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Nov 2023 Mod notice:


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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#265476: Jan 1st 2019 at 5:15:02 PM

I think people overestimate the benefits Democrats will derive from this. The Republicans thrive in misery for the poor. They swim in the black ocean of hate and disaster, not sink.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#265477: Jan 1st 2019 at 5:20:04 PM

More than anything this is a test to see if the Democratic leadership have learnt from everything the GOP has done since 2008. If the Dem leadership compromise with the GOP we have a serious problem, it means that the Obama policy of appeasement to the detriment of the public good is alive and well.

If they stand their ground than we know that appeasement is dead, that Pelosi and others have finally learned that the only way to deal with the GOP is to give them nothing and never trust them.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#265478: Jan 1st 2019 at 5:41:19 PM

Hopefully the Democratic leadership is aware that a good chunk of the voters who helped them in the midterms did so with the belief that they would oppose Trump, not give in to him.

Disgusted, but not surprised
Swanpride Since: Jun, 2013
#265479: Jan 1st 2019 at 5:47:54 PM

didn't the appeasement start with Clinton?

sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#265481: Jan 1st 2019 at 5:51:18 PM

Presumably Bill, as the past president.

Swanpride Since: Jun, 2013
#265482: Jan 1st 2019 at 6:21:47 PM

Bill Clinton, naturally. Hillary was never president after all.

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#265483: Jan 1st 2019 at 6:26:09 PM

Bill tried reaching across the isle and got some of the most reactionary (at the time) Republican insanity including their attempt to get him impeached at all costs. It was the start of the Gingrich GOP after all.

Obama also faced similar, "They will not even try to be adults."

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
Draghinazzo (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: I get a feeling so complicated...
#265484: Jan 1st 2019 at 8:25:23 PM

From what I understand, Bill was the origin of the GOP's current spiteful attitude of "fuck democrats". It's been described to me that after years of Republican dominance of the presidency, they felt entitled to it and thought they could keep it forever. Having HW Bush as a one-term president (the only one in recent memory in fact) was basically an insult they couldn't forgive.

Of course, it got worse after that with Obama.

Edited by Draghinazzo on Jan 1st 2019 at 12:59:26 PM

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#265485: Jan 1st 2019 at 8:39:54 PM

[up]Actually it is H.W. Bush.

Edited by M84 on Jan 2nd 2019 at 12:40:47 AM

Disgusted, but not surprised
Hylarn (Don’t ask)
#265486: Jan 1st 2019 at 8:40:59 PM

HW might have managed a second term if the GOP hadn't turned on him...

Draghinazzo (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: I get a feeling so complicated...
#265487: Jan 1st 2019 at 8:59:56 PM

[up][up]Woops, forgot to add the "H".

Ramidel Since: Jan, 2001
#265489: Jan 1st 2019 at 11:14:35 PM

H.W.: "Read my lips, no new taxes!" GOP: YAAAAY! You're in! H.W.: "Uh, sorry guys, we gotta raise some taxes, this Iraq War thing is killing us." GOP: Booooooo!

And the Gingrich crowd stayed home that November.

speedyboris Since: Feb, 2010
#265490: Jan 2nd 2019 at 7:12:28 AM

Trump ain't backing down from the wall. That would be admitting defeat/weakness, and his personality won't allow that. Best we could hope for is a veto override in Congress.

Of course, this would be followed by whining on Twitter, accusing the whole process of being rigged against him.

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#265491: Jan 2nd 2019 at 7:43:34 AM

It is rigged against him because people don't want his horrible ideas to succeed.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#265492: Jan 2nd 2019 at 7:51:51 AM

Hill leaders, Trump to meet on border in WH Situation Room, let's see what this charade brings. Note that this won't be a public meeting probably.

Edited by SeptimusHeap on Jan 2nd 2019 at 4:52:41 PM

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#265493: Jan 2nd 2019 at 7:56:54 AM

"I dissolve the Senate and the Regional Governors shall now have direct control over their territories!"

  • Space Force Station-1 hovers over White House*

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
DrunkenNordmann from Exile Since: May, 2015
#265494: Jan 2nd 2019 at 8:03:00 AM

[up] Seems like an Insult to Rocks to me.

We learn from history that we do not learn from history
DingoWalley1 Asgore Adopts Noelle Since: Feb, 2014 Relationship Status: Can't buy me love
Asgore Adopts Noelle
#265496: Jan 2nd 2019 at 8:10:49 AM

[up]x3 Of course Trump forgot about the House.

Incoming Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) criticizes Trump for his Unpresidential behavior, especially in Foreign Policy, and Trump criticizes back by calling Romney a loser and demanding his be a 'Team Player'. Romney's own niece, Ronna Romney McDaniel, who heads the Republican National Committee, also criticized her Uncle for not being a 'Team Player'.

If only Romney weren't kissing Trump's behind when he was running for Senate, I'd be more supportive of him. As it stands, the only nice thing is that Romney is doing exactly what his niece is saying; giving Democrats more fodder for 2020.

Edited by DingoWalley1 on Jan 2nd 2019 at 11:11:34 AM

sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#265497: Jan 2nd 2019 at 8:15:47 AM

Democrats Announce Major Changes To U.S. House Rules

https://www.npr.org/2019/01/02/681547346/democrats-announce-major-changes-to-u-s-house-rules

Top Democrats announced late Sunday a series of changes to House rules that could eliminate causes of major instability during the previous eight years of Republican rule in Congress.

"We are proposing historic changes that will modernize Congress, restore regular order and bring integrity back to this institution," said incoming House Rules Chairman James Mc Govern, D-Mass., in a statement explaining the changes.

When a new Congress convenes every two years, the majority party must approve a resolution outlining House rules, the intricate parliamentary procedures that govern the chamber. Two notable changes in the Democrats' package are aimed at avoiding certain confrontations that became commonplace during the Republican majority from 2011 through the GOP's 2018 midterm rout.

Democrats will revive the "Gephardt Rule," introduced in the late 1970s by Rep. Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., that automatically raises the debt ceiling — the nation's borrowing limit — once the House passes a budget.

House Republicans preferred to force votes to approve debt ceiling increases in an effort to bring more accountability and political pressure to reduce the nation's deficit and debt. However, that decision never resulted in reducing spending and only added to a culture of brinksmanship in recent years that often threatened the U.S. into default on its debts and increased economic uncertainty around the globe.

The rules change — coupled with Senate Majority Leader Mitch Mc Connell's longstanding promise that the U.S. will not default on its debts — greatly diminishes the odds of a default threat in the new, divided Congress.

Additionally, Democrats are changing the rules regarding motions "to vacate the chair," a procedural tool that could be used to force out a sitting House speaker. It is the procedural weapon that conservatives led by Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., were planning to use to try to oust Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, in 2015 before he made the decision to step down.

Democrats plan to tweak the rules so that a motion to vacate can only be offered on the House floor if a majority of either the House Republican Conference or the House Democratic Caucus agrees to do so. The change limits the ability of any one member to wreak havoc on the floor and ultimately bolsters incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., against potential agitators in either party.

Other notable House rules changes include:

1. Creating a committee to address climate change. The panel will not have subpoena power or the ability to introduce legislation so it will not be as powerful as a similar committee created by Pelosi during the previous Democratic majority from 2007 to 2011, but the issue is expected to be a major priority for the party's progressive wing.

2. Creating a bipartisan select committee tasked with coming up with proposals to "modernize and improve" the way Congress operates.

3. Setting new ethics rules that prohibit lawmakers and aides from sitting on corporate boards and a new requirement for annual ethics training for all lawmakers.

4. Reviving a rule that requires 72 hours before major legislation can get a vote in the House to ensure all lawmakers have time to review the bill.

5. Amending rules to extend bans on discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity and to allow religious headwear to be worn in the House chamber — an accommodation for Rep.-elect Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., a Muslim woman who wears a headscarf.

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#265498: Jan 2nd 2019 at 8:18:40 AM

Nice rules. Too bad that the GOP can toss them if it reclaims a majority. This bid for "stability" is empty in that regard, as it only holds while Democrats maintain control.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Euodiachloris Since: Oct, 2010
#265499: Jan 2nd 2019 at 8:23:01 AM

[up][up]Well, that's going to cause spontaneous combustion on the GOP front. <gets foil, butter, marshmallows, bananas, bit of kirsch, digestive biscuits and Mars Bars ready>

Heck, another fireworks display? I'm in!

Edited by Euodiachloris on Jan 2nd 2019 at 4:30:58 PM

GoldenKaos Captain of the Dead City from Cirith Ungol Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
Captain of the Dead City
#265500: Jan 2nd 2019 at 8:29:28 AM

[up][up] They'll have to do it first.

"...in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach."

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