Nov 2023 Mod notice:
There may be other, more specific, threads about some aspects of US politics, but this one tends to act as a hub for all sorts of related news and information, so it's usually one of the busiest OTC threads.
If you're new to OTC, it's worth reading the Introduction to On-Topic Conversations
and the On-Topic Conversations debate guidelines
before posting here.
Rumor-based, fear-mongering and/or inflammatory statements that damage the quality of the thread will be thumped. Off-topic posts will also be thumped. Repeat offenders may be suspended.
If time spent moderating this thread remains a distraction from moderation of the wiki itself, the thread will need to be locked. We want to avoid that, so please follow the forum rules
when posting here.
In line with the general forum rules, 'gravedancing' is prohibited here. If you're celebrating someone's death or hoping that they die, your post will get thumped. This rule applies regardless of what the person you're discussing has said or done.
Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
The Dishonorable
No link dumping.
SCOTUS justices can be impeached. If Kavanaugh's nomination is as fraudulent as the news reports are making it seem, that might be an achievable goal for a Democratic Congress.
Edited by Fighteer on Sep 4th 2018 at 2:44:04 PM
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"Doing that in an extremely polarized electorate would be a nightmare for stability.
"The devil's got all the good gear. What's God got? The Inspiral Carpets and nuns. Fuck that." - Liam GallagherLike it isn't polarized already. Also, a future Democratic Congress can stuff the Court. There are options besides surrendering.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"![]()
Yes that would be cost, but it would be outweighed by the benefit of dealing with a hostile Supreme Court.
Personally I think we should just pack the courts but impeaching Kavanaugh would be fine too if it's more doable.
Edited by Fourthspartan56 on Sep 4th 2018 at 2:46:10 PM
"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji YangAll of those options would result in a shakeup of institutions that could decrease trust in them over time. Ian Milhiser of ThinkProgress frequently talks about this dilemma for Democrats, and how he sees no good solutions for them in the event a conservative Supreme Courts prevents Democrats from pursuing any of their policy goals. You can read his pieces over there about that (I won't post links there per forum rules).
Edited by Mario1995 on Sep 4th 2018 at 2:51:28 PM
"The devil's got all the good gear. What's God got? The Inspiral Carpets and nuns. Fuck that." - Liam GallagherThe electorate can take stability and shove it up their asses, as they've already done before. If we get Kavanagh on the court and evidence comes to light of his dishonesty, impeaching and removing him is the necessary purgative.
Edited by CrimsonZephyr on Sep 4th 2018 at 2:52:51 PM
"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."He only reinforces the status quo (Kennedy was primarily a conservative justice, remember), and extends it (though Thomas is getting old...). If Ginsberg or Bayer dies or retires with Republicans in control of the White House and the Senate, then things are right fucked.
On that note, as awesome as they are, Ginsberg and Bayer need to retire ASAP if and when the Democrats have the ability to replace them. The US judiciary is terminally tainted by political appointees, but when the choice is between moderate liberals and reactionaries.... the game has to be played until it can be fixed, and fixing the courts would take generations.
Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.That's why I see it as a win-win, either the Supreme Court becomes friendly via court packing/impeachment or its power is diminished to irrelevance.
Make no mistake as an institution I view the costs it offers as equivalent if not higher then its benefits, more often then not it's just been an obstacle to progress and tool for reactionaries.
Edited by Fourthspartan56 on Sep 4th 2018 at 2:52:36 PM
"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang![]()
I dunno about just "reinforcing the status quo." During this morning's hearing he refused to shake hands with one of the fathers of the Parkland shooting victims. This is making gun control advocates fear that their years of progress on the state level could be completely undone if Kavanaugh is the decisive vote against any gun regulations. He's more of a reactionary instead of a status quo person.
Edited by Mario1995 on Sep 4th 2018 at 2:57:22 PM
"The devil's got all the good gear. What's God got? The Inspiral Carpets and nuns. Fuck that." - Liam GallagherThe entire liberal wing of the Supreme Court should have retired in 2009 so that Obama could appoint young successors en bloc. I know hindsight is 20/20, but we had a governing trifecta for two glorious years and we could have used it for a lot more than we did, even with the highly productive 111th Congress's existing record.
Edited by CrimsonZephyr on Sep 4th 2018 at 2:58:23 PM
"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."![]()
You can post links if you give them context. And we've banned people before for doomsaying as well as Pollyanna-ing. We want to have constructive conversations in this topic; we can't have them in that kind of environment.
Edited by Fighteer on Sep 4th 2018 at 2:58:53 PM
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"Frmr. Sen. Jon Kyl (R) has been named as the replacement for John McCain's Senate Seat until 2022
. His swearing in hasn't been given a date, however. Kyl had spent much of this year helping coach Brett Kavanaugh to get into the Supreme Court.
So it appears that Republicans are going to get their 51 seats back, and with that, Kavanaugh will be getting in to the Court. Hopefully, by January of next year, Kyl's a part of the Minority, and not the Majority, in the Senate.
Sadly, Senate math makes a Democratic majority highly unlikely until 2021. The only bright point is that the 2020 map is as bad for Republicans as the 2018 map is for the D Ems.
Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.Regarding the primaries today:
From what I’m hearing, the race to watch tonight is the MA-7 Congressional district. A lot of local reporters and politicos seem to feel it has a chance of being an Occasio-Cortez style upset, and with strikingly similar circumstances. (10 term incumbent who has never really been challenged or had to run a real race [and seems to be reacting to being challenged with a sense of befuddlement] vs a younger, more dynamic challenger who is whipping up enthusiasm in a very blue district.)
The main difference in this case is that the challenger, Pressley, has a history in government, albeit city government.
(Sorry for the lack of a link, posting quickly while on lunch.)
| Wandering, but not lost. | If people bring so much courage to this world...◊ |That's fair.
His victory really was a wonderful event, thank you Black Women of Alabama
Edited by Fourthspartan56 on Sep 4th 2018 at 3:25:52 PM
"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji YangJones only won because of Roy Moore being such a horrible human being (and an accused pedophile, to boot) that enough Republicans couldn't stomach voting for him. Of course, most of them didn't bother voting for his opponent either.
Edited by Mario1995 on Sep 4th 2018 at 3:27:44 PM
"The devil's got all the good gear. What's God got? The Inspiral Carpets and nuns. Fuck that." - Liam Gallagher![]()
Is there a point to this?
Obviously Roy Moore is a major reason for Jones' defeat but realistically that's the only way a Democrat is going to win in the current climate.
It doesn't make it any less wonderful.
Edited by Fourthspartan56 on Sep 4th 2018 at 3:43:37 PM
"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji YangThe Mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel, is not running for re-election.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/04/politics/chicago-mayor-rahm-emanuel-re-election/index.html
He sounds like he's withdrawing from active politics, at least for a while.
Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.@Mario: Are you implying that Roy Moore is the only Republican candidate that's a truly awful person? Or are you implying that the Democrats can't win unless they only face opponents who are truly awful people?
Because neither statement is accurate- for one, part of the reason the Republicans are in a bind is because of their inability to stop the Roy Moores of the world from getting nominated- Indeed, Trump himself is a good example of an awful person who got the Republican nomination despite the party not wanting him to- and for another, holding every seat they currently have and winning 2/3 of the toss-up races would be enough to get them a senate majority.
Edited by Gilphon on Sep 4th 2018 at 3:55:33 PM
Looks like the GOP are back to hating and wanting to deport the Irish, particularly Beto: https://twitter.com/dallasnews/status/1036923576379748352
Edited by CookingCat on Sep 4th 2018 at 1:05:53 AM
