It’s time for President Biden to go on primetime national TV and give a speech from the Oval Office.
He has to excoriate the House Republicans for being terrorists, and wanting to destroy the government rather than doing their job of legislating. He should include the following points.
— The US is obligated to pay its debts. It’s the way we do business with ourselves and the world. Without trust, our economy will collapse.
— It’s clear these Republicans can’t be trusted. Many of them actively tried to illegally overturn an election.
— Most of this deficit was created under Trump with the Republican tax cut. They can raise taxes on those who benefited if they want to have an honest solution. Note that they never cared about overspending under any Republican administration.
— They seem to have learned their economic policies from how Trump ran his business — going bankrupt without regard to who it hurts, ruining trust, while blaming others.
— These people seem to have no idea how to legislate, and no interest in learning. They are advocating ridiculous positions that will hurt all Americans, such as getting rid of Social Security, Medicare, and healthcare.
— They are irrational, and impossible to deal with as they don’t seem to care about the consequences of their actions. They just want to get on TV and raise money.
— They are difficult to deal with because we don’t even know who they are. Some can’t even tell us where they worked or how they raised their money. Many are closely associated with white supremacy groups, the same groups that have been convicted of sedition.
— The country needs to tell these people that they swore an oath to the Constitution, not to chaos and secret wealthy donors.
Biden has to do this with a caring, firm tone. He has to start now, and keep hammering away at it so that the country knows who is creating this useless crisis.
I hope he doesn’t look too old and staggering while doing it.
Well that's it. If we default and go into an economic depression as result, the Republican party will be finished. The trick would be to make sure Fox Nws doesn't lie about it.
Didn't he do just that in last September's speech in front of Independence Hall? I recall the overwhelming reaction from the press was tsk-tsking about him setting the wrong tone and needing to be a uniter or some such nonsense. Probably best to let others do the dirty work.
I agree. Who is the messenger for this though? Former presidents? It seems every time a Republican dare speak out about the carnival of chaos, they are immediately shunned and disregarded by the base.
Right! I can’t think of anyone that can actually change the minds of the MAGAcolytes. It’s not a logic thing for them, it’s all base emotion and lack of understanding driving them. So many would have to confront and challenge what their own beliefs are for them to change. I just don’t see anyone cracking through the cognitive dissonance armor they choose to wear.
But there are the people who don’t usually pay attention until two weeks before an election. And there are an increasing number of folk, even on this site, who have given up on being Republican.
This message is desperately needed for traditional conservatives and the right leaning Indies. MAGAverse will never change. Swing voters, however, decide elections. They must be reached.
I don't think anyone can. Look at Liz Cheney. There is not one Republican that has her sterling conservative credentials. So committed to United States law that she sacrificed her career to tell the truth. Look how the Republicans treated her. They clearly have no conservative principles.
Actually most of the debt was created with all the stimulus spending during Covid-19. I'd love to blame this on Donald Trump's tax cut, but that wouldn't be accurate.
Good luck getting the American people to understand how the debt ceiling works.
Our national debt exploded under Trump before the pandemic took place. However, pandemic relief is a huge chunk of the debt. I don't blame anyone of either party for the costs of COVID relief - that's like Act of God emergency. It's just that this is the whole reason you don't multiply the debt in good times. Bad times are inevitable. https://www.propublica.org/article/national-debt-trump
Former FL Republican Congressman David Jolly (no longer a Republican) posted this recently: “Roughly 25% of our total national debt incurred over the last 230 years actually occurred during the 4 years of the Trump administration. That’s right. 25% of our entire national debt, all during the Trump years.”
The only people who would watch it are Democrats. Fox & Co. certainly wouldn’t carry it. The people who need to hear it won’t. And if they did, they wouldn’t believe it because it’s “fake news”. The Republican Party is now, officially, a cult.
I sincerely hope the circus does indeed turn off voters. But I know those captivated by the Fox News bubble will not change their colors. All they’ll say is democrats are worse, not matter how bad (R)s are, the (D)s will always represent something worse in their mind.
As long as that is our reality, the carnival of chaos caucus is here to remind us (daily apparently) why we can’t have nice things.
What needs to happen is something that will blow up in Tucker, et al faces. To him and Fox, this is seen as media gold, not as a threat. Right now, I can't think what.
And 2 (? - at my age, time is very nebulous) weeks ago, Rs were hyperventilating about people going to drag shows. Rs are against everything! unless it's an R caught doing it - theft, adultery, graft, bribery, treason, etc - then it's okay.
I’m counting on the Dominion and Smartmatic lawsuits for this. They are suing so many people for so much money that, if successful, they could teach the entire right-wing ecosystem a lesson. Also, it should be a deterrent to some of the crazy lies in the future.
I don’t see this happening in this case. The businesses have essentially been destroyed - would anyone buy a voting machine from them again? It seems like they want their good names cleared, so that means publicity.
"Former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, who just left his presidential perch at Purdue University, is expressing serious interest in running for the Senate. If he jumped in, it would set up a MAGA-vs.-establishment clash against Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), a Trump ally who announced his own candidacy Tuesday."
Rep. Victoria Spartz will probably also run and challenge Banks for the MAGA vote. I wasn't a huge fan of Gov. Daniels. He ran a very loose ship as Governor which led to a lot of the agency heads he appointed being involved in mismanagement and even corruption. But from a policy standpoint, I like Daniels a lot. He would be a better Senator than he was as Governor.
Would rather see “Ditch Mitch” Daniels as senator instead of Jim Banks. It’s the least of the two evils. With Mike Braun likely to win the governor’s race, things are going to be pretty ugly. I sure am glad my daughter has graduated from IU and our family has moved out of Indiana.
Mike Braun isn't a slam dunk to win the Governor's Office. Indiana is still a relatively close state during presidential years. The Indiana Ds need to get their act together though and that's probably not going to happen.
I went out to Indiana a for a job interview, thinking of relocating, and I had multiple friends be like "maybe buy a house in Michigan instead". Are things really that bad?
Well, speaking as someone who lived in Chicago, moved to NW Indiana and then back to Chicago…unless you are a republican, if you live in Indiana you have to be comfortable with the fact that you will have no representation. I used to express my concerns to Senator Braun who basically ignored me and other like minded people. Senator Young is a bit more reasonable. If Braun becomes Governor, all bets are off (the current republican governor is a normie, Braun is not).
I lived in two liberal leaning areas- Duneland Beach and Bloomington. That’s great for dealing with local issues. The problem is that you live in a small liberal area that is part of a big, ruby red state.
If your alternative is living in Michigan, I assume you are looking at jobs in NW Indiana. Let me know if I can answer any questions.
I liked Daniels too when he was talked about as a pres candidate in 2012. I don't know anything about his record as governor. Yes, better a policy deliberator than an executive.
Not that Trump cares, but apparently the Dobbs text was anonymously deposited. Politico has no idea who the leaker actually is. My guess is still on Sam Alito though.
I'm with EnderAK08 on it being Alito, with gorgeous Ginni as a back-up selection. She claims she and her hubby don't talk shop, which I can kinda sorta see: I wouldn't want to converse with either one of them.
Love you, Charlie, but Josh Krashuuer is a total hack. He’s basically just an anti-anti pretending to be a serious journalist. He’s a “Trump’s influence on the party is waning!”TM guy who was quick to pretend Desantis’s don’t say gay law was awkshally about not teaching six-year-olds how to 69.
Also, McCormick, for all of this credentials and initial nice things to say about Biden post-election, hired STEPHEN FUCKING MILLER to help run his campaign. That’s like claiming a Dem running for senator is normal despite having - solely to “sure up the base” - hired Louis Farrakhan as his or her campaign manager two years prior.
Since Kari Lake loves drag shows, and Santos loves getting dolled up and participating in drag shows, I think Lake Santos 2024 makes the most sense. It would be the most progressive presidential ticket ever: a woman and a drag queen, running on an anti-feminist anti-LGBT platform.
And hey, if y'all are looking for another editor ("eight-wing media," "trouble in parade"), I'm willing to chipp in.
This ruling will stand. It will not be appealed. No attorney, no matter where licensed, should be inclined to touch this with a dirty stick, except of course for that long-standing Supreme Court admittee, George Santos.
The Fair Tax thing is never going to be law, so let them hawk it. Let them vote on it, and let pass the house. And then, tell the American people that their their weekly grocery bill will go from $100 to $130. That the new phone they need for work will but hundreds of dollars more. That a new F150 will cost $10,000 more.
All of the Democrats voted against it though because they thought it was too onerous for working families and small business and senior citizens, but the Republicans thought this was the best way to fix the deficit.
I agree. I think this will be a great opportunity for the Damocrats to hone simple and powerful messages about for whom the Republicans are really working.
It's funny to watch Grover Norquist et. al bemoan an idea they've spent literally decades pushing. And if I'm not mistaken (though maybe I am), it would apply to rent and mortgages too. So everyone's gonna see a 23% cost-of-living increase across the board. At least everyone who has a mortgage or rent (the vast majority of people).
No way the Republicans would push it through clean. It'd exclude mortgages, and maybe food. They'd fuck over renters in a heart-beat though. Probably some other loopholes that would benefit the wealthy.
Yes, there's no way to pre-empt state-level taxation without a constitutional amendment. What's amazing about the National Sales Tax proposal is that it would raise less revenue than we currently are but hit the average American much harder.
Another amazing feature is it will hit the poor much harder than the rich. Sales taxes are regressive and that’s the appeal to the Reverse Robin Hood Republicans. They know their base is too ignorant to catch on.
It's 8+% here deep in the heart of Tex's Ass, depending on what your county's sales tax is. And that's on top of having one of the highest property tax rates in the nation. But if your property is agricultural, your taxes, relative to the rates us city slickers pay, is barely parking meter change.
Oh, don't need to tell me-- I live in NY, we have state income tax, state and local sales tax (9%), county tax, property tax, school tax... if it is not taxed, it has an added fee. The only thing not taxed is food (unprepared food) but other things have added sales tax (like liquor, car rentals, airline tickets, hotel rooms, tobacco... soon they will figure out how to tax marijuana.). We even have some cities with income tax (Yonkers, NYC etc.) and that also charge commuter taxes. We are well-versed in the ability for the state to extract -- and they are amazingly efficient at it.
The real number, if they still (pretended to) want to bring down the debt, will be higher than 30%. Also that’s just the consumer tax, which is at the end of the line, and since COGS are also +30% baseline products go up…to which the 30% + is then added. So I’m (uninformed finger to the wind) estimating we’re talking 50% price increases.
If there’s a slam dunk way to ensure an overnight depression, this is surely it. Although before that, we’ll have a Russia Circa 1917 style revolution when the masses discover that all inherited wealth will be untaxed while daily necessities will cost AT LEAST 50% more.
And before all that, we default and cost of borrowing shoots into the stratosphere making the deficit and HH debt balloon.
On the "Fair Tax" issue: Charlie correctly calls it a 30% sales tax here, but watch out--its supporters are calling it a 23% tax. That's because while 30 is 30 % of 100, it's only 23% of 130. Get it?! It's imperative that we not fall into the trap of calling it a 23% tax or letting media outlets get away with that misleading number. This is of course setting aside the rapid shift of wealth to the wealthy we would see.
I also think it's worth noting the Marge has said she wouldn't "sign," meaning support, I suppose, a clean debt ceiling bill. So the rules package that included single-issue only bills obviously already doesn't apply to things the GOP likes.
A lot of random people in support of this are gonna painfully discover their effective tax rate is nowhere near 23%, and if passed, that's exactly what it would hit.
"Of course, a clown with a flamethrower still has a flamethrower, but it’s going to be impossible for Americans not to notice the bright red noses and floppy shoes of McCarthy’s new crew."
My fear is that most Americans don't follow politics and won't see any of it for what it is. Unless and until a financial catastrophe results, will they be impacted? Even the most dedicated MAGAts don't like it when the clown show impacts them and their families - until then, they'll be perfectly happy to "own the libs" and give Biden what they think the rest of us gave their dear leader....
Call me an eternal pessi-optimist (TM) but enough people followed just enough politics so that Democrats kept the Senate.
And now we've got all these baying hyenas and thieving drag queens making it all the more obvious to even the most tuned-out taxpayer that maybe they should pay more attention to whom (?) they are paying.
But yeah, I am so sick of politics as entertainment. I echo Deutschmeister's disappointment in Democrats being delighted in the stupidity to come.
There is no reason to deprive the Democrats of their schadenfreude. There is little else they get considering they are always held to a double standard.
"The Biden White House is reportedly delighted by the [GOP] picks, seeing them as 'ideal figureheads for a White House eager to deride the opposition party as unhinged.' When McCarthy’s picks were announced, 'the president’s aides sent texts to one another with digital high fives and likened their apparent luck to drawing an inside straight. One White House ally called it a ‘political gift’.”
Therein lies the problem. As someone sitting in the middle, watching both sides blatantly put political gain over functioning governance, I'm distressed at the rejoicing over the possibility of self-inflicted MAGA damage that eventually might be leveraged (or might not) to the advantage of the Democrats, or to a lesser extent moderate Republicans -- as if those exist anymore beyond the ones who have retired or otherwise walked away from the sausage grinder. From where I sit, the optics are lousy in taking joy in MAGA appointments to key committees and gaining tangible power when, as a result, so much damage stands to be inflicted upon all of us (debt default, to start with, accompanied by a heaping dose of investigations instead of necessary work for us constituents) before any accountability can be had.
Is there any off ramp for the constant political battles that are grounded in "we win and you lose" instead of doing what is best for everyone and putting taxpaying citizens first? Or is there now some unwritten rule that all things must be seen and evaluated first through the lens of political victories or losses and only later, if at all, whether it actually is beneficial for anyone other than the politicians?
I get your frustration, but the reality is that Biden's administration has done more than any other administration in decades. It doesn't always seem like it, but they have been working for ALL Americans.
The delight they feel about the Crazy Caucus isn't as much about us versus them, it's about being able to retake the House, keep the Senate and the WH, and hopefully put a stake through the heart of trumpism once and for all.
Yes, the games the Republicans are going to play with the debt ceiling can cause disaster, but so can facism if it comes to power in greater numbers and across branches of government. We're dealing with a lot of issues. If they see optimism in the Crazy Caucus convincing voters that we need better, why not?
You are more optimistic than I am, beaten down by the reality of results. People on the right already have seen who the Crazy Caucus is, and they have voted to empower them anyway. If they wanted better, it would have happened already. I agree with you about Biden overall, but as long as the agenda on the right is grounded fully in "Own the Libs," instead of actually governing, there will never be a better result there, because they will only ever blame the Democrats for anything that goes wrong. I can't find the upside in any mindset that having MAGAists in key positions will turn out well for the rest of us later on. Didn't Democratic leadership also think it was great that Trump cleared the field in 2016 and paved the pathway for Hillary to win? They should have learned their lesson then about being careful what to wish for.
Amen. I don't know where these stories come from. Anonymous sources say anonymous aides say anonymous staffers are happy. That isn't news. That's barely rumor. But of course now the right-wing media has something to run with, and that's all that matters for Politico, whose job is manufacturing political rumors that keep people reading them.
A wise old uncle (he was 4 when I was born) once passed on this piece of wisdom (so he was about 14 at the time): "They say that 'they say' is a liar."
We can't win over the MAGAts - we can only defeat them, perhaps a little more with every election cycle. But the left of MAGA Republican and Independent voters are the ones we have to persuade, so I do think some of them are still persuadable, especially more so when they see nothing getting done and the dangers of economic catastrophe being played with. Those are the ones who hold their noses and vote GOP anyway, thinking of their stock portfolios and the like.
They won’t be pleased with what happens to their stock portfolios if the government defaults and the stock market reacts as predicted but I’m guessing they would still blame it all on Biden.
I think it comes down to the range of realistic possibilities. Republicans won the house, so Hunter's laptop is definitely going to be investigated. With that as a regrettable given, cheering for the appointment of The Greene Laser, Machine-Gun Barbie, and Sixteen is the New Eighteen to key roles is a gift. The world where this republican house majority chooses to responsibly work on governing isn't in the cards.
I have the distinct feeling that this "Hunter's laptop" is going to be the modern equivalent of George Washington's axe on display at the Smithsonian: the handle has been broken and replaced a dozen times or more, and the head worn plumb out at least twice...but that there is THE axe, my friend.
I think they're pleased because they think that the suffering it will cause will make people angry at the Republicans. I'm not sure Republucan supporters are that smart. They will blame it on Biden. Doesn't the Senate have a say? Does the President need to sign bills? Can Biden refuse?
If Biden does not sign a bill, it's called a pocket veto. I think it occurs if the bill is not signed within 10 days.
I don't know about the supporters not pegging the Republicans. On another thread, someone mentioned that, the supporters understand that the GOP instigated the 30-shutdown from a few years back and they were not happy with the effect it had on them. I think the GOP took a hit on this. But then look whose is now in office, so mayhaps.
The White House staff high-giving each other made me think of this:
C.J. Cregg : Leo, we need to be investigated by someone who wants to kill us just to watch us die. We need someone perceived by the American people to be irresponsible, untrustworthy, partisan, ambitious, and thirsty for the limelight. Am I crazy, or is this not a job for the U. S. House of Representatives?
I wonder if John Roberts really expects anyone to believe he doesn't know who leaked the Dobbs opinion? A post below said it was "anonymous" to Politico, but I have never doubted it was Alito. This was his end around on Roberts to insure that Roberts could not sway the wishy washy Kavanaugh or Coney. As for the how, I expect Alito simply gave a copy to one of his evangelical friends who got it to Politico.
Even better, he left a marked up copy on the coffee table on top of a couple of other versions and then got called away for awhile, leaving one of that ring of Evangelical Court groupies alone in the room long enough to skim the document and grab one of the versions and stuff it down his pants.
I remember my maternal grandfather calling all 8 of his children together when he was in his late 40's and, for whatever reason, was afraid his death was not far off in the future. Rather than go through all the hassle of a will, he had his 320 farm divided into 8 40-acre parcels and "sold" one to each of them for the princely sum of $10.00, with the proviso that he could continue to live on and to farm the land. It took only 50 trips around the Sun for him to be proven right.
It’s time for President Biden to go on primetime national TV and give a speech from the Oval Office.
He has to excoriate the House Republicans for being terrorists, and wanting to destroy the government rather than doing their job of legislating. He should include the following points.
— The US is obligated to pay its debts. It’s the way we do business with ourselves and the world. Without trust, our economy will collapse.
— It’s clear these Republicans can’t be trusted. Many of them actively tried to illegally overturn an election.
— Most of this deficit was created under Trump with the Republican tax cut. They can raise taxes on those who benefited if they want to have an honest solution. Note that they never cared about overspending under any Republican administration.
— They seem to have learned their economic policies from how Trump ran his business — going bankrupt without regard to who it hurts, ruining trust, while blaming others.
— These people seem to have no idea how to legislate, and no interest in learning. They are advocating ridiculous positions that will hurt all Americans, such as getting rid of Social Security, Medicare, and healthcare.
— They are irrational, and impossible to deal with as they don’t seem to care about the consequences of their actions. They just want to get on TV and raise money.
— They are difficult to deal with because we don’t even know who they are. Some can’t even tell us where they worked or how they raised their money. Many are closely associated with white supremacy groups, the same groups that have been convicted of sedition.
— The country needs to tell these people that they swore an oath to the Constitution, not to chaos and secret wealthy donors.
Biden has to do this with a caring, firm tone. He has to start now, and keep hammering away at it so that the country knows who is creating this useless crisis.
I hope he doesn’t look too old and staggering while doing it.
Well that's it. If we default and go into an economic depression as result, the Republican party will be finished. The trick would be to make sure Fox Nws doesn't lie about it.
the entire global economy will lapse into a depression. the not freedom caucus does not understand economics at all
I agree
Didn't he do just that in last September's speech in front of Independence Hall? I recall the overwhelming reaction from the press was tsk-tsking about him setting the wrong tone and needing to be a uniter or some such nonsense. Probably best to let others do the dirty work.
I agree. Who is the messenger for this though? Former presidents? It seems every time a Republican dare speak out about the carnival of chaos, they are immediately shunned and disregarded by the base.
The Bushes aren't going to speak up. Their younger members are in on the grift.
Right! I can’t think of anyone that can actually change the minds of the MAGAcolytes. It’s not a logic thing for them, it’s all base emotion and lack of understanding driving them. So many would have to confront and challenge what their own beliefs are for them to change. I just don’t see anyone cracking through the cognitive dissonance armor they choose to wear.
But there are the people who don’t usually pay attention until two weeks before an election. And there are an increasing number of folk, even on this site, who have given up on being Republican.
I agree with you wholeheartedly. But that doesn't make it not worth doing. And it has to be Biden doing it. Nobody else has the chops, frankly . . .
This message is desperately needed for traditional conservatives and the right leaning Indies. MAGAverse will never change. Swing voters, however, decide elections. They must be reached.
I don't think anyone can. Look at Liz Cheney. There is not one Republican that has her sterling conservative credentials. So committed to United States law that she sacrificed her career to tell the truth. Look how the Republicans treated her. They clearly have no conservative principles.
Actually most of the debt was created with all the stimulus spending during Covid-19. I'd love to blame this on Donald Trump's tax cut, but that wouldn't be accurate.
Good luck getting the American people to understand how the debt ceiling works.
Our national debt exploded under Trump before the pandemic took place. However, pandemic relief is a huge chunk of the debt. I don't blame anyone of either party for the costs of COVID relief - that's like Act of God emergency. It's just that this is the whole reason you don't multiply the debt in good times. Bad times are inevitable. https://www.propublica.org/article/national-debt-trump
Former FL Republican Congressman David Jolly (no longer a Republican) posted this recently: “Roughly 25% of our total national debt incurred over the last 230 years actually occurred during the 4 years of the Trump administration. That’s right. 25% of our entire national debt, all during the Trump years.”
The only people who would watch it are Democrats. Fox & Co. certainly wouldn’t carry it. The people who need to hear it won’t. And if they did, they wouldn’t believe it because it’s “fake news”. The Republican Party is now, officially, a cult.
Brilliantly stated.
I sincerely hope the circus does indeed turn off voters. But I know those captivated by the Fox News bubble will not change their colors. All they’ll say is democrats are worse, not matter how bad (R)s are, the (D)s will always represent something worse in their mind.
As long as that is our reality, the carnival of chaos caucus is here to remind us (daily apparently) why we can’t have nice things.
What needs to happen is something that will blow up in Tucker, et al faces. To him and Fox, this is seen as media gold, not as a threat. Right now, I can't think what.
Well. it's certainly not Santos being revealed as a drag queen. . . thought that might have moved things - but obviously not.
And 2 (? - at my age, time is very nebulous) weeks ago, Rs were hyperventilating about people going to drag shows. Rs are against everything! unless it's an R caught doing it - theft, adultery, graft, bribery, treason, etc - then it's okay.
I’m counting on the Dominion and Smartmatic lawsuits for this. They are suing so many people for so much money that, if successful, they could teach the entire right-wing ecosystem a lesson. Also, it should be a deterrent to some of the crazy lies in the future.
Unless, as seems to continually happen, there is an out of court settlement and the zealots go happily on to the next catastrophe.
My money is on this outcome.
I don’t see this happening in this case. The businesses have essentially been destroyed - would anyone buy a voting machine from them again? It seems like they want their good names cleared, so that means publicity.
We can hope!
"Former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, who just left his presidential perch at Purdue University, is expressing serious interest in running for the Senate. If he jumped in, it would set up a MAGA-vs.-establishment clash against Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), a Trump ally who announced his own candidacy Tuesday."
Rep. Victoria Spartz will probably also run and challenge Banks for the MAGA vote. I wasn't a huge fan of Gov. Daniels. He ran a very loose ship as Governor which led to a lot of the agency heads he appointed being involved in mismanagement and even corruption. But from a policy standpoint, I like Daniels a lot. He would be a better Senator than he was as Governor.
Would rather see “Ditch Mitch” Daniels as senator instead of Jim Banks. It’s the least of the two evils. With Mike Braun likely to win the governor’s race, things are going to be pretty ugly. I sure am glad my daughter has graduated from IU and our family has moved out of Indiana.
Mike Braun isn't a slam dunk to win the Governor's Office. Indiana is still a relatively close state during presidential years. The Indiana Ds need to get their act together though and that's probably not going to happen.
Totally agree about Jim Banks. He's the worst.
I went out to Indiana a for a job interview, thinking of relocating, and I had multiple friends be like "maybe buy a house in Michigan instead". Are things really that bad?
Well, speaking as someone who lived in Chicago, moved to NW Indiana and then back to Chicago…unless you are a republican, if you live in Indiana you have to be comfortable with the fact that you will have no representation. I used to express my concerns to Senator Braun who basically ignored me and other like minded people. Senator Young is a bit more reasonable. If Braun becomes Governor, all bets are off (the current republican governor is a normie, Braun is not).
I lived in two liberal leaning areas- Duneland Beach and Bloomington. That’s great for dealing with local issues. The problem is that you live in a small liberal area that is part of a big, ruby red state.
If your alternative is living in Michigan, I assume you are looking at jobs in NW Indiana. Let me know if I can answer any questions.
always good to hear about repatriations.
I liked Daniels too when he was talked about as a pres candidate in 2012. I don't know anything about his record as governor. Yes, better a policy deliberator than an executive.
Not that Trump cares, but apparently the Dobbs text was anonymously deposited. Politico has no idea who the leaker actually is. My guess is still on Sam Alito though.
Justice Alito? You can't be serious.
He's been alleged to have leaked Hobby Lobby back in the day, why not preemptively leak Dobbs to keep some other justices in line?
https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/roberts-letter-redacted-annotated/fb6e34bb904bfafa/full.pdf
I think his logic would have been to get it out further ahead of the midterms to soften the blow and improve the Republicans odds.
The fact that anyone is weighing this as a possibility shows just how broken the supreme court is.
I think his actual logic was that Kavanaugh or somebody else would not have signed onto his opinion and kept Roe intact in some form.
My guess is the adorable Thomas couple.
I think Ginni is a good suspect but also incapable of keeping her mouth shut.
That is my suspicion as well.
But are they smart enough to leave no trail? Seems unlikely, but they courage had help.
Mine too!
I’ve been thinking Alito since Day One of the leak. He got a ‘two-fer’ experience of his sadistic rewards, watching the turmoil twice.
I'm with EnderAK08 on it being Alito, with gorgeous Ginni as a back-up selection. She claims she and her hubby don't talk shop, which I can kinda sorta see: I wouldn't want to converse with either one of them.
Definitely Alito. Maybe we should start a pool.
Love you, Charlie, but Josh Krashuuer is a total hack. He’s basically just an anti-anti pretending to be a serious journalist. He’s a “Trump’s influence on the party is waning!”TM guy who was quick to pretend Desantis’s don’t say gay law was awkshally about not teaching six-year-olds how to 69.
Also, McCormick, for all of this credentials and initial nice things to say about Biden post-election, hired STEPHEN FUCKING MILLER to help run his campaign. That’s like claiming a Dem running for senator is normal despite having - solely to “sure up the base” - hired Louis Farrakhan as his or her campaign manager two years prior.
Since Kari Lake loves drag shows, and Santos loves getting dolled up and participating in drag shows, I think Lake Santos 2024 makes the most sense. It would be the most progressive presidential ticket ever: a woman and a drag queen, running on an anti-feminist anti-LGBT platform.
And hey, if y'all are looking for another editor ("eight-wing media," "trouble in parade"), I'm willing to chipp in.
"plumb committee assignments." Ouch.
I actually wondered for a moment if I had misspelled this my entire life! (something about 'true' assignments vs fruity ones)
Since politics is more about entertainment than policy, why not? The ceiling for Republican absurdity is so high it can’t be seen.
For sure the "chaos caucus" - the moderate Rs and the Dems too?
Auto complete is a worse curse than cut and paste was.
This ruling will stand. It will not be appealed. No attorney, no matter where licensed, should be inclined to touch this with a dirty stick, except of course for that long-standing Supreme Court admittee, George Santos.
The Fair Tax thing is never going to be law, so let them hawk it. Let them vote on it, and let pass the house. And then, tell the American people that their their weekly grocery bill will go from $100 to $130. That the new phone they need for work will but hundreds of dollars more. That a new F150 will cost $10,000 more.
All of the Democrats voted against it though because they thought it was too onerous for working families and small business and senior citizens, but the Republicans thought this was the best way to fix the deficit.
I agree. I think this will be a great opportunity for the Damocrats to hone simple and powerful messages about for whom the Republicans are really working.
It's funny to watch Grover Norquist et. al bemoan an idea they've spent literally decades pushing. And if I'm not mistaken (though maybe I am), it would apply to rent and mortgages too. So everyone's gonna see a 23% cost-of-living increase across the board. At least everyone who has a mortgage or rent (the vast majority of people).
No way the Republicans would push it through clean. It'd exclude mortgages, and maybe food. They'd fuck over renters in a heart-beat though. Probably some other loopholes that would benefit the wealthy.
Exemptions would wreck the federal budget even more than passing it on everything would wreck the federal budget, though I guess they wouldn't mind.
I'm sure the GOP would consider a 75% luxury tax on planes, yachts, and capital gains. HAHAHAHAHA
"Let's campaign on how terrible inflation is, get elected and then raise the cost of living by 30 cents on the dollar! What could possibly go wrong?"
This is their next Dobbs.
Republican: "Do you wanna live in Europe, where there's a 25% sales tax on cars?"
Voters: "NEVER"
Republican: "Okay, how about a 30% effective tax!"
I would imagine this is all on top of the existing taxes that the individual states have on sales. NY is already at 4% sales tax on cars.
Yes, there's no way to pre-empt state-level taxation without a constitutional amendment. What's amazing about the National Sales Tax proposal is that it would raise less revenue than we currently are but hit the average American much harder.
Another amazing feature is it will hit the poor much harder than the rich. Sales taxes are regressive and that’s the appeal to the Reverse Robin Hood Republicans. They know their base is too ignorant to catch on.
Wow, a two-fer! No wonder why they love it.
It's 8+% here deep in the heart of Tex's Ass, depending on what your county's sales tax is. And that's on top of having one of the highest property tax rates in the nation. But if your property is agricultural, your taxes, relative to the rates us city slickers pay, is barely parking meter change.
Oh, don't need to tell me-- I live in NY, we have state income tax, state and local sales tax (9%), county tax, property tax, school tax... if it is not taxed, it has an added fee. The only thing not taxed is food (unprepared food) but other things have added sales tax (like liquor, car rentals, airline tickets, hotel rooms, tobacco... soon they will figure out how to tax marijuana.). We even have some cities with income tax (Yonkers, NYC etc.) and that also charge commuter taxes. We are well-versed in the ability for the state to extract -- and they are amazingly efficient at it.
Voters: "Will it own the libs?"
Republicans: "It will if we pass this and then subsequently choose to forgo European style social safety nets"
Voters: "You had me at no socialism!"
The real number, if they still (pretended to) want to bring down the debt, will be higher than 30%. Also that’s just the consumer tax, which is at the end of the line, and since COGS are also +30% baseline products go up…to which the 30% + is then added. So I’m (uninformed finger to the wind) estimating we’re talking 50% price increases.
If there’s a slam dunk way to ensure an overnight depression, this is surely it. Although before that, we’ll have a Russia Circa 1917 style revolution when the masses discover that all inherited wealth will be untaxed while daily necessities will cost AT LEAST 50% more.
And before all that, we default and cost of borrowing shoots into the stratosphere making the deficit and HH debt balloon.
My Kevin. What a maroon.
On the "Fair Tax" issue: Charlie correctly calls it a 30% sales tax here, but watch out--its supporters are calling it a 23% tax. That's because while 30 is 30 % of 100, it's only 23% of 130. Get it?! It's imperative that we not fall into the trap of calling it a 23% tax or letting media outlets get away with that misleading number. This is of course setting aside the rapid shift of wealth to the wealthy we would see.
I also think it's worth noting the Marge has said she wouldn't "sign," meaning support, I suppose, a clean debt ceiling bill. So the rules package that included single-issue only bills obviously already doesn't apply to things the GOP likes.
A lot of random people in support of this are gonna painfully discover their effective tax rate is nowhere near 23%, and if passed, that's exactly what it would hit.
The other funny part of this is that the IRS would continue to exist under a new name. Who do they think will collect and audit that tax?
We all know what will keep the deficit under control: reducing tax rates and eliminating the agency in charge of collecting it!
I can only shudder in the expectation of the heavy shoe of the federal government grinding down on those garage salers and farmers markets.
"Of course, a clown with a flamethrower still has a flamethrower, but it’s going to be impossible for Americans not to notice the bright red noses and floppy shoes of McCarthy’s new crew."
My fear is that most Americans don't follow politics and won't see any of it for what it is. Unless and until a financial catastrophe results, will they be impacted? Even the most dedicated MAGAts don't like it when the clown show impacts them and their families - until then, they'll be perfectly happy to "own the libs" and give Biden what they think the rest of us gave their dear leader....
Call me an eternal pessi-optimist (TM) but enough people followed just enough politics so that Democrats kept the Senate.
And now we've got all these baying hyenas and thieving drag queens making it all the more obvious to even the most tuned-out taxpayer that maybe they should pay more attention to whom (?) they are paying.
But yeah, I am so sick of politics as entertainment. I echo Deutschmeister's disappointment in Democrats being delighted in the stupidity to come.
There is no reason to deprive the Democrats of their schadenfreude. There is little else they get considering they are always held to a double standard.
"The Biden White House is reportedly delighted by the [GOP] picks, seeing them as 'ideal figureheads for a White House eager to deride the opposition party as unhinged.' When McCarthy’s picks were announced, 'the president’s aides sent texts to one another with digital high fives and likened their apparent luck to drawing an inside straight. One White House ally called it a ‘political gift’.”
Therein lies the problem. As someone sitting in the middle, watching both sides blatantly put political gain over functioning governance, I'm distressed at the rejoicing over the possibility of self-inflicted MAGA damage that eventually might be leveraged (or might not) to the advantage of the Democrats, or to a lesser extent moderate Republicans -- as if those exist anymore beyond the ones who have retired or otherwise walked away from the sausage grinder. From where I sit, the optics are lousy in taking joy in MAGA appointments to key committees and gaining tangible power when, as a result, so much damage stands to be inflicted upon all of us (debt default, to start with, accompanied by a heaping dose of investigations instead of necessary work for us constituents) before any accountability can be had.
Is there any off ramp for the constant political battles that are grounded in "we win and you lose" instead of doing what is best for everyone and putting taxpaying citizens first? Or is there now some unwritten rule that all things must be seen and evaluated first through the lens of political victories or losses and only later, if at all, whether it actually is beneficial for anyone other than the politicians?
I get your frustration, but the reality is that Biden's administration has done more than any other administration in decades. It doesn't always seem like it, but they have been working for ALL Americans.
The delight they feel about the Crazy Caucus isn't as much about us versus them, it's about being able to retake the House, keep the Senate and the WH, and hopefully put a stake through the heart of trumpism once and for all.
Yes, the games the Republicans are going to play with the debt ceiling can cause disaster, but so can facism if it comes to power in greater numbers and across branches of government. We're dealing with a lot of issues. If they see optimism in the Crazy Caucus convincing voters that we need better, why not?
You are more optimistic than I am, beaten down by the reality of results. People on the right already have seen who the Crazy Caucus is, and they have voted to empower them anyway. If they wanted better, it would have happened already. I agree with you about Biden overall, but as long as the agenda on the right is grounded fully in "Own the Libs," instead of actually governing, there will never be a better result there, because they will only ever blame the Democrats for anything that goes wrong. I can't find the upside in any mindset that having MAGAists in key positions will turn out well for the rest of us later on. Didn't Democratic leadership also think it was great that Trump cleared the field in 2016 and paved the pathway for Hillary to win? They should have learned their lesson then about being careful what to wish for.
Amen. I don't know where these stories come from. Anonymous sources say anonymous aides say anonymous staffers are happy. That isn't news. That's barely rumor. But of course now the right-wing media has something to run with, and that's all that matters for Politico, whose job is manufacturing political rumors that keep people reading them.
A wise old uncle (he was 4 when I was born) once passed on this piece of wisdom (so he was about 14 at the time): "They say that 'they say' is a liar."
That was over 60 years ago, and he has been proven right many times more than the opposite.
We can't win over the MAGAts - we can only defeat them, perhaps a little more with every election cycle. But the left of MAGA Republican and Independent voters are the ones we have to persuade, so I do think some of them are still persuadable, especially more so when they see nothing getting done and the dangers of economic catastrophe being played with. Those are the ones who hold their noses and vote GOP anyway, thinking of their stock portfolios and the like.
They won’t be pleased with what happens to their stock portfolios if the government defaults and the stock market reacts as predicted but I’m guessing they would still blame it all on Biden.
I would guess this always happens, human nature, but now it gets reported more often.
I think it comes down to the range of realistic possibilities. Republicans won the house, so Hunter's laptop is definitely going to be investigated. With that as a regrettable given, cheering for the appointment of The Greene Laser, Machine-Gun Barbie, and Sixteen is the New Eighteen to key roles is a gift. The world where this republican house majority chooses to responsibly work on governing isn't in the cards.
I have the distinct feeling that this "Hunter's laptop" is going to be the modern equivalent of George Washington's axe on display at the Smithsonian: the handle has been broken and replaced a dozen times or more, and the head worn plumb out at least twice...but that there is THE axe, my friend.
I think they're pleased because they think that the suffering it will cause will make people angry at the Republicans. I'm not sure Republucan supporters are that smart. They will blame it on Biden. Doesn't the Senate have a say? Does the President need to sign bills? Can Biden refuse?
If Biden does not sign a bill, it's called a pocket veto. I think it occurs if the bill is not signed within 10 days.
I don't know about the supporters not pegging the Republicans. On another thread, someone mentioned that, the supporters understand that the GOP instigated the 30-shutdown from a few years back and they were not happy with the effect it had on them. I think the GOP took a hit on this. But then look whose is now in office, so mayhaps.
The White House staff high-giving each other made me think of this:
C.J. Cregg : Leo, we need to be investigated by someone who wants to kill us just to watch us die. We need someone perceived by the American people to be irresponsible, untrustworthy, partisan, ambitious, and thirsty for the limelight. Am I crazy, or is this not a job for the U. S. House of Representatives?
-The West Wing, “Ways and Means”, 2001
George Santos in that red dress resembles Gretchen Whitmer!
George Santos probably IS Gretchen Whitmer. Just ask him.
I'm sure this is going to be my loudest guffaw of the day.. well played.
😂 😂
Hah!
I wonder if John Roberts really expects anyone to believe he doesn't know who leaked the Dobbs opinion? A post below said it was "anonymous" to Politico, but I have never doubted it was Alito. This was his end around on Roberts to insure that Roberts could not sway the wishy washy Kavanaugh or Coney. As for the how, I expect Alito simply gave a copy to one of his evangelical friends who got it to Politico.
Even better, he left a marked up copy on the coffee table on top of a couple of other versions and then got called away for awhile, leaving one of that ring of Evangelical Court groupies alone in the room long enough to skim the document and grab one of the versions and stuff it down his pants.
Or take photos of each page, so they didn't even have to remove a document.
I'm more inclined to believe one of his evangelical groupies left him a big tip$$$ for access.
The justices all declined to be interviewed. That tells you all you need to know, and from there it's a matter of narrowing it down.
I think he just called Ginny and thanked her for all her support.
Boebert and co. are gonna hand Sleepy Joe a second term. I love it
If Sleepy Joe isn't taking a dirt nap by then.
Trump's almost 80, not far behind, and he'll be dirt napping when he has a coronary at learning no one wants him anymore.
I remember my maternal grandfather calling all 8 of his children together when he was in his late 40's and, for whatever reason, was afraid his death was not far off in the future. Rather than go through all the hassle of a will, he had his 320 farm divided into 8 40-acre parcels and "sold" one to each of them for the princely sum of $10.00, with the proviso that he could continue to live on and to farm the land. It took only 50 trips around the Sun for him to be proven right.
He may be old but he is in great shape compared to TFG... even that youngster DeSantis.
AH-GREEE!
Democrats should just stick to one single message with regards to the debt ceiling: "We don't negotiate with terrorists."