Justice Thomas makes it clear decisions support our rights are next

[rawTOP]

6 hours ago, Close2MyBro said:

It's astounding to me how many members here are unable to blame the current administration for anything going wrong in our country right now. What happened to all those promises that things could only get better??

You mean like this?

 

[BootmanLA]

3 hours ago, ErosWired said:

The lamentable thing is, they could be right. Never underestimate the value the masses place on bread and circuses. I have very little faith left in the American masses to vote in their greater interests.

You're right - these are the same idiots who thought a grifter con artist who ran multiple companies into the ground and who squandered a multi-hundred-million dollar inheritance on projects pampering his ego but hemorrhaging cash was a business genius who nonetheless cared about the common people's concerns.

[BreedingTop71]

On 7/18/2022 at 10:01 AM, Close2MyBro said:

It's astounding to me how many members here are unable to blame the current administration for anything going wrong in our country right now. What happened to all those promises that things could only get better??

Because we have a president not a king. Congress has the PURSE. 

 

I however do blame Biden for being chicken shit and not standing up more forceful against the loons in the right. He’s letting our voice be drowned by crazies. 

[hntnhole]

On 7/18/2022 at 4:08 PM, NEDenver said:

Biden is fine only because the alternative is a nightmare.  

With abject sorrow, I have to agree.  

[hntnhole]

Sean Patrick Maloney (18th dist., NY, H.o.R.) just introduced legislation in the House to codify gay marriage rights into Law.  AND, he said there's a good chance in could get 60 votes in the Senate.  He's an "out" married Congressman, and if ever there was a Congressperson to support now, it's him and this legislation.  

So, guys - before you go to bed tonight, contact your Rep in Congress and urge him/her to support this legislation.  When you wake up tomorrow (ok - ok - go ahead and take a piss first), but then re-contact your Rep in the House with the same message.  Get your friends to do the same.  Drown them with supportive messages for this legislation.  Even if they're R's, drum it into their minds that there many constituents that will be forever pissed if they don't. 

[onlyraw]

I would be stunned - happily stunned- but stunned if he could get 60 votes in tge senate 

but - still an great idea about calling your reps in Washington !

[Cumfilledbottomboi]

13 hours ago, hntnhole said:

Sean Patrick Maloney (18th dist., NY, H.o.R.) just introduced legislation in the House to codify gay marriage rights into Law.  AND, he said there's a good chance in could get 60 votes in the Senate.  He's an "out" married Congressman, and if ever there was a Congressperson to support now, it's him and this legislation.  

So, guys - before you go to bed tonight, contact your Rep in Congress and urge him/her to support this legislation.  When you wake up tomorrow (ok - ok - go ahead and take a piss first), but then re-contact your Rep in the House with the same message.  Get your friends to do the same.  Drown them with supportive messages for this legislation.  Even if they're R's, drum it into their minds that there many constituents that will be forever pissed if they don't. 

The senate will filibuster it. The house overwhelmingly supported it.

Edited July 20, 2022 by Cumfilledbottomboi

[ErosWired]

On 7/18/2022 at 3:08 PM, NEDenver said:

Biden is fine only because the alternative is a nightmare.

In 2020 Biden was the only real choice on the ballot - that or allow the republic to collapse. That doesn’t mean he was a good or desirable choice. We can dispense with all the claptrap about him being doddering, senile or demented - that is demonstrably false. But he has not been legislatively effective, politically adroit, spiritually inspiring, or particularly wise. And though he isn’t debilitated, he is old - and the strain of the job is wearing on him in a greater way than it might a younger man with greater reserves.

It would be for the best if he did not run again. If nothing else, it would deprive Trump of the “rematch” he so desperately desires.

The thing I truly don’t understand about Trump is why, given that he absolutely cannot stand to lose, he would run again and risk a second defeat in a row that would cement his reputation as a man who has lost more than he has won, and a net loser overall? I mean, he is, but why risk rubbing his own face in it?

[BootmanLA]

40 minutes ago, ErosWired said:

In 2020 Biden was the only real choice on the ballot - that or allow the republic to collapse. That doesn’t mean he was a good or desirable choice. We can dispense with all the claptrap about him being doddering, senile or demented - that is demonstrably false. But he has not been legislatively effective, politically adroit, spiritually inspiring, or particularly wise. And though he isn’t debilitated, he is old - and the strain of the job is wearing on him in a greater way than it might a younger man with greater reserves.

True. 

40 minutes ago, ErosWired said:

It would be for the best if he did not run again. If nothing else, it would deprive Trump of the “rematch” he so desperately desires.

It would be for the best, ASSUMING another Democrat can win. That's not a certainty. And the rematch may (see below) be critical.

41 minutes ago, ErosWired said:

The thing I truly don’t understand about Trump is why, given that he absolutely cannot stand to lose, he would run again and risk a second defeat in a row that would cement his reputation as a man who has lost more than he has won, and a net loser overall? I mean, he is, but why risk rubbing his own face in it?

Mainly, I think it's because he needs the money. He's learned that billions flow through right-wing politics every cycle, and he's learned how to tap into it. As long as he's the face of the GOP, everyone from DC thinktanks to PACs to state senators and representatives seek his endorsement and spend money at his properties. When you can charge people $10 a pop for basic bottled water and $600 a night for rooms in his resorts, the revenue can make the difference between losing money and making a profit.

And as long as he's a candidate, he can raise money via donations and then divert it to pay legal expenses (of which he's got a lot and of which he'll have a lot more in the future). He could still try to fundraise to pay those expenses if he weren't a candidate, but his followers believe he's a multibillionaire, so why would they give him money if they knew up front it was only going to pay his lawyers? Right now, they assume the money's going towards getting him back into the White House.

Finally, the DOJ position is that they generally don't make public statements about investigations into declared candidates and they don't do anything (or they're not supposed to do anything) close to an election that might sway voters (a guideline they pointed ignored in 2016 with Clinton). Trump seems to think (mistakenly) that as soon as he declares, he's off limits to the DOJ. He'll learn that isn't the case.

As for that rematch: the problem is this.

If it's Biden against, say, DeSantis or Cruz, the Republican might win - not because they're more popular, but because the red tilt in the electoral college means turnout in swing states for the Democratic candidate is critical, and if Biden fails to inspire Dems in Wisconsin and Michigan, and the GOP candidate gets out the vote for the challenger, the GOP could well take the presidency.

If it's Biden against Trump, Biden would probably win again, because the GOP is souring (significantly) on Trump at the moment. A lot of those voters will come home to the GOP if Trump is the nominee, but there's a growing number of GOP voters would would just vote third party or stay home, even if they couldn't vote for Biden.

If it's Trump vs. some other Democrat, that becomes more of a tossup, because Biden (for all his faults) was a known quantity in 2020. He had high name recognition, people generally liked him even if they didn't like the Democratic party, and he wasn't Trump. That last will boost any Democratic nominee, but some Democrats could beat Trump, and some can't.

Finally, there's the possibility that neither Biden nor Trump is his party's nominee (the least likely, but most problematic, situation of the bunch). If a well-known Republican like DeSantis is running against a Democratic nominee who is either divisive within the party (too centrist or too leftist), or who motivates the GOP to turn out in opposition (see: Clinton), or who fails to motivate the base, a Republican could win with a bigger margin than Trump did.  

[ErosWired]

36 minutes ago, BootmanLA said:

and making a profit

Except that there’s scant evidence that he actually knows how to do that. There is abundant proof, however, that he knows how to run businesses into the ground. Which of course just strengthens your point, that he needs to do this to keep the con going. Poor Donald. It’s a boat with huge holes in it, and he can’t keep pumping forever. What a tragic figure. His entire concept of self-worth is an unsustainable con.

And yes, I follow your points about the potential of other GOP candidates to beat Biden, but that only points to the current tragedy of the nation - that any of the potential contenders, of either party, would be better than Trump.

Edited July 20, 2022 by ErosWired

[hntnhole]

4 hours ago, Cumfilledbottomboi said:

The senate will filibuster it

Most likely, and that puts each of them on the record - which will be used against them in the upcoming elections.  

[rawTOP]

18 hours ago, hntnhole said:

Sean Patrick Maloney (18th dist., NY, H.o.R.) just introduced legislation in the House to codify gay marriage rights into Law.  AND, he said there's a good chance in could get 60 votes in the Senate.  He's an "out" married Congressman, and if ever there was a Congressperson to support now, it's him and this legislation. 

Haven't looked at the bill but I wish it included the right to interracial marriage as well as gay marriage. That way all the Republicans could vote against Clarence Thomas' marriage. Both have the same foundation legally, so including interracial marriage in the bill would make sense.

[Guest]

18 hours ago, ErosWired said:

And though he isn’t debilitated, he is old - and the strain of the job is wearing on him in a greater way than it might a younger man with greater reserves.

I didn't think Trump and Biden were that far apart in age so looked it up and it's about three-and-half years. 

Personally I haven't seen real proof of wear-and-tear - nor have I heard the US-President complain about the job being too hard to do. What I have noticed is that starting before the presidential elections, his age has been framed by Trumpists and Republicans (hoping these two groups will overlap less in future) as a reason he wouldn't be able to the job.
And it seems he is doing it.

Often I notice that in the more progressive / liberal or left-wing parts of society people tend te be far more critical about their political representatives than with the conservative / right-wing voters.
Could that be something that also in the US of A,  makes the work of a (Presidential) candidate for the Democrats harder, both when trying to get elected and when doing the job?

One of the things I - from the sidelines - like about President Biden is that in contrast to his predecessor (D.J. Trump) he comes across as focusing less on ruling by decree but in stead seriously seeking political majorities for his plans, and that way acts less like a despote-like Monarch and more like a Statesman. 

 

17 hours ago, BootmanLA said:

because the GOP is souring (significantly) on Trump at the moment.

I hope you are right and that the party - besides turning away from Trumpism -  will also turn back to it's civilised roots and away from the populist and overly-religious groups that seemed to have hijacked the (former) Grand Old Party.

Edited July 21, 2022 by Guest

[hntnhole]

9 hours ago, BareLover666 said:

he comes across as focusing less on ruling by decree but in stead seriously seeking political majorities for his plans

I agree, he does, that that's rather weak water compared to Cheeto-Head's attitudes. 

I think the reason that some Dems/Progressives in the US are a bit down on Biden, is that he spent 30 years in a Senate that wasn't divided so bitterly along party lines.  Biden strongly believes in the Senate as it used to be, and still thinks things possible years ago are still possible in the radicalized Senate of today.  I also think that the latest kick-in-the-balls by Mr. Manchin of WV, the man who has soaked up 1.5 years of Biden's Presidency with his soft-spoken murmurings about "let's try and see what we can do" - but then slamming the door shut on even the most modest progressive causes over and over and over again, has finally torn the blinders of history off Biden's eyes.  Remember, he became Vice President in 2008, and thus away from the Senate for 14 years, during which time Mr. McConnell of KY has been writhing, snake-like, through the Congressional weeds, plotting and planning his "conservative takeover", so recently foisted upon the US. 

Finally, President Biden is making noises about actions taken by Executive Order, which bypasses Congress.  So, maybe he can start forcing some sorely-needed things through now that the truth has made itself so clear. 

On another note, we send our very best wishes to President Biden for an early and complete recovery from his covid diagnoses.  We, of all folks, should never wish illness on others (however difficult that may be regarding the trumpet of that ridiculous orange pompadour).

[BootmanLA]

For those GOP apologists who were having apoplectic fits that we dared - DARED - suggest that Justice Thomas' view that people don't have a right to birth control was a harbinger of the GOP's position:

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to guarantee under statutory law that, in fact, Americans have a right to access contraception and that it can't be prohibited by the states. Guess what the vote was? 228 to 195. All 195 votes AGAINST a right to contraception came from Republicans. Only 8 Republicans crossed the aisle to vote with the Democrats.

State legislatures are filled with wackadoo Republicans who will vote to ban or require things in line with their personal beliefs at the drop of a hat. If this many congressional Republicans are willing to let states do that, just imagine what states would do if the Supreme Court lets them - and with Barrett, Alito, and Kavanaugh on board, all they have to do is convince either Gorsuch or Roberts.

It's closer than you think.