The Politics Thread

[quartermainefan]

I wonder what kind of blowback Sarah Palin got from her criticism of the Pope that forced her to apologize and clarify.

[DRW50]

Congressman arrested for cocaine possession.

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/11/trey-radel-cocaine-possession-100075.html?hp=t1_3

[ThePrinceOfSunspear]

I absolutely LOVE how Rand Paul and the rest of the potential Republican candidates just can't help themselves and are already attacking each other in subtle and not so subtle ways....

This is going to be a really intense primary and I'm honestly very eager to see who comes out on top. So many variables to consider..the money...will Chris Christie pull a Romney or stay true to some of his principles....will Jeb Bush run? Marco Rubio (who's star has faded so quickly). Not to mention other governors like Walker and Jindal plus nutjob Santorum. Its just gonna be so fascinating.

[DRW50]

Looks like the Senate will be abolishing the filibuster. Given that it's looking increasingly likely that the GOP will win the Senate in 2014, I'm a little surprised. I guess they decided they had to push through as many judges as they can.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/harry-reid-may-go-nuclear-this-week-dem-sources

[marceline]

The Senate would've gone nuclear the minute the GOP gained power again whenever that was. This way Obama gets to stack the bench and I mean stack it deep. The GOP's obstruction means he has a TON of seats to fill. Obama's fingerprints will be all over the judiciary for decades. Reproductive rights, voter suppression, LGBT rights, there's now a greatly increased chance that all those cases will be heard by an Obama appointee.

[Vee]

They won't take the Senate. Never happen. It's a Politico wet dream.

Edited November 21, 2013 by Vee

[juppiter]

They have a decent chance of taking the Senate next year.

[ThePrinceOfSunspear]

I would have agreed with you 1 month ago but given the disaster of the healthcare rollout the vulnerable Dems in NC, Alaska, Louisana, et are all in more danger than they should have been. If the Democrats lose the Senate I will def put most of the blame on the WH and President Obama. The only thing that might stop this is several more government shut downs and debt ceiling fights. Plus getting the damn website fixed ASAP.

Lol at Politico tho. They're so thirsty for the Republicans to be back in power they'll do nothing but write negative/speculative stories bout Hillary and the ACA 24/7 between now and then.

[Vee]

The health care rollout will pass. The ACA is law and that's not going to change. This is all transitory story.

[ThePrinceOfSunspear]

I really hope you're right Vee because I've never felt this bad before about the President and his ability to govern. It just feels like a very very low point in his Presidency but hopefully it will be gone and the next 2/3 years will be moderately better....

[marceline]

John Boehner managed to sign up for Obamacare

http://www.salon.com/2013/11/22/whoops_obamacare_turns_out_to_be_great_deal_for_boehner/

[alphanguy74]

So, Rush Limbaugh has now called the pope a marxist:

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/12/02/rush-limbaugh-vs-the-pope/

[DRW50]

A lot of conservatives hate this Pope. They are struggling not to say it too often but are clearly caring less and less about saying it.

I had to laugh when the Vatican said trickle down economics don't work.

They don't.

[marceline]

The NY Times did a nice piece on why some Catholics are ticked off at the Pope. It cracked me up.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/10/us/conservative-us-catholics-feel-left-out-of-the-popes-embrace.html

I have to admit that I like the guy. I'm not in love with him the way a lot of liberals are but I have to admit that it's refreshing to see a Pope that seems to have better priorities.

[Max]

DRW, I only wonder if the voters in Toronto will be as stupid as those in DC (who elected Marion Barry to another term despite the fact that he smoked crack cocaine).

I could care less if Christie was offended by that Time Magazine cover. What upsets me is that there are a couple of minorities (e.g. fat people and Mormons) that society still deems acceptable to ridicule. Despite the lame excuse given by the Time editors that "The Elephant in the Room" is an idiomatic expression, we all know that there would be a crippling backlash if Time ever assigned the labels "a dark horse candidate" or "a flaming liberal" to any black or gay politician, respectively.

I think that liberals are defensive about Obamacare when it is compared to the prior health care system. (Liberals obviously also prefer Obamacare over the prior system.) However, I do agree with you that the ACA was never the endgame amongst hardcore liberals; in my opinion, it was a first step. After Obamacare (according to prediction) became so popular (Remember how people on the left stated that Americans would fall in love with the ACA?), the hope among liberals was that there would be enough support to push through single-payer.

Qfan, I will never understand why liberals chose the unqualified Obama over the experienced Hillary in 2008. If the Iraq War (which is the one thing they bring up most) made Hillary so unacceptable, they could--and should--have lobbied for a more experienced anti-war candidate to run for POTUS. (And for that matter, if being against the Iraq War from the start meant that Obama had the necessary "wisdom" to be president, then tens of millions of other Americans were also qualified back in '08.)

But many of those who said that Obama deserved to be president instead of Hillary (because of Iraq) have proven to be hypocrites. That's because these folks had no problem when Obama chose Biden (who also voted for the war) as his running mate, and even had zero objections when Obama picked Hillary to be his SOS! And now, many of these same people want Hillary as POTUS in '16!

So since Iraq doesn't wash as a plausible excuse, what acceptable reason was there for picking Obama over Hillary?

I was shocked that Reid did this, and believe that it is a very stupid and short-sighted thing for the Democrats to have done. The GOP does have a decent chance of getting the Senate next year (they would have a much stronger chance of getting it if they don't repeat the mistakes of the last two cycles), but regardless, they will get it eventually. And because the Democrats broke over two centuries of precedent with this move (i.e., axing the filibuster for judicial appointments made by the POTUS), the GOP will then go even further to coalesce their power once they control the Senate. Specifically, it has now become so much easier for Republicans to get rid of the filibuster altogether (which, of course, means that only fifty votes will be needed to repeal the ACA).

One thing is amazing, however: given all the vile, anti-Mormon bigotry on display during the 2012 campaign, the far left sure has no problem when a Senate Majority Leader who wears "magic underwear" and who belongs to a "racist cult" makes such a naked power grab. Therefore, I am not sure if the ultra-liberals really hate Mormons (but make an exception for Reid), or if they just hate Romney (and only feigned anti-Mormon bigotry in order to hurt Romney and help idol Obama).

Edited December 4, 2013 by Max