Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

Let’s finish the job.

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the GOP

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

Second rate reporter says what?

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. let’s win this.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

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

The GOP couldn’t organize an orgy in a whorehouse with a fist full of 50s.

And we’re all out of bubblegum.

American History and Black History Cannot Be Separated

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

I really should read my own blog.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

Take your GOP plan out of the witness protection program.

This year has been the longest three days of putin’s life.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

You are here: Home / Past Elections / 2020 Elections / Biden-Harris 2020 / Saturday Morning Open Thread: President Biden, Looking Better & Better

Saturday Morning Open Thread: President Biden, Looking Better & Better

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Apart from keeping our razor-thin hold on the Senate, I think Bernie will be in his element jousting with the Repubs on the Senate Committee on the Budget…

(Safely distanced) party planning:

Reader Interactions

155Comments

  3. 3.

    debbie

    “Sir, it backfired.”

    I so enjoyed listening to the litany of more and more closed and locked Twitter accounts.

  4. 4.

    Betty Cracker

    Longer account of Biden’s remarks about Hawley, Cruz and Trump via Dallas News:

    In extraordinarily sharp remarks Friday, President-elect Joe Biden compared Sen. Ted Cruz to Hitler’s propaganda master in the way he peddled Donald Trump’s “big lie” about election fraud, though Biden stopped short of blaming Cruz for the riot by a pro-Trump mob at the Capitol as many Texas Democrats have done…

    Biden invoked Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi propagandist, recalling his exaggeration of civilian deaths in the firebombing of Dresden, repeated by newspapers around the world. Goebbels maintained that the bigger the lie, and the more it was repeated, the more likely that it would be believed.

    Biden noted that Cruz, like Trump, had spent weeks questioning the legality and accuracy of balloting in a half dozen states, despite an utter lack of evidence.

    I’m so glad he’s going there and used the “big lie” language because we have a serious fucking problem in this country — millions of yahoos believing the “big lie.” If we don’t shut that lie down and make muttering “stop the steal” a sign of complete lunacy that disqualifies the mutterer from being taken seriously, we’ll have another “lost cause” situation that will fester. These people need to be shamed and shunned until they crawl back under their rocks.

    Amy Klobuchar will lead the probe into the Capitol coup. Something to look forward to!

  5. 5.

    p.a.

    The fucking security apparatus better get their act together.  The pig people have ben open about their plans inauguration week.  It’s already been shown Biden etc have concerns about the Secret fucking Service being infiltrated by tRumpists.

  6. 6.

    Baud

    @Betty Cracker:

    Amy Klobuchar will lead the probe into the Capitol coup. Something to look forward to!

    Nice.  Almost makes me feel sorry for the insurrectionists.

  8. 8.

    mrmoshpotato

    Says republicans have been calling him telling him how horrified they are with Trump.

    Adorable chickenshit cowards.

    Says he must unify the country.

    I’m glad the Rethuglicans agree they and their 74+ million trash supporters need to be fired into the Sun.

  12. 12.

    JPL

    @p.a.:   Even if the House asked the acting Secretary of Defense to testify why there was a delay in calling up the National Guard, he wouldn’t show up.   It will be months before we get answers, and unfortunately that is not soon enough.

  13. 13.

    Joe Falco

    We’re not there yet, but I’m getting increasingly hopeful of how the Senate will operate without Mitch having a death grip on legislation that moves there from the House. There’s still plenty of rules in the Senate that Republicans can game out to short-circuit the legislative process, and I hope Senate Democrats are prepared to match that eventual response.

  14. 14.

    debbie

    @germy:

    Humbolt Blue shared that in Adam’s thread last night. I must have watched it 20 times, laughing just as much each time. I think it’s what got me to fall asleep not filled with rage.

    The kid apparently has other videos floating around.

  15. 15.

    germy

    A good point from Kyle Griffin:

    If impeaching Trump would "further divide the country," as Republicans claim, then what did the GOP think challenging Biden's election win would do?

    — Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) January 9, 2021

    We don’t count as real Americans, is my guess…

  18. 18.

    debbie

    @germy:

    I’d like to see Joe loudly push back against McConnell’s leaked directive about dragging out Nancy’s impeachment plan long enough to push it to the Biden administration as a political comeback strategy. No more of this same old, same old crap.

  19. 19.

    germy

    @hueyplong:

    Trump can’t post tweets, but I assume he can still read (at whatever grade level he achieved)

    So can Trump still see everyone else talking about him, like Tom Sawyer at his funeral?

    — Schooley (@Rschooley) January 9, 2021

  21. 21.

    MattF

    @Joe Falco: I think Romney, Murkowski, and Manchin will form an independent ‘centrist’ bloc. There’s nothing McConnell can do to stop that.

  24. 24.

    germy

    The bad takes on “who the Trump rioters are” ignore the fact that most poor and working class people can’t even afford to take off work when their kids are sick, let alone load up on Trump merch and body armor, travel across the country, and spend all day playing fascist putsch— Kim Kelly (@GrimKim) January 8, 2021

    It costs a lot of money to fund this fascist bullshit. Don’t lay the blame solely on the lazy avatar of the “blue collar Trump voter.” There were lawyers and CEOs and a judge’s son leading the charge. One of them took her private jet out to storm the Capitol!— Kim Kelly (@GrimKim) January 8, 2021

  25. 25.

    p.a.

    I’m definitely not an optimist: given the police actions at the capitol and the apparent number of current and former cops and military in the mob, assuming x degree of infiltration, the image of Sadat’s ending just flashed in my mind.

  27. 27.

    Geminid

    @MattF: If Manchin, Murkowski, and Romney get Kyrsten Sinema on board, they could have their own Squad. A new Mod Squad.

  28. 28.

    germy

    @Aleta:

    “Johnson is a stay-at-home-dad who lives with his wife and their five children in their Parrish home.”

    (From the link)

  31. 31.

    TS (the original)

    So is there a current US Government? Education & Transport secretaries resigned, most of the rest refuse to talk to anyone or explain what happened on Wednesday. Security in DC seems almost non existent & trump appointees are desperate to leave & find new jobs. Trump is more incensed with twitter than with new impeachment proceedings & has 100% given up on going to work and Pence seems to have gone to ground.

    Biden’s team will have never worked so hard to get the country back together – and that is without even considering covid-19 & vaccines.

  35. 35.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @debbie: Does it make a difference that by the Inauguration, Mitch won’t be in charge any more?

    ETA: I’m not sure since I seem to recall something about the Senate having to drop everything else and act on an Impeachment.

  36. 36.

    Spanky

    @TS (the original): Yes, there is a US Government. Each Federal agency has a Continuity of Operations Plan that lays out the chain of succession of command. There is never not someone in charge. That’s why I think the 25th can be invoked at any time, as the Constitution calls for the “principal officers”, not “Secretaries”.

  39. 39.

    randy khan

    @TS (the original):

    The good news is that there are many, many career people still doing their jobs.  In practice, by this point most of the appointed people in any Administration aren’t really doing their jobs anyway as they are cleaning out their offices and looking for their next gigs.  And, of course, in this case, the less they do between now and January 20, the better.

  40. 40.

    Immanentize

    @Aleta: 
    Lectern Guy:

    Johnson is a stay-at-home-dad who lives with his wife and their five children in their Parrish home.

    Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but who was watching the kids??

  41. 41.

    Immanentize

    @Geminid: A new “mod squad” with even less diversity that the one over forty years ago.  New “mayo on Wonder served on beige melmac squad” perhaps

  45. 45.

    Ken

    @randy khan: In practice, by this point most of the appointed people in any Administration aren’t really doing their jobs anyway as they are cleaning out their offices and looking for their next gigs.

    And that’s in a normal administration.  In this one, most of them were never doing their job.

    Also, some of the positions have had such turnover that I expect lately the appointees have just left their stuff in boxes to save time when cleaning out the office.

  46. 46.

    Spanky

    @TS (the original): I suspect the Under-Secretaries still there are still political appointees, so there are still Trumpists in charge. Probably not going to get a lot of direction from the top in the next couple of weeks, so the careerists down below should be doing the usual yeoman’s work. I hope.

  48. 48.

    TS (the original)

    @Immanentize:

    but who was watching the kids?

    Can’t help but think of the outcry against the individual if this had been a “stay at home mom” leaving the kids behind.

  49. 49.

    hueyplong

    Mitch is playing with fire, as the developing narrative is that he’s slow walking this and therefore is solely responsible for whatever horrific thing Trump does on his way out the door

    He for damn sure can’t say “No one could have foreseen” or “You guys could have acted too.”

    This is the entire point of pushing for immediate impeachment when “realists” tell you it can’t be done.

  51. 51.

    Immanentize

    News of a different sort — but it’s good:

    The Immp went back mid-week (yes when this country was all going crazy) to get tests and a CT regarding his gastric cancer/surgery.  We waited two days on pins and needles.  Hell we have been on them for a year.  And, still cancer free!

    But, another battery of such tests again this summer, just to be sure.  The Doctor said, “You can assume you will remain cancer free, but I prefer to prove it.” Good line.

    On the less good news side, the Immp’s Uni has pushed back his campus return from mid-January to mid-February because Covid has overwhelmed the health care system there.  It’s bad in Houston and a good reminder to not let down our guards.

  54. 54.

    citizen dave (aka mad citizen)

    @TS (the original): I don’t know if what you’re getting at is how we look to the world, and that it could like a national security the until Jan 20.  Might be cool if Pence and Biden made an unprecedented joint appearance to, you know, talk about the transition.  Just to show the adversaries that we still have leadership.  Would be even better if it happened were trump to leave town early.

    I am glad that it sounds like Biden’s vision of uniting the nation is bringing the radical republicans back to reality, and not moving their land of BS.

  56. 56.

    JML

    Moscow Mitch, proving that his words from the floor post coup-attempt are hollow. Make statement about preserving democracy? Sure. Take constitutional action to preserve it? Not if it might upset someone on the right. His memo on the impeachment schedule is a classic Bitch McConnell move, laying down a marker to say “If you do this, here’s how I’m going to make sure it doesn’t work.”

    The Georgia wins get bigger every day.

  58. 58.

    Ken

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: That’ll hurt, since I’m sure he was planning to use that email list extensively for fundraising.  Or shop it around to other spammers – it’d be gold, since the spammers would know that the addresses were pre-selected for gullibility.

  60. 60.

    Immanentize

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: I’m sure you can imagine how this weighs on both of us all the time.  It’s like knowing a monster may be under your bed even though everytime you look there isn’t one there.  So, it is one of those smaller things (expected positive news?) that kind of breaks through the control we maintain.

  63. 63.

    ThresherK

    Biden says he’s long thought Trump was unfit for the job, says what Congress does is up to them.

    The perfect tack, the perfect tone.

  64. 64.

    gene108

    @JPL:

    Even if the House asked the acting Secretary of Defense to testify why there was a delay in calling up the National Guard, he wouldn’t show up.

    Unlike AG Barr, I am betting AG Garland will enforce Congressional subpoenas.

    Not showing up will soon have the weight of law behind it again.

  65. 65.

    hueyplong

    @gene108: But you ask now anyway, so it cannot later be said that “Hey, they never asked before [some horrible shit] happened.”

  68. 68.

    Chief Oshkosh

    I wonder if we need so many military bases in TX and MO. And their NGs need a thorough review, too. No sense in giving insurrections deadly toys to play with. I think that regional needs could be met by expanding bases in NM and IL. As those bases are wound down, we could instead earmark those federal dollars towards mental healthcare, immigrant settlement, and free civics textbooks that very specifically have not been reviewed by the TX Bd of Education.

  72. 72.

    Mai Naem mobile

    @germy:  am I the only one who feels guilty laughing at the satirical stuff on these people? Its almost like I am laughing at a mentally ill person.

  74. 74.

    Immanentize

    @JMS: I hadn’t thought about him.

    Scott as “Link”
    Sinema as “Julie”
    Romny as “Pete”
    Manchin as “Whoever their Cop Boss was”

  76. 76.

    germy

    VP Pence called the family of the late USCP Officer Brian Sicknick today to convey his condolences, according to a Pence aide

    — Ben Gittleson (@bgittleson) January 8, 2021

  79. 79.

    Ken

    @Mai Naem mobile: am I the only one who feels guilty laughing at the satirical stuff on these people?

    No. As I said in a long-dead thread (i.e. yesterday), I’m much more angry than amused.

    Except the guy who tasered himself to death via his balls.  That’s comedy gold, even if it is a direct steal from Idiocracy.

  80. 80.

    Immanentize

    Speaking of at least chortling:

    Who is phishing Trump right now by telling him he can unlock his account if he types in the nuclear codes.— Kate Klonick (@Klonick) January 9, 2021

  81. 81.

    germy

    “The president was trying to stage a coup. There was little chance of it happening, but there was enough chance that the former defense secretaries had to put out that letter, which was the final nail through that effort. They prevented the military from being involved in any coup attempt. But instead, Trump tried to incite it himself,” said Fiona Hill, Trump’s former top Russia adviser. “This could have turned into a full-blown coup had he had any of those key institutions following him. Just because it failed or didn’t succeed doesn’t mean it wasn’t real.”

  83. 83.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Immanentize: How does one phrase “Sorry all the fascistic/Nazi shit we’ve been fomenting over four years caused our white trash supporters to kill Brian.”?

  84. 84.

    TS (the original)

    @citizen dave (aka mad citizen):

    I don’t know if what you’re getting at is how we look to the world

    It probably is – because it is how many of us see things down under. It seems utterly weird to have senior people resign 14 days out from when their job ends & sure looks like a government in disarray.

    Also true, however, that we are used to parliamentary democracies where the incoming government is sworn into power within days of the election results being finalised.

    Having a defeated party run the administration for a couple of months after an election defeat seems rather unusual. You would be used to this as a regular event.

  85. 85.

    PsiFighter37

    If impeachment is going to end up delaying the start of the next Senate session, I would probably pass. Fuck McConnell – I hope that he croaks while Beshear is in office, and a Democrat takes his seat.

  90. 90.

    trnc

    Biden says after what happened on Wednesday, it makes his quest to unite the country easier. Says republicans have been calling him telling him how horrified they are with Trump. Says he must unify the country.

    Oh, really? It’s all up to Biden, and they have to agency here? Instead of privately calling Biden, they should be making public statements. I hope he’s urging them to do that. He should out any who don’t. Recent history indicates they’re going to undermine him and set him up to fail.

  92. 92.

    citizen dave (aka mad citizen)

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: “I can’t find any of this funny right now.”  Me too.  I love to laugh and will at all kinds of twitter/youtube stuff, even on this event.  But mostly mad and sad.  I watched a couple of the late night monologues–Kimmel and Colbert (who “did it live!”) and found them hollow.  They go through each real detail, make a joke, move on to the next.  Just doesn’t seem like the time for that, but I understand they have to fill the airtime.

  93. 93.

    JPL

    @gene108: I agree, but it will take some time.    When he finally testifies, I bet he points fingers at those in the White House.   Hopefully MSM doesn’t  treat the information lightly.

    It should end any dreams that Pence has about  running for president.

  94. 94.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

     

    @Aleta:

    Bum ass “stay at home father of five” is about to become “jailed, divorced father of five with a rapidly aggregating child support arrearage and the sort of job prospects that inure to underearning white guys after release from prison.”

    Maybe he can learn a trade inside so he can get off his dead ass.

  96. 96.

    Ken

    @Punchy: now I fear all those last-minute pardons for all these fuckers.

    Possible, but (1) they failed Trump, (2) they’re of no further use to him, (3) they make him look bad, and of course (4) they dress low-class.  So he might write them off.  Some of them already feel betrayed by his “hostage video”, according to some tweets and facebook ranks that were re-posted in the comments section of this fine blog.

    Also, I for one would like the courts to test the claim that the pardon power extends to crimes before a conviction is made, or even before an indictment.

  97. 97.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @Immanentize:

    I’ve seen this sort of family repeatedly in neglect/abuse/dependency cases. Video gaming lazy, neglectful dad, mom who works a couple of shit jobs. When the oldest isn’t looking after the youngest while dad parks his ass on the sofa with a tablet and piling dishes in the sink and living in filth, they’re being fobbed off onto the various grandparents and siblings.

  102. 102.

    trnc

    @germy: If impeaching Trump would “further divide the country,” as Republicans claim, then what did the GOP think challenging Biden’s election win would do?

    Before the insurrection, I grudgingly believed impeachment would have been dicey. Since then, anyone who would be divided are the ones who supported the insurrection. Whether or not their insanity is temporary, they are not worth listening or thinking about for a single second.

  103. 103.

    Geminid

    The Mod Squad’s breakfasts might be popular. Murkowski brings salmon, Manchin brings country ham, Sinema has the chipotle sauce, and Romney brings Utah honey. A smiling Chuck Schumer will drop off bagels and schmooze for a couple minutes. Invitations will be given on the Senate floor. Sinema asks Corey Booker, “what would be good Vegan fare when you come Tuesday? And are you doing that 10k Saturday?” A cheerful Manchin says, “Angus! Come on by Lisa’s office tomorrow morning. And bring Sue!”

    Early legislative fruits of these breakfasts  may include the Warren-Murkowski Clean Energy and Conservation Act.

  104. 104.

    PPCLI

    @gene108: This is one of the millions of reasons why the House/Senate should hold extensive hearings on what went down over the last four years, including the topics of the Mueller report, the Ukraine call, the millions of Hatch act violations, etc. They can actually put people under oath and force them to testify, with subpoenas enforced. Give Kushner the Hilary-Benghazi treatment.

    Especially for the people who get the pardons that Trump is about to hand out like Halloween candy. We need to put Stone under oath and compel testimony. Then either he can tell the truth, in which case we’ll get some indication of the dimensions of the treasonous interactions with Wikileaks, etc. Or he will lie, in which case he can be charged with a post-pardon Federal crime.

    Hopefully a lot of the people Trump pardoned will see time for lying under oath about what they did.

  106. 106.

    Spanky

    @Ken: Since the US legal system supposes a suspect is innocent until proven guilty, I think such a claim has real legs. Also, IANAL.

  107. 107.

    NotMax

    Self-pardon on Sunday? Can’t use the pardon for crimes or actions cited in duly passed articles of impeachment, which would appear to be happening Monday.

    It would not halt impeachment as that is a legislative, not a judicial, procedure but would (theoretically*) aim to short circuit judicial indictment after leaving office.

    *Am putting to the side for the moment whether or not a self-pardon is a valid application of the power. That’s a different argument.

  109. 109.

    trnc

    @germy: Good point. I keep hearing about the Repub Governors Association funding the “rally,” but not any other details.

  111. 111.

    Nelle

    @Immanentize: I think there is a corner of my brain on alert for you and your son.  I don’t pray in the way I was brought up.  Don’t light candles and all that.  But know that your journey has touched me and you always have an advocate for good news and healing times for you and your son over in this bit of, where am I now?  Oh, Iowa.

  112. 112.

    Ken

    @Immanentize: But it’s always the last 10% where things go wrong!

    Yeah, I noticed one of the responses to that tweet had a Windows “blue screen of death”.

    There was also a mock-up (I assume…) with “Pornhub update: Donald Trump has been banned from our platform.”

  113. 113.

    Punchy

    @Ken: Yes, clearly IANAL but I cannot believe pardons are legit for people who havent even been charged/indicted yet, let alone convicted.  Maybe Im wrong.

    However, the brazenness with which they did this…..mugging for cameras, selfies….tells me they were told ahead of time pardons would save their ass.

  114. 114.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @germy:

    “Furniture maker” means he’s putting together something from a box at WalMart, maybe a bookshelf. He started making it two months ago, but left the glue for the wood pegs open when he took a break to respond to a Twitter DM from some woman flogging her OnlyFans account, and then got so distracted for three hours that it dried out.

    He’ll get back to it when he gets new glue, so stop nagging him about every little thing.

  116. 116.

    germy

    This interview with Congresswoman Jayapal:

    We all were aware of the danger. Ten days ago, Maxine Waters had raised the issue of our security on a caucus call to the Speaker and asked what the plans would be. And 48 hours before, we had gotten instructions from Capitol police about all the threats: that we had to be on high alert, that we had to get to the Capitol by 9 a.m. before the protesters, that we couldn’t plan on going out, that we should have overnight bags. It was very clear, and everyone understood what the threats were

    The part of the interview where she wept was a gut punch for me.

  118. 118.

    trnc

    @debbie: McConnell sends memo to GOP senators outlining how an impeachment trial would work if the House goes thru. In essence, McConnell explains how an impeachment trial would consume the first days of Biden’s presidency.

    OK, I get that Mitch will never, ever miss an opportunity to undermine democrats, but I fail to see the evil plan here. I assumed that there was a good chance of the trial not happening until after the 20th. How is that bad, especially if details come out by then of elected republicans’ involvement in the insurrection? Sure, it will suck all the media oxygen up for a couple of days, but I don’t really see that working against Biden. His administration will be carrying on with business. If he really needs to cut through the impeachment story with a big announcement in the first few days, a short press conference ought to do it, but he’ll continue to make announcements about plans throughout the next two weeks.

    Is my cynicism meter failing me?

  119. 119.

    narya

    I’m angry, yes–enraged, even. I thought Colbert’s rage was good to see on Wednesday night, too. And, at the same time, humor not only gets us through, it is the thing that narcissists (and so many men . . .) most fear. Humor is a powerful weapon–if you can make someone laugh, then you have bypassed all of the logical arguments. It’s the ultimate “in a nutshell” strategy.

    Completely unrelated: the only side effects of Shot 1 are a sore arm. I don’t usually get even that, and in this case it mostly feels like I caught it on a corner cabinet or something, not, full-arm-soreness.

    Also: great Immp news

    ETA: GREAT email from Penzey’s this morning. So glad I got gift cards for my team from them.

  120. 120.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @Ken:

    Followed by “My phone? Why do you want to look through my phone? Get your hands off it goddammit, it’s mine!”

  122. 122.

    trnc

    @JML: The Georgia wins get bigger every day.

    Job 1 in Schumer’s senate needs to be eliminating the legislative filibuster.

  125. 125.

    citizen dave (aka mad citizen)

    @trnc: Google has nothing on the RGA, but you might be thinking of the Republican Attorneys Generals Association, who appear to have funded and/or did robocalls telling people where to go.  The incoming Chairman of said group, who is the Alabama AG, says he will investigate himself (https://www.alreporter.com/2021/01/08/alabama-ag-says-hell-investigate-his-groups-role-in-deadly-riot/)

    Time for Talkin’ John Birch Society Blues.  The last four lines:

    “Well I finally started thinking straight when I run out of things to investigate
    Couldn’t imagine nothing else so now I’m home, investigating myself.
    Hope I don’t find out too much.
    Good God.”

  126. 126.

    Ken

    @NotMax: Pardon for Nixon was just such a peremptory application of the power.

    But never tested in court (and unless we want to have our own little Cadaver Synod, won’t be).  I want clarification on whether the pardon power exists before conviction, or before indictment. I also want clarification on whether it can be used without naming the specific crimes which were committed, since I’m sure we’ll see a lot of those in the next ten days.

    And while I’m building my wish list, can we take a look at whether the President can pardon himself, and whether the Justice Department can take action against the President?  IIRC, the legal basis for the latter is still only a fifty-year-old memo.

  127. 127.

    trnc

    @PsiFighter37: I hope that he croaks while Beshear is in office, and a Democrat takes his seat.

    Yup. My dream also includes Rand not being able to continue and being replaced.

  129. 129.

    topclimber

    @PsiFighter37:

    @debbie:

    I posted a day or so ago about what I think is a viable path to impeachment, one that does not result in Trump’s trial distracting from Dems getting a start in the Senate from Day 1.

    As I read the impeachment law, the House does not send over its impeachment findings until impeachment managers have been named. When impeaching a sitting President, you want to do it fast. When impeaching one for the purpose of punishing him (taking away perks, preventing another shot at elective office) you drag it out.

    Let’s say the House votes impeachment but then takes a year to research its case. Surely the impeachment managers want to be thorough and Schumer would not press them for charges like Mitch did on the first go round.

    You make the case and bring it to the Senate in time for the runup to the 2022 elections. Remind everybody about what we know now about Trump’s sedition, plus what looking under rocks for a year finds out about him and his enablers. Make vulnerable GOP Senators go on record supporting him and or explaining their own collusion.

    Bottom line: Impeach the f—ker and use the Agency the House has in the process to control the timing.

    Another interesting fact: Folks have been worried about how some Dems are listed as “No” votes on the KOS list. What I haven’t seen discussed is only about a dozen GOP Reps have  said the same. This can’t be right, right?

    H/T TRNC

  130. 130.

    Benw

    LOL Republicans who thirstily followed Trump for 4 years asking Biden to “unite the country”. F them. I hope the answer was “we’re moving ahead with Democratic priorities. Get on the train or stay on the tracks.”

  131. 131.

    There go two miscreants

    @TS (the original): Having a defeated party run the administration for a couple of months after an election defeat …

    That has only been sustainable up until now. The public didn’t realize how fragile that (and a lot of other stuff) really was.

  132. 132.

    NotMax

    @TS (the original)

    One of the differences being that in a non-parliamentary democracy we can predict with absolute certainty when an election will be held, which allows for greater latitude than a system which accommodates snap elections.

  135. 135.

    the pollyanna from hell

    Forget the horse-race, I want immediate impeachment to show that we can go after the ringleaders even before the minions.

  144. 144.

    debbie

    @trnc:

    He’s cynically twisting the situation into a winning strategy for his party. There was a brief moment after 9/11 when everyone was an American and politics took a distant back seat. Is it too much to expect the same now?

  145. 145.

    LurkerNoLonger

    One of the many good things that happened with the Georgia election is now there will be actual investigations lead by people who want to find out the truth about what happened on Wednesday.

  147. 147.

    lowtechcyclist

    @hueyplong:

    Mitch is playing with fire, as the developing narrative is that he’s slow walking this and therefore is solely responsible for whatever horrific thing Trump does on his way out the door

    Until the House acts, there’s nothing to blame him for.

    Why they aren’t voting today, I have no idea.

    Oh wait, here we are:

    https://twitter.com/sfpelosi/status/1347657854774243328

    Christine Pelosi: “Why tweet snark when you can read the House Rules? The House meets Monday; to do so otherwise needs unanimous consent and McCarthy objects.”

    Which makes the decision to recess Wednesday instead of Friday (as originally scheduled) even more inexplicable.

  148. 148.

    Another Scott

    @p.a.: I would expect that the various security agencies will have a big list of people that they want to interview who fly into DCA, BWI, and IAD in coming days…

    “Hi Mr. Punisher.  Good to see you again.  Please come with me, we’d like to ask you a few questions…”

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  150. 150.

    Another Scott

    @germy:

    Reuters:

    The Justice Department on Friday released details on 13 defendants who were charged in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia for their roles in connection with the Capitol riots.

    They included Cleveland Meredith, who was charged with threatening Pelosi as well as possession of an unregistered firearm and unregistered ammunition, and Richard Barnett, the Gravette, Arkansas, man who was photographed sitting at Pelosi’s desk and is also known as Bigo.

    […]

    Meredith, 52, told the judge he is unemployed after selling his business in 2019.

    The judge ordered he must remain in custody, pending a hearing on Jan. 13.

    So sad. He’s a Real American Heartland Job Creator from Arkansas with Economic Anxiety being Crushed by Jackboot Regulation and Taxes!!11ONE.

    Grrr….

    More here from the DoJ (13 charged in federal court, 40 in superior court).

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  151. 151.

    Calouste

    @germy: Not to mention that some of these people were staying at the Grand Hyatt. Can’t be bothered to look up how much exactly that would be, but $500/night wouldn’t surprise me.

  152. 152.

    Geminid

    @Calouste: And some people would put air fare and lodging on a credit card just to take part in an historic event. But it seems like there were backers picking up expenses. That’s one of many stories I hope are brought to light.

  154. 154.

    Bill Arnold

    @trnc:

    Job 1 in Schumer’s senate needs to be eliminating the legislative filibuster.

    Or weaken it, which is more possible politically.

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