US Politics: Be Careful Out There

[Phylum of Alexandria]

13 minutes ago, Gaston de Foix said:

This claim feels very much like a *private* claim made to be leaked to the press.  Smart to do it like that. 

I guess, but unless Ron actually finds the nerve to stand up to Trump openly and confidently, he'll easily be painted as a Beta. Maybe he'll finally do so once he announces his candidacy, but I'll believe it when I see it.

[Varysblackfyre321]

1 hour ago, Phylum of Alexandria said:

I guess, but unless Ron actually finds the nerve to stand up to Trump openly and confidently, he'll easily be painted as a Beta. Maybe he'll finally do so once he announces his candidacy, but I'll believe it when I see it.

All trump has to do is call Ron a meatball and say he can beat him up because he’s shorter and has a squeaky voice during a debate for his presidential run to be over.

[Larry of the Lawn]

5 minutes ago, Varysblackfyre321 said:

All trump has to do is call Ron a meatball and say he can beat him up because he’s shorter and has a squeaky voice during a debate for his presidential run to be over.

100%.  Would go like this:

 

[Varysblackfyre321]

1 minute ago, Larry of the Lake said:

100%.  Would go like this:

 

Trump: Blue? Like a blue haired Liberal!

Ron: runs away in tears. 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

4 hours ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

I’m seeing people opposing Feinstein resigning because they say the Republicans can block judicial appointments by refusing to seat a New Democratic Party member on the Judiciary committee.  When a Democratic interim Senator is appointed by Newsome the Democratic Caucus retains the Majority in the Senate… can’t they just use that majority position to force the minority to accept a new member on the Judiciary committee?

Can the Republicans filibuster the seating of a new Senator on the Judiciary committee?

@DMC @Tywin et al. 

DMC laid out the technical parts. I'd bet Republicans would try to fuck over the Democrats, but who knows until it happens. 

However, once again, this is why these old folks need to retire. Feinstein hasn't been functional in years. She's like a decade past wondering if we need to take the keys from grandma.

[Phylum of Alexandria]

1 hour ago, Varysblackfyre321 said:

All trump has to do is call Ron a meatball and say he can beat him up because he’s shorter and has a squeaky voice during a debate for his presidential run to be over.

Yeah, my agnosticism is mostly a formality given that he hasn't started his run, but it seems pretty clear that he doesn't have the nerve to really stand up to Trump. Same with all other GOP candidates. 

[DMC]

45 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

I'd bet Republicans would try to fuck over the Democrats, but who knows until it happens. 

Well, at least some of them would try, most certainly.  But I feel like it should be emphasized that it wasn't just Graham - a number of more institutionalist GOP Senators emphasized it'd be a different matter if Feinstein resigned:

Quote

If Feinstein resigns, that is a “whole different scenario which happens around here with some frequency,” said Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), the Senate minority whip.

Thune suggested Democrats are “using this because they want to put pressure on her to resign, and they think this gives them a sort of lever.”

“I think that would be [more uncontroversial] if there was a vacancy and we were talking about all of Sen. Feinstein’s duties,” said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.).

“That would be a different set of circumstances … not on a temporary basis,” said Cornyn.

It'd, of course, be self-interest as well.  Not like it's not obviously foreseeable that Republicans will eventually have a vacancy and want Dems to approve their replacement.

[DMC]

On top of DeSantis, Tim Scott officially filed paperwork to run today and will have an announcement event on Monday.  Interesting he apparently wants to step on DeSantis' toes.

[Martell Spy]

FBI misused surveillance authorities to investigate Black Lives Matter protesters
Declassified reports show the FBI also exceeded surveillance powers investigating donors to a congressional campaign and the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/05/19/fbi-surveillance-black-lives-matter-protesters-00097924

Quote

 

The FBI used a controversial foreign surveillance authority in 2020 to investigate whether protesters involved in the Black Lives Matter movement had ties to terrorists, according to two reports declassified Friday.

The revelation that the FBI used these authorities comes amid a tough debate on Capitol Hill on whether to reauthorize the surveillance tool — Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act — before it expires at the end of the year, and is likely to make the push for renewal more difficult.

According to a newly declassified memorandum order from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, issued more than a year ago, the FBI ran a “batch query” related to 133 individuals “arrested in connection with civil unrest and protests” between May 30 and June 18 of 2020.

The analysts ran these names through information gathered using authorities from Section 702, which allows the intelligence community to surveil electronic communications by foreign individuals located outside the United States for national security purposes. But the data collected also includes information about Americans on the other end of emails or other communications.

 

 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

29 minutes ago, DMC said:

Well, at least some of them would try, most certainly.  But I feel like it should be emphasized that it wasn't just Graham - a number of more institutionalist GOP Senators emphasized it'd be a different matter if Feinstein resigned:

It'd, of course, be self-interest as well.  Not like it's not obviously foreseeable that Republicans will eventually have a vacancy and want Dems to approve their replacement.

Idk man, that feels like Lucy holding the football.