All Politics Are Loco: 2023

[batmagadanleadoff]

Well, I guess Ohioans decided they didn't want their rights taken away.

I don't get the Road Runner cartoon.

[kcmets]

Road Runner won. Beep beep...

[batmagadanleadoff]

Road Runner won. Beep beep...

That's what I kinda thought. But I wasn't sure because if that's the joke, I think it's pretty weak.

[kcmets]

It's all weak, coyotes run faster than 'road funners.'

Beep beep.

[batmagadanleadoff]

I have to say, amending a constitution on a popular vote seems to undermine the idea of a constitution.

Maybe, but not as much as a US Supreme Court that isn't representative. The majority of the country is Democratic, liberal and progressive. Yet two thirds of SCOTUS is extremely conservative - confimed by a GOP senate that, even when it controls the US Senate, represents less than 45% of the electorate -- and nominated for the most part, by Presidents that lost the popular vote. Trump gets to nominate three SCOTUS justices, a third of the bench, while Jimmy Carter, another one-termer, nominated nobody because there were no vacancies during Carter's presidency. Not to mention the circumstances behind all of Trump's picks -- stolen seats, really. What's fair about that?

[Edgy MD]

The subject at hand was amending a constitution.

[batmagadanleadoff]

The subject at hand was amending a constitution.

That's exactly what SCOTUS essentially does. Wanna know what is and isn't constitutional? Whatever SCOTUS says is or isn't constitutional. When SCOTUS overruled Roe v Wade last year, it ruled that the right to an abortion is not a constitutional right.

[Edgy MD]

Let's leave the whataboutisms to President Trump.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Well that's Federalism and states' rights for ya. It's a lot harder to amend the US Constitution.

[Fman99]

This may be hard for some folks to fathom but folks with the Ron DeSantis campaign appear to also be giant dickheads.

[MFS62]

This may be hard for some folks to fathom but folks with the Ron DeSantis campaign appear to also be giant dickheads.

Blocked by a paywall.
We know they're dickheads, but what did they do here?

Later

[Edgy MD]

There's a 15-year-old politics geek in New Hampshire. He's made it his thing since he was a young kid to visit events put on by every presidential candidate, and to respectfully ask them questions — usually at town-hall-type situations where citizens are passed mics and invited to ask questions. He aims to be a political reporter someday, and this is his way of getting his feet wet. Veteran political campaigners like Governor Christie have come to know him by name and congratulate him for his civic engagement and committed hustle when they see him at their stump gatherings.

He asked a question of Governor DeSantis earlier in his campaign that wasn't a very challenging question at all. It was certainly was one that an adult candidate for the presidency in 2023 should be prepared for. But DeSantis gakked on his answer, and his crappy answer made the evening news on some outlets.

The kid felt badly. He wasn't trying to set the governor up, but he felt like he accidentally did just that, so he vowed to visit another DeSantis 2024 event in the state to shake the governor's hand and apologize. He's now twice gotten up early in the morning to attend a campaign event and do just that, but both times, the governor's security detail has quickly identified the kid and restricted the his movements to prevent any opportunity for him to even get within earshot.

The kid has had his growth spurt, and is now over six feet tall, so it takes some physical manipulation to do this. And reporters have witnessed it. His mother was forced to come to the kid's defense at one of these events, and the Florida first lady was sent into the pack to defuse the situation, but instead told the mother that her son was a liar, as the governor skipped away.

But the story has multiple sources.

The 2016 campaign included staffers attacking the media. Now we have organized packs of staffers physically restraining minors.

[TransMonk]

The Wisconsin GOP is back at it again.

People have known for a long time that the WIGOP cannot hold their supermajority in the State Assembly and Senate without cheating by heavily gerrymandering the state districts. A liberal justice was elected to the state Supreme Court by double digits in April moving the majority to the left when she was seated last month. Multiple cases have already been filed against the unfair districting with the expectation that the Supreme Court will rule on their constitutionality as well as ruling on the state's abortion ban.

Obviously, since the justices are ELECTED in Wisconsin, the candidate gave indications on how she felt about these subjects while campaigning. Now, the WIGOP is using her campaign against her calling her comments prejudicial and saying that they will impeach her if she does not recuse from the redistricting case. They telegraphed that they were going to do this during the election, and they have the numbers to impeach and convict (even though no "corrupt conduct in office" or "the commission of a crime or misdemeanor" seems to have occurred or been alleged). However, the remedy for an impeached judge would be that the liberal Governor would be able to appoint a new judge.

Most were hoping the redistricting case would be decided before the 2024 election in time for state districts to be more independently drawn (but have been skeptical that it is possible for anything to move that fast). But the new rat-fucking plan by these low level cheaters is to impeach the justice in the Assembly and then to deliberately NOT even try her in the Senate - effectively leaving her in limbo. The Supreme Court would be stuck at a 4-4 stalemate and the Governor would be unable to appoint a replacement. This would be a scam to delay and punt the will of the people indefinitely.

The GOP is why the majority of us cannot have nice things.

[Fman99]

Wisconsin is basically the Florida of the Midwest

[TransMonk]

Nah...Floridians vote for this shit. Ron Johnson notwithstanding, WI has almost consistently voted blue statewide since 2016...which is the primary point.

Our problems pre-date Trump when Republicans cheated in private before they realized it was cool to do it all in public.

Once we open a Sconnie thread with headlines of WI people who aren't elected politicians doing crazy shit, I'll let the FLA comparison fly.

[MFS62]

What goes 'round comes 'round.
Matt Gaetz, who has been trying to get House Speak McCarthy ousted is now the target of his fellow GOP-ers.

House Republicans are planning a motion to expel Matt Gaetz from the chamber, even as he continues to threaten to expel Kevin McCarthy from the speakership.
The House GOP will move to expel Gaetz if the Ethics Committee finds him guilty, Fox News reported Sunday. Earlier this year, committee investigators reopened a probe into the Florida Republican for allegations of sexual misconduct, illegal drug use, and other wrongdoings.
Gaetz’s repeated threats to move to vacate McCarthy is apparently the straw that broke the camel’s back. “No one can stand him at this point,” a House Republican, speaking anonymously, told Fox. “A smart guy without morals.”

https://newrepublic.com/post/175896/hou ... gaetz-jerk


Payback's a bitch.
Later

[Edgy MD]

Big week.

Part of him, of course, wants to be expelled. Or better yet, to resign under threat (while claiming to "never surrender"). Martyrdom improves his brand.

[nymr83]

I had no idea Feinstein was dead until I saw that Newsome appointed her replacement today. She really should have resigned awhile ago.

[MFS62]

McCarthy has been ousted as Speaker of the House.
Due to plans put in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks to ensure the continuance of governance, McCarthy had prepared a “speaker-in-waiting” list from which an interim replacement would be chosen. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, a McCarthy ally, was selected for the role.
There are disagreements on how much power that person would actually have, however, with some procedural experts saying that replacement would only have the power to oversee the selection of a new speaker.

Later

[Edgy MD]

There's a non-zero chance that Former President Trump ends up as speaker.

[Lefty Specialist]

[nymr83]

There's a non-zero chance that Former President Trump ends up as speaker.

There is a very good chance that political writers looking to fill space will spill lots of digital ink on that possibility.

The chances of it happening, while certainly "non zero" are about the same as being bitten by a shark while being struck by lightning all while indoors.

[Lefty Specialist]

Yeah, even House Republicans aren't that dumb. Since Kev took his hat out of the ring, it'll probably be someone like Tom Emmer or Elise Stefanik from House leadership. They will have to bend over for the Crazy Caucus as well as the price to sit in the chair, and will have the same problems Kev had. Things are basically ungovernable right now and will remain so until Democrats take the House back (something made much easier by the current chaos).

A fun sideshow is the possible vote to expel Matt Gaetz from Congress. There needs to be a 2/3 vote, and if this ever comes to the floor you have to think that there are enough Republicans to team up with every Democrat to make this happen. It would be wonderfully karmic.

[Edgy MD]

There's a non-zero chance that Former President Trump ends up as speaker.

There is a very good chance that political writers looking to fill space will spill lots of digital ink on that possibility.

The chances of it happening, while certainly "non zero" are about the same as being bitten by a shark while being struck by lightning all while indoors.

It's funny that, in another thread, I'm trying to convince the room that there's a way to stop him. But here in this thread, here I'm over-estimating him.

I have to go ... I think I hear a shark in my bathroom ... I'm not sure because of all the thunder over my house.

[MFS62]

Just saw the news crawl on my local news show and it said that one Texas Congressperson intends to nominate him or speaker. It didn't give the person's name. I'm waiting or details.
O.E.
Troy Nehls will place Trump's name in nomination for speaker.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... mp-speaker
Later