US Politics: 2 Fash 2 Impeach

[Fez]

So the Supreme Court finally temporarily halted an execution last night, rather than continuing to let every one go through no matter what. The reason? Alabama would not let the inmate's pastor be present in the room during the execution; and SCOTUS decided that was a violation of religious liberty.

You'd think this would be a 9-0 decision, considering how obsessed the conservatives are with religious liberty and how opposed in principle the 3 liberals are to the death penalty at all. You'd be wrong.

This kind of order doesn't require justices to reveal how they voted, and Gorsuch and Alito didn't. But of the other 7, Thomas, Roberts, and Kavanugh were all with fine the execution going ahead, and it was Barrett and the 3 liberals who voted to block it (plus at least 1 of Gorsuch or Alito to make a majority). Goes to show how little some of them actually care about religious liberty when it doesn't meet their needs (though, conversely, also shows that Kavanugh might not care about overturning Roe v. Wade either, if he thinks its bad politics), and it also shows at least a little bit of principle coming from Barrett. 

[IheartIheartTesla]

If Barrett is as devout a Catholic as they say she is, then as per the church's teachings and the Pope's most recent encyclical(?), she should be unfavorably inclined towards the death penalty. Then again, I can never figure when the justices use their religious leanings to justify their position and when not.

[Mindwalker]

Bingo! Vengeance!

[Mindwalker]

17 hours ago, Mindwalker said:

BS Defense Bingo:

-overheated rhetoric

- he held so many insane speeches where no violence occrred, see?! BINGO

As Cruz and Graham are involved:

- ridiculous witch hunt

- you're afraid of him

OK, I'm only half-listening, but...

19 hours ago, Mindwalker said:

taken out of context

free speech

vengeance BINGO

passionate speaker

private citizen

 

18 hours ago, Mindwalker said:

- Maxine Waters

- slippery slope

- unconstitutional BINGO

OMG, constitutional cancel culture! I don't think I can watch this shit.

UNITY! Healing!

 

In other news, The Lincoln Project has a bit of trouble.

https://apnews.com/article/john-weaver-lincoln-project-crisis-b14be5f06588b8f1d78125d4141394cb

The financial stuff is interesting:

Since its creation, the Lincoln Project has raised $90 million. But only about a third of the money, roughly $27 million, directly paid for advertisements that aired on broadcast and cable, or appeared online, during the 2020 campaign, according to an analysis of campaign finance disclosures and data from the ad tracking firm Kantar/CMAG.

That leaves tens of millions of dollars that went toward expenses like production costs, overhead — and exorbitant consulting fees collected by members of the group.

“It raises questions about where the rest of the money ultimately went,” said Brendan Fischer, an attorney with the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center in Washington. “Generally speaking, you’d expect to see a major super PAC spend a majority or more of their money on advertisements and that’s not what happened here.”

The vast majority of the cash was split among consulting firms controlled by its founders, including about $27 million paid to a small firm controlled by Galen and another $21 million paid to a boutique firm run by former Lincoln Project member Ron Steslow, campaign finance disclosures show.

But in many cases it’s difficult to tell how much members of the group were paid. That’s because the Lincoln Project adopted a strategy, much like the Trump campaign they criticized, to mask how much money they earned.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/lincoln-project-accuses-co-founder-jennifer-horn-of-making-large-demands-before-resignation/ar-BB1drWOp

[Maithanet]

Could the Democrats just decide to make the impeachment vote a secret ballot?  Because if it were, I think Trump would be removed and barred.  Republicans are too cowardly to cross him publicly, but plenty of them loathe Trump personally and would be happy to never have to worry about him running for President again.  Hell, you'd get halfway to conviction just from the guys planning to run for president in 2024. 

[Mindwalker]

OMG, how many metaphorical "fights" by Dems will they show to "prove" that the former president's speech was metaphorical, too?! Of course, it will be enough for the Fox viewer (bet they show this day and this video), and enough cover for the senators. to justify acquittal.

[Zorral]

49 minutes ago, Mindwalker said:

I don't think I can watch this shit.

I can't, that's for sure (I tried, but utter nincompoopery incompetence in defense service of evil, toxic, insurrectionist, seditious, intent to murder, torture people and take out the government, I haven't the stomach -- not getting paid for it either).  But unlike the rethugs who collaborated and colluded with the 01/06 Sedition, who refuse to even listen to the testimony, I do check in via cnn, etc. 

[Mindwalker]

And I love how Republicans are now not only sure that Covid exists, no, they know it's urgent and so much more important than this silly impeachment! Stimulus checks!

 

Partisan railroad job, my ass.

Unity!

[IheartIheartTesla]

The Senate CAN vote in secret, but under the current rules it requires a public display of votes from each senator. To change the rules, you'd need....a 2/3 majority unless the nuclear option is applied.

[Maithanet]

2 minutes ago, IheartIheartTesla said:

The Senate CAN vote in secret, but under the current rules it requires a public display of votes from each senator. To change the rules, you'd need....a 2/3 majority unless the nuclear option is applied.

Yeah I read a bit more about it, and it doesn't sound like there's any way to do a secret ballot without getting 2/3rds of senators on record for it, which would be just as bad (politically) as voting to convict Trump anyway. 

The Senate rules are so stupid.

[Maithanet]

Are GOP senators actually this stupid?  Do they actually think that by publicly voting that Trump should face no consequences one month after the 1/6 coup attempt that voters will assuredly punish Trump 3.5 years later? 

[Prince of the North]

@Maithanet Yes, I think they are.  Wasn't it Collins who said she thought Trump "learned his lesson" after the first impeachment?

ETA: And this Van der Veen is laying it on quite thick!  Weren't they just saying that this whole thing is unconstitutional?  Now he's saying just how constitutional it is and using it as a defense  

[Lollygag]

Nikki Haley jumps first on the latest bandwagon to come along hoping in being first, she'll gain a lead role in the party. The second she realizes that didn't result, she gets ready to jump the next bandwagon, nevermind it's trumpeting the exact opposite message. You'll get whiplash if you take anything she says seriously anymore.

Here's a good breakdown of just some of that.

https://www.mediaite.com/news/watch-nikki-haley-says-she-never-thought-trump-was-dangerous-except-she-said-that-during-2016-campaign/

[Fez]

 

32 minutes ago, IheartIheartTesla said:

The Senate CAN vote in secret, but under the current rules it requires a public display of votes from each senator. To change the rules, you'd need....a 2/3 majority unless the nuclear option is applied.

That's not quite right. The rules do say votes shall be public; but they are only actually public if one senator insists and at least 1/5th of the chamber of the chamber agrees (and when this doesn't happen, it's how we get voice votes for uncontroversial nominees). So if 31 Republicans wanted a secret ballot, and Democrats agreed, it'd happen.

ETA: In other words, if Republicans wanted a secret ballot to be able to vote more freely, there's a way to do it without getting into a fight over the rules (which would also then affect other votes for the rest of the session).

[Zorral]

20 minutes ago, Lollygag said:

You'll get whiplash if you take anything she says seriously anymore.

Who ever took anything she said seriously?  Or, maybe more to the point, said anything worth paying attention to, beyond the rethugs who went, oooooo female to put up against woke Dems and get the women's vote.

[Lollygag]

Just now, Zorral said:

Who ever took anything she said seriously?  Or, maybe more to the point, said anything worth paying attention to, beyond the rethugs who went, oooooo female to put up against woke Dems and get the women's vote.

She was seen as a strong future candidate and one of the adults in the room in the Trump admin with her UN post and was among the few who managed to leave the Trump admin ~relatively~ unscathed. And then she thoroughly destroyed that.

[DanteGabriel]

I think I've figured out why Ted Cruz grew a beard. Eunuchs can't grow them, so that's the only evidence we have that his balls aren't sitting in a glass jar somewhere in Mar a Lago.

 

[Lollygag]

Just now, DanteGabriel said:

I think I've figured out why Ted Cruz grew a beard. Eunuchs can't grow them, so that's the only evidence we have that his balls aren't sitting in a glass jar somewhere in Mar a Lago.

 

I thought it was because people kept calling him Count Chocula?

[Morpheus]

 

[Zorral]

9 minutes ago, Lollygag said:

She was seen as a strong future candidate and one of the adults in the room in the Trump admin with her UN post and was among the few who managed to leave the Trump admin ~relatively~ unscathed. And then she thoroughly destroyed that.

Why anybody thought that is hard to understand, considering her actions and her words.