US Politics: The Roll Call Heard Across America

[DMC]

1 hour ago, GrimTuesday said:

Remember when the DCCC said it was going to blacklist anyone who worked with candidates running to unseat an incumbent Democratic Representative? Supporting incumbents is one thing, but it does appear that this is an attempt to put in a less progressive in that seat.

This is certainly valid - the DCCC does look quite hypocritical between this and Omar's primary challenge and progressives have good cause to point that out.  However, my anger about this has little to do with ideology.  Fact is, there isn't going to be any discernible difference between Kennedy and Markey's voting record.  Look at a comparison between Kennedy and Markey's "Trump plus or minus" over the past two congress'.  They're virtually identical - where Kennedy's score is actually "0.3" more voting against Trump compared to Markey.

What I'm pissed about is this seems like upholding political dynasties, which is definitely not what this party should be about.  Joe Kennedy is not entitled to that seat, and he should wait his turn just like Markey did.  That's what really pisses me off.

[DanteGabriel]

I love that the National Butterfly Center has been the saltiest in response to Bannon's fake charity.

 

[GrimTuesday]

9 minutes ago, DMC said:

This is certainly valid - the DCCC does look quite hypocritical between this and Omar's primary challenge and progressives have good cause to point that out.  However, my anger about this has little to do with ideology.  Fact is, there isn't going to be any discernible difference between Kennedy and Markey's voting record.  Look at a comparison between Kennedy and Markey's "Trump plus or minus" over the past two congress'.  They're virtually identical - where Kennedy's score is actually "0.3" more voting against Trump compared to Markey.

What I'm pissed about is this seems like upholding political dynasties, which is definitely not what this party should be about.  Joe Kennedy is not entitled to that seat, and he should wait his turn just like Markey did.  That's what really pisses me off.

I think that you really can't look at their voting records under Trump. Democrats are in a position where they are resisting Trump's obviously awful policies, but the question is that when it comes time to start writing and passing bills that actually further progressive causes under a Biden administration (or a future administration given how long most senators serve) who would you rather have. I trust Markey a lot more than Kennedy to hold a progressive line against corporate interests and the more neo-liberal tendencies of the party.

One of the folks running Biden's transition team is already deficit hawking. Biden's campaign pushed back on it, but still raises some red flags if these are the people he is going to surround himself with.

[DMC]

6 minutes ago, GrimTuesday said:

I trust Markey a lot more than Kennedy to hold a progressive line against corporate interests and the more neo-liberal tendencies of the party.

It's very hard to imagine Kennedy not voting with the Dems on any key votes - at least those that Markey wouldn't as well.  Markey has always been a loyal soldier - which is another reason why this is fucked up.  When comparing their careers, it's pretty well unfounded to suggest Markey would join the progressive movement on any major legislation against the majority of the Dem caucus. 

[GrimTuesday]

I'm watching Trump's speech right now and he is saying that Kamala Harris was too soft on crime and that Biden has shifted radically to the left. I don't know how, considering this has been our reality for the last four years, but I am still gobsmacked with how he just goes up there and makes shit up.

Also he just started talking about how he doesn't think we need to protect sharks out of nowhere.

[Freshwater Spartan]

3 hours ago, DMC said:

What about a president's second term?

Don't have a strong opinion but I think you keep it consistent and simple and have the moratorium for every term. A President can pardon at anytime in their term except those (almost) three months. It  disallows the unsightly scene of a pardons  being signed as they are scuttling out the door. Pardons between terms where a President has been reelected are not usually as controversial but nixing them then does little harm and avoids messy language about winning vs losing an election etc... 

[DMC]

4 minutes ago, GrimTuesday said:

Also he just started talking about how he doesn't think we need to protect sharks out of nowhere.

Obviously, he watched Jaws on HBOMax last night.

2 minutes ago, Freshwater Spartan said:

A President can pardon at anytime in their term except those (almost) three months.

Yeah I agree...except the complications of when people actually start voting that was mentioned earlier.

[GrimTuesday]

Now he is rambling about Larry Holmes and what a great boxer he was and asking if he still lives in the area. Not just as a rhetorical question, he paused and looked around for a second as if he was waiting for an answer then realized none was coming. Vote this guy out and just get him a tick-tock account and tell him to go wild.

[Freshwater Spartan]

7 minutes ago, DMC said:

Obviously, he watched Jaws on HBOMax last night.

Yeah I agree...except the complications of when people actually start voting that was mentioned earlier.

I get that. On the other hand, that just goes with the perils of early voting. Cast your ballot early  and you deprive yourself the opportunity to change your mind if your candidate does something stupid in October.

[DMC]

Just now, Freshwater Spartan said:

Cast your ballot early  and you deprive yourself the opportunity to change your mind if your candidate does something stupid in October.

Meh that doesn't seem fair.  Normatively I'd like to encourage early/mail-in voting, not give them a reason not to do it.

[Prince of the North]

How about allowing presidential pardons at any time during their term except the last six months?  I think any president knowing coming in that they have 3 1/2 years to pardon to their heart's content is reasonable.  Something like this would seem to both give presidents enough time and voters enough opportunity to take pardons into account.  I don't know, just spitballin'.

[DMC]

3 minutes ago, Prince of the North said:

Something like this would seem to both give presidents enough time and voters enough opportunity to take pardons into account.

Yeah good premise.  I think just the last four months - so September 1 - should be sufficient.

[Prince of the North]

Just now, DMC said:

Yeah good premise.  I think just the last four months - so September 1 - should be sufficient.

I wasn't sure on what the best timing would be but that seems even more reasonable to those poor future presidents having their pardon powers limited 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, DMC said:

Obviously, he watched Jaws on HBOMax last night.

I have to agree with him there; fuck Jaws.

[DMC]

2 minutes ago, The Great Unwashed said:

I have to agree with him there; fuck Jaws.

But who else will we turn to when we have to deal with the threat of Bigger Jaws?

 

[Zorral]

47 minutes ago, DMC said:

Normatively I'd like to encourage early/mail-in voting, not give them a reason not to do it.

Torn between requesting my ballot asap and returning it asap, and trying to vote in person because of the the post office sitch etc.  But it also depends on how the virus rolls here once idiot de Blasio has all the schools reopen for physical, f2f teaching -- in buildings with no a/c, no windows and / or windows that don't open, no ventilation, classrooms in basements, with hallways and stairs so narrow and overcrowded they were a well-known scandal from Long Before.  Just as he was determined to have all the St. Patrick's Day festivities roll on here.  Teachers are going to strike, and who will blame them?

De Blasio's screwed the pooch for sure, and he did it long even before his insanity of trotting alone at the Iowa State Fair certain that he would be the Dem Pres nom.  But he's screwing all of us along with his pooch. 

Plus he's got zilch control over the NYC police (you all noticed, right, that the national police unions have endorsed the murderer?).

Hope Cuomo reads him the riot act, and soon.  In the meantime rats and roaches etc. are exploding madly because of de Blasio's 'dining on the sidewalks and streets' insanity, with every public hygiene violation rampant all the time.  Whereas they began dying off big time during shut down.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

1 hour ago, GrimTuesday said:

I don't know how, considering this has been our reality for the last four years, but I am still gobsmacked with how he just goes up there and makes shit up.

It's in part due to the unhealthy symbiotic relationship between politicians and the press. If the latter pushes back too hard they risk losing their access. 

Quote

Also he just started talking about how he doesn't think we need to protect sharks out of nowhere.

You're welcome in advance:

Quote

The president of the United States does not like sharks.

Two minutes later, he added: “Sharks are last on my list – other than perhaps the losers and haters of the World!”

On Friday, a long interview with an actor in pornographic films, Stephanie Clifford, provided more details of Trump’s apparent feelings.

Clifford, whose professional name is Stormy Daniels and who claimed in the interview to have had a 2006 affair with Trump, told InTouch magazine he was fascinated by the Discovery Channel’s annual Shark Week special.

“He is obsessed with sharks” she said. “Terrified of sharks. He was like, ‘I donate to all these charities and I would never donate to any charity that helps sharks. I hope all the sharks die.’ He was like riveted. He was like obsessed. It’s so strange, I know.”

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jan/19/sharks-donald-trump

[DMC]

9 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

Quote

“He is obsessed with sharks” she said. “Terrified of sharks. He was like, ‘I donate to all these charities and I would never donate to any charity that helps sharks. I hope all the sharks die.’ He was like riveted. He was like obsessed. It’s so strange, I know.”

 

Let's just hope he never finds out about Way Bigger Jaws.

[Mindwalker]

I find this virtul con / dnc far more palatable than the "real" thing. Less pomp, less faux drama...

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

44 minutes ago, DMC said:

Let's just hope he never finds out about Way Bigger Jaws.

Maybe instead of sending him to prison we just put some eye clamps on him A Clockwork Orange style and make him watch shark movies on loop. His inability to sleep only makes this more powerful.

16 minutes ago, Mindwalker said:

I find this virtul con / dnc far more palatable than the "real" thing. Less pomp, less faux drama...

I have mixed feels about the bolded. I've never had the chance to be a delegate at the national convention, but running around the state convention was a trip, even if you have no chance to sleep.

Overall though they've done about as good as you could hope for. The technical errors have been rather minor, and they way and order they're staging it has been pretty effective. I suspect it will look better in retrospect too after the Republican convention, given that Democrats sold largely a positive message when not highlighting Trump's flaws, and I suspect their convention will be a hot crazy mess.