US Politics - It's a new dawn. It's a new day. It's a new life for US

[DMC]

6 minutes ago, Mindwalker said:

I know, but maybe it wasn't as clear-cut as we thought... He mst have had a reason for this whole stint, right?

He wanted to make it less likely the Dems were going to abolish the filibuster, and I suppose with Manchin and Sinema reaffirming their position he can claim victory (although everyone knew their position already).

[Myshkin]

11 minutes ago, DMC said:

Saw that on Drudge.  Do not want to click any of the links.  

I heard that when you click a link on Drudge your personal details are sent to the Lizard People who live in the bowels of our flat earth.

Anyway, the story’s everywhere now, and Kellyanne is, of course, claiming her phone was hacked. Even if that’s true, it still leaves the question of why she had a topless picture of her teenage daughter on her phone in the first place (Claudia Conway believes that when Kellyanne took her phone away she stole the picture in order to hold it over her).

[Morpheus]

Claudia Conway has been documenting abuse by her mother for a few weeks now. She needs to be far away from her parents.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

Serious question, which family is more messed up, the Trumps or the Conways?

[Maithanet]

I feel like Conway could very realistically be looking at both state child abuse and federal child pornography charges.  

[Fragile Bird]

Oh great, Sen. Leahy was feeling unwell and rushed to hospital. Out of an abundance of caution, they say.

Who is next in line?

[DMC]

1 minute ago, Fragile Bird said:

Oh great, Sen. Leahy was feeling unwell and rushed to hospital. Out of an abundance of caution, they say.

Who is next in line?

Just saw that too.  Hope he's alright - Pat Leahy is awesome.  Dianne Feinstein would be next in line as pro tem. 

[Fez]

4 minutes ago, Fragile Bird said:

Oh great, Sen. Leahy was feeling unwell and rushed to hospital. Out of an abundance of caution, they say.

Who is next in line?

Worst case scenario, Vermont's governor gets to appoint an interim senator who holds the seat for up to 6 months until a special election can be held.

Vermont's governor is a Republican.

Now, granted, Phil Scot is probably the Republican Governor most likely to appoint a Democratic interim senator because he knows that's what the vast majority of his state wants. But, more likely is that McConnell would become Majority Leader again for up to 6 months.

[GrimTuesday]

Maybe it was a bad idea to allow the Democratic party to become a gerontocracy. I'm not saying we need age restrictions, but holy shit one of these motherfuckers who are from a state with a right wing governor is going to kick the big one and deliver Mich McConnell the Senate majority.

[DMC]

2 minutes ago, Fez said:

Now, granted, Phil Scot is probably the Republican Governor most likely to appoint a Democratic interim senator because he knows that's what the vast majority of his state wants. But, more likely is that McConnell would become Majority Leader again for up to 6 months.

Phil Scott already agreed to appoint someone who would caucus with the Dems in the event Sanders was nominated to Biden's cabinet.  In the event of Leahy's death he would almost certainly appoint someone who would caucus with the Dems as well.

[GrimTuesday]

10 minutes ago, DMC said:

Just saw that too.  Hope he's alright - Pat Leahy is awesome.  Dianne Feinstein would be next in line as pro tem. 

Durbin says that he heard from Leahy's wife that he is doing ok, so it sounds like this really was just an abundence of caution thing. That said, If it did come to it, Feinstein can't be elevated to Pro Tem, her brain is turning to pudding and that is not a good thing in someone in an important position.

[DMC]

2 minutes ago, GrimTuesday said:

That said, If it did come to it, Feinstein can't be elevated to Pro Tem, her brain is turning to pudding and that is not a good thing.

This is a pretty common characteristic for pro tems.

[GrimTuesday]

1 minute ago, DMC said:

This is a pretty common characteristic for pro tems.

I know, and it's fucking horrifying. I mean it's third in the line of succession, and if it were to come to it, I'd rather not have someone who shouldn't be allowed behind the wheel of a car in the driver seat of the country.

[Zorral]

1 hour ago, Mindwalker said:

He mst have had a reason for this whole stint, right?

To prove to himself and the world that he's still the one running the senate.  Even though ... things have changed.  Maybe not as much as many of us want or would like as fast we like, but things have changed.  Here's where Biden's patience and understanding and experience and knowing the players comes into, um, play? Or so we hope.  After all, hope's all a lot of us have these days.

[DMC]

7 minutes ago, GrimTuesday said:

I know, and it's fucking horrifying. I mean it's third in the line of succession, and if it were to come to it, I'd rather not have someone who shouldn't be allowed behind the wheel of a car in the driver seat of the country.

I of course agree if the wanna keep a Senator third in line they should change it to the majority leader.  It's probably gonna take something like the Nixon/Agnew mishegoss to get them to change it though.

[GrimTuesday]

3 minutes ago, DMC said:

I of course agree if the wanna keep a Senator third in line they should change it to the majority leader.  It's probably gonna take something like the Nixon/Agnew mishegoss to get them to change it though.

I mean, the position of Pro Tem isn't mandated to be the most senior member, it's just tradition. Strict seniority is one of the dumbest ways to run things when people actually live long enough to be ravaged by cognitive decline (also they tend to be the human embodiment of the "It's the kids who are wrong" meme).

[DMC]

2 minutes ago, GrimTuesday said:

I mean, the position of Pro Tem isn't mandated to be the most senior member, it's just tradition. Strict seniority is one of the dumbest ways to run things when people actually live long enough to be ravaged by cognitive decline (also they tend to be the human embodiment of the "It's the kids who are wrong" meme).

Getting the Senate to change the rules on who is the pro tem - and in the process not deferring to seniority - if far less likely than getting both chambers to change the succession act.

[GrimTuesday]

1 minute ago, DMC said:

Getting the Senate to change the rules on who is the pro tem - and in the process not deferring to seniority - if far less likely than getting both chambers to change the succession act.

You don't even have to change the rules, it's is a tradition. There is nowhere in the Senate rules that the Pro tem is determined by seniority.

[Larry of the Lawn]

5 hours ago, DMC said:

.

Further, even putting those names aside, as @larrytheimp was detailing, neoliberalism is often associated with America's imperialistic foreign policy, perpetuating global economic inequality, and sustaining the status quo of systemic racial injustice.  I am proud to identify as a liberal (and a social democrat for that matter), but I've been opposed to the policies that promote those things ever since I was politically aware - most prominently the Iraq War.

Well said.  I am as guilty as anyone of saying, at times, that both parties are the same - and while that is certainly gross hyperbole, it is nonetheless true that when it comes to foreign policy both parties are absolute fucking ghouls.  That's a feature, not a bug, but it's not ok, and it should change.  I understand why it probably won't, but to pretend that it doesn't enter into the equation of complaining about the Dem leaders that we've had is a head-in-sand move.

Even the people we have that are better on this issue, like say Sanders, still end up pushing for defense contracts in their home states and voting for defense spending bills without making much of a fuss, and when they do it's usually some bs Rand Paul style theatrics.  

I'll drop the neoliberal related chatter but I would like to emphasize that most of it that I have heard coming from the left (which may well not be representative of anything) is usually focused around imperialist tendencies and economic subjugation of the global south.  

[DMC]

10 minutes ago, GrimTuesday said:

You don't even have to change the rules, it's is a tradition. There is nowhere in the Senate rules that the Pro tem is determined by seniority.

Right, I shouldn't have said rules.  Point is they're not gonna change that tradition.  And really other than the succession there's no point to anyway.

3 minutes ago, larrytheimp said:

I'll drop the neoliberal related chatter but I would like to emphasize that most of it that I have heard coming from the left (which may well not be representative of anything) is usually focused around imperialist tendencies and economic subjugation of the global south.

Yeah, like I said, in that frame I tend to agree with the "neoliberal" criticism.  But that's a lot different than the context in which it was raised here.