Oh, you sweet, innocent child:
After airing Thursday evening, WSAZ’s exclusive interview with Vice President Kamala Harris drew national attention.
Friday morning, the White House answered questions about the vice president’s appearance on two stations — one in Arizona, the other on WSAZ.
The interview even took U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., by surprise. Friday morning, Manchin visited one of West Virginia’s COVID-19 vaccination clinics. His visit comes just one day after the vice president spoke with WSAZ’s Amanda Barren about the proposed “American Rescue Plan” (ARP).
“I saw [the interview], I couldn’t believe it. No one called me [about it],” Manchin said. “We’re going to try to find a bipartisan pathway forward, but we need to work together. That’s not a way of working together.”
During a press briefing at the White House, Press Secretary Jen Psaki answered questions around a number of topics, including the vice president’s appearance on two local television stations Thursday.
“We want to make the case to the American people across the country (…) This is a way to do just that,” Psaki said.
I know I have spent a lot of time defending Joe, but part of that defense has always been he’s not perfect. And while he’s smart enough to figure out how to stay alive politically in West Virginia, he’s not always the sharpest tack.
To be clear, Joe, this was not an accident or oversight. This is a professional comms team and professional legislative staff and Joe Biden was doing this shit while you were THINKING about running for the House of Delegates in WV. What they did here was politely put you on notice.
Yes, you have spent two weeks hearing about how you are now the most powerful man in Washington, and you may very well have come to believe your own bullshit, but here’s the drill. Yes, you’re on the bus for this road trip, but Joe is driving and Kamala is shotgun, the hotels and route have been picked and booked, and you’re not the one setting the itinerary. Sure, Joe and Kamala will listen to your opinion on which fast food joint y’all stop at for lunch, but you’re not the head dick in charge.
That’s what happened last night, Sen. Manchin. On top of that, the WH gets good press for reaching out to often ignored areas, all while applying a gentle nudge to you.
That’s how this game is played, and at the age of 73, you should have figured that out by now.
Brachiator
I am confused. What political party does Manchin represent? Is he his own party, and the Democrats need to be bipartisan with him?
piratedan
and conversely, you can count on the AZ interview as being an example of “we see you” to a certain Ms. Sinema.
Miss Bianca
@piratedan: Ayup.
I like how our new WH team is working!
WaterGirl
@Brachiator: I was struggling with how to word that exact sentiment.
Major Major Major Major
He’ll cave.
zhena gogolia
@Brachiator:
That’s what I was wondering!
Jim, Foolish Literalist
John Revolta
So, what, we gotta run everything past Joe Fucking Manchin now before we make a move?
This guy’s starting to seriously piss me off.
Baud
This sounds like of political jockeying. Like when Mitch held up the organizing resolution.
PsiFighter37
At the very least, Biden seems to be the first Democratic president in recent history who seems to have a better-than-average grasp of how party politics works.
jl
I also think it could be a signal that crappy BS little political kabuki theater power plays are a two way street. Seems to me that Manchin has made a point of piping up out of the blue for some PR purpose or as a negotiating tool with the Biden administration.
Biden and Harris can do the same to him.
If Manchin doesn’t want to seem like some punk whining outside of the quiet back room where the big players are, maybe he can shape up and come talk with Biden before he mouths off with his BS concerns in interviews.
But that is just IMHO, I am not very sharp at this inside baseball politics.
Edit: I need to be more concise. In other words, Biden is saying ‘You dump a box of chocolates on me, then I can dump one on you.”
Baud
@jl:
Better explanation of what I was trying to say.
Major Major Major Major
@Baud: Yeah, it’s a pissing contest, but I’m starting to suspect that these are higher caliber pissers than Manchin is used to.
Yutsano
Fired, shots were. It’s not like Biden has any obligation to say where or when they choose to communicate with any particular outlet. Not to mention this is genius communication. I can only imagine how the local interviewer felt. That has to be the get of their career. Do Wisconsin and Pennsylvania next!
satby
@PsiFighter37: He’s Irish Catholic. My people know how to hold a grudge that no one even realizes you have.
WaterGirl
@Baud: “You want to be treated like you’re part of the team? Then act like you’re part of the fucking team.
edit: That was Biden-Harris to Manchin, not WaterGirl to Baud
zhena gogolia
@jl: I . . . I want to be in the room where it happens, the room where it happens
Baud
Also, too, yay Kamala.
jl
@Baud: I have ‘concerns’ and am ‘troubled’ by how much we have been agreeing lately. I’ll take a time out and do some self-assessment.
But thanks, nevertheless.
Baud
@jl:
I agree with this course of action.
ETA: jk
zhena gogolia
zhena gogolia
Baud
@WaterGirl:
When I learned there’s no “I” in team, I realized it wasn’t for me.
CaseyL
It’s starting to look like Joe and Kamala are awake on all fronts, and realize communicating directly to people via local media is the best way to get their message out. Good on them.
And, no, I didn’t realize Presidents and VPs had to clear their travels with Senators first. Under normal circumstances, letting Manchin know ahead of time VP Harris would be in his state would be a courteous gesture. But not if Manchin is talking trash about the Administration’s Number One Policy Priority!
JPL
@zhena gogolia: Maybe trump wanted them to wear MAGA hats and they refused.
Chetan Murthy
We all know that the voters aren’t the only constituency for conservatives, and that includes conservative Dems.
OTOH, maybe Joe really was caught off-guard and dislikes this, in which case …. fuuuuck. Dude, your constituents are *hurting*. Fuuuuuck.
Miss Bianca
So, why am I all of a sudden picturing Joe and Kamala as Mel and Zoe from Firefly…and LMAO.
Who the hell that would make Manchin in this ‘verse, gods only know…
Benw
Being the one whining WHY WAS I NOT INFORMED is never a good look LOL
OT: my folks got their first vaccine dose today!! YES
debbie
@zhena gogolia:
They were just profiled on NPR (literally) around 5:45 pm ET!
Baud
@CaseyL:
Sounds like a brushback pitch.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@zhena gogolia:
Outside of the Republican Party and the far right, Trump is radioactive. Nobody wants to work for him. I wonder if Lin Wood, Rudy, and Sydney Powell are on his legal team? I saw that the state bar or something wanted Wood to do a psych eval
The Thin Black Duke
Usually it’s the quiet guys that look you straight in the eyes and smile who will fuck your shit up when you get too damned cute for your own good. Obama knew what he was doing when he picked Joe as his VP.
WaterGirl
@CaseyL: Did Kamala actually travel to AZ and WV? Or were the interviews with those stations, from DC?
JPL
@debbie: That is awesome. Did they mention how respected they were among the legal community?
Omnes Omnibus
@Miss Bianca: Cobb?
Gravenstone
@zhena gogolia: He’s going to end up having to drag his own ass to the Hill as the ultimate proof of “a fool for a client” at this rate.
WaterGirl
@Benw: They can have stickers if you add that to the I Got the Shot! thread in the sidebar. :-) Lollipops have not arrived yet.
debbie
@JPL:
Bowers defended Mark Sandford, Nicki Haley, and some other SC governor I’d never heard of. He seems to be respected far more than Rudy (low bar, perhaps).
NotMax
Ah, a thread where this will fit.
If there was a futures market for fusterclucks, I’d invest heavily. It’s begging — nay, pleading — to be buried in an avalanche of sh*t.
WaterGirl
@debbie: I think that bar is underground!
zhena gogolia
Slightly OT
Miss Bianca
@Omnes Omnibus: Ha! No, I don’t think…wait.
Yeah.
Yeah, I totally *could* see a statue of JM in the Mudders’ field.
Joe…the man they call Joe…
CaseyL
Not sure how big a deal it is who T*’s legal team is, or if he even has to have one for the Senate trial.
The GOP won’t convict their Great & Glorious Forevermore Amen Leader. Maybe Romney will vote to convict (and that’s a big maybe), but no one else.
sanjeevs
Maybe Manchin could go visit LA and work with these people on bipartisan ways forward
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-01-30/dodger-stadiums-covid-19-vaccination-site-shutdown-after-dozens-of-protesters-gather-at-entrance?_amp=true&__twitter_impression=true
M31
@debbie: some poop I just scraped off my shoe is more respectable than Rudy
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Omnes Omnibus:
@Miss Bianca:
Is Firefly good? I like Nathan Fillion as an actor as I’ve seen him act in Castle and his newest show, The Rookie.
waratah
Thank you John I was hoping you would comment on this. I would like to see her interviews, I have not come across them yet.
I think anyone going after the cash payments has problems and you could tell by watching that news cast he did not want his views known in WV.
They might not keep up with most of what congress passes but as soon as cash payments are mentioned people on both parties know about it.
WaterGirl
I googled Kamala in WV and found several articles. I hadn’t realized that Manchin had rallied a bunch of senators again the plan Biden had put out. I thought he was probably in the doghouse about his stand on the filibuster. No wonder Joe put him in his place.
Omnes Omnibus
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): As a brief investment of time, watch the movie “Serenity.”
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@NotMax:
Public comment? What do they think they are, a public utility or something? ; )
It’s Facebook, so I don’t expect them to do the right thing. Trump should not get his social media accounts back under any circumstances
raven
@Omnes Omnibus: Watch “Pretend it’s a City”.
Miss Bianca
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): I love it. It’s one of my few annual must-sees. And only one season, so you can binge-watch in a hurry if that’s your fancy. Yeah, I love Nathan Fillion but it’s really the interactions of the whole cast with Whedon’s writing that just makes it all sing.
Alison Rose
@Major Major Major Major: “High caliber pissers” nominated for rotating tagline
Omnes Omnibus
@raven: What does that have to do with “Firefly?”
raven
@Omnes Omnibus: As long as we’re giving recommendations.
CaseyL
@WaterGirl: Oh, ho, and aha. I didn’t know Manchin had done that. Twerp. Yes, sending Harris to WV to talk to people directly is definitely a very nice shiv on the Administration’s part.
randy khan
So who makes the call from the White House to “apologize”? That’s another indicator that Manchin might want to watch. It sure ain’t going to be Biden, Harris, or Klain.
Ken
@NotMax: You have to admit, they know who’s likely to respond, and how. The “two pages of 12 point” requirement will block two-thirds of them, or at least force them to severely trim their diatribes about Jewish Space Lasers.
Alison Rose
@zhena gogolia: Oh lord, the pearl-clutching in the replies!!
Ken
Oh, that’s easy to fix. Repeal the last round of tax cuts.
randy khan
@WaterGirl:
I will say that if I had to pick one thing that the Administration can give on without causing any real harm, it’s the upper income limit for the $1,400 checks. Drop it by $25 or $50 K and you don’t lose a lot of stimulus or a lot of suburban white women, but you can say how you’re laser-focused on the people who need the money most.
But, yeah, this probably is in response to that.
Miss Bianca
@Omnes Omnibus: I don’t think “Serenity” (if you’re talking the movie) makes much sense or has any of its impact independent of the series. YMMV
Benw
@WaterGirl: haha thanks! No lollipops no deal!
:)
NotMax
@Ken
Ready for action, 24/6.
:)
Jay
@Baud:
there is an “i” in TEAM,
look closer,
it’s in the middle of the A-hole.
Omnes Omnibus
@Miss Bianca: I saw the movie before I saw the show. You get enough of a sense of things that it stands on its own.
WaterGirl
@randy khan: Nice to see Biden is not pre-negotiating with himself by asking for only what he thinks will fly in the senate.
markg8
Manchin ought to act like the Democrat he’s supposed to be and quit spouting dishonest Republican talking points. The $1,400 starts phasing out at $75,000 per person or $150,000 per couple not “$250,000 or $300,000” as he said. That’s just an easily refuted lie. If he doesn’t like Harris or Biden going over his head directly to his constituents then he ought to tell them the truth.
jl
@WaterGirl: The CW I’ve heard is that Manchin needs to do a lot of posturing to cater to the proclivities of WV voters, not take blame for anything that happens to coal industry. Whether whatever happens to the coal industry helps or hurts most ordinary people in WV seems irrelevant, but what do I know. It seems to be a kind of fetish.
Back to the point. Manchin is up for re-election in 2024. He seems like the type of Democrat who could go down in a rejection of the Democrats in a presidential election year if they don’t perform on helping people.
So, maybe he should do something wild and crazy like support policies that help people who need it, and which have a low risk of failing, which is what I think Biden is aiming for.
And I forget, is this measure going through reconciliation? If so, what does Manchin care how many GOpers go for it? If he’s the 50th vote, then Harris breaks the tie.
WaterGirl
@Benw: Well, I hope you checked with your
clients first before rejecting my offeryour parents before rejecting the offer of stickers.WaterGirl
@jl: I think Manchin is saying HE won’t vote for it under reconciliation and the others are bipartisan cover.
Ahasuerus
Has anyone else seen this?
“I am reading the letter by Acting Sec Defense Miller Jan 4 that essentially broke the normal response chain to deploy the Nat. Guard on Jan 6. It is also astonishingly specific, including not using Intel assets.”
Is this a smoking gun? I readily admit that I know nothing about the military in general or the national guard in particular, but this seems particularly damning. Anyone with actual knowledge want to weigh in?
There is a fark.com thread on this as well. The general consensus is that is indeed evidence of prior knowledge and planning.
Mary G
Manchin’s comments struck me as coming thisclose to calling Kamala uppity. How dare this woman challenge ME?
dmsilev
@jl:
That might be the problem for him. Being “the deciding vote” or “the key vote” or whatever could be what he wants to avoid, and having a “bipartisan” fig leaf would help. Unfortunately, he didn’t learn the lesson that the great majority of the rest of the Democrats learnt in 2009-2010 about the wisdom of trying to get even a fig leaf of bipartisanship from today’s GOP.
WaterGirl
@Ahasuerus:
You know this is Balloonn Juice, right? :-)
SFBayAreaGal
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): My opinion, yes.
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:I came upon an interesting Nixon tape, yesterday. He finds out Biden’s wife and daughter had been killed and he calls to offer condolence. Of course Nixon is clumsy and begins to tell Biden something along the lines that at age 30 he’s young enough to start over, but he catches himself. (video)
Also an interview, with rare photos, of Nixon’s infamous and desperate unannounced attempt to meet with protesters at the Lincoln Memorial after the Kent State massacre (video)
That said, Oliver Stone’s dramatizing of the event was a masterpiece (video)
jl
@markg8: Well, to be fair to Manchin, he’s talking about what the group thinks.
For the GOP these days, if you are a lesser person who is wealthy enough to not live in a hole in the ground and live off roots and worms, then just maybe you are living too high on the hog and are undeserving.
OTOH, maybe Manchin could act like a leader and make his own case on what he believes, rather than acting like he is mere errand boy who’s job it is to repeat whatever the little self-appointed GOP and corporate Dem caucus claims to think.
So, maybe somebody needs to make the case that Manchin should make the leap and try to lead on good policy for once, rather than pose and posture.
guachi
If you want to keep the filibuster around then what matters is vote 60 and not vote 50.
Manchin isn’t vote 60 for anything.
Jay
@Miss Bianca:
“Serenity” lays out where Firefly was supposed to go after several years, but never got there, due to being cancelled.
It was made and released to provide an ending for fans of the cancelled show.
I like both, SWIMBO hates both.
Starfish
@Ahasuerus: I think other people may have mentioned this.
Who was at the meeting that Tuberville attended?
Should the people who were suspected to be involved not be allowed to vote on the impeachment? That would mean Cruz and potentially Tuberville sit this one out.
WaterGirl
@Mary G: I don’t think Manchin’s comments had anything to do with race.
I think Manchin is the one who got too big for his britches and he got slapped down and didn’t like it.
JMG
Manchin’s 73? He looks pretty good for his age, I must admit. I say that as someone who’s 71.
jl
@dmsilev: I don’t claim to be knowledgeable or savvy on this kind of inside baseball.
But, I really cannot understand why Manchin would be reluctant to be the deciding vote. If I were him, and I was the deciding vote, then I’d be eager to cast it on this bill. Someone more knowledgeable is welcome to correct me.
But, is Manchin the deciding vote? Any other Dems making a point of being squeaky wheels? Sinema? Coons?
Baud
@jl:
The excerpt doesn’t even say what Manchin specifically said.
CaseyL
@Starfish: It is my great hope that the investigation turns up solid evidence of Senatorial involvement, like Hawley and Cruz, (as well as any Representatives that aided and abetted, like Roebert) and that the evidence is presented at trial.
Ken
And to keep up our reputation as a full-service blog, tonight’s orthographic trivia: The only English word that normally has three double letters in a row is “bookkeeper”.
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
Lincoln Project goes medieval on Kevin McCarthy on Josh Hawley (video #1) (video #2)
jl
@Baud: I always trust information relayed by other BJ commenters, for they are gracious and merciful, as well was friendly courteous kind… lemee see… it’s in there someplace. OK.. brave clean and honest.
Edit: oh shit. I looked it up and it’s not ‘honest’, it’s ‘reverent’. Uh oh. No ‘honest’ in there. I’ve been letting that damned Scout Law thing hold me back for decades.
Miss Bianca
@Jay:
Yeah, I’m aware of that.
INFIDEL!!
Jay
Martin
@Brachiator: It was a test, and a notice. It would have been exceedingly easy for Manchin to give the WH credit here, not mentioned the lack of comms, and simply stated that it shows how much the Democratic party cares about WV that they are taking the time to do this.
In his head, he should be wondering why they didn’t call (don’t say that part out loud, idiot) and realizing as John notes it was a power move, that the WH is not going to tolerate 50 plans, there’s going to be one – theirs.
Manchin both failed the test and the lesson. Personally I think the WH should give WV something here – I think WV needs it – to get Manchin on board. Also push DC statehood through so they don’t have to rely on that to get anything done.
WaterGirl
@Ken: That’s what I get for typing in the dark.
Chetan Murthy
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Yeah, it’s good. I’d watch it -before- Serenity, b/c “spoilers”, duh. Seriously, watch firefly first.
Also though: be prepared for at least a soupcon of “Lost Cause” vibe. Yeah, it’s there. But otherwise, sure, it’s a fun “Western in Space”.
jl
Girl Scouts have both ‘honest’ and ‘responsible’.
The Girl Scout Promise
https://my.girlscouts.org/content/dam/girlscouts-vtk/local/aid/meetings/D14BS06/Daisy-Promise-and-Law.pdf
Edit: I guess honesty is covered under trustworthy for Boy Scouts.
Lapassionara
Is there any chance Manchin would switch parties? Caucus with the R’s? Just asking.
Martin
@CaseyL: I would hope the Dems are smart enough to pick up on Romney’s reference to ‘the big lie’. Focus the incitement both on what Trump said that day, and the 2 months of saying the election was stolen. That’s the big lie. That’s the source of the problem. That needs to be the narrative to the American people – and if the people start to accept it, it puts everyone else who went along with that lie in a pretty uncomfortable spot.
I think they should still be charged with sedition over that lie.
WaterGirl
@David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch: I hope the Lincoln Project is right on both of these guys. I hope they will go down, but I am not confident that they will.
Jay
https://revealnews.org/article/they-thought-they-were-going-to-rehab-they-ended-up-in-chicken-plants/amp/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&__twitter_impression=true
Ken
A hundred years from now, anthropologists will report the WV rituals where elders smear graphite on their faces and wave pickaxes in the air to get the coal jobs to come back, in a modern incarnation of the rot bilong kako.
Meanwhile, WV’s actual economy will be based on tourism, healthcare, and the Federal jobs at the Joe Manchin Memorial Space Force Headquarters.
AnotherBruce
I know I’m going to get beaten up. But Joe Manchin had every right to be pissed. He found out about this when he was checking in about Covid. Which was the same focus the white house had. It was rude that he had no warning. I think that if Manchin showed up in the white house without notice, it would not go over well. Really, Joe was protecting his turf. And that’s what every Poll has to do.
jl
@Lapassionara: Manchin better be able to give a very good explanation for switching to R, or even going independent, and actually use whatever he does to deliver good policy to WV. Otherwise, he’ll just be another Democratic target (however he labels himself) to remove from office in 2024 by pissed off voters in primary or the general, if the Biden administration doesn’t deliver noticeable improvements.
WaterGirl
@Martin: What could the Whitehouse give WV as part of those?
raven
@Jay: We had 6 people killed in a chicken plant in Gainesville the other day.
Omnes Omnibus
@jl: Trustworthy should cover honest, no?
dmsilev
Assholes of the Day, California Man edition:
Dodger Stadium’s COVID-19 vaccination site shut down after protesters gather at entrance
Edit: Wake up Sheeple!
Ken
@WaterGirl: Hah! It’s my petty revenge for you correcting me when I mixed up Anne Laurie and Tamara. I thought I’d have to wait years, but you gave me an opening the same day!
(I’m still not sure how I did that. I hope I just glanced at the wrong header on the front page. I’m too young for senior moments, no matter what the AARP and their damn mailers think.)
jl
@Omnes Omnibus: Yes, you are correct I edited my comments, after I messed up the Boy Scout Law. Been a while.
I should go back and finish my degree, I guess.
Ken
They forgot contrails and space lizards. Unless they’re covered by “etc.”?
Ken
Ideally, but the existence of con men shows otherwise.
WaterGirl
@Ken: i’m sorry, I hadn’t intended that as a correction, though I guess it was. As they say, payback’s a bitch. :-)
dmsilev
@Ken: Don’t forget the secret Jewish space lasers. Very important to stay up to date on these things.
Omnes Omnibus
@Ken: This is where the phrase “including, but not limited to,” comes in handy.
jl
@Ken: From the link it seems to be their ‘etc.’ so they left out the other important stuff.
Seems like laser beams from space that created a hoax epidemic that still kills mass quantities of people should rate a mention.
sanjeevs
@Lapassionara: Someone here made the point he probably wouldn’t because if he’s Republican he becomes wide open to being primaried by someone Trumpier
AnotherBruce
@jl: Hypotheticals suck, move on.
Ken
@WaterGirl: I’m kidding, of course (in case the XKCD link didn’t make that clear).
HumboldtBlue
@satby:
Mm-hmm, indeedily-doo.
Dan B
@Jay: Christian and Oklahoma go together like Medieval Spain and the Inquisition.
Omnes Omnibus
@Lapassionara: He hasn’t yet. This question comes up almost every tome he is discussed. I think the evidence out there is that he is simply a rather conservative Dem, but a loyal Dem.
PJ
@satby:
No one ever teaches us how or why to hold a grudge, but I have this trait, too. I wonder if there is a genetic component, or if it has something to do with the powerlessness of a child, learning you can’t do anything about this situation now, but you may be able to extract some satisfaction later (but if that’s the case, wouldn’t everyone be super grudge-holders?)
Another Scott
@raven: Liquid nitrogen is nothing to treat lightly. Especially in tanker-truck quantities.
:-(
Cheers,
Scott.
Martin
Can we get some competent IT in government? Obama made some pretty good progress on that front with the US Digital Service. We need a lot more.
AnotherBruce
@Omnes Omnibus: This, thank you.
Jay
Jay
@Dan B:
thing is, nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition,
dirtbag so called Christians, yes.
Sloegin
Would it kill people if the Ds were bipartisan?
Yes. Yes it would.
SFAW
@jl:
“A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.”
Interesting what well done rote learning can accomplish. Learned that 50-plus years ago, will probably still recall it when I’m in the throes of advanced dementia.
HumboldtBlue
The GOP is wholly complicit with Jan. 6 and the evidence continues to mount how deep it goes.
MisterForkbeard
@Martin: I looked into joining the digital service a few days ago. I really wanted to join the administration somehow and I’ve got the skills.
But I’d have to move to DC for this, which my wife has vetoed. And evidently you can only apply once per year.
Ken
Ah yes, the insanity defense.
HumboldtBlue
@NotMax:
Ba-dum-tssh
Martin
@MisterForkbeard: Same. I think it’d be fun (I find fun in some odd places)
If I retire this year, I may take another shot with the Mrs next year.
Lapassionara
@sanjeevs: ok, but he could lose an election to a Republican.
@Omnes Omnibus: but he holds the balance of power in his hands. Why would the Biden Admin knowingly irritate him? Either they dropped the ball, which they do not usually do, or they are working with him to get some other goal accomplished. In either case, I think we can cut him some slack and show him some respect.
SFAW
@dmsilev:
It would not surprise me if the author(s) was/were among those who attempted to claim January 6 was antifa and a “false flag.”
Martin
@Lapassionara: That’s why Manchin should support DC statehood. It’d give Dems a 2 senator cushion which could let him vote against them now and then.
JanieM
@Ken: If he needed brain surgery, I suppose he’d insist on telling the brain surgeons how to do that job, too. Because he’s a genius, doncha know.
Jay
Martin
@HumboldtBlue: That’s some Seven Days in May shit right there.
MisterForkbeard
@Martin: I’ve been working for the same company for 12 years and have done well – it might be time for a change. So I looked into it, and it’s a pity it wouldn’t work out :/
Lapassionara
@HumboldtBlue: yes. They are for power at all costs. In other words, fascists.
Barbara
@HumboldtBlue:
The letter is dated January 4, and although I would be willing to point fingers at DOD, the reporting in the Washington Post has consistently noted that Mayor Bowser did not want the NG to be too prominent and asked that they be used mostly for crowd and traffic control. These restrictions may have reflected that request. There were a lot of points of failure, but I am not sure this letter is a smoking gun.
Citizen Alan
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
I loved it when it was on, but it was effectively sabotaged by executive meddling from Fox. Also, it had Adam Baldwin, who has since become a Gamergate nutter.
debbie
@PJ:
You’re overthinking it. If a thing’s unfinished, it must be finished, no matter how long it takes.
debbie
@Jay:
Trump won’t let go of that fucking lie.
PJ
@Lapassionara: it’s either kayfabe or a brush back pitch. If it’s the latter, it’s a sign that Biden will hang the failure to pass the relief bill around Manchin’s and Sinema’s necks.
Omnes Omnibus
Have I ever said otherwise?
PJ
@debbie: Did you ever read A Star Called Henry by Roddy Doyle? That has one of my favorite long-term grudge settlings in literature.
Ken
Nah, he’d do it himself with a couple of mirrors and a penknife.
Which reminds me, in a roundabout way, to recommend Ted Chiang’s story “Exhalation”.
Lapassionara
@Omnes Omnibus: No, you have not.
patrick II
@HumboldtBlue:
You can combine that with the Maryland governor telling us that Miller made himself unavailable to phone calls from the governor urgently seeking assistance during the riot. It was a planned insurrection.
dmsilev
@Jay: He’s going to end up representing himself, isn’t he?
Ruckus
@JanieM:
He does need brain surgery but no one has figured out how to give him a new one…..
Ruckus
@dmsilev:
That should go well……
Possibly not in the direction he desires, but well non the less.
gogiggs
@Miss Bianca: @Miss Bianca:
It makes him Jayne, clearly.
Jay
Jay
@dmsilev:
naw, for now, Rudi Tutti Fruitie Deludie noun verb 9-11 is still available.
BR
Hopefully this ends with Manchin getting a meeting with Biden and they hash it out and agree to build a monorail in WV or a coal-themed amusement park or whatever it is he wants and get his vote. Happy to spend $10 billion extra on something for WV if the rest of the country gets what it needs.
Jay
@gogiggs:
Mudders Day?
Jay
Barbara
@Jay:
I am considering whether that quote is an admission that they were carrying guns — and I think it would be if the prosecutor can show some evidence that one or both own guns.
Also, they apparently repeatedly lied to the FBI about whether they were in the Capitol and so on. When the FBI asks you questions there is a better than even chance they actually already know the answer.
The Pale Scot
@Miss Bianca:
Oh Jackal, that’s genius. “Now where is that boot drive with PS installed?”
The Pale Scot
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
Lin Wood.
What the hell is that in his hands?
It sure isn’t a proper Bible. Prods are crazy yo
Geminid
@Lapassionara: If Manchin wanted to switch parties he would have done it already. He’s in the spotlight now because of the 50-50 Senate split, but he’s been the same Manchin ever since he entered the Senate. He’ll vote against the big trump tax cut, then he’ll vote to confirm Kavanaugh, then he’ll vote to convict trump in the Ukraine matter. Mitch McConnell would welcome him to the Republican caucus any time. But Manchin won’t switch, and the Democrats are not about to kick him out of their caucus. They can try to influence him, though, and that’s what the Vice President was about. Presumably at the direction of the President, possibly in consultation with Chuck Schumer.
NotMax
@satby
I don’t hold grudges. Even again people whom I’ll never forgive.
;)
@SFAW
And then there’s forest rangers.
:)
AnotherBruce
@John Revolta: yes. its called tresspasing
NotMax
@NotMax
again = against
WV Blondie
@Lapassionara: There is not a snowball’s chance in hell that Manchin will switch. I’ve got a good friend who’s a Manchin staffer; he and I have discussed this several times, most recently just yesterday.
1. Joe Manchin is the Democratic Party in WV. As anemic as it is, he’s still the Boss, and he’s not about to give that up.
2. Despite the WH smackdown (good for them!), Joe is still probably the single most powerful senator right now. I made that observation to my friend – he laughed when I pointed out that he didn’t deny it.
3. As much as I disagree with many of Joe’s positions, I’ll give him credit – he’s 100% about what he thinks will benefit WV. The whole point of #2 above is for him to be able to do that.
cain
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
It’s damn good. So damn good that my ex-wife who hates star trek and every other tech show – loved firefly and it was one of the few scifi shows we could watch together.
It’s really a brilliant show – and a lot of us were very disappointed when it got canceled. It would have been as good as star trek if it kept going.
It’s the brainchild of Joss Whedon who of course did the story for Avengers and more famously Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Starboard Tack
@Omnes Omnibus: @Miss Bianca:
+1 The Hero of Canton
Starboard Tack
@SFAW:
I sometimes wake up with that running through my head. 60 years ago.
Ken
I thought he and Trump had a falling-out? Something about Rudi not being paid the $20,000 a day he was asking for his expert legal advice?
Connor
@Jay:
Bellingham is my home, and there’s a LOT of us here who are seriously appalled by what the mayor has done with this. It’s not what this community is supposed to be AT ALL.
cain
? Tutti fruittie, oh rudy! Tutti Fruity! oh Rudy! A bop bobba rooma, a bop bang boom! ? Come on – a little Little Richard, y’all!
Honus
@Ken: it already is. There are fewer than 20,000 coal jobs in West Virginia today, and that’s been the case for almost ten years.
cain
@Connor:
I hear ya – it’s not like our Mayor here in PDX is impressive either.
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
Holy crap
Rams trade Jared Goff, two future first-round picks and a third-round pick to Detroit for QB Matthew Stafford.
Hasn’t Detroit suffered enough?
Suzanne
@piratedan: Sinema sucks. She frustrates me because I voted for her very early in her career, back when she was running for state rep or something. And she was much further left and very principled. She tacked toward her bullshit centrist position because she’s ambitious, not because she believes anything. UGHHHH.
Martin
@JanieM: Jew space brain surgery lasers.
West of the Rockies
@David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch:
I think the Rams blew it. Goff is 26. Stafford is a beat-up 34. And they gave up two first-round picks. All for a guy who may be gone in a couple years?
Martin
@Honus: Biden should hand Manchin a bill to bail out the United Mine Workers pension. Federalize it, give them health benefits, bolster the black lung benefits act, and extend the benefits to anyone who lost their job prior to retirement age – both forward and back. Use the tariffs on solar panels to pay for it. Let Manchin be the figurehead for the bill and push it through. It’ll be cheap, and it’ll be popular in Kentucky as well.
This is what happened to the longshoremen – containerization was such a radical improvement in costs that they just bought everyone out for life. It was cheaper than not containerizing. This isn’t hard.
Martin
@West of the Rockies: Hey, old bastard left dynasty team for also-ran, heads to SB for the 10th time.
Sometimes you gotta shake the cup and see what comes out.
dmsilev
From the FTNYT:
West of the Rockies
@Martin:
I hear that, but the Rams should have gotten an excellent QB whisperer instead. How many playoff games has Stafford won in, what, a dozen seasons in the black and blue division?
RaflW
@NotMax: I pretty much make a point of never watching Zuckerberg. I find him to be among the most robotic squelchers of life-energy.
That said, have folks seen the SNL cold open tonight? What was that Zuck character doing? Has he really acted like that on camera somewhere?
Chetan Murthy
@RaflW: It’s called “The Dab”. You can look it up. Paul Ryan once did it. It’s one of those Kidz Things.
rikyrah
@Benw:
Yesss???
Cam-WA
I think we may be missing something here…although Manchin talks like a DINO, his voting record, when his vote is really needed, is quite good. He votes R when it doesn’t matter. It’s probably the only way he survives as with a D after his name in a very red state.
The proof of the pudding will be in the eating. With the 50-50 split, he’ll have to vote D more frequently than he has in the past, and we’ll see if he’s up to it.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@West of the Rockies:
Narrator: He was seriously contemplating doing so
Amir Khalid
@dmsilev:
I would be tempted to let the Orange One conduct a pro se defence just to watch the train wreck as it happens.
RedDirtGirl
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Oh, to watch Firefly for the first time….
Enjoy!!!!
Chetan Murthy
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Please tell me you’ve watched Cowboy Bebop.
NotMax
@Amir Khalid
Gilded ball bearings in hand.
Starboard Tack
@RedDirtGirl:
Oh, yes. Maybe if I get dementia I can do that a few times before I’m completely doolally.
John Revolta
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Seriously, if I’m Trump, I’m gonna be thinking along these lines myself. There’s no way he’s getting convicted, so why not save some $$ and maybe get to do a little showboating in the bargain?
Ruckus
@WaterGirl:
Do they think the $600 that is supposed to arrive some time is all that’s necessary? Freaking senators make $174,000/yr. Average income in WV is $72,858. Median is $46,711 which is only higher than Mississippi. By $1700. Joe makes $101,000 higher income than average in his own state. And he’s worried about $600. He makes 100k higher than the median income in all but 9 states. He makes 90K higher than the median in every state.
OGLiberal
@Ahasuerus: From the Vanity Fair article, quoting Ezra Cohen-Watnick. If he’s saying this, then 1/6 was really worse than we imagined. Remember, this is a late term Flynn guy Trump forced into the Pentagon (he has also recently come out to strongly refute Q…many Q folks think he is Q):
“The president threw us under the bus. And when I say ‘us,’ I don’t mean only us political appointees or only us Republicans. He threw America under the bus. He caused a lot of damage to the fabric of this country. Did he go and storm the Capitol himself? No. But he, I believe, had an opportunity to tamp things down and he chose not to. And that’s really the fatal flaw. I mean, he’s in charge. And when you’re in charge, you’re responsible for what goes wrong”
ETA: Could be damage control.
Ruckus
@Amir Khalid:
Worked in a city mental health center for 3 1/2 yrs as a volunteer. I have no need to listen to a certifiable lunatic rant and rave and prove how absolutely mentally fucked up he is. I might find it entertaining to listen to the roll call vote to impeach, to see how many of those on the right are also certifiable. I’m going with, at the very least, most of them.
gwangung
@OGLiberal: Hm. Wonder what it looks like if Moscow Mitch “allows” 24 of his caucus to be absent from the conviction vote?
Martin
@Amir Khalid: Honestly, I think the President should be required to respond in person for their actions. Not representing himself, but these are elected officials and as such should have to personally answer for their actions.
fuckwit
Fuck that guy. Make DC and Puerto Rico states. Do it RIGHT NOW. We get 4 new Senators, problem solved. Nothing else is more important, except maybe putting Hawley and Cruz behind bars, thus removing their votes.
Chris T.
There may be no “I” but there is “meat”. Also “me” and “tea”. Meat me a tea, mate!
NotMax
@Chris T.
More to the point, there’s no “Q” in team.
;)
rikyrah
I hope a frontpager sees this.
Absolutely amazing???
rikyrah
@BR:
Get a few high quality infrastructure projects going in WV
rikyrah
@HumboldtBlue:
Yep??
CaseyL
@rikyrah: I saw that on Twitter! … and I wanted to make an offer on the place : D
rikyrah
@dmsilev: Call the cops on these muthaphuckas????
Winston
Looks like Firefly is only on Hulu. A substitute avail on Netflix is Dark Matter.
Chetan Murthy
@rikyrah: These fuckers shot down the site for an hour. They included a protestor dressed up as a cop who tried to direct people to exit the site. The cops came and dispersed them gently and without violence. Gosh I wonder why. Impeding access to needed medical care. Impersonating a police officer. All they got was a gentle tap on the shoulder and “please disperse”. Fuckers.
They’re gonna do this again in an open-carry state, strapped. This ain’t the end of these shenanigans.
Brachiator
@NotMax:
There is, oddly enough, a “Q” in the Continuum.
Star Trek
Chetan Murthy
@Winston: I tried to watch Dark Matter. Dozed off in the first episode. It was … too boring already.
LeftCoastYankee
To quote an old coach I (briefly) had:
There’s never an “I” in team, and sometimes there’s no “U” either…..
NotMax
@fuckwit
Neither can be done (snaps fingers) like that.
There are Constitutional wrinkles to be ironed out or amended regarding D.C., and in Puerto Rico the main political parties are deeply split three ways – for statehood, for maintaining status quo or for independence.
Also, assuming representation from Puerto Rico will be solidly D is not by any means a guarantee. For one thing, traditionally conservative church dogma holds powerful sway among swaths of the population.
NotMax
@Brachiator
In fact, a Qornucopia of ’em.
:)
Mary G
@rikyrah: I know! I loved that, and had saved it for a respite thread. It’s amazing, with so many details.
Chetan Murthy
@NotMax: latest referendum: https://ballotpedia.org/Puerto_Rico_Statehood_Referendum_(2020)
52-48, yes statehood.
NotMax
@Chetan Murthy
Non-binding, and not sanctioned by the DOJ.
There’s currently a simmering brouhaha going on over the new governor funding a team of “shadow representation” to be sent to D.C.
NotMax
@Chetan Murthy – @NotMax
Further, from your link,
burnspbesq
@Yutsano:
Indeed, and not just at Manchin and Sinema. If they can get over their institutional hubris, there’s a message there for FTFNYT and WaPo as well.
NotMax
@burnspbesq
Surreptitiously inquiring of Collins where she gets the furrowed brow appliques.
Starboard Tack
@rikyrah:
There’s lots of beautiful places in W. Virginia. Lots of recreation possibilities. It’s touched by the Appalachian Trail in the east. I did a rafting trip on the New River yonks ago, and there’s other rivers, too. Better roads couldn’t hurt.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Starboard Tack: If you’re offered a rafting trip on California’s New River, don’t walk RUN AWAY.
WaterGirl
@Winston: I nearly went full church lady on you, with all caps.
There is no substitute for Firefly.
Miss Bianca
@The Pale Scot: And, I am chagrined that I wrote “Mel” not “Mal”. I would plead typo, but the “e” and the “a” aren’t even next to each other on the keyboard!
evodevo
@PJ:
Grudge-holding is embedded deep in our evolutionary history…a LOT of mammals hold grudges, as any farmer/horse owner can testify….I’ve watched horses I owned wait till the dominant mare in the pecking order, who was a total bully toward subordinates, was tied up for hoof inspection and dart in quickly to administer a nip and then dash for cover, knowing the boss mare was not able to retaliate at that moment lol – tit for tat is the rule among herd animals…and they remember each and every slight.
dfh
Scorch city, John! Excellent.
J R in WV
@WaterGirl:
I dunno about the AZ station, but WSAZ has a reporter in DC, probably a free-lance who works for many TV stations in the fly-over land to give the impression they have a bureau in DC.
They do have multiple studios in WV, based in Huntington, WV they also have a complete modern studio in Charleston, which is the state capitol.
[ETA: Their local news is hosted from both locations, they are the only real TV news in central and SW WVa.]
In this case Joe is making himself look like a raw beginner.