Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

Nothing worth doing is easy.

The republican caucus is already covering themselves with something, and it’s not glory.

We still have time to mess this up!

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

I’m pretty sure there’s only one Jack Smith.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

Republicans do not pay their debts.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

Americans barely caring about Afghanistan is so last month.

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

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

Battle won, war still ongoing.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

Let there be snark.

It’s time for the GOP to dust off that post-2012 autopsy, completely ignore it, and light the party on fire again.

Hot air and ill-informed banter

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

A Senator Walker would be an insult to the state and the nation.

After roe, women are no longer free.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

You are here: Home / Politics / Biden Administration in Action / President Biden On The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (LIVE) at Noon

President Biden On The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (LIVE) at Noon

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President Biden Delivers Remarks on the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022

I’m losing track of bill names.  Is this the bill that may or may not be punking the Republicans?  Or do we have two big things (potentially) happening?

As long as I’m embedding Biden video, President Biden is hosting a Roundtable Meeting with Chief Executive Officers later today.

Open thread.

Reader Interactions

215Comments

  1. 1.

    SiubhanDuinne

    As long as I’m embedding Biden video, President Biden is hosting a Roundtable Meeting with Chief Executive Officers later today.

    Will Tim Apple be there?

  2. 2.

    Old School

    I’m losing track of bill names.  Is this the bill that may or may not be punking the Republicans?

    This is Manchin’s reconciliation bill.

  5. 5.

    dmsilev

    It’s a stupid name for a bill (and the IRA acronym is already overloaded), but whatever. If the stupid name is what’s needed to get Senator Coalstate to support it, so be it.

  10. 10.

    dmsilev

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Summertime,
    And the livin′ is easy
    Reps are jumpin’
    And the Senate is high

    Manchin′s rich
    And Pelosi’s good lookin’
    So hush little baby
    Don′t you cry

  15. 15.

    Kropacetic

    @dmsilev: If the stupid name is what’s needed to get Senator Coalstate to support it, so be it.

    My first thought when I saw the name. The title of the bill was definitely what flipped the vote. It doesn’t change the substance of the bill.

  16. 16.

    Baud

    Stupid Dems. “The Inflation Deflation Act of 2022” was just sitting there for the taking. No wonder we lose.  We need younger leaders.

  18. 18.

    Cameron

    And how, exactly, is this different from the Reduction Inflation Act, huh?  Pwned again, libtards!

  19. 19.

    SFAW

    @Baud: ​
     

    We need younger leaders.

    Not that I expect you’ll answer, but: How old/young are you? Maybe the time is right for you to make your move.

  20. 20.

    eversor

    I was told to move this?  From the thread on fucking vets so here goes, I may have done this wrong:

     

    Shit like this makes my blood boil.  I’m a vet and I’ve been “sick” now for a rather long time.  Multiple bouts of various low level cancers that given they run in my family I have no ground to stand on it.  I don’t mind it, I mostly hate the massive amount of “I need to work from home” it causes right up until they shit can you and then  you have to get a new job.  Which of course you can’t tell them what’s going on, and my resume is epic so I get hired and then end up back there.  Due to the nature of my work, IT, companies just confirm you were there, they won’t get into the details because of social engineering issues and I’m savvy enough to know what to sign and when to tell someone to go fuck themselves.

    I’ve lost a lot of weight but if you looked at me I’m a ripped six feet blonde hair blue eyes guy who runs 5ks, but I don’t feel like that.  I haven’t had a solid shit in years.  I moved to soups and lighter foods as I didn’t like hurling into the toilet each night.   At one point it was projectile “coffee grounds” followed by a stream of blood.  I like soup so oh well!  If I had it my way I’d eat nothing but soup, pickled fish and cheese, yes I’m Dutch don’t judge!  But for the past two decades I’ve probably almost, if not actually, shat myself and then hurled once a day.

    At a point the rate of me getting violently illl out paced my savings.  So I’ve been detonating 401ks, IRAs, Roth IRAs, left and right.  Not good but I fully realize I won’t live to be around to use them, I’d just like to leave the love of my life something, and there is that odd moment where you realize you burn faster than you take in.  The writing is on the wall for me.  In a way, I welcome it.

    The way it works is you get “let go” with some vague ass reason, because they can’t actually fire you for being sick and I’ve worked for the likes of Deloitte, and shoved with three months of money.   As top end firms are all churn and burn nobody cares until they sort of figure out you aren’t OK.  You sort of know it’s coming and then demand a ton of your pills to last you and go crash land somewhere else.   Knowing full well you will crater as well so you make the friends you can and try to make yourself so liked they feel bad when they pull the trigger.

    I’m on a rack ton of pills for various things and I sort of quit taking them seriously as I long since stopped caring.  Locking your office door and then having a seizure and pretending your not in there does that.

    I’m mostly at network person which means I have to be on site to run wires and do server work.  It’s still classified as support but it’s not what you’d think.  I’d love to find a nice calm job even if it’s sub 100k where I could sit at home with the cat and do it but those really don’t exist and I’m constantly told I’m to qualified when I find one.

    These people, who hide that this is a huge issues, there is a place in hell if there is a hell for them.  Cause I don’t think they know what it’s actually like.  You look fine, you seem fine, but you are very not fine.  Your savings drain, you’re on the financial edge, but you look hot and have a flat screen TV with surround sound so you can’t be stressed!  I have no debt.  I paid off all my cards, and am now churning through the last of my savings.  The car is fully paid.  I have no student loans personally.

    It’s not just getting hit over the head with six figures of medical bills its the not being able to work and make more money that kills you.

    None of these dickless wonders ever spent a moment in uniform or they wouldn’t do this.  And they better be careful.  Because if you have an actual veterans riot and not that half assed shit on Jan 6 you might see what an angry mob actually is!

  22. 22.

    Baud

    I assume they’ve counted the votes if Biden is coming out so strongly for this bill.  I’ll still be nervous until the ink is dry.

  23. 23.

    Ken

    @Baud: “The Inflation Deflation Act of 2022” was just sitting there for the taking.

    I’ve often complained that the standard for bill titles seems to be making a cute acronym, but now I understand the temptation. That just cries out for an “E” to spell “IDEA”.

  24. 24.

    Geminid

    @dmsilev: Paw Paw Black Lung, living up to his nickname!

          Notable inclusion in the Inflation Reduction Act: a *permanent* extension of the excise tax which funds the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund, which aids coal miners with black lung. The tax expired at the end of last year, and the BBB would have included a 10-year extension.

    @Grace Segars 11:46am Jul 28 2022.

    Grace Segers is a Capitol Hill correspondent for the New Republic and a good daily news source for when Congress is in session.

  30. 30.

    Betty

    @eversor: The worst part is they did it out of spite because of the reconciliation bill. They have enraged a lot of people, including non-veterans. I hope things get better for you.

  32. 32.

    Steeplejack

    @WaterGirl:

    I have seen this comment!

    Hopefully they will fix the “recent comments” thing so that it reliably shows the most recent comments and doesn’t get befarkled by the site cache or buffer or whatever they call it.

  33. 33.

    Miss Bianca

    @Omnes Omnibus: Well, if Manchin’s office actually rose to the “All right, fine, then *you* write a goddamn bill you’d vote for!” challenge, then…yay? Yay-ish?

  34. 34.

    Geminid

    @zhena gogolia: Yes it is. I’ve used plenty of electricity generated from West Virginia coal, and I want to see the people who mined it taken care of.

    One of the many good items in the Infrastructure bill was a provision that strengthened another excise tax, this one on the sale of certain chemicals. The money will fund stalled Superfund clean up operations, with an emphasis on those near poor communities.

  37. 37.

    James E Powell

    @Baud:

    I assume they’ve counted the votes if Biden is coming out so strongly for this bill.  I’ll still be nervous until the ink is dry.

    Same here. I’d like to see one of those signing crowds with Biden & Manchin & everybody else acting like old buddies.

    I definitely still despise Manchin & what he represents, but we have an election to win, so let’s trumpet our wins & pound the Republicans for being anti-American clowns

    ETA – Guess we all should have put our cash into solar energy stocks.

  39. 39.

    Urza

    @eversor: Hiring freezes are starting, but once hiring gets back to normal there’s a good chance my company could do over 100k for a WFH position.  Would need to know more about your skillset of course.  It sounds like you have a clearance so if you can make it to the office somewhat regularly that would be worth more, but not required.
    Also to the best of my knowledge no ones ever let go for medical reasons and the insurance is very good.

  45. 45.

    tam1MI

    So, when does Kristen Sinema show up in a dress made out of dead cats and a dildo on her head to kill the bill?

  47. 47.

    Redshift

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    This time it appears that the bill came from Manchin’s chambers.  They literally let him write it.

    They might have let him write a few provisions, but it has a bunch of climate change measures, and he sure as hell didn’t write those.

  50. 50.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Redshift: Sure, but the bill came out of his chambers.  It isn’t something that he is deciding to go along with or not.  He put it forward.

  52. 52.

    Redshift

    @Kropacetic:

    My first thought when I saw the name. The title of the bill was definitely what flipped the vote. It doesn’t change the substance of the bill.

    Apparently they got Larry Summers to use his powers for good for once, and call up Manchin to explain to him that it wouldn’t cause inflation. It was infuriating that he was on the “gummint spending caused inflation” bandwagon in the first place, but his head is full of fossilized ideas, so that’s pretty much unavoidable.

  53. 53.

    Ninedragonspot

    Busy day for Joe.  He had a 2+ hour phone call with Xi this morning, which I gather was less than pleasant.

  54. 54.

    p.a.

    No matter how much they get kicked in the nuts, the (vast?) majority of vets* never leave abusive daddy Republican party.  Fruckin’ fustratin’.

     

    *I’ve never seen a political breakdown of vets by sex.  I’ll check google.

     

    ETA, from 2018 pbs.org:

    “I see this as a beginning edge of a larger movement,” said Jeremy Teigen, professor of political science at Ramapo College and author of “Why Veterans Run: Military Service in American Presidential Elections, 1789-2016.”

    Both current and former female service members were more likely to vote in the 2018 midterm elections for Democrats than Republicans, 60 percent to 36 percent, according to the data from VoteCast. Men with military backgrounds voted Republican by roughly the same margin, 58 percent to 39 percent.

  55. 55.

    WaterGirl

    @zhena gogolia: Funny, just before seeing this comment from you I sent email to eversor, copied in the comment from Urza at #39 and said that if they both ask me, I can put them in touch by email.

    :-)

  57. 57.

    Old School

    @tam1MI:

    So, when does Kristen Sinema show up in a dress made out of dead cats and a dildo on her head to kill the bill?

    …

    Burgess Everett
    @burgessev
    Could be a bit before we hear from Sinema on the Manchin/Schumer deal. Her office says “we aren’t going to have comment because Kyrsten is reviewing the text, and she’ll need to review what comes out of the parliamentarian process.”
    10:46 AM · Jul 28, 2022·Twitter for iPhone

  64. 64.

    James E Powell

    Watching Secretary Yellen.

    She’s the first public person I can recall to use the proof/pudding metaphor correctly: The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Not the proof is in the pudding.

    She just had to explain to a reporter why adjusting for inflation provides a more accurate picture. Because she is a better person than I am, she did not call him a moron.

  65. 65.

    oatler

    @trollhattan:

    Historians will refer to “covfefe” as Trump’s battle cry for nihilism,  It’s the same homicidal rage that drove the dixie gentlemen to invent titles like “Grand Kleagle'”.

  66. 66.

    WaterGirl

    @Old School: Shorter Sinema:

    “Sen. Sinema hasn’t decided yet whether she will derail this yet.”

    “Sen. Sinema hasn’t figured out yet which direction the money is flowing.”

  67. 67.

    Ken

    @Cameron: Donald Trump – the Typhoid Mary of contagious imbecility.

    I thought kuru only spread by eating brains. Though there are other transmissible forms, like mad cow.  And if it can spread like typhoid, by fecal contamination, there have been plenty of people kissing Trump’s ass.

  69. 69.

    Starfish

    @eversor: I am so frustrated on your behalf.

    This thing where companies are huffing glue and assuming that we all need to work 40 hours a week unless we are working just-in-time nonsense in the service sector needs to stop. There are all sorts of valid reasons where there should be part-time jobs that are fulfilling to people with more skills.

    This thing where people are allowed to go into medical bankruptcy over chronic conditions also sucks.

  71. 71.

    sdhays

    @James E Powell: She is a jerk, but it also could be an indication that no one told her about this until it was announced because they couldn’t be sure she wouldn’t blab to her best buddies Mitt, Lisa, and Susie Collins.

  73. 73.

    NoraLenderbee

    @Ken:

    And if it can spread like typhoid, by fecal contamination

    Kissing ass and eating sh*t (with or without a grin) are both highly effective at spreading it.

  74. 74.

    Kropacetic

    @Starfish: This thing where companies are huffing glue and assuming that we all need to work 40 hours a week

    Assuming, of course, one job pays the rent.

  79. 79.

    eversor

    @Urza:

    I’m the full TS/SCI stack with crypto on top of that and at one point a temp yankee white.  It’s expired though as I went into legal IT, but I could clear up in a second if needed.

    I’ll… I’ll be fine.  I think that I’m looking at one of those nice Amazon spook jobs now.  I’m in Arlington VA so jobs are easy to get here and pay well.

    I just, I don’t know how many times I have this in me.  My fiancee has cancer as well and we have a cat and really I haul down a lot more than she does.  It’s a nice area, and we have a nice place, but a one bedroom here starts at 2500 a month.  Toss in the phones and internet and it’s 3k a month to keep the roof on our heads.

    We make it, and we shop at the discount asian stores and are odly very frugal about things.  There’s no debt or other things really.  But we are both sick.  What do you do?  Thing is there’s not much you can do.

    The brutal truth of is stares us in the face we aren’t going to make it.  What needs to happen is for us both to get WFH jobs that pay less and just cut back.  That’s fine, that’s doable.  I can do some AWS job for the DOD and she can do some DOD related admin job.

    The hardest part of this all is admitting you failed, you’re weak, you can’t do it, and you need help.   But then all your very socially liberal friends freak the fuck out, as meritocracy.   And it’s humililiating, I’m not here because I don’t have a masters.  I sure as shit don’t need your lecturing about… checks notes, still not sure so shut up.

    But there is always hope.  I’ve had so much fun looking at a half bald wife to be and just laughing my ass off with a feral rescue cat and I wouldn’t trade that for anything.

    To the old thread that caused my first rant, these people know nothing of it.  They are all limped dick nutless cowards.  I know how I got here, my father was rescued by the OSS in WW2 and then joined the Army and went to Harvard.  He was Jewish.

    What I won’t tolerate is this insanity of shitting on us.  Cause mark my words.  You do not want a “veterans riot”.  I don’t approve of it, but god damn do thse people seem hell bent on provoking one!

  83. 83.

    WaterGirl

    Well, I finished watching President Biden’s speech late, just now, because I was futzing with the Recent Comments stuff.

    A lot of the things in here look like big Joe Biden deals to me!  More than one of them.  Several, in fact.  it’s heartening.

    Who are you gonna believe?  The corrupt lies and games from Republicans?  Or your lying eyes?

    “This sure doesn’t sound like a recession to me.”

    Joe looks good.  Sounds like his respiratory issues – that still showed in some video remarks from just a few days ago – are gone!

  84. 84.

    JaySinWA

    @WaterGirl:oe looks good.  Sounds like his respiratory issues – that still showed in some video remarks from just a few days ago – are gone!

    That cough at the start made me nervous. I think he may be pushing too hard too soon with this appearance, I hope he gets enough rest to recover completely.

    Yes this is an amazing set of accomplishments, hopefully they can hold the Senate D’s together to get this passed

    ETA I was glad to see him walk off without taking questions.

  88. 88.

    Geminid

    Reporter Jaime Dupree just tweeted that the “CHIPS+ Act” was passed by the House, and 24 Republicans voted for it.

  89. 89.

    Bupalos

    This part of BBB getting salvaged and punking Republicans is such a happy surprise. It really looks pretty damn deft.

    If we can somehow weather the midterms and come out with a couple more senators and hold the house, maybe the CTC can come back in the second half, the economy can smooth out and get some wind back in the sails, and 2024 will be looking pretty damn good.

    That’s a lot of maybe’s and if’s, but it does actually remind one that the sun also rises, occasionally. I was feeling pretty damn dark about literally nothing happening to address the climate crisis. This will be something. More than we thought was going to be possible.

  91. 91.

    raven

    @Baud: The final vote was 243-187 with one Democrat, Rep. Sara Jacobs of California, whose family owns the QualComm telecom company, voting present. Twenty-four Republicans crossed over to join Democrats in backing the bill, despite House GOP leadership whipping against the package.

  92. 92.

    Bupalos

    Yoinks though. I mean, it isn’t really substance, and on a day where it’s clear the substance of this admin is pretty darn substantial…

    Biden is getting really hard to listen to. I have a really hard time imagining a 2024 campaign, even from the incumbent’s seat. It’s getting where not that many sentences come out clean. And this is a pretty major part of the job.

  94. 94.

    Geminid

    @Baud: I did not see that mentioned in Dupree’s tweet. If any Democrats voted against, @BuffaloMeg will say. She’s an avid Bernie basher and Squad squasher

    Ahh, now I see that Raven has the Chip scoop.

  97. 97.

    Jackie

    @Bupalos: Keeping the House is SO crucial! I think (knock on wood) we’ll keep the Senate +2 and be able to get the voting rights act passed and codify Roe. 🤞🏻🤞🏻

    But, we need the House to get those Bills to the Senate🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

  99. 99.

    Jackie

    @Bupalos: He’s ONE DAY from Covid! His voice is still rough. Plus, he just finished a 2 hour+ call with China. Give him a break!🤦🏼‍♀️

  100. 100.

    Geminid

    @Bupalos: Might have just been a bad day. I haven’t seen much change in Biden’s speech over the last year. He’s always slurred a little.. Actually, he still enunciates better than I do.

  104. 104.

    Omnes Omnibus

    BYW all of Ron Johnson’s offices go straight to voicemail when I call.  I wanted to ask for an explanation of his stance on the the PACT Act.

  105. 105.

    Geminid

    @raven: That might be the Covid. And talking to Xi all morning. I hope Joe has a good weekend at Camp David. There’ll be nice weather.

  107. 107.

    Kropacetic

    @Omnes Omnibus:  Petulance? Vindictiveness? A lack of empathy? All of them, Katie?

    Eta: Sending all calls to voicemail was probably the right choice for staff retention.

  111. 111.

    Dangerman

    I don’t know if it’s already been shared, but, damn, Jon Stewart just tore the bark off the Republicans on the PACT issue. Complete defenestration (I think thats the word). I gotta run and cant link but check it out. 9 minutes of giving them hell. Warning, most definitely not safe for work.

  112. 112.

    Immanentize

    @raven: If he bails, (which I think he might) he will 1) wait until after the mids and 2) carefully consider the timing to reduce party chaos. Please let him not do an LBJ (fuck him!)

  116. 116.

    Kropacetic

    @Baud: It just stores the content, no need to interpret or care. That’s both the voicemail software and Ron Johnson.

  118. 118.

    Kropacetic

    @Old School: I’d send Trump a copy of the findings of the 9/11 committee if I thought there was a 0.0001 percent chance he’d read it.

  119. 119.

    Immanentize

    @Old School: TFG’S entire schtick now is just vaguely promoting every damn conspiracy whack idea that pops into his noggin. Can he make a majority out of that?

    Shrug. Who’s to say?

  120. 120.

    Immanentize

    @Amir Khalid: I thought it was a particularly complicated exercise to strengthen your base muscles?

    But the Banana Splits was an excellent ref.

  122. 122.

    Ken

    @Old School: “Nobody’s gotten to the bottom of 9/11, unfortunately,” Trump

    An obvious suspect would be the New York businessman who bragged, after the towers fell, that he now owned the tallest building in Manhattan

    (Yes, of course it was a lie, his mouth was moving. But he was still bragging about it.)

  123. 123.

    Baud

    BTW, if Biden resigns, Harris will need a majority vote in both houses of Congress to name a replacement.  If you want Biden to resign, make sure Congress stays in Democratic hands.  Pass that on to the Biden detractors in your circle.

  124. 124.

    Anyway

    @Baud:

    Someone posted it in the last thread.  I’ve become cool on Stewert generally, but that was a thing of beauty.

    Did Stewart bash Pelosi and the Ds for old times’ sake?

  127. 127.

    WaterGirl

    @Bupalos:

    Biden is getting really hard to listen to. I have a really hard time imagining a 2024 campaign, even from the incumbent’s seat.

    It’s getting where not that many sentences come out clean. And this is a pretty major part of the job.

    I did not hear anything like that at all from Biden.

  129. 129.

    Kropacetic

    Man, Republicans are jumping a shark per day. The media will try to normalize this but people must be noticing, right?

    If the Rs keep up at this pace and we still lose Congress this year, I may need to hang it up. I’ll be working to prevent that in the meantime, though.

  130. 130.

    Old School

    $1.7 trillion FY23 appropriations bill released today.

    Brief highlights of the package include:

    • Taking action to address the horrific and wrong Supreme Court Dobbs decision by providing resources to help women where abortion is restricted access care in states where abortion remains legal and protected, eliminates the Hyde and Weldon amendments, and provides significant increases for reproductive health care programs.
    • Provides billions of dollars to address the climate crisis, including $2 billion to support FEMA efforts to incorporate climate adaptation, $1.6 billion for the Green Climate Fund, and nearly $4 billion invested in energy efficiency and renewable energy.
    • Expands access to affordable housing by investing billions of dollars in constructing new homes, lowering the cost of rent, reducing heating and cooling costs, and provides the resources to help house hundreds of thousands of people experiencing homelessness in our country.
    • Supports efforts to address the ongoing opioid and substance abuse crisis, which dramatically worsened during the pandemic and claimed 108,000 lives last year.
    • Spurs innovation by investing in science, research and development including $10.3 billion for the National Science Foundation, and $48 billion for the National Institutes of Health.
    • Invests in the education and care of our children and young people by providing $20.137 billion for Title I-A grants, $12.036 billion for Head Start, and $7.165 for Child Care Development Block Grants among other investments.
    • Expands access to health care and mental health care including $10.5 billion for the Centers for Disease Control, and $1.42 billion for the Mental Health Block Grant.
    • Tackles food insecurity by fully funding benefits for the 43.5 million Americans who access the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) every month
    • Provides billions of dollars to respond to natural disasters.
  131. 131.

    Baud

    @Anyway:

    No, thankfully.  The most he did was to at times refer to Congress and Senators generally.  But he called out Toomey and McConnell by name, and maybe one or two others.  It could have been even more focused on Republicans, but I don’t think it was bad the way he did it.

  132. 132.

    Immanentize

    @Ken: The funny thing is that “the bottom of it” in reality has the House of Saud up to their eyeballs in the blood spilt that day. So partnering with them on LIV is just so horrible for anyone, let alone an ex Pres.

    PS, I thought LIV was a Personal pleasure device?. Now that would be a good golf sponsor that I could get behind.

  133. 133.

    Kropacetic

    @Bupalos: If Biden’s voice is a little sore today, that’s understandable. Every time I listen, the content is on point. That’s what matters.

  138. 138.

    Miss Bianca

    @Immanentize: You know, not to rag on you or anyone else here personally, but I really, really wish we could all just take a fucking chill pill on the whole “OMG Biden is so old/weak/infirm/not articulate enough/did I mention OLD/too old to be Preznit/he’s gonna bail/he should bail” guff.

    Guy just got over COVID, he’s just presided over a shit-ton of significant legislation, and he’s kind of busy trying to save the world right now, which is, granted, a lot to have to expect from a nearly-80-year-old dude, but that’s where we are. Put there in large part by a man not significantly younger, in much worse shape, who’s making mouth noises about RUNNING AGAIN.

    So. Ugh. All this shit about Biden’s age is just making me feel stabby. Guy does more in the morning before he’s had his first cup of coffee than I manage to get done in a month.

  139. 139.

    Geminid

    @raven: You may like it. It’s kind of like a real life detective story. Henry Clausen wrote Pearl Harbor: Final Verdict with his co-author a year before he died. He had quite a story to tell.

  144. 144.

    Immanentize

    @Baud: I thought Raven meant bail from 2024, which Biden at one time suggested he would do. I am really on the fence about this right now. He’s doing a great job, but as Raven said, the job (when treated as such) is a meat grinder.

    In 2016, my Mom (then 86) thought both Trump and Hillary were too old. I kinda agree with her general point and we are losing a whole generation of potential leaders by the octogenarian/geriatricization of our political leaders.

  146. 146.

    raven

    @James E Powell: I was shocked today when I ran into a former prof of mine. She’s closely associated with the Carter Center and she said she’s leaning. . . .KInzinger!!!

  148. 148.

    Kropacetic

    @James E Powell: We have great people. A lot of them. If we hold together, anyone we’d be likely to nominate would win.

    Biden’s outperforming all my expectations. I’m not ready to call for his retirement just yet.

  149. 149.

    Kent

    @James E Powell:Does it have to be Harris?

    If Biden doesn’t run I would expect to see a robust primary:  Harris, Newsom, Gretchen Whitmer, Buttigieg, and maybe some other re-runs from 2020 like Booker and Klobuchar.

  150. 150.

    Immanentize

    @raven: Yowl! Let those nerves be stimulated appropriately.

    (Good luck and if I manage this land plan of mine, I hope to take you lake fishing in central NY next summer).

  151. 151.

    CaseyL

    Well, this is a good day so far.  Some legislative progress (CHIPS) and hopeful signs (IRA).

    And my cat Oscar came back from his echocardiogram with a diagnosis of “very minor heart damage” – not unusual in a senior cat, they say; and no treatment currently needed.  He’s still rather wobbly from the sedative I gave him this morning.  A very expensive vet visit, but worth it to know there’s nothing seriously wrong.  Big relief!

  155. 155.

    Immanentize

    @Miss Bianca: I have taken a vow not to discuss the potential candidates in 2024. But having my eyes open about Biden is not that.

    BTW, “rag on” is so un-PC. 😘

  159. 159.

    Miss Bianca

    @Immanentize: Well, y’know, after witnessing what’s been going on since 2015, I don’t happen to feel any great confidence that any younger Democratic candidate is a), any better than Biden, b), any more electable than Biden. If you do, then you have far more confidence in the average American voter than I do, who seems to bend over backwards to find any excuse either to vote for a Republican, no matter how shitty, and/or avoid voting for a Democrat, no matter how great.

    Biden is the best guy for the job right now, whether we like it or not. I for one happen to like it a lot better than I thought I was going to.

    But maybe the point is this…I’d rather that Joe Biden was the one making the call on whether or not he’s going to run again, rather than a bunch of people saying “here’s your hat, what’s your hurry.”

  162. 162.

    Immanentize

    @Baud: agreed. I’m trying to do something about that. Here I have Katherine Clark who is awesome and will not lose! She is a total youngun these days at 59. But probably won’t go much further. Not because of her age, but because of all the older dudes ahead of her. Jim McGovern, who is so great, is my age.

  164. 164.

    Immanentize

    @Miss Bianca: I don’t have any confidence in that direction, as I said, I refuse to play the 2024 game you want me to play.

    If Biden wants to run again, he will, and his age will be an issue he will address. And I will fully support him with my money, my vote and my efforts (God willing). If he doesn’t, he won’t. And us cheerleading about 2 years from now because we can’t foresee the candidate who can win is not in any way in our control. It’s like saying in 2006 that the only viable Dem candidate in 2008 for President was, well, Joe Biden.

  167. 167.

    Geminid

    @Immanentize: Clark is the Assistant Speaker right now, and is thought to a prime candidate for the number two position (after Hakeem Jeffries as #1) if and when Pelosi, Hoyer and Clyburn step aside. My hunch is that this will happen in November, after the midterms.

    Katherine Clark is also a member of the Cranberry Caucus.

  168. 168.

    Tony Jay

    Say Biden does decide one term is enough and encourages an open contest for the Democratic nomination in 2024.

    Wouldn’t that contest go a LOT better and give the candidates a LOT more to define themselves for and against if Biden spends the last two years of his term signing into law legislation passed through a solid Democratic Congress and leaving his successor a much better country to govern?

    So I suppose the people who want him out should step up their More Democrats campaigning ASAP. As encouragement, you see?

  169. 169.

    PJ

    @Miss Bianca: It seems like every day on here, there’s a chorus of commenters calling for Biden to step down or not run in 2024, despite all he’s accomplished, and despite the fact that him not running would mean throwing away the incumbent advantage in 2024, and greatly increase the chance of a Republican being President in 2025.  If you want Democrats to win, it’s nuts.

  171. 171.

    Kropacetic

    Wait, I just heard there’s another election *before* Biden’s reelection? What’s that about?

  173. 173.

    AntiCliche

    What is the thinking behind Biden’s Facebook account constantly reminding me of how many cents gas prices have fallen in the past week? It doesn’t seem like gas prices are a winning issue for us, and for months we’ve been deflecting responsibility to Putin, COVID, and corporate greed.

  177. 177.

    Kropacetic

    @AntiCliche: If people are holding the President responsible for gas prices, it’s worth pointing out when they’re down almost a dollar.

    Still, I think it would be more worthwhile for people to understand that the President isn’t responsible for gas prices, but is working hard to make us less beholden to them.

  179. 179.

    stacib

    @Miss Bianca: I’m with you, and considering most of the folks doing the complaining were not too happy with Biden running in 2020, I’ll stick with my original choice for 2024 if he’s chooses to run.

  181. 181.

    Geminid

    I saw a partial list of the 24 Republicans who voted Yea on the CHIPS+ Act. Six out of the eleven were from Ohio. There was a big chip plant near Columbus announced a few months ago, and that must have made an impression on the Ohio Reps. At least, more of an impression than Kevin McCarthy did.

  182. 182.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Baud: They not only want Biden to resign but want Harris to do the same. Look at the barrage of attacks on her by media bros. And even here on Balloon Juice there was a chorus singing about her being unelectable

    BTW I think the ticket will run again in 2024 and win. And the horsehoe will be at it again, as will the media bros (and sisters)

  184. 184.

    Tony Jay

    @Baud:

    I thought the Vote Baud 24 – Show Reality The Door campaign was based around legbreaking and blackmail as the preferred tools for getting legislation passed?

    Don’t go soft on us now!

  185. 185.

    Kropacetic

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: deflecting responsibility

    Yeah, I sort of glossed over that when reading. WTF?

    I did kind of already make the point the President is not, in fact, responsible for gas prices. Massive global disruptions sure as hell are.

    As evidence, I offer the fact that gas and other prices are up everywhere.

  186. 186.

    sab

    @AntiCliche: Gas prices would be a very losing issue if they had stayed well above $5 per gallon all this summer, but they didn’t. Around here they are below $4 right now.

    It’s pretty obvious that Biden’s people have to really pound away on calling attention to every success, because nobody else is going to do it for them. 275,000 new jobs per month and unemployment slightly under 4% and all anyone talks about now is inflation.

  187. 187.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @PJ:

    I’m bewildered. When did this start? I know I haven’t been here as much in the last week and a half. Biden coming down with COVID?

  188. 188.

    Kropacetic

    @schrodingers_cat: What happens when the middle of the horseshoe is up near the extreme ends? Is that a pretzel?

    I suppose I’m mainly asking about you, how would you self-identify in that regard?

  190. 190.

    Steeplejack

    @sdhays:

    Susan Collins, you say? Oh, she heard about it, all right.

    Susan Collins tells @JNicholsonInDC that same-sex marriage bill may be doomed now bc of what Dems did on the inflation reduction bill.
    https://t.co/ndnTOLxbEt

    — Amanda Terkel (@aterkel) July 28, 2022

    “I just think the timing could not have been worse, and it came totally out of the blue,” the Maine senator told HuffPost Thursday about Senate Democrats’ unveiling of their bill to raise taxes on some companies, boost IRS enforcement and spend the resulting money to fund anti-climate change efforts.

    [. . .]

    “After we just had worked together successfully on gun safety legislation, on the CHIPs bill, it was a very unfortunate move that destroys the many bipartisan efforts that are under way,” she said.

  197. 197.

    Geminid

    @sab: And Biden can take some credit for helping stem the rise in gasoline prices by selling oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. He authorized sale of another 20 million barrels yesterday.

  199. 199.

    Kropacetic

    @James E Powell: I know that the word asshole is overused

    Unpossible

    but I just can’t think of any word that describes Collins more completely.

    Fraud? Prevaricator? Concern troll?

  205. 205.

    Another Scott

    @Baud:

    IIRC, roughly:

    Today is the worst day (so far) of Biden’s presidency. – DougJBalloon

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  206. 206.

    Geminid

    @Kropacetic: I don’t think so either. One could make the argument that Sanders was maintaining his brand, and that theoretically has value. But he believes in his brand, so his vote was probably a matter of conviction.

  208. 208.

    Geminid

    @Kropacetic: I don’t like Sanders myself. But I’m a native born white male. Some people without those privileges feel a much more intense animus towards the man, and it shows.

  209. 209.

    J R in WV

    @Kropacetic:

    I offer the fact that gas and other prices are up everywhere.

    I dunno where you buy gas, but here premium gas was $4.29 the other day, down about a dollar from the peak a month or so ago.

    No fact in your comment whatsoever !!!

  210. 210.

    Kropacetic

    @J R in WV: I mean over the period of the last couple of years, the last month notwithstanding. My point was high gas prices aren’t specific to the US.

  212. 212.

    Kropacetic

    @Geminid: SC has animus for the entire left. She’s as extreme as any of the rando schmucks she spends her life berating.

    She bullied me off the internet for a couple years. She, Tucker Carlson, and the Young Turks should expect invoices for my therapy.

    The principle drivers of my suicidal ideation. Peas in a deplorable pod.

  213. 213.

    Geminid

    @Kropacetic: Well, that sure sounds like a problematic history. I’ve had similar dynamics with people here. I have been like the sore thumb they keep hitting, and they’ve been the same for me. I’ve sometimes managed to move away from these conflicts, but I think I am more detached than you.

    This commenter is not detached when it comes to Sanders and it’s because of a belief that he is a nativist and a racist, and probably a misogynist too. When I look at his words and actions up until a few years ago, and maybe still today, I think that belief has a real basis. I couldn’t say that I don’t have those faults to some degree, but I don’t have Sanders’ poltical power either.

    The commenter’s animus towards Sanders attaches to other people identified with the Sanders movement, some of whom have adopted his less virtuous qualities and even magnified them. Rightly or wrongly, she feels personally threatened by them. So I’ll cut her some slack when I think she may be going too far, and I want to be supportive in general.

    But I think she is commenting in good faith, and I think you are too, and I appreciate both your comments.

  214. 214.

    Kropacetic

    @Geminid: I appreciate that. I have been telling myself not to engage. I tried the pie but it didn’t work.

    When I’m working toward a better habit, I just consider each good instance as a boon and try to do it more often than not. Last couple days I haven’t done well. That’s my bad there, I suppose.

    There were others in those days but most are in a better place.

    And thank you.

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