"The Biden White House is reportedly delighted by the [GOP] picks, seeing them as 'ideal figureheads for a White House eager to deride the opposition party as unhinged.' When McCarthy’s picks were announced, 'the president’s aides sent texts to one another with digital high fives and likened their apparent luck to drawing an inside strai…
"The Biden White House is reportedly delighted by the [GOP] picks, seeing them as 'ideal figureheads for a White House eager to deride the opposition party as unhinged.' When McCarthy’s picks were announced, 'the president’s aides sent texts to one another with digital high fives and likened their apparent luck to drawing an inside straight. One White House ally called it a ‘political gift’.”
Therein lies the problem. As someone sitting in the middle, watching both sides blatantly put political gain over functioning governance, I'm distressed at the rejoicing over the possibility of self-inflicted MAGA damage that eventually might be leveraged (or might not) to the advantage of the Democrats, or to a lesser extent moderate Republicans -- as if those exist anymore beyond the ones who have retired or otherwise walked away from the sausage grinder. From where I sit, the optics are lousy in taking joy in MAGA appointments to key committees and gaining tangible power when, as a result, so much damage stands to be inflicted upon all of us (debt default, to start with, accompanied by a heaping dose of investigations instead of necessary work for us constituents) before any accountability can be had.
Is there any off ramp for the constant political battles that are grounded in "we win and you lose" instead of doing what is best for everyone and putting taxpaying citizens first? Or is there now some unwritten rule that all things must be seen and evaluated first through the lens of political victories or losses and only later, if at all, whether it actually is beneficial for anyone other than the politicians?
I get your frustration, but the reality is that Biden's administration has done more than any other administration in decades. It doesn't always seem like it, but they have been working for ALL Americans.
The delight they feel about the Crazy Caucus isn't as much about us versus them, it's about being able to retake the House, keep the Senate and the WH, and hopefully put a stake through the heart of trumpism once and for all.
Yes, the games the Republicans are going to play with the debt ceiling can cause disaster, but so can facism if it comes to power in greater numbers and across branches of government. We're dealing with a lot of issues. If they see optimism in the Crazy Caucus convincing voters that we need better, why not?
You are more optimistic than I am, beaten down by the reality of results. People on the right already have seen who the Crazy Caucus is, and they have voted to empower them anyway. If they wanted better, it would have happened already. I agree with you about Biden overall, but as long as the agenda on the right is grounded fully in "Own the Libs," instead of actually governing, there will never be a better result there, because they will only ever blame the Democrats for anything that goes wrong. I can't find the upside in any mindset that having MAGAists in key positions will turn out well for the rest of us later on. Didn't Democratic leadership also think it was great that Trump cleared the field in 2016 and paved the pathway for Hillary to win? They should have learned their lesson then about being careful what to wish for.
Amen. I don't know where these stories come from. Anonymous sources say anonymous aides say anonymous staffers are happy. That isn't news. That's barely rumor. But of course now the right-wing media has something to run with, and that's all that matters for Politico, whose job is manufacturing political rumors that keep people reading them.
A wise old uncle (he was 4 when I was born) once passed on this piece of wisdom (so he was about 14 at the time): "They say that 'they say' is a liar."
We can't win over the MAGAts - we can only defeat them, perhaps a little more with every election cycle. But the left of MAGA Republican and Independent voters are the ones we have to persuade, so I do think some of them are still persuadable, especially more so when they see nothing getting done and the dangers of economic catastrophe being played with. Those are the ones who hold their noses and vote GOP anyway, thinking of their stock portfolios and the like.
They won’t be pleased with what happens to their stock portfolios if the government defaults and the stock market reacts as predicted but I’m guessing they would still blame it all on Biden.
I think it comes down to the range of realistic possibilities. Republicans won the house, so Hunter's laptop is definitely going to be investigated. With that as a regrettable given, cheering for the appointment of The Greene Laser, Machine-Gun Barbie, and Sixteen is the New Eighteen to key roles is a gift. The world where this republican house majority chooses to responsibly work on governing isn't in the cards.
I have the distinct feeling that this "Hunter's laptop" is going to be the modern equivalent of George Washington's axe on display at the Smithsonian: the handle has been broken and replaced a dozen times or more, and the head worn plumb out at least twice...but that there is THE axe, my friend.
I think they're pleased because they think that the suffering it will cause will make people angry at the Republicans. I'm not sure Republucan supporters are that smart. They will blame it on Biden. Doesn't the Senate have a say? Does the President need to sign bills? Can Biden refuse?
If Biden does not sign a bill, it's called a pocket veto. I think it occurs if the bill is not signed within 10 days.
I don't know about the supporters not pegging the Republicans. On another thread, someone mentioned that, the supporters understand that the GOP instigated the 30-shutdown from a few years back and they were not happy with the effect it had on them. I think the GOP took a hit on this. But then look whose is now in office, so mayhaps.
"The Biden White House is reportedly delighted by the [GOP] picks, seeing them as 'ideal figureheads for a White House eager to deride the opposition party as unhinged.' When McCarthy’s picks were announced, 'the president’s aides sent texts to one another with digital high fives and likened their apparent luck to drawing an inside straight. One White House ally called it a ‘political gift’.”
Therein lies the problem. As someone sitting in the middle, watching both sides blatantly put political gain over functioning governance, I'm distressed at the rejoicing over the possibility of self-inflicted MAGA damage that eventually might be leveraged (or might not) to the advantage of the Democrats, or to a lesser extent moderate Republicans -- as if those exist anymore beyond the ones who have retired or otherwise walked away from the sausage grinder. From where I sit, the optics are lousy in taking joy in MAGA appointments to key committees and gaining tangible power when, as a result, so much damage stands to be inflicted upon all of us (debt default, to start with, accompanied by a heaping dose of investigations instead of necessary work for us constituents) before any accountability can be had.
Is there any off ramp for the constant political battles that are grounded in "we win and you lose" instead of doing what is best for everyone and putting taxpaying citizens first? Or is there now some unwritten rule that all things must be seen and evaluated first through the lens of political victories or losses and only later, if at all, whether it actually is beneficial for anyone other than the politicians?
I get your frustration, but the reality is that Biden's administration has done more than any other administration in decades. It doesn't always seem like it, but they have been working for ALL Americans.
The delight they feel about the Crazy Caucus isn't as much about us versus them, it's about being able to retake the House, keep the Senate and the WH, and hopefully put a stake through the heart of trumpism once and for all.
Yes, the games the Republicans are going to play with the debt ceiling can cause disaster, but so can facism if it comes to power in greater numbers and across branches of government. We're dealing with a lot of issues. If they see optimism in the Crazy Caucus convincing voters that we need better, why not?
You are more optimistic than I am, beaten down by the reality of results. People on the right already have seen who the Crazy Caucus is, and they have voted to empower them anyway. If they wanted better, it would have happened already. I agree with you about Biden overall, but as long as the agenda on the right is grounded fully in "Own the Libs," instead of actually governing, there will never be a better result there, because they will only ever blame the Democrats for anything that goes wrong. I can't find the upside in any mindset that having MAGAists in key positions will turn out well for the rest of us later on. Didn't Democratic leadership also think it was great that Trump cleared the field in 2016 and paved the pathway for Hillary to win? They should have learned their lesson then about being careful what to wish for.
Amen. I don't know where these stories come from. Anonymous sources say anonymous aides say anonymous staffers are happy. That isn't news. That's barely rumor. But of course now the right-wing media has something to run with, and that's all that matters for Politico, whose job is manufacturing political rumors that keep people reading them.
A wise old uncle (he was 4 when I was born) once passed on this piece of wisdom (so he was about 14 at the time): "They say that 'they say' is a liar."
That was over 60 years ago, and he has been proven right many times more than the opposite.
We can't win over the MAGAts - we can only defeat them, perhaps a little more with every election cycle. But the left of MAGA Republican and Independent voters are the ones we have to persuade, so I do think some of them are still persuadable, especially more so when they see nothing getting done and the dangers of economic catastrophe being played with. Those are the ones who hold their noses and vote GOP anyway, thinking of their stock portfolios and the like.
They won’t be pleased with what happens to their stock portfolios if the government defaults and the stock market reacts as predicted but I’m guessing they would still blame it all on Biden.
I would guess this always happens, human nature, but now it gets reported more often.
I think it comes down to the range of realistic possibilities. Republicans won the house, so Hunter's laptop is definitely going to be investigated. With that as a regrettable given, cheering for the appointment of The Greene Laser, Machine-Gun Barbie, and Sixteen is the New Eighteen to key roles is a gift. The world where this republican house majority chooses to responsibly work on governing isn't in the cards.
I have the distinct feeling that this "Hunter's laptop" is going to be the modern equivalent of George Washington's axe on display at the Smithsonian: the handle has been broken and replaced a dozen times or more, and the head worn plumb out at least twice...but that there is THE axe, my friend.
I think they're pleased because they think that the suffering it will cause will make people angry at the Republicans. I'm not sure Republucan supporters are that smart. They will blame it on Biden. Doesn't the Senate have a say? Does the President need to sign bills? Can Biden refuse?
If Biden does not sign a bill, it's called a pocket veto. I think it occurs if the bill is not signed within 10 days.
I don't know about the supporters not pegging the Republicans. On another thread, someone mentioned that, the supporters understand that the GOP instigated the 30-shutdown from a few years back and they were not happy with the effect it had on them. I think the GOP took a hit on this. But then look whose is now in office, so mayhaps.