"This ain't your father's Republican Party," Pres. Biden says. "This is a MAGA party now."
"The people who know better are afraid to act correctly, because they know they'll be primaried." https://t.co/npXbfIdqKj pic.twitter.com/VpFalK4RT9
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) April 22, 2022
Biden predicts Democrats could bolster Senate majority in midterms https://t.co/3wQRGXat9b pic.twitter.com/89CZxO5AK4
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 22, 2022
SCOOP: Anita Dunn is returning to the White House in a senior role@iansams is going to WH counsel’s office to do oversight comms
More details on planning underway for changes ahead of midterms and expected GOP investigationshttps://t.co/QIG5J51oE5
— Tyler Pager (@tylerpager) April 22, 2022
Media Village Idiots can’t hardly wait for a Retvrn to GOP ChaosWorld…
The White House is preparing for a potential barrage of Republican-led congressional investigations next year, hiring new staffers and positioning itself to respond to aggressive inquiries if the GOP takes control of one or both chambers of Congress, according to people familiar with the moves.
Senior officials have begun strategizing on how various White House departments, especially the counsel’s office, may be restructured to respond to an onslaught of investigative requests if Democrats lose control of the House or the Senate in November’s midterm elections, as many in both parties expect…
Anita Dunn, a former top Biden adviser who remains close to the president, is returning to the White House in a senior adviser role with a broad portfolio, and she is expected to be involved in part in responding to potential GOP probes, according to four people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel moves. The White House declined to comment on Dunn…
White House officials said Dunn’s job will not be explicitly tied to the potential Republican investigations, but her return ensures the veteran Democratic operative will have a central role in what could emerge as a pitched political and legal battle between Biden and a raucous group of newly powerful House Republicans. Dunn did not respond to a request for comment.
The White House is also bringing on Ian Sams, formerly a spokesman for Vice President Harris’s presidential campaign, where he was known as a hard-hitting and combative advocate — traits for which the White House looked in filling the role. Sams, who will start in the coming weeks, will have a communications role in the counsel’s office focused on responding to congressional investigations, according to the people familiar with the matter. He currently works at the Department of Health and Human Services as a spokesman on covid response…
Just a regular story about the political party currently, and openly, trying to cover up a coup attempt by their party leadership, chatting about abusing their power if they take over the house / senate. You guys are normalizing their behavior.
— moleek (@moleek22) April 22, 2022
japa21
I, for one, expect the Dem House majority to increase.
debbie
What a very sad situation.
zhena gogolia
@japa21: I hope you’re right.
Starfish
And what an embarrassing MAGA party it is!
debbie
It’s not just Florida anymore.
Damien
I’m glad this message is starting to take off. I for one believe that it’s important to have competing ideas in this country, and would love to have a political party that is devoted to coming up with alternative solutions to problems facing this country.
That being said, trans people and voting aren’t problems that need solutions, so go ahead and burn the entire Republican Party to the ground, salt the ashes, and let’s move on.
trollhattan
Tired: Global pandemic, biggest European land war since 1945.
Wired: Ted Cruz’ Twitters.
Just shoot me.
Damien
@Starfish: Ah, but here you’re making the classic mistake of assuming he feels shame.
Geminid
I agree that it is wise to prepare for the eventuality of a Republican controlled House. They might even end up with a slender Senate majority. But I still think that when the November elections are over Democrats will retain majorities in both houses of Congress.
Omnes Omnibus
@japa21: Stays more or less the same. We pick up 2-3 on the Senate.
kindness
The WaPo has been doing a lot of Republicans media job for them setting up the expectations of Democrats to lose. With all the gerrymandering Republicans have done I do think we’ll lose seats in the House but I am not certain Nancy will lose the Speakership. I have a hard time normalizing the Republican crazy as being OK with most Americans who aren’t paying attention.
Starfish
@Damien: I hope he feels a primary challenge.
Baud
@japa21:
@Geminid:
?
japa21
@Omnes Omnibus: Expect gain of 2-3 House, 4 in Senate. Plus a couple governorships.
Elizabelle
@Geminid: That’s what I think, too.
There WILL be House hearings into the insurrection. Jamie Raskin is not Michael Avenetti.
That said, it’s wise for the Biden administration to prepare. It’s painful to think of the all Benghazi all the time if the fucking GOP takes either house. It cannot be allowed to happen.
Elizabelle
@kindness: The WaPost’s new executive editor, Sally Buzbee, selected by Jeff Bezos, is a fucking disaster hire. Evident very early.
Starfish
@japa21: This would be out of line with historical norms, but I hope you are right.
japa21
@Starfish: Historical norms have no meaning any more. The last several years have changed all that.
Elizabelle
@Starfish: What about the past four or five years has struck you as “historical norms?”
Elizabelle
@japa21: They have meaning only for the tired and mediocre horserace pundits.
debbie
I’m beginning to think there’s an organized campaign against Cawthorn. This seems to have just been released.
Starfish
@Elizabelle:
I think the autistic dude who likes maps is correct. Midterms are for blaming the president for stuff.
Elizabelle
@Starfish: Let the next few months play out. We are going to see some House hearings on the insurrection. A lot could change.
A lot of this “wired for Republicans, who are going to win” — where do you think that is coming from?
debbie
Bex
@Starfish: The blonde in the picture on the right looks like Laura Ingraham. Isn’t she kind of long in tooth for that kind of party?
Elizabelle
Never mind the lingerie, the main thing about those photos: how very, very young Cawthorne looks. And in a party situation, with a lot of young women.
Is that who the NC 11th district really wants representing them? Perhaps they have had their fun.
lollipopguild
@debbie: Trump turned them into the “If it feels good, do it party”.
Sure Lurkalot
@debbie: I’m not sure there needs to be a concerted effort in re Mr. Cawthorne as he seems to have a natural proclivity to self own.
debbie
@Sure Lurkalot:
Understood, but odd everything’s being released so close together.
Elizabelle
Cawthorn lies so much. He is unreliable, except as a sensation. You could have some voter remorse going on.
Starfish
@Elizabelle: I think that is the correct place to focus. Are you sure you want to be paying this child that much money to misrepresent your district in Congress? Does he look like the type of person who is going to help you when your Veterans’ benefits need to be figured out?
Poe Larity
How about liberals, progressives and centrists getting in a room together and hammering out multi-billion $ subsidies for Seasteading?
We need to get these people out in the ocean and away from US politics.
We can argue about the best way to monitize a reality stream, or whether the Coast Guard Fireboats should respond to Mad Max on the High Seas later. Freedom Isn’t Free can be read more than one way.
Sure Lurkalot
I need to stop reading the pollsters and pundits doom and gloom, knowing full well that’s pretty much their skill set.
One thing I see others recommending that I fully endorse is to not give money to opponents of people like MTG in R+45 districts. Marcus Flowers seems like a fine candidate for public office but the way to marginalize the MTGs is to elect more Democrats where they have at least a fighting chance.
Starfish
@Poe Larity: I thought Seasteading was for libertarians?
Another Scott
@Damien: Yeah, the GQP has always tried to distract people with culture-war themes (flag burning, prayer in schools, unisex bathrooms, scary foreigners with Ebola!, etc.), but they at least pretended to care about the business of government (passing a budget, voting on cabinet and judicial nominees, having a unified foreign policy). Now, it’s culture wars all the time and who cares about doing the actual job they were elected to do?
When I was growing up, the young John Bircher I knew was adamant that the rich financiers and the Communists were the enemy. The idea that a (claimed) billionaire from NYC who wanted nothing more than to be buddy-buddy with the dictators of the DPRK and Russia would be the leader of the Right in America would have made his head explode.
I like to think that people will remember the story of The Boy Who Cried Wolf!, but I worry how long it will take sometimes…
The battle is never over. Forward!!
Cheers,
Scott.
Alison Rose ???
@Starfish: Now, normally, I’d say whatever someone does in their private life is their business, and dudes wearing lingerie is awesome.
But in THIS CASE, fuck that guy and I hope he tanks.
Sure Lurkalot
@debbie: True but he reminds me of a compulsive liar I once worked with. The lies start out fairly minor and inconsequential and no one really notices or cares. The liar gets emboldened and there gush out more lies to cover the ones ignored until the liar loses track and the walls come crumbling down. At least they did with that guy!
Jay
If your truck came from the factory with out truck balls,
And you hung them on,
Congrats, you did gender reassignment surgery.
Starfish
@Jay: That is gender-affirming surgery. Your truck was male to begin with. It is just more male with the Truck Nutz.
I am open minded and willing to consider that trucks were female or non-binary though.
Geminid
@Geminid: I am still anxious more or less about Democratic Representives like Sharice Davids (KS-3) and Elaine Luria (VA-2). They both flipped Republican seats in 2018 but face tougher races after redistricting. And veteran Marcy Kaptur has an uphill fight in her now R+3 district in Northeast Ohio. These women are excellent Representatives, though, and I’m hoping their new constituents will recognize that.
Geminid
@Sure Lurkalot: It would probably be best for people to curb their donations to Democrats running in tough districts like the Georgia 14th. But candidates like Flowers are going to win people’s support no matter what. Just like Representative Ocasio-Cortez will outraise almost all other Democrats even though she is in a district safer than Margery Greene’s.
dww44
@Baud: ???
Jeffro
This
sure sounds like a big midterm campaign theme to me. Especially with two (or more!) months of Jan 6th public hearings coming up.
dww44
So, Jeffrey Tobin just asserts that not only will MTG not be thrown off the ballot, this whole exercise only enables her to raise more money and will make her even stronger in her district. And David Axelrod agrees. Both also think that this obscure part of the 14th Amendment is antidemocratic and was never meant to be used except against former Confederates.
dww44
@dww44: Personally I disagree. She swore allegiance to the Constitution and then advocated to subvert it. It wasn’t just her right of free speech she was exercising as both Toobin and Axelrod said her statements were.
zhena gogolia
@dww44: did Toobin have his pants on as he said this?
Felanius Kootea
@zhena gogolia: ??? God forgive me but I haven’t been able to take him seriously. I know that’s juvenile of me but oh well.
zhena gogolia
@Felanius Kootea: god forgives you. He shouldn’t be on tv
dww44
@zhena gogolia: there was no way to tell!