Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

Oppose, oppose, oppose. do not congratulate. this is not business as usual.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires Republicans to act in good faith.

The real work of an opposition party is to hold the people in power accountable.

Dear Washington Post, you are the darkness now.

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

Our messy unity will be our strength.

SCOTUS: It’s not “bribery” unless it comes from the Bribery region of France. Otherwise, it’s merely “sparkling malfeasance”.

I’m starting to think Jesus may have made a mistake saving people with no questions asked.

The press swings at every pitch, we don’t have to.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

Fight for a just cause, love your fellow man, live a good life.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

The republican caucus is covering themselves with something, and it is not glory.

Of course you can have champagne before noon. That’s why orange juice was invented.

The media handbook says “controversial” is the most negative description that can be used for a Republican.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

They were going to turn on one another at some point. It was inevitable.

Just because you believe it, that does not make it true.

You are here: Home / Watch me whip, now watch me nay nay

Watch me whip, now watch me nay nay

by | 104 Comments

This post is in: 

It’s hard for me to imagine that Trumpcare will fail in the House. It seems more likely that it will squeak through, that we’ll be told it’s “the big win that Trump needs”, that it solidifies the unlikely friendship between Trump and Ryan, and so on. But, so far, despite all the whipping, there’s too many nays and not enough yeas:

Trump’s dire warning didn’t appear to immediately change many minds. House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), whom Trump singled out during the meeting, emerged from a private meeting with Vice President Pence Tuesday afternoon, insisting that he was still opposed and that he had at least 22 votes from conservative hard-liners to defeat the bill. Following the meeting, Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Walter Jones (R-N.C.) also said they remain opposed.

According to The Hill’s Whip List at press time, 22 House Republicans were firm “no” votes, with six more leaning no or likely no. Many other Republicans have not said how they will vote. Should all members vote and all Democrats — as expected — vote no, 22 defections would kill the legislation. The bill is scheduled to hit the floor at some point on Thursday.

Reader Interactions

104Comments

  1. 1.

    JMG

    Rand Paul has just proposed that the Senate Republicans overrule the parliamentarian by majority vote to pass total repeal. Not sure if he checked that with Mitch.

  3. 3.

    schrodingers_cat

    I have a suggestion, why not just pass a bill to kill anyone living in the United States that they don’t like. Say it will MAGA. I just can’t with these psychopaths anymore.

  5. 5.

    low-tech cyclist

    If your Representative is a Republican, and especially if s/he didn’t win by much in 2016 or if Hillary won his district, burn up the phone lines! Make sure your Rep knows how you feel.

  8. 8.

    low-tech cyclist

    @Sab:

    Pedanticly, shouldn’t nay nay be neigh neigh?

    You’re sounding a little hoarse there!

    And pedantically, it should be ‘pedantically,’ :D

  9. 9.

    rikyrah

    I will post this again, hoping that it will catch the eye of one of the FrontPagers.

    Unspeakable Realities Block Universal Health Coverage In America
    Chris Ladd
    Contributor
    A recovering Republican.

    excerpt:

    When it seems like people are voting against their interests, I have probably failed to understand their interests. We cannot begin to understand Election 2016 until we acknowledge the power and reach of socialism for white people.

    Americans with good jobs live in a socialist welfare state more generous, cushioned and expensive to the public than any in Europe. Like a European system, we pool our resources to share the burden of catastrophic expenses, but unlike European models, our approach doesn’t cover everyone.

    Like most of my neighbors I have a good job in the private sector. Ask my neighbors about the cost of the welfare programs they enjoy and you will be greeted by baffled stares. All that we have is “earned” and we perceive no need for government support. Nevertheless, taxpayers fund our retirement saving, health insurance, primary, secondary, and advanced education, daycare, commuter costs, and even our mortgages at a staggering public cost. Socialism for white people is all-enveloping, benevolent, invisible, and insulated by the nasty, deceptive notion that we have earned our benefits by our own hand.

    My family’s generous health insurance costs about $20,000 a year, of which we pay only $4,000 in premiums. The rest is subsidized by taxpayers. You read that right. Like virtually everyone else on my block who isn’t old enough for Medicare or employed by the government, my family is covered by private health insurance subsidized by taxpayers at a stupendous public cost. Well over 90% of white households earning over the white median income (about $75,000) carried health insurance even before the Affordable Care Act. White socialism is nice if you can get it.

    Companies can deduct the cost of their employees’ health insurance while employees are not required to report that benefit as income. That results in roughly a $400 billion annual transfer of funds from state and federal treasuries to insurers to provide coverage for the Americans least in need of assistance. This is one of the defining features of white socialism, the most generous benefits go to those who are best suited to provide for themselves. Those benefits are not limited to health care.

    By funding government programs with tax credits and deductions rather than spending, we have created an enormous social safety net that grows ever more generous as household incomes rise. It is important to note, though, that you need not be wealthy to participate. All you need to gain access to socialism for white people is a good corporate or government job. That fact helps explain how this welfare system took shape sixty years ago, why it was originally (and still overwhelmingly) white, and why white Rust Belt voters showed far more enthusiasm for Donald Trump than for Bernie Sanders. White voters are not interested in democratic socialism. They want to restore their access to a more generous and dignified program of white socialism.

  10. 10.

    Another Scott

    After the GOP passed Medicare Part D without having any way of paying for it, after holding the vote up for (what was it?) 2 hours after the 15 minute vote deadline; after running on repealing Obamacare for 7+ years and voting 50+ times to repeal it in the past, the easy conclusion is that they are going to pass something in the House on Thursday and worry about the pesky details in the Conference with the Senate later. (I don’t know the process details – maybe the Reconciliation rules say something about how this is done that is different from the usual process, but there will have to be some changes from whatever the House passes.)

    I will be flabbergasted if they don’t manage to pass something.

    (And let’s not forget that even if they fail to pass this bill (or something like it), they won’t stop until they do pass something so that they can declare victory.)

    We have to keep fighting them, and not get discouraged if they do manage to pass something. They have the majority and that is what they have the power to do. What we have to do it Make Them Alone Own It every single day, and fight them every single day. This is a long battle – we’re still just barely 60 days into this…

    The horse race coverage is designed to get clicks. Eyes on the prize – the people losing coverage, and the necessity of voting these monsters out ASAP.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  11. 11.

    low-tech cyclist

    @WereBear:

    They are just dying to kill people.

    Couldn’t they get the ‘they are just dying’ part out of the way first?

  12. 12.

    ET

    I hate it, but I still think this will squeak though the House but Republicans get in line. But I hope I am wrong.

  13. 13.

    germy

    @low-tech cyclist:

    burn up the phone lines!

    I saw this Letter To The Editor:

    I read with great interest Kathryn Schulz’s article on calling one’s congressional representatives (“Call and Response,” March 6th).

    During the hearings to confirm Betsy DeVos, I called senators on the confirming committee to voice my opposition. Those whom I reached told me that, since I live in Michigan and not in their states, my opinion was not under their consideration.

    And yet several of those same senators accepted donations from DeVos and her family, most of whom also live in Michigan.

    If we are to continue the questionable practice of considering political expenditures “free speech,” then we should be allowed to contribute only to congressional candidates campaigning in our home district. Likewise, senatorial candidates should be allowed to accept contributions only from residents of the state that they hope to represent.

    For those of us with meagre means, our only way of getting involved might be through an investment of time.

  14. 14.

    amk

    more bones tumbling out

    US President Donald Trump’s one-time campaign chairman secretly worked for a Russian billionaire to assist President Vladimir Putin, the Associated Press (AP) news agency reports.

    Paul Manafort is said to have proposed a strategy to nullify anti-Russian opposition across former Soviet republics a decade ago.

    AP says documents and interviews support its claims about Mr Manafort.

    Mr Manafort has insisted that he never worked for Russian interests.

    He worked as Mr Trump’s unpaid campaign chairman from March until August last year, including the period during which the flamboyant New York billionaire clinched the Republican nomination.

  15. 15.

    JGabriel

    (Slightly OT, thought still about Trump.)

    WaPo:

    Trump to attend NATO summit in May, White House says

    The White House on Tuesday night confirmed that President Trump will attend a gathering of NATO leaders in Brussels in May, a move that could help reassure U.S. allies about his administration’s commitment to Europe’s security. …

    Question: Has anyone ever been reassured by the presence of Donald the Destabilizer?

    I’m sure NATO’s leaders will be just as reassured by Trump attending a NATO gathering as Americans are by Trumpcare.

  16. 16.

    sdhays

    I have to say, 22 strong nay’s is fewer than I was expecting based on earlier reporting. They’re closer to passing this than I thought (I guess because of the bribe to upstate NY). But it’s still too many…

    In the past, I struggled with how to make sure AHCA got wrapped around both Trump and Ryan’s necks, but with the likely prospect of complete failure (at least at this juncture) I think “TrumpCare” is best – the people who need to know (the Republicans in Washington) will know how much of this disaster was Paul Ryan, but calling it TrumpCare wraps the failure around “too much winning!” Trump for all of his supporters to see. Making Trump a 100% loser is worth mildly lessening the publicity around Ryan’s embarrassing incompetence (and I think there will still be plenty to go around).

  17. 17.

    msdc

    @low-tech cyclist:

    If your Representative is a Republican, and especially if s/he didn’t win by much in 2016 or if Hillary won his district, burn up the phone lines! Make sure your Rep knows how you feel.

    This. It’s a good day to call your representative no matter who they are. If they’re a Dem, encourage them to hold the line. If they’re a Republican, today may be the most leverage you will ever have over them.

  19. 19.

    JGabriel

    @schrodingers_cat:

    I have a suggestion, why not just pass a bill to kill anyone living in the United States that [Republicans] don’t like.

    Give them time. Nazis didn’t build the final solution in a day.

  21. 21.

    germy

    WaPo

    In January, when Republicans developed the repeal strategy, the message guru Frank Luntz suggested that they frame it as a “rescue” mission for a health-care system that was breaking.

    This isn’t a life raft, it’s a sandbag.

  22. 22.

    JGabriel

    @sdhays:

    In the past, I struggled with how to make sure AHCA got wrapped around both Trump and Ryan’s necks …

    Let’s call it RepubliCare.

  23. 23.

    amk

    @JGabriel: ‘

    a move that could help reassure U.S. allies about his administration’s commitment to Europe’s security.

    such low bars. fuck the msm.

  24. 24.

    bookdragon

    @sdhays: Making this disaster all about Trump by calling it TrumpCare is the best strategy for hurting Ryan. Because when has Trump ever not gone after someone who made him look bad?

    The more this hurts Trump, the more he will go out of his way to hurt Ryan and everyone else responsible for this unpopular thing that got hung around his neck.

  26. 26.

    BBA

    Bill Kristol said this would go down, which means it’s guaranteed to pass.

    Possibly with a Schiavo-style 3 AM voice vote with no quorum, since that’s the only way I see this happening.

  27. 27.

    rikyrah

    #WhiteSocialism

    When we speak about the origins of Social Security, and how FDR got it passed by going along with the Southerners, which led to the EXCLUSION of certain professions – professions that Black people just ‘happened’ to be overemployed in, which led to those workers being EXCLUDED from contributing to Social Security – FOR DECADES, which lowered their checks when they came of age. WE look at it with scorn. #WhiteSocialism looks at that and sees nothing wrong

  28. 28.

    rikyrah

    #WhiteSocialism

    When Black GI’s returning from WWII were DENIED the same benefits that built the White Middle Class post WWII.

  29. 29.

    rikyrah

    #WhiteSocialism

    When Civil Service jobs that didn’t even need a high school diploma as a requirement, suddenly, when people with melanin start getting those jobs….all sorts of new sets of educational requirements suddenly pop up in the job description.

  32. 32.

    Yarrow

    Who’s Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) — apparently he said they just don’t have the votes. Freedom Caucus? Not-red-enough district?

  33. 33.

    Ian G.

    As I said in an earlier thread, watching the Freedom Caucus go to war with Shitgibbon is like watching Iranian Revolutionary Guard suicide squads take on Saddam Hussein’s armored divisions in the Iran-Iraq War. You hope both sides lose, but you can’t help but cheer a little for the religious nutcase underdogs as they take on the wealthy secular tyrant’s powerful forces.

  36. 36.

    Waldo

    I’m guessing if it comes down to one or two votes, they’ll find a few turncoat Dems to get the deed done. Then voila – bipartisanship!

  39. 39.

    MomSense

    @rikyrah:

    My grandma was excluded. She lived with us and I’m sure wasn’t real happy about raising two more brats after raising rich brats for other people her whole career. If she didn’t have us though she would have been completely destitute.

    Oh and the rich people she worked for her whole career were the tire company magnates. The .01% of their day.

  41. 41.

    rikyrah

    @JGabriel:

    I’m sure NATO’s leaders will be just as reassured by Trump attending a NATO gathering as Americans are by Trumpcare.

    I can’t wait to see them shade him.

  43. 43.

    The Moar You Know

    These guys are for real getting off on killing the poor. On my end, time to fire up some DK.

  44. 44.

    bemused

    @WereBear:

    Yes but that’s always been on their wish list as Paul Ryan gleefully admitted. Ryan and the majority of the GOP are out and proud with condemning millions of Americans to get sick longer and die sooner. They used to hide their black souls with weasel excuses in public. They don’t bother with that anymore.

  46. 46.

    hovercraft

    @JGabriel:
    Brussels better batten down the hatches, the protests are going to be epic.
    Those poor police ans security forces, they won’t be getting any sleep til Air Force One takes off with the shitgibbon safely on board.

  48. 48.

    D58826

    Somewhat OT – the electronics ban on planes. Since several D’s have said there is a real threat then will take the ban at face value. Question is why does it only affect Arab/Muslim airlines operating out of those airports? Wouldn’t an American carrier operating out of those locations be just as vulnerable to a laptop bomb in the cabin? And the terrorists, not being stupid, why not fly out of London or Paris?

    Or are we just using a legitimate threat to kick the Mooooslins again? Or did I answer my own question?

  51. 51.

    Sab

    @low-tech cyclist: I had doubts about my spelling when I sent that, but I trusted autocorrect because it screws up everything I ever type, so of course it knows better than me.

  52. 52.

    BlueDWarrior

    I suspect that Ryan and co. will find some way to scuzz the bill out of the House, but the Senate will be a whole other kettle of fish.

  54. 54.

    Immanentize

    What is interesting about Trump going to the NATO conference is that the decision was made only after Tillerson decided he would not attend a critical NATO conference. Tillerson has no power. Trump is the Secretary of State. Good Lord wearing sunglasses, that sentence is so frightening.

  55. 55.

    Aleta

    @BlueDWarrior: It’s hard to fully trust the predictions in the press today that it will fail. So many reps are staying quiet to avoid whipping up opposition. Some of the no’s may still be dealing furiously. If Fake-45 has the focus, who knows what he may be offering or threatening.

  56. 56.

    Immanentize

    @D58826: One — US Airlines don’t operate out of those countries. Two — as reported elsewhere, this is not a security issue but is actually a version of sanctions because we feel that the Arab carriers are improperly subsidizing their airlines in a covert way that undermines airline competition. That is why the UK jumped on board so quickly — they do service those countries….

  60. 60.

    Kay

    Ivanka Trump still wields power over the brand that bears her name. “There’s no enforcement,” says ethics adviser.

    Ivanka Trump played every news outlet in the country. She said she was giving up her business and she said she wouldn’t have an office or an official policy role. She knew these things weren’t true when she planted that bullshit in newspapers.

    This is why I feel we have low quality elites. The Trump Family regularly tricks them. How smart can they be if they get played by the Trump University family?

  62. 62.

    Major Major Major Major

    @Kay:

    Ivanka Trump played every news outlet in the country.

    The shit doesn’t fall far from the asshole.

    Although at this point after 20+ years being played by this family in exactly the same way you have to wonder if the media isn’t actually enjoying it.

  65. 65.

    Kay

    Having observed conservatives for 30 years, I don’t completely buy that this Russia stuff is all about “nationalism” or some other “ism” because every single time I take apart a conservative cause I find someone making big piles of money.

    Manafort proposed in a confidential strategy plan as early as June 2005 that he would influence politics, business dealings and news coverage inside the United States, Europe and the former Soviet republics to benefit the Putin government, even as U.S.-Russia relations under Republican President George W. Bush grew worse. Manafort pitched the plans to Russian aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska, a close Putin ally with whom Manafort eventually signed a $10 million annual contract beginning in 2006, according to interviews with several people familiar with payments to Manafort and business records obtained by the AP. Manafort and Deripaska maintained a business relationship until at least 2009, according to one person familiar with the work.

    I’m dying to know what specifically the far Right Russian government want from GOP lawmakers, as far as money interests, especially the anti-immigration piece because I can’t figure out who profits from that. Someone does! And probably directly! I know you’re all going to tell me the anti-immigration piece is about attracting the GOP base but I think it’s more than that. It benefits oligarchs directly or they wouldn’t bother with it- the GOP base will vote GOP regardless.

  66. 66.

    Immanentize

    @D58826: Israelis — yesterday I mentioned in a thread that if you want to know whether an action is security necessary or security theater, look at what the Israelis do. For one, they don’t don’t give a shit about everyone’s shoes.

  67. 67.

    HRA

    @Kay:

    Kay, I believe she is being placed in the WH attached to the presidency to prepare her for running for President.

  70. 70.

    Kay

    @schrodingers_cat:

    Ugh. Those stories about how she’s secretly liberal! I mean come on. So CLEARLY planted.

    I was actually happy that she’s cutting the bullshit and moving into the big power player position that was planned all along because I suspect she had to- they have to rescue that Presidency. They’re arrogant enough to believe the problem is too few Trump relatives at the helm, too. I don’t think that’s the problem.

  71. 71.

    Kay

    @HRA:

    Kay, I believe she is being placed in the WH attached to the presidency to prepare her for running for President.

    And why not? Competence, experience and earned merit don’t matter at all. The Trump’s devalue all three.

    No one should bother learning anything or working hard or moving up in the ranks. It’s a chump move. For suckers. The big players are so incredibly talented they operate purely on inherent brilliance. This is what these people have to be telling themselves. That’s how baked-in the privilege is.

  73. 73.

    Immanentize

    @Kay: Kay, if there must be a cause for everything that is done to hurt people — here is your immigration angle.

    The vast immigration problem in not the US immigrant problem but the displaced persons problems in the NATO countries (here I include Turkey). The vast number of refugees and displaced persons from the Middle East and African conflicts (which are largely climate based at bottom) is hitting Europe the hardest. And most importantly, hitting the European ideals of liberal democracy. For the US to basically cut of a very visible, albeit very small, safety valve of refugee placement only increases the pressure on Europe. Russia could not care less what Europe’s response is because either way, they will win. If Europe remembers and is true to its modern formative ideals, more refugees will flood into European countries, which we now see are being destabilized on racist, religious and ‘nationalistic’ grounds. If Europe tightens its border, closes borders, or turns away from its internal open borders agreements, the Russia can point to those acts as the very thing Russia knew would happen because Europe is false, all talk and just a judgmental hypocrite. And the US will fundamentally be agreeing with Russia by our actions — and soon, I suspect, by our words.

    So that is my 2 cents on your fully unified theory of Russian manipulation. Which, by the way, I don’t fully subscribe to.

  76. 76.

    Mnemosyne

    @Kay:

    As far as the anti-immigrant thing goes, I would follow the money straight to the for-profit prisons that house the people that ICE arrests. How much money do the Mercers have invested in those?

  79. 79.

    Gin & Tonic

    Manafort hires a “crisis communications” consultant. Next step is a well-connected law firm. He’s warming up his vocal cords.

  80. 80.

    Kay

    @Immanentize:

    Is it possible that they want to keep people IN these countries? So if you’re an ambitious Russian person who likes human rights you might be interested in leaving Putin-land and heading to Germany, and Putin-land doesn’t want you to? If I’m an oligarch with interests in Mexico do I want a big group of risk-taking, striving hard workers heading north? Or would I prefer to sort of trap them in places they want to leave?

    Like serfs. Tied to the land rather than owners. Because one aspect of immigration is labor moves, right? That’s not the romantic story part, but that is a fact. Immigration moves labor around.

  81. 81.

    Iowa Old Lady

    I’m constantly amazed by Donald Trump’s ignorance. The expensive schools he went to should be ashamed of themselves.

    Kyle Griffin‏

    @kylegriffin1
    Here’s that moment— Trump: “Most people don’t even know” Lincoln was a Republican, says PACs should take out an ad to promote that.

  82. 82.

    randy khan

    @Waldo:

    I think it’s a safe bet that no Democrat will vote in favor of whatever they finally decide to put on the floor. This is not the Democratic caucus circa 2005 or even 2009. There just aren’t that many Blue Dogs left. Also, if Joe Manchin is a firm no (and he is), it’s hard to see anybody else thinking it’s a good idea to help out the Republicans.

  83. 83.

    D58826

    fyi –

    nbc – BREAKING: Major security incident ongoing outside UK Parliament in London.

    Parliament on lockdown

  87. 87.

    randy khan

    I’m beginning to develop a hypothesis about the Republicans who aren’t saying anything (not even that they’re undecided). I think that if this gets to 21 Republican no votes, it will end up with 50 or more. The idea is that a lot of them want to vote no, but don’t want to be potentially fingered as having caused it to fail. They’re scared by what they’ve seen in their districts, but not scared enough to commit until they know that the blame will be diffused sufficiently.

  88. 88.

    tobie

    @Kay: Russia’s a kleptocracy and the entire GOP establishment are wanna-be kleptocrats. Look at someone like tea party darling Jim Renacci. He was a car dealer elected to Congress in 2010 and has now become one of the richest men in the House. Go figure. (I gather he’s running to be the GOP candidate for governor in Ohio.)

    Ethno-nationalism is what the kleptocrats sold to the rubes. It worked. Nixon’s southern strategy is no longer limited to a geographical region. It applies to the WWC as a whole, which supports privatizing the govt, i.e., selling it out to wealthiest of the wealthy. Don’t know when/how/if people will see through this.

  90. 90.

    Kay

    @Immanentize:

    I admit this is a crackpot theory. It’s just impossible for me to believe the Trumpsters have some coherent plan. I’m much more likely to believe they operate in immediacy- “ten million dollars for this person on this job” with sort of no thought outside that. Pure self-interest. There are people who have plans, it’s just not anyone Donald Trump hires.

    Manafort would sell his grandmother for 10 million. He’s an operative. I’m curious about the people paying the operatives.

  91. 91.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Kay: Racism provided the rationale for colonial misadventures of the countries of Western Europe. What did you think fueled the riches enjoyed by Great Britain, its looting of India and other countries. Since everything old is new again, they want to relive their all powerful master race fantasies. They are on record about wanting to steal Iraq’s oil. Why stop there?

    ETA: They includes T and company, I am not sure Putin is that deluded. He may just want a free reign in his vicinity, the Baltic states and others that made up the former Soviet Union.

  92. 92.

    Captain C

    @JGabriel: He’ll be walking around that conference looking like a whipped dog. Deep down, he’ll know he’s way out of his league, even if he won’t let himself realize it consciously.

  93. 93.

    Debbie1

    @ET: In the interest of not having people wake up to the feeling I had after the 2016 elections, brace yourselves for it passing with enthusiastic Repub. support (if not a few surprising Dem defections, the bums). So, let’s keep fighting, but I no longer have the faith I once had in American common sense.

  94. 94.

    Immanentize

    @Kay: That is true, but the US worker is not yet prepared to work in the sugar fields near Okeechobee, Florida. But, I suspect a more rigorous guest worker program (which really do look like indentured servitude) would benefit US agro-business…. But this is why I can’t believe the unified theory, there are too many competing money and power interests to promote them all. If in fact we manage to seal the border with Mexico and deport all illegal Mexican citizens to Mexico, and maybe a bunch of south and central americans as well, that will not lead to improved labor costs in Mexico, it will lead to chaos and revolution (successful or not) in Mexico. The primary response by Trump will then be invasion or occupation of a buffer zone a la the west bank of at least the region where we promote (and protect) Maquiladora — or exporting factories — on the Mexican side.

  95. 95.

    Kay

    @schrodingers_cat:

    Thanks. I’m heading in your direction on this and that makes me feel less crack-pot-ish because you know so much more about the history than I do. I’ve always been interested in the liberal arguments for immigration because there is a “freedom” element to it, in the most basic sense. The freedom to move. To GO. It seems to me that authoritarian kleptocrats would find that threatening, that people can move across borders. It’s a loss of control. It’s also a group of critics who are based somewhere else, somewhat protected from reprisals by authoritarians. It’s much easier to criticize Putin if you’re located outside Russia. He can’t control them then.

  97. 97.

    lurker dean

    @rikyrah: good article, i missed this when you posted it earlier. and it’s entirely consistent with all the articles i’m seeing in which trump voters seem not to really care about the effects of the ACHA because they think they’re getting back jobs that will make it irrelevant to them.

  98. 98.

    Another Scott

    @D58826: Dunno. I’m no expert, but the electronics-in-the-hold thing doesn’t smell right to me.

    E.g. the Shoe Bomber was on an AA flight from Paris. The Printer Cartridge bomb was in 2010 and the plane stopped in London.

    If there’s an issue with large electronic devices, and they can be configured to pass normal screening, then surely they can be configured to work without human activity a hold, right?

    I find it hard to believe that there isn’t some sort of security issue, but it doesn’t seem to me like this is the best way to attack the problem. Over-reaction isn’t going to make us “safer”. And it smells too much like the “Muslim Ban” via a different route.

    Skepticism is in order.

    FWIW.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  99. 99.

    Gin & Tonic

    @zhena gogolia: I hope so too. Manafort is completely and totally amoral. He will throw anyone under the bus, even his own family, with no hesitation whatsoever. I’m sure he’s trying to beat Stone and Page to the jackpot, because second place in this race doesn’t even get you the steak knives.

  100. 100.

    Kay

    @schrodingers_cat:

    It’s amazing how little the average person knows about immigration, even educated people. I have judges who haven’t practiced law in 40 years tell me “anyone” can come into this country. We have a Laotian population here and they use this law office for whatever reason. I don’t do their immigration work – immigration lawyers are in cities- but I see it in the course of doing their other legal work. I see the petitions and appeals and years of waiting. It’s not at all “easy”. These judges have been brainwashed. They don’t know what they’re talking about.

  104. 104.

    Stan

    @germy:

    If we are to continue the questionable practice of considering political expenditures “free speech,” then we should be allowed to contribute only to congressional candidates campaigning in our home district. Likewise, senatorial candidates should be allowed to accept contributions only from residents of the state that they hope to represent.

    For those of us with meagre means, our only way of getting involved might be through an investment of time.

    Your idea would make it even more difficult for challengers to unseat incumbents. If applied on the local level, even more so. Donors don’t like risking the wrath of incumbents.

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