Clown Car VI: Hello, Goodbye. On to 2024.

[Broken_Erika]

Meanwhile from the QAnon folks who crusade against this sort of thing there is......deafening silence.

 

[adcarrymaokai]

I think you figured out the problem there. AOC and "The Squad" aren't psychos whose goals can be accomplished by nuking the whole thing from orbit.

And maybe they should be? I mean, people are literally dying. We have an infrastructure crisis, a homelessness crisis, a housing crisis, depression, poverty, pandemic. Meanwhile, Biden is not passing minimum wage increases, does not plan to cancel student debt or even expand the public option for Obamacare. "Nothing will fundamentally change," as the US continues to rapidly decline.

 

[Birdjaguar]

And maybe they should be? I mean, people are literally dying. We have an infrastructure crisis, a homelessness crisis, a housing crisis, depression, poverty, pandemic. Meanwhile, Biden is not passing minimum wage increases, does not plan to cancel student debt or even expand the public option for Obamacare. "Nothing will fundamentally change," as the US continues to rapidly decline.

And how do you propose that he "just pass" such legislation?

 

[adcarrymaokai]

And how do you propose that he "just pass" such legislation?

Idk maybe sign an executive order? Use his political clout to influence other people in the government? I mean, how does legislature get passed in general? How is it that the rest of the world is capable of actually doing things, while the US government is so utterly useless?

 

[Birdjaguar]

Idk maybe sign an executive order? Use his political clout to influence other people in the government? I mean, how does legislature get passed in general? How is it that the rest of the world is capable of actually doing things, while the US government is so utterly useless?

The things you want cannot be instituted by executive orders or if they could the next president could just undo them with a new executive order. To make them last they need to be passed by the House and Senate. Currently the Senate will not pass anything Biden wants.

 

[Takhisis]

Idk maybe sign an executive order?

Dude, there's, like, a constitution, mmkay?

 

[Birdjaguar]

Idk maybe sign an executive order? Use his political clout to influence other people in the government? I mean, how does legislature get passed in general? How is it that the rest of the world is capable of actually doing things, while the US government is so utterly useless?

the US constitution is written to make it difficult to pass new laws and make big changes quickly.

 

[Samson]

the US constitution is written to make it difficult to pass new laws and make big changes quickly.

But it has been made harder by other rules that could be changed. This whole "filibuster without actually talking" thing could be changed, and then there would at least be a chance.

 

[Sommerswerd]

But it has been made harder by other rules that could be changed. This whole "filibuster without actually talking" thing could be changed, and then there would at least be a chance.

Joe Manchin has actually stated that he would be open to considering a change like that. The question then would be if Sinema would go along with that, or if she would just seize that opportunity, ie Manchin cooperating with Filibuster reform, to become the new Joe Manchin, ie the one Democrat that refuses to allow Democrats to ram through their agenda.

 

[Farm Boy]

It is a dilemma. There's some support for the filibuster change. But Manchin is popular for a reason, and you're right, if he is the one responsible for carte blanche "pork is too hard to write so we're just going to take **** from certain people we'll imagine are richer than our yuppies, give it to the yuppies, and then say we did it for somebody else..." yeah, they'll be room for the top non-shithead Democrat position. Or whatever you want to call it.

 

[adcarrymaokai]

the US constitution is written to make it difficult to pass new laws and make big changes quickly.

Democrats control the presidency, the House, and the Senate. Can they do anything at all?!

 

[Broken_Erika]

Democrats control the presidency, the House, and the Senate. Can they do anything at all?!

Anything substantial they do is likely to get struck down by the supreme court.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Democrats control the presidency, the House, and the Senate. Can they do anything at all?!

The Dem control of the Senate is marginal. It is 50-50 with the VP as a tie breaker. The Senate rules currently allow a filibuster which demands 60 votes to bring legislation to the floor for a vote. The Dems don't have those 60 votes. If they change the rules to eliminate the filibuster, then should the Republicans gain a majority in the Senate, they would be able to pass whatever they wanted easily. It is a complicated situation with no easy answers. In addition, their is one Dem Senator who is very conservative and if he chooses not to support a bill, it will likely fail.

 

[Sommerswerd]

It is a dilemma. There's some support for the filibuster change. But Manchin is popular for a reason, and you're right, if he is the one responsible for carte blanche "pork is too hard to write so we're just going to take **** from certain people we'll imagine are richer than our yuppies, give it to the yuppies, and then say we did it for somebody else..." yeah, they'll be room for the top non-****head Democrat position. Or whatever you want to call it.

There's a sliding scale between "Simple majority" on the one end and "41 vote veto" on the other. I tend to agree that some delicious pork might be what would do the trick, greasy pork grease to grease the wheels... but somebody decided a while back that pork was worse that Satan himself... and here we are.

I think Manchin likes the "speaking Filibuster" position because it allows him to claim he is in favor of keeping the Filibuster, while somewhat cooperating with the cram-it-down-their-throats efforts. The reality is its unlikely the Democrats hold on to majorities in either chamber beyond the midterms, so whatever they are going to do, they better get on with it.

 

[adcarrymaokai]

I don't need to hear excuses. I am tired and need this government to do something. Idk how tf did FDR and Lyndon Johnson create historic changes? Why does the Democratic party always have excuses, while the Republican party always accomplishes what it wants??

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-senate-slow-act-probe-into-deadly-capitol-attack-2021-05-28/

Republicans in the U.S. Senate on Friday derailed a bipartisan inquiry into the deadly assault on the Capitol by former President Donald Trump’s supporters, despite a torrent of criticism the lawmakers were playing down the violence.

Democrats and some moderate Republicans had called for a commission to probe the events up to and including Jan. 6, when hundreds of supporters of Trump, a Republican, stormed the Capitol, fighting with police, urging violence against lawmakers and delaying the formal certification of President Joe Biden's election victory. The violence left five people dead including a Capitol Police officer.

The measure mustered a 54-35 vote which fell short of the 60 votes needed to advance the legislation in the 100-member Senate. The 35 no votes were all Republicans. Six Republicans voted in favor of the commission.

"We all know what's going on here. Senate Republicans chose to defend the Big Lie because they feared that anything that might upset Donald Trump could hurt them politically," Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said after the vote.

 

[Lexicus]

I don't need to hear excuses. I am tired and need this government to do something. Idk how tf did FDR and Lyndon Johnson create historic changes? Why does the Democratic party always have excuses, while the Republican party always accomplishes what it wants??

The Republican Party doesn't always accomplish what it wants, but I agree the Democrats need to really stop thinking about respecting the cherished institutions and start thinking about how harshly history will judge them if they stand back and allow the Republic to be destroyed by the Republican Party.

 

[Sommerswerd]

I don't need to hear excuses. I am tired and need this government to do something. Idk how tf did FDR and Lyndon Johnson create historic changes? Why does the Democratic party always have excuses, while the Republican party always accomplishes what it wants??

I share your frustration that the Democrats aren't able to get many of the things done that I would like to see done, but if you think that "the Republican Party always accomplishes what it wants" then you missed this:

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

if they stand back and allow the Republic to be destroyed by the Republican Party.

At the moment, they can stand back and allow the Republican Party to be destroyed by the Republican Party.


Napoleon would approve.

 

[Lexicus]

At the moment, they can stand back and allow the Republican Party to be destroyed by the Republican Party.

If this is an expression of complacency, I submit it is deeply mistaken.