Trump's Card

[anton pulisov]

Texas 27 is a laughable district. Corpus Christi used to have a Democratic representative, now they've been lumped in with the Texan bible belt to guarantee a Republican majority.

edit: Aha, it went to the Supreme Court. 5-4 decision to OK it, cause Neil "Merrick" Gorsuch said it was OK. I'm glad the Democrats want bipartisanship.

[Flynnie]

Gary Younge kills it as usual: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...am-block-trump

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

I've not been following this as closely as I should but has US politics really polarized to the point where now all Republicans and Democrats are relied on to vote the "right way" when it comes to controlling either house? I'm sure back in the days I studied US politics - Bush snr and Clinton's election - both parties were pretty broad churches, and a southern democrat was just as likely to vote with the GOP on certain issues as a liberal republican was to go the other way. It was one of the things that made following and predicting what might happen so interesting - plenty of Democratic senators were apparently all for impeaching Clinton for example which is why that was discussed as a genuine possibility. Has Trump made everything so divisive that both sides of the house are, well, just that? Effectively whipped to vote the right way?

[Etienne]

Trump is a product of it more than a cause of it. Southern Democrats have been an endangered species since Reagan and the Tea Party and gerrymandering has seen off most liberal republicans.

[Incandenza]

California ballot measure news:

Prop 5, which would have expanded Prop 13 and taken money away from local schools, soundly defeated.

Prop 10, which would have repealed an act that limits the type of rent control that cities can enact, also heavily lost. The real estate and private property interest groups opposing it said that passing it would have meant rising rents and less housing available.

Prop 8, which would have capped the amount of profit that private dialysis clinics could earn in the state, was also soundly defeated. DaVita and other dialysis clinc corporations put over $100 million into opposing the measure, while labor groups put in around $20 million in support, making it the most expensive proposition in state history.

Thankfully Prop 6 failed. It would have repealed a 2017 gas tax that pays for road repairs and transportation projects. The public face of the measure was a conservative talk show host who used to be a San Diego councilmember. Get fucked, DeMaio.

Easily passing was Prop 7, which is more of a suggestion to the legislature to go off of standard time/daylight savings time schedule and instead have daylight savings (summer time) year round. It doesn't change anything now, as the legislature would have to approve a change to our daylight savings by a 2/3 vote, then Congress would have to allow the state to deviate from the normal standard/daylight savings schedule.

[ursus arctos]

plenty of Democratic senators were apparently all for impeaching Clinton for example which is why that was discussed as a genuine possibility

This was never true.

When Clinton was impeached, the GOP had 55 Senators. There were only 50 votes for conviction on the obstruction of justice count (and only 45 on the perjury count). No Democrat voted for either count. The whole thing was never about actually removing WJC from office, it was all about demonising him and neutering his political power.

[Hot Pepsi]

The Senate was designed to be a check on democracy, ensuring equal representation for minority states.

I.e. southern slave states.

[Hot Pepsi]

This was never true.

When Clinton was impeached, the GOP had 55 Senators. There were only 50 votes for conviction on the obstruction of justice count (and only 45 on the perjury count). No Democrat voted for either count. The whole thing was never about actually removing WJC from office, it was all about demonising him and neutering his political power.

True. But it is true that liberal-conservative did not map neatly onto Democrat-Republican. George "Segregation Forever" Wallace was a serious candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1976.

But that's been over since at least the 90s.

[ursus arctos]

Yes, of course. Though I would second Etienne in that it was the Tea Party and the threat of "primarying" that put the final nail in the coffin on the GOP side (you can even see that in the Republicans who retired rather than run this year).

I was only challenging Rogin's take on the impeachment, which I honestly had never heard before.

[Incandenza]

LMAO owned

https://twitter.com/MrFilmkritik/status/1060190269985951748

[Etienne]

Looks like Tester might sneak a win, which would be a fine result.

[Amor de Cosmos]

I'd like to believe Sarah Kendzior speaks for most US citizens. But I'm not at all sure.

[Incandenza]

Trump looks more brown than orange today.

[WOM]

No, I fear she does not.

Listening to As It Happens last night, a Republic woman from CA had me, literally, screaming at my radio. Just stupidity piled on top of ignorance piled on top of racism. And I'm very, very sure the woman's not an anomaly. If you still vote Republican after two years of Trump, you're either stupid or racist or both. It's not because you're 'a conservative' or a patriot or whatever.

[Amor de Cosmos]

Missed that. But I did hear from the Texan family on The Current who seriously consider themselves "Refugees from California." Obviously because they walked to El Paso in fear of their lives wearing only the clothes on their back.

[anton pulisov]

A wall is cheaper than patrols, apparently. Hahaha.

But wait, don't they have to patrol the wall?

[Incandenza]

Missed that. But I did hear from the Texan family on The Current who seriously consider themselves "Refugees from California." Obviously because they walked to El Paso in fear of their lives wearing only the clothes on their back.

There are people who live in Santa Monica that refer to parks with some homeless people sleeping in them as "war zones". Same mindset of someone who would call themselves a refugee from California. They're extremely fragile people.

[Tubby Isaacs]

He can't raise his tax return because it's under "a very continuous audit", and people wouldn't understand it.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Jim Acosta really wound Trump up there by asking questions he didn't like.

[Gerontophile]

A few bits of Nevada news: Dems won the Governorship, the Attorney General, they fucked Heller, they won state controller, state treasurer, and two other state reps (although one incumbent).

The dead pimp running for district 36, won with 2/3 of the vote.

The turnout was a measly 63% overall.

[ursus arctos]

As always, Daniel Dale has an excellent thread for those not watching the circus (click through to read it all)

https://twitter.com/ddale8/status/1060214880576376833

[ursus arctos]

https://twitter.com/jimsciutto/status/1060212371636084736

[Tubby Isaacs]

"President Putin annexed Crimea"
"No, no. no, it happened under President Obama"

[Amor de Cosmos]

There are people who live in Santa Monica that refer to parks with some homeless people sleeping in them as "war zones". Same mindset of someone who would call themselves a refugee from California. They're extremely fragile people.

Yes. I think fragile is exactly the right word. I hear a lot of people whose belief system and opinions are rooted in nothing more substantial than momentary emotions, or something someone — anyone — said two minutes ago. It isn't the answers that are blowin' in the wind, it's the people themselves.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Bizarre meme, even by his standards, about needing "10 Democrat votes in the Senate".