The USA: The Biden Years

Some kind of car ramming/ shooting incident at the Capitol reported.
 
According to SKY NEWS the suspect is already in custody + it’s all under control.
 
CNN says there is a shooting and a car hit two officers?
 
It doesn't sound like it's going to be a HUGE incident, but I sad indicator of the intent from certain quarters.
 
I don't think this kind of think is stopping any time soon. The far right truly believe that the election was stolen
 
I don't think this kind of think is stopping any time soon. The far right truly believe that the election was stolen
The BBC referring to those who still think that Trump will be inaugurated any day now. These loons aren't fucking off for a generation are they?
 
At some point, there's going to be an assassination or mass killing from the Trump loons.
 
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Nope

There are two people I know, one of whom is my boss :manson:, that believe it
 
Have we seen this nutcase? (This thread is way too normal)

 
Better him (I assume its a man) than someone innocent, but what a depressing thing to happen, in a series of depressing things that have happened
 
God this is absolute POETRY to read


‘A gaslighting chamber of insanity’: Moderate Republicans seethe at Biden​


By RYAN LIZZA, RACHAEL BADE, EUGENE DANIELS and TARA PALMERI
04/14/2021 06:20 AM EDT

“It’s a f---ing nightmare.”

That was the lament of a staffer working for one of the members of the so-called G-10, the group of 10 Republican senators who insist they’re itching to negotiate deals with the White House.

In the span of a few months, the G-10 has gone from the center of politics in DONALD TRUMP’S Washington to the policy sidelines in President JOE BIDEN’S.

While these senators mostly despised Trump, they were the engine of policymaking for his final Covid relief bill. While they mostly respect Biden, they have so far been irrelevant to his legislative push despite his inaugural promise of “unity.”

It’s been a bewildering change for them. And if you want to understand both why Biden is winning and why his so-far successful formula could be in jeopardy, it’s worth listening closely to the voices within this frustrated and marginalized group of self-proclaimed dealmakers.

Back to the nightmare. It starts with what they see as some hardwired media narratives they can’t shake: that Biden is a reasonable, deal-making moderate and that Republicans talk about compromise but really just want to obstruct. It’s a perception that has given the White House all the leverage.

“Biden is a horrible villain for us,” said the G-10 staffer, meaning not that he was an actual villain but that he was difficult to villainize. “There are deeply entrenched narratives that have some truth but are no longer totally true. Reporters believe them despite all evidence to the contrary.” (:disco:!)

They see a White House “constantly rubbing dirt in the face of Republicans” over the party’s lack of interest in bipartisanship while “passing as many partisan bills as they possibly can through reconciliation before they lose the House in 2022.”

Two episodes stand out to them. The first was when they were invited to the White House to discuss the Covid relief bill in February. It was intoxicating. They finally had both a normal president, one who understood the Senate better than any president since LBJ, and one who recognized the G-10 as the center of power in Congress. The staffer joked that they were so giddy about the meeting that they had to be told to “calm down” and “play it cool.”

But the next day, Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER announced the outlines of a plan to pass the bill with just 50 votes. “You do one meeting and 24 hours later they prepare the reconciliation process,” another G-10 staffer complained.

The second episode came last week, when Biden said the 10 senators “didn’t move an inch” off of their initial proposal during the Covid talks. On the eve of fresh negotiations over infrastructure, the president, in their view, was attacking them disingenuously. In a flurry of phone calls among the senators, they vented their outrage and plotted a response.

It can take days for a group of senators to agree on anything, but the 10 of them put out a statement a few hours later respectfully but firmly correcting Biden. “The Administration roundly dismissed our effort as wholly inadequate in order to justify its go-it-alone strategy,” it said in part. It didn’t receive much coverage.

THE NEXT DILEMMA — They are now debating internally how to approach the Biden jobs bill. Their big fear is being used as “props” or “window dressing” at the next White House meeting.

“If you get an invitation to the White House, you go to the White House. But regardless, you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t,” said another G-10 staffer. “When you go to the White House meeting you risk being used in a feigned attempt at bipartisanship. If you don’t go then it’s, ‘Oh, Republicans won’t even meet with me.’ It all pivots on whether it’s a genuine offer from the White House or just part of their messaging strategy.”

Another staffer for one of the group of 10 senators was resigned to a replay of the Covid bill: “You would be hard pressed to find anyone on our side of the aisle that thinks this will end up any differently than last time.”

The staffer who lamented the nightmare of it all had a grudging respect for how effectively Biden had played things so far.

“Everything they support is defined as either Covid relief or infrastructure, and everything they oppose is like … Jim Crow voter suppression and evil,” this G-10 aide said. “And you constantly just feel like you’re in this gaslighting chamber of insanity. But it’s working.” (CRY! CRY MORE! :disco: :D :disco: :D :disco: :disco: :disco:)

The “G-10” senators are: SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO of West Virginia, BILL CASSIDY of Louisiana, SUSAN COLLINS of Maine, JERRY MORAN of Kansas, LISA MURKOWSKI of Alaska, ROB PORTMAN of Ohio, MITT ROMNEY of Utah, MIKE ROUNDS of South Dakota, THOM TILLIS of North Carolina and TODD YOUNG of Indiana.

WHY IT’S WORKING Our latest POLITICO/Morning Consult poll suggests that Biden continues to hit the sweet spot in terms of highlighting popular measures, even on fraught issues like gun control. No wonder Republicans are frustrated. Some toplines:

  • Sixty-four percent of voters support stricter gun control laws in the United States.
  • Sixty-three percent of voters support Biden’s executive order to limit the spread of “ghost guns.”
  • A plurality of American voters somewhat or strongly support (46%; 28% oppose) Biden’s executive order to increase regulation of stabilizing braces, which can turn a pistol into a kind of rifle that ordinarily would require stricter government controls.
  • Seventy-three percent of voters support employees’ right to bargain collectively for workplace conditions.
  • Biden’s overall job approval is 60%.
 
I know the Republicans have gerrymandered like nobody's business, but is it considered a near-certainty that the Dems will lose the house in 2022?
 
I know the Republicans have gerrymandered like nobody's business, but is it considered a near-certainty that the Dems will lose the house in 2022?

i don’t think. The most consistent midterm voters are white suburbanites, and they are getting more and more Democratic. The gerrymandering makes things harder (democrats do it to though), but I think that democratic enthusiasm will stay high and republicans are less likely to turn out without trump on the ballot

looking at the map, the democrats will almost definitely keep the senate, unless something goes horribly wrong
 
Their margin for error is tremendously narrow. If they were going to hold the House, you'd probably want things to have gone how they've gone for the Democrats so far, but losing seats in the midterms (and they don't have many they can get away with losing!) is close to one of the most established trends in US politics going - in the modern era it's only been defied by the Republicans in the first midterms after 9/11.

Basically, it's not impossible, but don't get your hopes up too much. They've got a better chance of holding the Senate.
 
looking at the map, the democrats will almost definitely keep the senate, unless something goes horribly wrong
'Almost definitely' feels like it's overstating things a fair bit! They've got a good chance of holding it, but it does only take one net loss - I wouldn't say Arizona and Georgia are 'almost definite' holds (Arizona does feel likely though, and Georgia...well, you're better placed than I am to tell, but even with anger factored in, whether that's enough to overcome the voter rights restrictions feels uncertain enough to make it a toss-up), or that Pennsylvania is anywhere near likely enough to be a gain to almost definitely make up the difference.
 
'Almost definitely' feels like it's overstating things a fair bit! They've got a good chance of holding it, but it does only take one net loss - I wouldn't say Arizona and Georgia are 'almost definite' holds (Arizona does feel likely though, and Georgia...well, you're better placed than I am to tell, but even with anger factored in, whether that's enough to overcome the voter rights restrictions feels uncertain enough to make it a toss-up), or that Pennsylvania is anywhere near likely enough to be a gain to almost definitely make up the difference.
Ok I’ll admit ‘almost definitely’ was a bit much :D I do feel good about Pennsylvania and hopeful about Wisconsin and North Carolina.

I really feel like Georgia is a blue state now. The rural areas are as red as they can be, and the suburbs are just going to get more blue. I’m hoping it follows Virginia’s path. The voting restrictions are horrible, but they happened early enough for the democrats to strategize, and they might backfire and decrease turnout among poorer white voters.

this is all a bit wishful thinking, but I really do feel good about Georgia
 
Especially if Trump hangs around a little longer and drags the Republicans through the mud even more. Stupidity is more unifying than any issue.
 
Matthew McConaughey is apparently toying with the idea of running for Texas governor. *barf*
 
Biden just formally recognised the Armenian genocide of 1915. It's something Obama pledged to do but ultimately walked back, wheras obviously Trump showed no inclination to do so. (He probably thinks an Armenian Genocide is something you can order off the menu at the Mar-a-Largo steakhouse)
 
Recognizing the Armenian Genocide is probably my favorite thing Biden's done so far. Armenians are the very close cousins of Middle Eastern people and some of my family's closest friends. They've been oppressed, silenced and dispersed.

Call me petty, but I cannot wait to see the Turks froth at the mouth over this. They were up to the same old tricks when they under-reported their Corona cases.
 
I honestly think he's gonna be better for us liberals than we anticipated
 
Trickle-down economics has never worked!
If you’d told me the US would have a leftier president than France I wouldn’t have believed you. Guess who here is a big fan of that trickle-down shit... :eyes:

 
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