Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the GOP

An almost top 10,000 blog!

We still have time to mess this up!

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

All your base are belong to Tunch.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

Let there be snark.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

A dilettante blog from the great progressive state of West Virginia.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. let’s win this.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

Not all heroes wear capes.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

I know this must be bad for Joe Biden, I just don’t know how.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

Infrastructure week. at last.

I did not have this on my fuck 2022 bingo card.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

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

You are here: Home / Balloon Juice / Saturday Morning Open Thread: Summer Mood(s)

Saturday Morning Open Thread: Summer Mood(s)

by | 135 Comments

This post is in: , , , , , , ,

Sound ON:



… Even if you *don’t* plan on using it for anything else…

Also Sandra Lindsay, “the New York City nurse who rolled up her sleeve on live television in December 2020 to receive the first COVID-19 vaccine dose that was pumped into an arm in the United States”; Khizr Khan; and Richard Trumka. Full list in the article.


Readership capture:

… “My girlfriend is right there,” said Bachman, 78, a former member of The Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive, as the Gretsch guitar on which he wrote “American Woman” and other hits was handed to him by a Japanese musician who had bought it at a Tokyo store in 2014 without knowing its history.

He said all guitars are special, but the orange 1957 Gretsch 6120 Chet Atkins he bought as a teenager was exceptional. He worked at multiple jobs to save money to buy the $400 guitar, his first purchase of an expensive instrument, he said.

“It made my whole life. It was my hammer and a tool to write songs, make music and make money,” Bachman told The Associated Press before the handover at the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo.

When it was stolen from the Toronto hotel in 1977, “I cried for three days. It was part of me,” he said. “It was very, very upsetting.” He ended up buying about 300 guitars in unsuccessful attempts to replace it, he said…

TAKESHI said he decided to return the guitar because as a guitar player he could imagine how much Bachman missed it.

“I owned it and played it for only eight years and I’m extremely sad to return it now. But he has been feeling sad for 46 years, and it’s time for someone else to be sad,” TAKESHI said. “I felt sorry for this legend.”

He said he felt good after returning the guitar to its rightful owner, but it may take time for him to love his new Gretsch as much as that one…

Bachman said he and TAKESHI are now like brothers who own guitars that are “twin sisters.” They are participating in a documentary about the guitar on which they plan to perform a song, “Lost and Found,” together.

They also performed several songs at Friday’s handover, including “American Woman.”

Bachman said he will lock the guitar up in his home so he will never lose it again. “I am never ever going to take it out of my house again,” he said.

Reader Interactions

135Comments

  2. 2.

    Andrew Abshier

    I think the monster truck passengers, between them, could light up a small appliance bulb.  Maybe.

  5. 5.

    Argiope

    The soundtrack for the aquatic truck adventure is just perfection. Recorder can be surprisingly expressive of unfolding doom.

  8. 8.

    The Thin Black Duke

    The ‘Merica video on is the embodiment of the Trump administration, only shorter.

  9. 9.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Betty Cracker: There is nothing lower than a person who would steal a musicians instrument. Well, maybe somebody who would steal a carpenter’s tools.

  14. 14.

    Betty Cracker

    My father was very lax with fireworks — he would buy them and allow my sister and me to shoot off bottle-rockets and explode M-80s unsupervised when we were kids. Of course, we shot the bottle-rockets and threw the M-80s at each other. It’s a wonder we still have all our fingers, toes and eyes.

  15. 15.

    NeenerNeener

    I’m doodle-sitting for the next week, and I have no idea how these two are going to react to fireworks. The puppy may be cool with it, but I’m not sure about the (slightly) older one.

    The theme to Titanic was perfect for that monster truck video.

  17. 17.

    NotMax

    Way too much work cake. Some people simply have too much time on their hands.

    TL:DW* note — perfectly understandable is the urge to periodically skip ahead and get the gist of it in dribs and drabs.

    *(W is for watch.)

    ;)

  18. 18.

    geg6

    That story about Randy Bachman and the stolen guitar is lovely.  I remember reading about the theft many, many years ago in Rolling Stone (so long ago that I was a subscriber, so possibly around the time it happened).

  21. 21.

    Ken

    Did anyone else know exactly what was going to happen in the truck video before hitting play? About the only thing I didn’t get right was the way it capsized backward.

  22. 22.

    David ☘The Establishment☘ Koch

    Presidential Medal of Freedom to be presented at the White House Thursday, July 7.

    Simone Biles
    Olympic champion Simone Biles has advocated for the mental health and safety of athletes, as well as victims of sexual abuse. She testified on Capitol Hill last year about Larry Nassar, the former USA Gymnastics doctors who stands accused of sexually assaulting hundreds of women and girls.

    Sister Simone Campbell
    Sister Simone Campbell, a member of the Sisters of Social Service , advocates for immigration reform and economic justice.

    Julieta García
    Dr. Julieta García, former president of The University of Texas at Brownsville

    Gabrielle Giffords
    Former Rep. Gabby Giffords is a survivor of gun violence who has dedicated her life to gun violence prevention.

    Fred Gray
    Fred Gray represented Rosa Parks, the NAACP, and Martin Luther King, and was considered a top lawyer for racial justice.

    Steve Jobs (Posthumous)                                                                                                                                  Steve Jobs, who died in 2011, has transformed the way the world communicates, the White House notes.

    Father Alexander Karloutsos
    Father Alexander Karloutsos was formerly the Vicar General of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, and has provided counsel to multiple U.S. presidents.

    Khizr Khan
    Khizr Khan is the Gold Star father who drew Donald Trump’s criticism after speaking at the 2016 Democratic convention.

    Sandra Lindsay
    Sandra Lindsay is a New York nurse who served on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    John McCain (posthumous)
    Former Senator John McCain received a gold star for his service in Vietnam, and served the U.S. as a congressman and senator for decades. He earned the respect of both Democrats and Republicans.

    Diane Nash
    Diane Nash organized key civil rights campaigns during segregation.

    Megan Rapinoe                                                                                                                                        Olympic soccer star Megan Rapinoe, the White House notes, has advocated for gender pay equality and LBGTQ+ rights.

    Alan Simpson
    Alan Simpson, a former U.S. senator for Wyoming, advocated for good governance and marriage equality.

    Richard Trumka (posthumous)
    Richard Trumka led the AFL-CIO for more than a decade before he died last year.

    Wilma Vaught
    Brigadier General Wilma Vaught broke barriers for women in the military, and was one of only seven women generals across the Armed Forces when she retired in 1985.

    That’s quite a list, especially Rapinoe and Trumka

    And for once, it’s actually Great News for McCain!

  24. 24.

    NeenerNeener

    @NotMax: If they do another season of Is it Cake? on Netflix she should be a contestant.

    And yes, I watched the whole first season of Is It Cake? and would watch a second one if they make one. I just couldn’t look away…

  26. 26.

    Amir Khalid

    I’d be gutted too if one of my guitars were stolen. Fortunately, none of my musical gear is valuable enough to steal.

  28. 28.

    opiejeanne

    @NeenerNeener: It was a fun, silly show, and I really enjoyed it, but I especially liked that no one got sent home, there was no whining for the cameras, and they all sat and watched their competitors in each round.

  29. 29.

    Immanentize

    So, about the guitar story: did TAKESHI (love the caps!) know it was Bachman’s guitar when he bought it? I rather think he might have if for eight years he knew another person was sad? Or am I just ruining a perfectly sweet tale? But it seems Bachman got him a new Gretsch.

  37. 37.

    Starfish

    @NotMax: I watched her make the celery molds and the carrots, and I am going to have to agree with you about some people having too much time on their hands.

  43. 43.

    Jager

    Our houseguest this weekend, a friend for over 50 years, is originally from Winnipeg and has known Randy since they were kids. George was in a band in his late teens, his lead guitar player broke his hand and 14-year-old Randy played a summer of gigs with “The Jury”. Randy remembered George’s 1957 Stratocaster, called him about 15 years and asked if he still had the guitar.  He bought it from George, Randy invited him to a gig at the Hard Rock. When the band played ‘You Aint Seen Nothing Yet”, Randy used the Strat. BTW, the stuttering in the song is Randy poking fun at his younger brother.

  44. 44.

    Betty Cracker

    Slate has an article about the alleged deal between Biden and McConnell in Kentucky, which is reportedly still on. I am reserving judgment until something is confirmed, but if true, this stinks:

  46. 46.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @WereBear: DeSantis would be the executive equivalent of the current Supreme Court. Trump wasn’t really interesting in governing except as it profited him. DeSantis likes exercising his power. Like the court, he has no limits

  48. 48.

    Baud

    @Betty Cracker:

    Agree. That’s a bit of a head scratcher, if accurate.  Obviously, there may be consideratioms were not privy to, but nonetheless, I don’t think the Senate Dems should agree to it.

  50. 50.

    Uncle Cosmo

    I spent a bit of yesterday’s shopping talking with people & ending each conversation with

    Be safe! NO FIREWORKS! You want to end the Fourth with the same number of fingers you had when you started it!

  52. 52.

    Betty Cracker

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: According to the NYT, Trump is eager to announce a 2024 run soon so the media will swarm that and push the growing evidence of his seditious conspiracy off the front pages.

    Republicans are bracing for Donald J. Trump to announce an unusually early bid for the White House, a move designed in part to shield the former president from a stream of damaging revelations emerging from investigations into his attempts to cling to power after losing the 2020 election.

    While many Republicans would welcome Mr. Trump’s entry into the race, his move would also exacerbate persistent divisions over whether the former president is the party’s best hope to win back the White House. The party is also divided over whether his candidacy would be an unnecessary distraction from midterm elections or even a direct threat to democracy.

    The all-access crew had this to say about DeSantis:

    Post-presidency polls have consistently shown that Mr. Trump remains the most powerful figure inside his party. But potential competitors have not been scared off.

    Last week, a survey of Republicans in New Hampshire, an early presidential primary state, showed a statistical tie between Mr. Trump and Mr. DeSantis.

    If it’s true that Trump will jump in before the midterms, that seems like good news for Democrats to me. Also, I’d love to see Trump smack DeSantis down before it’s too late, but it may already be too late. The Murdochs have moved on to DeSantis, and Limbaugh Jr. (Joe Rogan) and Koch Bros political heir Elon Musk are on board.

  53. 53.

    opiejeanne

    @Betty Cracker: I think TFG’s going to announce on Monday, to get all the attention focused on that. I also think he thinks if he’s running for office he’ll have some sort of executive privilege, as if candidates are protected from investigation and lawsuits.

  55. 55.

    Immanentize

    @Gvg: My hope is he never found out until the internet sleuth found out he had it.

    But a famous and notorious stolen guitar (Bachman did talk about it a lot!) in Japan sounds like it was once understood to be a particularly collectible guitar, no?

  56. 56.

    Barbara

    @NotMax: One of those songs with such good “bones” it wears just about any musical style well. I was in a collectibles store a few weeks ago and it was playing 60s music, and the up tempo horn heavy version of this song came on, circa 1970, and I couldn’t for the life of me remember the artist. Anyone?

  57. 57.

    sdhays

    @opiejeanne: Well, in his first campaign, the FBI was reluctant to investigate his illegal collaboration with a foreign power because it might be “political”, so it’s not a crazy theory.

  58. 58.

    Betty Cracker

    @opiejeanne: That would not surprise me. As nauseating as it would be to see Tangerine Baal back on the campaign trail and associated coverage, it’s a positive thing for Democrats, IMO.

  59. 59.

    VeniceRiley

    I’ve had my first nature stroll on the Sudbury Water Meadows with my wife and our sweet old dog. So happy to not have to worry about fireworks setting him off this weekend!

    As sweet as the guitar story is, I’m not sure it merits documentary length treatment.

  60. 60.

    Mike in NC

    Giving the Presidential Medal of Freedom to a scumbag like Steve Jobs is only slightly better than giving one to Steve Bannon or Rush Limbaugh (which the Fat Orange Clown actually did in the latter case).

  61. 61.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Uncle Cosmo: Back in the stupid old days, my friend Raoul and I would make our own explosive devices using supplies you could order by mail from those tiny little ads in the back of Popular Science. How we didn’t blow ourselves up is an enduring mystery. But I still have 10 fingers, 10 toes and two eyes.

  63. 63.

    JWR

    @Betty Cracker: In junior high school, our little clique had a friend who was somehow connected, by way of the ROTC to a local armory, and he brought us a bunch of bullet blanks, I forget the caliber, but they were big, maybe 2-1/2 inches long, and we would use big, clear marbles attached to the rear end of the bullets by way of cellophane and rubber bands, and we would either throw them up as high as we could, or drop them out of third story windows, and when they worked, they would explode, making a cracking big noise. But this was freakin’ school, with lots of kids running around, and eventually, a guy went to the nurse with shrapnel wounds in his leg. But boy, what “fun” we had!

  64. 64.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Gin & Tonic: My folks wouldn’t buy fireworks so every July 5th we would head out to the streets to see what unexploded fws we could find. I almost lost a good chunk of my left hand and/or fingers lighting a short fused cracker.

  67. 67.

    Baud

    @sdhays:

    Well, in his first campaign, the FBI was reluctant to investigate his illegal collaboration with a foreign power because it might be “political”, so it’s not a crazy theory.

     
    Especially since his name isn’t Hillary Clinton. If it were, all bets (and ethics) would be off.

  68. 68.

    JML

    I loved fireworks as a kid. went every year to the city’s big show growing up (including the year they had an accident and half the display blew up on the ground, causing chaos and mayhem). Used to cross the border for legal stuff (sparklers and fountains and so on) and also inquired about the stuff that was (at the time) illegal: firecrackers, roman candles, and bottle rockets. Begged the parents to stop off at the big firework stores when traveling so we could bring home the loot and make my friends jealous/happy (I shared). We used to light bottle rockets and throw them, trying to time the throw so they’d ignite at the top of the throw and fly even farther. We’d make launchers out of wrapping paper tubes and fire them at everything.

    Now every year around this time I see a deluge of posts on FB from people calling anyone who lights a firework to be an evil cruel bastard, how they should all be banned, etc. Sigh.

  69. 69.

    PaulB

    Four dogs on one side of me, two dogs on the other, and all of them bark all the time. And in this semi-rural community, the fireworks start at about noon and will continue every few minutes for the next 15 hours. Pray for me.

  72. 72.

    Betty Cracker

    @JWR: I’m glad there weren’t more serious injuries!

    Gotta admit I still love explosions, even as a grownup, though I don’t shoot off fireworks anymore out of consideration for dogs. It’s probably my redneck upbringing.

  76. 76.

    Scout211

    Some good news here in California. Newsom just signed a new environmental law phasing out single use plastics.

    The law requires that single-use packaging and plastic single-use food serviceware be recyclable or compostable by 2032. It also requires by 2032 a 25% reduction in the sales of plastic packaging and for 65% of all single-use plastic packaging to be recycled. And it establishes an accountability group, which will include industry representatives, to run a new recycling program overseen by the state.

     

    Ocean Conservancy, one of the non-profits involved in crafting the language of the bill, estimated the newly passed law alone could eliminate 23 million tons of plastic waste in the next decade — about 26 times the weight of the Golden Gate Bridge.

     

    A key measure in the law requires plastic producers to pay $500 million to the state each year for 10 years starting in 2027, which will be collected into the California Plastic Pollution Mitigation Fund. The fund will then be dedicated to “mitigating the environmental impacts of plastic,” the law says.

  77. 77.

    Baud

    @rikyrah:

    We won’t get any judges through if we lose the Senate.

    The original reporting had this as a deal for judges.  Now, the reporting doesn’t mention other judges.  Who knows? But the current reporting portrays a much worse deal.  

  79. 79.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Betty Cracker:

    According to the NYT, Trump is eager to announce a 2024 run soon so the media will swarm that and push the growing evidence of his seditious conspiracy off the front pages.

    Or as Dan Pfeiffer put it:

    Dan Pfeiffer @danpfeiffer 15h

    Donald Trump to announce campaign to pardon himself

  81. 81.

    Betty Cracker

    @Baud: Agreed. It would be an arguably defensible deal if it involved judges Dems want to seat. I’m reserving judgment until we know more, but as outlined in Slate, it sounds bad.

  83. 83.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @rikyrah:

    The timing of this story

    Yeah, that’s curious…. an outrage-generator about a district court judge in KY on the day Ketanji Brown-Jackson is sworn in… helluva coincidence. I don’t like the deal, but it does feel like something’s missing.

  84. 84.

    Another Scott

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I hear from Cilizza that there are rumors that Jimmy Carter is considering running again.  Ron Reagan Jr is mulling his options.  Anita Bryant Jr is considering a national tour.  Etc.

    Current life and politics is too boring to cover and doesn’t generate enough clicks.  Anything for the MSM to change the subject, I guess.

    Cheers,

    Scott.

  85. 85.

    zhena gogolia

    I think I’ll take a break until we stop talking about the KY judge. There are bigger fish to fry.

  86. 86.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Betty Cracker:

    Of course, we shot the bottle-rockets and threw the M-80s at each other. It’s a wonder we still have all our fingers, toes and eyes. 

    I’ll say!  About 30 years ago, my dad and a neighbor’s kid put an M-80 under a metal trash can lid in an empty parking lot (their outside trash cans at the time were 55-gallon oil barrels).

    The lid flew 3 stories high.

  88. 88.

    FlyingToaster

    Growing up in the city (KCMO), it was not only illegal but insanely dangerous to set off fireworks.  I knew one kid in 3rd grade who blew off two fingers throwing firecrackers at cars on Wornall.  An idiot dad set off an M80 in his driveway and set the house siding on fire.  Morons.

    In contrast, my dad would haul us up to Riverside (where they sold fireworks), down to the banks of the Missouri, and we’d light sparklers and fire bottle rockets over the river.  So we’d not blow our fingers off, and while the Big Muddy is polluted, it’s unlikely to set itself on fire.

    When I was in high school, we’d get strings of poppers, light the end of the strings, and drop them down the storm sewers.  We probably killed a thousand rats that way.  And the neighborhood sounded like it was being invaded.

  89. 89.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Biden has nominated 105 judges, 69 confirmed, including a record number of Black women named to the bench. On the day of KBJ’s swearing in, this turd drops in the punchbowl? curiouser…

    @Another Scott: trump running against the Constitution is more than just click-bait. The story about the Princeton (or wherever) grad who married her (former) professor who’s decades older and was fired for sexual harassment, etc, pure bored upper-middle-class white people Real-Housewives Of The Ivy League clickbait. trump is a real and present danger to the republic.

  94. 94.

    Immanentize

    @OzarkHillbilly: thsat brings back a few memories. Same with my family! But letting off strings of firecrackers like my near neighbor did, ALWAYS left a few dozen crackers behind. Also, sometimes, an uncle would go against my parents wishes and bring some to us from the South.

    As for bottle rockets, oh the wars we had (like B. Cracker)! Many of my friends were in fireworks-positive families so there would be a big store of bottle rockets (considered absolutely safe for children, like Jarts). But we were clever tykes of the 70s and one of us realized that the plastic tubes his dad (and many of our dads) had in their golf bags made perfect bazookas. So, two boy teams would set off into the woods shooting dozens of rockets at each other. We all wore a crazy assortment of eye protection: shop glasses, ski goggles, old discarded sun glasses (at night!), and would add taped on cardboard in “sensitive” spots (like one’s neck ). Oh! to have had pocket phone cameras then.

    Only once did one really pop anywhere near anyone (a boy named Keith) which pretty much dampened our enthusiasms and the wars subsided. Then again, we also ran out of bottle rockets.

  96. 96.

    JWR

    @mrmoshpotato:

    my dad and a neighbor’s kid put an M-80 under a metal trash can lid in an empty parking lot

    Our choice of locations to set off M-80s were large, nearly empty trash bins, the kind you’d see behind restaurants.

  97. 97.

    Immanentize

    @Baud: my view on this deal thing is that Biden is not a horrible negotiator and he (and his team in concert with Senate Dems) has been tremendous at getting judges through. But a District Court Judge is not the plum people may think it is. I expect for McConnell to get one Kentucky Judge, Biden will get movement on a bunch of other Fed. Judges. The timing will tell. There are more than two dozen federal judges in the process right now. For a new appointment, it would take the rest of the summer, likely into September for vetting. How many judges can Biden get through before one Kentucky District Court Judge? That is the key to watch.

    (Also, for those twitterati with longer memories than “since breakfast” since this woof began, I assumed that Biden’s praise of McConnell a couple weeks back was part of this effort. Also is a very nice set up for Biden (who is against filibuster reform, doncha know!) Setting up his recent statement that the filibuster should be taken down for Roe legislation. I assume he has, at least, Sinema on board for that. And Manchin probably either doesn’t care that much or agrees with Biden. I hope.)

  99. 99.

    Mike E

    @OzarkHillbilly: we pyromaniacal kids used to break “dud” crackers in half and light them on the inside for a zoomy sprinkler effect… this is probably why my hearing is as impaired as it is

  100. 100.

    Soprano2

    @Betty Cracker: We were allowed to have firecrackers and things like sparklers, but using bottle rockets had to be supervised by a parent, and they were always launched from a pop bottle,  never held in the hand. We were supposed to light firecrackers on the ground, but of course we threw them, sometimes at each other. A kid in the neighborhood got hurt when she stuffed a whole bunch of firecrackers in a can and lit them all at once. Good times…..

    We’re going to a baseball game tonight that has fireworks afterward, that’s all we’ll do this year because fireworks are illegal to have in the city. That doesn’t stop people, though. It hasn’t been that bad this year, I’ve heard there’s a shortage of fireworks plus people don’t have money to buy them.

  101. 101.

    WhatsMyNym

    @Immanentize:   It was stolen in 1977.   They are not that rare and probably difficult to distinguish the year of manufacture.   Sell for $6,000 to $9,000 used.

  103. 103.

    James E Powell

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    If Trump goes down, I wish he’d take DeSantis on his way

    When it happens, the press is going to tell everyone that DeSantis is nothing like Trump, totally different, anyone who says otherwise is a hysterical person who hates America and the troops.

     

  104. 104.

    Betty Cracker

    @Immanentize: I assumed when Biden said he was in favor of getting rid of the filibuster to codify Roe, he was talking about in a new Congress if Dems hold the House and add two more senators. I don’t think there’s anyway Manchin or Sinema are onboard.

  105. 105.

    oatler

    I’m currently watching “The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street” which is part of Decades TV’s “Rod White and Blue” Twilight Zone weekend  marathon. It’s prescient to say the least, like Rod’s “Class of ’99” from his Night Gallery series.

  108. 108.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Baud: every time I think I might have a theory about what Sinema’s actually doing, I get tired and give up. With Manchin, it’s not just his (I think sincere) belief that the filibuster is good, on this issue, he’s “pro-life”

  109. 109.

    Geminid

    @Another Scott: I hope Trump does announce this summer. That will suck political oxygen away from Republican Congressional candidates right when they’re pushing to retake both Senate and House. And it will draw attention to his rallies, which have been freak shows for a while and are getting wierder.

  110. 110.

    Suzanne

    Welp, SuzMom is also officially plague-positive, so that makes it the whole house. As such, we’ve given up on trying to isolate from one another. Called the doctor to get her some Paxlovid.

    I have not been successful in avoiding e-shopping. Too many good sales this weekend.

  111. 111.

    Suzanne

    I will also note that my damn neighbors started setting off fireworks last night. And then we had a good round of thunder and lighting. So I didn’t get to sleep until fairly late, which is obnoxious AF.

    Maybe I’m a killjoy, but I hate fireworks outside of a planned display. I don’t have PTSD or anything, but I just find them obnoxious.

  114. 114.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    in re: What is Sinema doing?

    Joseph Zeballos-Roig @josephzeballos

    Scoop: The 5% surtax on individuals earning above $10 million has been *knocked out* of the reconciliation bill, per source. The tax proposal would have raised over $200 billion from the richest sliver of American households

    Manchin and Sinema hold the power of the purse to opposite ends. While Manchin largely dictates how Democrats are spending their money, Sinema prescribes how they’re raising it to pay for new clean energy and healthcare programs.

    “Her position is now is not the time to raise taxes in any way that would harm small business owners or individuals who are not super rich,” John LaBombard, Sinema’s former communications director, told Insider. “Senator Sinema is not somebody to announce as a position without thinking it through or has one position one day and a different position the next.”

    “small businesses”

    I think Manchin may actually believe he wants to get to yes, but he’ll never have to fumble around for reasons not to as long as Sinema’s part of the negotiations.

  115. 115.

    Steeplejack

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Part of a good thread:

    Is there a method that’s less likely to produce a deal than negotiating with the two bad faith obstructionists in the caucus in serial, rather than at the same table?

    — southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) July 2, 2022

  117. 117.

    Another Scott

    @Steeplejack: Haven’t left the boat, but didn’t Moscow Mitch already say that he was going to fight any other bill if S&M agree to a reconciliation bill?

    Why, yes, he did.

    RollCall (from June 30):

    Republicans won’t back compromise legislation to boost domestic semiconductor manufacturing and U.S. competitiveness with China if Democrats continue to negotiate a partisan budget package that can pass without GOP support, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday.

    “Let me be perfectly clear: there will be no bipartisan USICA as long as Democrats are pursuing a partisan reconciliation bill,” the Kentucky Republican tweeted, using the acronym for the expansive competitiveness measure that passed both chambers in very different forms and is now in conference.

    McConnell’s pronouncement significantly complicates Democrats’ summer legislative agenda, which includes trying to pass both the competitiveness bill and the tax and spending package formerly known as “Build Back Better” before the August recess.

    McConnell made his statement shortly after Senate Democrats announced they reached agreement on a prescription drug pricing plan that’s a key piece of the budget reconciliation package they’ve been renegotiating to appease Sen. Joe Manchin III, D-W.Va. Manchin in December announced his opposition to the $2.2 trillion House-passed tax and spending bill, which was already scaled way back from Democrats’ earlier plans.

    “Sen. McConnell is holding American jobs in key US industries hostage to help China and protect his friends in big pharma allowing them to keep screwing over Americans with outrageously high Rx drug prices,” Justin Goodman, a spokesperson for Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, said in an email.

    Beating up on S&M isn’t going to fix things. Beating up on Moscow Mitch gives us a chance to increase our Senate margin and make S&M less relevant.

    Eyes on the prizes.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  122. 122.

    Immanentize

    @Baud: I don’t think there was ever going to be anything but Dem votes in the Senate. That is what reconciliation is all about.

  123. 123.

    Suzanne

    @Steeplejack:

    everything with Sinema is smoke and mirrors except cutting taxes for her corporate donors 

    Yeah.
    I really don’t understand why the jackaltariat finds her so inscrutable and why dissection of her motives is such a frequent topic of discussion here. She is the way she is because it’s in her interest to be that way. She doesn’t have an ideology besides attention and enrichment. “Follow the money” was and always has been good advice.

  127. 127.

    Suzanne

    @Immanentize: She probably would vote to codify if it came to it, but she gets to hide behind the filibuster now and thus avoid taking a firm position on the issue. I think she is conflict-avoidant, which is why she pretends to love the filibuster.

  128. 128.

    Another Scott

    @Steeplejack: S&M decide what’s going to be in any reconciliation bill – we know this.  It has been that way since January 2021.  There’s nothing new there.  Let Schumer and the committee chairs and all the rest figure out what’s acceptable to them, pass it, declare victory, and move on.  Beating up on S&M isn’t going to change anything – if anything, it makes them more stubborn (“See how centrist and moderate I am, fighting against those nasty out-of-state liberals!!11”).

    It’s not getting worked up about what S&M do; it’s a distraction.  We should devote all of our efforts to defeating the GQP and electing more Democrats.

    My $0.02.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  131. 131.

    Ruckus

    @The Thin Black Duke:

    Same concept, but a faster, louder, stupider, larger, more abnormal vehicle – SFB’s brain.

    Now I know you are going to question faster and possibly larger. But think faster as a process of going from even semi normal to full on SFB. And larger is that he involves more people than on that 4 wheeled thing. IOW he’s more destructive, stupider, takes far more people down at a time and thinks that it’s every other brain that is less than his, when his brain is far stupider, louder, and more abnormal than others and has convinced many other abnormal brains to follow him because they are also stupid, loud, and well, abnormal.

  132. 132.

    Another Scott

    @Suzanne: Both of them claim to be working hard to get the Senate to “work” by doing bipartisan stuff.  That’s their brand.  They’re not going to vote to change the filibuster because doing so would make everything “partisan” and break their brand.

    As you say, this isn’t hard.

    And it’s why the political press somehow being surprised and outraged that they won’t do carveouts for things that they support is disingenuous.  S&M can, and probably do, support lots in the BBB and voting rights and all the rest, they just want any bills to be bipartisan or not to be big changes – they regard preserving their brand as being more important than protecting the country from Moscow Mitch and TFG.

    So, any BBB-lite that gets through them will be incremental changes at best.  Similarly with anything else (other than judges, cabinet secretaries, ambassadors, etc.).  It’s just the way it is in a 50:50 Senate.

    Our energies should be spent increasing the margin in the Senate, keeping the House, supporting Biden-Harris and Team D, and not getting distracted.  IMHO.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  133. 133.

    Layer8Problem

    Salon: “Sinema kills plan to codify abortion rights—then fundraises on protecting women’s health care.”

    From whom, idiots? And clicking on the link gets a bonus “blame Democrats” take from Nina Turner, so screw that.

Comments are closed.