book by Washington Post associate editor Bob Woodward and national political reporter Robert Costa.

One call took place on Oct. 30, 2020, four days before the election that unseated President Trump, and the other on Jan. 8, 2021, two days after the Capitol siege carried out by his supporters in a quest to cancel the vote.

The first call was prompted by Milley’s review of intelligence suggesting the Chinese believed the United States was preparing to attack. That belief, the authors write, was based on tensions over military exercises in the South China Sea, and deepened by Trump’s belligerent rhetoric toward China.

“General Li, I want to assure you that the American government is stable and everything is going to be okay,” Milley told him. “We are not going to attack or conduct any kinetic operations against you.”

In the book’s account, Milley went so far as to pledge he would alert his counterpart in the event of a U.S. attack, stressing the rapport they’d established through a backchannel. “General Li, you and I have known each other for now five years. If we’re going to attack, I’m going to call you ahead of time. It’s not going to be a surprise.”

Li took the chairman at his word, the authors write in the book, “Peril,” which is set to be released next week.

In the second call, placed to address Chinese fears about the events of Jan. 6, Li wasn’t as easily assuaged, even after Milley promised him, “We are 100 percent steady. Everything’s fine. But democracy can be sloppy sometimes.”

Li remained rattled, and Milley, who did not relay the conversation to Trump, according to the book, understood why. The chairman, 62 at the time and chosen by Trump in 2018, believed the president had suffered a mental decline after the election, the authors write, a view he communicated to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) in a phone call on Jan. 8. He agreed with her evaluation that Trump was unstable, according to a call transcript obtained by the authors.

Believing that China could lash out if it felt at risk from an unpredictable and vengeful American president, Milley took action. The same day, he called the admiral overseeing the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, the military unit responsible for Asia and the Pacific region, and recommended postponing the military exercises, according to the book. The admiral complied.

Milley also summoned senior officers to review the procedures for launching nuclear weapons, saying the president alone could give the order — but, crucially, that he, Milley, also had to be involved. Looking each in the eye, Milley asked the officers to affirm that they had understood, the authors write, in what he considered an “oath.”

The chairman knew that he was “pulling a Schlesinger,” the authors write, resorting to measures resembling the ones taken in August 1974 by James R. Schlesinger, the secretary of defense at the time. Schlesinger told military officials to check with him and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs before carrying out orders from President Richard M. Nixon, who was facing impeachment at the time.

You missed the part about Dan Quayle as Voice of Reason.

or this:

Trump’s posture, not just to China but also to Iran, tested that promise. In discussions about Iran’s nuclear program, Trump declined to rule out striking the country, at times even displaying curiosity about the prospect, according to the book. Haspel was so alarmed after a meeting in November that she called Milley to say, “This is a highly dangerous situation. We are going to lash out for his ego?”

Trump’s fragile ego drove many decisions by the nation’s leaders, from lawmakers to the vice president, according to the book. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was so worried that a call from President-elect Biden would send Trump into a fury that the then-Majority Leader used a backchannel to fend off Biden. He asked Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, formerly the No. 2 Senate Republican, to ask Sen. Christopher A. Coons, the Democrat of Delaware and close Biden ally, to tell Biden not to call him.

So intent was Pence on being Trump’s loyal second-in-command — and potential successor — that he asked confidants if there were ways he could accede to Trump’s demands and avoid certifying the results of the election on Jan. 6. In late December, the authors reveal, Pence called Dan Quayle, a former vice president and fellow Indiana Republican, for advice.

Quayle was adamant, according to the authors. “Mike, you have no flexibility on this. None. Zero. Forget it. Put it away,” he said.

But Pence pressed him, the authors write, asking if there were any grounds to pause the certification because of ongoing legal challenges. Quayle was unmoved, and Pence ultimately agreed, according to the book.

The chairman, 62 at the time and chosen by Trump in 2018, believed the president had suffered a mental decline after the election

Right. After the election. Some keen powers of observation you have, there, Milley.

Excuse me, General, sir,
with all due respect to you,
but what the fuck is going on?

- You changed the coordinates, didn't you, General?
- That's affirmative, Captain.

So, now they think we're
gutless, the Feds? They think we won't actually do it.
They're gonna come at us with everything
they've got. Air and sea.
- They're gonna bomb our ass back to the Stone Age.
- They don't know we missed on purpose.

Great. We're not gutless,
we're incompetent. That right?

I don't think I like your tone, Captain.
We planned for this contingency.
The consequences of our actions, I’ll face alone.

Excuse me, General,
but what about the fucking money?

There is no fucking money.
Mission's over.

Bullshit it's over.

-You're talking to a General, soldier.
Maintain discipline.

I'm not a soldier, Major.

The day we took hostages we became mercenaries. And mercenaries get paid!
I want my fucking money!

- This mission was based on the threat of force.

I'm not about to kill innocent people. Do you think I'm out of my fucking mind?

We bluffed. They called it.
The mission's over.

Whoever said anything about bluffing, General?

Stand down, Captain.
Stand down, Captain!

Major, I'm ordering you to take these men to the choppers and evacuate.

- That's a simple order, Major!

- It's not so simple, Frank.

Major Baxter, you're either with us or against us.

It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve with you, General.
But like he said...

it's over.

excuse me, i just need to use the restroom and wash my face

But I was assured by many smart people that Trump was a peacenik!

no you weren't

anyone who said that was de facto not smart, or at least not smart about taking the measure of Trump, who is one of the most easily-read human beings on the planet

House Dems' tax plan does not get rid of the $35 billion in domestic subsidies for fossil fuel producers, which Biden's plan called for getting rid of, @clemente_frank says

— Jeff Stein (@JStein_WaPo) September 14, 2021

I do think Trump was a little squeamish about actual war, but had no problem lobbing cruise missiles or chemical weapons

'war' involves sending people overseas to 'shithole countries', better to just drop bombs real fast and leave, which was what Trump was into

Well that's settled then

Asked how he plans to get Dems’ new elections bill passed given that he (and others) won’t change filibuster rules, Manchin said his plan is this: “It’s to get 10 Republicans.” Told us he’s talking to “reasonable Republicans and friends of mine who understand we need guardrails”

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) September 14, 2021

they're all just out of frame, being reasonable too

My Republican who lives in Canada, you haven't met him.

anyone who said that was de facto not smart, or at least not smart about taking the measure of Trump, who is one of the most easily-read human beings on the planet

Or do I think Maureen Dowd is very smart…?

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/fifth-conservative-anti-vax-radio-host-dies-of-covid-within-six-weeks

Enyart had a segment in his old TV program dedicated to mocking AIDs victims by reading their obituaries while playing Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust,” Westword reports.

hope hell is warming up for this guy

Trump's one core trait was that he was profoundly lazy; war requires a lot of work. like can you see him doing any Situation Room type bullshit that wasn't massively staged and made-for-TV

yeah. every time this happens, i read, because i'm always curious if the family or friends, or the dead asshole themselves, ever apologized or realized they were wrong. this guy, definitely not. he was one of the worst people in the country, and he wasn't even good enough at hatred to be as big as rush limbaugh.

the final lines from the washpo version of his "fuck off for life, you're dead" article are

Williams, who wrote that he has been the radio program’s co-host for 15 years and done more than 750 shows, described Enyart as “exceedingly kind and humble, and always, always willing to listen and discuss anything you wanted.” When he was asked by KUSA for some thoughts on his best friend and mentor, Williams indicated that Enyart wouldn’t have changed course from his beliefs.

even though these were his beliefs

Enyart, a self-described “right-wing religious fanatic” who began broadcasting around 1991, built up an audience on talk radio’s extremist fringe, airing more than 6,000 radio and TV shows across 80 cities, according to his website. His appeal was built, in part, through debatable, crude and sometimes hateful acts toward the LGBTQ community. He once accused an openly gay radio veteran of endangering fellow employees by inviting his hepatitis-stricken partner to a staff picnic, according to a 1999 profile in Westword.

On his defunct TV show, Enyart “used to gleefully read obituaries of AIDS sufferers while cranking ‘Another One Bites the Dust’ by Queen,” Westword reported. Freddie Mercury, the band’s lead singer, died of AIDS in 1991 at the age of 45.

“Listen to the words of that song, and you’ll understand why I did it,” Enyart told the outlet at the time.

The longtime opponent of abortion picketed the homes of doctors who performed the treatment and repeatedly called for women who received an abortion to be sentenced to the death penalty. He was once arrested in New Zealand in 1999 for having a banner that read, “Clinton is a Rapist,” the Denver Post reported.

War can make you a loser, cruise missiles can't. If the Joint Chiefs had ever proposed a turkey shoot like invading Grenada again Trump would have been on board.

we shouldn't celebrate the fact that Covid took him; rather, we should lament the fact that Covid made us read about him in the first place

Trump's one core trait was that he was profoundly lazy; war requires a lot of work. like can you see him doing any Situation Room type bullshit that wasn't massively staged and made-for-TV

Even when they did it, it was slapdash and lazy. Never Forget

Ah hell---this is so opposite of Enyart and his ilk, so refreshing, gotta repost it from ILM:
Non-covidiot in music: exemplary, and points out some things I hadn't thought of in this context---https://www.al.com/life/2021/09/jason-isbell-on-the-road-hummingbirds-fan-requests-and-the-need-for-critical-thinking-in-america.html

How many "right-wing talk show hosts" are there?? Is there a farm growing them?

it's infinite

BREAKING: 3 centrist Democrats just tanked the party's signature drug price negotiation bill after a marathon 3-day markup, complicating efforts to pass the whole 3.5T social spending bill. While Dems say they can still include the policy, it's a blow to D efforts to stay united.

— Alice Miranda Ollstein (@AliceOllstein) September 15, 2021

3 centrist corrupt Democrats

Starting to think a third party might be a good idea.

The most likely viable third party would be a centrist party that looks a lot like the Clinton years.

Fuck that shit. Just take all the Democratic voters to a party that isn't full of useless corrupt stooges. Low-dollar donations only.

I understand I'm being naive. Leave me alone.

" 3 centrist Democrats just tanked the party's signature drug price negotiation bill after a marathon 3-day markup..."

Can't remember what standup said the line, but I do think they should make a rule that the politicians have to have patches on their coat like a NASCAR driver showing who donated money to their campaign.

I'm guessing these 3 are drug industry pets.

Your guess is correct.

https://www.dailyposter.com/follow-the-pharma-money/

Can we stop calling them "centrist Democrats" and call them pharma tools instead?

Last December, House Democrats’ steering committee voted to put Rice on the Energy and Commerce panel instead of progressive New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
On Tuesday, Rice explained that she opposes the drug pricing measure because “I do not support advancing policies that are not fiscally responsible and jeopardize the bill’s final passage.”

I know we're still 'living' in the T___p era, but could people in positions of power at least try to be less transparently debased? If you're so intent upon fucking over your constituents, at least have the decency to maintain some plausible deniability about the fact.

We're honestly probably like half a decade from seeing political ads that are nakedly like 'I despise you all personally, elect me so that I can get rich while actively subverting your interests' (which naturally lead to those fuckers winning in a landslide).

the prob is that they *are* Democrats tho. And any attempt to unseat them in a primary would be heavily criticized and completely undermined by leadership

What is consistently sad and shocking is what a good return on their investments their corporate daddies make. Spend $1.6M on Congressmen, get hundreds of millions in profits guaranteed.

They have so little of an opinion of us peons that they can say with a straight face that paying lower prices for drugs is "not fiscally responsible".

It’s disgusting.

Primary these fuckheads

With who's money? Where do think the 'primary' money comes? This is why it takes millions instead of thousands to run for a house seat. Campaign money is like water, you dam it up one place, it finds another place to go. With those 501 groups, they got the ultimate invisible hand to ad bury anyone on a grass roots level.

It's kinda why the GOP has gone totally batshit crazy, as they don't even really need the PARTY at all to do what they want. The money made it pretty much irrelevant. Democrats have been pretty much GOP light since the late 70s...same game just like the Billy Beane's Oakland A's trying to live a "Burt Reynolds lifestyle on a Mac Davis budget".

It's as f'n dirty now as it has ever been ever and that is truly saying something. Scary thing is that this money buy is just going lower and lower into the US political system...it's getting rotten to the core.

This thing continues to blow my mind and I am sure is much more rampant than just this event. And I think many people don't even know it even happened.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_nuclear_bribery_scandal

Ten months after Senate election loss, Sara Gideon still has $10 million in unused campaign funds https://t.co/uGii5Ct5zk by Nathan Bernard

— Jon Schwarz (@schwarz) September 16, 2021

Well don't I feel stupid.