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You are here: Home / Politics / Domestic Politics / Work Those Refs! (Open Thread)

Work Those Refs! (Open Thread)

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An editorial from The Times titled “Ease Up on the Executive Actions, Joe” attracted dunkage here and elsewhere this morning. There’s no point in excerpting the piece since the subhed sums it up: “President Biden is right to not let his agenda be held hostage, but legislating through Congress is a better path.”

Duh.

Biden knows this. Obama knew this. Perhaps even Trump was dimly aware of it during our long national nightmare. If not, he knows now since Biden has undone some of the low-hanging egregious fuckery.

Anyhoo, White House Comms Director Kate Bedingfield asked the obvious question:

Working the Refs

Good for her. The Times will probably get all hissy and pissy about it and eschew introspection as always, but I am a big fan of working the refs anyway. I think it works on some level. Open thread!

Reader Interactions

196Comments

  3. 3.

    wvng

    The MSM always has the assumption that Dems could get republicans to work with them if they just tried harder, ignoring the long record of absolute GOP obstruction.

  4. 4.

    Quicksand

    I’m all for undoing the egregious Trump stuff quickly via executive action, and making some changes for the better even beyond Trump.

    But I’m also afraid our spineless congress will — either expressly or by omission — use these executive orders as an excuse not to legislate.

    So yes, let’s absolutely keep working those refs. The ones in the media and the ones in congress.

  5. 5.

    cope

    Can you imagine any of the mouth-breathing simpletons who passed through trump’s communications jobs making such a “…lucid, well thought-out, intelligent objection….” to a statement in a major publication?

  6. 6.

    ian

    legislating through Congress is a better path.”

    Wow! Someone at the Times was awake for high school civics! Yet somehow this person was aware enough to pass 12th grade social studies, and still somehow miss the entirety of the past decade.

    I refuse to pay to peek behind the paywall. Would someone with NYT access tell me if the article at least *casually* mentions the fact that Congress needs to pass legislation first.

  7. 7.

    MisterForkbeard

    This is especially dumb. Some of this stuff is primarily addressable through executive orders. Things like… having a temporary block on deportations, changes in executive branch priorities, instructions to avoid certain terminologies, etc.

    I’m sure Joe Biden would love to get the rest of these done through legislation, but McConnell stopped Democrats from taking over for a week because he demanded the ability to stop any legislation he wanted in perpetuity. This is not the sign of someone who’s going to cooperate at all.

  9. 9.

    Brachiator

    @wvng:

    The MSM always has the assumption that Dems could get republicans to work with them if they just tried harder, ignoring the long record of absolute GOP obstruction.

    Yes! It is journalistic malpractice for the Times, or any other news organization, to stupidly prattle about bipartisanship or the importance of getting things done through legislation when one party, the freaking GOP, explicitly and deliberately excludes the Democrats and practices obstruction whenever it is to their benefit.

    Would someone with NYT access tell me if the article at least *casually* mentions the fact that Congress needs to pass legislation first.

    Another excellent point!

    ETA: How often did the Times explicitly criticize Trump’s executive orders on procedural grounds?

    How often did any pundit, maybe besides George Will, criticize a Republican “imperial presidency?”

  10. 10.

    Amir Khalid

    The New York Times thinks this empty, peevish, and disingenuously argued Monday-morning quarterbackery qualifies as a thoughtful assessment of a new President’s first days in office. ‘Tis sad.

  12. 12.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Quicksand: our spineless congress

    Doesn’t fit the House under Pelosi’s Speakership.  The Senate has been under GOP control until we eked out a tie just a few days ago.  Since a tie with the VP on our side means we win, there are finally a few things we can do.  I hate ahistorical bitching about Congress.  If you want to bitch, know the facts and lay blame where it belongs – with the GOP.

  13. 13.

    Leto

    It’s not just Republicans who deny reality. Somehow the Times thinks if Dems just do… something… that the Grim Reaper will agree to sensible legislation, despite the fact that his track record is one of absolute obstruction and destruction. When did the US government agree to negotiate with terrorists?

  14. 14.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Baud:

    “Dems, Ur Doing It Wrong” is recursive for all values of “It”.

    Where the NYT and its overlapping Green Room cliques meet Do Something! Twitter and the anti-Dem Left

    I always hope one of the MSNBC hosts goes after the Times. I always thought it would be Nicolle Wallace– Kindly Doc Maddow is too Kindly, Chris Hayes too devoted to mainlining The Intercept– coulda knocked me over with a feather when Brian Williams went after them, however briefly and snarkily last week.

  15. 15.

    Barbara

    It is imperative that Biden reverse toxic Trump policies as quickly as possible.  Because Trump relied more on EOs than any other president, many of these policies were enacted through executive orders and therefore those EOs should be undone.  Trump became so addicted to brandishing a shiny pen and signing things that he never even bothered to try understanding how you get things done on a more permanent basis through legislation.

    Sure, it would be nice for some of these policy corrections to be made permanent through legislation, but reversing them through EOs doesn’t prevent that.

  17. 17.

    Betty Cracker

    @Amir Khalid: Yeah, that’s what I found most irritating. The editorial didn’t offer any alternate means of getting the stuff the EOs addressed done or, as Bedingfield notes, say which EO Biden should not have signed. The Times phoned it in. It’s like they needed to tick a “Criticize Biden” box.

  18. 18.

    Jeffro

    A little OT but it looks like both The New Republic and Jen Rubin’s latest * are focused the elephant in the room (ok, one of many) of American politics: Republicans don’t want to govern, they just want to complain endlessly and engage in culture-war trolling.

    Meanwhile, the Biden & Co steamroller rolls on and on… ;)

    It wouldn’t be too much of a stretch for the Dems to let folks know in 2022: “We didn’t touch your precious ammo…but we did get you all vaccinated and back to work, which is a damn sight better than trumpov ever did”

  19. 19.

    randy khan

    I’m totally in favor of working the refs.  And I don’t recall any criticism of Trump for acting via executive orders.

    What I do recall, though, is criticism (correctly) of the substance of those orders, so you’d think that the people who didn’t like those orders would be glad they’re being repealed.

  20. 20.

    Cheryl Rofer

    When you read the Medium article referenced in the thread before the last and realize that JAMES (thank you, Omnes and Zhenia!) Bennet is working with Dean Baquet, who has said that he wants to separate himself from his subscribers at all costs, some of this becomes less surprising.

    But whoever hired and promoted Baquet and Bennet is fine with what they’re doing. That’s the bigger problem.

    The Times has had some really excellent science coverage, including on covid-19. Since the election, David Sanger has produced articles that give real insight into what’s happening in the government, having left his nuclear fearmongering behind for a bit. It’s a weird mixture of things, but the B&B combo at the politics and opinion pages has fallen off the deep end.

  22. 22.

    Barbara

    @randy khan: The bigotry of low expectations is real, but it totally favors wealthy white men like Trump.  How many times did the MSM pull its punches because with Trump, “What else can you expect?”  My husband sometimes said that to me at various times when I pointed out an outrage, “What did you expect?”  And I would respond that it didn’t matter what I expected, we should call out and never treat as normal something that is  profoundly wrong.  But too much news coverage fell into that trap, especially with the pandemic.

  23. 23.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    But whoever hired and promoted Baquet and Bennet is fine with what they’re doing. That’s the bigger problem.

    Exactly. Paunch Sulzberger fired “public editor” Margaret Sullivan and eliminated her position and keeps Baquet in place.

  24. 24.

    Barbara

    @randy khan: Many of the orders didn’t do anything other than announce rule making, and they don’t need to be reversed, but some of the rules should be, if possible.  Trump not only failed to master the process for enacting legislation, but an astounding percentage of rules promulgated by his administration have been successfully challenged in court.

  25. 25.

    Fair Economist

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    The Times has had some really excellent science coverage, including on covid-19. Since the election, David Sanger has produced articles that give real insight into what’s happening in the government, having left his nuclear fearmongering behind for a bit. It’s a weird mixture of things, but the B&B combo at the politics and opinion pages has fallen off the deep end.

    This is an old and standard propaganda technique. Mix in high quality information and reporting with the propaganda to draw people in and provide cover for the bias.

  26. 26.

    Barbara

    @Jeffro: Right.  I am convinced that’s why the ACA is still in place.  Many of us have dealt with people like this, who are so focused on what they hate that they never turn their attention on how to change it.  In the case of the Republican Party and the ACA, it was abject failure to apply any policy framework to the problem of how to increase access to health care.

  31. 31.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Quicksand:

    Fair criticism.  I should focus my ire more on Manchin, Sinema, and the like.

    Have you heard of this guy McConnell? Huge dick

  32. 32.

    Amir Khalid

    @Barbara:

    The New York Times shows to Republicans the soft bigotry of low expectations. Democrats get the soft bigotry of unreasonably high expectations.

  34. 34.

    zhena gogolia

    @Quicksand:

    Кстати

    Sen. Joe Manchin throws cold water on idea of censuring former Pres. Trump for inciting an insurrection, saying “This is much, much more serious than anything that we've ever seen in our lifetime and it's really the purpose of having the articles of impeachment"— Ali Zaslav (@alizaslav) January 27, 2021

  35. 35.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @zhena gogolia: Sulzberger the VI or VII — the one who let Sullivan go– made way for Sulzberger the VII or VIII about a year ago, per Wiki. First there is a Sulzberger, then there is no Sulzberger, then there is.

  36. 36.

    Elizabelle

    That FTF NY Times editorial was sophomoric.

    Which is what all the top reader commenters told them.  If you sort for “Reader Picks”, it was a parade of jackals asking “are you off your meds?  WTF?”  The top comment, by “JEM”, and JEM’s first line is classic.

    This is a deeply silly editorial.

    First, Biden had been in office for only a week.

    Second, McConnell kept the Senate paralyzed for days, preventing a governing resolution from being finalized while trying to force the Democrats to promise to keep the filibuster.

    Third, the editorial dismisses the immediate relief that DACA got from Biden’s EO keeping them from being deported.

    Fourth, the editorial makes the naive and ahistorical assumption that the GOP Senate will suddenly act differently and not filibuster everything.

    Finally, Biden knows full well that legislation is preferable. Hardly a brilliant insight. But Biden can’t make legislation by himself.

  37. 37.

    Repatriated

    @Barbara:

    In the case of the Republican Party and the ACA, it was abject failure to apply any policy framework to the problem of how to increase access to health care.

    One might begin to suspect that was because “increasing access to health care” wasn’t their goal.

  38. 38.

    UncleEbeneezer

    Also too, Biden TOLD US he was going to do all this stuff.  He ran on it!!

    I remember his website.  And while there was definitely some hopeful “I will work with Congress to pass X” talk, almost every one of these Executive Orders, were spelled out literally “As President, Joe Biden will reverse…”

  39. 39.

    gene108

    Biden’s been in office one week. How much legislation did his 45 predecessors get passed in their first week?

    Since Trump didn’t care to do his job for such a long time, it feels like Biden’s been in charge for more than a week, even though it’s not the case.

  41. 41.

    Brachiator

    @Jeffro:

    Republicans don’t want to govern, they just want to complain endlessly and engage in culture-war trolling.

    This is a feature, not a bug, of Republican theology.

    Conservatives are so stuck on their mantra of limited government that they cannot even understand the need for effective governance. Their dream world is one in which the federal government does as little as possible, and in which culture, tradition and religion are allowed to impose excessively narrow “Judeo-Christian” values on all citizens.

    Apart from the meanness and stupidity of this vision, you can also see where it becomes destructive, as in the bizarre insistence of some Republican governors that each individual be allowed to figure out how they could best deal with the Covid-19 virus, ignoring health directives

    And I love Rubin’s point here:

    The party’s antagonism toward the federal government has now morphed into hostility toward truth and governing at all. Its agenda is a list of buzzwords and lies to justify why it should do nothing (Climate hoax! Socialism!), culminating in the mother of all incendiary messages: the Big Lie that the election was stolen. The GOP seems to exist solely to promote resentment and to engage in performance art for intellectually dishonest and vapid right-wing media..

    The sad thing is that so many Republican supporters are plugged into this nonsense and run to Fox News to get periodic reinforcement of resentment and negativity.

  42. 42.

    catclub

    @Barbara:

    he never even bothered to try understanding how you get things done on a more permanent basis through legislation.

     

     

    The only one where there is actual legislation that springs to mind is the defunding of Planned Parenthood.

     

    ETA: I heard on radio today that global gag order is gone on abortion counselors.

  45. 45.

    Baud

    @catclub:

    ETA: I heard on radio today that global gag order is gone on abortion counselors

     

    That goes back and forth whenever the party in the White House changes.

  48. 48.

    Elizabelle

    Jen Rubin has their number.  WaPost:  The Republican Party is about doing nothing.

    Someone needs to inform the morons on the “paper of record’s” Editorial Board. Jen Rubin:

    For years, the Republican Party has not been about policy or governance. It is certainly not about encouraging voting or expanding its party to reach new demographics. Instead, it has become a select club of malcontents. It has created a self-perpetuating grievance machine designed to further inflame their base.

    Why do Republicans even want to hold power? Aside from appointing judges, the Senate has accomplished virtually nothing of significance since the 2017 tax cut. While running for reelection, the former president was continually stumped when asked what he would do in his second term.

    The party’s antagonism toward the federal government has now morphed into hostility toward truth and governing at all. Its agenda is a list of buzzwords and lies to justify why it should do nothing (Climate hoax! Socialism!), culminating in the mother of all incendiary messages: the Big Lie that the election was stolen. The GOP seems to exist solely to promote resentment and to engage in performance art for intellectually dishonest and vapid right-wing media.

    Maybe Republicans should give up running for office altogether because they have no interest in policy or governing. They can cut out the time-consuming task of showing up for their day jobs and devote all their time to what really drives them — raising money, stoking anger, tweeting and appearing on right-wing media. They at least demonstrate some interest and talent for those activities.

  50. 50.

    catclub

    @gene108: Biden’s been in office one week. How much legislation did his 45 predecessors get passed in their first week?

     

    I have been in federal buildings today, but forgot to look and see if the  photos of the bosses -station chief, department secretary, president,

    have been changed.

  52. 52.

    BruceFromOhio

    @Brachiator:

    Conservatives are so stuck on their mantra of limited government that they cannot even understand the need for effective governance.

    Even with half a million dead Americans, still stuck. This is all I really need to know.

    The GOP seems to exist solely to promote resentment and to engage in performance art for intellectually dishonest and vapid right-wing media..

    Way too much credit, Jen. It’s a shuffling, horrible zombie of what was once a political party, existing solely to turn everything it touches into more zombies. The next two years will be a political Walking Dead spinoff, with the fate of America as the story arc.

  53. 53.

    Elizabelle

    @catclub:   Yep.  The wingnut media sphere has captured the party.

    Interesting top-ranked comment on Jen Rubin’s column (link in my comment above).  Incisive.

    WaPost reader comment: IMHO, this is connected to the upcoming impeachment trial. 45 Republican senators voted against it not solely as it relates to the former president, but also as it related to the GOP.

    I have a growing sense that Trump isn’t the only one trial. So is the entire Republican Party and their policies, ideologies and track record for the last 50+ years.

    That’s the real reason behind their stonewalling.

  54. 54.

    zhena gogolia

    Jesus.

    Capitol police Union: 140 officers injured in Jan. 6 mob attack.Officers without helmets “sustained brain injuries. One officer has two cracked ribs and two smashed spinal discs. One officer is going to lose his eye and another was stabbed with a metal fence stake” pic.twitter.com/3x2JyhIiDh— Luke Broadwater ☀️ (@lukebroadwater) January 27, 2021

  56. 56.

    West of the Rockies

    @Elizabelle: 

    The writer–a NYT reader–makes clear and excellent points. Obvious points, too. Sad that the NYT editorial board didn’t make those ridiculously obvious observations, too, and not run the damn editorial.

  58. 58.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    Yay! I have a torn quad tendon (Christmas Eve stairs/bourbon/cigar accident), so I get to have surgery next week on my right leg, followed by about a month and a half of no driving.

    I’m overjoyed.

  59. 59.

    gene108

    @zhena gogolia:

    From the “Blue Lives Matter” crowd, but I doubt most police departments will bother to recognize that these “supporters” will turn on them in a heartbeat, and make any changes.

  62. 62.

    West of the Rockies

    @Baud:

    And 8 days is almost 10, which is basically 2 weeks.  2 weeks is 50% of a month, so rounding up, Joe has had a damn month and is still issuing EOs.  When will this madness stop?

  63. 63.

    Jeffro

    @Elizabelle: great article, wish I’d linked to it  ;)

    It is funny that so many Republicans accuse Democrats of ‘performative liberalism’ or ‘wokeism’ or whatever when performative wingnuttery is all that they do anymore.  110% projection, as always.

  64. 64.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @gene108: from what I’ve seen, the big city police union reps who campaigned with trump have all gone strangely quiet since one of the thin blue line was slowly bludgeoned to death by a pro-trump mob

  66. 66.

    rikyrah

    @zhena gogolia:

     

    Sen. Joe Manchin throws cold water on idea of censuring former Pres. Trump for inciting an insurrection, saying “This is much, much more serious than anything that we’ve ever seen in our lifetime and it’s really the purpose of having the articles of impeachment”— Ali Zaslav (@alizaslav) January 27, 2021

     

    Joe Phuckin’ Manchin GETS IT.

  69. 69.

    Betty Cracker

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Hahaha! The so-called “shaman” is also throwing Trump under the bus now that he’s been charged with crimes that could put him behind bars for decades. His lawyer says he was just following orders.

  73. 73.

    BruceFromOhio

    @Cheryl Rofer: I have this running argument with multiple family members who revere NPR and the FTFNYT. They cannot understand why I ruthlessly criticize each for normalizing fascism and the monsters in the GOP. “But the [fill in the blank] articles are really good!” and “Wait, Wait, Don’t tell me! is one of my favorite shows!” and long, blank looks are the response to the vertically fornicated fecal river passing as editorial content. I’ve been banned from such discussions, because my first question is, “which fascist enabler are we talking about?” Yes, I’m biased.

  76. 76.

    pacem appellant

    I said this on twitter and I’m very proud of it: After Judith Miller, FTFNYT took a long hard look in the mirror, searched their soul, and said “yup”.

  79. 79.

    trollhattan

    Huh, so that’s what a communications director with more than two brain cells to rub together is like. Who knew? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

    It’s almost as though NYT accidentally took a suggestion from DougJ/NYT Pitchbot.

  80. 80.

    Miss Bianca

    @BruceFromOhio: I just got into one of these exchanges with a FB friend! She, at least, was eventually receptive to the idea that parts of the FTFNYT could be excellent (x-word puzzles, art/science/local coverage) while the political coverage sucks dead rat through a straw. And now we can add the editorial coverage as well.

  87. 87.

    Elizabelle

    Incidentally, from the WaPost under “Lifestyle”:  hint that Dean “Obsequious” Baquet of the FTF NY Times might be retiring before long, too. (Or get retired.)  Albeit, the problem at that “paper of record — emails, emails, emails!” is the publishers, the ridiculous Sulzbergers.  Baquet is a cat’s paw.

    All the gossiped about NY Times editor contenders are male, with one woman’s name thrown in.
    Wanted:  New top editors for American newsrooms in a highly uncertain time

    When Martin Baron announced his upcoming retirement from The Washington Post on Tuesday, it made clear what is either a crisis or opportunity for American journalism: Several major media organizations are all looking for new leaders at the same time.

    The Los Angeles Times needs a replacement for Norman Pearlstine, 78, who has stepped aside as executive editor. And the New York Times is almost certainly facing the looming retirement of Dean Baquet, its 64-year-old executive editor.

    As of yet, there is no named successor at any of those major newspapers. And it’s the same situation at Reuters, Wired, Vox, HuffPost, and the Center for Public Integrity, all actively seeking new leadership.

    The departure of a top editor has historically been a tumultuous time in newsrooms, especially for those devoted to daily journalism. In past generations, it could involve a showdown between a paper’s most ambitious talents, with room for only one to ascend, followed by a months-long reshuffling down through the middle ranks.

    …. But publishers assessing the next generation of editors willing to tackle these challenges are coming up against limited horizons: Some of the industry’s most promising stars abandoned journalism as the industry grappled with cutbacks. And the pipeline of talented managers from regional papers has slowed now that so many of those papers have weakened or folded.

    …. Nikki Usher, an associate professor at the University of Illinois who studies the news industry, said newspapers need to start looking in nontraditional venues — podcasts, digital start-ups, radio or television. “People who’ve climbed the ladder of a news organization and won certain awards — that’s indeed a successful model for hiring. But the long and the short of it is, news organizations are bastions of Whiteness and there hasn’t been a lot of movement [in a long time].”

    …..  The Times’s search for a successor to Baquet has been discussed since almost the time he became the paper’s top editor in 2014.

    A celebrity gossip tabloid, OK magazine, reported earlier this week that Baquet had purchased a home in Los Angeles, speculating that he may be in line to run the Los Angeles Times, a job Baquet left in 2006 to return to the New York Times. Baquet didn’t respond to questions about the timing of his retirement from the Times but noted that he and his wife bought a home in Los Angeles because his son lives there, and they had rented an apartment for years. “I plan on being in the newsroom in New York the day it opens,” he told The Post in an email.

  92. 92.

    Betty Cracker

    Pelosi is sick of this Q-Alex Jones bullshit in HER House. When asked about Greene (the lunatic representing GA 14th):

    “Assigning her to the Education Committee when she has mocked the killing of little children at Sandy Hook Elementary School, when she has mocked the killing of teenagers in high school at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school — what could they be thinking?” Pelosi asked Thursday. “Or is thinking too generous a word for what they might be doing? It’s absolutely appalling, and I think the focus has to be on the Republican leadership of this House of Representatives for the disregard they have for the death of those children.”

    Scalised meeped “both sides” and McCarthy promised to have a “conversation” with the nutball.

  98. 98.

    trollhattan

    @Betty Cracker:

    Our Italian nana realizes that she can’t turn her back on the kids for even one moment, doesn’t she. The cumulative debt we owe her cannot be tallied.

    Back in Texas, Beto evidently considering a run at the odious Abbott.

    Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) said he is considering a 2022 gubernatorial run, setting up a potential challenge against incumbent Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), The Hill reports.

    Said O’Rourke: “It’s something I’m gonna think about.”

    From two time zones away I loathe Abbott as much as I loathe Cruz. For starters, he’s done far more actual damage.

  99. 99.

    patrick II

    Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
    @AOC

    I am happy to work with Republicans on this issue where there’s common ground, but you almost had me murdered 3 weeks ago so you can sit this one out.

    Happy to work w/ almost any other GOP that aren’t trying to get me killed.

    In the meantime if you want to help, you can resign.

    An appropriate response to republican “unity” I think.

  100. 100.

    Roger Moore

    @Barbara:

    Trump not only failed to master the process for enacting legislation, but an astounding percentage of rules promulgated by his administration have been successfully challenged in court.

    Yep. Trump wanted to rule by decree, but he and his minions were too lazy and incompetent to figure out how to make the decrees stick.  He could have done an enormous amount more if he had been willing to master the intricacies of government, but that would have made him a very different person.

  102. 102.

    Mary G

    WaPo editorial board says “ditto”
    The best way to provide more pandemic relief is through bipartisan agreement

    Obviously, neither Mr. Biden nor the Senate and House Democratic leaders should bend to unreasonable demands. They should maintain reconciliation as an option to ward off GOP tactics that would prevent relief legislation from moving speedily, which is also critical because extended

    ETA cut quote off, but you get the idea. Off to compose a scathing comment.

    Kill me now. They are against the $1,400 direct payments.

  103. 103.

    Miss Bianca

    OK, open thread?

    One of my friends lost one of her dogs at age 5 recently. She just showed a FB photo of the sympathy bouquet she received from Chewy.com when she contacted them to cancel her dog food order.

    One of the reasons I love Chewy. Their people really care.

  105. 105.

    bemused

    @patrick II: 

    I haven’t seen anything recent if Republican legislators are still defying going through Capitol Hill metal detectors. There are Marjorie Taylor Greene and others that want to carry guns on Capitol Hill and are unhinged. What is anyone doing about them? It’s very, very disturbing.

  106. 106.

    patrick II

    @Roger Moore:

    The incompetence was notable on the census, where the Supreme Court wanted to give them the decision, even explained how, but they were to incompetent to follow process.   Which seems to mean, in the end, an important and reasonably correct census.

  107. 107.

    Roger Moore

    @Elizabelle:

    The problem is not so much that the Republicans want to do nothing, or to do a lot less, with the government.  That is a valid platform to run on, and voters should have the power to decide if they want a do nothing government.  The problem is that the media is unwilling to state clearly that the problem with our government doing nothing is the result of the Republicans rather than a nebulous “Congress” or “the government”.  It’s a gross dereliction, and the Republicans have ridden it to lasting power.

  108. 108.

    Cameron

    @Betty Cracker: And that defense worked so well at Nuremberg.  Where’d this lawyer come from?  Is there a Giuliani School of Law at Four Seasons Landscaping University?

  109. 109.

    geg6

    Wow, Chuckles Todd is saying the current GOP is about nothing but Trump and violence.  Even a stopped clock and all that.

  110. 110.

    Miss Bianca

    @Mary G: You won’t regret it. They are prompt and courteous and *personal*. I still can’t believe I ended up sending a photo of Watson and Roxy to one of their reps who helped me out with a problem!

  111. 111.

    Ruckus

    @Brachiator: 

    the freaking GOP, explicitly and deliberately excludes the Democrats and practices obstruction whenever it is to their benefit.

    Thing is, most of shitforbrains crap wasn’t actually good for republicans, except for keeping up the hate fest. It didn’t make them more popular among the general population, only the pure mouth breathers. It didn’t build their power it only confirmed how crappy they are. Now granted a lot of their support doesn’t see it that way but looking at the last 4 years (yes, you have to ignore the last 8-9 days) it seems a lot of their support is wide-ish but not as deep as they seem to think.

  114. 114.

    Woodrow/asim

    @Miss Bianca: Chewy.com is amazing. Their deliveries are among the fastest (usually faster than Amazon, which has a distribution center nearby!), and when they recently mucked up, they made it good without a fuss.

    If you have pets, I highly recommend them — they are owned by PetSmart, just so you’re aware.

  116. 116.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    The Times will probably get all hissy and pissy about it and eschew introspection as always

    Yes, but they will be confused about it because Biden made the correct birth choice. In a certain respect this moment is Biden’s because he can use his white privilege against their white privilege.

  121. 121.

    Elizabelle

    Another, very recent reader comment.  They’ve closed the commenting, but it seems to have been running 90% and more against their moronic editorial.

    NY Times reader:   I sincerely hope that some day, someone authoritatively explains the institutional neurosis that seems to drive much of The Times’s political coverage and postures.

  122. 122.

    Benw

    @gene108: “How much legislation did his 45 predecessors get passed in their first week?”

    Didn’t Obama get his stimulus signed in like the first month? Back in Clinton times, the incoming Democratic admin had a year or so to start fixing shit. Obama had about a month. And Joe’s down to holding off disaster in the first week!

    If we ever get another Republian prez, the subsequent Democrat will have about 24 hours to save the Republic. The White House may be literally on fire when she arrives after the inauguration!

    ETA: yes! Obama signed the Recovery Act in February 2009!

  123. 123.

    Jinchi

    @zhena gogolia: I don’t think Manchin and Sinema are a good target of ire either.

    Right. The new Democratically run Congress and president are a week old. I have no complaints yet. Let’s hold our fire until we have a reason to start giving people hell.

  124. 124.

    Betty Cracker

    @WaterGirl: Context:

  125. 125.

    cope

    @Miss Bianca: Chewy sent us a bouquet and card when we had the second of our two Catahoula’s put down last year and cancelled our standing order.  Not one to forget, mrs.cope started up a brand new account with them when we got our brand new shelter pup (from St. Croix no less) last month.

  126. 126.

    MisterForkbeard

    @geg6: Yeah, but it’s Chuck Todd. He’ll follow that up with saying “But Biden needs to work with them on a bipartisan bill to fix the economy/covid/global warming/insurrection/impeachement” next week.

    And in two weeks it will be Biden’s fault for it not happening.

  127. 127.

    patrick II

    @WaterGirl:

    Ted Cruz.   Cruz responded “fully agree” to this tweet by AOC:

    Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
    @AOC
    This is unacceptable.

    We now need to know more about @RobinhoodApp’s decision to block retail investors from purchasing stock while hedge funds are freely able to trade the stock as they see fit.

    As a member of the Financial Services Cmte, I’d support a hearing if necessary. twitter.com/motherboard/st…
    Show this thread

    She did not take it well.

  128. 128.

    Brachiator

    @Ruckus:

    Thing is, most of shitforbrains crap wasn’t actually good for republicans, except for keeping up the hate fest. It didn’t make them more popular among the general population, only the pure mouth breathers.

    Sadly, I don’t think this is entirely true. We see this in the increased voter support for Trump in 2020. There are a lot of people who seem to believe that America would be better off white, suppressed and repressed. Some may have been suckered into accepting this, but they have been suckered hook, line and sinker. But others are true believers.

  129. 129.

    Miss Bianca

    @cope: They’re good peeps. Same thing here – I cancelled a standing order I had when two of mine passed and reinstated it after later doggo adoptions because they *are* good peeps.

  130. 130.

    dmsilev

    @Elizabelle: It’s easy to explain. As noted upthread, the Editorial Board works for the publisher, and the Times has had a long line of, shall we say, punchable publishers. It’s like asking why Fox News is the way it is. Murdoch, father and now son, chose the people who run it and set the direction.

  132. 132.

    WaterGirl

    @Betty Cracker:  thank you!

    If only the Ted Cruz “Fully agree” was in response to her “If you want to help, you can resign”.

    Cruz and Hawley have to go.  As in expelled, not just voted out of office.

  133. 133.

    Betty Cracker

    And AOC wasn’t even done dragging Ted Cruz’s sorry ass:

    Boom!

  140. 140.

    Brachiator

    @MisterForkbeard:

    Yeah, but it’s Chuck Todd. He’ll follow that up with saying “But Biden needs to work with them on a bipartisan bill to fix the economy/covid/global warming/insurrection/impeachement” next week.

    Are there any pundits who regularly appear on the Sunday shows who are clear and honest about GOP obstructionism?

    It drives me nuts to hear pundits blabber about how “the American people just want Congress to get together and get things done.” The fact is that the GOP don’t give jack shit about what the American people want, unless it agrees with the Republican plutocrat agenda.

  141. 141.

    geg6

    @Mary G:

    Do it!  Chewy is awesome.  They send my pups birthday cards and Christmas cards.  They really take care of their customers.

  142. 142.

    Jinchi

    @zhena gogolia: 140 officers injured in Jan. 6 mob attack.

    This is a point that should be hammered home during the impeachment trial.  We hear about the officer who died and Republicans shrug it off as if it was an unfortunate accident. It gets really hard to argue that the mob was just joking about hanging Mike Pence and executing Democrats, when they were literally beating cops with Blue Lives Matter flags.

  143. 143.

    Ken

    @Cheryl Rofer: Dean Baquet, who has said that he wants to separate himself from his subscribers at all costs

    Himself personally, or the paper?  I’m curious because of claims made a couple of years back that the NYT was, um, no longer dependent on subscriptions and advertising for its revenue stream, to put it delicately.

    (“In Putin’s pocket” to put it not-so-delicately.)

  144. 144.

    Ken

    @Jinchi: This is a point that should be hammered home during the impeachment trial.

    During the interminable Benghazi!™ hearings, the Republicans called all sorts of “witnesses” (scare quotes because few of them were on the scene).  So there’s ample precedent for the Democrats calling the officers to establish the sequence of events, testify about how they were injured, etc.

  145. 145.

    trollhattan

    @Jinchi:

    “Back the Blue” has become black and blue. And oh yes, also dead.

    IMO they’re angling for “never happened; okay, it happened but it really wasn’t serious.”

  148. 148.

    Ken

    @Benw: Didn’t Obama get his stimulus signed in like the first month?

    I was going to say they had 60 seats in the Senate, but forgot the Republicans were refusing to seat Franken until his opponent lost all the lawsuits.

  149. 149.

    WaterGirl

    OT, but I just got a fundraising email from Terry McAuliffe, running for governor in VA.  I thought he was governor before.

    Virginia peeps – are governors limited to just one term at a time, but they can be voted in again as long as someone else is governor in between?

  150. 150.

    JMG

    @Ken: The food section, the crosswords and to a lesser extent the travel section (in non-pandemic times) are wildly profitable for the Times, more than enough to subsidize the rest of the paper. Some years ago one of their reporters, I forget which, posted on Twitter that the four fashion supplements the paper puts out each year pay for the entire annual foreign news budget.

  152. 152.

    Brachiator

    @Ken:

    I’m curious because of claims made a couple of years back that the NYT was, um, no longer dependent on subscriptions and advertising for its revenue stream, to put it delicately.

    The NYT is an odd duck. It has increased digital subscribers, but is losing print subscribers and is not seeing a consistent increase in ad revenues.  But they have spun out some of their content. From a recent Forbes article:

    The Times announced today that for the third quarter of the year, for the first time ever, digital subscribers’ revenue was bigger than the revenue from the print newspaper subscriptions.

    There were six million digital subscribers to The New York Times’ core news product, as well as their additional crossword and recipe paid services. In comparison there are less than 850,000 print subscribers to the newspaper of record in the U.S.

    I think they also get revenues from services like The Wirecutter.

    One downside to this is that the NY Times may become a national newspaper like USA Today, but other newspapers are dying. Increasingly, people simply refuse to pay for original source journalism, and are content with snippets and commentary.

    This is also, not surprisingly, increasing the market for right wing pseudo-news organizations.

  153. 153.

    mali muso

    @WaterGirl: Yeah, they cannot do consecutive terms but can come back for another one after a break.  And Terry Mac is definitely running.  Still not sure who I am going to back for the primary as there are a lot of interesting candidates.

  154. 154.

    leeleeFL

    @wvng: Not what they really believe, not at all. They are filling column inches with dreck to please their overlords who really do want the Repubs to do nothing but damage so they can bitch about that.  But actually do some good?  Not bleeding, not leading!

  155. 155.

    WaterGirl

    @mali muso:  Thank you!

    I wasn’t crazy about him when he was head of the DNC, but he really surprised me by doing a pretty good job as governor.  Or so it seemed to me.  Virginia could do worse!

  156. 156.

    Kropacetic

    @Baud:

    Happy to work with other GOP on this.

    Why does Biden get grief when he says this?

    It’s fairy tale thinking, though it can be used; like in this instance; to cast shade.

  157. 157.

    patrick II

    @WaterGirl:

    Along those lines, I called Tim Kaine’s D.C. office today to let him know how little I thought of his censure idea.  Admitting responsibility without having serious consequences for serious crimes is not something we should do.  I would rather lose the conviction but make make clear the gravity of the wrongdoing (as if we all couldn’t see in real time) than pretend it wasn’t all that important.

    Tim is a nice guy — but, fuck Tim, sometimes you gotta buckle up.

  158. 158.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Elizabelle:  Dean “Obsequious” Baquet of the FTF NY Times might be retiring before long, too. (Or get retired.)

    One hopes that Dean Briquet is leaving to take up a new position. I would suggest:

    Ankles bound together, dangling upside-down by a rope hanging from a girder outside a service station near Milano, Italy.

    (The bullet-holes from 46 Italian sharpshooters** are optional.)

    ** Answer to a riddle that was hoary when I was in knee pants: Who killed Mussolini?

  159. 159.

    Baud

    @patrick II:

    I don’t like the idea, but Kaine’s proposal purports to attach the same consequence as conviction.

    Later in the day, Kaine said on CNN that the resolution would say the attack “was an insurrection and that President Trump gave aid and comfort to the insurrectionists.” He said it would also bar Trump from future office, though it is unclear if such a vote would be enforceable.

    It looks like it’s dead in the water anyway.

  160. 160.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

     @Ken: also, Arlen Specter was still a Republican– he demanded that $10B go to cancer research in return for his vote. As I recall he, Snowe and Collins voted for the Recovery Act.

    I remember Claire McCaskill tweeting out that they were able to eliminate a lot of “silly stuff”– like $300M to buy hybrid vehicles. She was the voice of the ConservaDems in the Senate, a far larger group than people seem to remember.

  163. 163.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Elizabelle: “NY Times reader: I sincerely hope that some day, someone authoritatively explains the institutional neurosis that seems to drive much of The Times’s political coverage and postures.”

    They’re auditioning for the position of PORTGO: Paper Of Record To the Global Oligarchy & have offered to change their masthead to read Herrenvölkische Beobachter. SATSQ.

  164. 164.

    germy

    @Betty Cracker:

    You haven’t even apologized for the serious physical + mental harm you contributed to from Capitol Police & custodial workers to your own fellow members of Congress.

    In the meantime, you can get off my timeline & stop clout-chasing. Thanks.

    Happy to work with other GOP on this.

    — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) January 28, 2021

  165. 165.

    WaterGirl

    @patrick II: I’ll do you one better in the Tim Kaine department – I LOVE Tim Kaine.

    But I am totally with you on this, and I’m on Team Manchin.  If we aren’t willing to impeach and convict on this, what is the point of impeachment.

    Dear Donnie, please try not to get people killed next time you attempt to overthrow our democracy, which we know you’ll do again in 4 years if you live that long.  If you promise that you have learned your lesson this time, we’ll just give you a token censure, nothing to worry about.  Kisses,

  168. 168.

    planetjanet

    @WaterGirl:  Yes, the governor can not succeed himself.  There is no prohibition on running again.  At least our governor works for four years instead of two before running for re-election.

  170. 170.

    Matt McIrvin

    If I were President, I would simply use my Congress-convincing magic unicorn to achieve my goals through legislation.

  171. 171.

    patrick II

    @Baud:

    If it is the same (or very similar) outcome, then what is the point?  Less due process? I suppose “censure” has less gravity than “conviction”, but so what? Republicans won’t vote for censure  any sooner than conviction because some are involved and we might be coming after them next, or they’re cowards, afraid of Trump politically or of bad men with guns in the night.

    Too bad some of that second group don’t have the courage to speak out like the AOC quote I posted earlier.  Maybe they could do some actual good.

  173. 173.

    patrick II

    @rikyrah:

    Yeah, she really tweeted this, and said a similar thing last night on Chris Hayes.  I am an AOC fan.  I don’t always agree with her, but this is the time the congress could use a little righteousness and she is just the person to hand it out.

  174. 174.

    Another Scott

    @Roger Moore: I would phrase it differently, or additionally.

    The problem is not so much that the Republicans want to do nothing, or to do a lot less, with the government. That is a valid platform to run on,

    But the GOP knows that they cannot win on such a platform in a fair election. So, they campaign without saying that they’re Republicans. Or they campaign on patriotism and ‘Merica and Jesus and when in office break the government and reward their rich donors instead.

    and voters should have the power to decide if they want a do nothing government

    when given that information and a fair voting system to express their choices.

    So, bad faith on the part of the GOP is a big problem.

    Another big problem is

    The problem is that the media is unwilling to state clearly that the problem with our government doing nothing is the result of the Republicans rather than a nebulous “Congress” or “the government”. It’s a gross dereliction, and the Republicans have ridden it to lasting power.

    FIFY? :-)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  175. 175.

    Benw

    @Matt McIrvin: “Not so fast with your Congress-convincing magic unicorn there, Matt. Bipartisan collaboration with the unity-Republican party is the correct way to govern.”

    – NYT Editorial Board

  176. 176.

    Roger Moore

    @patrick II:

    I think AOC is important as the leading voice of the young, very online left.  They aren’t the dominant force within the party, but they are an important and growing one, so it’s important that we listen to her.  Of course “listen to” and “go along with” aren’t the same thing.

  177. 177.

    mrmoshpotato

    Oh looky!  A bag of salted, stale dicks!  NYT?  Eh, eh?  I’ll even pay for postage.

  180. 180.

    Geminid

    @planetjanet: I always figured that the conservative fat cats who ran Virginia for most of the 20th century worried that a popular two term Governor might actually rock the boat. Hence the one term limit.

  182. 182.

    Jinchi

    @patrick II: If it is the same (or very similar) outcome, then what is the point?

    Giving them the benefit of the doubt: Conviction requires 67 votes. Censure only requires 51. They probably have the votes for censure, including some R’s. They won’t get enough for conviction.

    The more skeptical part of me says this simply gives Susan Collins an excuse to vote against conviction.

  183. 183.

    Geminid

    @WaterGirl: I’m a big Tim Kaine fan as well. He might know that Censure won’t fly, but is joining Collins in putting it out there as a favor to his friend Sue. Not that that’s gonna mollify people here.

  188. 188.

    catclub

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: ​

     

    Cripes. Do these people have no sense of history?

    Given that Trump said his new Foreign Policy would ‘America First’
    and never changed it. …No. completely ignorant…
    or yeah, but not the way you think normal people do.

  189. 189.

    patroclus

    Well, in 1933, Congress enacted the Emergency Banking Act the day after the inauguration which authorized the President to close all banks pursuant to the Trading with the Enemy Act, which had previously granted such extraordinary powers only after a declaration of war.  This key change not only allowed an immediate response to the banking crisis, but it also allowed FDR to impose sanctions pursuant to TWEA after Japan occupied Vietnam in 1941 in the lead-up to WWII.  It was significant legislation.

    In 1961, just a few days after the inauguration, Sam Rayburn enlarged the House Rules Committee in order to reduce the power of Howard Smith who had blocked all liberal legislation from coming to the Floor throughout the Eisenhower Administration.  This change ultimately allowed all of the New Freedom and Great Society legislation much easier passage to the Floor throughout the 60’s, including the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, the Fair Housing Act, and all of the environmental and education laws.  Also pretty significant.

    So quick legislative action has been done (within a week) at several points in our history.  We can’t do that now because McConnell filibustered the Senate organizing resolution and delayed all the cabinet nominations and has signaled that he’s going to block anything and everything all the time.  Our majorities are thin and the opposition is an active seditionistic and insurrectionist party.  Blame for inaction now should clearly be laid at the door of the Republicans; not Biden.

  192. 192.

    Ken

    @Cameron: It’s really quite obvious. Of course you have to have been reading the blog, and all comments, since its inception.

    (Stolen from Terry Pratchett, one of the scenes with Hex.  The Archchancellor remarks how complex it seems, and Ponder Stibbons replies along the above lines.)

  194. 194.

    sab

    @Miss Bianca: Chewy.com I love, but I wish their packages were smaller. My postal person is 5 feet tall and maybe 105 pounds. She is very efficient and never screws up. But she really shouldn’t have to be hauling 50 lb boxes on  her route. It’s mail, not UPS.

  195. 195.

    Miss Bianca

    @sab: Oh, my…my Chewy orders always come via UPS or FedEx. Usually burly guys are the drivers on my route.

  196. 196.

    J R in WV

    @zhena gogolia:

    Sen. Joe Manchin throws cold water on idea of censuring former Pres. Trump for inciting an insurrection, saying “This is much, much more serious than anything that we’ve ever seen in our lifetime and it’s really the purpose of having the articles of impeachment”— Ali Zaslav (@alizaslav) January 27, 2021

    This is hard for me to believe, but I am not only agreeing with Joe Manchin, I am happy to be agreeing with him on an issue of global importance!!!

    So glad to hear him express this opinion, hope he influences some of his Republican friends to work with … wait, now I’m losing my sanity! Glad Joe sees reality, shouldn’t expect any Rs to go there with him!

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