Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Speaker Mike Johnson is a vile traitor to the House and the Constitution.

Wake up. Grow up. Get in the fight.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

Every reporter and pundit should have to declare if they ever vacationed with a billionaire.

Trump makes a mockery of the legal system and cowardly judges just sit back and let him.

When we show up, we win.

Fuck that bum, let’s go Joe!

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

It could be worse. Vance could have said “post-menopausal sows.” Waiting for that audiotape to surface.

If you’re pissed about Biden’s speech, he was talking about you.

They’re not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

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

Republicans: slavery is when you own me. freedom is when I own you.

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

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

If you are in line to indict donald trump, stay in line.

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

FFS people, this was a good thing. take the win.

He wakes up lying, and he lies all day.

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

Donald Trump, welcome to your everything, everywhere, all at once.

The revolution will be supervised.

You are here: Home / Economics / C.R.E.A.M. / Dark Night of the Soulless Open Thread: ‘A Personality in Search of A Cult’

Dark Night of the Soulless Open Thread: ‘A Personality in Search of A Cult’

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I try to avoid sexist metaphors, but let’s be honest: At this point, Sinema’s publicly demonstrated her vote is for sale; now she’s just negotiating a price point.

The best way to get a fawning profile from the Politico/Axios axis is to take policy stances that favor the material interests of editors at Politico and Axios as opposed to your typical constituent…

Reader Interactions

30Comments

  1. 1.

    Omnes Omnibus

    I said it in an earlier thread. Elite media thinks she’s cool. She isn’t. She’s trying too hard. Actual cool people are comfortable in their own skin.

  2. 2.

    Winston

    I can’t believe a documentary of Insperation4 has appeared on Netflix within 2 weeks of it happening. It is great. Must see even if you have to subscribe. Look for Countdown; Inspiration4.

  3. 3.

    piratedan

    lets be honest, its a seller’s market in this Senate vote environment and Senator Sinema is looking to move in this “hot market”. Shame that so many of us on this blog give more of shit for our fellow Americans and the future of our country than she apparently does. Lends cover to the “both sides do it” diatribe and that it reflects so poorly on our party and our nation that she has been elected to “represent” us.

  4. 4.

    Cathie from Canada

    Democrats need to bring back earmarks.
    Your government is dysfunctional and the only way Biden will ever be able to get things done is by bribing Senators and Representatives. So bribe them — call it something else, like Special Incentive Employment Designations. or some other bafflegab, but let them get some money for their districts in exchange for their vote.

  5. 5.

    NotMax

    @Cathie from Canada

    Already a done deal (WaPo link from this spring).

    The return of congressional earmarks has sparked a massive dash for cash on Capitol Hill, where more than 300 House Democrats and Republicans have sought nearly $21 billion in federal funding to help their home districts and pet projects — and shore up their reelection prospects.

    The sheer volume of the requests sets the stage for some difficult decision-making — and fierce behind-the-scenes haggling — on the part of House lawmakers who revived the once-maligned spending practice this year as a way to build political coalitions in an ever-divided Washington.

    Every House Democrat except one has submitted an earmark request. In total, they have sought funding for nearly $14 billion in projects, while just over half of the chamber’s Republicans have appealed for a combined $7 billion, according to new congressional data analyzed by The Washington Post. The breakdown reflects the bipartisan appetite for federal aid, even as some in the GOP remain wary about resurrecting a process they helped to dismantle about a decade ago.
    [snip]
    Much like the House, the Senate similarly has opened its doors for earmarks this year. Democrats led by Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, the chamber’s top appropriator, announced his plans in April, though Republicans have sent mixed signals about the extent of their participation. In gathering last month to adopt their party’s rules, Republicans ultimately did not vote to lift a longtime ban on earmarks. Yet the conference’s regulations are not binding, meaning lawmakers can seek project funding anyway — something that some Senate Republicans already said they would do.
    [snip]
    On the Democratic side, meanwhile, the only member who opted against filing for earmarks was Rep. Katie Porter (Calif.), who publicly has said the House is wrong to have revived a practice that has in the past facilitated corruption. Source

  6. 6.

    Kayla Rudbek

    Open thread: I am trying to talk myself out of getting some of Bernat’s blanket yarn to make a mosaic knit blanket like this one. Joann’s is doing a sale so the yarn would be cheaper, but 1) we have enough blankets on the couch already 2) if I don’t make it for myself or someone local, it’s going to be a massive pain to ship 3) I have enough yarn to knit a nice cabled blanket already.

    On the other hand, I’ve wanted to make this blanket since this summer (I’ve wanted to make a blanket in general for most of this year) and it would be nice to use my larger knitting needles for a change…and I don’t recall that my mother-in-law has very many blankets for her couch or living room chair.

  9. 9.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Kayla Rudbek:

    On the other hand, I’ve wanted to make this blanket since this summer (I’ve wanted to make a blanket in general for most of this year) and it would be nice to use my larger knitting needles for a change…and I don’t recall that my mother-in-law has very many blankets for her couch or living room chair.

    Winter is fast approaching. Think of the chilly couch and chair. ?

  12. 12.

    Tony Gerace

    @Omnes Omnibus: Politicians who are owned by billionairs adopt a persoa to fool the rubes.  In most cases this persona involves Jesus and thinly disguised whites supremacy. Sinema has come up with a slightly new routine, but its appeal is wearing thin  .

  14. 14.

    Geminid

    @p.a.: In 2012, Sinema won a new Arizona Congressional seat created after reapportionment. She then joined the Blue Dog Caucus. So Arizona Democrats knew she was positioning herself on the conservative side of their national party. When Sinema ran for the Senate in 2018, she had opponents to her left, but none had ever held elective office and she won easily. I think her narrow win over Martha McSally in the general election was a pleasant surprise, since she was the first Democrat elected Senator from the state since Dennis DeConcini over two decades before.

    But I doubt if many people forsaw this situation, where she has obstructed a Democratic President’s agenda, and in such a maddening way. Democrats might have been inclined to cut her some slack as a Democrat in a red state, who had to take a triangulating, centrist approach to be politically viable. But now Arizona has become (apparently) a purple state. Joe Biden and Mark Kelly ran as regular Democrats and carried Arizona, albeit narrowly. Their vote totals were record highs for that state. Arizona Democrats now have good reason to believe that a more liberal candidate could win the seat Sinema now holds in 2024.

    Mark Kelly’s reelection contest next year will give a better picture of where the Arizona electorate is at, and maybe where it is headed. And for now, Arizona Democrats have to put all their energy into that race anyway. Then they can grapple with the Sinema problem. If she in fact scuttles the Presidents agenda, I don’t think there is enough corporate money out there to make Sinema prevail in a primary contest with a more regular Democrat like Phoenix Congressman Greg Stanton. Arizona does allow Independents* to vote in primaries, but that would be a weak reed for Sinema to lean on, and I understand that her polling among Arizona Independents is trending downeards also.

    * When Arizona voting rolls closed before last November’s election, registrations showed Republicans at 35%, Democrats at 32%, and Independents at 31.7%. The last two numbers merited news stories because this was the first time in decades that Democratic registrations caught up with that of Independents.

  15. 15.

    Betty

    @p.a.:  From what I have read from her voters, this a complete turnaround. There are several videos around with opposite takes on key issues. She loves the attention.

  16. 16.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    I try to avoid sexist metaphors, but let’s be honest: At this point, Sinema’s publicly demonstrated her vote is for sale; now she’s just negotiating a price point.

    So without a doubt Sinema is a physically attractive woman. But compare her to OCT. OCT uses her looks to get you to listen to what she says, Sinema uses her looks to get you to stop listing to what she is saying. And it’s clear the press has stopped listing and just worships her. Makes sense, Sinema isn’t viscous like MTG or forces the press to engage in the horrible act of thinking like that monster OCT. These are members of the fourth branch of government OCT, the woman has no decency! No with Sinema they can just look at her pretty face and write happy little articles about bipartisanship.

    Anyway, it’s pretty hard to not see a woman as a sex worker when “good looking” is clearly her sole talent.

  17. 17.

    Geminid

    @Betty: A commenter, who lived in Arizona for some years before moving to Pennsylvania, observed that Sinema is a social climber, so her present behavior may be in character.

  20. 20.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Geminid: ​
     

    Arizona Democrats knew she was positioning herself on the conservative side of their national party.

    There’d be nothing wrong with that, if she had actual positions on the content of the recon bill that she was arguing from. But what Axios disgustingly fawns over her about is her apparent lack of any coherent positions. That’s what they think is cool about her, as much as the way she dresses. She won’t support the bill, but she won’t tell us why.

    That sort of game-playing would be fine if she was flirting at a party. Not letting on whether she felt like going home with a man or a woman tonight would be perfectly OK – hell, she might be figuring out herself which she was in the mood for.

    But if you’re in Congress, you should know what parts of a key piece of legislation like this are important to you (either for or against) and why, and more important – because this is a fucking representative democracy – her constituents should know. But even they are in the dark here.

    She’s not fighting for what she believes in, assuming she has any beliefs other than the importance of creating an interesting public persona. She’s just fucking around for her own pleasure, as she toys with the fate of a bill that will affect the lives of millions.

  22. 22.

    Argiope

    @Kayla Rudbek: Treat yourself!  Go on, it’s on sale and you will enjoy making it regardless of where it ends up.   It will keep you off the streets and out of trouble. Yarn is cheaper than cocaine. (Can you tell I’m a veteran yarn purchase rationalizer?)

  23. 23.

    Geminid

    @lowtechcyclist: I notice that even among the House Blue Dog Caucus there seems to be support for Pelosi and Biden’s agenda, although they probably hope for a reconciliation bill that totals less than $3.5 trillion. I understand that Josh Gottheimer tried to get his cohorts to sign onto another nefarious letter yesterday  and had no takers. And what can he do to unlink the two infrastructure bills anyway? Hold his breath until he turns Blue?

  24. 24.

    Geminid

    @eclare: Ocotillos Can’t Tapdance? They can’t, you know.

    But I suspect the acronym was intended to name the Congresswoman from NYC some skeptics refer to as Always On Camera.

  26. 26.

    matt the somewhat reasonable

    I saw an ad for diet wine the other day. I think our little undergraduate in the Senate would love that.

  28. 28.

    Another Scott

    I think many of us are going overboard in demonizing Sinema.  Yes, she has been a bit inscrutable (she has no Issues section on her campaign website).  Yes, she is flippant with the press (but don’t the DC press often deserve to be treated with contempt?).  Yes, it would be much better if she we’re so intent on being Bipartisan when that ship has sailed (but so is Mark Warner (though he is much less so after almost losing his last election))…

    Schumer kept his secret agreement with Manchin to delay action until after October 1.  Maybe there is a similar secret paper with her, maybe not.

    It’s a mistake to fall for the Politico / Axios framing of her.  It really doesn’t matter if she likes wine (TFG didn’t).  Or dresses in ways that “Dress for Success” says are wrong (Cindi Lauper does too – still).  Dumping misogynistic tropes on her won’t make her (or anyone else) easier to deal with.  What matters is getting her vote.  And we will, through the hard work of compromise.  That’s the way legislation happens.

    My $0.02.

    Cheers,

    Scott.

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