The Political Junkie Thread

[CrazyNotCrazie]

Great column in the NYT today by David French about how Biden is handling foreign policy (sorry - I know it is paywalled). French is a lifelong Republican whose politics I generally do not agree with, but he is also very strongly anti-Trump and his columns give a great look under the hood of the Republican mindset in a pretty fairminded way. This column strongly endorses how Biden has been handling things in a very difficult situation. These days, it is a very rare Republican (or Democrat, for that matter) who will say something positive about what the other side is doing.

I generally focus a lot more on domestic policy than foreign but as a Jew with children of close friends in the Israeli military, I am much more engaged at the moment.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/29/opin ... -2024.html

[CameronBornAndBred]

I could read a novel's worth of ideas from Senator Josh Hawley that I think are vile, but I do agree with him on his stance on campaign finance. In fact most Democrats do. Mitch McConnell however thinks that limiting corporate influence (money) to outside groups (PACs) is a terrible idea, and is telling his GOP underlings that they better not support Hawley's Ending Corporate Influence on Elections Act, or else.

According to multiple sources familiar with the Tuesday lunch meeting, McConnell warned GOP senators that they could face “incoming” from the “center-right” if they signed onto Hawley’s bill.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/31/politics ... index.html

[CrazyNotCrazie]

I could read a novel's worth of ideas from Senator Josh Hawley that I think are vile, but I do agree with him on his stance on campaign finance. In fact most Democrats do. Mitch McConnell however thinks that limiting corporate influence (money) to outside groups (PACs) is a terrible idea, and is telling his GOP underlings that they better not support Hawley's Ending Corporate Influence on Elections Act, or else.

According to multiple sources familiar with the Tuesday lunch meeting, McConnell warned GOP senators that they could face “incoming” from the “center-right” if they signed onto Hawley’s bill.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/31/politics ... index.html

I wish McConnell would invest the energy in making America a better place that he does into showing how he can be the most powerful Republican in the Senate. Like all Republicans, it is all a game to him, but he really seems to particularly get off on this. I will never forgive him for what he did with the Supreme Court seat.

[Phredd3]

I wish McConnell would invest the energy in making America a better place that he does into showing how he can be the most powerful Republican in the Senate. Like all Republicans, it is all a game to him, but he really seems to particularly get off on this. I will never forgive him for what he did with the Supreme Court seat.

I keep mentally going back to that and wonder what would have happened if Obama had just announced that if Garland didn't get a vote by a certain date, he will assume the Senate agrees and just install him on the Court anyway. That was never going to happen, and Garland might not even have accepted the post under those conditions, but I sometimes wonder what if.

In short, yes, that was completely unforgivable.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Liar extraordinaire has basically a week to clean out his office.

More than 60 lawmakers who previously voted against expelling Santos reportedly now plan to support ousting him when a bill comes to the floor after the House returns next Tuesday from its Turkey Day break, Politico reported, citing its own count.

Nearly 40 of those who flipped against Santos in recent days are Republicans, raising to about 60 the number of GOP lawmakers who have said they will now support his expulsion, the news site said.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/embattled-ny ... 00804.html

[CrazyNotCrazie]

Liar extraordinaire has basically a week to clean out his office.

More than 60 lawmakers who previously voted against expelling Santos reportedly now plan to support ousting him when a bill comes to the floor after the House returns next Tuesday from its Turkey Day break, Politico reported, citing its own count.

Nearly 40 of those who flipped against Santos in recent days are Republicans, raising to about 60 the number of GOP lawmakers who have said they will now support his expulsion, the news site said.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/embattled-ny ... 00804.html

I believe that if he gets the boot, there is a special election. Tom Suozzi is planning to run. He is a moderate Democrat who previously represented what was basically this district (it was redrawn but was very similar). For some reason he gave up his House seat to run for governor with almost no chance of winning, which is how we ended up with Santos. But Suozzi is quite popular, so there is a good chance this seat would get flipped. Which is why the Republicans were very hesitant to do anything about Santos.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Bye George.

It should not have taken the third time to be the charm.

[CrazyNotCrazie]

Bye George.

It should not have taken the third time to be the charm.

Sayonora, Santos. What a miserable human being. I see a future of him being on C-list reality shows. Now hopefully the Dems can win the seat. I'm glad that at least a few Republicans used their brains.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Bye George.

It should not have taken the third time to be the charm.

Sayonora, Santos. What a miserable human being. I see a future of him being on C-list reality shows. Now hopefully the Dems can win the seat. I'm glad that at least a few Republicans used their brains.

After prison, perhaps. He's definitely getting incarcerated.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Kevin McCarthy has had enough.

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is resigning from Congress and will leave at the end of this year, he announced in a Wall Street Journal op-ed on Wednesday — a highly anticipated decision that comes two months after his unprecedented ouster from the speakership.

It's all part of your own doing, dude...you helped bring this culture to America.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/06/politics ... index.html

[Phredd3]

Kevin McCarthy has had enough.

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is resigning from Congress and will leave at the end of this year, he announced in a Wall Street Journal op-ed on Wednesday — a highly anticipated decision that comes two months after his unprecedented ouster from the speakership.

It's all part of your own doing, dude...you helped bring this culture to America.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/06/politics ... index.html

So, he felt unwelcomed by his own party. No matter how much they do it to other people, they always seems to be surprised when when it happens to them. Bye, Kev.

[OPK]

Kevin McCarthy has had enough.

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is resigning from Congress and will leave at the end of this year, he announced in a Wall Street Journal op-ed on Wednesday — a highly anticipated decision that comes two months after his unprecedented ouster from the speakership.

It's all part of your own doing, dude...you helped bring this culture to America.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/06/politics ... index.html

So, he felt unwelcomed by his own party. No matter how much they do it to other people, they always seems to be surprised when when it happens to them. Bye, Kev.

A prophet is never loved in his own country. Or something like that.

[OPK]

Watching the GOP debate. I really wish that Chris Christie would just tell Vivek Ramaswami to go fuck himself, and get it out of his system.

Signed, a grateful Narion.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Not only big news for New Yorkers, but consequential for the country.

New York’s highest court on Tuesday ordered the state to redraw its congressional maps, handing Democrats a major win as they seek to flip a key number of Republican-held seats in the upcoming 2024 election.

By a 4-3 vote, the court ordered the state to once again restart the mapmaking process. New York’s 26 congressional districts now will ultimately be shaped by the Democratic-controlled state legislature.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/12/politics ... index.html

[CrazyNotCrazie]

Not only big news for New Yorkers, but consequential for the country.

New York’s highest court on Tuesday ordered the state to redraw its congressional maps, handing Democrats a major win as they seek to flip a key number of Republican-held seats in the upcoming 2024 election.

By a 4-3 vote, the court ordered the state to once again restart the mapmaking process. New York’s 26 congressional districts now will ultimately be shaped by the Democratic-controlled state legislature.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/12/politics ... index.html

I hate gerrymandering but the Dems have to stop bringing a knife to a gun fight - fight fire with fire. It is a real shame that it keeps changing as there was a lot of drama in 2022 with how the districts were drawn where incumbents ended up with big overlaps (this happened in my district). I wish they could draw Stefanik's district to get rid of her - I'd almost be willing to settle for 1-2 fewer D districts just to get rid of her.

[Phredd3]

I hate gerrymandering but the Dems have to stop bringing a knife to a gun fight - fight fire with fire. It is a real shame that it keeps changing as there was a lot of drama in 2022 with how the districts were drawn where incumbents ended up with big overlaps (this happened in my district). I wish they could draw Stefanik's district to get rid of her - I'd almost be willing to settle for 1-2 fewer D districts just to get rid of her.

As much as I understand where this sentiment is coming from, if Democrats agree to shamelessly gerrymander districts, then we've already lost democracy. Gerrymandering must be off the table as a weapon. You cannot get the populace to agree to accept the fairness of elections if you aren't willing to hold fair elections - even when your opponent cheats. If you cannot hold the high ground, you end up holding no ground at all.

[CameronBornAndBred]

I've got a couple right wing friends that live in Colorado that are raising serious hell tonight.

[ArkieDukie]

I totally saw this coming. Thanks for shirking your duty, Supreme Court. https://apple.news/A7pYz-rCjQWukkrbYaot5TA[/url]

[CameronBornAndBred]

I totally saw this coming. Thanks for shirking your duty, Supreme Court. https://apple.news/A7pYz-rCjQWukkrbYaot5TA[/url]

That was why he argued against it, of course. Like you said, easy to see. His appeal says that if it's denied, he'll need up to three months to appeal the lower court decision. How shocking.

[CameronBornAndBred]

How lovely. I loathe gerrymandering, no matter which side does it.

House Democrats fighting to flip control of the chamber next year will first have to overcome an expected bloodbath in North Carolina, where Republicans have secured a new map all but guaranteeing a red wave in November.

GOP lawmakers in the state legislature approved a redistricting plan in October that sets the stage for Republicans to pick up at least three seats, and maybe four, in the 14-member delegation — a tally that, by itself, would double the GOP’s slender House majority on Capitol Hill.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/democrats-fe ... 00044.html