What, specifically, do you want the Democratic legislators to do that they aren't already doing? They are, you might recall, a minority party due to the voters last time around.
Anything? Lead a march? Use all their parliamentary skills to slow down legislation and appointments? For fuck's safe, they're not even voting en masse against appointees who clearly want to wreck the departments they're supposed to lead. It's a coup, Jack, and they're not doing anything about it.
They are filing lawsuits successfully, giving the nominees a hard time in the committee hearings, and acceding on nominees who are not utterly foul. If the Republicans are united in the Senate, they can't stop them. Lead a march? Get serious. Remember how successful the women's march was back in 2016? And it was large with lots of publicity. So far there hasn't been any significant legislation in support of the coup. There was the immigration act that some Dems supported. Immigration issues are one of the reasons they just lost. As I've previously contended, I think the voters need to get hurt before they'll wake up, if they do. The tariffs that have just been imposed are probably a good start in bringing on more inflation and cost of living pain. Eggs, Weldon. The Bird Flu ain't going away. Gas prices. Tariffs on Canadian oil are calculated to keep them high and perhaps increase. The pain is coming. We won't enjoy it. It's probably the only thing that can bring about change. Good grief, a Columbian retaliatory tariff on corn and complaining American farmers got our tariff on their coffee reversed and quickly. It's a long slog, I agree but it's also reality.
There are no nominees who are not utterly foul. Why should they accede on any of them? Why should they not slow them down to the full extent of parliamentary privilege? And the successful lawsuits to this point—which we don't even know have actually been successful despite the court rulings—have been filed by outside groups. And yeah, march. Obstruct. Encourage strikes. Materially support federal employees and unions. Call a coup a coup when an unelected Nazi has installed his own employees to take over treasury databases and payment spigots.
Because is a coup. If it were happening in any other country even our own shithead mainstream reporters would be calling it a coup. Expecting salvation through legislative recalcitrance from Republicans is only reasonable so long as they have reason to think they have to genuinely worry about reelection which given the destruction of voting rights enforcement mechanisms may not be for long.
What parliamentary privilege do you have in mind? The filibuster doesn't apply to confirmations.
The so far successful lawsuit challenging the violation of birthright citizenship was filed by a group of Democratic state Attorneys General.
Democratic governors filed the action causing Trump to rescind his impoundment order. That was induced by voter complaints at suspension of services and funding of agencies.
Trump was elected largely by traditionally Democratic voters switching their votes or staying home in a funk over Biden policies they objected to. They are getting what they voted for or allowed to happen. Democrats and "progressives" refuse to play defense. Defense wins championships. As Mencken so eloquently put it Democracy is a system in which citizens vote for what they want and get it good and hard. or words to that effect.
I'm talking about our federal legislators, at whom Democratic governors are generally furious. Doing away with unanimous consent, as one example of parliamentary maneuvers, and actually whipping the caucus. *Not* voting for bits of racist trash legislation like the Laken Riley act, which does away with due process for undocumented immigrants who haven't been convicted of or in some cases even charged with crimes. Playing defense on the backs of people with no power and influence isn't playing defense; it's using human shields.
We're not voting our way out of this one, Jack, unless we radically change the landscape.
Unanimous consent only applies when there is no real disagreement. Casting a couple of no votes doesn't accomplish anything. Laken Riley doesn't do away with due process as many claim. It creates a category of "undocumented" persons ICE will focus on. There's no question but that such people are deportable under our law. If they have an asylum claim pending, for example, they are not deportable until it is resolved. People claiming a due process problem seem to think that changing a person's informal place in line for deportation is somehow legally protectable. I don't think that's the law and evidently the courts don't either. Playing defense does not mean doing anything to people with no power or influence. It means protecting all of us to the extent possible. You can't possibly believe that electing Harris would have inflicted the harm that electing Trump has done. Remember that old saw about don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good? Sometimes old saws represent obvious truth.
If we don't vote our way out of this, we're not going to get out of this. I don't think you're really advocating civil war with our side starting it, are you?
Bill, we are largely in agreement except as to the complaint that Democrats are not making noise. I suppose they could make more but what they really need are techniques to stymie Republican legislation and administrative orders. That's tricky especially when they have majorities in both houses of Congress and the Supreme Court. On the payments pause, Republican legislators complained which brought instant change. We can't count on that at all times like the Musk takeover of the Federal payments system.
I'm willing to give Jeffries a pass for that one tweet, which went out on a Sunday, and the audience for which was not you or me, but the Black churchgoers who are part of his constituency. I'll say that this one was the absolute worst:
As well as the one after it. Chuck Schumer has really proven his inability to lead. He should resign as Seante Minority Leader and let someone with bigger balls or ovaries take over.
How did you learn of 65daysofstatic? I’m starting to like “math rock” a lot, though I am late to the party on this as I generally am wrt these things. We are old, Father William (from an Edward Lear nonsense verse.) Mary rock is good music to write to.
Good to see you, Hilary! I recently sent you an email inquiring as to your well-being. I don't remember how I ran across the group, but I'm guessing it had something to do with my affection for Godspeed You! Black Emperor. I will give Mary Rock a listen.
What, specifically, do you want the Democratic legislators to do that they aren't already doing? They are, you might recall, a minority party due to the voters last time around.
Anything? Lead a march? Use all their parliamentary skills to slow down legislation and appointments? For fuck's safe, they're not even voting en masse against appointees who clearly want to wreck the departments they're supposed to lead. It's a coup, Jack, and they're not doing anything about it.
They are filing lawsuits successfully, giving the nominees a hard time in the committee hearings, and acceding on nominees who are not utterly foul. If the Republicans are united in the Senate, they can't stop them. Lead a march? Get serious. Remember how successful the women's march was back in 2016? And it was large with lots of publicity. So far there hasn't been any significant legislation in support of the coup. There was the immigration act that some Dems supported. Immigration issues are one of the reasons they just lost. As I've previously contended, I think the voters need to get hurt before they'll wake up, if they do. The tariffs that have just been imposed are probably a good start in bringing on more inflation and cost of living pain. Eggs, Weldon. The Bird Flu ain't going away. Gas prices. Tariffs on Canadian oil are calculated to keep them high and perhaps increase. The pain is coming. We won't enjoy it. It's probably the only thing that can bring about change. Good grief, a Columbian retaliatory tariff on corn and complaining American farmers got our tariff on their coffee reversed and quickly. It's a long slog, I agree but it's also reality.
There are no nominees who are not utterly foul. Why should they accede on any of them? Why should they not slow them down to the full extent of parliamentary privilege? And the successful lawsuits to this point—which we don't even know have actually been successful despite the court rulings—have been filed by outside groups. And yeah, march. Obstruct. Encourage strikes. Materially support federal employees and unions. Call a coup a coup when an unelected Nazi has installed his own employees to take over treasury databases and payment spigots.
Because is a coup. If it were happening in any other country even our own shithead mainstream reporters would be calling it a coup. Expecting salvation through legislative recalcitrance from Republicans is only reasonable so long as they have reason to think they have to genuinely worry about reelection which given the destruction of voting rights enforcement mechanisms may not be for long.
What parliamentary privilege do you have in mind? The filibuster doesn't apply to confirmations.
The so far successful lawsuit challenging the violation of birthright citizenship was filed by a group of Democratic state Attorneys General.
Democratic governors filed the action causing Trump to rescind his impoundment order. That was induced by voter complaints at suspension of services and funding of agencies.
Trump was elected largely by traditionally Democratic voters switching their votes or staying home in a funk over Biden policies they objected to. They are getting what they voted for or allowed to happen. Democrats and "progressives" refuse to play defense. Defense wins championships. As Mencken so eloquently put it Democracy is a system in which citizens vote for what they want and get it good and hard. or words to that effect.
I'm talking about our federal legislators, at whom Democratic governors are generally furious. Doing away with unanimous consent, as one example of parliamentary maneuvers, and actually whipping the caucus. *Not* voting for bits of racist trash legislation like the Laken Riley act, which does away with due process for undocumented immigrants who haven't been convicted of or in some cases even charged with crimes. Playing defense on the backs of people with no power and influence isn't playing defense; it's using human shields.
We're not voting our way out of this one, Jack, unless we radically change the landscape.
Unanimous consent only applies when there is no real disagreement. Casting a couple of no votes doesn't accomplish anything. Laken Riley doesn't do away with due process as many claim. It creates a category of "undocumented" persons ICE will focus on. There's no question but that such people are deportable under our law. If they have an asylum claim pending, for example, they are not deportable until it is resolved. People claiming a due process problem seem to think that changing a person's informal place in line for deportation is somehow legally protectable. I don't think that's the law and evidently the courts don't either. Playing defense does not mean doing anything to people with no power or influence. It means protecting all of us to the extent possible. You can't possibly believe that electing Harris would have inflicted the harm that electing Trump has done. Remember that old saw about don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good? Sometimes old saws represent obvious truth.
If we don't vote our way out of this, we're not going to get out of this. I don't think you're really advocating civil war with our side starting it, are you?
Jack:
I am going out on a limb here. I have not had a chance to examine the 2024 vote yet. I wore my old computer out.
Here is whatI have seen:
- Large numbers not voting.
- An extra few million voting for nonDem and nonRepub candidates.
- The Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and family dog vote, etc.
Dems once again put trump in office because they did not like a White or a Black woman. That goes for both sexes.
Dems could make more noise about trump rather than let him slide by. How do people, some people, know if Dems do not vigorously complain about trump?
Bill, we are largely in agreement except as to the complaint that Democrats are not making noise. I suppose they could make more but what they really need are techniques to stymie Republican legislation and administrative orders. That's tricky especially when they have majorities in both houses of Congress and the Supreme Court. On the payments pause, Republican legislators complained which brought instant change. We can't count on that at all times like the Musk takeover of the Federal payments system.
Project 2025 is Operation Orban to end democracy and make the despicable bastard dictator.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/31/Tv/video/amanpour-us-autocracy-norm-eisen-kim-lane-scheppele
Sounds like a nice post . . .
I'm willing to give Jeffries a pass for that one tweet, which went out on a Sunday, and the audience for which was not you or me, but the Black churchgoers who are part of his constituency. I'll say that this one was the absolute worst:
https://bsky.app/profile/schumer.senate.gov/post/3lgr3kjuht225
As well as the one after it. Chuck Schumer has really proven his inability to lead. He should resign as Seante Minority Leader and let someone with bigger balls or ovaries take over.
I even wrote about the Schumer one, but it's been so long ago (two days? three?) that i forgot. Now he's on about the price of your superb owl pizza.
He's a rich old fucker who likes the club as it used to be.
P.S. Thanks for the Khruangbin link. There's something mesmerizing about their music.
Cheers. Lately they've been performing with Vieux Farka Touré, son of the legendary Ali Farka Touré, as per here:
https://youtu.be/bVDRTYeGw6Q
How did you learn of 65daysofstatic? I’m starting to like “math rock” a lot, though I am late to the party on this as I generally am wrt these things. We are old, Father William (from an Edward Lear nonsense verse.) Mary rock is good music to write to.
Good to see you, Hilary! I recently sent you an email inquiring as to your well-being. I don't remember how I ran across the group, but I'm guessing it had something to do with my affection for Godspeed You! Black Emperor. I will give Mary Rock a listen.