US Politics: Russian Roulette Republican Style

[DMC]

44 minutes ago, Fragile Bird said:

So 4 female Democrat senators are asking for Franken's resignation.

 

[DMC]

16 minutes ago, OldGimletEye said:

I just tend to think that if I made a deal and the whole thing relied on Paul Ryan doing something, I think I’d demand Ryan’s Ayn Rand photo collection as ransom.

To be fair this isn't Ryan's fault.  Collins apparently just assumed it would pass the House, when everybody knew when she made the deal that Alexander-Murray and her bill with Nelson would have difficulty passing the House.  Yet she touted at the time that she got assurances from Trump and McConnell that bills would pass.  Hey, maybe also get assurances from the Speaker of the House. 

Obviously I want Collins to flip her vote because the HFC refuses to back the bills and this somehow puts the tax bill in doubt - and the second best scenario if the tax bill does become law is clearly getting these measures passed as well - but just on the principle of dumb dealmaking I almost want the House not to pass the bills.

[IheartIheartTesla]

1 hour ago, Ormond said:

I agree with the above-- but demographically speaking, a Jewish senator from New York would be just the category of Democratic politician I would expect to most likely be in favor of this knucklehead move, so I don't see how him supporting this is a sign the world has gone crazy. 

Performing advocacy for such a move with Trump of all people, who has no idea of what is going on in the Middle East, IS madness.

[Zorral]

1 hour ago, Dr. Pepper said:

Was just about to come post on this.  Yet another woman has come forward to accuse Franken and Franken has again tried to deny and wiggle out of this.  He needs to go away. At least some Dems are finally taking a stand on this.

https://www.politico.com/story/2017/12/06/al-franken-accusation-sexual-harassment-2006-281049

Not until Moore and Trump go away. 

In the meantime it's getting more difficult not to believe, truth in the accusations nonetheless, that this isn't a carefully orchestrated strategy to get all media and entertainment and communications into the hands of a very select, powerful, evil crew of corps / orgs.  It's all too perfect this haze of sexual crimes that keeps everyone occupied, arguing and discussing, while They continue to pillage and destroy everything worthwhile.

As I've been predicting for quite a few days now, the host of the noon - 2 PM talk variety WNYC public radio program has gone down just an hour ago to accusations of "inappropriate behavior."  I am so sorry I was right on this . . . . and not only because I listen to it regularly and have been on the program more than once.

And Schumer o man -- he's ALWAYS been ISRAEL FIRST.

 

[Mexal]

1 hour ago, Dr. Pepper said:

Was just about to come post on this.  Yet another woman has come forward to accuse Franken and Franken has again tried to deny and wiggle out of this.  He needs to go away. At least some Dems are finally taking a stand on this.

https://www.politico.com/story/2017/12/06/al-franken-accusation-sexual-harassment-2006-281049

Franken set for an announcement tomorrow. He will probably resign. Meanwhile, Blake Farenthold is being largely ignored by the Republicans.

[OldGimletEye]

23 hours ago, dmc515 said:

To be fair this isn't Ryan's fault.  Collins apparently just assumed it would pass the House, when everybody knew when she made the deal that Alexander-Murray and her bill with Nelson would have difficulty passing the House.  Yet she touted at the time that she got assurances from Trump and McConnell that bills would pass.  Hey, maybe also get assurances from the Speaker of the House. 

Obviously I want Collins to flip her vote because the HFC refuses to back the bills and this somehow puts the tax bill in doubt - and the second best scenario if the tax bill does become law is clearly getting these measures passed as well - but just on the principle of dumb dealmaking I almost want the House not to pass the bills.

I don’t recall implying it was Ryan’s fault.

The point of the my comment was that Collins should have never been so naive in making the deal or that she should have gotten her ducks lined up in a row.She must be a graduate of the George Bush school of strategic planning.

[Morpheus]

9 minutes ago, Mexal said:

Franken set for an announcement tomorrow. He will probably resign. Meanwhile, Blake Farenthold is being largely ignored by the Republicans.

At some point they will get around to being openly distubed while still fully supporting him. 

[DMC]

11 minutes ago, OldGimletEye said:

The point of the my comment was that Collins should have never been so naive in making the deal or that she should have gotten her ducks lined up in a row.She must be a graduate of the George Bush school of strategic planning.

Yeah totally agreed.  Sorry if I came off hostile, that's just cuz this type of shit annoys me - particularly as a congressional scholar.  Such incompetence really throws a wrench in the external validity of any rational-choice based formal model attempting to explain legislators' behavior.

[Ormond]

34 minutes ago, dmc515 said:

Yeah totally agreed.  Sorry if I came off hostile, that's just cuz this type of shit annoys me - particularly as a congressional scholar.  Such incompetence really throws a wrench in the external validity of any rational-choice based formal model attempting to explain legislators' behavior.

Any model that assumes human beings in any occupation will always make rational choices deserves to have a wrench thrown into it.

[lokisnow]

38 minutes ago, dmc515 said:

Yeah totally agreed.  Sorry if I came off hostile, that's just cuz this type of shit annoys me - particularly as a congressional scholar.  Such incompetence really throws a wrench in the external validity of any rational-choice based formal model attempting to explain legislators' behavior.

Why would anyone in their right mind ever assume legislators (or any human for that matter but particularly legislators) make rational choices?

[Kalbear]

5 minutes ago, Ormond said:

Any model that assumes human beings in any occupation will always make rational choices deserves to have a wrench thrown into it.

Well, the other option is that she's acting rationally, and doesn't actually want the things she says she does put into law - she just wants to say that she was betrayed, or she tried, or something along those lines.

[OldGimletEye]

23 hours ago, Kalbear said:

Well, the other option is that she's acting rationally, and doesn't actually want the things she says she does put into law - she just wants to say that she was betrayed, or she tried, or something along those lines.

Yeah this could be the explanation. I haven't quite decided whether she's just bullshitting or whether she was being extremely stupid. Either way, I'd hope it would raise an eyebrow among her constituents.

[Maithanet]

5 minutes ago, Kalbear said:

Well, the other option is that she's acting rationally, and doesn't actually want the things she says she does put into law - she just wants to say that she was betrayed, or she tried, or something along those lines.

I think that a huge portion of the GOP were convinced that the narrative that "Republicans can't pass anything" would be more harmful than the blowback of passing a terrible tax cut.  Particularly when the GOP donor class loves the tax giveaway. 

[DMC]

9 minutes ago, Ormond said:

Any model that assumes human beings in any occupation will always make rational choices deserves to have a wrench thrown into it.

 

5 minutes ago, lokisnow said:

Why would anyone in their right mind ever assume legislators (or any human for that matter but particularly legislators) make rational choices?

Name a major work on Congress in the past couple decades (e.g. Cox and McCubbins 2005; Krehbiel 1998) and 9 times out of 10 the assumptions are rational-choice based, even if not formally.  Obviously, formal models and/or rational-choice assumptions are never going to perfectly reflect reality - but they're indispensable tools for theory building and analysis.

10 minutes ago, Kalbear said:

Well, the other option is that she's acting rationally, and doesn't actually want the things she says she does put into law - she just wants to say that she was betrayed, or she tried, or something along those lines.

Right.  Her public statements here are a form of position taking, and the latter certainly does not necessarily have to reflect her true goals.  However, there is an assumption they should be taken at face value, which means any way you slice it she comes off as incompetent.

[Ormond]

8 minutes ago, OldGimletEye said:

Yeah this could be the explanation. I haven't quite decided whether she's just bullshitting or whether she was being extremely stupid. Either way, I'd hope it would raise an eyebrow among her constituents.

Well, at least a few seem to more upset than just raising their eyebrows:

http://bangordailynews.com/2017/12/05/news/bangor/protesters-arrested-for-sit-in-at-collins-office-released-on-bail/

http://www.wabi.tv/content/news/Bangor-Residents-Protest-Senate-Tax-Bill-461892103.html

[Mexal]

Oh this is fun. Eli Cummings sent a letter to Trey Gowdy today claiming he has a whistleblower that says Flynn was putting plans in motion from the day Trump became President to further the Russia/US nuclear energy plan that Newsweek reported earlier this year. Gowdy has been blocking all attempts to investigate. The SCO has allowed Cummings to release this letter now that they've taken certain investigative steps. Have a read here. It's a fun one.

[DireWolfSpirit]

Trump is so counter productive he has now accomplished the near impossible. He has managed to unite the Saudis, the Turks, Iran, Egypt, Jordan, Shiite and Sunnis alike everywhere. All warning against Trumps recent decision to ignore any Palestinian claims to Jerusalem and announce it as the Israeli Capitol. Trump has not yet offered any explanation to how this decision or moving the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem would in anyway facilitate peace efforts in the Levant.

Happy Hanukkah

[Zorral]

There's no budget for the State Dept. but he's already announcing he's putting out contracts for architects etc. to build a big new beautiful embassy in Jerusalem.  Sounds just like another Trump branded property deal.

[Werthead]

I understand there's a vote going on in Georgia. Apparently observers were banned from observing the counting process, which they are permitted to be by Georgia law. They turned up with legal confirmation and they were thrown out of the building and threatened with arrest.

[Morpheus]

Trump was a slurring lispy mess by the end of his speech today, some optimistic observers thought he was stroking out, Alex Jones thinks he is being drugged, but it looked and sounded more like his dentures were falling out of his face.

EDIT: Vidya

https://theconcourse.deadspin.com/donald-trumps-weird-teeth-create-the-worst-possible-com-1821058598#_ga=2.195168556.1825868411.1511269784-317727415.1511269784