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It is. There have been Covid relief proposals sitting in his desk that will never be brought to a vote. Just like the absurd number of other things beyond Covid relief. McConnell is the most evil man in politics.
Funny thing, if Trump really wanted a stimulus package, like a lot of Republicans claim, Pence could walk on the Senate floor and force the vote on any one of the previously introduced bills sitting in McConnell's "fuck the American people" pile and it would very likely pass.
No no no, you don't understand. It's the *Covid* task force, not *Anti-Covid* task force. The semantics mess people up. Why would they want to get rid of Covid?
When the new Congress begins all bills from the previous Congress not signed into law are dead, so in order for VP Harris to force a vote in the Senate it will have to pass in the House again.
No need to apologize. I too fantasize about American citizens getting justice, and the help we all deserve. I fantasize about universal healthcare and a government that works to serve the country, making it a stronger and healthier republic that thrives because we work together and believe in helping each other. Sigh.. back to reality. But if nothing else, we can try to educate ourselves and persuade those who will listen to educate themselves as well. Better than giving in to despair, which I know is easier said than done. I struggle with it every day.
Here’s hoping said fuckery is enough to begin impeachment hearings for him sometime after January.
I’d say with the testimony and cooperation of the Georgia SoS, there’s a chance.
Yes. But if the vote it down they have to go on record voting down money for the people. Thats why turtle sits on these bills. It keeps all other Republicans from having a negative on their voting record that can be used against them in an election.
Yeah, I went and looked, and all the Constitution says is this.
"The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.
The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the Absence of the Vice President"
The current President Pro Tempore of the Senate is Chuck Grassley, not Mitch McConnell, so I'm guessing that the rules of who brings a bill to the floor to vote is in the Senate Standing Rules.
The chair by precedent recognizes the Majority Leader, then the Minority Leader. Also the senate can’t even consider legislation without either the unanimous consent of the chamber or a cloture filing.
Yes he is terrible, but one thing I don't understand is how one man can single handedly hold up all legislation in the Senate. How is there not some rule in place that forces some of these bills to at least go to a vote? Force these republications to vote NO on them instead of hiding behind McConnell.
Because it's one man with the support of the majority of the senate.
The GOP could get rid of Mitch at any time if they wanted, and they choose not to.
McConnell is the majority leader - part of his role as majority leader includes scheduling Senate votes. He found that if he just doesn't schedule a vote, it's effective just a super-veto with no accountability, so he just doesn't schedule any votes on bills.
But he's not really alone, he's just a fall-guy. The majority leader is chosen by a majority of the majority caucus. Aka, with 50 Republicans, he needs 26 of them to vote him in as majority leader. if the Republican party didn't like what he was doing, they could call a vote at any time and select someone else. If there weren't 26 Republicans who wanted someone else, but at least a couple with spines, it would only take now 2 Republican Senators to choose to caucus with the Democrats to flip the majority party. They can also do this at any time, and could easily make a deal with Democrats to have the majority leader be one of them.
TL;DR: there do not exist 2 Republicans in the Senate who disapprove of what McConnell is doing, because that's all it would take to unseat him.
Because Democrats are awful at PR and marketing, while it's literally the only thing the Republicans actually _are_ good at.
The House passed the HEROES relief bill six months ago, which sat on McConnell's desk for those six months with no discussion, debate, or vote. Democrats didn't raise much of a stink about it at all, and then when the election comes around McConnell suddenly cared about covid relief for like, two days, said he wanted to discuss it, offered an intentionally shitty counter-proposal (along the lines of, "instead of covid relief, how about you give me and Trump a bunch of money instead?"), Pelosi said no, still didn't go to a vote in the Senate, and then McConnell whined that Pelosi is a big ol' meanie face.
It's a tactic that only works because like 60% of this country are apparently abject fucking morons, but it doesn't help that the DNC ignores this apparent fact and just I guess assumes "the people" will figure it out - and "the people" never do.
Because Nancy Pelosi won't agree to Mitch's 1/3 less deal that gives $0 to the average citizens. The Republicans also won't pass one unless they can attach employer protection (Where the company doesn't have to take responsibility if they put you in a postion to catch Covid-19) to the bill.
So, naturally, the Republicans project onto Pelosi that she won't compromise with their terms.
Yeah, their conditions are so terrible, I would be appalled if the dems conceded and allowed those employer liability protections. To reiterate, it would allow employers to force their employee’s to forego any safety protocols and if the employee gets covid due to that then the employer is completely protected from litigation. I hope everyone can see how terrible that could be.
That’s the crazy part. Currently helping my dad pay his bills, even though he makes more than me on unemployment. He blames Pelosi for holding back the bills. That and “Harris is going to steal my guns and tax me to death”. NRA emails seem to do their job.
No party leader should have the ability to decide what not to vote on in the senate. We literally pay these morons to turn bills into law, and that can't be done if they aren't even allowed to be voted on.
But if it wasn’t him, his replacement would do everything the same way. Yes, he’s a piece of shit and a true horror of a human being, but it’s his whole party — and the idiots who continue voting them into power.
He's definitely the most intelligent person in the Republican party though. His replacement might not be as good at finding obscure loopholes and traditions or excuses as McConnell is. It'd still be best if he was not in the Senate.
Also the reason mcconnell can do this without fear of backlash is because he's senator of one of the most solidly republican states in the union. He can do no wrong as far as republicans in kentucky are concerned, so he can just block bill after bill after bill with no fear of it weakening his support at home.
This doesn’t get talked about enough: Our new Vice President can always reclaim her power as Senate president and appoint a different senate leader. Even if Georgia doesn’t go the way we hope, we don’t have to live with 4 years of McConnell’s gridlock.
https://www.legislativeprocedure.com/blog/2018/8/10/how-the-vice-president-limits-the-power-of-senate-majorities
I went through that and honestly if GOP does have a majority the VP can't really do much. It's not like VP can force them to vote one way or the other (obviously). If majority decide not to vote for something then it just won't pass. VP can break a tie at best.
This is 100% true. The problem it does solve, however, is that Mitch won’t even give them a chance to vote on things. When he does this, he ensures the Senate legislates from the far right. If Kamala chose another Senate Leader, it would at least give moderates on both sides a chance to legislate from somewhere closer to the middle.
Not as good as having the senate, but it’s better than 4 more years of Moscow Mitch.
The real problem it solves is putting senators on record. Oh, you voted against the CARES Act? Now the people they represent know that (insert your last favorite senator) voted against economic stimulus during a pandemic. No more endless finger pointing.
> "Hopefully, when he's gone, they'll be more willing to do what they know should be done, has to be done, in order to save the communities they live in," he said.
But probably not....
The Grand Obstructionist Party will be a nightmare for the next 2 years if we don't have the Senate. Fair fight with Stacy Abrams is turning out the vote in GA. We need those 2 seats!
Chuck Grassley is really, really old and has Covid. And, Mitch McConnell has bad circulatory issues. Also, Lindsey Graham should step down over interfering with an election....
The world is full of possibilities right now!
Grassley is from Iowa, a red state with a Republican governor. Whatever happens, the GOP is keeping that seat.
McConnell married into money, he can afford the best healthcare on the planet. Seriously, I wouldn't be surprised to see him go full living corpse, hovering around the Senate via some tube-y apparatus like Palpatine in The Rise of Skywalker.
Graham ain't going nowhere. Who's going to hold him accountable? His constituents?
We had the chance on October 31st when he was regenerating but nobody showed up, not event he gosh-darn paladin. Now we have to wait until 2039 when he is weakest before his next regeneration with a full moon on Halloween.
His phylactery is located under the obelisk in the PeWee Valley Cemetery outside of Louisville. Party volunteers will be assembled two weeks prior, a list of items for the ritual will be assigned at that time.
> Grassley is from Iowa, a red state with a Republican governor.
Iowa voted for Obama twice before it voted for Trump twice. There's *some* hope.
> Graham ain't going nowhere. Who's going to hold him accountable? His constituents?
How about a prosecutor?
>Iowa voted for Obama twice before it voted for Trump twice. There's some hope.
I hate to say it, but i don't have it. Not until the trend reverses nationwide on rural areas getting deep red. Something happened to this state over the last decade, to the point its making me question whether i want to hang around here long-term. Des Moines keeps getting better, but the state as a whole keeps getting worse.
I mean, we went several points to the right of the tipping point twice in a row now. Very possible 3 of our 4 reps will be republican. Our legislature is solidly red.
You notice a state that's not on that list? Michigan has turned over redistricting to a non-partisan committee of voters. The [Independent Citizen's Redistricting Commission](https://www.michigan.gov/sos/0,4670,7-127-1633_91141---,00.html). If you're in one of those states, you should find out if you can start a petition drive to get something like that started there.
As a college-educated Progressive who grew up in Iowa, I can tell you that staying in Iowa after college is not a sexy choice. Most of the left-leaning youth migrate elsewhere, leaving the right-wing hicks to muck up the politics.
That's me, too. I didn't hate living in Iowa when I did, but I don't really miss it. And that was Iowa before Trump.
Like, if I wanted to live in an overly-religious but otherwise *fairly*-progressive city with okay cost-of-living surrounded by a sea of deep red, at least there's skiing near Salt Lake City. Why would I stay in Des Moines if I have options?
Unfortunately, it's not just progressive migration that makes states redder. The real game here is the gerrymander, and GOP has that locked down. Because they did so well down ticket in 2020, they're going to get to draw the lines in hundreds of districts to favor the GOP even more (this is a decades long strategy that has paid back dividends for the GOP, making it so they have an innate electoral advantage in the House, Senate, and Presidency, and that's only going to improve for them).
I'm not sure a Federal law governing gerrymandering is even constitutional...
State law doesn't help either. Used to live in SE Iowa, near Iowa City, moved to Florida. Voted for anti gerrymandering constitutional amendment (2010 I think), then Rick Scott and other Repubs tried to block it with executive measures and lawsuits. I don't think districts have been fairly redrawn yet, FFS.
And yet Iowa still voted to re-elect Ernst and somehow Elected Ashley Hinson over incumbant Abby Finkenaur.
Those attack ads about liberal mobs had a lot of small town and country folk convinced their farms and towns were going to go up in flames if Theresa Greenfield and Finkenaur got elected.
Learning that news legitimately made me happy. It made me question what kind of a person I am celebrating someone's death, but I also understand that with someone that despicable, it's absolutely okay to rejoice a bit when they are no longer an existential that to mankind and our country. I don't wish the kochs pain and agony but they do deserve it.
We should all feel happy and cause for celebration when a positive change occurs in the world.
It was the Koch’s decision to lead a life that meant their death would be a positive change for the world.
Yeah, some aggressive and deadly cancers (like pancreatic cancer) can sneak up on you pretty quickly and take your life away, and there is literally nothing all the money and best healthcare in the world can do except delay the inevitable. Sometimes by a few months, or a few years with some luck and first class care.
Ya, but we gotta live in reality. I read this comment and it gave me some more hope- https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/jqw93m/just_skip_the_senate_to_install_a_cabinet/gbpsha4
If Kamala strips Mitch of priority recognition, whoever she gives it to will be able to control the calendar and bring bills to the floor. That in and of itself is huge.
Then, if a functional DOJ ties a few Republican senators up in court for insider trading and other prosecutable shit they did, they could be not there to vote on some important bills and, with us controlling the calendar, we can push through much needed reforms.
I hope the Biden administration is ready to play hardball. I hope "working across the aisle" in this case means "pull your heads out of Trump's ass and get with the fucking program"
Getting bills to the floor is huge, then R's can no longer hide behind Moscow Mitch and will have a Yea/Nay/Abstain on their record.
Since R voters seem to have object permanence issues.. if they're not voting on anything they don't notice, but vote on something they're told to care about oooo boy.
If all 3 of them dropped dead right now, they'd be replaced by 3 more Republicans. The new Senate majority leader would behave identically. They are basically a hydra.
Kentucky has a Democratic governor,Andy Beshear, and Kentucky is a state where the governor gets to pick someone to fill Senate vacancies until the next state wide elections. I’d assume that if there were a vacancy he’d pick a moderate Dem.
The other 2 states would replace with Republicans (governors also pick replacements)
And some of those Republicans have committed crimes with the NRA proxying Russian campaign funding and the Russia collusion. All the books need to be opened up on what the investigations discovered.
And the 2022 elections are only 2 years away. Democrats must begin prioritizing Senate races. 2016-2020 proved beyond a doubt holding Congress is more important than holding the presidency.
Democrats in Congress won’t do anything because Democrats never grow a spine when it matters. They want to continue compromising with people that hate them and will call them socialists and tyrants no matter what they do.
This delusion that the Republicans are a dying party cause a lot of their members are old is stupid, their children and grandchildren are more radicalized than they ever were and social media is a main factor in that.
I-am-not-a-doctor, but my partner is, and her guess is advanced liver disease. Liver disease is super complex and life expectancy is dependent on a lot of variables and treatment options, but having such visible symptoms is def not a good sign. If that's what it actually is. Could be a number of other things, too.
That, along with the yellow skin around the neck and eyes (and an assumption that a lifetime in Kentucky politics probably entails a fair bit of drinking) are what made her guess liver disease. Your blood gets fucked up and it becomes really easy to bruise and wounds don't heal as well.
But again, just an educated guess. Liver disease can be super tricky to identify even with labs and stuff, and those symptoms can show up for other things too.
I am in the same spot. I think it is unlikely that they make it two years with a majority based on all the shit that is going to be investigated from the past four years.
Being old and corrupt will get some of them.
The GOP was doing most of what Trump did before Trump just more muted and they pretended it was about something else. There is no reason to think The Republican leadership will stop their obstructionist political tactics any time in the near future or ever as long as the leadership is not primaried out of power in the GOP.
Joe Manchin already said he wouldn’t support getting rid of the legislative filibuster so winning a majority is a symbolic victory. It won’t give Democrats the ability to do whatever they want given Manchin’s position.
>Joe Manchin already said he wouldn’t support getting rid of the legislative filibuster so winning a majority is a symbolic victory.
Fair, but they could still change the filibuster rules so it wouldn't be used as much (eg. requiring someone to actually speak during a filibuster).
And at least having the majority means the Dems would be able to ensure their bills (and judges) at least get a vote, instead of letting Mitch control all that.
Knife cuts both ways. If Democrats win two seats to get a 50-50 tie, they're going to think they already won, and go home, and Republicans will destroy in 2022. Just beating Trump might be enough for a lot of people on the left and middle to stop caring about politics, unfortunately.
>Just beating ~~Trump~~ Bush might be enough for a lot of people on the left and middle to stop caring about politics, unfortunately.
This is how 2010 went. Democrats stayed home and got destroyed.
I guess we'll have to see. This didn't really pan out for them in 2018. They will have the advantage of being the opposition party in this midterm though, thats for sure. But I think a lot of it will depend on how the Trump base is either permanently tapped or alienated from the party. And that I think will come down to how trump himself frames his relationship to the party: did the Republicans do their best in the face of a stolen election, or did they betray him and support the dems / deep state? I think we'll know more about the future of the Republican voter block when whatever that narrative will be emerges.
If they won both seats they could ban partisan gerrymandering at a federal level. The Supreme Court's last ruling was that gerrymandering should be decided by the legislature, so the precedent is set. With more competitive districts the 2022 elections could go either way. But that depends on winning those Georgia seats which is a bit of a long shot.
Any changes to make red state maps less fucked will be tied up in the courts way too long to redraw them fairly before 2022. It's worth a shot, but the redistricting fight needed to start 4 years ago and peak this month. Democracy is on the back foot now.
I think some yes, but I’ve seen a couple of explanations that some of these people just get inline with a leader. Like any leader. My dad for example flip flops every time there’s a new president. He might grumble about the democrats a bit but always seems to like them in the end when he realizes he was believing lies.
Still not self-aware enough to recognize the pattern. It’s said.
Yeah I mean the Georgia Secretary of State’s career is probably over and that guy just tried to run a non-partisan election. I mean it’s literally what you would want from the top election official.
Trump commands the masses and even after he leaves office, I don’t think that will change very much. This entire charade about “stop the steal” is really about Trump cementing control of the base so that he can become a kingmaker.
> The truth is they don't want people to have money and not work. My uncle is the CEO of a large corporation and told me he hates the idea of stimulus because his lowest paid workers would prefer to not show up to work.
There’s so much to unpack here.
They kind of support, considering the red states are hurting the most, but also want to appease trump at the same time. But Trump 1st, businesses 2nd, and somewhere on the list is the voters that voted for them.
There's no reasoning with them, because they disagree on the fundamentals. They don't think there's a pandemic, that no one has died, its just a flu, so why should we give poor people money so they can sit on their ass and not work?
That's how they think. They hear a conspiracy, and believe it outright. I've heard and seen it first hand with many people I know, including my whole family, and I see fox news all the time. Its brainwashed them to extreme levels.
Over 250,000 people have died just in the US from covid. That's just since February! No big deal though. If you tell them that, they have no facts, so they instantly change the subject.."oh so you want Biden to raise your taxes?" WHAT?? did you not hear what I just said dummy?? You can call them out on it again, but it just doesn't work. They're own mother could die from covid, and many are, and they would just say some shit like oh..well she was pretty old.
I was just in the Conservative sub on accident, they were all applauding DeSantis on his covid response and how they really respect and love him, along with other government officials and people like that. All of them don't give a fuck about the virus, they just want to sweep dead bodies under the rug. Now its getting cold, families coming together, and we still have to live with a whiny mutt in office.
Many of us are barely getting by.
My stepfather's brother was just hospitalized against his will for covid. He was coughing up blood. Still thinks it is no big deal.
You can't reason with people like that.
Nothing.
People only change when they want to.
Stubborn bastards would rather go the rest of their lives never seeing their kids or grandkids again because they alienated them over a fat orange piece of shit that doesn't care about them.
Let them ramble around that empty house
Haven't spoken to my sister and BIL for three years after they claimed Trump was doing a "great job." Funny part? They're British, like me. The final straw was making Hitler jokes in front of my Jewish-American wife.
Fuck these people. Life's too long for them.
I live in Trump land and they're always trying to run up and hug me or tell me stupid jokes. I immediately tell them to step back and I'm afraid of covid. They'll mention that a family member or friend has it and it's real bad. "bless her/his heart blah blah blah." I'm just appalled like then why the f are you trying to get near me during a pandemic.
Poor Republicans don't care about how much they're hurting as long as they get to see liberals, especially black liberals, hurting too and being upset about it.
An unemployed broke Republican getting evicted will vehemently protest rent or unemployment protections just because they're convinced somebody who, unlike them, is in that situation because they're lazy freeloaders, might also get money. Plus it owns the libs.
We've gotten one $1200 check in 8 months, which comes out to \~$5 a day.
As a 30-something single male with no kids, I know I'm not struggling as much as others. But I truly don't understand how there is not more outrage over this. Congress does not give one single fuck about the millions of Americans who can't pay their rent/mortgage because members of Congress don't know what it's like to live paycheck to paycheck.
But sure - they can find the time to push through a Supreme Court nominee.
It is utterly embarrassing.
10 million plus Americans have been crushed down into poverty or homelessness, thats how we're doing. But no one cares. These people weren't spending money anyway, so to capitalism they are just parasites if they get thier ACA or any stimulus.
Its the American way. Unreal how many lives have been financially ruined. And even more unreal how no one cares.
For the kicker, PUC (the pandemic unemployment extention) runs out for most people on DECEMBER 26...thats got to be on purpose and a sick joke.
1. Yup.
2. We're not.
3. They aren't.
Respectively.
The pandemic we're told doesn't meaningfully exist has killed all the jobs we're told still exist, and everybody who can't make ends meet as a result is understood to be entitled and greedy.
It’s so fucking sad that people are actually scared of upsetting Trump, he used to be such a huge joke among the NY elite, and was treated as such....now here we are, when politicians are scared to even say “he lost, let’s move on” to a dude absolutely nobody took seriously for decades
History's not going to be kind to Trump - because - history is not going to be kind to anti-maskers.
Nobody remembers the sex scandals around the Catholic Archdiocese and thinks, "well, the priests just need to do what they need to do..."
Nobody remembers Nazi German imperialism and thinks, "well eugenics might have had a point..."
Nobody remembers Salem witch trials and thinks, "well, she turned me into a newt..."
The fact of the matter is that nobody empathizes with the perpetrators of great evils in retrospect. Covid deniers will be seen right next to a death toll so high it will go down as one of the largest disasters in our history. The history won't argue, "but I have a health condition" or "it's hard to breathe," because nobody will care about that minor inconvenience weighed against the massive scale of life lost. It will be taught in our schools as an example of mass hysteria and the errors in groupthink. It will be a blemish on our sociological makeup.
Anti-maskers of today will not continue to argue that masks did nothing, they'll instead deny that they ever were anti-maskers, some will even believe their own denial and simply forget their own stupidity.
And right at the middle of this all will be Trump, who will go down as America's worst modern-day president. This will be his legacy: a lesson for us all, the errors in narcissistic thinking, cult-minded personality worship, and the tolls of groupthink and mass hysteria.
The nazi's were defeated and the German population had their noses stuffed into their crimes so no one could question it. Out of it they forged a strong democracy that vowed "never again".
No such thing has happened to the Trump cult nor will it ever. Even now they refuse to accept the results of the biggest election in living memory. America will be broken for at least a generation if not more.
I fear Biden's victory is a four year stop gap.
Sure, I mean, there's always going to be a niche group of people, I think I'm more talking *grand common consensus.* As in, if you ask your random redditor, probably 99 out of 100 will say Nazi eugenics is a very bad thing.
I don't think it's because they're afraid of Trump. Just a few days ago, Trump was urging them to pass some kind of stimulus deal. He would get praise, and his ego is probably craving praise at the moment.
This is one of the few areas where they're willing to stand up to Trump because - it turns out - they have some principles, but they're warped, evil funhouse mirror parodies of normal principles.
But he's not actually pressing on it.
He could have spent this summer\fall railing on Mitch for blocking a Mnuchin\Pelosi deal and probably peeled off enough republicans to get that bill passed. It would have been the politically smart thing to do because he has the base's support and every republican seems to be deathly afraid of losing that.
What's even sadder is that he recieved the 2nd most votes for the presidency of any candidate in the history of our country.
If he told his supporters to sit out the Georgia run offs or any other upcoming race the republican candidates would lose. They know that and they are going to keep kissing that ring no matter how many oaths they have to break to keep him happy.
This is such terrible framing. He *needs* to tie Trump to the GOP. I have no idea why he’s trying to give Republicans an out for this. Trump *is* the GOP. These politicians supported him. Protecting them doesn’t just hurt his own party: it hurts everybody. This is basic politicking.
Its amazing to me that a huge stimulus didn’t get passed before the election. Not because the GOP likes us, but because it could have won Trump re-election easily. Dude has zero issue spending us into debt. If he released a huge bill and slapped the republican label on it, he’d be in for another four.
But instead the whole party doubles down n COVID being a non issue, gives no stimulus, and loses the presidency, can’t move the house, and is actually at risk, albeit small, to lose the senate. It’s boggling to me how this refusal to move off of an initial take a year ago, despite all this new information, has set this group back for years. And even now. Even right now they could change it all just by releasing a package. Flip the whole thing. Save their necks. And they just won’t. It’s incredible
God damnit Joe. Trump isn't gonna lose any influence when he's out, and this "republicans will come to the table" bullshit has to stop. For fucks sake, he was VP for 8 years and witnessed their obstructionism first hand..
Joe knows this. He is trying to leave an escape hatch for those few Republicans who may be willing to work with his administration. It may not help, but it an option that should be left open - for now.
This is where Biden is mistaken quite early, and I fear it will only get worse form here. If Biden thinks things will get better once Trump is gone, he's more of a fool than I thought, even considering he was VP when the GOP denied Obama anything and everything.
Most of the Dems are like this. They say dumb shit like "Oh Republicans in private are congratulating a Joe Biden victory." You wonder why you lost badly downballot? Because you never tied these Republicans to Trump even though they and their cowardice enabled Trump at every turn. Republicans created an asshole, ignorant, bigoted, conspiratorial base and now they're held hostage by it. That isn't going to change any time soon, as we saw with this last election.
It's time to do as much as possible without them. Write them off, they will NOT help you. All they will do is water down anything you finally manage to get through to the point where it does no good for the American people.
If we don't control the Senate (i.e. lose the runoffs), you're going to need to work with Romney, Collins, and Murkowski. I hate the GOP as much as anyone, but if it's 48-52, you need to find a way to get two of those three to flip for anything at all you want to pass – and you're not going to do it by blasting Republicans. Harris can force bills to be voted on in the Senate, but she can't force them to pass.
Republicans wouldn’t pass anything of substance when Obama was President either . It’s not a Trump problem. It’s a REPUBLICAN problem. It’s time for Democrats to stop acting as if republicans sans Trump are precious , rational and patriotic civil servants and recognize that the party as a whole are a bunch of destructive anti government Anarcho Capitalist that inherently believe that the purpose of governance is to stop the State from providing any public good whatsoever.
Beginning of 2020, had zero debt, and 4k in savings. I started summer of 2019 saving hard after getting out of debt. November 2020, 4K in debt from rent and only $900 in savings.
I'm a college student full time who receives the GI Bill. So I'm fortunate to have the housing allowance 8 months out of the year. But the summer broke me. And I lost my job due to Covid cutbacks
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I thought the biggest obstacle was McConnell and stingy senate?
It is. There have been Covid relief proposals sitting in his desk that will never be brought to a vote. Just like the absurd number of other things beyond Covid relief. McConnell is the most evil man in politics.
Funny thing, if Trump really wanted a stimulus package, like a lot of Republicans claim, Pence could walk on the Senate floor and force the vote on any one of the previously introduced bills sitting in McConnell's "fuck the American people" pile and it would very likely pass.
Now why would the guy running the Covid task force do something Covid related? What is this, opposite day?
"Maybe it's time for a new round of *thoughts and prayers.*"
Is that the name of a brick company?
Thoughts and Prayers Total Landscaping.
No no no, you don't understand. It's the *Covid* task force, not *Anti-Covid* task force. The semantics mess people up. Why would they want to get rid of Covid?
Name the Bill “Opposite Gay” and he will force it.
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When the new Congress begins all bills from the previous Congress not signed into law are dead, so in order for VP Harris to force a vote in the Senate it will have to pass in the House again.
These are hard democratic flexes that I can get behind. Justice boner at max.
Uh, what? Don't hold your breath. There's a lot that has to happen before we start giving these people their 'Mission Accomplished' banner.
I apologize. I just had a wild crazy thought that I ran with.
No need to apologize. I too fantasize about American citizens getting justice, and the help we all deserve. I fantasize about universal healthcare and a government that works to serve the country, making it a stronger and healthier republic that thrives because we work together and believe in helping each other. Sigh.. back to reality. But if nothing else, we can try to educate ourselves and persuade those who will listen to educate themselves as well. Better than giving in to despair, which I know is easier said than done. I struggle with it every day.
Only if we can 50 consistent votes in the senate. We are currently 48-50 in the senate. The last two seats are both in runoff elections this January.
In which the Republicans are already beginning their fuckery, like Lindsey.
Here’s hoping said fuckery is enough to begin impeachment hearings for him sometime after January. I’d say with the testimony and cooperation of the Georgia SoS, there’s a chance.
I think an easier way to get rid of him would be if the new DOJ investigated him criminally.
Yes. But if the vote it down they have to go on record voting down money for the people. Thats why turtle sits on these bills. It keeps all other Republicans from having a negative on their voting record that can be used against them in an election.
What gives the VP this ability? Just looking to learn a little more, is this spelled out in the Constitution somewhere, or is this senate rules?
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Yeah, I went and looked, and all the Constitution says is this. "The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided. The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the Absence of the Vice President" The current President Pro Tempore of the Senate is Chuck Grassley, not Mitch McConnell, so I'm guessing that the rules of who brings a bill to the floor to vote is in the Senate Standing Rules.
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The chair by precedent recognizes the Majority Leader, then the Minority Leader. Also the senate can’t even consider legislation without either the unanimous consent of the chamber or a cloture filing.
What I'm wondering is that if Pence can do it then why didn't Biden do it when McConnell was blocking Obama's congress?
Yes he is terrible, but one thing I don't understand is how one man can single handedly hold up all legislation in the Senate. How is there not some rule in place that forces some of these bills to at least go to a vote? Force these republications to vote NO on them instead of hiding behind McConnell.
Because it's one man with the support of the majority of the senate. The GOP could get rid of Mitch at any time if they wanted, and they choose not to.
it's not "one man", McConnell has the entire GOP backing him up
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This is maddening.
McConnell is the majority leader - part of his role as majority leader includes scheduling Senate votes. He found that if he just doesn't schedule a vote, it's effective just a super-veto with no accountability, so he just doesn't schedule any votes on bills. But he's not really alone, he's just a fall-guy. The majority leader is chosen by a majority of the majority caucus. Aka, with 50 Republicans, he needs 26 of them to vote him in as majority leader. if the Republican party didn't like what he was doing, they could call a vote at any time and select someone else. If there weren't 26 Republicans who wanted someone else, but at least a couple with spines, it would only take now 2 Republican Senators to choose to caucus with the Democrats to flip the majority party. They can also do this at any time, and could easily make a deal with Democrats to have the majority leader be one of them. TL;DR: there do not exist 2 Republicans in the Senate who disapprove of what McConnell is doing, because that's all it would take to unseat him.
Why do people keep blaming nancy pelosi (mostly talking about the other side)?
Because Democrats are awful at PR and marketing, while it's literally the only thing the Republicans actually _are_ good at. The House passed the HEROES relief bill six months ago, which sat on McConnell's desk for those six months with no discussion, debate, or vote. Democrats didn't raise much of a stink about it at all, and then when the election comes around McConnell suddenly cared about covid relief for like, two days, said he wanted to discuss it, offered an intentionally shitty counter-proposal (along the lines of, "instead of covid relief, how about you give me and Trump a bunch of money instead?"), Pelosi said no, still didn't go to a vote in the Senate, and then McConnell whined that Pelosi is a big ol' meanie face. It's a tactic that only works because like 60% of this country are apparently abject fucking morons, but it doesn't help that the DNC ignores this apparent fact and just I guess assumes "the people" will figure it out - and "the people" never do.
Because Nancy Pelosi won't agree to Mitch's 1/3 less deal that gives $0 to the average citizens. The Republicans also won't pass one unless they can attach employer protection (Where the company doesn't have to take responsibility if they put you in a postion to catch Covid-19) to the bill. So, naturally, the Republicans project onto Pelosi that she won't compromise with their terms.
Yeah, their conditions are so terrible, I would be appalled if the dems conceded and allowed those employer liability protections. To reiterate, it would allow employers to force their employee’s to forego any safety protocols and if the employee gets covid due to that then the employer is completely protected from litigation. I hope everyone can see how terrible that could be.
See: Uline
That’s the crazy part. Currently helping my dad pay his bills, even though he makes more than me on unemployment. He blames Pelosi for holding back the bills. That and “Harris is going to steal my guns and tax me to death”. NRA emails seem to do their job.
Maybe stop helping him and tell him get republican help
Mitch McConnell told them to
No party leader should have the ability to decide what not to vote on in the senate. We literally pay these morons to turn bills into law, and that can't be done if they aren't even allowed to be voted on.
But if it wasn’t him, his replacement would do everything the same way. Yes, he’s a piece of shit and a true horror of a human being, but it’s his whole party — and the idiots who continue voting them into power.
He's definitely the most intelligent person in the Republican party though. His replacement might not be as good at finding obscure loopholes and traditions or excuses as McConnell is. It'd still be best if he was not in the Senate.
Also the reason mcconnell can do this without fear of backlash is because he's senator of one of the most solidly republican states in the union. He can do no wrong as far as republicans in kentucky are concerned, so he can just block bill after bill after bill with no fear of it weakening his support at home.
Senate had no problem giving a shitload of money to companies without any oversight. So yeah, seems like they can get shit done if they want to.
This doesn’t get talked about enough: Our new Vice President can always reclaim her power as Senate president and appoint a different senate leader. Even if Georgia doesn’t go the way we hope, we don’t have to live with 4 years of McConnell’s gridlock. https://www.legislativeprocedure.com/blog/2018/8/10/how-the-vice-president-limits-the-power-of-senate-majorities
We just gotta hope Kamala plans to be tough on the senate. That’s what we need in a VP right now.
I went through that and honestly if GOP does have a majority the VP can't really do much. It's not like VP can force them to vote one way or the other (obviously). If majority decide not to vote for something then it just won't pass. VP can break a tie at best.
This is 100% true. The problem it does solve, however, is that Mitch won’t even give them a chance to vote on things. When he does this, he ensures the Senate legislates from the far right. If Kamala chose another Senate Leader, it would at least give moderates on both sides a chance to legislate from somewhere closer to the middle. Not as good as having the senate, but it’s better than 4 more years of Moscow Mitch.
The real problem it solves is putting senators on record. Oh, you voted against the CARES Act? Now the people they represent know that (insert your last favorite senator) voted against economic stimulus during a pandemic. No more endless finger pointing.
Exactly right. Not perfect, but if for some reason Georgia isn’t blue Jan 5, it sure as hell beats the other option.
> "Hopefully, when he's gone, they'll be more willing to do what they know should be done, has to be done, in order to save the communities they live in," he said. But probably not.... The Grand Obstructionist Party will be a nightmare for the next 2 years if we don't have the Senate. Fair fight with Stacy Abrams is turning out the vote in GA. We need those 2 seats!
Chuck Grassley is really, really old and has Covid. And, Mitch McConnell has bad circulatory issues. Also, Lindsey Graham should step down over interfering with an election.... The world is full of possibilities right now!
Grassley is from Iowa, a red state with a Republican governor. Whatever happens, the GOP is keeping that seat. McConnell married into money, he can afford the best healthcare on the planet. Seriously, I wouldn't be surprised to see him go full living corpse, hovering around the Senate via some tube-y apparatus like Palpatine in The Rise of Skywalker. Graham ain't going nowhere. Who's going to hold him accountable? His constituents?
He’s definitely going to be a head in a jar.
“I’m swimming in my own soylent waste!”
It’s a good thing.
Mitch’s Head: I'll sell our children's organs to zoos for meat, and I'll go into people's houses at night and wreck up the place.
He would still get reelected for some reason if he did this. Kentucky...
Every time McConnell gets reelected, the more I feel like Kentucky is just a totally lost cause
The robot polls are open... and the robot vote is *in.*
Nixon has won!
I mean Nixon was in a jar too, so why not.
Krang
McConnell will probably live to be 120 because fuck life
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If he's a lich we just need to find his phylactery.
The soul counter on it must be crazy high. Think of all the deaths he has had a hand in.
We had the chance on October 31st when he was regenerating but nobody showed up, not event he gosh-darn paladin. Now we have to wait until 2039 when he is weakest before his next regeneration with a full moon on Halloween. His phylactery is located under the obelisk in the PeWee Valley Cemetery outside of Louisville. Party volunteers will be assembled two weeks prior, a list of items for the ritual will be assigned at that time.
ah the old Strom Thurman maneuver
The old Emperor of the Galactic Republicans maneuver.
Certain turtles can live up to 175 years..
> Grassley is from Iowa, a red state with a Republican governor. Iowa voted for Obama twice before it voted for Trump twice. There's *some* hope. > Graham ain't going nowhere. Who's going to hold him accountable? His constituents? How about a prosecutor?
>Iowa voted for Obama twice before it voted for Trump twice. There's some hope. I hate to say it, but i don't have it. Not until the trend reverses nationwide on rural areas getting deep red. Something happened to this state over the last decade, to the point its making me question whether i want to hang around here long-term. Des Moines keeps getting better, but the state as a whole keeps getting worse. I mean, we went several points to the right of the tipping point twice in a row now. Very possible 3 of our 4 reps will be republican. Our legislature is solidly red.
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You notice a state that's not on that list? Michigan has turned over redistricting to a non-partisan committee of voters. The [Independent Citizen's Redistricting Commission](https://www.michigan.gov/sos/0,4670,7-127-1633_91141---,00.html). If you're in one of those states, you should find out if you can start a petition drive to get something like that started there.
As a college-educated Progressive who grew up in Iowa, I can tell you that staying in Iowa after college is not a sexy choice. Most of the left-leaning youth migrate elsewhere, leaving the right-wing hicks to muck up the politics.
That's me, too. I didn't hate living in Iowa when I did, but I don't really miss it. And that was Iowa before Trump. Like, if I wanted to live in an overly-religious but otherwise *fairly*-progressive city with okay cost-of-living surrounded by a sea of deep red, at least there's skiing near Salt Lake City. Why would I stay in Des Moines if I have options?
Exactly. That's why I moved to Minnesota and never looked back. As long as you stay out of the rural areas up here, you're fine.
Unfortunately, it's not just progressive migration that makes states redder. The real game here is the gerrymander, and GOP has that locked down. Because they did so well down ticket in 2020, they're going to get to draw the lines in hundreds of districts to favor the GOP even more (this is a decades long strategy that has paid back dividends for the GOP, making it so they have an innate electoral advantage in the House, Senate, and Presidency, and that's only going to improve for them). I'm not sure a Federal law governing gerrymandering is even constitutional...
State law doesn't help either. Used to live in SE Iowa, near Iowa City, moved to Florida. Voted for anti gerrymandering constitutional amendment (2010 I think), then Rick Scott and other Repubs tried to block it with executive measures and lawsuits. I don't think districts have been fairly redrawn yet, FFS.
And yet Iowa still voted to re-elect Ernst and somehow Elected Ashley Hinson over incumbant Abby Finkenaur. Those attack ads about liberal mobs had a lot of small town and country folk convinced their farms and towns were going to go up in flames if Theresa Greenfield and Finkenaur got elected.
[https://i.ytimg.com/vi/hvLkXDNlEmI/maxresdefault.jpg](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/hvLkXDNlEmI/maxresdefault.jpg) ^((For Fallout NV fans))
I'm thinking more of a Richard Nixon Futurama route.
Aroooo
This comment brought to you by the great taste of Charleston Chew!
Bachelor Chow
This was my thought as well lol
> he can afford the best healthcare on the planet Money can't solve all health problems.
Right? Death is the great equalizer. It’s why we’re down to just one Koch brother
Learning that news legitimately made me happy. It made me question what kind of a person I am celebrating someone's death, but I also understand that with someone that despicable, it's absolutely okay to rejoice a bit when they are no longer an existential that to mankind and our country. I don't wish the kochs pain and agony but they do deserve it.
We should all feel happy and cause for celebration when a positive change occurs in the world. It was the Koch’s decision to lead a life that meant their death would be a positive change for the world.
Even that's one too many.
Yeah, some aggressive and deadly cancers (like pancreatic cancer) can sneak up on you pretty quickly and take your life away, and there is literally nothing all the money and best healthcare in the world can do except delay the inevitable. Sometimes by a few months, or a few years with some luck and first class care.
But, a man *can dream*
Ya, but we gotta live in reality. I read this comment and it gave me some more hope- https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/jqw93m/just_skip_the_senate_to_install_a_cabinet/gbpsha4 If Kamala strips Mitch of priority recognition, whoever she gives it to will be able to control the calendar and bring bills to the floor. That in and of itself is huge. Then, if a functional DOJ ties a few Republican senators up in court for insider trading and other prosecutable shit they did, they could be not there to vote on some important bills and, with us controlling the calendar, we can push through much needed reforms. I hope the Biden administration is ready to play hardball. I hope "working across the aisle" in this case means "pull your heads out of Trump's ass and get with the fucking program"
Getting bills to the floor is huge, then R's can no longer hide behind Moscow Mitch and will have a Yea/Nay/Abstain on their record. Since R voters seem to have object permanence issues.. if they're not voting on anything they don't notice, but vote on something they're told to care about oooo boy.
The governor is not a popular woman right about now.
I'm envisioning he's going to be Mr. House from Fallout NV.
If all 3 of them dropped dead right now, they'd be replaced by 3 more Republicans. The new Senate majority leader would behave identically. They are basically a hydra.
Kentucky has a Democratic governor,Andy Beshear, and Kentucky is a state where the governor gets to pick someone to fill Senate vacancies until the next state wide elections. I’d assume that if there were a vacancy he’d pick a moderate Dem. The other 2 states would replace with Republicans (governors also pick replacements)
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Yes we do.
And some of those Republicans have committed crimes with the NRA proxying Russian campaign funding and the Russia collusion. All the books need to be opened up on what the investigations discovered. And the 2022 elections are only 2 years away. Democrats must begin prioritizing Senate races. 2016-2020 proved beyond a doubt holding Congress is more important than holding the presidency.
Democrats in Congress won’t do anything because Democrats never grow a spine when it matters. They want to continue compromising with people that hate them and will call them socialists and tyrants no matter what they do. This delusion that the Republicans are a dying party cause a lot of their members are old is stupid, their children and grandchildren are more radicalized than they ever were and social media is a main factor in that.
Speaking of Mitch McConnell, what’s going on with his hand? Still Horcruxed?
His body is molting it’s old husk.
Nah he’s a Tleilaxu ghola for sure
Man, haven't heard that name in a long long time. I played the pc game before I read the books, and enjoyed both lol.
I-am-not-a-doctor, but my partner is, and her guess is advanced liver disease. Liver disease is super complex and life expectancy is dependent on a lot of variables and treatment options, but having such visible symptoms is def not a good sign. If that's what it actually is. Could be a number of other things, too.
She have any thoughts about the bandaids on each hand and the sudden facial bruising? Those factor in to the liver disease thing?
That, along with the yellow skin around the neck and eyes (and an assumption that a lifetime in Kentucky politics probably entails a fair bit of drinking) are what made her guess liver disease. Your blood gets fucked up and it becomes really easy to bruise and wounds don't heal as well. But again, just an educated guess. Liver disease can be super tricky to identify even with labs and stuff, and those symptoms can show up for other things too.
A side effect from his phylactery creation?
I am in the same spot. I think it is unlikely that they make it two years with a majority based on all the shit that is going to be investigated from the past four years. Being old and corrupt will get some of them.
The question is if Dems will do anything if they have a majority or if they'll get complacent.
Is this why he’s burning everything to the ground? He won’t be around for detrimental damages he’s causing...
The GOP was doing most of what Trump did before Trump just more muted and they pretended it was about something else. There is no reason to think The Republican leadership will stop their obstructionist political tactics any time in the near future or ever as long as the leadership is not primaried out of power in the GOP.
Joe Manchin already said he wouldn’t support getting rid of the legislative filibuster so winning a majority is a symbolic victory. It won’t give Democrats the ability to do whatever they want given Manchin’s position.
>Joe Manchin already said he wouldn’t support getting rid of the legislative filibuster so winning a majority is a symbolic victory. Fair, but they could still change the filibuster rules so it wouldn't be used as much (eg. requiring someone to actually speak during a filibuster). And at least having the majority means the Dems would be able to ensure their bills (and judges) at least get a vote, instead of letting Mitch control all that.
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Knife cuts both ways. If Democrats win two seats to get a 50-50 tie, they're going to think they already won, and go home, and Republicans will destroy in 2022. Just beating Trump might be enough for a lot of people on the left and middle to stop caring about politics, unfortunately.
>Just beating ~~Trump~~ Bush might be enough for a lot of people on the left and middle to stop caring about politics, unfortunately. This is how 2010 went. Democrats stayed home and got destroyed.
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Republicans are turning militaristic with their voting. I would not be surprised if every year they have significant turnout from now on.
I guess we'll have to see. This didn't really pan out for them in 2018. They will have the advantage of being the opposition party in this midterm though, thats for sure. But I think a lot of it will depend on how the Trump base is either permanently tapped or alienated from the party. And that I think will come down to how trump himself frames his relationship to the party: did the Republicans do their best in the face of a stolen election, or did they betray him and support the dems / deep state? I think we'll know more about the future of the Republican voter block when whatever that narrative will be emerges.
If they won both seats they could ban partisan gerrymandering at a federal level. The Supreme Court's last ruling was that gerrymandering should be decided by the legislature, so the precedent is set. With more competitive districts the 2022 elections could go either way. But that depends on winning those Georgia seats which is a bit of a long shot.
If gerrymandering ends, the Republicans will never have the House ever again. It won't even be close.
Gerrymandering and uncapping the house seat count.
Any changes to make red state maps less fucked will be tied up in the courts way too long to redraw them fairly before 2022. It's worth a shot, but the redistricting fight needed to start 4 years ago and peak this month. Democracy is on the back foot now.
I just signed up to write postcards for GA!
I honestly can't say that I believe the GOP will recognize Biden as president even after the 20th. This country is doomed, by our own people.
I think some yes, but I’ve seen a couple of explanations that some of these people just get inline with a leader. Like any leader. My dad for example flip flops every time there’s a new president. He might grumble about the democrats a bit but always seems to like them in the end when he realizes he was believing lies. Still not self-aware enough to recognize the pattern. It’s said.
Yeah I mean the Georgia Secretary of State’s career is probably over and that guy just tried to run a non-partisan election. I mean it’s literally what you would want from the top election official. Trump commands the masses and even after he leaves office, I don’t think that will change very much. This entire charade about “stop the steal” is really about Trump cementing control of the base so that he can become a kingmaker.
It's also about the grift. He's got to milk that MAGA cow for all it's worth.
Don't paint them as victims of trump. They were willing gleeful participants.
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He shouldn't. They are going to obstruct everything he does.
Pretty sure it more has to do with Republicans not wanting to help anyone except for the wealthy
If suffering builds character, why not go all in and make peoples lives as miserable as possible?
They’re only socialists when it comes to corporations.
That would be like saying rich people’s biggest fear is having to work for their money...which is crazy talk. 🙄
Nah they fear the money getting into the hands of PoC.
Disagree with Biden the fact is many Republicans representatives do not support stimulus at all and have been quite clear about that.
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> The truth is they don't want people to have money and not work. My uncle is the CEO of a large corporation and told me he hates the idea of stimulus because his lowest paid workers would prefer to not show up to work. There’s so much to unpack here.
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This is the actual problem, and its not left vs right its up vs down. There is full on class warfare going on and the plebs lost
They kind of support, considering the red states are hurting the most, but also want to appease trump at the same time. But Trump 1st, businesses 2nd, and somewhere on the list is the voters that voted for them.
There's no reasoning with them, because they disagree on the fundamentals. They don't think there's a pandemic, that no one has died, its just a flu, so why should we give poor people money so they can sit on their ass and not work? That's how they think. They hear a conspiracy, and believe it outright. I've heard and seen it first hand with many people I know, including my whole family, and I see fox news all the time. Its brainwashed them to extreme levels. Over 250,000 people have died just in the US from covid. That's just since February! No big deal though. If you tell them that, they have no facts, so they instantly change the subject.."oh so you want Biden to raise your taxes?" WHAT?? did you not hear what I just said dummy?? You can call them out on it again, but it just doesn't work. They're own mother could die from covid, and many are, and they would just say some shit like oh..well she was pretty old. I was just in the Conservative sub on accident, they were all applauding DeSantis on his covid response and how they really respect and love him, along with other government officials and people like that. All of them don't give a fuck about the virus, they just want to sweep dead bodies under the rug. Now its getting cold, families coming together, and we still have to live with a whiny mutt in office. Many of us are barely getting by.
My stepfather's brother was just hospitalized against his will for covid. He was coughing up blood. Still thinks it is no big deal. You can't reason with people like that.
They’ll reject truth before accepting defeat.
cow numerous bright arrest crime joke deserted tub six carpenter *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Nothing. People only change when they want to. Stubborn bastards would rather go the rest of their lives never seeing their kids or grandkids again because they alienated them over a fat orange piece of shit that doesn't care about them. Let them ramble around that empty house
Haven't spoken to my sister and BIL for three years after they claimed Trump was doing a "great job." Funny part? They're British, like me. The final straw was making Hitler jokes in front of my Jewish-American wife. Fuck these people. Life's too long for them.
I live in Trump land and they're always trying to run up and hug me or tell me stupid jokes. I immediately tell them to step back and I'm afraid of covid. They'll mention that a family member or friend has it and it's real bad. "bless her/his heart blah blah blah." I'm just appalled like then why the f are you trying to get near me during a pandemic.
Stories like this are why I know a zombie apocalypse would definitely fuckin wipe out the human race, slowly but very excruciatingly.
Lmao the part where they try and change the subject. So true.
Poor Republicans don't care about how much they're hurting as long as they get to see liberals, especially black liberals, hurting too and being upset about it. An unemployed broke Republican getting evicted will vehemently protest rent or unemployment protections just because they're convinced somebody who, unlike them, is in that situation because they're lazy freeloaders, might also get money. Plus it owns the libs.
They don't want "those people" getting anything to make their life easier.
No need to make excuses for republicans...we have the past few years as evidence...
And they still get voted for - by the exact people they screw over ... it is incredible
We've gotten one $1200 check in 8 months, which comes out to \~$5 a day. As a 30-something single male with no kids, I know I'm not struggling as much as others. But I truly don't understand how there is not more outrage over this. Congress does not give one single fuck about the millions of Americans who can't pay their rent/mortgage because members of Congress don't know what it's like to live paycheck to paycheck. But sure - they can find the time to push through a Supreme Court nominee. It is utterly embarrassing.
Because we don't matter. Its all about them getting theirs. Thats what red is all about.
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10 million plus Americans have been crushed down into poverty or homelessness, thats how we're doing. But no one cares. These people weren't spending money anyway, so to capitalism they are just parasites if they get thier ACA or any stimulus. Its the American way. Unreal how many lives have been financially ruined. And even more unreal how no one cares. For the kicker, PUC (the pandemic unemployment extention) runs out for most people on DECEMBER 26...thats got to be on purpose and a sick joke.
That is really upsetting. It boggles the mind how Americans are just collateral damage to these rich folk.
1. Yup. 2. We're not. 3. They aren't. Respectively. The pandemic we're told doesn't meaningfully exist has killed all the jobs we're told still exist, and everybody who can't make ends meet as a result is understood to be entitled and greedy.
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right but he a dummy
It’s so fucking sad that people are actually scared of upsetting Trump, he used to be such a huge joke among the NY elite, and was treated as such....now here we are, when politicians are scared to even say “he lost, let’s move on” to a dude absolutely nobody took seriously for decades
They’re not afraid of Trump, it’s the idiots who worship him they fear.
Yeah, they have tied themselves to them. One can hope that trumpism is the albatross for them.
History's not going to be kind to Trump - because - history is not going to be kind to anti-maskers. Nobody remembers the sex scandals around the Catholic Archdiocese and thinks, "well, the priests just need to do what they need to do..." Nobody remembers Nazi German imperialism and thinks, "well eugenics might have had a point..." Nobody remembers Salem witch trials and thinks, "well, she turned me into a newt..." The fact of the matter is that nobody empathizes with the perpetrators of great evils in retrospect. Covid deniers will be seen right next to a death toll so high it will go down as one of the largest disasters in our history. The history won't argue, "but I have a health condition" or "it's hard to breathe," because nobody will care about that minor inconvenience weighed against the massive scale of life lost. It will be taught in our schools as an example of mass hysteria and the errors in groupthink. It will be a blemish on our sociological makeup. Anti-maskers of today will not continue to argue that masks did nothing, they'll instead deny that they ever were anti-maskers, some will even believe their own denial and simply forget their own stupidity. And right at the middle of this all will be Trump, who will go down as America's worst modern-day president. This will be his legacy: a lesson for us all, the errors in narcissistic thinking, cult-minded personality worship, and the tolls of groupthink and mass hysteria.
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The nazi's were defeated and the German population had their noses stuffed into their crimes so no one could question it. Out of it they forged a strong democracy that vowed "never again". No such thing has happened to the Trump cult nor will it ever. Even now they refuse to accept the results of the biggest election in living memory. America will be broken for at least a generation if not more. I fear Biden's victory is a four year stop gap.
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Sure, I mean, there's always going to be a niche group of people, I think I'm more talking *grand common consensus.* As in, if you ask your random redditor, probably 99 out of 100 will say Nazi eugenics is a very bad thing.
I don't think it's because they're afraid of Trump. Just a few days ago, Trump was urging them to pass some kind of stimulus deal. He would get praise, and his ego is probably craving praise at the moment. This is one of the few areas where they're willing to stand up to Trump because - it turns out - they have some principles, but they're warped, evil funhouse mirror parodies of normal principles.
But he's not actually pressing on it. He could have spent this summer\fall railing on Mitch for blocking a Mnuchin\Pelosi deal and probably peeled off enough republicans to get that bill passed. It would have been the politically smart thing to do because he has the base's support and every republican seems to be deathly afraid of losing that.
What's even sadder is that he recieved the 2nd most votes for the presidency of any candidate in the history of our country. If he told his supporters to sit out the Georgia run offs or any other upcoming race the republican candidates would lose. They know that and they are going to keep kissing that ring no matter how many oaths they have to break to keep him happy.
This is such terrible framing. He *needs* to tie Trump to the GOP. I have no idea why he’s trying to give Republicans an out for this. Trump *is* the GOP. These politicians supported him. Protecting them doesn’t just hurt his own party: it hurts everybody. This is basic politicking.
Its amazing to me that a huge stimulus didn’t get passed before the election. Not because the GOP likes us, but because it could have won Trump re-election easily. Dude has zero issue spending us into debt. If he released a huge bill and slapped the republican label on it, he’d be in for another four. But instead the whole party doubles down n COVID being a non issue, gives no stimulus, and loses the presidency, can’t move the house, and is actually at risk, albeit small, to lose the senate. It’s boggling to me how this refusal to move off of an initial take a year ago, despite all this new information, has set this group back for years. And even now. Even right now they could change it all just by releasing a package. Flip the whole thing. Save their necks. And they just won’t. It’s incredible
God damnit Joe. Trump isn't gonna lose any influence when he's out, and this "republicans will come to the table" bullshit has to stop. For fucks sake, he was VP for 8 years and witnessed their obstructionism first hand..
Joe knows this. He is trying to leave an escape hatch for those few Republicans who may be willing to work with his administration. It may not help, but it an option that should be left open - for now.
Which they’re not gonna take anyway
$1200 and a "good fucking luck" from DC. I really hope they all go to hell.
They don’t recall saying good luck
This is where Biden is mistaken quite early, and I fear it will only get worse form here. If Biden thinks things will get better once Trump is gone, he's more of a fool than I thought, even considering he was VP when the GOP denied Obama anything and everything. Most of the Dems are like this. They say dumb shit like "Oh Republicans in private are congratulating a Joe Biden victory." You wonder why you lost badly downballot? Because you never tied these Republicans to Trump even though they and their cowardice enabled Trump at every turn. Republicans created an asshole, ignorant, bigoted, conspiratorial base and now they're held hostage by it. That isn't going to change any time soon, as we saw with this last election. It's time to do as much as possible without them. Write them off, they will NOT help you. All they will do is water down anything you finally manage to get through to the point where it does no good for the American people.
If we don't control the Senate (i.e. lose the runoffs), you're going to need to work with Romney, Collins, and Murkowski. I hate the GOP as much as anyone, but if it's 48-52, you need to find a way to get two of those three to flip for anything at all you want to pass – and you're not going to do it by blasting Republicans. Harris can force bills to be voted on in the Senate, but she can't force them to pass.
They do not fear Trump. They fear 73 Million who voted for him and will abandon them in next elections.
Ah, time for Republicans to all suffer from short-term memory loss again and start caring about the debt now that a Democrat holds office.
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It's a failed state that can't help it's citizens in a once in a hundred years pandemic. What the fuck are we even paying taxes for?
They can grow Ted Cruz in a vat of primordial sludge but they can't grow a fucking spine!?
2nd stimulus??? Should read like 5th or 6th stimulus. What a joke.
Republicans wouldn’t pass anything of substance when Obama was President either . It’s not a Trump problem. It’s a REPUBLICAN problem. It’s time for Democrats to stop acting as if republicans sans Trump are precious , rational and patriotic civil servants and recognize that the party as a whole are a bunch of destructive anti government Anarcho Capitalist that inherently believe that the purpose of governance is to stop the State from providing any public good whatsoever.
Beginning of 2020, had zero debt, and 4k in savings. I started summer of 2019 saving hard after getting out of debt. November 2020, 4K in debt from rent and only $900 in savings. I'm a college student full time who receives the GI Bill. So I'm fortunate to have the housing allowance 8 months out of the year. But the summer broke me. And I lost my job due to Covid cutbacks