The Biden Presidency - 2020

[albionmoonlight]

So MAGA hardliners are forcing McCarthy to agree to a rule package that is the legislative equivalent of him wearing the Pulp Fiction gimp suit for two years while they hold the leash.

And right after a mid-term where the voters punished the GOPers who were more extreme MAGA/Trump.

Why wouldn't McCarthy work out a deal with some Dems for some Speaker votes in exchange for a more sane rules package?

That would

(1) Let McCarthy not be beholden to the MAGA fringe and get to be Speaker on his terms; and
(2) Keep the GOP from having to put its crazy face front and center going into the 2024 election

And for the Dems, this would make things like defaulting on the national debt and defunding the FBI much less likely, so it seems like they would be on board with it, too.

What am I missing here?

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

What am I missing here?

A) Compromise is a sign of weakness and beta behavior.

and

B) Compromise with the Dems is an act of treason that MIGHT lead to a visit to McCarthy's home similar to the one that recently happened at the Pelosi home or worse.

[PilotMan]

My take is why would the Dems agree to much of anything for him when the Rs worked so hard to fight impeachment, and tear down the people who voted for impeachment, and the Jan6 committee. Agreeing to support a moderate speaker means they are acquiescing without getting anything in return. There's no guarantee that even if they do support someone else, that it will come back with anything positive.

As for the debt ceiling, I still think you call the Rs bluff every single time. I think the public has seen that the Rs have borne the brunt of the responsibility for the previous efforts.

As for the MAGA fringe. The R party was just punished at the polls for it. Why help your opposition get out of the hole they themselves dug? I don't think you need to. I think you need to let them put that crazy face on and wear it, since it's the new face of the party. Let the people continue to see just how fucked up they are and hope that the natural repercussions take their course, while focusing on taking more of the middle of the field.

I think you can still get the wins here without letting your opponents off the hook of their own doing.

[PilotMan]

This is really, really turning into a problem. A housing market being railroaded by investment houses, trying to extract as much profit out of the underclass as possible. In metro Cincinnati, where we've had a long run of affordable quality of living, is suddenly close to ground zero for this shit too. The number of homes that have been bought up by large investment companies and turned into rentals has driving the cost to live up substantially if you can't purchase. I hear it all the time in our neighborhood, which has been a target for one of these companies. The Cincinnati area has seen some of the largest rental hikes in the past few years as well. To me, the idea that VC has so much money that they're willing to try and corner the market on housing to not only extract profit, but also to KEEP people renting is criminal. It's simply wrong on a million levels.

Paywall removed.
Rising rents were a crisis for tenants. For Starwood, they were a gift.


https://wapo.st/3vvqtKX

[cuervo72]

And people wonder why other people sour on capitalism.

[Atocep]

I think I mentioned it on here at the time, but when we bought our house a couple of years ago there was a last minute cash offer from an investment company that wanted to turn it into a rental. We were lucky that their realtor didn't recommend the offer and as vets the owners were happy to sell their home to fellow vets. In the 2.5 years we've owned the home the price of the place we were renting has gone up about 40%.

[Lathum]

Michelle Obama surprises people on an elevator. pic.twitter.com/sodHJbjMYf

— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) January 1, 2023

[Edward64]

One more thing to add to Santos' CV.

Brazilian authorities intend to revive fraud case against George Santos | CNN Politics

CNN previously confirmed that Santos was charged with embezzlement in a Brazilian court in 2011, according to case records from the Rio de Janeiro Court of Justice. However, court records from 2013 state that the charge was archived after court summons went unanswered and they were unable to locate Santos.

In an interview with the New York Post last week, Santos denied that he had been charged with any crime in Brazil, saying: “I am not a criminal here – not here or in Brazil or any jurisdiction in the world. Absolutely not. That didn’t happen.”

[NobodyHere]

Well this is going to be a right wing talking point for months:

Biden and his legal team don't know what's in classified documents found in his private office, sources say | CNN Politics

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

Well this is going to be a right wing talking point for months:

Biden and his legal team don't know what's in classified documents found in his private office, sources say | CNN Politics

Does this mean the president can't just declassify anything by thinking it?

[Lathum]

The right wing media response to this is frustratingly predictable. Devoid of any nuance what so ever. I'm sure there are a large portion of people too stupid to see the difference, but the Tucker Carlsons of the world certainly know the difference.

What is crazy is the Biden lawyer did the right thing by immediately turning them in to the archives. The Trump lawyers would have burned them.

[Kodos]

My father is in a physical rehab place right now, and his roommate was watching OAN while I was there the other day. I guess if Fox News isn't crazy enough for you, then go to OAN.

[GrantDawg]

Katie Porter announced she is running for Senate in California for Feinstein's seat. I hope she wins it.

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

[bronconick]

Having voted to reverse the IRS funding from the Inflation Reduction Act, House Republicans remembered always to go full bore on everything and are now voting to eliminate the IRS.

[flere-imsaho]

I'm kind of surprised they haven't just voted to abolish the government since the folks in charge of the House right now appeared A-OK with people trying to storm it and kill people exactly two years ago.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by bronconick

Having voted to reverse the IRS funding from the Inflation Reduction Act, House Republicans remembered always to go full bore on everything and are now voting to eliminate the IRS.

It will be interesting to see at the end of 2 years how many posts we have here about off the wall crazy bills the house votes in.

I would love to watch from a distance another timeline where the dems just go with this and watch Republicans blame the dems for it passing.

[Ksyrup]

They found more documents in another office.

[Edward64]

The first set of docs were found months ago and properly reported. Biden should have made that public then (since Trump's stuff was in the news) instead of CBS breaking the story. It just makes him look bad.

Simply say "we found documents on X date, I didn't know about it, we reported it immediately, we'll let the authorities do their investigation how this happened"

So unless the authorities said "don't tell the public" (which I doubt), I do think Biden deserves some bad press here. I do want to know what type of docs and what they think happened e.g. was it some staff that mistakenly put it into a storage box without higher ups knowing

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

They found more documents in another office.

Here's the caveat.......

An aide found them, and previously, his own lawyers found them, and neither of them were in his personal possession, they were places he's been, and each time, they did the exact thing you do when you find stuff like this.

Saying "they" found more implies it's a similar situation where 'they' found the documents during the search in Florida at trumps hoity-toidy(sp) palace.

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

I'm kind of surprised they haven't just voted to abolish the government since the folks in charge of the House right now appeared A-OK with people trying to storm it and kill people exactly two years ago.

I think they're angling for this exact thing. Choke the entire supply of money to any social support so the choice is between defense and literally anything else. It's been a wet dream for the hard right for decades.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Edward64

Joe is up to 43.3% approval on 538.

His low was 37.9% back in June. In early November it was 41-42% so he's picked up some. I wonder why there was an uptick - the economy & markets seem to be worsening, likely increased political gridlock etc.

FWIW Joe is up to 44.1% on 538. Nice gain in about 2 weeks.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

Here's the caveat.......

An aide found them, and previously, his own lawyers found them, and neither of them were in his personal possession, they were places he's been, and each time, they did the exact thing you do when you find stuff like this.

Saying "they" found more implies it's a similar situation where 'they' found the documents during the search in Florida at trumps hoity-toidy(sp) palace.

"They" as in his people. It's still going to make prosecuting Trump nearly impossible because we don't do nuance in this country.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Edward64

The first set of docs were found months ago and properly reported. Biden should have made that public then (since Trump's stuff was in the news) instead of CBS breaking the story. It just makes him look bad.

Simply say "we found documents on X date, I didn't know about it, we reported it immediately, we'll let the authorities do their investigation how this happened"

So unless the authorities said "don't tell the public" (which I doubt), I do think Biden deserves some bad press here. I do want to know what type of docs and what they think happened e.g. was it some staff that mistakenly put it into a storage box without higher ups knowing

Your naivety never ceases to amaze me. Do you honestly think the reaction from right wing media and republicans would be any different regardless of when this was announced.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

"They" as in his people. It's still going to make prosecuting Trump nearly impossible because we don't do nuance in this country.

Garland is a dickless wonder who is terrified of coming off even remotely partisan. Zero chance he goes after Trump now.

[dubb93]

If it means we can still prosecute Trump then Biden needs to be the fall guy if needed. We can’t do four more years of Trump in charge after everything that has come out, I simply don’t know if the Union can survive that so whatever needs to happen to Biden over this I would be all for. My two cents.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Lathum

Your naivety never ceases to amaze me. Do you honestly think the reaction from right wing media and republicans would be any different regardless of when this was announced.

It’s not always about right wing or left wing extremist/media. Just my opinion & thoughts on what he should have done and why he deserves some backlash.

It’s certainly not as bad as Trump but it is wrong it was found in his possessions. What reason does he had for not divulging this info back in nov?

[bhlloy]

I’m totally onboard with whatever wipes out Trump and Biden for 2024. Bring it the fuck on.

[miami_fan]

Not as famous as the last American released by the Russians, but just as important.

Taylor Dudley: US Navy veteran released from Russian custody | CNN Politics

[Flasch186]

@edward

Why? Because he didn’t know they existed because he wasn’t actively trying to hide them so he could show off to golf buddies and when it was found they turned them in without a fight.

But both sides


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Edward64

What reason does he had for not divulging this info back in nov?

Maybe there was an ongoing investigation? Maybe they were searching for more docs? Politics obviously.

It just baffles me you don't grasp that the timing means nothing to the right wing outrage machine.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Flasch186

@edward

Why? Because he didn’t know they existed because he wasn’t actively trying to hide them so he could show off to golf buddies and when it was found they turned them in without a fight.

But both sides


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Huh? My understanding is the first set of docs were found in Nov. Joe knew he/staff had messed up then, reported to FBI, Justice (?) but did not divulge it to public.

So yeah, he wasn’t trying to actively hide the docs but he was actively trying to hide the discovery of the docs from the public. I want him to answer why he did this? I can’t think of a good reason

But yeah, I guess some think one side is better than both sides

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Lathum

Maybe there was an ongoing investigation? Maybe they were searching for more docs? Politics obviously.

It just baffles me you don't grasp that the timing means nothing to the right wing outrage machine.

Yes, some politics obviously for sure

If there was an active investigation and he was told not to divulge the discovery, I want to know that. Easy for him to come out and say it. He hasn’t yet so my guess is they weren’t told to not divulge.

Forget left or right wing outrage, nothing to do about that in my posts. What was the right thing for Joe to do? Just stay quiet and hope no one finds out? Unless FBI, Justice told him to not say anything, this makes Joe look bad

[Lathum]

I think the correct thing to do is let the dust settle. We live in a world where everyone is falling over themselves to divulge information, often incorrectly. I suspect Bidens camp wanted time to process what was happening, see where an investigation goes, gameplan how to handle it, and/or see if not only there were more documents, but confirm they are legitimate and not fake/planted.

I have zero issue with any of that.

[Lathum]

Garland announcement at 1:15. I'm sure it will be deeply riveting and insightful.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Lathum

I think the correct thing to do is let the dust settle. We live in a world where everyone is falling over themselves to divulge information, often incorrectly. I suspect Bidens camp wanted time to process what was happening, see where an investigation goes, gameplan how to handle it, and/or see if not only there were more documents, but confirm they are legitimate and not fake/planted.

I have zero issue with any of that.

They discovered the first set of docs in Nov. I believe it was Nov 2, that's over 2+ months. Plenty of time for them to process what was happening & gameplan.

Yes, if Garland tells us a good reason why it was kept quiet since Nov, I'm all for it. I can understand not divulging it immediately because of the unknowns you stated (include the Nov elections) but 2+ months is plenty of time.

[Lathum]

2 months is the blink of an eye when it comes to this sort of thing.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Edward64

They discovered the first set of docs in Nov. I believe it was Nov 2, that's over 2+ months. Plenty of time for them to process what was happening & gameplan.

Yes, if Garland tells us a good reason why it was kept quiet since Nov, I'm all for it. I can understand not divulging it immediately because of the unknowns you stated (include the Nov elections) but 2+ months is plenty of time.

Can you tell me exactly how your life was changed by the delay? What exactly did the delay affect of importance? Wouldn't it be better to investigate and have a grasp on the situation before muddying thing up with announcement? Heck, the justice department knew for months Trump had Top Secret documents, did they have press conference immediately or did we find out by the press reporting on the raid?

[albionmoonlight]

People think that police and prosecutors talk way more about ongoing investigations than they actually do.

[bronconick]

Originally Posted by Lathum

2 months is the blink of an eye when it comes to this sort of thing.

Former Clinton NSA Sandy Berger took 5 classified documents in October 2003 and plead guilty in April 2005. This doesn't usually happen quickly.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

Can you tell me exactly how your life was changed by the delay?

No change at all. Not about me.

What exactly did the delay affect of importance? Wouldn't it be better to investigate and have a grasp on the situation before muddying thing up with announcement?

No doubt an investigation is needed. Some investigations take years to complete, so just wait before finding out? All Joe had to say was below back in November

Simply say "we found documents on X date, I didn't know about it, we reported it immediately, we'll let the authorities do their investigation how this happened"

Heck, the justice department knew for months Trump had Top Secret documents, did they have press conference immediately or did we find out by the press reporting on the raid?

Below is the timeline. I do not believe the Archives were keeping anything secret when they were making the request. I don't think MSM picked up on it until Justice got involved. Therefore, it was known stuff was missing and some were returned Jan 2022. Then on Feb 9, the Archives asked the Justice dept to investigate.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-s...ce-department/

And yeah, Joe should be better than Trump.

[Ksyrup]

Whether it's Biden keeping documents in a Corvette or Trump trying to take the wheel of a limo to drive to an insurrection, both sides have had their share of trouble with cars.

— New York Times Pitchbot (@DougJBalloon) January 12, 2023

[Flasch186]

SMH

Trump literally fought to keep the stuff and actively hide it, possibly criminally

Biden didn’t even know the crap was left there (negligently) but gave it up immediately and didn’t fight to keep it so that he had a trophy

This is so E


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Edward64]

Nice to see your are using both sides in discussions

[cuervo72]

Wait, I thought Biden was a Camaro guy.

[Edward64]

Looking forward to the next budget battle royale! Been a while since we've had a shutdown.

House GOP tempts fall government shutdown with impossible spending demands - POLITICO

House Republicans are vowing to put Don Quixote to shame by tilting at a huge windmill: slashing federal spending by at least $130 billion without cutting defense.

I like the target for sure. Not sure I'd agree with the process and need to see the details.

In addition to Republicans’ pledge to slice $130 billion from the $1.7 trillion government funding package that passed in December

Conceptually, I like the idea of individual votes. As a practical matter, I can see this turning into a cluster.

(In addition) ... conservatives want to take the process old-school. Rather than passing one massive bill, they’re calling for individual votes on the dozen appropriations bills that set annual budgets for different agencies, a more time-consuming but transparent procedure that recent Congresses have struggled to complete.

Again, like the target but don't think history is on their side.

Republicans say they won’t back a debt limit increase unless they get their way on spending cuts or measures to reign in the ever-increasing $31 trillion debt.

Hopefully, the economy & markets will be full-steam ahead and inflation will be well under control before they get unsettled with all this mess.

[miked]

Maybe they should reverse their stupid tax cuts as a way to increase the budget since nobody wants to cut our bloated defense.

[stevew]

I hope these “extraordinary measures” to avoid the debt ceiling include such things as the following: Juggling. Walking a tight rope. Swimming with sharks. Snakecharming. Spelunking while blindfolded. And many more!

Godspeed Janet Yellen.

[bronconick]

Ironically, Garland appointing a Special Counsel has pissed off the GOP House crazies, since anything they subpoena is now "under active investigation"

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by stevew

I hope these “extraordinary measures” to avoid the debt ceiling include such things as the following: Juggling. Walking a tight rope. Swimming with sharks. Snakecharming. Spelunking while blindfolded. And many more!

Godspeed Janet Yellen.

I'm hoping for mud wrestling.

Lauren Boebert & MTG vs AOC & Ilhan Omar

The rake from the streaming revenue would pay off this year's deficit.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by stevew

I hope these “extraordinary measures” to avoid the debt ceiling include such things as the following: Juggling. Walking a tight rope. Swimming with sharks. Snakecharming. Spelunking while blindfolded. And many more!

Godspeed Janet Yellen.

I read we have till early June with Yellen buying us time. I don't remember the other times but 5 months seems like a lot of time.

Regardless, below will be fun to watch

Lauren Boebert & MTG vs AOC & Ilhan Omar

But some here will want to expand it to a field of 12. So, I'd like to see Biden vs Trump, McCarthy vs Pelosi, Turtle vs Schumer and, probably the best fight, Hunter vs Don Jr or Eric