The frightening thing for me is that McCarthy and his insane clown posse don't care about the economy. They care about winning and dominating in a zero-sum game. They don't care about kids (or anyone) getting killed by gun violence, they don't care about women or girls and access to healthcare, and they don't care about anyone who might be harmed by a blown-up economy. That is incredibly dangerous.
I am trying to stay off twitter today because this debt ceiling stuff is making me literally crazy, so I appreciate this clear analysis of what's going on. Its been deeply disconcerting watching all of this play out while so many people in media and politics either act like its normal, or act like the political machinations are the most important part. Also "he is in fact a spoon" got an actual lol!
Here in Oregon, Republican State Senators are in the midst of an extended walkout that has bolloxed up the current legislative session. It is also a hostage taking of sorts. They are doing this even though Oregonians overwhelmingly passed a ballot initiative prohibiting electeds from ever holding office again if they have 10 unexcused absences (passed after serial Republican walkouts in 2019 and 2020). The new law may not stand up in court, but still, this shutdown poses higher risk to the the AWOL Senators than previous Republican walkouts. From being barred from holding office to blowing up the economy to to utterly discrediting SCOTUS to a violent attack on the capital, it seems Republicans writ-large are taking bigger and bigger risks to sabotage democracy.
And with that lovely thought, I'm going to cling to "he is in fact a spoon" to get me through the day. Bless you for that gem.
Agreed. The “norms” are long dead with this Republican party.
As with all of their “policies” or “philosophies” cruelty is the point. There seems to be within them a perverse enjoyment in the suffering of others, even their own members, perhaps even themselves.
We’re definitely going over that cliff without extraordinary measures from Biden. It’s ripcord time.
I have to say... I can't even listen to the news about this anymore. It is so triggering. I understand all of it but that doesn't really help. Feeling like an ostrich and this really does make me feel powerless. I mean... I am glad that it's being covered, but yes the coverage is a lazy two sides thing. Chris Hayes did a great segment on the motives over this since 2011 the other night. But that still doesn't help. They are gonna do what they are gonna do. And as a retiree... it isn't pretty.
The point, for the MAGAs, is chaos. Cruelty is a byproduct. The very same instincts that gave birth to the Insurrection are trying to provoke a default. And for the exact same reason.
I also think it’s not about ‘owning the libs’. That too is a byproduct, though an amusing one for them. And a gratifying one as it diverts attention away from the real goal: destroying the belief that our current form of democracy is capable of running the country.
From Paul Ryan’s obvious goal of shoveling the last dollar out of the Treasury and into the hands of his rich friends, to the MAGA goal of isolating non-white, female, and non-straight persons from the full rights and benefits of citizenship. There has always been a strain of white male supremacy in this country, and there always will be.
But they mean to rule the country, by hook or by crook. Dimwits like McCarthy are just useful fools.
However he does it, Biden will avoid default. If his solution ends up in the courts, there were a few times in the 70s and once recently (gerrymandering) where SCOTUS deemed a case non-justiciable — a purely political question. Wish that could happen here.
I still have faith in Joe pulling a rabbit out of his hat.
I am troubled by this PBS Newshour email report on polling that shows Independents are more likely to blame Biden if there is a default. “Opinions on the debt are once again aligned by party, with 75 percent of Democrats blaming congressional Republicans and 73 percent of Republicans blaming Biden. But independents are more likely to blame Biden, with 47 percent saying the president, 38 percent saying Republicans and 11 percent saying both.” It seems to me we have work to do to reach out to Independents.” (Newsletter reports on PBS NewsHour, NPR and Marist Poll survey between May 15 and May 18 that polled 1,268 U.S. adults with a margin of error of 3.4 percentage points and 1,166 registered voters with a margin of error of 3.6 percentage points.)
Totally spot on. They’re economic terrorists. Holding our country hostage to make a point and for McCarthy to keep his job. Bring back the #Gephardtrule. Take this off the table.
(Also Dan, pls tell your friends its easy to become a "friend of the pod" and almost impossible to figure out how it works. I wrote to support; they said to contact crooked.)
How much of the Biden strategy is about Sinema and Manchin, and how much is it about scaring 5-10 Republicans about the harm they and their donors will suffer?
Over and over again, we are seeing that the mainstream media is not up to the task of keeping our citizens adequately informed about the truth of what is happening in our government and our country. It is always frustrating, frequently infuriating, and occasionally terrifying.
The media is a business like everything else in America. The bottom line is the bottom line. Why else would incidents like “planegate” be suppressed by both leftwing and rightwing media present
My only criticism is that I wish you’d written this a few months ago and reiterated with every subsequent post. I am so sick of legacy media and most of our political reporters. They are helping to destroy the country. They can’t wait to lay blame at Biden’s feet because “well, he’s the president” even though they often let GOP presidents off the hook. They love to kick Dems.
The frightening thing for me is that McCarthy and his insane clown posse don't care about the economy. They care about winning and dominating in a zero-sum game. They don't care about kids (or anyone) getting killed by gun violence, they don't care about women or girls and access to healthcare, and they don't care about anyone who might be harmed by a blown-up economy. That is incredibly dangerous.
I am trying to stay off twitter today because this debt ceiling stuff is making me literally crazy, so I appreciate this clear analysis of what's going on. Its been deeply disconcerting watching all of this play out while so many people in media and politics either act like its normal, or act like the political machinations are the most important part. Also "he is in fact a spoon" got an actual lol!
Interesting coincidence... or not a coincidence.
Here in Oregon, Republican State Senators are in the midst of an extended walkout that has bolloxed up the current legislative session. It is also a hostage taking of sorts. They are doing this even though Oregonians overwhelmingly passed a ballot initiative prohibiting electeds from ever holding office again if they have 10 unexcused absences (passed after serial Republican walkouts in 2019 and 2020). The new law may not stand up in court, but still, this shutdown poses higher risk to the the AWOL Senators than previous Republican walkouts. From being barred from holding office to blowing up the economy to to utterly discrediting SCOTUS to a violent attack on the capital, it seems Republicans writ-large are taking bigger and bigger risks to sabotage democracy.
And with that lovely thought, I'm going to cling to "he is in fact a spoon" to get me through the day. Bless you for that gem.
Agreed. The “norms” are long dead with this Republican party.
As with all of their “policies” or “philosophies” cruelty is the point. There seems to be within them a perverse enjoyment in the suffering of others, even their own members, perhaps even themselves.
We’re definitely going over that cliff without extraordinary measures from Biden. It’s ripcord time.
I have to say... I can't even listen to the news about this anymore. It is so triggering. I understand all of it but that doesn't really help. Feeling like an ostrich and this really does make me feel powerless. I mean... I am glad that it's being covered, but yes the coverage is a lazy two sides thing. Chris Hayes did a great segment on the motives over this since 2011 the other night. But that still doesn't help. They are gonna do what they are gonna do. And as a retiree... it isn't pretty.
Thanks for all you do.
There is no negotiation. How does this end? And does the country survive the fallout is the more important question?
You point out that we’re dealing with a spoon here. That makes this even more dangerous because does he even understand the consequences?
The point, for the MAGAs, is chaos. Cruelty is a byproduct. The very same instincts that gave birth to the Insurrection are trying to provoke a default. And for the exact same reason.
I also think it’s not about ‘owning the libs’. That too is a byproduct, though an amusing one for them. And a gratifying one as it diverts attention away from the real goal: destroying the belief that our current form of democracy is capable of running the country.
From Paul Ryan’s obvious goal of shoveling the last dollar out of the Treasury and into the hands of his rich friends, to the MAGA goal of isolating non-white, female, and non-straight persons from the full rights and benefits of citizenship. There has always been a strain of white male supremacy in this country, and there always will be.
But they mean to rule the country, by hook or by crook. Dimwits like McCarthy are just useful fools.
However he does it, Biden will avoid default. If his solution ends up in the courts, there were a few times in the 70s and once recently (gerrymandering) where SCOTUS deemed a case non-justiciable — a purely political question. Wish that could happen here.
I still have faith in Joe pulling a rabbit out of his hat.
I am troubled by this PBS Newshour email report on polling that shows Independents are more likely to blame Biden if there is a default. “Opinions on the debt are once again aligned by party, with 75 percent of Democrats blaming congressional Republicans and 73 percent of Republicans blaming Biden. But independents are more likely to blame Biden, with 47 percent saying the president, 38 percent saying Republicans and 11 percent saying both.” It seems to me we have work to do to reach out to Independents.” (Newsletter reports on PBS NewsHour, NPR and Marist Poll survey between May 15 and May 18 that polled 1,268 U.S. adults with a margin of error of 3.4 percentage points and 1,166 registered voters with a margin of error of 3.6 percentage points.)
Totally spot on. They’re economic terrorists. Holding our country hostage to make a point and for McCarthy to keep his job. Bring back the #Gephardtrule. Take this off the table.
I’m sorry but I don’t understand what McCarthy means here, don’t we want him to raise the debt ceiling? Can someone explain it in plain English?
(Also Dan, pls tell your friends its easy to become a "friend of the pod" and almost impossible to figure out how it works. I wrote to support; they said to contact crooked.)
Someone please explain why this still works?
How about this, a new angle: insert language to the bill that deliberately attacks political contributions and dark money.
See, that way *when* it passes, we actually gain, not just survive.
WE change the field in OUR favor.
Democrats: Attack!
Attack.
Attack?? We have a clear opening!
For fucks sake, ATTACK!
How much of the Biden strategy is about Sinema and Manchin, and how much is it about scaring 5-10 Republicans about the harm they and their donors will suffer?
Over and over again, we are seeing that the mainstream media is not up to the task of keeping our citizens adequately informed about the truth of what is happening in our government and our country. It is always frustrating, frequently infuriating, and occasionally terrifying.
The media is a business like everything else in America. The bottom line is the bottom line. Why else would incidents like “planegate” be suppressed by both leftwing and rightwing media present
My only criticism is that I wish you’d written this a few months ago and reiterated with every subsequent post. I am so sick of legacy media and most of our political reporters. They are helping to destroy the country. They can’t wait to lay blame at Biden’s feet because “well, he’s the president” even though they often let GOP presidents off the hook. They love to kick Dems.