US Politics: Speaking to Insanity

[Mindwalker]

5 hours ago, BBB Jacelyn said:

Honestly, watching that all go down. I can't help but believe that better Dem leadership could have helped McCarthy. Step up, help him. He isn't insane, don't make him capitulate to insane people.

I know he is not unguilty. I don't know what kind of terms could have been struck. But I know that that's what I would have done. I wouldn't have called him as an opportunist, just a lifeline. 

 

I was actually afraid the Dems would help either McCarthy or another Republican because, y'know, bipartisanship! Why would they? McCarthy has actually created this "wing".

For some reason, corporate media framed this as "the sane people vs crazies/ insurrectionists." They're pretty much all insurrectionists, promoters of the Big Lie, and their agenda would have been extremist anyway. You could see in their speeches they all promised the same thing: slash budgets/ social programs, close the border, more taxcuts for the rich etc. Communist party of China yadda yadda. Or just own the libs anyway. Their last platform was Donald Trump, nothing more.

Gaetz et al just made it official. He was already back to huddling with Marge after the final vote.

[Jaxom 1974]

Query: on the whole recall aspect that McCarthy agreed to, that's a function of the majority only? Democrats cannot call for a vote of no confidence, correct? Just making sure I understand it. 

 

 

 

 

[Zorral]

12 hours ago, Mindwalker said:

Santos is becoming best buddies with Marge Greene.

The next Carrie Bradshaw - Stanford Blatch pairing! 

[A Horse Named Stranger]

25 minutes ago, Zorral said:

The next Carrie Bradshaw - Stanford Blatch pairing! 

Don't drag Mozzie into this.

[Zorral]

5 minutes ago, A Horse Named Stranger said:

Don't drag Mozzie into this.

A different person and nobody's booth bitch. Ha!

[maarsen]

8 hours ago, DMC said:

It seems as if a lot of you are under the impression the concessions McCarthy made will hurt Democrats - or will possibly hurt the ability for the House to pass things. 

This is not true.  All they do is weaken McCarthy.  They certainly do not hurt the Democrats.  And as for hurting McCarthy when any major legislative battle arises, that was always an inevitability.  I'm not saying anyone should be celebrating.  But nothing's changed here.  This was all theater, pure and simple.

I think the proper quote  for all this is from Napoleon Bonaparte who said "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake."

[LongRider]

Looks like a good time is happened in the House last night.

 

[James Arryn]

8 hours ago, DMC said:

It seems as if a lot of you are under the impression the concessions McCarthy made will hurt Democrats - or will possibly hurt the ability for the House to pass things. 

This is not true.  All they do is weaken McCarthy.  They certainly do not hurt the Democrats.  And as for hurting McCarthy when any major legislative battle arises, that was always an inevitability.  I'm not saying anyone should be celebrating.  But nothing's changed here.  This was all theater, pure and simple.

In and of itself, probably. But we should keep in mind that to the ‘a Republic, not a Democracy/all government is bad’ contingent of the GOP, turning government into a public dysfunctional circus is a feature, not a bug. I would be VERY surprised if, in time, those types don’t try and spin this into ‘look, whole days where the car wouldn’t even start and the world didn’t end’. It was absolutely pure theatre, but while political theatre itself has never hurt anyone, the degree to which it is seen to constitute the bulk of what the government does plays into the hands of those who aren’t interested in protecting and sustaining democracy. Like, at all. 
 

The length of the American election cycle already produces politicians who do a lot more campaigning than governing, and now this new Trumpism of declaring any loss a fraud is going to make that even more true. In that respect it’s possible that the MAGA brand of open cynical self-service and wave making for attention is the future, and that’s especially troubling because those people have no investment in the democratic process, or indeed governing beyond settling scores and as a campaign tool.

But like the standard right-wing policy of systemically underfunding the system and then using the effects of that underfunding to point out how useless the system is, it’s kind of a win-win scenario for the very worst actors at the expense of the people they are supposed to serve. 

[Mindwalker]

54 minutes ago, LongRider said:

Looks like a good time is happened in the House last night.

 

I also think that during the final vote, at least one house member had his son sitting right beside him. Looked about 14 ys old. Great spectacle for all I guess.

ETA: I rarely watched SATC, so the references are lost to me!

[LongRider]

2 minutes ago, Mindwalker said:

I also think that during the final vote, at least one house member had his son sitting right beside him. Looked about 14 ys old. Great spectacle for all I guess.

I also saw a CSPAN clip of this and saw 2 younger children just down a few rows from Geatz.  

[Paladin of Ice]

DeSantis named Chris Rufo, aka the guy from the Manhattan Institute who created the furor over Critical Race Theory by knowingly lying about it and then started accusing teachers of being molesters (you can see some of his greatest hits here, here, and here), to the board of a public college in Florida. The others named at the same time include high ranking alums of The Heritage Foundation, Hillsdale College, the Claremount Institute (one of whom authored such charming books as 2008's The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future (Or, Don't Trust Anyone Under 30) and the sequel The Dumbest Generation Grows Up: From Stupefied Youth To Dangerous Adults), a member of the 1776 commission that called for more "Patriotic Education" in response to the 1619 Project, and the Founder/Superintendent of a private Christian Middle/High School.

Article Link

Quote

Gov. Ron DeSantis began the process Friday of transforming Sarasota's New College of Florida into a more conservative institution, appointing six new board members, including conservative activist Christopher Rufo, a dean at conservative Hillsdale College and a senior fellow at The Claremont Institute, a right-wing think tank.

"It is our hope that New College of Florida will become Florida's classical college, more along the lines of a Hillsdale of the south," Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz said in a statement.

The shakeup of the 13-member board is certain to create major tensions at New College, an institution that started as a progressive private school before becoming the state's liberal arts honors college. The small school's student body and faculty have a reputation for leaning left politically.

Turning New College into a Florida version of Hillsdale would amount to flipping it upside down, a wholesale reinvention akin to a hostile takeover, and one that many current students and faculty are likely to resist.

...

Rufo is known for his activism on transgender and racial issues, making him a leader in the new wave of conservative culture wars. He joined DeSantis when the governor signed HB 1557, the Parental Rights in Education Act, which is derided by critics as the "Don't Say Gay" bill.

Rufo said in a series of Twitter posts Friday that public universities have "been corrupted by woke nihilism" and he is "ready to transform higher education from within." He said he plans to recruit new faculty to New College to "create an institution where academics can thrive, without self-censorship."

“My ambition is to help the new board majority transform New College into a classical liberal arts institution. We are recapturing higher education.” Rufo said.

Rufo recently applauded DeSantis on Twitter for requesting information on diversity, equity and inclusion and critical race theory at all Florida colleges and universities.

"Gov. DeSantis is going to lay siege to university 'diversity, equity, and inclusion' programs," Rufo wrote.

Among Rufo's goals for New College that he laid out in a tweet: Restructuring the administration, developing "a new core curriculum," eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion policies and restructuring academic departments.

Florida official release

Florida: Where fascism goes to rise.

[Zorral]

1 hour ago, maarsen said:

Napoleon Bonaparte who said "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake."

  Excellent! You win deze here innertubz today!

[Zorral]

37 minutes ago, Mindwalker said:

ETA: I rarely watched SATC, so the references are lost to me!

Mozzie was the great co-conspirator of White Collar's Neal Cafferty (played by Matt Bomer).

Carrie designated herself as the booth bitch of her several times jilted love interest at a woodworking/furniture trade show.  One of Carrie's many, many not fine moments, thanx to SATC's writers. 

[Paladin of Ice]

1 hour ago, maarsen said:

I think the proper quote  for all this is from Napoleon Bonaparte who said "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake."

It's certainly rude to interrupt.

[JGP]

1 hour ago, LongRider said:

Looks like a good time is happened in the House last night.

 

Dude's wig is egregious.  

 

This though, almost made me spit out my coffee...

 

 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

24 minutes ago, Paladin of Ice said:

Florida: Where fascism goes to rise.

A sunny place for shady people.

[A Horse Named Stranger]

I just wanted to point out to DMC, it wasn't me and I have nothing to do with this.

[James Arryn]

16 minutes ago, A Horse Named Stranger said:

I just wanted to point out to DMC, it wasn't me and I have nothing to do with this.

I try to look at DMC’s decision to move to Florida as a kind of political version of Dian Fossey. 

[ants]

11 hours ago, Jaxom 1974 said:

Query: on the whole recall aspect that McCarthy agreed to, that's a function of the majority only? Democrats cannot call for a vote of no confidence, correct? Just making sure I understand it. 

I’m also curious about this. 

[Jaxom 1974]