The General US Politics Thread

On cabinet picks, so far we’re just getting national security picks, inner White House picks and just now treasury (which will be lead by a Keynesian, which looks to be a solid shift leftward compared to Obama’s two picks).

AG is gonna be the really big one.

Edited by Silasw on Nov 23rd 2020 at 10:15:43 AM

Apparently there's some controversry about Biden's pick for transportation secretary Rahm Emanuel since he uh . . . helped to covered up a murder by police of an unarmed black man

Except that guy isn’t a pick, he’s a potential pick.

There’s certainly reason to be concerned about him, but we should be very careful about reporting potential picks as having been actually selected.

Emanuel is OG Obama squad

So I’m not surprised he’s being considered

I get the guy is a longtime Obama loyalist, but considering his record as mayor, I'm surprised Biden tapped him is thinking about tapping him. Doubly so because he's unpopular to be associated with these days...and you risk that to give him the Transportation job?! The job that's basically reserved for token political opponents or people you owe but don't really trust anywhere else?

Did Biden really work with these guy during the campaign?

Edited by Rationalinsanity on Nov 23rd 2020 at 6:32:23 AM

Except he does care about ideology. He might not, like, be consciously dedicated to any specific ideology by name, but he does have ideological positions. He wants Mexicans removed from the country. He supports police brutality. He hates black people. He thinks only wealthy and/or white immigrants should be accepted and that American borders should be closed to "shithole countries".

These are ideological positions. He's not just paying lip service to our cops to encourage Republican voters to turn out for him; he goes above and beyond what other Republicans do in calling for BLM traitors to be hanged and telling cops that they should smash perps' heads into car roofs.

Trump wants to be rich and famous, and many of his policies are driven by the desire for approval and, more importantly, the loot the country before his creditors come calling.

But Trump also believes a lot of vile, hateful things and many of his policies are driven by a genuine desire to step on the necks of the groups of people he despises purely for existing.

He is a greedy kleptocrat and a brutal ideological authoritarian. The one does not contradict the other. These last four years would not have been half as terrible if the only thing that mattered to Trump was filling his bank account.

Edited by TobiasDrake on Nov 23rd 2020 at 2:34:13 AM

I don’t know anything about Emanuels policy decisions I only know his reputation for being alpha male asshole personality

Yeah, we cannot forget that Trump is a genuine bigot on top of his greed and narcissism.

There are so many speculative pieces about people Biden is considering picking for Cabinet posts that I'm not sure they mean anything until it's formally announced. Don't really like Rahm Emanuel, though, and I hope Biden doesn't give him a Cabinet post.

So what we have so far for Biden's picks, based mostly on Parable's posting:

White House roles:

• Ron Klain for Chief of Staff
• Cedric Richmond for Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement and Senior Adviser to the President

Cabinet/High-level Executive Positions:

• Linda Thomas-Greenfield for UN Ambassador
• Jake Sullivan for National Security Advisor
• Avril Haines for Director of National Intelligence
• John Kerry for Climate Envoy (new position)
• Alejandro Mayorkas for Secretary of Homeland Security.
• Tony Blinken for Secretary of State
• Janet Yellen for Secretary of the Treasury

Edited the post, thanks.

Edited by nova92 on Nov 23rd 2020 at 2:46:45 AM

John Kerry is getting the Climate Czar job.

Renegade Cut made a video about Maga and Fascism, for those who are inclined to watch it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4G7asMHqZ4&ab_channel=RenegadeCut

He explains it much better than it would be possible on internet forums.

Also, a video on what fascism is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_pq579ilKY&ab_channel=RenegadeCut

Trump was elected because of his bigotry that was gross, obviously, and whistles instead of dog whistles.

His father was in the KKK and he's the same.

He also has positions on the military's use of force. "We need to bomb their families."

That's why I've been holding off on naming names unless the article essentially confirms that this is the person Biden is going to pick. Prior to being announced as Secretary of State, a lot of people were tossing Blinken's name around as National Security Advisor.

Anywho, full list of Biden's Cabinet or Cabinet level picks so far:

• Secretary of State: Tony Blinken
• Secretary of the Treasury: Janet Yellen
• Secretary of Homeland Security: Alejandro Mayorkas
• Chief of Staff: Ron Klain
• National Security Adviser: Jake Sullivan
• Director of National Intelligence: Avril Haines
• U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations: Linda Thomas-Greenfield
• Special Presidential Envoy on Climate: John Kerry

'd darn it.

Edited by Parable on Nov 23rd 2020 at 2:51:27 AM

"He is a greedy kleptocrat and a brutal ideological authoritarian. The one does not contradict the other. These last four years would not have been half as terrible if the only thing that mattered to Trump was filling his bank account. "

Those can fight each other if trump erratic behavor and impulse seeking decision get in the way of whatever ideology it have.

and as venezuelan I can tell you, you really understimated the threat of political nihilist with power can do.

This was my first post about this whole thing, really. And I elaborated on the why the label "Fascist" is more than wrong, it's useless in this regard.

See that's exactly it. I think this is wrong and why the distinction even merits pointing out.

Fire will burn you, and you can put it out with water. But if the source of the fire is say, electricity, you throwing water into it will just make it worse.

When he tells you that Mexicans are rapists, he doesn't do it with the intent to eventually get Mexican Death Camps spattered over Kansas and to unite the race under one banner for the future of white children. He stokes the fire of a resentful poor and middle lower class at times where the only people who have to lose to dedicating energy and effort to this are the poor and middle class themselves - and he does this in a culture that propiciates these racial tensions over any other. And he doesn't do this because he is a strategic genius part of a decades-old cabal that deliberately trained in the Monastic order of Capitalism-Fu.

He does this because this is the heuristic crafted by the system to excuse the behavior.

It serves him if you think his goal is active repression based on race, where it's just the reinforcement of a socioeconomic status quo.

If you do not care that the othering's intent is one over the other because it is still othering, then congratulations, Doctor Google, you diagnosed cancer on the sniffles. Again. Shall I prepare the chemo?

Pointing similarities is fine to a point but intent and goal are important. The "othering", the autocratic tendencies, the police brutality, all of that are in service of heuristics crafted by a system that no person, man, woman, camera or TV could ever get him to comprehend. This is beyond Trump.

The whole point of bothering whether we put a "FASH" pin on Trump or not is because it is necesary to recognize the source of harm so we can understand, and hopefully treat it. Fascists shared some historical and political aspects and goals and recognizing them was important. But for Trump, the distinction would just slough off his greasy form no matter how hard we pin it down on him before we can bash him because - once again...

He's a symptom. Not the guiding hand.

Politico: Dianne Feinstein to step down as top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary panel

Edit: Yeah, she was criticized quite heavily for that. Looking at other members, someone pointed out that Sens. Leahy and Durbin already have other leadership positions, so the top Democrat will probably be Sheldon Whitehouse.

Edited by nova92 on Nov 23rd 2020 at 2:59:21 AM

Can't say I'm surprised considering her lackluster handling of the Barret nomination.

Varshini Prakash, Co-founder of the Sunrise Movement, had this to say about Kerry being appointed Climate Czar:

"I served with Secretary Kerry this summer on the Biden-Sanders taskforce and one thing is clear: he really does care about stopping climate change. That's something we can work with.

An encouraging move from the Biden team - now I'm keeping my eyes peeled for a domestic equivalent!"

Edited by Parable on Nov 23rd 2020 at 2:57:03 AM

The argument about Mexican hate being a political strategy would make more sense if Trump hadn't sought every legal trick and many illegal to deport as many as possible while herding others to camps, including many who have been here for decades.

I do not GET IT.

Why are people trying to avoid calling Trump out on being what he is?

Edited by CharlesPhipps on Nov 23rd 2020 at 2:59:19 AM

Yeah, I don't think Trump gives a shit about Mexicans living in the US, or migrating into the country. They're hardly a threat to him. He even prefers them, since they make for cheap, easily silenced labour.

He uses the rhetoric of deportation and anti-immigration because that is what his base wants to hear, but I don't think he really cares all that much one way or another. To him, they're just so many poor losers, and the distinction between them and those whose votes he courts are probably minimal, or at least a lot smaller than his base would like.

Much of that wasn't Trump's policy, though, but rather of those around him, like Steve Miller.

Edited by Redmess on Nov 23rd 2020 at 12:00:09 PM

Uh no.

Because he'd gone to amazing lengths to implement horrifying laws and enforce them.

And Trump appointed him.

Edited by CharlesPhipps on Nov 23rd 2020 at 3:00:36 AM

Wikipedia have an article for Biden’s cabinet, I'm going off that, I think a few news organisations are doing running lists.

Anyone know who takes over from Feinstein an Dem leader on the senate judiciary panel? I also wonder if it’s a prelude to her retiring some time soon, I think she’s currently the 2nd oldest senator (edit: Just checked, she’s actually older than Grassley by a couple months).

Edited by Silasw on Nov 23rd 2020 at 11:03:10 AM

The article says Durbin and Leahy are next on the ladder. But Nova mentioned above that they might be too busy and will step aside to let Sheldon Whitehouse take the position.

And no one, literally not one single person is saying he's the guiding hand. Calling him a particular brand of evil is not the same thing as claiming he's the root of said evil.

Edited by Perseus on Nov 23rd 2020 at 10:07:21 PM

Democrat don't tend to have a single person be Chair of multiple committees (which makes sense). I guess if Leahy wants the position he can give up Appropriations, but otherwise it looks like Whitehouse will get it. Klobuchar and Coons, next on the list, are already top Democrat on other committees, too.

Edited by nova92 on Nov 23rd 2020 at 3:07:49 AM

Because making shitty laws for immigrants to the U.S is not the exception to the rule.

It is the rule.