The President will not be mincing words today as he talks about the corrupt attempts to restrict the right to vote – right here in the world’s most prominent democracy. A democracy, if we can keep it.
Live video of the speech is below the fold.
These speeches are almost always late, so we have a couple of warm-up acts while we wait.
I am thinking of John Lewis and crying. When Barack Obama spoke at the service for John Lewis, I thought for sure that the filibuster would be waived for the voting rights act.
John Lewis was such a joyous man that my tears led me to search for the video of him dancing.
I had never seen this before.
And of course, our President:
We are getting close to the Jan 17 date that Schumer set as the deadline for bringing the voting rights act up for a vote. I think it’s the right move, and the deadline date is just right – Martin Luther King day.
The timing of this big push has been very smart. Wait until after the holidays, then have a big push and tie it to MLK.
If John Lewis were alive today, there’s no way that we would be in this position. We are losing so many of our greats. As we learned over the past 2 years, have to fight that much harder in order to right the ship. Early speeches by John Lewis and Stacey Abrams were shockingly great in their own right, but even more so because the speakers were so very young.
Who are the young people today that show this same ability to inspire?
Open thread.
Alison Rose
I’d seen that dancing video a few times before and every time, it makes me smile. He was a real gem, in every way.
zhena gogolia
I dunno, Joe Biden?
WaterGirl
@Alison Rose: Even after he lost his beloved wife, he believed in joy. What a great man.
UncleEbeneezer
Amanda Gorman is the biggest young person I can think of that meets Lewis-like levels of inspiration.
Since this is OT- I made the rare move of actually accepting a friend request from a former HS classmate. She’s a quilter who drew me in when I saw that she has done pieces for George Floyd and a series that had proceeds go to victims of human trafficking. Turns out she’s very progressive, vocally anti-racist and pretty cool, all around. She lived almost across the street from me as a kid though we were never very close friends. Considering how many HS classmates are surely MAGA nowadays (the main reason I mostly avoid them) this was a really nice surprise.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@UncleEbeneezer: What a cool surprise!
Old School
He’d be able to get rid of the filibuster?
SiubhanDuinne
@Alison Rose:
He was a lovely, lovely man.
Also, huge Jon Batiste fan here. Will wait until after the Biden/Harris speeches to watch the conversation between Jon and John.
zhena gogolia
@Old School: I was puzzled by this as well.
WaterGirl
@zhena gogolia: I asked about the “young people today”. Unless you are thinking young at heart for Biden?
Geminid
I found this too late for the morning thread, on the Twitter feed of the estimable “Black Professor” (@WonderKing82). One of his commenters complained about Stacey Abrams “dissing” President Biden, so another put this up:
Mr. Professor is a Hampton University graduate, an educator in a NYC public school, and an ardent defender of Democrats in his spare time. Also, a big Beyonce fan.
WaterGirl
@Old School: @zhena gogolia:
I think even these awful Republicans of today wouldn’t have been able to look him in the eye and do this. Your mileage may vary.
UncleEbeneezer
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Totally! I usually dread even looking at a former-classmate’s FB page because the area I grew up is super-white and the odds of them being problematic are substantial. So it’s nice to find someone who is not only NOT problematic but is actually engaged and trying to do something. She wants to do a Voting Rights quilt that will detail Republicans’ history of Voter Suppression, which I think is a killer idea. You can see her work here.
edited
zhena gogolia
@WaterGirl: It was a joke.
zhena gogolia
@WaterGirl: My mileage most certainly varies. They have no ethics and no shame.
dm
A couple of years ago I heard an interview with a couple of young women from the Sunrise Movement, and was inspired at their youth and their intensity, and their approach to the long haul of politics.
Some of the young leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement were pretty inspiring.
WaterGirl
@UncleEbeneezer: I think you may have mean not only NOT problematic? If so, I can fix for you.
Kent
I think you underestimate their evil and overestimate their consciences.
The would do it in a heartbeat and tweet about it proudly.
SiubhanDuinne
@WaterGirl:
Agree with UncleEbeneezer on Amanda Gorman.
Some of the Parkland kids.
Greta Thunberg.
And many more whose names we don’t yet know. On the principle of “Cometh the hour, cometh the man,” I believe the the right leader, or leaders, will show up at the right time. Don’t mistake this for Green Lanternism or any kind of magical thinking, but I guarantee there are young people out there who are paying attention and strategically, if metaphorically, girding their loins.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Kent: Oh hell, Joe Manchin would smugly and condescendingly assure John Lewis that the filibuster and bipartisanship were essential to preserving democracy
geg6
@Alison Rose:
Yep.
Kent
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: They are filibustering Manchin’s own bill. He re-wrote the damn thing promising he could get it passed.
WaterGirl
People are starting to be introduced. This may be one of the 5-different handoffs to 5 different introductions before we get to Harris and Biden
edit: holy shit, I could not have been any more wrong. Biden and Harris just introduced!
UncleEbeneezer
@SiubhanDuinne: To a lesser extent (not pro speakers but) Naomi Osaka and Simone Biles are both pretty inspiring.
SiubhanDuinne
MVP Harris up!
debbie
@Old School:
If John Lewis were alive, you can be damn sure he wouldn’t skip this speech. ?
Quinerly
@debbie: truth.
WaterGirl
Great speech so far from Kamala.
Geminid
@WaterGirl: I don’t know if Lauren Underwood counts at 35 years old, but she is a rising star. Chicago Magazine did a good write up of her last year, titled “Lauren Underwood’s Long Game.”
I forwarded this article to my friend Joan. She grew up in Chicago and knows Napierville, Underwood’s home. Joan was very impressed by the article.
SiubhanDuinne
@WaterGirl:
It was. And POTUS is pretty powerful as well.
M31
“the defeated former president”
I prefer
“the losingest loser loser former LOSER president, who losingly lost”
debbie
“Hell”! You tell ’em!
JoyceH
I’d say those Marjorie Stoneman Douglas kids. I remember watching those speeches at their March For Our Lives and hoping I lived long enough to vote for one of them for President.
SiubhanDuinne
@UncleEbeneezer:
?
Martin
@SiubhanDuinne: Agreed. They have a very different worldview, generally speaking.
I find the ‘Birds aren’t Real’ movement to be very reassuring. They’ve got this figured out.
MisterDancer
I think the path to them blocking would be harder, if only because the media wouldn’t let this pass without getting John Lewis on the news, regularly. Not impossible — the GOP alone clearly ran out of shame long ago — but yes, harder.
In other news, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has the statement from the groups avoiding this effort:
This underlines that there’s a massive gap between these groups — who, I remind again, moved heaven and earth under horrific conditions to deliver votes multiple times — and the fact that American Democracy…doesn’t really work like that.
I feel like I get WHY they are saying this. I can see the frustration of working in toxic conditions, and just like the various workers striking, they seem to be saying
Yes, we should be all working together. Yet I’d say it’s not on these groups to reach out. It’s OK to say to the DNC and the Biden Administration that the privilege of holding these offices, of managing power, and needing these votes, that plan should have started with looping these activists in more directly.
That doesn’t make the Biden Admin bad or evil. And hell, Biden could in 5 minutes announce something kick-ass to change the landscape.
But a lot of these speeches are just trying to move the needle. They are attempts to use the few levers the Exec Branch has, around these issues. Not recognizing that…that’s painful. Demanding a “perfect” plan without understanding that reality is at best, myopic, and although I understand why that myopia exists…it’s still not great from anyone’s POV. [EDIT: And in fairness, I could be misunderstanding why they are taking this stance!)
It’s not a deal-breaker, I think. But it’s sad to see and read. It’s a gap we (as a Party and Movement) should keep working to close.
zhena gogolia
@MisterDancer: It’s a terrible statement.
SiubhanDuinne
“I’m tired of being quiet!”
You go, Joe!
germy
SiubhanDuinne
Boy howdy, he is bringing it to the Republicans in the Senate now!!
ETA: “FFS, Strom Thurmond voted to extend the VR! Even Strom Thurmond!”
Okay, he might not have said “FFS” out loud. But you know he was thinking it.
germy
“And the world is watching…”
MisterDancer
@zhena gogolia: It’s a statement of frustration from people who’ve worked fingers to the bone, so we could have something like Democracy. And are being hammered a dozen ways, right now.
That, alone, as I said, extends them some desire, for me, to try to understand.
Ramalama
@Geminid: lose the i….it’s Naperville, a toney Chicagoland burb.
zhena gogolia
@MisterDancer: IT’S HORRIBLE POLITICS
zhena gogolia
@MisterDancer: Who are they frustrated with? Biden and Harris because they can’t wave a magic wand and get rid of the filibuster?
lowtechcyclist
Good, because it isn’t just Manchin and Sinema that are on the wrong side of this. Without the unified anti-voting-rights bloc of those other fifty Senators on the GOP side of the aisle, we could do without them.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@MisterDancer:
huh? like what?
ETA: also, speaking just for myself, “DNC” is like “drones” and “banksters”, my eyes just kind of glaze over once I see that
SiubhanDuinne
@zhena gogolia:
Awful. FUCKEM.
MisterDancer
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I’m speaking rhetorically, as in “he could have something in his pocket that I didn’t anticipate/expect.” Not saying he does.
debbie
@zhena gogolia:
And all they’ve really done is strengthen the fractures in the party. Like the GOP won’t exploit that! ?
zhena gogolia
@MisterDancer: I don’t see what that could possibly be.
geg6
@zhena gogolia:
Yes, it is. And it shows absolutely no understanding of how government and politics work. Will not be sending any money to them, sadly. I’ve been planning my contributions for the midterms and anyone who signed on to this is definitely not making my list.
I’ll be giving to the Warnock and Abrams campaigns directly. I’m a little pissed she couldn’t be bothered to show up today, but she’d never say anything this stupid. Screw these idiots.
lowtechcyclist
@MisterDancer:
And me, I’m a white guy in Maryland who hasn’t been spending months and years trying to organize Georgia voters. Even if the folks who’ve been doing that are coming down on the wrong side of things today, they deserve my respect. Which means starting off by listening to them.
zhena gogolia
@lowtechcyclist: I listened. They’re at this moment working against the cause.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Eric Swalwell said something on MSNBC last week about Manchin and Sinema needs to feel pressure from “below”– voters– and “above”– Biden. It was an extreme case, from an attorney and United States Congressman of the misunderstanding of how American government works. The POTUS is not the boss of Congress. He is the head of a separate and co-equal branch of government. You know who’s really conscious of the whole “co-equal” part? Senators. And among Senators, you know who’s even more conscious of it than most: People like Manchin. Nobody talks about “Cardinals” or “Bulls” anymore but if they did, Joe Manchin would desperately want to be one of them.
catclub
@germy: Interesting!
Geminid
@Ramalama: Ah, now I see that I miscopied the name. I looked the town up, and was interested to see that it is Illinois’ fourth biggest city at 149,000 people. Lauren Underwood was born in Maysfield, Ohio and moved to Naperville when she was three years old.
UncleEbeneezer
@WaterGirl: Yes! Just saw that. Thanks.
germy
I wonder what they’re thinking at Mar-a-Lago
Jim, Foolish Literalist
also what’s all this about a “plan”? the plan is to get to fifty votes, or sixty, as long as Manchin (at least) is one of the fifty. If we have a strong year in Georgia, and Florida, and North Carolina, and Ohio, and Wisconsin, and Nevada, and Arizona, and New Hampshire, maybe, maybe, we can bring that count back to fifty. That’s the plan. There is no other plan.
Oh, we also have to hold the House.
Omnes Omnibus
@MisterDancer: Everyone working on the issue is frustrated. That doesn’t justify lashing out at allies.
zhena gogolia
@Omnes Omnibus: especially when the allies are POTUS and VPOTUS
debbie
@zhena gogolia:
They’re undermining themselves. And this cause we ALL believe in.
Martin
I don’t think you can easily identify the young people, because they aren’t in our world. Here’s an interesting video that shows a little bit of the depth of how the world works for young people.
It’s a talk by a gentleman that many young people would know as hbomberguy. A few years ago he did a charity stream of playing Donkey Kong 64 to raise a few thousand dollars for a trans charity, which blew up virally, raised $350K and featured AOC as a call-in supporter. I think hbomberguy is hilarious. Dry, silly humor. But if you watch, take note of who the audience responds to and how.
I learned about the charity stream when it happened, as my kids both independently caught wind of it, and we watched a bit of it. I missed AOCs appearance, though. It’s the kind of thing that you can’t really dissect and critique – a guy badly playing an old shitty video game, making jokes, doing a poor job of running the stream, but this really interesting community builds around him. Like with the Birds aren’t Real movement, when the world feels completely absurd and dangerous, leaning into the absurd in a safe way is comforting.
Young people are mocking what we’ve built, because they don’t have the control to dismantle it. But they can also operate outside of the system, and they do. And that’s what you see here. AOC and Ilhan Omar playing ‘Among Us’ with the community is not how this is supposed to be done, but it’s how they want it done. And why not – they are reaching vastly more people than you will eating a corn dog in front of the cameras at the state fair.
Here’s another hbomberguy video about the anti-vax movement that I learned quite a lot from.
zhena gogolia
@debbie: I’d like to see a list of what groups attended — give some attention to them.
Geminid
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: And Pennsylvania, where PatToomey is retiring. Democrat Bill Casey Jr. won the last Pennsylvania Senate race by 650,000 votes, in 2018.
WaterGirl
That was a helluva speech by Joe Biden.
debbie
@lowtechcyclist:
I’ve heard several interviews on NPR over the past week or so with some of the people who stated they weren’t going to show up. Each one said they wouldn’t show up because Biden had not kept his promises and had not instituted the voting rights reform they were demanding.
Does that help at all?
debbie
@zhena gogolia:
Me too.
jackmac
@Geminid: Illinois’ congressional redistricting has put my home in Lauren Underwood’s district and I couldn’t be more pleased. She’s terrific.
germy
germy
Halcyon
@zhena gogolia:
Nah. They’re actively trying to keep it going, even right now. Putting pressure on the people with power is part of their job, and to get mad at them for trying to accomplish their goals is beyond silly.
MisterDancer
This isn’t just about allyship. Allies have to be accountable, as well.
If I’m in GA working on the front-lines, and I’ve not heard squat, from the Biden Administration until they decide to drop in on GA — which, to be blunt, is what I suspect has happened — where’s the actual Allyship there?
Biden’s a good person. We know Biden’s backstory well! And yet: good people can run bad plays, make calls that end up causing inadvertent harm. Many of you are giving all the passes in this to Biden, and none to these people. And I suspect it’s because a lot of them haven’t been covered in our media. We don’t know these activists, and they are nearly invisible in the work they do from a national perspective — much less the challenges of that work, securing voting rights in a voting-hostile state.
That makes it harder to understand their POV, esp. when we’re so used to seeing issues from a Federal-first POV.
But one key thing pops in my head: If voting rights goes belly-up, they will be square in the crosshairs, gang. These groups aren’t fighting over theoretical threats; Jim Crow 2.0 is happening to them, their families and communities, right now. And, they’ve shown willingness to fight tooth and nail to stop it; they aren’t the 101st Fighting Keyboardists.
They are, too, a part of the Democratic coalition, just like you folx here. And if one statement, born out of obvious desperation and (likely) lack of communication, is enough to get you thrown out, I question…well, a lot of things.
All I’m saying is, before you judge it’s worth putting yourself in their shoes, I’m suggesting. I don’t know how, to be honest, because of that above gap, and the hostility right now, yet I propose it might be worth the exercise, before you slam the door on people who have delivered for the cause.
That’s all. Not saying you can’t be angry they said this, upset they are, to your light, self-sabotaging. Just saying there may be reasons that are — and we know this is true of our media — poorly reported. [EDIT: I see NPR is reporting on this, per @Debbie, so that might be a starting point?]
I’m going to step away, because I feel like the anger here is palpable, and I’m trying my best not to directly inflame it.
zhena gogolia
@Halcyon: They damaged the message in the national media by boycotting the POTUS and VPOTUS.
trnc
Jake Tapper wins the whataboutism award for the day. “What about voting restrictions in democratic state?”
What about them? They need to be fixed, too. How is this a reason to not pass voting rights?
germy
@WaterGirl:
I loved his speech.
And it sounded like one big balloon-juice comment. It feels nice to have a president who would fit right in here.
Halcyon
@MisterDancer: Dunno why everyone is mad about this. It’s an entirely reasonable statement and reaction from the groups in question.
zhena gogolia
@MisterDancer:
And they chose the moment when the national spotlight would be on them to shit on the POTUS and VPOTUS. Terrible politics.
laura
Who are the young people today that show this same ability to inspire?
All of them Katie! The youngs, known and yet to be known should inspire all of us, and sadly, a few should concern us. If I had all the awesome powers at my disposal, I’d be happy to turn this experiment of a country into one that centers youth as our shared primary concern. I’d give them schools that are the active community centers in their neighborhoods, academics and arts and all manner of enrichment. These youths can join the young knowns in building a better world. Spouse and I have no children (shakes fist at the endometriosis that shut that while thing down!), but I have nephews and a niece and friends children to love and they and their ilk are curious and furious, and they can see bullshit coming a mile away and they ain’t having it. I have their back. The kids are alright.
Halcyon
@zhena gogolia: How silly. They pointed out that the message is meaningless if it’s only a message. Seems like an entirely reasonable thing to point out. That that is inconvenient for other people, including the president and vice president, is not their problem. Improving voting rights is. Given the work they’ve already done, I’ll trust them on concluding that sending that message here is more important than solidarity with the President at this moment.
WaterGirl
OT, but 32 people who signed up for the book club have not let me know whether you plan to attend by zoom or just on the BJ threads.
The first meeting is tomorrow.
I cannot send a zoom link if I don’t know you plan to zoom.
If you are on this lit, please send me email message and let me know your plan for the book club:
Omnes Omnibus
@MisterDancer: Who is throwing them out? I think that it was a counterproductive action born of frustration.
Miss Bianca
@Omnes Omnibus:
That’s kind of where I am. I wonder, what’s the point of rallying so hard for voting rights and getting out the vote when you then turn around and bite the hands of the folks you’ve elected? Particularly folks who, as others have pointed out, *aren’t* in charge of Congress, but *are* dealing with a whole host of other urgent concerns – COVID, the economy, January 6 fallout, Russian saber-rattling, Afghanistan, etc etc. Every time some group like this releases a statement like this – churlish where they could be gracious, pugnacious when they could be conciliatory, and throwing away their shot at being heard and recognized by the Executive Branch – I have to wonder: what the hell are you actually fighting for? Is it the issue you say you’re fighting for, or are you just…looking for a fight? I’m trying to imagine MLK Jr passing up a chance to meet with Eisenhower or LBJ because he was feeling butt-hurt that civil rights legislation wasn’t progressing as fast as he wanted.
I’m reminded of the story I heard about some leaders in the first iteration of the BLM movement who scored an audience with PBO, where they complained that they weren’t being heard. Obama’s response, as far as I recall, was something to the effect of, “You’re HERE, aren’t you?”
Omnes Omnibus
@Halcyon: I trust them to do what they think is best. I reserve the right to think that they got something wrong.
WaterGirl
@Halcyon: @zhena gogolia:
I suspect they are at the end of their collective rope and the only option they see is the “tough love” moment against Biden exactly because this is the time it and they will be in the spotlight.
If I wanted to give President Biden what I call the negative benefit of the doubt – to see his actions in the worst possible light – they can see Biden as having failed because he put the rescue plans ahead of voting … if he thinks voting rights is the #1 issue, he should have put voting rights ahead of everything else and he didn’t… so they are angry.
The best decisions are not made in anger, but if anger’s all you’ve got and your back is up against the wall, and you’re all out of options, then you do the only thing you can do which is scream at the top of your voice. Which I think they are doing with the dissing of the President.
Miss Bianca
@MisterDancer: I hear what you’re saying, and I respect the effort you’ve made in making a case for these groups, but I guess I still find theirs a self-defeating stance.
Halcyon
@Omnes Omnibus: Fair enough. Certainly more reasonable than all the “this is the greatest betrayal ever” nonsense elsewhere in the comments.
But let’s look at it a different way. Let’s suppose they *had* put out a statement saying “Joe Biden is the greatest president evar!” and shown up to his speeches today.
…how, exactly, would that have helped make voting rights legislation more likely to happen? I fail to see how it would have at all. Meanwhile, “Hey, Joe, even your allies are sick of this, maybe use some of that legendary ability to get people to work with you that you ran on to sort it out” is, at least, an attempt to move towards that goal. I don’t think it’s likely (because Joe was vastly overselling that ability and its importance) but it is, at least, an attempt to achieve their goals with applying pressure to people they have the capacity to pressure.
My question is: Suppose they’d done what everyone seems to think they were supposed to. How would that have helped, in any way, at all? If your plan is to expect everyone to shut up and go along with you, you’d better give them a reason to do that, and on voting rights, well, that hasn’t happened.
Another Scott
@WaterGirl: Sorry, WG, I won’t be able to attend the Zoom. I hope to be around for the B-J threads. Thanks.
Cheers,
Scott.
Omnes Omnibus
@Halcyon: There are actions in between.
Halcyon
@WaterGirl: I don’t think it’s anger. We don’t have to assume it’s a bad decision made in anger. It’s an entirely reasonable (and correct, in my view) action taken to maximize the bit of leverage it gives them against someone with more power.
“Do something or expect even your allies to diss you” is, to a politician, a fairly motivating thing, right? Good. Activists using what power and attention they do have to achieve their goals is a good thing. We’re not here, ultimately, to make Joe Biden the most beloved person in history. We’re here to fix a lot of problems. If negative motivation is the only motivation we have left, well, so be it. Good, use it to the most of your ability.
Or, like I asked elsewhere: Suppose they’d done what they were “supposed” to here. How would that help, exactly, to achieve the goals they’re working towards?
Benw
@Martin: going online really gives “the kids” a whole sphere to operate outside the more traditional messaging we’re used to. Like your example of AOC and Omar, I saw Greta Thunberg speak at the NYC Student Climate Strike. I think Thunberg is a great activist, but the kids treated her like a rock star; she absolutely lit them up, which surprised me, but my kids told me they expected it based on the enthusiasm in their online feeds.
Kent
@MisterDancer: Biden has had plenty of other shit on his plate like Covid, Afghanistan, Ukraine, natural disasters, BBB, etc. He also doesn’t control the Senate agenda and this issue wasn’t up for vote in the Senate in November or December.
This is a problem with two obstructionist blowhards in the Senate. What would you have Biden do? He clearly doesn’t control Manchin or BBB would have passed long ago. And that was a reconciliation bill that didn’t even require overturning the filibuster.
It sucks but this is what happens with Collins wins re-election in Maine and that promising Senate Candidate in NC couldn’t keep his pants zipped.
debbie
@Halcyon:
They also know very well that the president can’t just wave his hand and make something happen. That’s not how democracy works.
Instead of dumping on Biden, they should be dumping on Manchin, Sinema, McConnell — the ACTUAL people blocking the voting rights legislation.
kindness
I just read Charlie Pierce’s morning piece which essentially slagged Biden & Harris for going to Georgia and making speeches. My fellow liberals really piss me off when they have the Green Lantern theory of Presidenting. And the problem isn’t Democrats either. The problem is two Prima Donnas in the Senate who place personal vanity/attention above country. Damn! Just damn!
SiubhanDuinne
@germy:
Maybe Adam Schiff will tell him how cool we are and POTUS will start hanging out with us.
“Chillin with the jackals.”
SiubhanDuinne
@kindness:
I mostly love Charlie Pierce, but Jeezo Pete he pisses me off sometimes! This is a fine example.
Baud
@Omnes Omnibus:
I thought love and hate are our only choices.
FWIW I choose hate.
japa21
@Omnes Omnibus: Some people don’t understand that there is more than black and white, or that the only appropriate response to a situation you don’t like is to bring out heavy artillery.
It isn’t even the boycotting of the President’s visit that bothers me, it was the actual statement issued, as if Biden could do this by fiat. There were many ways they could have explained their not being there without the blatant hostility.
WaterGirl
@Another Scott: thanks for letting me know.
WaterGirl
@Halcyon:
Yeah, that’s kind of what I was trying to get at with my “tough love” reference. I confused the issue with my anger reference – i see this as a strategy, as a choice – but I still think they don’t feel like there are any other options.
Halcyon
@debbie: Of course they know that. But, well, Biden ran partly on his legendary ability to get even obstinate useless morons to work with him. Seems like they’re expecting him to do the thing he promised he could do. And “Ask Biden to do the thing he said he was really good at!” is at least a reasonable ask.
Of course, if Biden can’t do those things, perhaps promising he could was a bad idea. Which isn’t the fault of these activists. Them using what leverage they have to pressure him to do what he said he could do is good. More of it, please, not less.
Omnes Omnibus
@japa21: A face to face meeting where they could have communicated directly with the President.
Benw
@Baud:
The red lightsabers ARE pretty cool.
WaterGirl
@Baud: As long as you still love me. :-)
piratedan
and again, as bad as Manchin and Sinema are (and continue to be) at being allies, we have ZERO Republicans doing ANYTHING in the best interest of the country. Yes, I am frustrated (like everyone else) but I am continually gobsmacked that the GOP gets to be a bunch of intransigent fucks who move monolithically and not get any ownership to this political debacle.
Baud
@Halcyon:
I prefer less. Because I don’t think these people changed anything for the better today.
japa21
@Omnes Omnibus: Excellent, and I am sure he would have agreed to the meeting.
Also, I am feeling good about the WI Senate race, now that Johnson has committed to running again.
Halcyon
@WaterGirl:
Seems like a correct conclusion, to me. Just frustrating to watch almost everyone else in these comments act like they’re the bad guys.
Baud
@WaterGirl:
You would never undermine Biden when he’s trying to do good.
Halcyon
@Baud: I dunno, seems like maybe a bunch of people realized their allies are desperate for them to make it happen. “We need you to do this if you expect us to be able to deliver those states for you again!” seems like an important message to make sure Biden understands!
Baud
@Halcyon:
I hope I’m not treated as a moron when I’m president.
MazeDancer
Why aren’t the media hounding the 16 GOP Senators who supported the Voting Rights Act before?
Omnes Omnibus
@Baud: Why would we change the way we treat you?
zhena gogolia
@Baud: yeah like Biden needs this explained to him. I also lost a LOT of respect for abrams today. She should have been there
zhena gogolia
@MazeDancer: good question but I won’t hold my breath
debbie
@Halcyon:
It is unimaginable that a lifelong politician like Biden doesn’t already know who can deliver what states to him.
I don’t think they’re the “bad guys,” but I will always believe they made the wrong decision. Would John Lewis have boycotted the speech?
Brant
@WaterGirl: You underestimate their villainy, they would look God himself in the eyes, and do exactly what they have done.
Halcyon
@debbie: Then he needs to start acting like it. I don’t think it’s unimaginable at all that our politicians might have alarmingly and unacceptably rosy ideas about the state of things currently.
As a congressmember? Of course not. As an activist? Solid maybe, given that the activists we have today made it clear they thought that was the best plan!
Baud
@Omnes Omnibus:
Because as president, I’d have unlimited power.
Baud
I stand in solidarity with the activists that were with Biden and Harris today.
ETA: Technically, I’m lying down right now, but I’m standing in spirit.
zhena gogolia
@Baud: me too
mrmoshpotato
@UncleEbeneezer: That’s great to hear.
Cacti
Pierce is frankly one of the very worst for that.
Fleeting Expletive
@Brant: Another of this particular strain of villiany: that “What a moron” senator badgering Dr. Fauci today… He wanted so much for personal financial information access to be handed over to the baying hounds. Dr. Fauci was so wise to not take the bait.
debbie
Here’s something to look forward to in the morning: //
mrmoshpotato
@M31:
Gotta add the Charlie Pierce asterisk when applying that word to the Kremlin’s orange fascist shitstain. :)
Brant
@Halcyon: It’s because YOU DON’T SANDBAG YOUR OWN TEAM!
WaterGirl
@MazeDancer: I was hoping Biden would name names.
Kay
@Halcyon:
James Woodal, one of the boycotting activists:
It’s a problem! I mean maybe it can be solved but MIK Jrs family said it was a “difficult decision” whether to attend our not because (I assume) they recognize it’s a problem that they can’t get this done. It’s a big deal.
WaterGirl
@Baud: Just like Joe Biden.//
Dan B
@UncleEbeneezer: Fantastic quilts!
Hildebrand
What’s the goal of boycotting the speech? They know that there is no magic bill in the offing, no way that Biden can force Manchin and Sinema to act like sane legislators – which means that they have an alternate concrete goal other than expressing their frustration. Organizers who only articulate their frustration lose their ability to move people pretty quickly. So, what can we divine from this oracular statement?
Baud
@WaterGirl:
Exactly. I took civics.
Brant
@Halcyon: How does what they’ve done help in any way?
mrmoshpotato
@debbie: Oh Nice Polite Republicans… Tune in for more whining from the orange bastard.
Geminid
LaTosha Brown is only one leader of Black Voters Matter, and none of the other groups boycotting the event in Atlanta chose her to speak for them. She got the spotlight, though, so people have been gathering her “receipts.” One was a tweet from the 2020 campaign:
Georgia did not vote until June 9, after Warren, Sanders, and Steyer had dropped out, so we’ll never know for sure their strength in that state. But still, I have to wonder how representative Brown is of Democratic voters in Georgia.
columbusqueen
@Halcyon: Nope, sorry, it was a dumb move that shows how little these groups understand politics. Spitting on your own is never a good idea in my book, unless said politician is actually stabbing you in the back like Pawpaw Black Lung.
Cacti
They’re going to boycott the Dem POTUS because they have stronger, more influential ally, in…
Ummm…uhhh…
No, boycotting the POTUS from your party is really fucking stupid.
debbie
@Fleeting Expletive:
I watching the clips on Twitter. What utter assholes. This one was fun:
Eljai
Biden and Harris gave speeches today to put pressure on the US Senate to act. That’s precisely why they were there. I understand the frustration that we haven’t gotten what we wanted yet, but I see us making more progress by strengthening coalitions and expanding the message than by giving the media another “Dems in Disarray” story.
Baud
@Geminid:
Whatever happened with Steyer?
lowtechcyclist
@debbie:
No.
I have never confused listening to someone’s three-line summary of what someone else had to say, with listening to the person him/herself.
When someone else has been putting in the work and I haven’t, I owe them a real listen before I criticize.
debbie
@Eljai:
It’s like Susan Sarandon pulling a snit because Bernie wasn’t the nominee.
debbie
@lowtechcyclist:
Four lines, please. I put work into that sentence.
MazeDancer
@WaterGirl: Nicolle Wallace is naming the 16 GOP Senators. She read the list twice on her show:
Sens. McConnell, Grassley, Shelby, Crapo, Collins, Burr, Inhofe, Graham, Thune, Cornyn, Blackburn, Blunt, Boozman, Capito, Moran, and Wicker voted for the 2006 reauthorization
And what about Romnet and Murkowski? They want to be Bull Connor? Apparently so.
Geminid
@Baud: Don’t know. Maybe Steyer is hanging out at the family’s organic farm in California. I read about it. The ratio of employees to produce was higher than any farm I ever heard of. It sounded like a very large hobby farm.
Steyer was really big on clean energy. Maybe he’ll make a showing in that field. Unless that was a hobby too.
JoyceH
@Fleeting Expletive:
Does anyone else think that Fauci’s ‘open mike gaffe’ was about as genuine a gaffe as Jed Bartlet’s on West Wing?
Baud
@Geminid:
I guess those are better hobbies than joyriding into space.
Eljai
@JoyceH: Haha, I could see that as a distinct possibility.
Kathleen
@Cacti: He did it to Obama all the time, accompanied by hand wringing over his perceived weaknesses while he waxed rhapsodically over what a hero Edward Snowden was. I quit reading him during the Obama years.
WaterGirl
@JoyceH: Totally agree with you.
I said the same thing earlier, only without the West Wing reference. Dr. Fauci has had enough of this shit, and he’s savvy enough to have said on a “hot mic” what he can’t appear to say in his official remarks.
debbie
@JoyceH:
Absolutely, as any self-respecting New Yorker would have. I watched a clip of the exchange. Marshall persisted in reading his prepared remarks rather than responding to Fauci’s responses. Marshall looked like a moron, and Fauci was only stating facts.
JoyceH
@debbie: Maybe we should make Fauci’s ‘hot mike comments’ our motto, sort of a reaction to Let’s Go Brandon. Picture the signs and tees saying, “What a moron! Jesus Christ…”
Geminid
@Miss Bianca: What do you think of Ed Perlmutter retiring from your future Congressional district? He’s 68, and says it’s time for a new generation. There is a lady State Senator who may run for the Democratic nomination. But she might be waiting to see what your plans are.
Mo MacArbie
Heavens, so many people here have their fingers on the scrollbar of the nation and have this whole politics thing all figured out. Here’s what I know.
I dunno, maybe a bit of controversy stretches this out to a two or three day story. Maybe not. But if “Dems in Disarray” is the only card we ever get then I guess we play it. Right now, we’re in disarray about voting rights. Voting rights. What’s that you say? Voting rights? Yes, voting rights. What was that kerfuffle in Georgia about? Voting rights.
Subsole
@Halcyon: False dichotomy. We are not asking for obsequious fawning, or “best preznit evur”. We are asking for a unified front. Which we might have had. But somebody had to grow their brand instead.
Sorry. I don’t buy this “poor, beleaugured activist snaps under the strain” take.
When your head goes under the waves for the fourth time and someone on the boat calls out if you need a rope, you say “Yes. Everyone, throw me a rope!”
You most pointedly do NOT shriek “Fuck You, shitlib! Choke on your neoliberal rope!”
People who are actually drowning don’t flip off the people who are trying to help. And if your spox DOES do that? Get a new one. Preferably one who uses their brain for something more than an ear-spacer.
Fleeting Expletive
@JoyceH: Yeah, but I loved it. Listened to the whole exchange–he really badgered Fauci, and the committee chair (Patty Murray?) really should’ve swung her gavel down because he was fucking rude.
zhena gogolia
@JoyceH: I don’t play that let’s go Brandon shit I say what I mean
A Ghost to Most
Huh. Hoocudanode that “progressives” would get so far over their skis that they would face-plant.
It’s a mystery.
Cacti
@WaterGirl: I also enjoyed how Dr. Fauci brought in screen shots of Rand Paul’s anti-Fauci fundraising grift.
I think the good doctor has had it with the stupid people’s bullshit.
zhena gogolia
@Fleeting Expletive: co-sign
zhena gogolia
@Subsole: this was the comment I was trying to co-sign
cain
@Halcyon:
It’s triggering folks here because it plays into the Democrats attacking each other thing. But Black organizers are the same as the leftwing bernie bros, or the whiny David Sirota’s of the world. They put in the work and they delivered the state of Georgia.
It’s ok for Joe to get some lumps. :-) We certainly did it with Obama in this fine blog.
burnspbesq
@MisterDancer:
What that is, more than anything else—and it’s a bonus-size container of stupid , among other things—is childish.
zhena gogolia
Has anyone noticed the smartphone is designed for right handed people
Subsole
@Halcyon: Well, to start, we’d be talking about the actual fascists trying to actually take away voting rights instead of having yet another circular firing squad that helps no one but Chuck Todd because somebody thought their cheerios tasted too much like piss this morning. I think that’s where some of the frustration is coming from.
germy
Miss Bianca
@Geminid: *My* plans? : )
I have mixed feelings about Perlmutter deciding not to run again. I wonder if he thought he might get defeated with the district reshuffle. I think it’s going to be a hard sell to get an non-incumbent Dem into that seat, but we’ll see.
I am still planning to try to get a Perlmutter interview for my local paper, so I will certainly be asking him about his decision.
cain
@piratedan:
I never understand how they get a pass on this. Media outlets never really focus on that or put any kind of pressure. It’s like they’ve given up that their adults – their lies go unanswered or allowed to be aired without challenge.
Old School
@zhena gogolia:
Isn’t everything?
Shalimar
Is the speech over yet?
cain
@Old School: Notice the same thing when I looked at the body of my cat this morning.
debbie
@JoyceH:
It’s been my motto for years!
Subsole
@kindness:
I think a lot of the punditocracy’s disappointment with Democrats is lingering resentment over the fact that Obama ended up being a moderate midwestern instututionalist, instead of installing himself as the Benevolent Liberal Genghis Khan Philosopher Tyrant they were totally sure he ACTUALLY was, based on judicious and documented observation of his past actions, such as…um…er…<intellectual masturbation noises>
Geminid
@Baud: Yeah, and I was being cynical. Steyer and his wife might actually be developing scalable organic agriculture tecniques.
I still get a laugh over the time Tom Steyer approached Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders after that one debate. Then Warren asked Sanders, “Did you just call me a liar?” and Steyer backed off really quickly.
MomSense
@Old School:
I remember how the tea parties treated him before the vote on the ACA and then how he was treated by the lefties and Sandernistas.
Dan B
@Eljai: I have a dreadful feeling that if the GQP takes the House or Senate that we will see Biden impeached and a massive assault on the rights of all minorities plus increased domestic violence. Why do voting rights activists need to be angry with Biden when the GQP is a major threat? Having voting rights legislation would help prevent a GQP takeover but we’ve only got a few months. Eyes on the prize not on perfection.
MomSense
@Subsole:
I’ve been saying this for decades now and I think it still holds up. A Democratic president will be exactly as liberal as the 60th vote in the Senate.
Subsole
@debbie: They miss him. So. Much.
Gobi tumbleweeds have never experienced such thirst.
Baud
@Geminid:
He seemed like one of the better billionaires.
Cacti
@Old School: That’s what I was thinking.
The reason there aren’t more left handed products is because there just isn’t much profit to be made. 9 out of 10 people are right handed.
VeniceRiley
Old enough to remember people screaming that Hillary voters who wanted everyone’s votes to count equally were PUMAs.
TheflipPsyd
@zhena gogolia: Just bought my 11-year old twins their first cell phones. Didn’t want to spend a fortune for them so got one of the best rated off brand cell phones. It’s made by TCL. During set up, it asks whether you are left or right handed and then adjusts to whichever hand you use. That’s the first I ever saw that in a phone. My son who tends to use both hands for different things chose left and said it worked well.
JMG
@Dan B: Even if the Republicans were to take EVERY Senate seat up in November, which they won’t, there would still be 36 votes in the Democratic caucus. The House can impeach Biden as many times as they want. As we saw with Trump, if the GOP doesn’t have the votes in the Senate, it don’t mean a thing.
Geminid
@Miss Bianca: An article I read in the Colorado Sun said that an average of results from eight statewide races 2016-2020 showed the district to be D+7.
Of course that guarantees nothing. My new district, VA-7, is also said to be D+7, but some Democrats are wringing their hands over it. This may be because like Colorado, Virginia moved to to an “independent” redistricting commission. The state legislature was controlled by Democrats, and some people are stressed out about the lost opportunity to gerrymander the state our way, so they say the new map stinks.
I may have Abigail Spanburger as my new Rep. She’ll have to win a primary before she can run in the general. Less than a third of her former constituents are in the new 7th, and some Democrats will think they can do better than a Blue Dog. I like Spanberger, though, so I’ll vote for her.
Nora Lenderbee
@Subsole: This.
@Brant: This.
Anyway
@piratedan:
Democrats are harmed by the status quo on voting. Rethugs don’t have a problem, they have the states and courts rigged in their favor. Having more Democratic governors and SOS is crucial.
texasdoc
@M31: A letter in the Houston Chronicle today called Trump a “disgruntled former federal employee”, which I like.
Geminid
@Mo MacArbie: People here really like talking about what Stacey Abrams should do, and what she should be. Senator? Democratic Party Chairman? Cabinet Member? But Abrams has always known that Georgians need a good Governor, and she will be a great one.
Geminid
@Miss Bianca: I hope you get to interview Mr. Perlmutter at a good time, when he has time. He might have some interesting things to say about both Colorado and Congress, and where he sees each heading.
Miss Bianca
@Geminid: Ah, and the lady state senator appears to be…*squints at Colorado Politics feed*…one Brittany Pettersen. Read all about her! She sounds pretty impressive.
She’s the first, but I’m betting she won’t be the last. We shall see!
Gvg
I just discovered that whistleblower Rebeka Jones is running against Matt Gaetz for Congress. She is the woman who exposed DeSantis cooking the books on Florida’s Covid deaths. I don’t know if she stands a chance, but she stood up to death threats and job loss so at least the debates should be fiery.
schrodingers_cat
@WaterGirl: What is your email address. You can send me a zoomlink on the email address I use on this site. Or at [email protected]
Ivan X
Apple Watch is pretty slick in its accommodation of either left or right handedness.
WaterGirl
@Mo MacArbie: Interesting take!
Another Scott
Great speech by Biden. He laid it all out there. Senators need to vote, and the majority needs to rule.
Cheers,
Scott.