Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I’m just a talker, trying to find a channel!

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

Hot air and ill-informed banter

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

Their freedom requires your slavery.

My right to basic bodily autonomy is not on the table. that’s the new deal.

Their boy Ron is an empty plastic cup that will never know pudding.

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

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

You are so fucked. Still, I wish you the best of luck.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

Tide comes in. Tide goes out. You can’t explain that.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

Narcissists are always shocked to discover other people have agency.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

When the time comes to make an endorsement, the pain of NYT editors will be palpable as they reluctantly whisper “Biden.”

Pelosi: “He either is stupid, or he thinks the rest of us are.” Why not both?

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

T R E 4 5 O N

Roe isn’t about choice, it’s about freedom.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

… pundit janitors mopping up after the gop

You are here: Home / Politics / Biden Administration in Action / Tuesday Morning Open Thread: Once Again, for the Slow and/or Stubborn

Tuesday Morning Open Thread: Once Again, for the Slow and/or Stubborn

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  2. 2.

    debbie

    One question from this slow person: What was Biden’s spending on Jen’s chart? What’s been spent to date or what they expect the infrastructure, etc. bills to cost on an annual basis?

  3. 3.

    Baud

    @rikyrah: Good morning.

    @OP

    To be fair, a dictatorship run by a truly benevolent and nigh-omniscient dictator would be great! Unfortunately, such a creature does not exist

    Why his BJ hosting anti-Baud! propaganda?

  4. 4.

    dr. bloor

    —Biden and Democrats assume Republicans would never allow default and will at least drop the filibuster.

    Might also be a good time for Manchin and Sinema to try out the “just the tip” approach to filibuster reform.

  9. 9.

    eclare

    Yay!  My Rep, Cohen.

    Question:  I’ve been thinking about ditching the Comcast box and getting a Roku, maybe with YouTube TV instead.  Does anyone have any pros or cons?  I have an older, not smart, but still good tv that I like.

  11. 11.

    gvg

    I want to know when the mandate will actually happen. Supposed to be a workplace safety reg coming “soon”. When? I work for my state so I don’t think we get covered by that, unfortunately but if such a reg is enforced, more of the people around me will get vaccinated and that will increase my safety.

  12. 12.

    Jeffro

    They’re always ok with a dictator when it’s THEIR dictator…otherwise, it’s obstruct, delay, and cause havoc until their next try at installing a dictator administration.

  17. 17.

    Betty Cracker

    I’ve heard it argued that the Biden admin and Dems in congress shouldn’t waste time trying to shame the Repubs on the debt ceiling issue because Repubs are incapable of shame. That’s the wrong way to look at it, IMO. If you take their obstruction as a given, it normalizes terrible behavior. We do too much of that with Republicans, which encourages even more fuckery. I favor maximum shaming. With visual aids!

  19. 19.

    Soprano2

    I had a conservative friend tell me the other day that a dictatorship is the best form of government if you have a benevolent leader.

    Of course we all know that what they mean by “benevolent” is “imposes everything I want to have in force”, or “makes the world completely comfortable for people like me”.

  20. 20.

    Baud

    @Betty Cracker: 

    I agree. There’s this false sense out there that messaging has to be action forcing to be worthwhile. Messaging is also necessary for accountability and educating people.

  21. 21.

    Soprano2

    @dr. bloor: I think it should not be that hard to sell it, either. “Look we cannot default, and we’ve tried everything to get Republicans onboard but McConnell won’t budge. There isn’t time to use reconciliation. Do you really want to be responsible for the U.S. defaulting on our debt?” It’s ridiculous, if Republicans wouldn’t filibuster it the debt ceiling would already have been taken care of with just Democratic votes! It infuriates me that the press doesn’t mention this every time they talk about the debt ceiling debacle. There is an easy way out of this, but Republicans won’t allow it because they’re playing politics with the debt ceiling, which is a ridiculous thing that they should get rid of.

  22. 22.

    Ken

    @Soprano2: Dictatorship is like theocracy, in that everyone who favors either imagines they will be the ones in charge.  There may be some deeper failure of empathy or imagination in play.

  23. 23.

    Soprano2

    @Betty Cracker:  I love Psaki’s visual – we need more of that for the members of the press who are especially slow and unwilling to cover this in the way it should be covered.

  24. 24.

    NotMax

    @eclare

    Roku is the the cat’s knees and the bee’s pajamas. IMHO.

    Appreciate no end that they continue to offer models without a panoply of bells and whistles, features for which I would never have a use.

    Caveat: a very, very small sliver of some older* TVs may balk at the Roku sticks; no similart probs along those lines with the Roku boxes that I’ve ever read or heard about.

    *Off the top of the head guesstimate would be more than 12 years old, and even then only certain brands/models.

  25. 25.

    zhena gogolia

    @Betty Cracker: I feel the same way about the constant emphasis on Manchin and Sinema. Why don’t the reporters ask about the vast numbers of Republicans who don’t want to help the American public?

  26. 26.

    GregMulka

    @eclare: 

    Have two Roku Ultras in the house. They work better than the samsung smart tv that’s about 6 years old and I haven’t even bothered to hook the new tv to the network. My biggest problem is one of the dogs likes to express displeasure by eating the rubber parts of a remote and the replacements are 50/50 for working with my audio equipment.

  30. 30.

    Baud

    @zhena gogolia:

    While the media sucks, that’s really not where the drama is right now.

    That said, when a reconciliation deal is struck, we should be emphasizing all the good it does and that every Republican voted against it.  I fear too many people will focus on what we had to give up to secure passage rather than what we got.

  33. 33.

    Chyron HR

    I had a conservative friend tell me the other day that a dictatorship is the best form of government if you have a benevolent leader. He qualified that this rarely happens. But I was shocked and dismayed. Is this really what they want?

    No, they want a malevolent one, they just need to lie about it.

  34. 34.

    NotMax

    @eclare

    For the record, I have a non-smart plasma set. 51″ Samsung, IIRC the size correctly.

    (Plasmas ceased production about 2014.)

  36. 36.

    What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?

    @eclare: I did that exact thing a three or so years back and it’s saved me about $100 a month – over three years that’s real money. The downside is it will take a little time for the Youtube TV app to load (just like with Netflix).

    Also, you have to learn how to access the content, which I figured out in the course of a day or so but…my 81 year old MIL has been staying with us during the pandemic and she absolutely cannot figure out the Roku controls. Things I like: The unlimited DVR, the channel lineup features the sports channels I need, there’s lots of “with ads” on demand content.

    The interface is not as easy to use as cable if what you want to do is watch cable, but once you have stuff added to your library it’s really user friendly to access the content you want. There’s more of a lag when you switch from one channel or program to another than cable but it’s fine. To put my mother in law’s struggles with it into context…she has an iPhone that she uses as a phone and every once in a while she might use the text app but whether she even knows she’s gotten or sent a text is 50-50. She can’t use the browser app or any of the other apps on the phone. She just has the iPhone because it looks like everyone else’s phone but she could use a 20 year old Ericsson phone and it would do everything she actually does with her phone.

  37. 37.

    Steve in the ATL

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: there is a lot of legal debate going on these days about whether the mandate for government contractors applies to all employees of the companies or just to employees who work in the parts of those companies that deal with the government contracts.

  39. 39.

    NotMax

    Hardly unexpected but nevertheless royally bummed by the recent announcement that Sears is closing up shop on Maui in mid-November.

    :(

  40. 40.

    Ksmiami

    Mint the Coin- If it’s good enough for Krugman, it’s good enough for me. Then tell Americans that we won’t negotiate with terrorists in the Republican party

  41. 41.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Baud:

    That said, when a reconciliation deal is struck, we should be emphasizing all the good it does and that every Republican voted against it.  I fear too many people will focus on what we had to give up to secure passage rather than what we got.

    This is one reason why I think that when they agree on a topline, whether it’s 1.5T, 2.2T, or whatever, they should cut years off the back end, rather than cut any programs.  1.5T fully funds everything for 4 years, 2.2T fully funds for six.

    That maximizes our chances to hold on to the House and pick up a couple of Senate seats next year, and then we can use reconciliation in 2023 to tack on more years.  And maybe finally kill the filibuster for good.

  44. 44.

    Kay

    Liberal democracy is not efficient because it theoretically gives everyone a seat at the table. It means that sweeping change is hard, and requires herculean efforts. But that’s okay, because the goal is to keep everyone working within the same system, even when it’s going bad.
    — Jeff Fecke (@jkfecke)

    What a mess. The goal isn’t to keep everyone working within the same system. That’s a recipe for a system that never improves. Accepting this ridiculous debt limit mechanism over and over again or ‘the filibuster’ as an inevitable part of “liberal democracy” just means it stays broken. You can expect better government than that. That’s allowed.

  46. 46.

    Ksmiami

    @Kay: we need an entire upgrade- or the system will go under. When a small and crazy minority can continue to control the majority the system will fail

  49. 49.

    The Very Reverend Crimson Fire of Compassion

    @eclare: Had a Roku for a few years now.  I’m not a techno-geek and can only speak from my own experience, but we’ve never had reason to regret it.

     

    @eclare:

  50. 50.

    senyordave

    I saw this on Yahoo News:
    Sen. Susan Collins floats GOP support for a debt limit hike in exchange for Democrats abandoning Biden’s $3.5 trillion social spending plan

    I guess after she won re-election Collins decided she could stop pretending to be a moderate Republican. But I’m sure she is doing all this with a deeply furrowed brow.

  51. 51.

    Soprano2

    @Chyron HR: No, they want a malevolent one, they just need to lie about it.

    But to them it would be benevolent, because it would impose all the things they like and want. No one ever imagines that a “benevolent dictator” would do things they don’t like. IMHO it’s one of the worst tropes in fantasy novels – the benevolent dictator that we fight for.

  54. 54.

    NotMax

    @lowtechcyclist

    Cutting off the back end is problematic as what with design, environmental approval, etc., etc., it could take well over 4 (or 6) years to build out projects.

    Red tape don’t come cheap.

  55. 55.

    Nelle

    @zhena gogolia: Ralph Warnock gets a donation from me for reframing this last summer.  He asked why he was repeatedly asked about Manchin and Sinema while reporters weren’t asking Republicans why they were against voting rights and helping the American public.

    Reframing is vital and I often need it.  We all need other voices to jolt us.  When Nicole Hannah-Jones was asked if she was letting the bastards win by not taking the reluctantly offered tenure position at North Carolina,  she replied that she wasn’t playing that game.  I’ve used that framing to re-evaluate several contentious issues lately.

  56. 56.

    JAFD

    In other pandemic news, some folk in NYC have decided ’tis ‘back to normal’ enuf, and so tomorrow night, “Wednesday, October 6th at 7 pm Eastern,  live music at Carnegie Hall returns with the Opening Night Gala concert”

    ‘Twill be webcast live on wqxr.org.  The program is

    The Philadelphia Orchestra
    Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor

    Valerie Coleman: Seven O’Clock Shout

    Dmitri Shostakovich: Piano Concerto No. 2
              Yuja Wang, piano

    Leonard Bernstein: Overture to Candide

    Iman Habibi: Jeder Baum spricht

    Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 5

    (‘V for Victory’, I hope ? )

    Hope yon classical music stan jackals will enjoy

  57. 57.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    omniscient dictator would be great! Unfortunately, such a creature does not exist, and even if they did, we’d still have to find a way to work with the people who didn’t like the perfect world that was created.

    The Russians have tried Dictatorship over and over again to solve their problems. I am sure one of these days they will find the right guy.

  58. 58.

    jnfr

    @eclare: ​

    We just dropped DirecTV and went full streaming with Sling on our Roku. We already used it a lot for Netflix. So far so good, and saving a lot of money.

    We also have only non-smart TVs but we love the Roku devices.

  59. 59.

    nevsky42

    Clicking on the  Psaki video led me down a rabbit hole to a tweet with this ad for Charles Graham:

    https://secure.actblue.com/donate/hayespond

    Wow, it blew me away and I donated right there, but all I got from his website is that he’s running as a Democrat in rural NC.  Is there anybody who can say more about him?

  61. 61.

    frosty

    @eclare: We’ve just done this because we’re tired of paying Tucker Carlson’s salary. Be aware that all the streaming services (Hulu, Fubo, etc) carry Fox News. We are Amazon Prime members and use that for a lot of what we watch. The Roku got better reviews than Firestick etc. and we like it.

    The NFL was the main difficulty. My sons (OK, and me) are Ravens fans and NFL doesn’t put there games anywhere except the networks. So now we have a TV antenna for the first time in decades and the games come in very clearly.

    I had help from a guy my wife knows from her Next Door progressives group who has done a lot of home network stuff and is also a retired electrician / electrical engineer.

  62. 62.

    Kay

    @NotMax:

    They won’t accept a shorter time span for the clean energy standards because they need the full ten years to have any impact on climate. The progressive caucus already said that’s their red line. The rest is negotiable, IMO. It’s smart. No one outside energy producers will even notice or understand the clean energy standards so lawmakers won’t be subject to political pressure to extend them, compared to something like the advance and increase in the child tax credit, which will be hard to take away from people. They’re not approaching this as just a grab bag where each part is equal or wholly dependent on who screams loudest, although that’s the media narrative.

  63. 63.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Ksmiami: Even the Republicans want it passed. The problem is the Republicans want it both ways; blame the Democrats for the spending while take credit for the infrastructure projects.  So it’s a giant game of chicken right now.

    Just another example of the utter medicatory, cowardice and sloth of these people.

  64. 64.

    Kay

    @NotMax:

    The conservative D’s alternative to the clean energy standards timeline was ten years until it starts, which is just embarrasingly dishonest and weak, an offer so bad it qualifies as bad faith- so they feel like they already beat that back.

  65. 65.

    jackmac

    @NotMax: ​
     Sears is also closing its last store in Illinois, the state in which it was founded and just a few miles from corporate headquarters. It feels like end game for Sears.

  68. 68.

    Matt McIrvin

    I’ve heard “dictatorship is best if you have a GOOD one” from conservatives for decades. It’s an old line.

    Aside from the question of what they define as a good one, there’s the obvious retort: “Until the dictator dies, or becomes corrupted by power.” This was the perennial problem in old-time monarchies, after all. Sometimes you get good kings. You’re not guaranteed a good one. You’re not guaranteed good leaders in a democracy, either. But when you get a bad one, you have some recourse other than revolution.

    This is never an eternal, static situation. We have democracy so that we have a corrective mechanism. Conservatives are constantly trying to erode democracy so that only the people they consider best and wisest have a voice–that, they think, will get them better leaders. But even the best and wisest don’t know what’s going on everywhere. Every human being can perceive the situation around them, and deserves that voice.

  69. 69.

    Soprano2

    @jackmac: Sears closed their store here in the mall a couple of years ago. It’s a big hole in a relatively thriving mall. It’s kind of sad, how a hedge fund guy destroyed Sears, but everything has a life cycle and I think Sears was close to the end anyway.

  70. 70.

    Kay

    jordan
    @JordanUhl
    · 15h
    A DACA recipient named Karina tried to ask Kyrsten Sinema if she’d support a pathway to citizenship for immigrants and Sinema refused to answer.
    If Karina was a corporation and held a giant fundraiser for Sinema, maybe she’d get an answer

    Polite, yet Queen Sinema still won’t deign to speak to her. She simply refuses to speak to anyone. I don’t know- is running away from your constituents and addressing them only thru “statements” written by your communications team the actions of a brave maverick? Looks pretty cowardly to me.

  71. 71.

    Just Chuck

    @Soprano2: Ironic that Sears couldn’t manage the shift from brick-and-mortar stores when they started out as a mail-order company in the first place.  Fun fact: one of their original brands was Acme, and one thing they sold under that brand was anvils.

  72. 72.

    hueyplong

    @Matt McIrvin: This dictatorship talk seems a little contrary to the writings of the Founders.  Apparently the only things they really like about the Founders are: (1) their inclusion of the Second Amendment; and (2) their status as slaveowners.

  73. 73.

    Suzanne

    Back to the topic of why is Sinema such a pain in the ass, I wanted to direct y’all to this piece in the LA Times, which incidentally contains the answer.

    ”Indeed, polling in Arizona shows Sinema more popular with segments of the GOP, notably suburban women, than she is with some Democrats.”

    ”Suburban women” in Phoenix area = Mormon moms. Like I have been saying.

    As much as y’all hate it, this is the coalition there. Sinema has threaded a needle there. I think everyone needs to accept the reality that if she loses a primary, Dems are unlikely to keep the seat.

  75. 75.

    topclimber

    @Baud: If there is such a dictatorship the body politic will cry out for anti-baudies. I warned you about that ego.

  77. 77.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Kay: one of the reasons I find it so funny that she’s said to be very intentionally trying to make herself into John McCain is that she lacks, first and foremost, the legend of McCain’s military service (and the cluster of be-daddy-issued, guilt-ridden Baby Boomers at NBC to constantly keep said legend in the spotlight), but also McCain’s ability to court the media in general and, whatever else you want to say about him, he wasn’t afraid to interact with people

  79. 79.

    Ksmiami

    @Suzanne: I’m really struggling with the fact she’s actively harming Biden and the party though. She’s a flake and a dipshit. Focus on other races – she’s done

  80. 80.

    frosty

    @Soprano2: Sears made a huge corporate mistake when online retailing started up. They made their reputation selling goods by mail order. Everybody ordered from the Sears catalog. They had a history of selling remotely, but when Amazon came along they looked at it and said “Meh, online bookstore.” and didn’t do anything. Amazon pivoted to selling everything and Sears et al. got beat and now they’re on the way out.​

    ETA @Just Chuck: ​beat me to it!

  81. 81.

    Kay

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    She looks scared in the interaction with the DACA recipient. I don’t think she’s good with people.

    They get really good at it, talented politicians. I watched Marcy Kaptur shut down a 9/11 truther so skillfully he didn’t even know she shut him up. Just this year I watched Sherrod Brown redirect an anti-abortion preacher who was attempting to dominate a town hall. It’s a skill. But you have to genuinely like people and be comfortable with them.

  84. 84.

    Soprano2

    @Just Chuck: Well, they were bought by a hedge fund manager who destroyed them and sucked all the money out for himself. I think he ended up owning a lot of the buildings Sears occupied, so he was paying himself rent. Not a bad thing on the face of it, but what he did to Sears was unforgivable. He took a viable retail company and destroyed it because he didn’t understand the first thing about how retail actually works.

  85. 85.

    Soprano2

    @Suzanne: I think everyone needs to accept the reality that if she loses a primary, Dems are unlikely to keep the seat.

    OK, but then how did Mark Kelly win his seat? Plus, I would think Mormon moms would look favorably on things like DACA reform. I think it’s bad form to run away from your constituents no matter who you are.

  86. 86.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Soprano2: Katie Hobbs also holds statewide office (SoS) and is running for governor. And I’ve seen local journalists say the rolling clown show of the “audit” pissed off a lot of people. In any case, we’ve got to get through 2022 before we start worrying about 2024

  87. 87.

    Steve in the ATL

    @Soprano2: Eddie Lampert is his name and he’s a former Goldman Sachs guy. He tried to run Sears based on the principles of his idol, Ayn Rand, and the results were utterly predictable.

  88. 88.

    OzarkHillbilly

    The Canadian company Enbridge has reimbursed US police $2.4m for arresting and surveilling hundreds of demonstrators who oppose construction of its Line 3 pipeline, according to documents the Guardian obtained through a public records request.

    Enbridge has paid for officer training, police surveillance of demonstrators, officer wages, overtime, benefits, meals, hotels and equipment.
    …………………………………….
    Police have arrested more than 900 demonstrators opposing Line 3 and its impact on climate and Indigenous rights, according to the Pipeline Legal Action Network.

    It’s common for protesters opposing pipeline construction to face private security hired by companies, as they did during demonstrations against the Dakota Access pipeline. But in Minnesota, a financial agreement with a foreign company has given public police forces an incentive to arrest demonstrators.

    The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, which regulates pipelines, decided rural police should not have to pay for increased strain from Line 3 protests. As a condition of granting Line 3 permits, the commission required Enbridge to set up an escrow account to reimburse police for responding to demonstrations.

    Enbridge told the Guardian an independent account manager allocates the funds, and police decide when protesters are breaking the law. But records obtained by the Guardian show the company meets daily with police to discuss intelligence gathering and patrols. And when Enbridge wants protesters removed, it calls police or sends letters.

    “Our police are beholden to a foreign company,” Tara Houska, founder of the Indigenous frontline group Giniw Collective, told the Guardian. “They are working hand in hand with big oil. They are actively working for a company. Their duty is owed to the state of Minnesota and to the tribal citizens of Minnesota.”

    “It’s a very clear violation of the public’s trust,” she added.

  89. 89.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Soprano2: I’m guessing Mark Kelly’s extraordinary personal story (Space Shuttle commander, husband of Gabby Giffords) helped there. A different politician with his policy preferences might not do as well.

  90. 90.

    Redshift

    @debbie:

    One question from this slow person: What was Biden’s spending on Jen’s chart? What’s been spent to date or what they expect the infrastructure, etc. bills to cost on an annual basis? 

    It’s about the debt ceiling, which is all about allowing past borrowing to go through. It has nothing to do with future spending/borrowing. (And especially nothing to do with the bills currently being negotiated, which contain tax increases to pay for them, not borrowing, which is why rich donors hate them.)

  91. 91.

    Barbara

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: ​ Re: John McCain not being afraid to interact with people. Indeed, it is more or less widely understood that his ability to interact with press people in particular is what bought him a stronger reputation for integrity and being a “maverick” than he really deserved based on his voting record. My assumption is that he really did despise Trump as well as Paul Ryan and many others, and perhaps for that reason alone refused to be the deciding vote for repealing the ACA. It also would not surprise me if it turns out that he was influenced by his wife in coming to that decision. But Meghan McCain and Kyrsten Sinema are simply fooling themselves if they think they can cultivate the same kind of maverick image by clinging to his shadow without the record of being tortured for years as a POW. You have to do something to get beyond being seen as a nepotism hire (McCain) or an embarrassing poseur (Sinema).​​​

  92. 92.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Matt McIrvin:I’m guessing Mark Kelly’s extraordinary personal story (Space Shuttle commander, husband of Gabby Giffords) helped there.

    While I tend to agree, marriage to GG might just as well have hurt him.

    A different politician with his policy preferences might not do as well.

    The same can be said about most candidates in most states. Suzanne said KS had “threaded the needle” in AZ and that we were unlikely to ever get somebody else. Mark Kelley shows there is more than one way to skin that cat.

  93. 93.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    John Harwood @JohnJHarwood 1h
    “GOP Sen Roy Blunt said ’40 or 45′ Republicans would be willing to agree to allow a debt ceiling increase to come a vote, as long as they did not have to cast a public ballot.”

    Erik Wasson @elwasson 17h
    GOP Sen @RoyBlunt tells us he and probably 44 GOP colleagues would be willing to give consent to waive debt limit filibuster but other 5-6 senator would not give UC

    McConnell, Paul, Hawley, Cruz, Lee, Blackburn, RonJohn….

  94. 94.

    Ruckus

    @Betty Cracker:

    More importantly there is a chance that their voters will see the reality, even if they don’t believe it. That may effect some in a positive way, rather than the always negative way their side always shows. Because only ever seeing the negative reenforces that their way is only way, the one they work upon the populace.

  95. 95.

    Citizen Alan

    @Soprano2:

    I had a conservative friend tell me the other day that a dictatorship is the best form of government if you have a benevolent leader.

    This is why I don’t have “conservative friends.”  Because I don’t want fucking Nazis in my life.

  96. 96.

    Barbara

    @OzarkHillbilly: ​

    Suzanne said KS had “threaded the needle” in AZ and that we were unlikely to ever get somebody else.

    With all props to Suzanne’s vastly greater knowledge about Arizona, we told ourselves that here in Virginia regarding Mark Warner. We have never been quite as red as Arizona here — we had elected alternating Democrats and Republicans for governor — but at some point the wind shifted. For me, that point occurred in 2006, when George Allen gave away his Senate seat by making stupid racist comments on videotape. It wasn’t the end of Republican rule, mostly because of gerrymandering, and people are getting nervous about McAuliffe and Youngkin, because of fear over lower turnout among Democrats. But still, the fact that KS was able to thread the needle doesn’t necessarily mean that no one else will be able to do the same. It’s not a static situation. It’s not a static population.

  97. 97.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Kay:

    They won’t accept a shorter time span for the clean energy standards because they need the full ten years to have any impact on climate. The progressive caucus already said that’s their red line. The rest is negotiable, IMO. It’s smart. No one outside energy producers will even notice or understand the clean energy standards so lawmakers won’t be subject to political pressure to extend them,

    Good point.  And according to Eric Levitz of New York magazine, reducing the cost by paying just for the first X years is a nonstarter with Manchin, who is aware of how hard it is to cut good programs once they’re up and running.  So with those two big strikes against ‘do the first X years,’ I guess it’s time to consider other options.

    Levitz proposes this:

    A third option would be to enact a small number of expansive, permanent reforms. Instead of doing many things in an austere and/or temporary way, do a few things in an unfettered, durable one. For example, you could implement Biden’s climate agenda in its entirety, make his monthly child allowance permanent, establish a paid-leave program, and invest any remaining funds into affordable housing.

    That may be the best we can do.  We definitely don’t want to pass gutted, means-tested, half-ass programs, or pass programs that won’t take effect for years.  (We already made that mistake with the ACA.)  And for me as for so many others, the climate change programs are my line in the sand.  We’ve got to do that.

  98. 98.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Just Chuck:

    Ironic that Sears couldn’t manage the shift from brick-and-mortar stores when they started out as a mail-order company in the first place.  Fun fact: one of their original brands was Acme, and one thing they sold under that brand was anvils.

    Beep, beep!

  100. 100.

    Kay

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Exactly. She’s irreplaceable until she’s not. She’s made herself extraordinarily high profile and that comes with risk. Peoples perception can change and if they don’t change based on her behavior then there’s really no point to “politics” and none of these people would work so hard to keep these seats. They’d just get in and say “well, done deal! I can do …whatever and you dopes will keep voting for me!”

    The lack of responsiveness is just weird. She understands her constituents are not paparazzi, right? Whatever you say about Manchin you can’t fault him for not speaking. He never shuts up. What’s with the “statements”? She’s a sitting senator. Can she not speak normally?

  101. 101.

    Just Chuck

    @Barbara: I don’t know about anyone else, but I consistently read “KS” as “Kansas”, and that got awful confusing.  Does she have a middle initial?

  102. 102.

    Barbara

    @Just Chuck: ​ Seriously. They can’t just stand up and say something like, “Well I’m sorry but I am not going to be the guy who prevents your mama from getting her Social Security check next month. Responsible people pay their bills on time.”​

  103. 103.

    gvg

    @frosty: I agree. Sears should have cleaned up in the internet selling era.

    Their search engine was horrible. I used to try to search for specific things and it would give me 80,000 hits, none of them seemed even relevant.  I mean I couldn’t even get it to tell me about parts for sears appliances. IMO the search feature being good is the most important. Even Amazon doesn’t always do it perfectly (ebay is actually better at that)

    Sears was doomed when the libertarian set up the company to compete against itself and individuals also. That meant people had incentive to sabotage each other if someone was doing well in sales. Talk about stupid libertarian ideas.

  104. 104.

    Nettoyeur

    @eclare: I have Internet only via Comcast, and Roku on a good but not smart LCD TV. (I avoid Smart Tv because updates eventually cease. Can always get new Roku etc). We use Amazon Prime and Netflix, had Hulu for a while. Works fine. No need for cable TV.

  105. 105.

    Suzanne

    @OzarkHillbilly: Mark Kelly is a unicorn. He is Mr. Gabby Giffords (and she had built a strong apparatus that he inherited), he is a damn soldier and astronaut, and he had the good fortune to run against the odious McSally in a very anti-Trump year. The Mormon mom contingent is less Trumpy than other conservatives. Everything lined up for him, it isn’t easily repeatable.

  107. 107.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Matt McIrvin:

    I’ve heard “dictatorship is best if you have a GOOD one” from conservatives for decades. It’s an old line.

    Aside from the question of what they define as a good one…

    We’ve had a lot of dictatorships in the past century, enough to have a decent sample size.  And even by their definitions, how many have been good?  Franco’s the only one I can think of, even with that qualifier.  Maybe Pinochet, for those who are OK with throwing dissidents out of helicopters – and I don’t want to even have this conversation with anyone who doesn’t consider that a disqualifier.  After that…???

  108. 108.

    japa21

    @lowtechcyclist:  My 2 cents worth (probably not even worth that much).
    Although I would prefer the whole enchilada ($3.5 trillion) I’ll happily settle for $2 trillion if that is what needs to happen to get both things passed.
    The real key is making sure we don’t lose both the House and Senate next year.
    Unlike the ACA, there is nothing in either of the bills that the GOP can demonize effectively. But if nothing is passed, we will lose next year. Win with gains and more can be added.

  109. 109.

    Kay

    @lowtechcyclist:

    nonstarter with Manchin

    Such a phony deficit peacock. The infrastructure funding is pretend. I don’t mind that they pretended to fund their infrastructure bill but scolding the supporters of the reconciliation, who actually raise revenue to cover the cost of THEIR bill is just maddening. This whole debate is bullshit. In this scenario the progressives are the fiscally responsible people. They spend, but unilike the deficit hawks they also FUND.
    What masters of negotiation they are! The crafted an infrastructure bill that is all “free” goodies and they’re patting themselves on the back that Chamber of Commerce supports it. Of course they support it. It’s “free”!
    It tells wealthy people and business interests that they can have modern, updated infrastructure without paying for it. It’s the height of irresponsibility.

  110. 110.

    Suzanne

    @Soprano2:

    OK, but then how did Mark Kelly win his seat? Plus, I would think Mormon moms would look favorably on things like DACA reform. I think it’s bad form to run away from your constituents no matter who you are. 

    Mormon mom types consider DACA a low priority. Most Mormons are white. Many of them support it, but it’s further down the priority list.

    I agree that Sinema sucks and running away from her constituents sucks. I just have concern that we’re going to throw her away without a good plan for a replacement. Again, there is a very short list of Arizona Democrats who can win statewide, or who have. If I was still there, I would be promoting the hell out of Greg Stanton. Current congressman from Sinema’s district, former mayor of Phoenix. I think he has a shot. But they need to find a plausible replacement and build a strong case.

  111. 111.

    AliceBlue

    @Barbara:   I read an article a few days ago that said the governor’s race had tightened up.  Was wondering if a postcard effort might be of any help.  What’s your take on it?

  112. 112.

    gwangung

    @Suzanne: I think it’s accurate to say she HAD been able to thread the needle. But it may be that her latest actions may be unthreading it.

    Threading the needle successfully means having a certain amount of finesse. I don’t think Sinema still possesses that skill of finesse….

  113. 113.

    Matt McIrvin

    @lowtechcyclist: Back in the day I recall people liked to throw around Kemal Atatürk as the paradigmatic example of a not-bad dictator. He may have been not-bad in a relative sense.

    These days, they like to point to Singapore as authoritarianism done right, though I wouldn’t call it a dictatorship, more a de facto one-party state. And Singapore is such an anomalous case.

  114. 114.

    Zelma

    @What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?:

    I am three years younger than your MIL and I have a Roku.  My kids set it up for me on their last visit, handed me the controls, and left.  It has remained unused in the interim.  Of course, the only things I have watched are football games.  And since I’m a Steelers’ fan, I didn’t enjoy my TV watching much.  I know there is lots of good stuff out there, but I am unwilling to make the time commitment to watch it.

  116. 116.

    J R in WV

    @jackmac: ​
     

    It feels like end game for Sears.

    And all because the rich financier who bought Sears was a Ayn Rand ( aka Alice O’Connor ) economist and set up all the various departments of all his stores to compete rather than work together.

    Last time I went into the long-ago closed Sears in town, there was nothing for sale, the store was already empty. So each department could show better earnings, none of them bought more stuff to sell. Missing the whole point of being a store!!

  117. 117.

    Suzanne

    @gwangung:

    I think it’s accurate to say she HAD been able to thread the needle. But it may be that her latest actions may be unthreading it. 

    Oh, I agree with you 100%. But it is a shitty idea to toss her overboard if we don’t have a plausible/likely replacement for her. As much as she sucks, she put Mitch McConnell in the Minority Leader’s seat. That is something worth keeping.

  118. 118.

    Matt McIrvin

    @frosty: Back in the 1980s, I remember Sears experimenting with a virtual catalog stored on laserdisc! They had kiosks for interacting with it in their stores, at the office in the back where they handled catalog orders. It was clunky and odd but you could see the potential.

    But they’d been thinking of the catalog aspect of their business as a declining thing for decades and went all-in on mall stores, and I think that by the time Internet commerce really hit it had become too hard to turn that supertanker around. And they lost their golden opportunity.

  121. 121.

    Sure Lurkalot

    @Kay:

    What’s with the “statements”? She’s a sitting senator. Can she not speak normally?

    She also teaches classes at ASU. Does she communicate verbally there?

    I wonder how long her game will play. Clinging to being edgy is not avant-garde, it’s phony. She really serves no purpose but to bring embarrassing attention to herself which makes her defensive so that she brings more embarrassing attention to herself.

  122. 122.

    Darrin Ziliak (formerly glocksman)

    @eclare:

    I had a separate Roku that I use with SlingTV, which is one of the cheapest services that has a decent selection of channels.

    Performance wise, it did everything you’d want it to do.

    I retired the Roku when I bought a new TV (TCL 55 inch) that has Roku built in, though most of the time I use a laptop with a wireless keyboard for most of my TV viewing

  123. 123.

    Baud

    @Suzanne:

    It’s a little soon to announce such a thing IMHO.  The only type of person I can see doing that is some lefty outsider type who would probably have no chance in the general election.

  124. 124.

    VOR

    @topclimber: Many Republicans talk about repealing the New Deal, which they claim is socialism. IMHO what they really want is to repeal The Enlightenment and go back to Feudalism with direct rule by a King. I suspect many would have been perfectly happy with King Donald and his Royal Family of Princess Ivanka, Prince Don Jr., and Prince Eric. Oh, and Princess Tiffany and Prince Barron too.

  126. 126.

    schrodingers_cat

    The trick to decreasing Manchin and Sinema’s importance is to elect more D senators in 2022.  FDR and LBJ had bigger majorities when they enacted the New Deal and the Great Society legislative agendas

    What the Ds have been able to do so far with a 50-50 senate and totally recalcitrant Republican party and their cheerleaders in the media is awe inspiring.
    Instead on liberal blogs and Twitter there is constant whining about Ds are failing them and how we are doomed for all eternity. It is tiresome

  128. 128.

    Suzanne

    @Baud: I think that it is asking a lot to get Democrats to throw away someone with a proven track record of winning — as much as she absolutely sucks — to roll the dice on someone unproven. We ran pretty good candidates in the past for Senator, including Richard Carmona, and they lost. A good choice for a replacement will be key to unseating her.

  129. 129.

    Redshift

    @japa21:

    Unlike the ACA, there is nothing in either of the bills that the GOP can demonize effectively. 

    That is never a good bet. They just lie, and their demonization rarely has much to do with what’s actually in the bill. But that’s not a reason not to do it either, they’ll lie either way, and it’s better to have good things to run on.

  132. 132.

    Redshift

    @Suzanne: Yes, a much better (and safer) answer is to make her irrelevant, but when someone is screwing with things this big and important for no good reason, I can’t begrudge people wanting more than that.

  133. 133.

    lowtechcyclist

    @schrodingers_cat:

    Instead on liberal blogs and Twitter there is constant whining about Ds are failing them and how we are doomed for all eternity. It is tiresome.

    Yeah, you’re right…wait, this is a liberal blog.

  134. 134.

    sdhays

    @Steve in the ATL: The slightly less predictable aspect to me (at the time, I’m less naive now) was how he got so many others to light their own huge sums of money on fire as a sacrifice to his idol. He didn’t buy Sears himself. He convinced a bunch of other rich morons (or at least fools with control over vast sums of other people’s money) to fund his take over, and then he convinced them to shove even more of their cash into Rand’s gaping maw in order to destroy K-Mart as well after it was pretty clear Sears was going to go out of business if he was in charge much longer.

  135. 135.

    James E Powell

    @Suzanne:

    As much as y’all hate it, this is the coalition there. Sinema has threaded a needle there. I think everyone needs to accept the reality that if she loses a primary, Dems are unlikely to keep the seat.

    I am not convinced by arguments that Sinema is a canny politician who has, as you say, threaded the needle. That there are suburban white women who normally vote R who will vote for her rather than an R is a supposition yet to be proven. Are those suburban women impassioned by her opposition to a $15 minimum wage? Are they hard core adherents to the filibuster? Do they even know what it is?

    Judge the tree by the fruit. She has committed herself to a corporate shill position. A southwestern desert Lieberman. The lobbyists rang everyone’s doorbell. What we know is that Sinema answered & invited them in.

  137. 137.

    Suzanne

    @Miss Bianca: Yes, it can change. I hope it changes. But as of today, this moment, we are discussing ditching her without a plausible replacement, and I think that is a recipe for failure. I am pragmatic. I think holding the seat matters more than anything else (because MAJORITY), even if it is her stinky ass sitting in it.

    The absolute best thing is to make her irrelevant by electing Democrats elsewhere. That will actually make Arizona Dems more likely to roll the dice and chuck her under the bus.

  139. 139.

    Suzanne

    @James E Powell:

    That there are suburban white women who normally vote R who will vote for her rather than an R is a supposition yet to be proven. 

    No, it isn’t. This has been something AZ Dems have known about her for years. Look, they know who she is. I was fairly active in party politics and everyone I knew absolutely hated her. I have long encouraged this cohort to realize that she is deeply known there. State Senator, Congresswoman, now a Senator. Everyone out of state had high expectations for her. People in state went with her because she’s the devil they know.

  140. 140.

    lowtechcyclist

    Re Sinema, things are going to change a lot between now and 2023.  Chances that she’ll be vote #50 two years from now are small.  She may come around if she realizes she needs the Democratic Party way more than the Dems need her, which (win or lose seats next year) is likely to be the case as 2024 approaches.  And if she doesn’t, plenty of time to deal with it then.

  141. 141.

    PPCLI

    @Jeffro: It’s a shame that the person didn’t ask the friend for an example of such a benevolent dictator. I’d give odds that the examples would be horrors like Franco and Pinochet. (Or the loathsome Salazar. Some on the right have been trying to burnish his reputation lately.)

    Or perhaps Orban, though the right probably doesn’t want to admit that he’s a dictator.

  142. 142.

    Geminid

    @Matt McIrvin: Mark Kelly does have an extraordinary personal history that made him an attractive candidate. But Kelly still ran only 44,000 votes ahead of Biden last year, out of over 3.2 million votes cast. This suggests that Democrats do not neccesarily need a “unicorn” candidate to win a Senate seat there. But we’ll know a lot more about the Arizona electorate after Mark Kelly’s reelection race next year.

    Gabby Giffords is known for her advocacy of gun safety laws. But she is hardly a “gun grabber.” Giffords was one of many members of Congress who signed an amicus curiae brief in the Heller case, supporting the plaintiff’s individual right to own a firearm. The moderate legislation she supports has majority support in most states, and substantial support among gun owners.

    Virginia Democrats used to be afraid to touch gun control, but in 2017 and 2019 many legislative candidates made gun safety a winning issue in suburban battleground districts. It could be that the gun rights/gun safety dynamic is shifting in other states as well.

  143. 143.

    Ken

    @sdhays: He convinced a bunch of other rich morons (or at least fools with control over vast sums of other people’s money) to fund his take over, and then he convinced them to shove even more of their cash into Rand’s gaping maw

    An explanation consistent with the above would be:

    1. Although the rich morons had control over other people’s money, they were not in a fiduciary relationship; the controllers had no obligation to act in the other people’s interest
    2. The controllers did get a nice percentage of any funds they moved around.
  144. 144.

    Suzanne

    I will note that Sinema didn’t win elections when she was a solid lefty. She started winning once she became her shitty shill self.

    If you want to replace her with a Democrat, we have to identify the Democrat and start building them up. Bill Clinton won AZ in 96, then it went Republican until 2020. Prior to Sinema, the last Dem Senator was Dennis DeConcini.

  145. 145.

    sdhays

    @Suzanne: The talk of ditching Sinema right now is stupid. We’re stuck with her until 2024 unless she dies or resigns (and I don’t hope for either), so we need to just deal with that. The quickest thing we can do is make her less relevant by expanding the Democratic majority in the Senate in 2022.

    That said, I don’t think she’s setting herself up for a strong run for reelection in 2024. It’s one thing to want to be a maverick, but you still need a base of people who really like you and want you to win. That’s typically the party’s base, but it doesn’t have to be (see Lieberman, Joe). Is she really cultivating her own non-lobbyist base? I don’t see it, and without that, I think she has the potential to be a very weak incumbent in 2024.

    But three years (two since election season starts so early) is a very long time in politics, so, as long as she doesn’t completely blow up Biden’s agenda, she has plenty of time pivot around and make people forget how angry they are at her right now. That would be better for everyone since it’s usually easier to win with an incumbent than without.

  148. 148.

    L85NJGT

    @Miss Bianca: 

    I’m sure there will be some no hoper. But as a practical matter knocking over a sitting senator is a low probability event that nets 0 Senate seats even if successful. A far more likely scenario is Senator Sinema in thirty years. See Sen. Diane Feinstein still running like it’s 1994. (I think she’s a far better analogy than mavericky McCain.)

    Anyway, I suspect having Joe press her one on one was a tactical mistake, but water under the bridge now. Does she get on with anyone in the caucus?

  149. 149.

    WhatsMyNym

    @gvg:

    I mean I couldn’t even get it to tell me about parts for sears appliances.

    For appliance parts you want Sears PartsDirect. They’ve been around since 1995, and originally put up their catalog of parts diagrams on the web. You could then call your order in, I don’t know what year they started online ordering.

    ETA: they now have 2.8 million part diagrams for more than 400,000 models as well as 50,000 manuals and installation guides

  151. 151.

    Bruce K in ATH-GR

    Far as I’m concerned, at this point, Sinema’s only use to the nation is that she’s keeping Moscow Mitch from taking over as Senate Majority Leader and using the tools that’d be available to him there to torpedo the Biden agenda and cripple the nation.

  152. 152.

    Suzanne

    @sdhays:

    Is she really cultivating her own non-lobbyist base? I don’t see it, and without that, I think she has the potential to be a very weak incumbent in 2024. 

    She got a lot of money from EMILY’s List back in the day. I never saw her at party events. She knows the Dems there are pretty captive to whomever can be a proven winner. When she was a congresswoman, she had a reputation for excellent constituent services. I think those factors — along with the fact that her primary opponents have historically been lefties — provided her the good fortune to cobble together a coalition. And it has endured thus far because there hasn’t been a plausible alternative. Again, the Dem bench is pretty shallow. I think that will change, but slowly.

    This is why I think identifying the future stars and doing everything we can to nurture their careers is critical. Even if we don’t outwardly say at this point that they’ll run against her, it will make the Dems more willing to ditch her if we have someone we can get behind.

  155. 155.

    Suzanne

    @Baud:Dems always get more excited about primarying Dems than fighting vulnerable Republicans.

    You are right and it makes me crazy. Crazy.

    North Carolina. Florida. Ohio. Toomey’s seat in PA. Focus energy there and forget Sinema. Deprive her of oxygen.

  158. 158.

    Redshift

    @AliceBlue:

    I read an article a few days ago that said the governor’s race had tightened up.  Was wondering if a postcard effort might be of any help.  What’s your take on it?

    I think it could definitely help. I don’t really trust (or worry about) any horse-race polling, because off-year elections are hard to poll, but regardless of whether it’s “tightening” or not, we’re in the usual state of “I’d rather be in our position than theirs, but nothing is a sure thing.” There are more of us than them, so it’s all turnout, and anything that helps with that is good.

  160. 160.

    Redshift

    @Geminid:

    Virginia Democrats used to be afraid to touch gun control, but in 2017 and 2019 many legislative candidates made gun safety a winning issue in suburban battleground districts. It could be that the gun rights/gun safety dynamic is shifting in other states as well. 

    And a part of that is that Moms Demand has been an absolute monster in terms of boots on the ground for campaigns. Rallies and protests are a lot of fun, but being the people who get candidates elected is how you really get influence and make change.

  161. 161.

    Ken

    @Kent: Do any of them read the newspapers?  Or maybe they’re thinking “I’ll suck up to the dictator, so there’s no danger of me falling out of a hotel window, or finding my doorknobs coated with nerve toxin.”

  162. 162.

    Kent

    @Ken: That’s a feature not a bug.  Because it’s only the “wrong” people to whom those things happen.  They have dreams of “traitors” like Kamala Harris getting the Putin treatment.

  163. 163.

    piratedan

    @Suzanne: perhaps its naivete, but I really think that the GOP has hurt themselves with independents statewide over the last year.  Everyone got a chance to witness them up close and personal with the events of the fraudit and the changes that went into place surrounding it.

    the AG making an ass of himself (Brnovitch) by going full partisan

    the state lege stripping all authority away from the Secretary of State

    the state lege knocking heads with the GOP controlled Maricopa County board of elections

    the audit process itself

    the cost of said audits being passed onto taxpayers

    the resultant and continuing legal and political fallout of the fraudit

    People here are NOT happy with their state lege and the state lege has returned that concern with a full bird salute.

    I’m not saying that the state is a guaranteed blue lock in future elections but the local climate as I read it through commentary and local TV coverage framing isn’t one of acceptance for their actions.

    As always, it will come down to candidates…. in this instance, it depends on who runs.  The only person who stands out on the GOP side is Governor Ducey and he’s not campaigning to run against Kelly that I can see and he may be saving his powder for Sinema.  The rest of the GOP bench is filled with people that will not stand up to scrutiny in a large metro area (Gosar, Biggs, Lesko) and Schweikert who still has baggage.  Unsure that anyone in the state lege is capable of stepping up but all the prominent ones are absolute howlers.

    On the Dem side of the ledger, we’ve mentioned Congressman Gallego, Stanton, the two mayors of Phoenix (Gallego) and Tucson (Regina Romero).  There has even been some talk of running Mark’s brother Scott for the seat.

  166. 166.

    Suzanne

    @piratedan: 

    On the Dem side of the ledger, we’ve mentioned Congressman Gallego, Stanton, the two mayors of Phoenix (Gallego) and Tucson (Regina Romero). There has even been some talk of running Mark’s brother Scott for the seat.

    I love Ruben Gallego, but I don’t see anyone that progressive winning statewide. As for Kate Gallego, I think she’s been a disappointment so far, far too Phoenix-Police-ass-kissy. Greg Stanton seemed to do a pretty good job as PHX mayor, and he held CD-9 (swingy), so I think he is probably the most likely candidate I can think of. Romero is good, but has almost zero name rec in Phoenix. She could be good in the future but needs to be elevated and nurtured. I also think Coral Evans (former Flagstaff mayor, first black woman mayor of the city, now working for Mark Kelly) is also a talent to nurture.

  168. 168.

    Kent

    @Ken: Yep.  I frequent some evangelical forums where some of my relatives hang out.  The Putin love is strong.  Astonishingly.  I don’t get it.  They don’t even support him for religious liberty reasons as the only church in Russia that really gets favored is the Orthodox Church and evangelicals are not them.  They just like them a strong man.  Makes their legs quiver.  And there is probably a Trump connection too.

  169. 169.

    Suzanne

    Anyway, it is weird to go from (always disappointing) discussions about possible Dem opponents for Sinema, to living in PA, where we have three (so far) really good Dem options for the Senate seat. It feels like a total embarrassment of riches compared to what I’m used to.

  170. 170.

    piratedan

    @Suzanne: true, but plenty of time before we get to 2024 if he’s actually serious.

    even though the Dem bench isn’t that deep, the GOP bench… well, lets just say that no one over there scares me with their political savvy.  They scare me because of their beliefs, ‘natch.

  171. 171.

    Geminid

    @Redshift: I noticed that Glenn Youngkin, Republican candidate  for Virginia Governor, did not return the NRA’s issues questionnaire. Youngkin is running a stealth campaign, and is softpeddling his stances on this issue and on women’s reproductive rights. He knows he is on the wrong side of a majority of Virginia voters in these areas.

  172. 172.

    Suzanne

    To talk about other AZ Dems…. Grijalva is never getting out of that district he’s in, and he’s most valuable where he is. Kirkpatrick ran against McCain in his last Senate race and she lost. Tom O’Halleran…. maybe? But we never hear shit from him. The quintessential back-bencher, and he’s old. Fred Duval lost the Governor race, Felecia Rotellini lost the state AG race. Katie Hobbs is running for Governor and that’s probably the best spot for her. Kathy Hoffman is Superintendent and I don’t know if she has any interest in anything else, she’s an educator by background. David Schapira is awesome but struggles to close (he lost a primary to Sinema). I love Adrian Fontes. He’s running for Sec of State. He is the kind of talent we should be developing!!!

  173. 173.

    Suzanne

    @piratedan: If Ducey runs against Kelly, he’ll be a formidable opponent. Andy Biggs is terrifying. As is Gosar. I — unfortunately — think any of them winning a Senate race is entirely plausible.

    But…. crazy Kelli LMAO.

  174. 174.

    neldob

    The Repugs don’t want to vote to raise the debt limit , apparently they are too cowardly to put their names to the vote, and are forcing us to kill the filibuster to maintain the full faith and credibility of the US debt. Also, why the heck do we call the right wing ‘conservatives’ when they are radical right wing cowards and grifters? If messaging is important we need to drop the ‘conservative’ and call them what they are, not what they want to be called. Same with ‘pro-life’. And adopt ‘fiscally responsible, family values’ for the party that really is- Democrats, a higher patriotism.

  175. 175.

    cain

    @J R in WV: Well there is still a chance, boot out the CEO and get someone who isn’t an Ayn Rand fan and change the culture. I mean wasn’t Chrylser about to go belly up before Lee Iocacca came in?

    Sears still has a good brand name and is well known. That guy should be booted out ASAP with no golden parachute. The company owes him nothing.

  176. 176.

    Kent

    @cain: All the best things about Sears like Craftsman Tools and Kenmore appliances are long gone.  I’m not sure what is left is actually worth saving.

  178. 178.

    dopey-o

     

    I am 3 years younger than your MIL and I have a Roku.  My kids set it up for me on their last visit, handed me the controls, and left.  It has remained unused in the interim.  Of course, the only things I have watched are football games.  And since I’m a Steelers’ fan, I didn’t enjoy my TV watching much.  I know there is lots of good stuff out there, but I am unwilling to make the time commitment to watch it.

    just pick up the remote and start exploring. you can’t break it. if all else fails, turn it of, turn it back on and explore some more.

    after many years in tech support, i have learned that many people don’t really want a fix. they seem to be satisfied with complaining, and their intellectual needs stop there.

    ”you’re not really here for the hunting…..”

  181. 181.

    schrodingers_cat

    @lowtechcyclist: I find the constant negativity tiresome, on the FP, in the comments, on do something Twitter and in the media. I for one am happy that Biden won and we have Dems in charge of the Congress. I am no longer doom scrolling in the middle of the night. YMMV.

Comments are closed.