The Politics Thread

[dragonflies]

 

[JaneAusten]

Things have already moved forward. Manchin has moved. And this is not 2009. 

 

Listen I do think that some of the dems in DC are insulated no question, but this doomsday nonsense has to stop.  I'm tired of people expecting happiness every god damned day when the majority of AMERICANS are optimistic and don't pay attention to the minutia some of these people spend their time on. Some of these people would not have a job if they didn't spend their time dumping on democrats and I am talking about people who are "allegedly" on the side of democrats. .

[DRW50]

 

There are differences from 2009, no doubt, like the racism Obama faced, which can't be understated; there's just enough similarity, both in media agenda, Manchin and Sinema, gerrymandering, etc. to make me uneasy. 

 

What may bother me most is how, just as in 2009, so many are working to normalize extremist and activist actions against democracy. Here is Dave Wasserman's response to more voter purges in Georgia:

 

 

Edited June 20, 2021 by DRW50

[DRW50]

 

[DRW50]

There are somewhat unique circumstances in Colorado and Virginia (at the time Republicans controlled one or both chambers). Oregon is an outright failure. 

Edited June 21, 2021 by DRW50

[DRW50]

 

This was amplified by Politico. What is not mentioned is none of these legislative successes did anything for the Presidents involved or the members of their party who voted for them. (W and the GOP ran on terror, not tax cuts). I get the idea of going out and speaking forcefully, and I also get why some feel Biden's lack of speaking up is further hastening his declining poll numbers, but this is a situation where it doesn't really matter what he says or does - Manchin and Sinema are not interested, nor are the senators hiding behind them.

 

Here is Sinema actually laughing at people who are frightened about the end of democracy:

 

 

[Vee]

Biden's poll numbers are going to have to decline a lot more than where they're at right now for me to be nervous about him. I do think the WH needs to make voting rights more of a priority, but I also think going out there and burning the barns is only going to make Manchin more recalcitrant when they're going to need his vote on some sort of voting rights package for expanding the Lewis bill, which is what I assume will come next. And that will be good and important. I don't like the situation, but I understand some of it. Sinema I'm not scared of. She's an idiot and will follow the wind if she sees it go against her. Pressure works from the grassroots - that's why these two have both penned fatuous op-eds in the last month defending themselves. It doesn't work from Biden going out and calling them traitors, in this case.

 

As for today:

 

 

 

[DramatistDreamer]

Intrigued to see where Ranked-choice voting leads NYC in their mayoral primary race, considered to be a defacto election.

Although, tbh, nothing is a given these days.

[Faulkner]

I’m voting this afternoon. My first ranked-choice election.

[Vee]

 

 

A bill that has Manchin's own 'deal' he's been talking up in recent days emblazoned across it is what I've always suspected he will agree to pass.

[sivad40]

 

Sinema's reasoning for opposing the filibuster. 

 

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/kyrsten-sinema-filibuster-op-ed-senate-democrats_n_60d15159e4b00425580c80d2

 

 

[JaneAusten]

Wasn't Christine Quinn a "lock in" 8 years ago? The only saving grace is hopefully Yang opened his mouth too much and ruined his chances. My niece who lives in Bay Ridge thinks that Garcia might be a consensus candidate with rank choice voting but who knows.

[DRW50]

 

Initially, until de Blasio got the momentum in the last weeks of the campaign. There was a lot of built-in animus toward Quinn for approving Bloomberg's third term. 

 

I remember some hot takes about how Yang was in a post-Trump world where negative media publicity doesn't matter. I'm not sure if that finally took a toll, or if his own gaffes did. His pro-Israel tweet seemed to be what really threw him off balance. 

 

Adams seemed to benefit from being able to wait and watch with all the attention going to Yang (or Stringer or Morales, etc.), as it meant so many weird comments and plans from him and mini-scandals hit too late to make a difference. Stuff like this feels like something from an SNL impersonation:

 

 

[dragonflies]

 

[DRW50]

Oh look, it's the can...sailing down the road...again. At least we have Chris Coons telling us how special bipartisanship makes him feel.