Senate The US Politics discussion

Does anyone else find it extraordinarily depressing that the Democrats and corporate media are devoting all their 2016 election-retrospective time to alleged Russian hacking, rather than more pertinent factors such as (1) the electoral college (2) voter suppression and (3) having propped up a bought-out candidates who made the majority of voters nauseous?

What's the end game with RussiaGate, here? By 2020, we'll still have a strong GOP, with nothing to show for it but a new Cold War with Palpaputin.

 

For both parties it's easier to lay all blame at the feet of a foreign power/foreigners.

 

This is an interesting analysis but one not borne out by history. Fights between a strong executive vs a strong Congress are as old as the Republic, and Trump's actions, while part of this natural cycle, make it likely that we are entering a period of relative weakness of the Oval Office when compared to the legislative branch. A lot of factors will come into play vis-a-vis the balance between the two, but given how badly Trump has attacked institutions, it's not unreasonable to think Congress might see its role as broadening to include stronger oversight of the executive branch in the coming years.

Of course, a lot will have to do with the party breakdown of who controls which branch. The Republican House has been a rubber stamp for Trump, whereas the Senate has remained--at least for the time being--more deliberative.

Does anyone else find it extraordinarily depressing that the Democrats and corporate media are devoting all their 2016 election-retrospective time to alleged Russian hacking, rather than more pertinent factors such as (1) the electoral college (2) voter suppression and (3) having propped up a bought-out candidates who made the majority of voters nauseous?

What's the end game with RussiaGate, here? By 2020, we'll still have a strong GOP, with nothing to show for it but a new Cold War with Palpaputin.

There's an article on Politico about this posted just today. It's the age-old being "for something" as opposed to simply "against." Personally, I think the Democrats are hurting themselves big-time by not advancing a positive agenda. For example, rather than attack the tax-cuts carte blanche (which allows Republicans to accuse them of wanting to repeal it), they should be making the case that they want to make them bigger, just not for the billionaire class. Combine that with a pledge to restore the full SALT deduction and to pay for it by closing the carried-interest loophole for Wall Street hedge fund managers, as well as a tax on financial transactions by large banking institutions making speculative trades, and you've got peoples' attention. It's just one example, but doing so would aim squarely at both middle-class and upscale suburban voters, two groups the Democrats need to have a realistic chance at taking back the House. Both groups had voters who went for Trump and/or Obama, and they're gettable. But the Democrats need more than just "Russia Russia Russia!" if they want to win them back.

 

Democrats are equalling bad as Republicans and have zero intention of recommending meaningful reforms; just another conservative party, which is somewhat tolerant than the far-right GOP.

 

People should be protesting those three things in the streets.

 

As I said before, cities should be brought to a stand still.

 

It’s going to take the younger generation. Like what’s happening now with guns, but bigger and more sustained.

 

It's often amazed me how Americans have the power to affect change by grinding the gears of their opiate - money - to a halt by mass strikes, but won't take it because of apathy and fear of losing their jobs. As if radical change is easy, or as if the only choices are immediate pain or less pain over the long term ("it's managable, and I don't like to complain dear, you know me").

Our countries have had cities brought to their knees, or just abouts, from industrial action over coddled and overpaid workers. But, you know, Americans are unique and exceptional; the Democrats are "left wing in America", and definitely not centre-right, and being a supporter of Hillary Clinton doesn't mean I'd be a supporter of Margaret Thatcher, I mean, they have nothing in common except absolutely everything.

 

Unions bring the London transport network to a stand-still because their mate, Steve, was sacked for being repeatedly late.

 

@Vaderize03

It’s not even March. The election is November. The Democrats should focus on getting the right candidates on the slate for November and keep making Trump’s life miserable. Then as we get into the fall start to roll out what they will do differently.

As for right now, besides watching Trump drowned in a sea of red (pun intended) I would call him to the mat on mental health. Trump and the GOP talk a great game about mental health every time something like Florida last week but then over time they slowly let it slide. I say call him out on it. “Okay you don’t want to talk about guns...fine. Let’s talk about mental health in a serious matter”. Watch Trump and the GOP run the other way especially since he has to explain how can be for more “mental health” even though his budget calls for major cuts to just that.

Newt Gingrich just called for every school to have 6-8 arm teachers at a school. As a teacher I can say that is literally the worst idea I ever heard.

 

I think all the sociologists should go on strike .

 

He’s a moron.

My late father, a cardiologist, was an FAA flight examiner who used to care for pilots. After 9/11, he asked every single one of them what they thought of guns in the cockpit. They all were opposed. Why? They all told him that having a gun in the cockpit simply would encourage terrorists to break in and take them. They were trained to fly, not shoot or fight, and none of them wanted to do it. Air Marshals were fine, guns were not.

Newt’s comment is in a similar vein of stupidity, the one that thinks that the more guns there are, the less likely it is they will be used. Dumb and dumber (and not supported by evidence, as well—not that Republicans care about such things).

 

Maybe you could fill the old card catalog with guns and cards giving the location of other guns along with their manufacturer, ammo capacity and caliber.

 

I've had teachers where I would not have wanted anywhere near a gun should they have snapped in the classroom. One teacher in particular with a really bad temper.

 

It also potentially makes the teacher a target. If your intention is to hose down a classroom and you know that there is theoretical possibility that the teacher will be armed, you’ll make a point of shooting the teacher first, since the teacher poses the greatest threat.

 

Democrats have flipped another state legislature seat, this time in Kentucky.

 

Is it worth celebrating that we won a seat from the wife and ardent defender of a publicly exposed child rapist cult leader?

 

For you lot? Yes.

 

I’m willing to temporarily overlook that in light of the fact that Trump carried the district by 49 points.

 

Every victory is a victory. Particularly now. Nothing is too miniscule to celebrate. If we're going to take this country back, it'll be one step at a time and every time the GOP fields a particularly repugnant candidate, we're one step closer to kicking that party out the door where it belongs.

 

Other good news for the Dems. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court released a court-drawn redistricted map for the state. This alone is likely to flip 5 or 6 seats to the Dems in the US House, 1/4th of what's necessary for the Dems to take control of the House.

And in FL, the state law that essentially disenfranchises all former felons for life has been ruled unconstitutional. This ruling may be overturned, but a constitutional amendment has made it to ballot that will restore voting rights of felons, amounting to over 1.5 million people regaining the right with minorities disproportionately affected.

This type of voter disenfranchisement really sickens me, so I'm really heartened by these recent developments in FL.

 

And Supreme Leader Trump is already calling on the Pennsylvania Republicans to take the fight to the Supreme Court to get their old screwed up voting map back.

 

Yeah, but I've heard that b/c the gerrymandering was overturned based not on federal standards, but on the state constitution, it's unlikely that federal courts will intervene. Keep your fingers crossed!