Senate The US Politics discussion

Or being sprayed into the air. Kinda like the flu virus.

 

We are going to be right back where we are in three weeks.

The problem concerning extending protection for dreamers is Ryan and Trump. They can likely pass a bill in the senate, but that doesn't mean much if Ryan won't put the bill up to vote. And then there is Trump, who may veto the bill if it even reaches his desk.

 

A bit of good news.

How much you wanna bet the US Supreme Court finds a way to hear the case and strike the state court's decision down? Technically, they aren't able to, but I bet they'll try.

 

Couldn't have happened to a better xenophobic, racist, militaristic, misogynist, right-wing piece of ****. Hopefully they can find a new CoS who can Moderate Trump just as well as the General has and Instill Discipline in the White House.

 

@Vaderize03

They must be taking something. It has to be the most miserable working environment possible.

And all districting should be done by independent bodies. Both the Democrats and Republicans pull off huge shannigans with that crap.

@Game3525

Out of those two, Trump remains the biggest obstacle. You literally do not know what you are going to get from him minute to minute literally.

 

Agreed.

If Trump agreed to sign a bipartisan bill from the Senate then Ryan would put the bill on the floor since he would have cover from Trump. You might even get some Freedom Caucus members on board as well.

 

In which case, Schumer can dig in and say he tried. He and Nancy gave them a chance in September. Then December. Now this. If they fail to follow through on their promise this time, Democrats have a stronger argument along with a tighter deadline as March gets closer. They showed Republicans they were willing to work with them but they would shut down the government if needed. They showed what damage one business day of shut down could do- we’ll see if that’s enough. Trump is always going to be the issue and as I understand it, the offer McConnell made was essentially not to run the next bill by Trump first? How sad is that.

 

Tom Cotton is sending cease and desist letters to his constituents because they keep calling his office.

 

It is not.

This shutdown will be forgotten by next week. The big takeaway is the fact that Democrats removed CHIP as bargaining piece. In three weeks, there is no narrative that Republicans can pivot too and it will be all about DACA, which is significant.

 

They should try this in more states.

 

When Kelly was named chief of staff, someone at Slate called him "the future former White House chief of staff." I can't find it right now, but I remember reading it.

 

What a baby. You're a Senator; your constituents are supposed to contact you with their wishes. If you're taking too much heat, it's probably because you're not listening to them in the first place. And if you can't take your constituents raking you over the coals when you betray them, then either stop betraying them or go the **** home. Pathetic. Shameful. I hope every constituent communicates with him the only way they have now: the ballot box. Sorry if the phone calls and letters are hurting your feelings, Tom. The upcoming election results may sting a little as well. Suck. It. Up.

 

Not like he ever would have listened to any calls considering how selective his hearing and memory is. I wonder how long until town halls start again and how those will turn out. Then again, after last year, they've learned their lesson that its better to rush through legislative when they don't have to return home to listen to constituents for a while.

Its too bad Democrats caved in, but I'm not sure if dragging out the shutdown would have helped or hurt them much at all. I think polling had it that DACA wasn't viewed as important enough to shut down the government? At least CHIP is off the table now, and if the Republicans don't allow a DACA bill to be voted on, next time (in the "far future" of next month) the Democrats can call them out on how untrustworthy Republicans are and only accept a deal in writing rather than an agreement. And with how crazy last year was, people might forget about the shutdown by November anyway. Trying to drag things out until the State of the Union probably would have been too long. Shutting down the IRS closer to tax season, well, that might put more pressure on both sides.

 

I keep reading opinion pieces from CNN and the like that the Democrats "caved."

I disagree.

In my opinion, Chuck Schumer did something very, very shrewd. He gave the appearance of having caved (whilst simultaneously getting funding for CHIP) while punting the ball for three weeks only. If, in that time, a DACA deal is not reached, they can always shut down the government again. And even if they don't, as I've pointed out before, the spectacle of thousands of men and women with families--most of them successful, hard-working Americans--being dragged away and jailed by ICE officials will dominate the news cycle for weeks. At the very least, by re-opening the government now, Schumer has given at least some political cover to red-state Democrats that would otherwise have come under ruthless assault from the false-but-effective "you care more about illegal immigrants than funding our military" narrative. (and he was already starting to lose them). That won't fly with many, but it's BBQ and beer to the average Trump voter, the ones we need to stay home in November to prevent the GOP from picking up enough seats to get to 60 votes in the Senate. Manchin, McClaskill, Heitkamp and the like will still have to fight like hell, but the optics of mass deportations will easily outstrip any attacks they might face (should that in fact occur).

Also, as was pointed out above, if DACA falls apart in the next three weeks, the Republicans will have been exposed as having negotiated in bad faith. At that point, the Democrats likely would win a shutdown war. Period. If they really want to play hardball (though I don't recommend this), the Democrats could hold the debt ceiling hostage (but I doubt they will). Either way, I expect most of this to have been forgotten by the fall. As the saying goes, all politics is local--not just in space, but in time as well.

 

Agreed.

I think the Democrats should go on the attack right away. Call the Republicans what they are: a bunch of babies who always cry to get their way. And that's how the narrative should be. Democrats should say they were the adult and gave just a bit of ground as a show of good faith, but they have to point out that Republicans are never willing to be the adults and find a middle ground. When the 3 weeks are up, if the Republicans do not budge, you lock it down and make sure you let people know you did your part and the Republicans are liars and traitors for not giving anything up.

 

I agree. Especially with Trump. We saw what a year of Trump has done to the news cycle. By the time we get to November, a 3 day shutdown (2 of which were the weekend) will be a blip on the radar and any damage that the Democrats could have suffered from it will be forgotten. It really depends on what happens with immigration now as well as whether McConnell was serious about not getting Trump's blessing before introducing the bill- it certainly sounds like Mitch was reacting to Chuck's complaint that it was like negotiating with Jell-O. It also may be in response to Graham's complaints about Miller. I do wonder though if they could even force Trump to sign such a bill or if he'd just throw a tantrum anyway and veto it...

 

Not the brightest decision...
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entr...28de4b0022830057908?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009

edit:

He's definitely one of the worst of the bunch.

 

We've already had one story - a Polish doctor who has been a legal citizen of the US since 1989, is being deported. He doesn't speak a word of Polish.

 

I agree with your interpretation, I just hope you're right. A lot of it could come down to messaging- like Trump blames the Democrats for supposedly withholding money from the troops for DACA, while the Democrats were pushing to keep money going to the troops at least, but oh, what a surprise, the Republicans blocked them on that.

Its why I don't blame Schumer for that deal. I expect Republicans to just stall and make up excuses for no DACA bill again, but now the Democrats can call them out on it (I hope). And even if the Democrats "lost", well, that didn't hurt the GOP back in 2013, but its hard to predict how things will turn out in 10 months of course. Especially since there's literally a new (unnecessary) scandal every week thanks to that really needy man-child in the Oval Office.

 

If left alone, there is a decent chance Trump would sign anything that reaches his desk. Schumer did negotiate a deal with Trump, but it fell through once John Kelly and Stephen Miller caught wind of it.

In a lot of ways this DACA issue is much more frustrating then healthcare. Unlike healthcare, a bipartisan bill could easily pass the senate and the house. The only thing prevented this is political cowardice from McConnell and Ryan.

 

The media is busy touting the narrative that Democrats lost the shutdown and liberals are furious. It’s 100% true (the “liberals are furious” part).

It’s also window dressing. And necessary.

By painting the Democrats as weakened, it turns them into the underdog and give the Republicans a break from constant negative headlines, which will help prevent “anti-GOP news fatigue” with the public. That will last until the next anti-Trump headline emerges, and I expect a lot of them by next week.

The first one? How about this?. Or this?. These are major stories, and once the dust settles on the (baby) shutdown, attention will turn to other matters. Like I said, all politics is local in both space and time, and there is a LOT of time before November.

In terms of allowing an immigration vote, I believe McConnell will proceed. I also believe the House will kill it. McConnell will then try to claim he did “everything he could”, but it won’t work this time. Why? Deportations. Like the Polish doctor currently being detained, once the arrests start, the Republicans will own them. And Trump, should he fail to engage and move the House, will be further exposed for the impotent President he is.

It’s a short term loss for Democrats, but with the potential for long-term gain. The key here is for the party and the grassroots not to split. Sticking by your guns is important, but so is timing. 3 weeks from now, there’s the potential for a reckoning. Keep your eyes on the ball, Democrats, and don’t screw it up.

 

Stable Genius spouting off on Twitter how Dems caved in and Republicans won.

 

anakinfan: He hung up on you? Sounds like the McResistance needs to work on their people skills.

The DNC mailed me an extensive questionnaire and fundraising query a few months back; I asked them to stop obsessing about Russia, read up about the New Deal and Great Society, and that I would only give money to Justice Democrats or Our Revolution candidates. I did not receive a reply.