General politics

[jimmer]

It's also possible he plans to move into the Senate. Wisconsin has a seat up for grabs this election.

 

Personally, I hope he just goes away.

he is using the family excuse which usually means he is done.

[Mike Sixel]

The GOP hates government. They got their huge tax breaks, now they want to bail before they have to face the responsibility of fixing the mess. If, and do we think they like dealing with Trump?

 

Get your tax cut, get out of town before everyone realizes you created Kansas....

[TheLeviathan]

 

They are all pretty bad.   One thing I will say about McConnell, he might be more honest than Ryan in the fact that he is pretty open about how bad he is.  Ryan in the past has tried to seem like he can be somewhat reasonable, when really all along his life time goal is to gut social security and enforce some Ayn Rand philosophy (even though he himself befitted from social security as a young man).     Plus he seems to have the spine of a jelly fish and is careful to not say anything with much conviction so it cannot be used against him later. 

 

I think he might be more fake than McConnell, but really we are comparing vermin and slugs at this point.    Part of the reason Trump is so out of control is that none of these people would speak up early in the game to try and keep him in check, but they were more concerned about their personal career rather than what was best for the country or even their own party. 

 

I read a statement that we had safeguards for a bad president, but nothing for when Congress is also complicit.

 

I never liked his solutions, but he always seemed reasonable to me.

 

But the complicity with Trump is a huge issue that should forever mar his legacy.  

 

That said, I'm not sure we're better off without him unless a Democrat wins his seat.  "Reasonable" and "House Republican" don't go together very often in 2018 America.

[D. Hocking]

I really would not be sad to see any of these people decide to leave office.  Collectively you do not get much lower than this group.

 

[TheLeviathan]

Soak this one in for awhile. 

 

I want to laugh, but I'm struggling to do so.  Ladies and Gentlemen....your 2018 GOP in a nutshell.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

You would be remiss in introducing the 2018 GOP without reintroducing the 2010-2012 Wisconsin GOP first!

 

http://www.wisn.com/article/political-advisor-with-ties-to-walker-ryan-accused-of-keeping-sex-slave/19694029

[Mr. Brooks]

In today's issue of Republicans saying things so absurd, they must be made up, we have this.

Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin, on the teacher's walk out Friday, "I guarantee you somewhere in Kentucky today, a child was sexually assaulted that was left at home because there was nobody there to watch them,” Bevin told reporters. “I guarantee you somewhere today, a child was physically harmed or ingested poison because they were left alone because a single parent didn’t have any money to take care of them. I’m offended by the idea that people so cavalierly and so flippantly disregarded what’s truly best for children.” He also dismissed the importance of the protest, saying teachers were hanging out with their shoes off, smoking, and “leaving trash around.”

 

“Children were harmed—some physically, some sexually, some were introduced to drugs for the first time—because they were vulnerable and left alone,” he added.

[TheLeviathan]

Sniped you on that Brooks! But yeah....beyond ridiculous.

[TheLeviathan]

Governor Moron tried to apologize for those comments.  

[ashbury]

Governor Moron tried to apologize for those comments.  

Maybe I need to invest another 3 minutes listening to him again, but did he actually state what it is that he was apologizing for, other than the vague sorry-not-sorry bow toward "those who were hurt"?

[TheLeviathan]

 

Maybe I need to invest another 3 minutes listening to him again, but did he actually state what it is that he was apologizing for, other than the vague sorry-not-sorry bow toward "those who were hurt"?

 

I felt like he spent more time thanking the people who "truly heard him" than he actually had contrition for saying something profoundly stupid.

[D. Hocking]

 

Governor Moron tried to apologize for those comments.  

 

Don't you think you are insulting Morons by calling him this?

[gunnarthor]

So the GOP won a district by 5% that Trump had won by 21%. Nate Silver's write up is pretty good but he's cautious on what this all means. It could mean that GOP holds the house or a Blue Wave. That seems like he's covering all his bases.

 

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/arizona-8-special-election-result/

 

[Mike Sixel]

I think it's hard to say right now, and anyone that is sure probably doesn't know squat. I'd rather trust someone that says we don't know, than someone making bold predictions.

 

I remain optimistic the Dems will take the house. I don't on the Senate, or a huge majority in the House.

[TheLeviathan]

I wouldn't put much stock into last night's results.  That's a Republican seat unless they run a serial child molester.  (And even then it would be close)

[Mike Sixel]

The chat on Texas on fivethirtyeight is great, btw. As is the Nick cage article...

[Badsmerf]

A 16% swing seems dramatic to me. Especially considering a ton of the votes were sent in early. These were 2 normal nominees as well. A 16% swing nationally would be a slaughter by democrats. It's right to be cautious, but nothing in this race should provide confidence republicans will hold the house.

[TheLeviathan]

 

A 16% swing seems dramatic to me. Especially considering a ton of the votes were sent in early. These were 2 normal nominees as well. A 16% swing nationally would be a slaughter by democrats. It's right to be cautious, but nothing in this race should provide confidence republicans will hold the house.

 

The Republicans shouldn't have much confidence for a variety of reasons, I'm just not sure this election does anything to move that needle either way.

 

The Republicans are in trouble, as any controlling party has been during mid-term elections.  How much trouble will be hard to know until we see how strong the candidates are from the Dems.

 

I'd like to see a blue wave, but landslides in midterms are not usually the bread and butter of the left.

[Mr. Brooks]

On Monday, justices Alito (zero surprise), Thomas, and Gorsuch joined a despicable dissent. They effectively argued that a defense attorney can proclaim his client guilty, during the trial, against his clients wishes, and the defendant can't refute it.

 

Thankfully, the other six justices came to what should have been the obvious conclusion.

[Mike Sixel]

On Monday, justices Alito (zero surprise), Thomas, and Gorsuch joined a despicable dissent. They effectively argued that a defense attorney can proclaim his client guilty, during the trial, against his clients wishes, and the defendant can't refute it.

 

Thankfully, the other six justices came to what should have been the obvious conclusion.

What? That's literally the opposite of how the law has worked for centuries. OMG.

[Mr. Brooks]

What? That's literally the opposite of how the law has worked for centuries. OMG.

Yeah, Alito's dissent was basically, "meh, this happens so rarely, it's not worth caring about. "

 

And no, I'm not making that up.

And it's also not that rare. This ruling is expected to overturn 10 death sentence convictions in Louisiana alone.

 

https://www.google.com/amp/www.scotusblog.com/2018/05/opinion-analysis-court-rules-for-death-row-inmate-whose-lawyer-conceded-guilt/amp/

[TheLeviathan]

Jeebus.

[Mr. Brooks]

So what did Harley Davidson do with its big tax cut, four months after Speaker Ryan paraded their CEO around as a proclamation of how their tax cuts would keep jobs in America?

They cut 350 US jobs, opened a plant in Thailand, and used their tax savings to buy back $700 million in company stock.

[Mr. Brooks]

EPA Chief Scott Pruitt spent $1560 of taxpayer money for 12 pens.

And the government wonders why the people don't like or trust them.

[Badsmerf]

EPA Chief Scott Pruitt spent $1560 of taxpayer money for 12 pens.

And the government wonders why the people don't like or trust them.

Don't get me started with that scumbag. Out of all the people in this administration, he is easily the worst. I could use a lot more adjectives to describe him, but won't.

[Mike Sixel]

Bleep scotus. Bleep them

[gunnarthor]

 

Bleep scotus. Bleep them

My heart sank a bit when I read the headline. I'm still pissed but a lot of the anger is dissipating after having read Kenney's actual decision and Kagan's concurrence. I was afraid it would be a lot worse. Still angry.

 

scotusblog has a nice write up on the case here. http://www.scotusblog.com/2018/06/opinion-analysis-court-rules-narrowly-for-baker-in-same-sex-wedding-cake-case/

[Mike Sixel]

My heart sank a bit when I read the headline. I'm still pissed but a lot of the anger is dissipating after having read Kenney's actual decision and Kagan's concurrence. I was afraid it would be a lot worse. Still angry.

 

scotusblog has a nice write up on the case here. http://www.scotusblog.com/2018/06/opinion-analysis-court-rules-narrowly-for-baker-in-same-sex-wedding-cake-case/

parse it all you want, it allows **** to happen.

[ashbury]

Someone does something wrong, and if the commission (or other powers-that-be) that oversees things doesn't operate just-so, the perpetrator gets his or her way, regardless of the merits of the law itself or the merits of the specific case. That's just a little too snowflake-y for me.

 

If I get pulled over for being spotted on the radar doing 75 in a 55 zone, can I contest the ticket if the officer mentions, "I've been seeing more and more gray-haired guys thinking they own the road," as he hands me the paperwork?

 

And I still want to know why a baker or florist can't refuse service to a mixed-race wedding on the same grounds. Or simply a wedding involving a race not to one's liking, or a Presbyterian-Catholic wedding, or between a couple of stoners, or where the bride is already pregnant, or where the odds of a long and happy marriage are deemed inferior, or anything really, just because it violates the businessperson's sincere religious views. And I'm not even putting "sincere" in quotes there - it really is a principle that needs to be settled once and for all, with bright lines, that says to keep your own religion out of other people's day to day lives.

[Badsmerf]

Agree with you ash. This sets a terrible precedent, regardless of it wasn't the moral victory religious people crave. This can and will be used in courts around the country to discriminate based on religious views.... And it will take a long time until it is able to be heard by the court again.