Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

Schmidt just says fuck it, opens a tea shop.

If you are still in the GOP, you are an extremist.

Republican obstruction dressed up as bipartisanship. Again.

A last alliance of elves and men. also pet photos.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

Consistently wrong since 2002

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

And we’re all out of bubblegum.

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

A Senator Walker would also be an insult to reason, rationality, and decency.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

Battle won, war still ongoing.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

“But what about the lurkers?”

A Senator Walker would be an insult to the state and the nation.

I really should read my own blog.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

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Dotard-Line Report

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Boy, do I feel like a dummy for falling for that fake news on Tillerson yesterday! Velveeta Voldemort set us straight on Instagram a short while ago:

Sorry I led y’all astray. In retrospect it’s obvious: Tillerson was Putin’s hire. I’m sure it’s just a coincidence that Twitler’s first post-Flynnpocalypse tweet reassured the entire world [wink-wink] that Tillerson is staying on, huh?

Tangentially related bonus tweet:

Not gonna happen, but I like the visual. Open thread!

[Title shamelessly stolen from valued commenter MJS]

Reader Interactions

158Comments

  1. 1.

    TenguPhule

    GOP targeting SS & Medicare next, just as planned.

    GOP eyes post-tax-cut changes to welfare, Medicare and Social Security

    High-ranking Republicans are hinting that, after their tax overhaul, the party intends to look at cutting spending on welfare, entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare, and other parts of the social safety net.

    House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) said recently that he wants Republicans to focus in 2018 on reducing spending on government programs. Last month, Trump said welfare reform will “take place right after taxes, very soon, very shortly after taxes,” according to The Washington Examiner.

    As Republicans advocate spending cuts, they have frequently cited a need to reduce the national deficit while growing the economy.

    “You also have to bring spending under control. And not discretionary spending. That isn’t the driver of our debt. The driver of our debt is the structure of Social Security and Medicare for future beneficiaries,” Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said this week.

    While whipping votes for a GOP tax bill on Thursday, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) attacked “liberal programs” for the poor and said Congress needed to stop wasting Americans’ money.

    All of these guys need to be beaten to death with frozen bratwurst.

  2. 2.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @TenguPhule:

    All of these guys need to be beaten to death with frozen bratwurst.

    Just one?

    ETA: Oops, I read the singular “a frozen bratwurst” rather than the indefinite “frozen bratwurst.” Nevertheless it might be a crime against bratwurst.

  5. 5.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @TenguPhule:

    All of these guys need to be beaten to death with frozen bratwurst.

    I like your update of the old Roald Dahl/Alfred Hitchcock “Leg of Lamb” story.

  8. 8.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    I am not following this; the mixture of threats and praise is how Trump as fired people in the past.

  10. 10.

    Honus

    @TenguPhule: that would be the Orrin Hatch who got very agitated last week when his dedication to the little people was questioned. The Orrin Hatch who has spent his entire career fighting for those who have nothing.

  11. 11.

    TenguPhule

    @SiubhanDuinne: I aim to please.

    Ever since John brought up the Viking/German thing I’ve been waiting to use that. But I draw the line at rotting shark/fish.

  16. 16.

    Major Major Major Major

    My extremely annoying lefty friend has just said on Facebook that he is “pretty much over net neutrality. I’m into this thing called public ownership of essential infrastructure now.”

    Keep fighting battles we lost decades ago and belittling allies at the same time, kids! Very helpful!

  21. 21.

    Hoodie

    So, a main course of anthrax and tire rims to be followed by a Marburg and hantavirus compote. Do these guys really think this will be popular? Or do they think the whole thing will collapse with Flynn singing like a bird to Mueller, so it doesn’t matter what they do?

  22. 22.

    TenguPhule

    @Hoodie:

    Do these guys really think this will be popular? Or do they think the whole thing will collapse with Flynn singing like a bird to Mueller, so it doesn’t matter what they do?

    Yes.

    /I know its insane for them to hold two conflicting world views at once, what’s your point?

  23. 23.

    BlueDWarrior

    @Hoodie: They firmly believe that any significant Democratic majorities that may get elected in the future would be so afraid of trying to undo all of this BS that they can do whatever they want and never suffer any consequence with anyone forever.

  25. 25.

    TenguPhule

    @BlueDWarrior: Worse. They know the only way Democrats could undo it is with overwhelming majorities in both chambers and they’re pretty sure they can still fuck up at least one.

  27. 27.

    Citizen Alan

    @TenguPhule:

    To be honest, I’m in favor of state ownership of essential services. Hell, I think that all sports teams that play in stadiums built with taxpayer money should be municipally owned. I just don’t see how you get to anything close to that by voting third party. But then, I favor results over purity.

  28. 28.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Gelfling 545:

    Has he said ha has “complete confidence yet? That’s the key.

    Yes, that’s Trump’s Alpha man manager’s idea of getting better performace out of his staff. And the last few tweets from Trump read like some version of “I have complete confidence”

    Also, the Late Show was mentioning Tillerson has said all he wants to do is serve out the year as SoS. I figure this is Trump doing the childish “I’ll fire him before he quits on me” stunt.

  30. 30.

    low-tech cyclist

    Velveeta Voldemort set us straight on Instagram a short while ago:

    This sort of thing is EXACTLY why reporters should burn sources who lie to them. “Here’s who we were getting our “fake news” from.”

  32. 32.

    O. Felix Culpa

    Isn’t it after 4 pm Eastern time? What happened to the tax vote that was going to take place this morning?

  34. 34.

    Citizen Alan

    Will it require overwhelming majorities to undo the tax abomination? I would think that any Dem corrective bill would increase taxes on high earners, estates and the like and would therefore be amenable to passage under the same reconciliation the swine are using now.

  38. 38.

    jl

    One thing I heard on the news radio this morning that really struck me was Flynn’s statement that he had been hurt by all the false allegations that he had committed treason. I wondered, why did he set the bar so high for his feelings being hurt? Not much comparable to treason, morally. There is murder, mayhem and physical assault, kidnapping…

    I thought, wow, that guy is preparing himself to admit some interesting stuff.

  40. 40.

    TenguPhule

    @Citizen Alan: The extra stupid comes from the fact that the internet is an essential utility in this day and age. So its a complete contradiction within the same sentence.

  42. 42.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Major Major Major Major: My leftier-than-thou friends are the worst. These are the same people that told me I had no right to ask them to vote for the worstest person evar (Hillary) instead of a paragon of virtue and intellect like Jill Stein.

    They’re also the same people who spend a huge amount of time flipping out over what Trump is doing on a daily basis and whining about “How did we EVER come to this? So disappointed in our country.”

    Fortunately for them, I know that punching your putative allies in the face is a bad idea, no matter how satisfying it is.

  43. 43.

    Betty Cracker

    @low-tech cyclist: Baseless speculation: I don’t think the sources were lying to them. I think Trump WAS going to fire Tillerson — or rather humiliate him to the point where he resigned, a more cowardly and nasty technique that aligns with Trump’s (lack of) character. But with the shit-storm coming down today, even Trump can see he can’t afford to throw his SoS overboard right now, especially if it would piss off Putin. And it would.

  44. 44.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @TenguPhule:

    Don’t jinx us. They’ve literally done shit at midnight before.

    My powers, they are mighty!!! //

    We know how well those late night votes worked out for them before. Here’s hoping for a rerun.

  46. 46.

    danielx

    …while we disagree on certain subjects…

    Translation: you called me a moron, start making plans for retirement.

  48. 48.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    Jesus is the reason for the season

    Trump is the reason for the treason

  50. 50.

    jl

    @Betty Cracker: There was also clear signal from broad cross-section of Senate that Trump wasn’t going to get the replacements he wanted.

    Edit: I think Tom Cotton going to CIA was a problem. That got a firm ‘HELL NO!’. Cotton is very interested in shutting down Russia investigation. Maybe Vlad said Cotton would be OK, but then said to just stay the course if Cotton wouldn’t work.

  52. 52.

    TenguPhule

    @Citizen Alan: Overriding a veto takes 2/3rds in both chambers.

    I realize that if we had that anyway we could also impeach and convict the shitstain.

    But its a chicken and egg, which would we pick first?

  53. 53.

    MisterForkbeard

    @BlueDWarrior: I think it’s more along the lines of: They know undoing a supposed “tax cut” will let them scream at the Democrats, and the Bernie-wing of the party will be incensed if we just REPEAL the act instead of completely remaking the tax code to fit a more progressive agenda (which is a much harder lift). The media will assist in the outrage: “Is there really any difference at all between the parties? Why are the Democrats raising taxes on the middle class?”, etc.

    Basically, the Dems can fix this but it’s going to sap so much political capital that they’ll be unable to fix any of the other grifting Republicans are doing.

  54. 54.

    burnspbesq

    Lest we forget, the tax thing is far from over. Even if Senate Republicans pass their shit sandwich today, it goes to a conference committee, not to Trump’s desk.

  57. 57.

    TenguPhule

    @burnspbesq:

    Even if Senate Republicans pass their shit sandwich today, it goes to a conference committee, not to Trump’s desk.

    The plan is for Ryan to hold a quick vote and pass the Senate version as is.

    Its an open question if he has enough votes for it. But if he does it that way, we’ll have practically no time to really organize resistance before the vote is held.

  58. 58.

    Matt McIrvin

    @TenguPhule: Forever is a long time. We’re definitely stuck with some degree of Republican rule until 2021 at the earliest (the scenarios proposing otherwise are fanciful, to say the least). No guarantees after that.

  61. 61.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @bluehill: I got enough leadership experiance to tell Trump is basically the shining example of the worst possible manager. It’s important to be clear to your staff or they will waste all their time worrying about what you really meant and not doing the job they need to do. And when you do have to get rid of someone it’s important to be swift, clear and brutal so everyone knows why it was done and why they aren’t next.

    Trump even bothers with cabinet meeting anymore? It kind of feels like all his cabinet members are phoning it in now.

  65. 65.

    Peale

    @TenguPhule: The way that this has been run so far has allowed the Democrats to show surprising amounts of unity in opposition. The GOP doesn’t want “cover” so even Democrats who might be a little more “rich donor sensitive” and “oligarchy friendly” aren’t peeling off. Unlike, say, the Iraq war vote, which wounded a generation of Dems politically, there isn’t any Democrat invested in rescuing this tax reform crap. This isn’t like Obamacare repeal where Dems might have been brought on to save something were they asked to because they voted for it before, even if the GOP were replacing it with something worse, They can pretty much undo this thing through reconciliation if they have to.

  66. 66.

    Brachiator

    Collins has spoken on the Senate Tax Bill

    GOP Sen. Susan Collins (Maine) said on Friday that she will support the Senate tax plan, giving the legislation an additional shot of momentum.

    “I will cast my vote in support of the Senate tax reform bill. As revised, this bill will provide much-needed tax relief and simplification for lower- and middle-income families, while spurring the creation of good jobs and greater economic growth,” Collins said in a statement.

    That means the Senate GOP tax plan, which leadership wants to pass as early as Friday, now has the support of 51 Republican senators. Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), who has concerns about the deficit, is the only remaining holdout.

    Several amendments that Collins offered were incorporated into the bill, including the restoration of a $10,000 deduction for property taxes and a lower threshold for deducting medical expenses.

    Collins touted the ability for her to get changes into the bill as crucial to her decision to ultimately be able to support it.

    ETA: There HAVE been changes in the Senate bill. But few people have seen the entire revised version or a summary of changes. But the Senate will not be voting on the bill as is.

  67. 67.

    TenguPhule

    @Major Major Major Major: Because too many people are assuming we can do anything about this in 2019. Assuming all the Stars align, the minimum time needed to reverse anything would be 2021 and we’d have to retake both branches of government to do it. And have a Senate leadership willing to nuke the fillibuster if we don’t have 67 in the Senate.

  70. 70.

    Sloane Ranger

    Wow, CNN is really going to town on the Flynn guilty plea. I’m sitting here in the UK and CNN International has cancelled it’s programming in order to show us Europeans CNN America, where it’s Flynn all the way! Someone on The Lead with Jake Tapper has just expressed disbelief that Dense could have been ignorant of what was happening. Tapper said nothing but his body language spoke volumes.

  71. 71.

    Ohio Mom

    @Marcion: keep clicking on stuff, you’ll reach Graham’s main page with his office telephone number. Then if you are using your cell, click on the phone number (odisl it up manually).

    My message was, I heard you’re taking a survey on how Americans citizens view that tax increase you Republican Senators just voted for…(you can guess the rest of what I said).

  73. 73.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Brachiator: “I got minor concessions to this bill that will destroy the country’s finances, so I’m voting for it.”

    And THIS is why you can’t vote for any republican ever, so long as they’re run by people like Trump, McConnell and Ryan. They’ll vote for literally anything with some ass-covering changes.

  76. 76.

    randy khan

    @TenguPhule:

    That’s a good plan if there aren’t things in there that make it very hard for a bunch of House Republicans to vote for it. It’s not a good plan if there are dealbreakers, as House Republicans are not inclined to give in on their pet issues.

  77. 77.

    Major Major Major Major

    @TenguPhule:

    Because too many people are assuming we can do anything about this in 2019.

    I don’t really see why you’d assume that the people, in a discussion about “any significant majorities in the future”, would be making that assumption.

    Assuming all the Stars align, the minimum time needed to reverse anything would be 2021 and we’d have to retake both branches of government to do it. And have a Senate leadership willing to nuke the fillibuster if we don’t have 67 in the Senate.

    You don’t need 67 votes to repeal some tax cuts via reconciliation and have a newly-inaugurated Democratic president sign them. Are you confusing budgets with constitutional amendments?

  78. 78.

    a thousand flouncing lurkers (was fidelio)

    James Comey is not only on Twitter. He now has an Instagram account, and is not sharing pictures of his lunch, the family dog, or a rather distant shot of the action from a Washington Capitals game (need to keep a close eye on that guy Ovechkin, after all!).
    No, this was what he posted.
    I am assured that Mr. Comey, former Head Cop and Most Righteous Man in Washington, could not possibly be a petty troll who trolls like a mothafucka. Nevertheless…

  79. 79.

    jl

    @Peale: Easy for Democrats to stay unified after the door to any input at all was slammed in their faces, just like for repeal/replace fiasco.

    I don’t understand why McConnell didn’t learn a lesson there. Unless he is a world historic arrogant dimwit asshole.

    Edit: one thing we don’t know is how unreasonable to GOP donors have been. As I have noted before, there is evidence that they are demanding GOP deliver the absolute maximum. Their demands may have made any Democratic votes too hard to get.

  80. 80.

    Calouste

    @Sloane Ranger: Just because we all here knew it already doesn’t mean that a National Security Advisor pleading guilty to lying to the FBI isn’t a Big Fucking Deal.

  81. 81.

    TenguPhule

    @randy khan: Like I said, its an open question if Ryan is bullshitting or the Teatards are just lying. But I’m not going to assume either way at this point. Let’s kill it in the Senate’s womb.

  83. 83.

    Brachiator

    @TenguPhule:

    Because too many people are assuming we can do anything about this in 2019. Assuming all the Stars align, the minimum time needed to reverse anything would be 2021 and we’d have to retake both branches of government to do it. And have a Senate leadership willing to nuke the fillibuster if we don’t have 67 in the Senate.

    You keep writing things about the future which are not true, based on faulty political history.

    No one knows what the state of the economy will be in 2018, 2019, 2020.

    Reagan raised taxes seven times, including TEFRA in 1982.

    Winning the mid terms shifts the balance of power. Trump has not had to consider the Democrats at all so far. Shake up the goddam status quo and let’s see what happens.

  84. 84.

    sukabi

    @O. Felix Culpa: if “frozen bratwurst” is a euphemism for what jackasses like to expose to their female coworkers, then you’re probably going to need something much larger to do any good.

  85. 85.

    FlipYrWhig

    @MisterForkbeard: I dunno. One of the underappreciated transformations of the Obama years was that suddenly people started answering poll questions about taxes by saying that rich people should pay more: their “fair share.” And support for this plan is abysmal already, despite Republicans attempting to say that it’s super excellent for everyday Joe and Jane. It’s not that hard to run on how the rich are getting a free ride on everyone else’s money and we’ll make it stop. They’re good at spreading nonsense but we start out with an advantage, believe it or not.

  87. 87.

    Major Major Major Major

    @Brachiator:

    You keep writing things about the future which are not true, based on faulty political history.

    No one knows what the state of the economy will be in 2018, 2019, 2020.

    Reagan raised taxes seven times, including TEFRA in 1982.

    Winning the mid terms shifts the balance of power. Trump has not had to consider the Democrats at all so far. Shake up the goddam status quo and let’s see what happens.

    Sorry, realism is for Balloon-Juice After Dark. This is Doom Hour.

  88. 88.

    SFAW

    @TenguPhule:

    Like I said, its an open question if Ryan is bullshitting or the Teatards are just lying.

    Since when have those been mutually exclusive? Add “Ryan lying” to that, by the way.

  89. 89.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    Still 90 minutes left in the work day

    You can contact Bob Corker’s offices in Tennessee
    at
    615-279-8125
    865-637-4180
    423-753-2263
    423-756-2757

    The operators are very polite. Some as for a zip. I gave them the zip for Nashville 37027

  90. 90.

    Yarrow

    @FlipYrWhig: If Ryan can’t convince the House to pass the Senate bill then it has to go to conference. That just means more time for everyone to hear more about how it lowers taxes on the rich and screws everyone else. I don’t think that will go well for Republicans.

    We’ve only got a few more days left before the government shuts down, right? Wonder how that’s going to work out.

  91. 91.

    TenguPhule

    @Major Major Major Major:

    You don’t need 67 votes to repeal some tax cuts via reconciliation and have a newly-inaugurated Democratic president sign them.

    Unless we want to follow the Republican model of sticking non-revenue items into reconciliation, we’ll either have to destroy the filibuster or have 67 to reverse all the non-revenue items they stuck in this abomination.

  92. 92.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    You can contact Susan Collins

    at
    202-224-2523
    207-283-1101 ext 13

    207-780-3575

    the first 2 are voicemail. the last one is an operator. If she asks for a zip, use the zip code 04401

  93. 93.

    grammypat

    Dumb question (maybe) : Are there tax benefits to those serving until the 1st anniversary of their employment at the WH? I believe that I saw a claim that Tillerson will get a multi-million $ break on his taxes if he stays past 1 year. The recent reports of staffers contemplating mass exodus soon also points to this. Can anyone here enlighten me on this?

  94. 94.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    Josh Marshallt @joshtpm 4m4 minutes ago

    lol wut? White House now saying Obama “authorized” Flynn’s conversations with Russian Ambassador.

    My momma always said, “Forrest, desperation is as desperation does.”

    Walls are closing in. If Obama had done this they would have said so in January and not lied to the FBI, which forced Flynn’s firing.

  96. 96.

    Major Major Major Major

    @TenguPhule:

    Unless we want to follow the Republican model of sticking non-revenue items into reconciliation, we’ll either have to destroy the filibuster or have 67 to reverse all the non-revenue items they stuck in this abomination.

    There is literally somebody whose job it is to make sure that whatever is stuck into a reconciliation bill follows the Byrd Rule. It wouldn’t exactly be a break from tradition to follow their interpretation.

    As for 67, again, where are you getting that number? A bare majority is 50 plus the vice president, a filibuster takes 60. Are you confusing passing legislation with amending the constitution or impeaching the president?

  100. 100.

    TenguPhule

    @Brachiator:

    Reagan raised taxes seven times, including TEFRA in 1982.

    Donald Trump is no Ronald Reagan.

    Winning the mid terms shifts the balance of power.

    Only if we win both chambers. Otherwise best case is for the legislative branch to grind to a halt.

    And even then, we’re not going to have veto proof majorities.

    Winning in 2018 is essential, but its only the start. Unless we find Mueller has dirt on more Congressional Republicans then expected.

  101. 101.

    TenguPhule

    @Major Major Major Major:

    As for 67, again, where are you getting that number? A bare majority is 50 plus the vice president, a filibuster takes 60

    Ah, sorry, my bad, it was 60. the 67 is from the veto override.

  102. 102.

    Ohio Mom

    @David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch: The operator line was busy so I left a message on one of the other numbers.

    This has been a very busy and chaotic week for me and I couldn’t manage more than a few calls. I appreciate what you are doing by giving us the phone numbers in this thread.

  105. 105.

    Chyron HR

    @TenguPhule:

    If Democrats take back the House and/or Senate in 2018, they literally have nothing to do for the next two years but write massively popular legislation and force the GOP to filibuster/veto it. At the risk of sounding cynical, that is basically the optimal position for them to be in for the near future.

  109. 109.

    Yarrow

    @Mary G: Wouldn’t surprise me if he does. He does seem to have family in Iowa, so that’s partly why he’s commented about it. Mighty convenient if he does try to run.

    I think Flake wants to run too. His recent book that he was shilling all over the place, “Conscience of a Conservative” is a give away. I think he hopes this tax vote will be long forgotten by then. He’s voting for it so he can get that sweet, sweet donor money for his presidential run.

  110. 110.

    sixthdoctor

    @Brachiator: Not that it makes up for her vote in the least, but the comments and ratio on her announcement tweet show some pushback.

    After securing significant changes, as well as commitments to pass legislation to help lower health insurance premiums, I will cast my vote in support of the Senate tax reform bill. (1/2) https://t.co/NhwtmYm22E— Sen. Susan Collins (@SenatorCollins) December 1, 2017

  111. 111.

    ET

    I can’t image anyone in the political world but tRump thinking that the US is respected right now. The possible exception is Dana Rohrabacher. Obviously many of the brain-dead and stupid tRumpers do but they are brain dead and very, very stupid.

  113. 113.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    @Elmo: Gracias. I call once in the morning and once in the afternoon. I pretend to be a republican and I tell them that the bill will bankrupt the country. Sometimes I say I’m a senior and this will cut my medicare and social security. I say that cuz they tend to be more sensitive about what republicans and seniors think.

  114. 114.

    randy khan

    It occurs to me that maybe the person who leaked the Tillerson story was . . . Tillerson. He had to know that the President would react the way he did.

  116. 116.

    Sloane Ranger

    @Calouste: True. I’m just surprised they think the rest of the world is as interested as the US audience would be.

    BTW when is the Senate due to start debating the Tax Bill? It’s almost 5.00pm where you are. Aren’t they leaving it a little Late?

  117. 117.

    Yarrow

    Tweets that didn’t age well.

    Implication is D/CIA Pompeo should've excluded Flynn from PDB because Flynn was "compromised." Let's consider that. 2/?— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) June 21, 2017

    Democratic partisan Sally Yates claimed Flynn was "compromised" because he misstated to VP the nature of talks with Russian ambassador. 3/?— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) June 21, 2017

    But this @nytimes story refutes itself, saying Yates told WH of misstatement on Jan. 26, thus eliminating risk of "compromise"! 4/?— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) June 21, 2017

    Love the quotes around “compromised.” LOL. Looking forward to that CIA position now, Tom?

  119. 119.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Peale: It’s really remarkable–the blue-dog Democrats who are the liberal wing’s favorite punching-bag squishes are all tweeting outrage over this. No defectors. If it passes it may well come down to a 100% party-line vote.

  122. 122.

    Brachiator

    @TenguPhule:

    Reagan raised taxes seven times, including TEFRA in 1982.

    Donald Trump is no Ronald Reagan.

    Nobody knows who Trump is. And nobody knows how he might react if he does not have a Republican majority behind him.

    You and some others seem not to have been paying attention. Trump is a man-child who needs to feel that he is winning. Maybe he would lash out at a Democratic Party majority. Maybe he would be more malleable. I don’t know. But even if Trump does nothing but behave like a truculent asswipe, I want to see him have to react to a Democratic majority. Both chambers of Congress if possible. The House works for some things. The Senate for other things, especially treaties and judicial nominations.

    Winning the mid terms shifts the balance of power.

    Only if we win both chambers. Otherwise best case is for the legislative branch to grind to a halt.

    Fine by me. Even if the Republicans successfully blame the Democrats for any problems.

    And even then, we’re not going to have veto proof majorities.

    So what?

    Winning in 2018 is essential, but its only the start.

    That’s the whole freaking point. To get started.

  124. 124.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Chyron HR: So, the parliamentary “shadow government” approach. Show the people what they’ll be getting. (I suppose the Republicans did something similar with their ten gazillion symbolic repeals of Obamacare, but in this case the legislation could actually make sense.)

  126. 126.

    sixthdoctor

    @FlipYrWhig: You’re not kidding, it really makes me think about who said what to them behind closed doors.

    And Corker’s an official no. I’m sure there will be a height-related tweet in his future.

  127. 127.

    Betty Cracker

    @Mary G: I don’t think he could win a primary in either party. The Trumpturds hate him because Trump. Most Democrats (including me) hold him at least partly responsible for Trump.

  128. 128.

    Betty Cracker

    @FlipYrWhig: Yes, meet and discuss…something…with the most shameless liars in the history of DC! They’re either corrupt, morons, or corrupt morons.

  130. 130.

    chris

    It’s the little things.

    1/3: Hatch amdt would allow parents who already send their child to a private religious school to deduct 25% of the cost of their tuition from their federal tax bill as long as the school guaranteed that they spent at least 30% of the school day on qualified religious instruction— Sasha Pudelski AASA (@SPudelski) December 1, 2017

  131. 131.

    Shalimar

    @randy khan: Tillerson has an assistant who does things like leaking for him, so she would be more likely. Good point, though. He is the one who ended up benefiting from the process being scrapped.

  132. 132.

    germy

    This is Senate passage, not the ultimate bill and vote. The backlash of outrage must be fierce. Once Collins and Flake realize they got played, they may flip. Moderate House Rs haven't yet reacted to the official score.— Topher Spiro (@TopherSpiro) December 1, 2017

  133. 133.

    rikyrah

    @jl:

    Edit: I think Tom Cotton going to CIA was a problem. That got a firm ‘HELL NO!’. Cotton is very interested in shutting down Russia investigation. Maybe Vlad said Cotton would be OK, but then said to just stay the course if Cotton wouldn’t work.

    The rumor mill is that Cotton was in the room when Flynn did some of his mess.

    if so……..

    Uh huh
    Uh huh

  134. 134.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Brachiator:

    You and some others seem not to have been paying attention. Trump is a man-child who needs to feel that he is winning. Maybe he would lash out at a Democratic Party majority. Maybe he would be more malleable. I don’t know.

    The Dems have demonstrated with the previous budget extension they can play Trump like the Chines can, at lest for a short while. Also Trump would be looking to punish the Republicans for being losers and ingrate himself with the Dems to avoid an impeachment.

  135. 135.

    FlipYrWhig

    @chris: Yes, the problem with religious schools is definitely that they need an incentive to stop spending so much time on the school part.

  136. 136.

    burnspbesq

    @WaterGirl:

    You guys have to see the graphic on this article: a-timeline-of-collusion-and-obstruction-of-justice/

    You need to clean up all the vomiting you just caused.

  140. 140.

    Cowgirl in the Sandi

    I’m on the west coast and I just talked to a person in Corker’s office. She said he issued a statement 30 minutes ago indicating he was a no vote on the tax bill.

  141. 141.

    Shalimar

    @germy: Collins and Flake didn’t get played. They’re both eyeing a future position in Republcan politics, and the big money players are telling them that ambition is dead if they vote against this.

  142. 142.

    japa21

    @sixthdoctor: The main flaw in her argument is that she actually is trusting McConnell and Ryan to follow through. They have shown that they are untrustworthy.

  147. 147.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    So on Monday I’ll begin to call Flake and resume calling Collins and ask them to reconsider their vote on final version.

  148. 148.

    Thoughtful David

    @Betty Cracker:
    Yes, this. Also too, FSM willing and we win back either the House or Senate, I would expect Comey to spend quite a lot of his 2020 campaigning time in front of a live camera telling under oath why he decided to excoriate Clinton and release the letter about emails a week before the election while at the same time sweeping the Trump-Russia investigation under the rug.

  149. 149.

    WaterGirl

    @Thoughtful David: I would think Comey less of a pig if he seemed to recognize and be ashamed of the role he played in Clinton losing the election. I hope that memories are longer than they seem to be.

  154. 154.

    sixthdoctor

    @japa21: I don’t think Collins trusts McConnell/Ryan necessarily. I’m guessing she thinks that it’s a wave election either way and that sweet donor money is her only shot at winning, so she’s just trying to feign plausible deniability when premiums go up and people start losing insurance. As the great political philosopher Ted DiBiase says, everybody’s got a price…

  156. 156.

    burnspbesq

    If you’re a true glutton for punishment, the revised statutory language is available. I got it via BNA, but it’s not yet on the Finance Committee website.

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