The Politics Thread

[JaneAusten]

I was just coming here to post this.

Democrats ran the gamut on leadership in swing states. We lost Nevada and of course Georgia, but at least Nevada has a democratic Sec of State not that nutcase. And Georgia has Jon Ossoff and will re-elect Warnock.

Hmm who would that be?  I am trying to think of who else in the house would be open to this. I am sure there are more. The moderates know they will get punished if the crazy and that includes Jim Jordan are in charge.

[DRW50]

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This is posturing from a faux-moderate, but feels like a sign from McCarthy that he knows he's in trouble. 

McCarthy is a worthless hack who sold out his country over and over - that he is seen as any type of reasonable choice says it all about that party, and the corporate media who worship them. 

[JaneAusten]

He's not going to be Speaker and if he is he will be a monumental failure. Justin Amash who is still on twitter who I grudgingly have a little respect for says McCarthy is worthless and not capable of being speaker. Already one moderate GOPer came out to say he'd work with dems on selecting a speaker.  I'd have to look through the list to see who else might be picked off.

[Vee]

Becoming Speaker of a tiny margin in the House will expose McCarthy and leave him a shell of what little he is. His career will be functionally over after. It's also shattered the dreams of the many access journalists who ran fawning puff pieces about McCarthy as the new "social animal" of the Capitol, hoping to get in good with him in what they believed would be a giant new Republican House.

Edited November 15, 2022 by Vee

[DRW50]

Justin Amash is another of those posturing-but-not-doing figures (like Will Hurd, whom I have zero respect for), but I do appreciate moments like this, and his brutal roasting of the leaders of the Libertarian Party (who threw all in with the GOP and didn't seem to do them much good). 

For someone who has no personality beyond naked power, it's definitely a damning moment, although I think the press will still push him hard because they want the narrative of strong Republicans and Democrats who fail (notice how much Dave Wasserman and others are pushing the House race gloom/New York doom while other puppets like Brie Brie, that weirdo Zenkus, and Sirota are going on about Biden's lies and how nothing has changed, crypto scandal that will haunt Democrats, etc.). The press will eat it up but hopefully the public won't.

I do wonder if the media and the GOP will throw McCarthy over for Steve Scalise, who has always been given a free ride by the press considering his ties.

[Vee]

They may try, but press smell a loser eventually. We don't hear much about Tim Pawlenty or even Rubio anymore, and even Paul Ryan is mostly hailed by them in the manner of a Jedi Force Ghost on the sidelines at this point. McCarthy is not as skilled as even that squad. He'll fade.

As for what media want for a Republican narrative, this cycle is another proof that increasingly doesn't matter.

Dave Wasserman is skilled at what he does but needs to leave his ego out of it. Some of these guys want to cover for their bad predictions and getting caught up in the Republican-cheering Washington vibes, and that's what leads to this stuff. Others (probably Silver) are irredeemable.

[Vee]

 

 

[DramatistDreamer]

Trump called his wife ugly and he seemed to get over that in record time, he’ll be tucking his tail between his legs and finding the next person to grovel at soon enough. Of course, there is a school of thought that says that between this and the insults directed at his wife, he cares a lot more about this.

On another note-

[Vee]

A positive piece about Abrams, but I'd like to know more about the skullduggery hinted at here.

 

 

[Vee]

 

Guest starring the corpse of Adam Carolla:

 

[Vee]

 

[Noel]

Hahahaha! Kari Lake is such a sweet petulant child. 

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[janea4old]

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/11/midterms-election-2022-media-pundits

This is a really good essay. 

I posted this in the Media/Journalism thread, but I wanted it post it here in the Politics thread, too, to quote this excerpt from Molly's essay:

QUOTE:
I asked White House chief of staff Ron Klain about this chronic case of underestimating Biden. Klain wrote, “He has been underestimated as a candidate, as a president, and as a party leader—and he has delivered historical results in all three roles. As a candidate, he beat the previously unvanquished Donald Trump; as a president, he delivered critical legislation with the narrowest of margins on Capitol Hill; and now, as party leader, he has achieved a midterm result unmatched since FDR’s time. He does it by laying out what he stands for, fighting hard to get it done, and speaking earnestly from the heart. He has kept together the progressive and moderate wings of the Democratic Party, built an administration that looks like the country, and pursued policies that inspire young voters, middle-aged voters, and older voters. President Biden is underestimated because his triumphs are the triumph of wisdom, decency, and determination: values underappreciated in today’s media and political culture.”
END QUOTE.

[DramatistDreamer]

Stacey Abrams who was the best gubernatorial candidate in GA (D-GA, which the audio for the Daily Beast article hilariously pronounced “Dee-Gah”) but the long and short of it is that White people overall did not vote for her, period). 
That in 2022, there has never been a Black woman elected to the governorship is an indefensible disgrace, especially when there is such a over-reliance on us to “get out the vote” as well as organize. It’s the reason why Tish James abandoned her campaign for governor. Yes, she said she wanted to finish the job where the Trump civil case is concerned but let’s be real, Kathy Hochul, even in the early stages of the primaries process, was already out raising James and James knew the calculus. I wish people would stop beating around the bush about the fact that America has no problems being the beneficiaries of the toil of Black women but are downright reluctant to see us in positions of genuine power. It happens in corporate boardrooms, offices of professed liberal non-profits and organizations. My friends and I discuss this at length, how they, with more education and experience are often dismissed for top jobs, while unwittingly training an underling upstart who will eventually become their boss.

Until I see some breakthroughs of a Black women in charge of a state, I will continue to believe this. Please prove me wrong. I sincerely mean this.

[DRW50]

I wonder how many have regrets about Hochul, who seemingly sleepwalked through a disastrous downballot race.