Last week, the Democrats in my county (Monroe NY) took the County Executive seat for the first time in a couple of decades. They also gained two seats in the County Legislature, but the Republicans control it by one seat.
This week, almost predictably, the Republicans introduced a bill that would severely curtail the powers of the County Executive, especially when it comes to appointments. The bill was introduced using a “matter of urgency” work-around that skips the normal committee process, so it will be ready to sign by the outgoing Republican County Exec before her term is up.
This isn’t going to go over well for the Republicans. The media here is calling it “stealing the election”. The voters who come out for the off-year elections are motivated and often split tickets. Democrats just flipped a couple of seats, so it makes sense that a single Republican in an tough district would dissent from the plan and scuttle it.
But, again, unsurprisingly if you’ve watched Republicans recently, all of the Republican legislators have signed on because it’s basically a suicide pact. They all know it’s the end of their rule in this county for a long, long time, so they’re going to make it as hard as possible for Democrats to take over. There’s no sense of civic responsibility or fair play, no thoughts about a possible future for the party. They’re just throwing some sand in the gears on their way out, proving they’re the party of Trump, just like the mailer said.
Edmund Dantes
Hope Dems are paying attention and realize it’s not just a fever that will break. Dems need to be ready to counter this stuff or have plans for dealing with it.
SFAW
It’s at the point where about the only way the Rethugs can win an election is either to suppress votes/voters, get outside forces to perform some fuckery (e.g., Putin), or outright cheat. [Yeah, I realize there are some moron-infested areas where they don’t need to do that.] I am hopeful that this situation will be rectified (i.e., that Rethugs are cast into the wilderness, preferably in cages in the Marianas Trench), but I also fear it will not happen while I’m still on this side of the grass.
Mai naem mobile
This is a concern of mime as far as what Trumpov and the Senate GOP will do in the transition period if they lose the Senate and tje presidency. You can take stuff to court but that takes time not to mentiom tnat the GOP has stuffed the court witn RWNJs.
jeffreyw
@Edmund Dantes:
I hope it’s a fever.
Lapassionara
How easy it was for Putin to undermine the US and, as a result, place all of our post-war alliances at risk. All he had to do was to place an aging reality tv host on the Republican presidential ticket, find someone to hack emails, and sit back and watch the unraveling of our political norms and our constitution.
dr. bloor
Putin is taking down democracy the same way Reagan took down communism in the USSR–by blowing gently on an infrastructure that’s been rotting on its own for several decades.
Ironically–or not–that same St. Ronnie had a lot to do with giving the rot some momentum here.
MattF
Here in Montgomery County MD, the voter’s solution to that problem has been to reduce the number of elected county Republicans to zero. Not ideal— but it works well enough.
Citizen_X
@MattF: I think that was the California solution, too: drive them out till they have no power. Seems to be the only thing that works.
Bruce K
Delenda est GOP. Not just Trump.
Eunicecycle
@Mai naem mobile: I worry about that, too! He’ll pardon Manafort and Stone for sure. He’ll still be getting security briefings so could give information to Russia and other bad actors. He could sign executive orders that could throw agencies into chaos. It’s really scary!
PenAndKey
They’re doing the same things ngnhere in Wisconsin and have ever since Walker lost. I’m of the firm opinion that they’re a combination of Fox News isolated diehards and corrupt politicians who think that their rat fucking of the elections is an insurmountable barrier to their opponents. In short: they no longer act like a political party in an honest democracy.
Spanky
@jeffreyw:
An ethos is not a fever.
(Double-tapping the Reply button is how you get the linkback.)
(But my nym was remembered from last night, so YAY!)
Ladyraxterinok
Yay demicrats
Omnes Omnibus
Fixing misspelled sticky name.
Rusty
This is the inevitable outcome of a party that cannot except that a Democratic win is legitimate. There have always been people who can’t accept losing or that their ideas are not excepted, but it was Newt who really revved up this attitude. The Republicans reject the notion that the Democrats can ever legitimately yield power. Rejecting 95% of Obama’s judicial appointments, refusing to consider Garland for the Supreme Court, North Carolina, Wisconsin, only Republicans can control. If the Democrats are never legitimate, then asking for foreign help to defeat them is acceptable. It’s a refutation of democracy. After 30 years of controlling the Monroe County legislature and county executive position, they still consider themselves entitled to the power of those positions. I am planning on attending the hearing on December 10th. I hope that lots of others do the same. The Constitution isn’t going to save us, the Monroe County Charter isn’t going to save us, it’s only the electorate is going to save us. If we elect and continue to support officials that act this way, then we deserve what we get. We have met the enemy and they are us.
Spanky
So that toad Marc Thiessen is now reduced to this in the WaPo:
arrieve
@Rusty: This. They didn’t see Clinton as legitimate, they didn’t see Obama as legitimate. And they see Trump as legitimate no matter what he does.
Kay
Barr Says He Doesn’t Remember Trump Asking Him To Hold Presser Exonerating Him
This is a bullshit weasel response and he shouldn’t get away with it. The attorney general has a real stench around him and it needs to be investigated.
It’s really amazing how sleazy he has revealed himself to be in such a short period of time. From day one he has been arrogant and dismissive and serving only Trump, which means to me that he came in that way- that he has always been corrupt and just looking for an opportunity. The people who endorsed him should be embarrassed and apologize. They’re poor judges of character if they missed this crook.
Kay
Barr Says He Doesn’t Remember Trump Asking Him To Hold Presser Exonerating Him
This is a bullshit weasel response and he shouldn’t get away with it. The attorney general has a real stench around him and it needs to be investigated.
It’s really amazing how sleazy he has revealed himself to be in such a short period of time. From day one he has been arrogant and dismissive and serving only Trump, which means to me that he came in that way- that he has always been corrupt and just looking for an opportunity. The people who endorsed him should be embarrassed and apologize. They’re poor judges of character if they missed this crook.
Frankensteinbeck
@Eunicecycle:
I doubt it. So far, waiting for Trump to save you has been a losing strategy. Pardons are for letting the country know that white supremacy is not a crime. Protecting someone else so that they’ll protect him? Not an idea Trump grasps. I guess he’s just too mean and petty for it to make sense to him, but his record is clear – Trump throws people under the bus, and that’s all he does.
Kay
@Spanky:
What I learned yesterday is they were really close to getting away with it. There was going to be an announcement of an investigation into the Bidens on CNN and as we know the NYTimes was already on board. They were a week away from succeeding again.
Frankensteinbeck
@arrieve:
Because it’s not about Trump. It’s about white people. After a black man was elected president, there is no longer room for whites to be wrong about anything, ever, even once.
Nicole
I don’t know that they see it as a suicide pact. They have been steadily taking over the judiciary; I think they see these shenanigans as the way to stay in power, despite being the minority- the judiciary will back them up because they’re all on the same side. I mean, there’s plenty of history of a minority power stomping all over the majority citizens. Especially when the minority power is largely white and male.
Patricia Kayden
I’m hoping that if Democrats take Congress and the White House next November, they have a rack of legislation, judicial nominees, etc., ready to go to reverse the nonsense Trump has unleashed. Our side needs to be ready to go on Day One.
john b
I live in North Carolina, I am very familiar with this phenomenon. They’ve attempted (and often succeeded) with similar tactics with the powers of our Democratic governor with GOP-led legislature. Thankfully, they no longer have veto-proof majorities in each chamber. Our current struggle is that the NC Senate is trying to override a veto by the governor (that only passed the house because they held the vote during a 9/11 memorial that reduced the number of Democrats present). They keep putting the vote on the calendar every day hoping that a Democrat or two won’t show so that they have the numbers. It hasn’t worked, yet. But I’m sure at some point, someone will be sick or have some urgent reason not to be there. These are not highly paid seats.
Omnes Omnibus
@Nicole: It’s not like they signed on to a document labeled “Suicide Pact.” Of course they don’t see it that way. Nevertheless, that is what it is. The shenanigans? That’s what a minority that is losing its power does. They are still dangerous and can do massive harm, but they are fighting a rearguard action. We just need to keep on them and not give up.
Jager
My North Dakota sister sent me an article about some republican shitheel state rep from Minot promoting the fake Ilhan Omar terrorist training camp video. She also passed on the news that some of the more rural border crossings from Canada into the US will be cutting their hours, they will start closing at 5 pm. Just wait until the administration finds out farmers on the border have been turning their machinery around in one country or the other since farm machinery was invented.
randy khan
This is why it’s good to have the House.
(And my nym and email have persisted!!!)
Steeplejack
@Kay:
Yes, Barr has always been this way! During his first go-round as attorney general he was the cleaner who ushered all the Iran-Contra miscreants out of harm’s way.
Gin & Tonic
@Spanky:
Excellent re-election strategery. Please proceed.
Nicole
@Omnes Omnibus:
Yeah, they’ve just been fighting it an awfully long time and seem to be hanging in there- advancing, in some areas. I remember, back in summer 2000, a friend saying he didn’t think we’d ever have another Pro-Life President. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA (weeps)
hueyplong
Trump seems pretty pro-death to me.
And the analogy I prefer from the thread story is Nazis blowing bridges as they retreated before the advancing Red Army.
Oddly, it’s also the analogy probably preferred by Miller, et al.
The Moar You Know
@Kay: Given that this is the case, why have CNN and NYT management not been hauled in to testify to this? It would close the loop on the case, showing the clear benefit to be realized (I realize that there does not have to be any benefit at all for what Trump did to be considered a crime, but it would help the PR end of things).
Omnes Omnibus
@Nicole: That is a huge part of the problem. Our side keeps thinking we have won the these wars when we have only won a few battles. In 2000, Gore was pure enough for some and wasn’t exciting enough for others, but that shouldn’t have mattered. What should have mattered was at least another 4 years of a democratic administration. The same fucking thing happened in 2016. I don’t care if it’s Voldemort or a pet rock, if it has a D after it, it gets my vote for the foreseeable future.
Steeplejack
@Omnes Omnibus:
Plus Dems tend to vote for president every four years, dust their hands and say, “Job well done!” Then ignore local elections and (often) off-year congressional elections. That situation is getting better as more people get radicalized by Trump, but once he’s gone I fear people dropping back into that pattern.
Meanwhile the Republicans are challenging the local dogcatcher because he’s not ideologically pure enough.
Omnes Omnibus
@Steeplejack: Yep. Pet Rock (D) gets my vote for dog catcher. Full ballot, every election.
Steeplejack
@Omnes Omnibus:
Amen. That Pet Rock is solid. Gets stuff done.
O. Felix Culpa
O. Felix Culpa
@O. Felix Culpa: So I’ve figured out how to reply to @Person (hit reply, close box, hit reply again), but haven’t mastered the quote function yet. First it didn’t work at all, upon editing it emboxed both the quote and my brilliant comment. Any tips?
Also, the Edit option disappeared after making my first edit, although I was still well within the edit time frame. Using Win10, Chrome. Nym and email are sticking – yay!
CarolDuhart2
I don’t think we are ever going back to that, especially once the benefits of local liberal governance show themselves more. Also, the local activists are women with a different sense of comittment. We’re in it for life and then some.
Steeplejack
@O. Felix Culpa:
My tip, for what it’s worth: do “one-stop” blocking, not “start blockquote,” insert text, “end blockquote.”
In other words, go ahead and put in the text to be quoted, then highlight it and press the blockquote button. It takes care of both parts and (I think) doesn’t snag anything that shouldn’t be in the blockquote.
rikyrah
@Kay:
<blockquote>This is a bullshit weasel response and he shouldn’t get away with it. The attorney general has a real stench around him and it needs to be investigated. </blockquote>
He needs to be impeached too. Period.
rikyrah
@Kay:
They were gonna go on Fahreed Zakharia’s show. He should be subpoenaed. As well as that weasel on the NYTimes.
kmeyerthelurker
Yeah, but did they take ‘W’s off of the keyboards?