Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

White supremacy is terrorism.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

Michigan is a great lesson for Dems everywhere: when you have power…use it!

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

When they say they’re pro-life, they don’t mean yours.

Fear or fury? The choice is ours.

Republicans don’t trust women.

Republicans don’t lie to be believed, they lie to be repeated.

It looks like winning debates is a black job!

SCOTUS: It’s not “bribery” unless it comes from the Bribery region of France. Otherwise, it’s merely “sparkling malfeasance”.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

There are a lot more evil idiots than evil geniuses.

Republicans in disarray!

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

I’m starting to think Jesus may have made a mistake saving people with no questions asked.

This really is a full service blog.

This year has been the longest three days of putin’s life.

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

Marge, god is saying you’re stupid.

Bad people in a position to do bad things will do bad things because they are bad people. End of story.

Relentless negativity is not a sign that you are more realistic.

People really shouldn’t expect the government to help after they watched the GOP drown it in a bathtub.

Let’s bury these fuckers at the polls 2 years from now.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Friday Evening Open Thread: Repubs in Disarray!

Friday Evening Open Thread: Repubs in Disarray!

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… McConnell, who has spent nearly half his 80 years in the Senate, had vowed to deny bipartisan support for a sweeping bill to subsidize the U.S. semiconductor industry as long as Democrats pursued major legislation to battle climate change and lower the price of prescription drugs…

“McConnell got McConnelled,” said Brookings Institution senior fellow William Galston, noting the Kentucky Republican’s long use of hardball tactics to block Democratic initiatives, including former President Barack Obama’s appointment of a Supreme Court justice in 2016…

McConnell’s standing as Senate Republican leader faltered somewhat over differences with Biden’s predecessor, Republican former President Donald Trump. Some Trump allies now vying for the Senate have vowed not to support McConnell for leader in the next Congress, which begins in January…

Any time over the last several administrations, ‘We’ll break stuff for ya’ has been sufficient enticement for Republican voters to support #LeaderMcConnell, aka #MoscowMitch. But now all the important stuff has been broken (like the SC(R)OTUS, and Roe v Wade), and it turns out that hasn’t produced an immediate happy ending. Mitch’s Congressional supporters feel like they’ve been lied to!

Out come the knives. (Okay, considering these guys’ capabilities, the sharpened sporks… )


… It’s an unusual burst of bipartisanship under the watch of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), whose leadership team has been remarkably unified for years. Instead, as McConnell himself supported two of the recent measures, his deputies broke into competing ranks and demonstrated small ―but important — differences in how they approach the current 50-50 Senate and how they might possibly lead Republicans in the post-McConnell future.

Officially, Senate Republicans view these as singular moments in which policy and politics merged to prove mutually beneficial.

“You can’t interpret too much out of this other than these are sort of, I think, one-off issues,” Sen. John Thune (S.D.), the No. 2 leader as minority whip, said after Wednesday’s vote.

Sen. John Cornyn (Tex.), who spent a decade in official leadership posts, said Wednesday, “I refuse to be in that camp that says we can’t do anything with Democrats because we don’t want them to get any wins.”…

To be sure, Republicans are not falling in line behind the Biden agenda. Next week, when Democrats hope to advance a broad party-line budget bill, all 50 Republicans plan to fiercely contest the plan that would lower prescription drug costs for seniors, shore up the health-care marketplace and raise taxes on the wealthy.

But in the recent bipartisan votes, a large bloc of Senate Republicans has shown a willingness to cut deals…

The three most discussed as aspirants to succeed him — Cornyn, Thune and Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), sometimes called “The Three Johns” by insiders — do not like to openly talk about McConnell moving on…

Ultimately, Senate leadership races often “come down to relationships,” Thune said, that aren’t defined by a few votes. He and Cramer first met more than 30 years ago as the respective top staffers for their state Republican Party organizations.

But, he added, no one knows when McConnell will step down.

“People make those decisions predicated upon who they think will be the strongest leader, when and if the time comes,” he said.

We’ve got a summer weekend starting, we can afford a few daydreams of well-earned GOP Death Cult collapse, I think.

Reader Interactions

85Comments

  1. 1.

    Mowgli

    Let’s savor this rare moment of legislative victory, there is always a ray of hope.

  3. 3.

    Baud

    @Mowgli:

    We’ve had more legislative victories than the Republicans. Their victories are blocking things.

    If the reconciliation bill passes, that’ll be a big one.

  4. 4.

    gene108

    Tech question:

    I have a 2019 MacBook Air. A couple of weeks ago the monitor stopped working. Sunday night it worked just fine. Monday morning the screen stayed blank.

    I bought an external monitor and keyboard to make sure the hard drive was working, which it is. I can do most everything with this setup.

    I’ve never had this sort of problem before with a computer.

    I’m trying to figure out, if it’s worth repairing and where to take it for repairs.

    I’m not looking for a replacement. I’ll decide on that later.

    Edit: Any advice is appreciated.

  8. 8.

    dmsilev

    @gene108: Is there an Apple store nearby to you? That’d be the first place I’d go; they can run hardware diagnostics in-store and tell you if there’s anything obviously wrong.

  9. 9.

    Ken

    Maybe it’s just me, but lines like “all 50 Republicans plan to fiercely contest the plan that would lower prescription drug costs for seniors” seem to be ready-made for political ads.

  12. 12.

    trollhattan

    Pro tip for autocrats everywhere: if you do not have a personality cult, go make one.

    Not even Donny had the shoots-pa to do this. At least not with people under sixty.

  16. 16.

    SiubhanDuinne

    This is absurdly off-topic, but my OCD Pedant has been going absolutely nuts for several months now at the category “Assholee.” Obviously it’s a typo for “Assholes,” but I can’t not see it and it’s making me weird. Please, somebody with keys, could somebody fix it and put me out of my anguish? Many TIA.

  17. 17.

    zhena gogolia

    Wow, OT, but I just finally brought myself to watch that Joni Mitchell performance of “Both Sides Now” you all were talking about the other day. Magnificent.

  19. 19.

    James E Powell

    @Ken:

    Don’t know why that ad is not running right now. If they need money for it, they should call Sarah Gideon.

  20. 20.

    Starfish

    @gene108: Since this is Balloon Juice, the land of pets, is it possible that an animal jumped on it and knocked a connector loose somewhere? I would take it to the genius bar and see what they say. It could be something easy like a loose connector or something harder. But it is frustrating to be without a machine.

  22. 22.

    Geminid

    The crack leadership team of McCarthy, Scalise and Stefanik hasn’t been doing so hot in the House, either. After Schumer and Manchin played Senate Republicans on the CHIPS+ bill on Wednesday, word went out that McCarthy was whipping his caucus hard to vote no when the bill came up in the House. Yesterday 24 of his members told him to shove it, and voted yes.

  23. 23.

    trollhattan

    @Baud: We’ve put out an RFQ for a choreographer, boss. Will let you know once we have the required five qualified bidders.

    I think we should shoot it on the NYSE trading floor.

  25. 25.

    Scout211

    @gene108: @dmsilev:

    Good advice to go to an Apple store.

    We live over an hour from the nearest one so we use a repair shop that is certified Apple repair shop for our 2 Macs and MacBook.

    Doing a google search, there are recommended ways to troubleshoot and fix the problem (not a rare problem, I guess) if you feel comfortable with that process.
    8 Steps to Fix MacBook black screen.

  27. 27.

    Layer8Problem

    @SiubhanDuinne:  I notice the Assholee category doesn’t have a helpful and descriptive picture associated with it, like when one clicks on Open Threads for instance.  That may be by design, and a blessing.

  28. 28.

    trollhattan

    @gene108: ​Does the computer have options for displaying either monitor separately and both simultaneously? What happens when you tell it to display on both?

    It seems good that your graphics–is it motherboard graphics or a discrete card?–card/chip works and perhaps there’s just a bad connection to the internal display. Replacing a connecting cable would seem like an easy task, but laptops are horrid to work on compared to a desktop box.

    Good luck!

  29. 29.

    sab

    OT: When going in for back sugery, always measure your doors when you buy your walkers.

    My husband borrowed one walker. I figured we really needed a second one for upstairs and got a used one at a local thrift shop. But it didn’t have wheels. So I went to Walgreens and got a fancy one with wheels in front and sliders instead of tennis balls in back. Husband loved it.

    Turns out the thrift shop one is the only one that fits thru the bathroom door. So now we have three walkers lurking around the house.

    The ice machine cooling pad is amazing. Sure beats the alchohol freezer packs we used last time,

    9 inch incision. Last time was 3 inch. I think they rebuilt the whole lumbar half of his back.

  30. 30.

    gene108

    @dmsilev:

    I’ve tried scheduling an appointment at a local store, but the website’s goofy.

    @MobiusKlein:

    I tried the SMC reset. Reading the PRAM/NVRAM reset it seemed it was more for software issues, but I can try it.

  34. 34.

    Another Scott

    @gene108: Sorry to hear of your troubles.

    My J used a MacBook Pro as her home office computer for years with an external monitor, mouse, keyboard.  It worked fine.  (Now she has a black MacMini and a work MacBook Air hooked up to a 4k LG monitor that she switches the input on when needed to use one or the other, 2 keyboards, 2 mice.)

    I think this is your MBA 2019 model.

    Is there an AppleStore nearby?  The people there should be able to figure out the issue quickly. It looks like the display replacement is not difficult if you have the tools and can get the parts. But you need to find out whether it’s just a connection or cable or the screen itself. (It working with an external monitor indicates that it’s not the graphics hardware itself.)

    HTH a little. Good luck!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  35. 35.

    SpaceUnit

    @gene108:

    Many years ago I had a roommate toss his malfunctioning computer down a flight of stairs in a drunken rage.

    I do not recommend this approach.

  36. 36.

    Kent

    @Baud:

    We’ve had more legislative victories than the Republicans. Their victories are blocking things.

    If the reconciliation bill passes, that’ll be a big one.

    The only legislative victories that Republicans have had since about the time of Reagan has been tax cuts.  That is pretty much it.

    The last big one they tried (other than repealing the ACA) was Bush’s privatization of Social Security.  And that went nowhere either

    That is basically why I don’t care about the filibuster.  The Republicans don’t really do anything that is filibusterable anyway.  Tax cuts are always passed under reconciliation.

  37. 37.

    Cameron

    @SiubhanDuinne: I thought “assholee” was a person receiving an asshole, as opposed to “assholer,” a person providing an asshole.  Though perhaps my command of English has gotten rusty over the last few years.

  40. 40.

    Kent

    @gene108:

    Tech question:

    I have a 2019 MacBook Air. A couple of weeks ago the monitor stopped working. Sunday night it worked just fine. Monday morning the screen stayed blank.

    I bought an external monitor and keyboard to make sure the hard drive was working, which it is. I can do most everything with this setup.

    I’ve never had this sort of problem before with a computer.

    I’m trying to figure out, if it’s worth repairing and where to take it for repairs.

    I’m not looking for a replacement. I’ll decide on that later.

    Edit: Any advice is appreciated.

    I don’t know where you live, but around here there are lots of good indy repair shops that do screen replacements on laptops, Macbooks, iPads, etc.  If it were me, I’d take it to one of them that has good reviews and see what they say.

    My daughter had the screen replaced on her Macbook by one such local indy repair shop after some girl knocked it off the library table at her university and it cracked.  I don’t remember exactly what it cost but it was cheaper than buying a new one.

    That is assuming it isn’t covered by Apple and you don’t have convenient Apple service nearby.

  41. 41.

    Another Scott

    @SpaceUnit: One of my old bosses decided to impress his friends at a meeting by knocking his Apple laptop off the table and onto the floor.  It didn’t come back on after that.  :-(  It went back to Apple, they fixed it, no charge.  !

    It probably depends on the circumstances, but there might be some known hardware issue that Apple is willing to fix even without AppleCare.  They make a bazillion dollars and know that goodwill is worth a lot.

    Worth a shot!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  42. 42.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Geminid:

    It’s a lovely evening now, but it rained hard — briefly, but intensely — a little while ago. I was out, hoped to dodge it, but didn’t quite make it and got drenched! I’m enjoying life here on the edge of the forest. Thank you for asking!

  43. 43.

    SpaceUnit

    @Another Scott 

    @gene108:

    I think my first move would be to contact Apple Support.  I haven’t used that service in a while, but they were actually very helpful the couple of times that I’ve had a problem.

    Can’t hurt.

     

    ETA:  If I remember correctly they can remote access your computer online and run some diagnostics.

  44. 44.

    Geminid

    The assault weapons ban passed.

    House has approved assault weapons ban.

    217-213

    2 Republicans vote yes. 5 Democrats vote no.

    @Jake Sherman 

    The five Democrats voting no were Kind (WI), Golden (ME), Schrader (OR), and Cuellar and Gonzales, both from Texas.

    The two Republicans voting yes were Jacobs (CA) and Fitzpatrick (PA). They both represent suburban districts, Jacobs near San Diego and Fitzpatrick in Bucks County Pa., outside of Philadelphia.

  51. 51.

    Wyatt Salamanca

    @zhena gogolia:

    Days after stunning the internet with her surprise performance at the Newport Folk Festival, Joni Mitchell announced the upcoming box set The Asylum Albums (1972-1975).

    The release chronicles the pivotal turn Mitchell took following the massive success of 1971’s Blue when she famously retreated to British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast for a period of solitude. There, she wrote For the Roses. The release contains the remastering of that album, followed by 1974’s Court and Spark, the double live album Miles of Aisles (1974), and The Hissing of Summer Lawns, released the following year.

    h/t https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/joni-mitchell-box-set-chronicles-165109782.html

  54. 54.

    gene108

    Thanks for the computer advice.

    I tried trouble shooting this with Apple Support, but no luck.

    I went ahead and made an appointment at a local Apple Store. I’ll see what they say about the problem.

    Thanks for letting me know this is a not uncommon issue. Puts my mind a bit at ease.

  55. 55.

    MomSense

    @trollhattan:

    It’s a fucking fascist flash mob with ZERO joy.  You have to work to strip the joy out of a flash mob. Fucking hell,  fascist choreography is horrific.

  56. 56.

    MomSense

    @sab:

    That’s a good tip. I had to go sideways to fit through my bathroom door.

    Sending healing to your hubby and support to you.

  61. 61.

    Sure Lurkalot

    @gene108: Here’s my bad advice…when my laptop’s battery died (it was old but I overbought so it was still fast and functional) and I deemed it not worth $150 to replace, I used plug power and (like you) dedicated it as a desktop. Then I bought an iPad for the portable stuff. I am retired though and didn’t really need computing power to cart around like I had in my workaday life.

  62. 62.

    Another Scott

    @sab: Sorry I didn’t think about this earlier:

    My FIL had a walker that wouldn’t fit through our hall bathroom door in our early 1960s house.  I got some offset hinges and they provided just enough room for him to roll in.  It might be an option for you too.

    It was a long time ago. I didn’t get these particular ones but they were similar. Those add 2″ additional clearance.

    HTH a little. Good luck!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  67. 67.

    TriassicSands

    I hope Schumer has been quietly in constant contact with the Democrats’ other problem child — Sinema.

    I haven’t read or heard anything about her since Manchin announced he was on board. It would be just like Sinema to refuse to go along with passage of this important legislation because she has not received the requisite amount of babying she seems to need. If she were to refuse to cooperate, it might be the greatest example of legislation incompetence on part of a Majority Leader in Senate history. Schumer’s no dummy, but between Manchin and Sinema and the normal amount of “cat herding” necessary for Democrats to pass legislation, his job is very  difficult.

  68. 68.

    schrodingers_cat

    @gene108: Calling them or going to an Apple store is still a good idea. My Dell XPS 15 died when it was out of warranty, I sent it back to Dell the diagnosed it  it for less that $50 and then mailed me an invoice. It cost about $200 to repair it but now the computer is as good as new. A new XPS 15 is well  over a $1000.

    It was worth it.

  69. 69.

    japa21

    @sab: When my MIL was confined to a wheelchair, we actually had the regular bathroom door replaced with a wider pocket door.  Amazing how much space is wasted in a room when the regular door is open.

  70. 70.

    J R in WV

    We have a local shop which is an authorized Apple support shop. I am not an Apple universe person, but they are just as qualified to work on Unix machines, and have repaired several machines which needed work like a new keyboard, etc. Also put a new screen protector on my tablet, no charge. Been in business since the 1980s, a little old lady ran it for many years, then when she wanted to retire the young geeks bought it and run it today.

  71. 71.

    BeautifulPlumage

    When Home Health Services visited my sister after she was given a walker they removed the wheels and remounted them inside the frame. Now it fits through her narrow doors.

  72. 72.

    Ladyraxterinok

    @Starfish:

    That’s an interesting bit of news

    Leach was a congressman when I was living in Iowa. I thought he was pretty good.

    He’s backing  Franken for Senate and a female law professor at the University of Iowa for a House representative

  74. 74.

    hilts

    @TriassicSands:

    I hope Schumer has been quietly in constant contact with the Democrats’ other problem child — Sinema.

    As annoying as Manchin has been, at least he’s always willing to take questions from reporters.  Sinema , on the other hand, always runs away from reporters whenever they try to interview her. She’s a major league asshole. She’s never held town hall events with voters and is only interested in meeting with fat cat donors.

  75. 75.

    RaflW

    Jayzus, Reuters. The only reason Mitch’s defeats are rare is because he almost never moved any bills at all when he was majority leader, and he’s been invested 100% in preventing Dems from moving anything substantive to the floor whenever he is in the minority!

  78. 78.

    sab

    @Dillweed: Beautiful Plumage suggested that. It will work on one of the walkers but not the other fancier one

    We only need one of them to fit thru that door.

  81. 81.

    SFAW

    I’ve been away from the news all day, but I guess all the (figurative) high-five-ing means that Sinema has affirmed/confirmed she’ll vote for the Manchin/Schumer bill? Outstanding!

  82. 82.

    Betty

    @TriassicSands: She had previously objected to the carried interest fix and has refused comment. Someone suggested she had not received the necessary coddling, but it would be horrific for her to block this.

  84. 84.

    Sister Golden Bear

    @Scout211: FWIW, since you MacBook is out of warranty, Apple may quote you either for a specific repair, e.g. replacing the screen, but they also have an option to pay a flat fee and they’ll fix any problems they find. Did that a few years ago. Cost about $500-600 but I literally got a new factory refurbished model.

    Regardless, do be sure to do a full back up the night before you take it in. I just replaced the logic board on my current MacBook and doing so wiped out everything on the drive. (Apple will warn you if there’s a risk that’ll happen.)  Between iCloud and TimeMachine restoring wasn’t difficult, but did take a day to get things back to normal.

  85. 85.

    Dopey-o

    @gene108: have a 2019 MacBook Air. A couple of weeks ago the monitor stopped working.

    My niece has a Mac Book Pro, whose screen died. Turns out those models had a cable connecting the motherboard to the display.

    The original ribbon cable was 2 mm too short. So it broke. Apple repaired them for a couple of years. No more. But you should google 2019 Macbook Air black lcd display.

    That’s how I found a local shop, who replaced the display for $175. Also, I can’t tell you how much money and frustration ifit.com has saved me

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