US Politics, May 2023: May 1 never happened

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/05/03/gop-manchin-sinema-debt-crisis-00094998

Manchin has urged Biden to work directly with Speaker Kevin McCarthy and regularly puts out statements pushing for bipartisan talks that show up in GOP press releases. Sinema has quietly dined with McCarthy and signaled her hopes for a negotiated solution to GOP senators.

Sinema has quietly dined with McCarthy

and she knows the perfect chenin blanc that will go with that poached halibut

I am a big Fetterman supporter but I would rather he dressed normally.

Fuck that

I dunno, he always looks pretty awkward wearing a suit

Wasn't he coming back from the gym?

That being said who gives a fuck if he wasn't. This is concern trolling at its finest

I am a big Fetterman supporter but I would rather he dressed normally.

― treeship., Wednesday, May 3, 2023 11:35 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

honest question -- why?

what is "dressed normally"

Fetterman should wear cargo shorts and Timbs to all affairs of state.

he does dress to the senate dress code when he’s in the senate chamber

it plays better to me that he wears what he’s always worn when talking to constituents or campaigning. all kinds of politicians do a little cosplay when campaigning to look like they’re farmers, cowboys, whatever but Fetterman dresses as Fetterman

the brand is strong

Mother said I must dress like Little Lord Fauntleroy or she shall be ever so cross.

CW: that thread contains multiple pictures of a sweaty Ted Cruz

“i simply demand that my politicians look like middle management hacks!” gtfoh with that nonsense

I posted that tweet to point out that even Twitter blue checks who follow breitbart reporters think he dresses ok. Did not expect an actual debate about it.

My senator has one and a half hands.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FprHuKIXsAME7xi.jpg

ok?

I know there’s a NY thread somewhere but I have to say that the both sidesism in the blatant vigilante murder of a homeless individual on the Subway has got me fucking furious. All the news coverage does is confirm that the US hates poor people, disdains those with mental illnesses, and wishes death upon those populations.

ftr in NYC last weekend I rode the subway for 95% of my trips, encountered at least four Jordan Neeles, never once felt threatened, no one paid attention to them. No doubt Times Square NIMBYS would've had them all shot.

Between this and the "stand your ground" shootings, it's like we're having a Purge moment here. I bet the Claremont Institute or Heritage Foundation will publish a paper on the social benefits of vigilante violence.

BREAKING: A jury convicted four Proud Boys leaders, including former chairman Enrique Tarrio, of conspiring against the U.S. government on Jan. 6 — but hasn't decided yet whether the man who caused the first breach was part of it. https://t.co/8XqMaXoBjJ

— Jordan Fischer (@JordanOnRecord) May 4, 2023

He's been convicted of other counts, though, so there's that. Basically that guy, Pezzola, seems like more like a meathead who did other shit but wasn't involved in the direct planning. In any event, pretty sweeping victory for the DOJ and a hell of a lot that can be used further in the record -- plus this point about Tarrio, the guy in charge:

Tarrio was NOT at Capitol on Jan 6

A conviction on charge of seditious conspiracy is a huge win for Justice Dept. And a potential piece of enormous leverage for any future defendant who wasn’t at Capitol on Jan 6 … but is considered part of the conspiracy

— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) May 4, 2023

Fetterman looks so weird in a suit, it always looks like those weird plotlines in the WWE where one wrestler dresses up to accept some award and winds up eating a Stone Cold Stunner instead

there are photos of him wearing shorts and a sweatshirt in the snow. if he's doing that to embellish his "Midwestern guy" image then he's a brilliant politician. I think that's just who he is though.

Tarrio is garbage.

Precedent: set.

There have been *14* convictions to seditious conspiracy stemming from Jan. 6

Oath Keepers
1) Stewart Rhodes
2) Kelly Meggs
3) Roberto Minuta
4) Ed Vallejo
5) Joseph Hackett
6) David Moerschel
7) William Todd Wilson (plea)
8) Joshua James (plea)
9) Brian Ulrich (plea)

— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) May 4, 2023

Proud Boys
1) Enrique Tarrio
2) Ethan Nordean
3) Joseph Biggs
4) Zachary Rehl
5) Jeremy Bertino (plea)

— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) May 4, 2023

there's a lot of dusty old laws on the books that aren't used much anymore ("No eating ice cream on within 50 yards of church on Sunday" etc.), but I'm glad we still have 'seditious conspiracy' on the books... it also sounds like a sick Krokus album

^^^ Actually more like a Corrosion of Conformity album

Sidvicious Conspiracy is the name of my Pistols tribute band

I don't think you're ready for this jailing, 'cause my body too sedilicious for ya.

my mind went to Exercise For Credit: Five Names For A Fictional Open Mic

The so called “pro business” and “fiscally responsible” trade and beltway groups are endorsing the McCarthy/MAGA play to drive the economy off a cliff (default) or into a recession (w/ cuts deeper than sequestration & 800k job loss). How are these options pro-biz or responsible? https://t.co/pebUjdpnH9

— Lindsay Owens, PhD (@owenslindsay1) May 4, 2023

The so called “pro business” and “fiscally responsible” trade and beltway groups believe they can make bigger profits under a GOP-dominated government more easily than a Democrat-dominated one. After all, McConnell delivered them a gift of massive tax breaks as recently as 2017. This belief is tenuous at best, but they prefer gambling on keeping in the good graces of a MAGA-dominated Repuublican party to making a few relatively painless compromises with the Democrats. It's probably just that simple.

Wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a sense among some of them that this is a pivotal political moment, getting Trump re-elected is their one big shot at fascism lite, and they’re willing to accept a short-term setback to make that happen.

Cause you know if it goes off the rails there’s gonna be a whole lot of ‘both sides’ BS in the corporate media that will sufficiently befuddle swing voters and leave them with the feeling it’s mainly Biden’s mess cause he’s the Prez.

Plus it’s just common sense that Republicans are better at the economy amirite. (Pretty sure there was a recent poll even suggesting many Democratic voters feel like the GOP is stronger at economics?)

Haven't the Republicans got the short end of every other shutdown?

Have they? Maybe, but for now the public seems mostly split on this one. 36% blame Biden, 39% blame the GOP.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/05/05/debt-ceiling-poll/

The problem is political media, which thinks the debt ceiling is negotiable, therefore Biden and the GOP have to "compromise."

Biden just needs to hold the line and not negotiate with terrorists and rely on the fact that it will be Republicans who are shutting down the government, which has been the story every other time this has happened.

Yeah, might be tough to explain the debt ceiling to the average non-wonk, but shutting government down usually gets everyone's attention, especially when people stop getting expected pay and benefits in the mail because (checks notes) the GOP wants to cut their benefits by billions.

Yeah, might be tough to explain the debt ceiling to the average non-wonk

with the caveat that i understand the federal budget is very different from household expenses (ie, "tightening the belt" on spending is different for the federal government than it is for mom and pop sitting around the kitchen table),

the line i always used was that the debt ceiling is a credit card bill that has to be paid. it's a bill for things that have already been purchased. you can't suddenly have a realization that you're spending too much and refuse to pay off your credit card. the time for demanding giant cuts to social services is during the passing of the federal budget.

i think the very term "debt ceiling" obscures the fact that it is referring to paying for spending that has already occurred

and alfred otm on political media. what a fucking shitshow, year after year, zero learning, negative learning. cnn working with trump to schedule a "town hall", what a balogna load

Maybe we should close tax loopholes to bring spending more in line with revenue. Just an idea I had while taking peyote in the desert.

Looking at the rationale for 14th Amdmnt makes me go “the debt ceiling vote itself is unconstitutional on its face. Congress undertakes the spending, obligation is inherent, the end.” To make another step is an absurdity within the language of the Amndnt. I’ll pretend not to notice old conservative screeds to this effect.

Also what treesh wrote

the comments from hochul and adams about the subway killing were some of the most ghoulish political statements from democratic leaders since...idk, the segregation era?

just a severe feeling of hopelessness knowing we're stuck with those assholes for many more years

JUST IN: 8 of the false pro-Trump electors in Georgia accepted immunity deals from the Fulton County DA, new filing indicates. pic.twitter.com/nJSe6iFbnp

— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) May 5, 2023

I admit that this incident and some of what is being said on the Twitter thread really just makes me comfortable in saying fuck the vote blue no matter who types, we need to get these fascist Dems out of government just as fast as the fascist GOP ghouls. I simply won’t hold my nose and vote for people who are so equally (but differently) committed to the complete devaluation of human life, particularly poor and non-white lives.

I don’t know why New York Dems are so right wing. Michigan and Minnesota D’s show how it’s done when you have complete control

Whenever young NY dems try and infiltrate the old NY dems literally change the rules to ice them out. It’s really dispiriting and gross

not getting my hopes up that Οὖτις will return, but it's nice to see a post

lol I guess?

🚨CBO says debt limit provisions negotiated by the White House will *expand* direct spending on SNAP and the number of recipients on net.

The expansion to veterans, homeless, and foster youth is larger than the effects of the age 49-54 work requirementshttps://t.co/6uJ6WUDW3r pic.twitter.com/S95mkNfJfy

— Aaron Fritschner (@Fritschner) May 30, 2023

I have already read some say that CBO is over-estimating the number of vets, homeless etc who will know they’re now eligible and be able to fill out the paperwork

Also reading some say Biden did great in limiting budget decreases for agencies, and that with Republicans controlling House limited budgets were inevitable. But deal has all those other components too plus no closures of tax loopholes or reduced defense . Plus Biden was forced to negotiate .

The debt ceiling deal is closer to being "what Republicans would expect to get through the ordinary budget process" than many feared.

But they still profited off hostage taking. And that's a big loss for responsible government in the U.S. https://t.co/s53jwIKQxX pic.twitter.com/NNKPJvCtnu

— Eric Levitz (@EricLevitz) May 28, 2023

So, a mixed bag in terms of the politics of it, which seems unavoidable in a nation that gave Donald Trump more than 74 million votes. In terms of doing anything good for anyone below the median income, just another bitter pill they're being forced to swallow.

for Republicans, the point of the debt-ceiling standoff was not to advance deficit reduction, but rather, a budget that prioritized low taxes for the rich and high spending on the military over all other fiscal priorities. They won this on the strength of their reputation for nihilism. Biden believed that Republicans just might deliberately make Americans poorer if he did not consent to their desired spending cuts. McCarthy, by contrast, did not believe that Democrats would engineer a recession if his caucus refused to, say, close the carried interest loophole. This is partly attributable to the fact that the sitting president is likely to take the lion’s share of blame for any economic crisis. Still, congressional Democrats’ refusal to use the debt ceiling as a vehicle for extortion under Trump indicates that the two parties are not equally credible hostage takers.

Wow, those people who come up to Trump with tears in their eyes, now DeSantis is seeing them too.

DeSantis is particularly annoyed with Trump saying Andrew Cuomo handled covid better than him. Has brought it up multiple times during press conference.

Says Floridians came up “in tears, hugging me” during pandemic, saying “thank you, governor …. you saved my bacon.” https://t.co/NoTSyuXkSJ pic.twitter.com/CGiLkIQyol

— Natalie Allison (@natalie_allison) May 31, 2023

DeSantis never saw my bacon.

These people are all cemetery owners I imagine

the five people you meet in tears

Maybe all of these people are just allergic to assholes.

i seem to recall it being generally poor form for strangers in tears to walk up and hug you at the height of the pandemic, but of course DeSantis never saw it that way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKxRmYbhA3o

i guess this is mccarthy's way of saying sorry to his right wing, while also cutting an early campaign ad for congressional democrats.

Breaking: Kevin McCarthy announces a “commission” to “look at” cutting Social Security and Medicare: “I’m going to make some people uncomfortable.”

He attacked Biden for “walling off” cuts to Social Security and Medicare during debt ceiling negotiations. pic.twitter.com/4jWkNUtCHD

— No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) May 31, 2023

Kevin licks The Third Rail like in A Christmas Story

Good idea, the GOP should campaign on that.

Christ almighty. I'm not in business of giving Kevin McCarthy advice but wtf dude. They just spent literal months having a shitfit every time Biden accused them of wanting to cut Social Security and Medicare, they cut a debt ceiling deal that does not cut Social Security and Medicare, now is the time you say, "See, we were never going to cut Social Security and Medicare."

Oh, is he making you uncomfortable?

it's a dog whistle to the far right that only believes the federal gov't should purchase weapons

there will be no 'commission'

Kevin McCarthy always makes me uncomfortable because he always seems so uncomfortable himself. Talk about a guy who is going to leave no discernible imprint on history. He's not even sure what he's there for.

Meanwhile this Georgia raid on the people providing bail assistance to Cop City protesters seems pretty bad.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/atlanta-police-arrest-3-organizers-behind-bail-fund-supporting-protests-against-cop-city

how long before he gets removed by the freedumb cockus?

After declining to take audience questions after his first New Hampshire campaign event today, Ron DeSantis lashed out at a reporter for asking him about it while he was chatting with members of the crowd individually.

Here’s the video, via @NBCNews —> pic.twitter.com/Z2WtLy0JNj

— Jonathan Allen (@jonallendc) June 1, 2023

Clashing with the Press.. look what it did for Trump, gotta play that same card

“It” what

june 1 and 2 never happened

pic.twitter.com/08DgSW5V9t

— David Weigel (@daveweigel) June 3, 2023

we should just keep posting on this thread, imo. time is disappearing.

https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2023/06/utah-school-district-bans-book-that-contains-incest-genital-mutilation-sex-and-drug-use

is this possible in florida? for one person to request that the bible be banned, and that's enough to get it banned pending review?

BREAKING: Late Friday night, a federal judge declared Tennessee’s anti-drag Adult Entertainment Act to be unconstitutional following a two-day trial last month. More to come at Law Dork: https://t.co/oFbD0ZqTha pic.twitter.com/g3nx2khhHc

— Chris Geidner (@chrisgeidner) June 3, 2023

really think this is kind of a dumb gotcha to do tactically. these places will just write in a Bible exception, they will like having that reason to do it. xp

Unless there's an objection or someone starts a new one shortly I'm just going to change the thread title to include June.

Has Joe Biden succeeded in making politics boring again?

Good luck isa

I think this is going to seem incredibly weird to general election voters

DeSantis: As president, I recognize that the woke mind virus represents a war on the truth so we will wage a war on the woke. We will fight the woke in education, we will fight the woke in corporations, we will fight the woke in the halls of congress. pic.twitter.com/8bd7eQSDgM

— Acyn (@Acyn) June 3, 2023

He sounds disturbed

Sunshine state Blake Masters

I am watching a water skiing show in Wisconsin right now, and the MC is giving off serious Meatball Ron vibes. Like he's found himself in front of tens of people and has no idea what to do or how to come off like a human person while attempting it.

Here's a freebie thread title. Use as is or twist to your heart's content:

US Politics, June 2023: Meatball Ron And The Don

Meatballs III: Summer “Rob”

We shall fight woke on the beaches, we will fight woke on the landing grounds, we shall fight woke in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight woke in the hills. We shall never surrender.

US Politics, June 2023: We Refused to Let Our State Descend Into Some Kind of Faucian Dystopia