Senate The US Politics discussion

Something to also consider is the Democrats also forced Republicans hands on CHIP. Millions of children will now be covered again for six more years. That's a victory, even within a short term loss.

In other news...

Man arrested for threatening to kill CNN employees.

 

Which goes to show that the energy is occurring not because of the DNC, but despite it. Grassroots groups are remaking the party all on their own. I don't even answer when they call. I do all my donating online, about once every two months, and ignore the calls altogether.

Couple more things:

1) Democrats needs to be doing this

and not

2) This: “Today’s cave by Senate Democrats — led by weak-kneed, right-of-center Democrats — is why people don’t believe the Democratic Party stands for anything,” said Stephanie Taylor, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. “These weak Democrats hurt the party’s brand for everyone and make it harder to elect Democrats everywhere in 2018.”

Josh Marshall's point in the link is spot-on. Door #1 leads to major gains for Democrats in November, while Door #2 leads to defeat. I understand Stephanie Taylor is angry, but if her answer is to stay home in November, then all we will get is 60 Republican Senators in the fall and continued GOP-control of the House. Democrats have snatching defeat from the jaws of victory down to an art. I laid out my opinion on how to handle the optics of this in three weeks in my earlier post from today, and the Dems would be well-advised to follow that playbook. Yes, none of the Dreamers should be deported, period, but for GOP-controlled Washington to cave, we need more than just the liberal base angry about this. People outside the base are unhappy about potential deportation, but they aren't sweating bullets like the liberal grassroots. To win here, Democrats need to make the public do just that. How? As I have previously stated, by putting a human face on the Dreamers non-stop between now and February 8th. It's the only way. Anything less will lose.

And threatening to sit November out? You might as well just give up now. It's the level of short-sighted, temper-tantrum throwing stupidity I'd expect from Donald Trump. And the left better get over it fast. You have to WIN before you can affect policy. People were fired up at all levels over Obamacare. Less so over tax reform, but it still got their attention. The GOP backed off entitlement reform (not the House, but it's DOA in the Senate and WH) due to unified pressure at all levels. If Democrats want to win this, they need to take the long view. They also need to show up.

End of speech.

 

Lost in all the DACA and shutdown talk is the fact that CHIP finally got funded for another 6 years. Paul had been using it as a political hostage since August. Major bargaining chip off the table now for three weeks from now when this whole thing starts up again. My hope is adults finally take the room and realize we have some significant issues we have to (and can) solve but are currently not due to over the top political theatrics. But our president is a reality TV star so assume even crazier antics to happen.

@Vaderize03

What many liberals fail to undertand is this: You are not dealing with people who are afraid of a government shutdown when it comes to many Republicanst today. As a matter of fact, they welcome it. I don’t care what Ted Cruz tries to backtrack on now, that man whole existence in government is to be The Joker in The Dark Knight. He just wants to burn the whole place down. Ditto many of his colleagues. We are talking about a group that included the likes of Michelle Bachman who once stood on the floor of the United State House of Representatives and declare that we should default on some of our loans. Does that sound like someone you can deal with? Heck look at Steve Scalise. By his own admission a black lesbian security offficer saved his life. Yet what was one of the very first things he did when he made a recovery? Went and spoke at an anti-gay marriage gathering. So is it a surprise at all Steve came today and basically said what we known all along: DACA is never passing since it angered “their base” too much.

You are dealing with religious zealots now just like Senator Barry Goldwater railed against all those decades ago. The Main Street Republican who belongs to a country club and is conservative yet pragmatic is long long long gone. Frankly Chuck was lucky he got CHIP at least done. Plenty of Republicans would love to kill that too.

 

When you're watching this kind of ad on TV or on the internet, you know that these are the first steps to a totalitarian regime:



Compare this to this ad in 1943 during WWII. Sad to see what the U.S. is becoming now...

 

@SW Saga Fan

The ironic part of the Trump ad there is a hint of truth to the ad. Yes there are a small part of those who come here are simply here to cause trouble (guns and drugs are a problem at the border just like it is in Mexico sadly & yes immigration polices today do not fit into the demand’s of a much flatter world. But there ideas to fix it are not only racist they are really stupid and quite frankly will not solve any problems. There are many solutions that could be done that will help curb the problems but continue to let us be an open and welcoming society. Sadly Trump and his group really want nothing to do with that.

 

When you're describing another camp, who criticizes your beliefs and politics, as the "evil side" since "it encourages more murders and criminality", then you're shutting the voices and it's the end of check and balances in democracy. Especially in this time period when everyone, and the people in general, doubt their institutions, their representatives, their leaders and politicians, and are ready to believe anything else in their anger, it is very dangerous...

We've seen this in our worldwide history, especially before WWII, and we are seeing it again today...

 

^ Is there a "dislike" button? That's simply a disgrace.

 

In Indiana Jones And The Kingdome Of The Crystal Skull the Enemy was Russians,

In Muppets Most Wanted the enemy was Russians,

now a Russian Agent Is In charge of our country and is our President, Russia Is running our Country The USA is controlled by Russia,

 

I thought Cobra was in charge of the U.S. government .

 

Chuck pulled the wall off from any budget deal. And Mueller grilled Sessions last week. Get your popcorn ready.

 

Looks like he's reacting to the liberal backlash. Being called the worst negotiator in Washington must've hurt.

 

@Vaderize03

Partly but I also think that was his play all along. Chuck has been around long enough to know that Steve Scalise said is not on the political fringe with the GOP today. DACA is a non-starter with them no matter how good of a deal it is. So Chuck took the deal for CHIP (which got rid of a important bargaining chip for the GOP) and punted the ball back to the GOP to show just how uncompromising and insane they have gotten.

 

This.

The GOP in it's current form is not a serious governing party. This isn't even about conservatism. Just doing the basic stuff like raising the debt ceiling or submitting a budget becomes a game of brinkmanship because the current party in power is controlled by zealots, hucksters, and clowns.

It is really an embarrassment.

 

This IS our future. I got into an argument with a guy in the service over the shutdown and even after I and several other people showed him McKaskill entering the bill to pay the military, and he laughed over it and said we were idiots. There simply is no way to talk to these people. There's no way to repair what Trump has done to this country. The divide and conquer tactic is exactly what he is doing. We are done as a nation. It is over. There is no future. There is no hope. And people are already dying, and more will die.

 

QFT

 

Illinois joins the ranks of New Zealand with a key political leader announcing her pregnancy. Congrats to senator Duckworth!

 

@appleseed

The same things were said throughout our history. Trump is just a moment of time that will end IMHO sooner rather then later. And we will move on to the next one.

Besides 25-30 years from now the odds look to be humans will no longer be really in charge anymore. And quite frankly I am one 1000% okay with it. I think it could be a true human revolution for the good (topic for another thread) just could be really bumpy getting there!

 

I don't think the U.S. is "done" but I also think it's a bit foolhardy to dismiss this as some sort of blip that'll have no lasting impact. Only today it was announced that the TPP will go ahead without the U.S. That's where things seem to be headed: a world where the rest of the world moves on while the U.S. worries about literally walling itself off.

 

@Artoo-Dion

A lot of Democrats were against TPP including Bernie Sanders. It was one of the rare examples were Trump did something that he had some Democratic support. I don't agree with that since TPP was going to happen one way or the other so better to be in it and get some of the benefits then not but it is like being against TPP agreement was simply a Trump thing.

I also think if we really get involved in a few short years we can.

Edit: And Bob Mueller wants to have a little chit-chat with Donald over quite a few things. Get your popcorn out. Trump is going to lose it.

 

The irony being that the IP provisions (which I assume were the contentious issues) got suspended once the U.S. dropped out, so it's not like the U.S. couldn't have negotiated them out anyway.

 

Trump himself might be a blip, but the factors that got him in office were there long before he came along and will be there long after he is gone. Trump is but a symptom. The greed, cruelty, bigotry and immorality of too many Americans is the disease.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if the U.S. had been the country to propose those IP provisions in the first place.

It's been a while since I researched the TPP, but I remember sections about labor and environmental standards that were controversial (or maybe I'm just thinking of the TTIP). Plus the whole thing about corporations being able to sue states for disrupting their profits.