BURNPIT: U.S. Politics, August 2022

I think the following propositions are true:

1. Dems should absolutely not be spending money to boost fascists.

2. The Republican voters would have selected these people anyway.

RNC links up with ‘Stop the Steal’ advocates to train poll workers
Recordings of recruitment “summits” show party officials working with Cleta Mitchell and other leaders of Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election

"2. The Republican voters would have selected these people anyway."

it's unclear if that was the case. I think those ads boosted turnout for Gibbs, he was polling behind Meijer until recently.

Every time I see Cleta Mitchell’s name I think of the Seinfeld episode with Mulva.

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/will-3-pro-impeachment-house-republicans-survive-tuesdays-primaries/

Meijer, the scion of the eponymous Midwestern grocery chain family, is hoping his sizable financial advantage can save him. As of July 13, Meijer had raised $2.8 million, dwarfing the $484,000 Gibbs had brought in, and Meijer has used that money to both criticize President Biden and attack Gibbs. Meijer has lambasted Gibbs for recently moving to western Michigan from California (although Gibbs is originally from Lansing), and he’s also portrayed Gibbs as the Democrats’ “handpicked candidate” in light of the DCCC’s recent ads. Meijer has also benefited from about $3 million in outside spending, according to OpenSecrets. But with no recent polling to go on, Meijer’s fate in this race is unclear.

vs. the Dems 450k of ads that just "threw the election to Gibbs"

Meijer's district was just redistricted and he voted against the Voting Rights Act

And further, Meijer voted against the voting rights bill. This new district connects really important communities here in Grand Rapids and along the lakeshore, especially communities of color that have historically been disenfranchised from voting, even here up until recent times, and then gerrymandered out of districts where their voice can really matter. So that was another really impactful vote. To see him vote against the Voting Rights Act bill I think was really disappointing to a lot of people.

https://michiganadvance.com/2022/02/01/breaking-scholten-seeks-2nd-challenge-against-meijer-in-new-3rd-congressional-district/

Kind of sick of this bs that he's "the right kind of Republican" and we shouldn't have encouraged the psycho. . . they're all psychos

Every time I see Cleta Mitchell’s name I think of the Seinfeld episode with Mulva.

Every time I hear the name "Pat Cipollone" I get "Mista Dobalina" by Del tha Funkee Homosapien stuck in my head... glory hallestupid! Mr. Cipollone, Mr. Pat Cipollone... I don't mind it really.

Kind of sick of this bs that he's "the right kind of Republican" and we shouldn't have encouraged the psycho. . . they're all psychos

― a (waterface), Thursday, August 4, 2022

otm

The DCCC should have spent the reverse fake attacks ads on Meijer instead

Just like the mainstream press has called the late Jackie Walorski a moderate.

Seriously. Voted to repeal the ACA, anti immigrant, challenged the 2020 election, and so on.

well, seems like we all agree this was a baffling & futile waste of $450k

speaking of MI, glad to see Tlaib won

The Kansas earthquake and the possibility of a big climate bill show how Dems can galvanize young voters who are dispirited and disengaged. As the head of the Harvard Youth Poll tells us, abortion and climate are of disproportionate importance to them.https://t.co/bR8wK3E0G7

— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) August 4, 2022

"disproportionate" to what, exactly

body autonomy and burning to death in a fire take up a disproportionate amount of my brane space relative to, idk home ownership or buying diamond rings

what about Cure reissues

sorry. that "disproportionate" is a jarringly false note in an otherwise tepid hot take.

oh i know it's just like, people at WAPO doing the weebay face while looking at data makes me lol

is there a better explanation for pelosi choosing to go to taiwan, right now other than that she's doing it for her own prestige, given the strong possibility that she won't be speaker* after the mid-term? is there a diplomatic objective, greater business cooperation in southeast asia, trade, whatever, that's really pressing? is there some other reason? or does she just want a legacy international capstone project or something?

*side issue: if the GOP takes the house, of course she's out, but what are the chances of her being forced to step down if the Democrats hold the house?

and yes, i know china fucking blows, i know i know

She's been a China hawk her entire career.

chinese dissident communities also have no idea why she is doing this fwiw

I strongly doubt it was a decision made independent of the white house

pretty much the only support i've seen is from senate republicans. everyone else is just kind of like "??". her op-ed in the washpost explaining why she's going doesn't really shed much light, either. here's a "gift" link that should work: https://wapo.st/3cVzrLu

Maybe she's heavily invested in the Taiwan semiconductor sector.

Emotionally I mean, definitely not with her $180 million personal fortune.

xp moodles

i'm not sure about that! i haven't seen anyone in the white house offer much support. if anything they've just been offering apologies to China, since before it happened:

TAIPEI, Taiwan — The White House worked urgently to de-escalate tensions with China as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met Wednesday with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and other officials during a high-profile visit to the self-governing island against the administration’s wishes, hoping to head off a geopolitical crisis amid threats and military maneuvers by Beijing.

White House officials warned that China is preparing itself for possible aggressive actions in response to Pelosi’s visit beyond this week, and they reiterated forcefully that the Chinese Communist Party should not use the visit as a pretext to increase military activity in and around the Taiwan Strait.

...
Virtually all the senior members of President Biden’s national security team have privately expressed deep reservations about the trip and its timing, said a White House official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. They are especially concerned because U.S.-China tensions are already high, and Washington is seeking China’s cooperation on the war in Ukraine and other matters.

Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, spoke with his Chinese counterpart to defend Pelosi’s right to visit — as did other high-ranking officials — but even so did not think the trip was a good idea, the White House official said. Sullivan expressed concerns about Pelosi’s trip to multiple administration officials and asked for suggestions on how to dissuade her from traveling to Taiwan.

That statement could be part of their pantomime. If the White House didn't want her to go, it could've stopped her.

i feel like reality and politics is rapidly approaching a tipping point where the politician walks up to the podium and says "Good evening", and everyone in the crowd is like "wait what's THAT supposed to mean?"

Trump grounded her a couple of years ago, didn't he?

I'd never seen that clip of Pelosi unfurling a flag in protest in Tiananmen Square some years back before:

28 years ago, we traveled to Tiananmen Square to honor the courage & sacrifice of the students, workers & ordinary citizens who stood for the dignity & human rights that all people deserve. To this day, we remain committed to sharing their story with the world. #Tiananmen30 pic.twitter.com/7UqiJVRS3t

— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) June 4, 2019

Clearly this has been a passion of hers for a while, and for this and other reasons clearly China is no fan of her, specifically. As to why now? Who knows.

as milo pointed out, she has looooong been a China hawk.

My eyes bled: https://www.nationalreview.com/2022/08/pelosis-courageous-trip-to-taiwan/

Oh fer fun!

In an ad for his daughter's campaign, Dick Cheney says that in our nation's history there has never been an individual that's been a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump.

"He is a coward. A real man wouldn't lie to his supporters." pic.twitter.com/ZB5cfYy86z

— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) August 4, 2022

WHY WON'T HE DIE

Never! Cheneys don't die.

as milo pointed out, she has looooong been a China hawk.

She represents San Francisco & Chinatown.. I've seen more than a couple nationalist flags flying in Chinatown

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday suspended Tampa's elected prosecutor, Andrew Warren, for pledging not to use his office to go after people who seek and provide abortions or on doctors that provide gender affirming care to transgender people.

Fox keeping it Fair and Balanced, after checking w Gov. Orban:

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspends 'Soros-backed' state attorney who refused to enforce abortion ban

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/florida-gov-ron-desantis-suspends-liberal-state-attorney-andrew-warren

doctors that provide gender affirming care to transgender people.

Tell me again how Peter Meijer was a moderate who cared about democracy... https://t.co/KL9YXfE7Rl

— Marc E. Elias (@marceelias) August 4, 2022

That is aggressively missing the point about why Democrats shouldn't pour money into backing the Even Greater Evil.

Yeah, I agree with you, they're all assholes, which I thought was the point of that tweet.

Yes. Full agreement on that. This kind of politicking is a dumb person's idea of smart politicking.

Raising Arizona

Republican ‘doomsday ticket’ ready for November

https://www.politico.com/newsletters/politico-nightly/2022/08/03/republican-doomsday-ticket-ready-for-november-00049722?nname=politico-nightly&nid=00000170-c000-da87-af78-e185fa700000&nrid=00000172-4d9a-d3ba-a9f3-6f9e04a20000&nlid=2670445

Instead of inflation or education any of the other “traditional campaign issues that candidates normally discuss,” Barnes said, Democrats in Arizona this fall “get to talk about the Trump candidates. They get to talk about running against Donald Trump.”

It might be enough to keep Trump’s class of Arizona Republicans from ever taking office. On the other hand, the environment is so good for the GOP nationally this year that some or all of them may win.

Citation needed. There are no positive signs for the Republicans that I can see beyond "the out party always wins in midterm elections," with less than a century's worth of evidentiary support for "always." Things "always" happen until they stop happening, and the Republicans are doing as good a job of tying their own shoelaces together as possible between these insane candidates, the anti-abortion shit, and on and on. It might be close, but I would not bet against the Democrats barely holding the House, and gaining in the Senate.

Economic uncertainty, 9% inflation and sub-40% Presidential approval are very much a 'good environment' for the non-governing party.

It often is.

Quite the trend in O-HI-O

Got A Thread For That: Ongoing U.S Police Brutality and Corruption Discussion Thread

Belongs here too

Yeah, but this thread's probably getting locked tomorrow.

Why is everyone so mean?? US Politics: September 2022