January 19, 20224 yr 20 minutes ago, hukdonfoniks said: But isn't this entire clusterF of a situation happening now particularly because two senators are bucking the party? At the very least they have the ability to be situationally moderate. There's less than a handful of Senators on either side who are willing to face the ire of their parties to vote their conscious. Romney, Murkowski, Manchin, Sinema. Probably some others, but that's the core I think of. All of those mentioned also have a voting base that's somewhat out of step with the national base of their respective parties. Utah Republicans are a different breed from most elsewhere, and far less Trumpy. Murkowski actually won in a write-in campaign and is uniquely popular. Manchin is an old Dem in a Red state, bucking the main Democratic party is probably a plus for him. Sinema's is probably the most tenuous, but Arizona still has a history of "maverick" Senators with an independent streak (McCain, Goldwater) and if she survives the Dem primary I think she'll be in a strong position to win re-election in 2024. Virtually every other Senator on the right is scared crapless of getting primaried if they question "the big lie" or work with the Democrats on meaningful legislation. I was very happy to see some Republicans break with their party on infrastructure (historically fairly popular), but even among those who crossed the aisle there are various reasons they could be "politically courageous": Roy Blunt, Richard Burr, and Rob Portman are retiring; Romney and Murkowski I already mentioned. I like Bill Cassidy in general, he's actually been a pretty straight shooter and seems to not want to countenance Trump's BS. In any case, the partisanship here is a pretty big deal. I would have liked to see the framework Manchin released and Stacy Abrams quickly endorsed get more traction. But politicians are variously duplicitous or idiots. I'm over expecting more. Stepping back, I'm not unhappy with how 2021 went politically. Trump is gone. Virus Vaccine rollout went as well as possible; within whatever Biden could do as president to help combat COVID he did. Unfortunately the mutations are out of his (or anyone's) control. He'll still get the heat but whatever, I'll worry about Biden when I know who's running in 2024. BBB is more or less DOA. I'd like to see voting rights prioritized, and specifically some pushback against the right operating at the state and local level to control who counts the votes, which is the most important thing people are missing here. I would like to see the EC bill that prevents the ambiguity the Eastman memo was trying to drive the Trump campaign bus through that EVERYBODY seems to support but nobody is passing actually passed. Delta and Omicron suck. But the media teeth gnashing aside, every nation is having to deal with this - we're no exception (we're actually worse off, but not because of anything Biden did or didn't do). Inflation is also up everywhere, but I believe it's going to get under control sooner than later (the Fed will make sure of that, even if it's painful).
January 20, 20224 yr Manchin really stood up there with a poster that read "The United States Senate has NEVER been able to end debate with a simple majority." Um.... Quote Concerns over delaying tactics in the Senate are not new. A congressional rulebook written in 1801 by Thomas Jefferson expanded on the use of the "previous question” (or PQ) motion, which forced a decision on a Senate vote, with the support of a simple majority. But in 1806, the Senate eliminated its PQ motion as part of a rules consolidation suggested by Aaron Burr, and within a generation, prolonged debates were used more often to delay or kill legislation in the Senate without a way to stop them. By the 1850s, the tactic had acquired a nickname, the "filibuster,” a word then associated with illegal pirating expeditions. https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/the-previous-question-the-filibusters-early-murky-history
January 20, 20224 yr This will be a fun thread to bump in a few years when Senator Majority leader Mitch McConnel gets rid of the filibuster.
January 20, 20224 yr Author 25 minutes ago, EaglesRocker97 said: Republicans be like... Huh? Don’t they hate Mitch these days?
January 20, 20224 yr 5 minutes ago, DrPhilly said: Huh? Don’t they hate Mitch these days? I doubt it, he's protecting the filibuster and stopped saying mean things about Dear Leader.
January 20, 20224 yr Author 14 minutes ago, EaglesRocker97 said: I doubt it, he's protecting the filibuster and stopped saying mean things about Dear Leader. Meh, he doesn’t control the Filibuster. Manchin and Sinema do that.
January 20, 20224 yr Author 3 minutes ago, Toty said: Hey, Doctor Rutabega My favorite game is developed by a joint here: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Hertig+Johans+gata+6,+541+30+Skövde,+Sweden/@59.8451189,10.5303794,5.42z/data=!4m13!1m7!3m6!1s0x465b0230aea89091:0xe475377b0da6b169!2sHertig+Johans+gata+6,+541+30+Skövde,+Sweden!3b1!8m2!3d58.3896119!4d13.8489306!3m4!1s0x465b0230aea89091:0xe475377b0da6b169!8m2!3d58.3896119!4d13.8489306 seems like a cool place Goat Simulator?
January 20, 20224 yr 38 minutes ago, DrPhilly said: Meh, he doesn’t control the Filibuster. Manchin and Sinema do that. Mitch is doing his part. Republicans just re-elected this guy by a landslide. They might talk tough, but the reality is that they just can't get off the turtledick.
January 20, 20224 yr Author 3 minutes ago, Toty said: best I can do until they bring backpage back I've been in that town exactly one time. That might be enough. edit: Oops, quick search turns these two up in that town. Might not be all that bad after all. Goat Simulator and these two. What could go wrong?
January 20, 20224 yr 1 hour ago, DrPhilly said: Meh, he doesn’t control the Filibuster. Manchin and Sinema do that. Can the VP actually vote in eliminating the filibuster? If it's 50/50 on sitting senators, a VP can vote the change rules of the senate to break a tie? (I assume so given all the discussion, but it seems a bit weird)
January 20, 20224 yr Author 2 minutes ago, JohnSnowsHair said: Can the VP actually vote in eliminating the filibuster? If it's 50/50 on sitting senators, a VP can vote the change rules of the senate to break a tie? (I assume so given all the discussion, but it seems a bit weird) That's my understanding yeah.
January 20, 20224 yr 12 minutes ago, JohnSnowsHair said: Can the VP actually vote in eliminating the filibuster? If it's 50/50 on sitting senators, a VP can vote the change rules of the senate to break a tie? (I assume so given all the discussion, but it seems a bit weird) Yes, the specific wording on that clause is "The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided." So, read that as "The V.P. shall break all ties in the Senate"
January 20, 20224 yr 51 minutes ago, Toty said: I just realized the Scandinavian peninsula looks like a ball sack
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