The Biden Presidency - 2020

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

Beau died in May 2015. Biden admits that he was no where near the right mind space to run in 2016 as a result.

Yeah, I don't blame him. And that general election would have been real tough on him considering the type of attacks that Trump would use. I still think it'll be looked back on as one of the pivotal moments in the history of this country.

Lauren Boebert also looks a lot like Lacey Chabert.

[Edward64]

Was wondering what's next for BBB. Senate gyrations start next week.

Here are the hurdles for Biden’s Build Back Better plan when the Senate returns - MarketWatch

Senators return to Washington on Monday, and with them will come fierce debate over President Joe Biden’s sprawling social-spending and climate bill passed by the House earlier this month.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, has said he’d like his chamber to pass the so-called Build Back Better plan before Christmas, but several key provisions in the roughly $2 trillion measure need to be hashed out after passing the House of Representatives on Nov. 19, and Senate action could reportedly slip into the new year.

Attention will turn once again to Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, two moderate members of Biden’s party who have aired concerns about the size and contents of the plan. But other lawmakers such as Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent who usually votes with Democrats, will also be critical to watch on issues including the state and local tax deduction, or SALT.

[GrantDawg]

Matthew McConaughey is not running for governor of Texas. That train derailed before it got going.

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[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Yeah, I don't blame him. And that general election would have been real tough on him considering the type of attacks that Trump would use. I still think it'll be looked back on as one of the pivotal moments in the history of this country.

Lauren Boebert also looks a lot like Lacey Chabert.

I really hope she gets replaced by Mila Kunis

[sterlingice]

https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/30/polit...nia/index.html
Noted quack Dr. Oz is joining the clown car for US Senate in Pennsylvania

SI

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/30/polit...nia/index.html
Noted quack Dr. Oz is joining the clown car for US Senate in Pennsylvania

SI

Heh, just noted this in the Trump thread.

[Swaggs]

It doesn't sound like he grew up there (not sure?), but I think it could be amusing that Dr. Oz was born in Cleveland. I feel like that, alone, will be enough to sink him in Western PA.

[NobodyHere]

Apparently Oz went to college in Pennsylvania

[BYU 14]

Well hell, I had a layover in Denver once, maybe a Colorado house bid against crazy Boebert is in my future?

[Ryche]

He lives in New Jersey, works in NYC but apparently voted by absentee from his in-laws' house in Philadelphia.

https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news...s-say/3063223/

Hoping Fetterman wins the Democratic primary there, he'll win easily I think.

[GrantDawg]

Mark Meadows has turned over files and paperwork and will testify before the January 6th panel. Wonder if that revelation that he used his personal email to harass the Georgua SOS has him spooked?

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[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

Mark Meadows has turned over files and paperwork and will testify before the January 6th panel. Wonder if that revelation that he used his personal email to harass the Georgua SOS has him spooked?

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Or that that same SOS testified for over 4 hours to the Committee today?

[Edward64]

Not going to fault Chris for wanting to help his brother. But he prob should have taken a leave of absence and explained to his viewers upfront "love my brother, going to help him where I can, but don't want any misunderstanding with conflict of interest".

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by Edward64

Not going to fault Chris for wanting to help his brother. But he prob should have taken a leave of absence and explained to his viewers upfront "love my brother, going to help him where I can, but don't want any misunderstanding with conflict of interest".

Yeah that would have been the responsible journalist thing to do, and probably a conversation CNN should have had with him all this started. He could have come back to CNN after it was all over, now I'm not sure they will take him back

[GrantDawg]

After oral arguements on the Mississippi law today, we can say good by to Roe.

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[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

Mark Meadows has turned over files and paperwork and will testify before the January 6th panel.

He might just take the 5th before the panel.

But this strikes me as a semi-significant development.

Meadows is a smart guy, and he's going to have a sense of what's going on, and if he has decided that jumping off the Trump Train is in his best interest, that might mean that there's some sense that the Trump inner circle is in some danger.

As long as there is a sense that Trump will survive unscathed and punish his enemies and reward his friends, there is no reason to be anything other than Steve Bannon defiant.

[larrymcg421]

I think Roberts wants to uphold the limits without completely overruling Roe. But there might be 5 votes for overruling even without him.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by larrymcg421

I think Roberts wants to uphold the limits without completely overruling Roe. But there might be 5 votes for overruling even without him.

Roberts wants to keep slowly killing it and he has to convince Justice "I like beer" to go along with him

SI

[JPhillips]

Charlie Baker dropped the 2022 MA Gov race today, largely, it seems, because the state GOP is more supportive of Trump's candidate in the primary.

Baker won MA by 33 pts and coincidentally Trump lost MA by 33 pts.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Charlie Baker dropped the 2022 MA Gov race today, largely, it seems, because the state GOP is more supportive of Trump's candidate in the primary.

Baker won MA by 33 pts and coincidentally Trump lost MA by 33 pts.

10 years ago, Baker seems like the type of guy who could have strong national aspirations. Now, he's getting pushed aside as a RINO.

SI

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Edward64

A tennis player speaking out against rape against a top official, and then "detained" is infuriating.

If this isn't resolved soon, the West should publicly explore not participating in the Winter Olympics.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/17/tenni...hnk/index.html

WTA is doing the right thing. I know some officials met with her in a conference call (supervised I'm sure) and supposedly she said she was good. Would like the video or meeting recording to be released and let's see. And after that, have her do another meeting but this time in person in neutral country.

Unfortunately, don't think WTA has enough heft. There needs to be other sports organizations doing the same thing.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/01/tenni...ntl/index.html

The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) chairman and CEO Steve Simon has announced an immediate suspension of all WTA tournaments in China, including Hong Kong.

In a statement released Wednesday, Simon said the decision was based on the lack of transparency by Chinese officials following tennis player Peng Shuai's allegation of sexual assault against a top Chinese government official.
"In good conscience, I don't see how I can ask our athletes to compete there when Peng Shuai is not allowed to communicate freely and has seemingly been pressured to contradict her allegation of sexual assault," Simon said.

[Edward64]

Shouldn't the accountable person for the dysfunction is Harris' chief of staff Tina Flournoy and not a communications director or chief spokesperson. Maybe that's what Flournoy is doing right now to get better alignment.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/01/polit...ris/index.html

Symone Sanders, Vice President Kamala Harris' chief spokesperson and senior adviser, is leaving the Biden administration at the end of the year, according to a source familiar with the decision.

"Symone has served honorably for three years," the source told CNN. "The President and vice president are grateful for Symone's service and advocacy for this White House. She is a valued member, a team player, and she will be missed. We are grateful to have her working through the end of the year."

Her expected exit marks the second departure among Harris' top communication staff in recent weeks. Last month, a White House official told CNN that the vice president's communications director, Ashley Etienne, was leaving to pursue "other opportunities."

News of each departure followed a myriad of reports, including by CNN, of staff infighting and dysfunction. Still, the source dismissed that Sanders' exit has to do with reports of dysfunction, calling it the right time for her to go.
Harris has known for some time about Sanders' upcoming departure, according to a second source familiar.

[cuervo72]

Looks like they are going to go full-throttle with the anti-abortion ads here (well, probably NoVa) if recent local commercials are any indication.

[RainMaker]

It's weird because overturning Roe would probably help Democrats come election time. Abortion felt like a carrot Republicans loved to hold in front of their voters but never actually wanted to eliminate it (Obamacare is similar in that respect).

Maybe that doesn't matter as much now that so many states are setting up to more or less remove voters from deciding elections.

Although Democrats had the chance to prevent this back when Obama took office and failed to do so. It was something Obama talked about on the campaign trail and said it was a Day 1 thing. But he dropped it after being elected. So maybe voting Democrat wouldn't matter anyway.

[NobodyHere]

What exactly could've Obama done?

[GrantDawg]

Codified it.

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[RainMaker]

Obama Promised To Sign The Freedom Of Choice Act On Day One, Hasn't Touched The Issue Since

[albionmoonlight]

The Dems are always three moves too late.

"Now that the GOP has locked in gerrymandering and voter suppression and election administration, and majorities on the federal courts, we are going to seriously consider forming a committee to decide whether we should create a task force to resolve whether we should have a commission to make non-binding recommendations about whether we should have done anything about that before it was too late. But in the interest of fairness, we will only form the committee if a majority of Republicans say that they won't mind."

MEDIA: Dems pursue hardball tactics at risk of alienating moderate voters.

[albionmoonlight]

dola: The only reason I have any hope that the 1/6 committee will say anything other than "Those terrorists were awesome, and it is out fault for not letting them kill us" is that they have a couple of Republicans on it.

[albionmoonlight]

double dola: And I'm out. Apparently, I am not in the right frame of mind to be anything other than a whiney bitch today :-)

[thesloppy]

The Democratic Party’s Guide to Keeping Your Rights - McSweeney’s Internet Tendency


"Maybe there’s something wrong with your district? Have you tried turning your vote off and turning it back on again? See if that does anything."

[GrantDawg]

Albionmoonlight, we've all had those days. It is hard not to have those days constantly.

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[JPhillips]

The problem with the 1/6 committee is that they'll release a report, it will be thorough and devastating, and they'll expect it to make a difference.

But it won't. They need weeks, if not months, of public hearings, based on the Watergate model. They need to force this into the national conversation for a long time. For example, these witnesses claiming the fifth should have to do that on television to specific questions over and over. Make it clear what they are worried was criminal behavior.

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

But it won't. They need weeks, if not months, of public hearings, based on the Watergate model. They need to force this into the national conversation for a long time. For example, these witnesses claiming the fifth should have to do that on television to specific questions over and over. Make it clear what they are worried was criminal behavior.

I would like to see that too...tho I imagine that even if they could arrange that right-wing news would simply choose not to air any of it, which wasn't a consideration in the Watergate era.

[larrymcg421]

The same court that is about to overturn Roe vs. Wade would easily overturn the Freedom of Choice Act.

[Brian Swartz]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

They need weeks, if not months, of public hearings, based on the Watergate model. They need to force this into the national conversation for a long time. For example, these witnesses claiming the fifth should have to do that on television to specific questions over and over. Make it clear what they are worried was criminal behavior.

That doesn't do any good anymore. Think of how many people, after lots of congressional inquiry and discussion, still couldn't have given a rip about the Mueller report and investigation.

I'm not saying they shouldn't try, I'm just saying it requires an electorate that gives a darn. Most of the people who give a darn don't need convincing. The ones who could be convinced, will only be convinced by other issues (namely, those that immediately and concretely impact their bottom line).

In general, it mattered to John Q. Public that Nixon's administration and Nixon personally broke the law. It mattered more than partisan allegiances. That's why he was booted. By the 90s at the latest, we'd gotten to the point as a society where we no longer cared about that kind of thing as much. The situation hasn't improved since.

[Edward64]

Don't think Ukraine or the West can do much to stop this militarily if Russia wanted to go forward with it. Assume there will be sanctions and many words, but that hasn't stopped Putin before.

U.S. intelligence finds Russia planning Ukraine offensive - POLITICO

President Joe Biden has pledged to make it “very, very difficult” for Russia’s Vladimir Putin to take military action in Ukraine as U.S. intelligence officials determined that Russian planning is underway for a possible military offensive that could begin as soon as early 2022.

The new intelligence finding estimates that the Russians are planning to deploy an estimated 175,000 troops and almost half of them are already deployed along various points near Ukraine's border, according to a Biden administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the finding.
:
U.S. officials and former U.S. diplomats say while Putin clearly is laying the groundwork for a possible invasion, Ukraine’s military is better armed and prepared today than in past years, and the sanctions threatened by the West would do serious damage to Russia’s economy. It remains unclear if Putin intends to go through with what would be a risky offensive, they say.

Interesting note on SWIFT. No idea how significant it would be assuming countries like China will still continue to do business.

He did not detail what sanctions were being weighed, but one potentially could be to cut off Russia from the SWIFT system of international payments. The European Union’s Parliament approved a nonbinding resolution in April to cut off Russia from SWIFT — the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications — if its troops entered Ukraine.

Such a move would go far toward blocking Russian businesses from the global financial system. Western allies reportedly considered such a step in 2014 and 2015, during earlier Russian-led escalations of tensions over Ukraine.

Then-Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said it would be tantamount to “a declaration of war.”

[Lathum]

Handmaids tale shit....How did we get to this place?

Truly one of the most disturbing things I’ve witnessed in a long time. A Congressman, in a bid to overturn Roe V Wade and deny American women reproductive rights. Publicly referred to them as “Earthen vessels, sanctified by Almighty God.” Give me strength. pic.twitter.com/LvYM46GRVN

— Dr. Jennifer Cassidy (@OxfordDiplomat) December 3, 2021

[GrantDawg]

I don't know much about the newly elected Mayor of Atlanta Andre Dicksens, but the way he came from obscurity to win that election by landslide versus a well-known early favorite suggest he someone to keep an eye on. What I am reading it was mostly his charisma and relate-ability that put him over the top. He could be a real up-and-comer.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Lathum

Handmaids tale shit....How did we get to this place?

Truly one of the most disturbing things I’ve witnessed in a long time. A Congressman, in a bid to overturn Roe V Wade and deny American women reproductive rights. Publicly referred to them as “Earthen vessels, sanctified by Almighty God.” Give me strength. pic.twitter.com/LvYM46GRVN

— Dr. Jennifer Cassidy (@OxfordDiplomat) December 3, 2021

Nothing Madison Cawthorn does is a surprise at this point. He's as bad as MTG and Bobo except he's a white male which actually makes him far more dangerous within the GOP.

[Edward64]

Sounds like the right decision. My guess he'll wind up at MSNBC.

CNN said Saturday that anchor Chris Cuomo has been "terminated" by the network, "effective immediately."

The announcement came after an outside law firm was retained to review information about exactly how Cuomo aided his brother, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, when the then-governor was accused of sexual harassment.

CNN said in a statement: "Chris Cuomo was suspended earlier this week pending further evaluation of new information that came to light about his involvement with his brother's defense. We retained a respected law firm to conduct the review, and have terminated him, effective immediately."

"While in the process of that review, additional information has come to light," CNN's statement added. "Despite the termination, we will investigate as appropriate."

[Atocep]

Merry Christmas from House Representative Thomas Massie.

Serious question, do Republicans actually send out cards like this to family? Who the fuck sees this and goes, "This guy has always been pro 2nd amendment, voted that way, campaigns on it, but until I saw the Tremors: Christmas Special family cosplay I wasn't sold on the sincerity."

[BYU 14]

Does anything scream I am a complete fucking douchebag more then that picture?

I own guns, but never felt the need to express it as some phallic symbol of my manhood.

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

Does anything scream I am a complete fucking douchebag more then that picture?

I own guns, but never felt the need to express it as some phallic symbol of my manhood.

So the women in that picture just want penises?

[Ksyrup]

They shut up and do as they are told.

[Brian Swartz]

Or, they are actually as big a part, sometimes bigger, part of that culture than the men are.

Originally Posted by BYU14

Does anything scream I am a complete fucking douchebag more then that picture?

Yes. A great many things do.

[Edward64]

He is pandering to his base and he (and family) seem to believe in 2A. Good trigger discipline.

The M60 (didn’t know you can buy one) and tommy gun are interesting.

[Ryche]

Definitely screams celebrating Jesus's birthday

[I. J. Reilly]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

Does anything scream I am a complete fucking douchebag more then that picture?

It’s like the truck nuts of family portraits.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

So the women in that picture just want penises?

I am sure you are able to cross reference what would replace a penis for the women.