Not totally unexpected, but very bad news for Gerry Connolly. His cancer appears to be winning the battle.
Breaking: Rep. Gerry Connolly announces that he is not running for re-election and will step down as ranking member of the Oversight Committee.
— Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen.bsky.social) April 28, 2025 at 10:02 AM
Surely ACO would be rewarded with a leadership position. Right? She’s doing great things.
AOC: Some of the Republicans whose districts we visited just warned their leadership that they’re not sure they can vote for Medicaid cuts now.
We’ve got them on their back foot. But our job is not done.
We will rally every corner of the U.S.
We will not stop until they actually vote no.
But AOC is not on that committee anymore.
Connolly to step down as top Dem on Oversight, paving the way for generational change (Politico)
His departure could set up a big fight among younger Democrats to succeed him.
Rep. Gerry Connolly, the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, will step down from his leadership post on the panel and not run for reelection.
The Virginia Democrat, whose constituency includes many federal workers, cited the return of his esophageal cancer — first diagnosed in late 2024 — as the reason for his planned departure.
“With no rancor and a full heart, I move into this final chapter full of pride in what we’ve accomplished together over 30 years,” Connolly said in a statement Monday, saying he would pull back from his ranking member position “soon.”
Connolly had beaten out Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for the top leadership position on the panel in a contest last fall that in many ways had tested the House Democratic Caucus’ appetite for generational change. Several aging committee leaders had stepped aside in the face of challenges from Democrats who promised to bring a more vigorous opposition to the Trump administration to the table, though Connolly and his allies had stressed that the veteran lawmaker had invaluable investigative experience.
Ocasio-Cortez is no longer a member of the Oversight Committee and joined Energy and Commerce this year, so she could have a difficult time mounting a comeback bid — though it’s not clear she intends to do so. Others who might step up to the plate include Reps. Ro Khanna of California and Jasmine Crockett of Texas.
When reached for comment, Crockett and Khanna didn’t close the door on seeking a bid to succeed Connolly.
“I’m the vice ranker so when I took the role on, I was and still am willing to step in, in service to the caucus and the country, but conversations need to be had before any formal announcement can be made,” Crockett said in a text message. The vice ranking member position was created in 2016 to give younger Democrats leadership responsibilities and does not reflect seniority on any given committee.
“I admire Representative Connolly for his years of service and commitment to accountability and transparency. He has stepped back, not stepped aside. I’m praying for him and his family. I’m focused on that right now and our committee’s work,” said Khanna in a statement.
According to a congressional aide granted anonymity to share private conversations, Connolly has been in communication with Rep. Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts — the second in line in seniority among Democrats behind D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton — about covering for him on the dias until a permanent replacement is elected. He has asked Lynch to begin that stint at the Wednesday markup of the panel’s portion of the GOP’s massive tax, border and energy bill.
When late-Oversight chair Elijah Cummings, a Democrat, was unable to act as chair due to health issues, he tapped then-Rep. Carolyn Maloney to act in his capacity. She ultimately became the committee chair.
Baud
Put me in Crockett’s corner, especially when the alternative is Khanna.
cmorenc
Why is AOC “no longer” a member of the government oversight committee? Her choice or was she pushed out?
rikyrah
Norman Ornstein (@NormOrnstein) posted at 10:44 PM on Sun, Apr 27, 2025:
The White House Correspondents Dinner was a festival of self congratulatory hypocritical bullshit. While the country is in deep peril, its most significant journalists are failing us while smiling about it.
(https://x.com/NormOrnstein/status/1916700033644106231?t=OzGzd_kewfhjGQQF1-aipA&s=03)
zhena gogolia
@Baud: Yeah.
rikyrah
President Kamala’s Hand (Again) (@myronjclifton) posted at 0:44 PM on Mon, Apr 28, 2025:
Those stories about empty cargo ships in China And/or waiting in China and other Asian ports
Contrasted w/few cargo ships at U.S. ports and/or ships changing course to go to Canadian ports or elsewhere
Are really something because they’re saying we’re about to see empty shelves
(https://x.com/myronjclifton/status/1916911457847152701?t=MCq5jTDadPMlR34HXZkNcA&s=03)
zhena gogolia
@rikyrah: I like the comment he’s responding to.
rikyrah
scary lawyerguy (@scarylawyerguy) posted at 9:55 AM on Mon, Apr 28, 2025:
Media: Joe Biden, we demand you take responsibility for every last thing that happens while you’re president.
Also Media: Donald Trump, by all means sir, deflect blame for anything bad that’s happening, we’ve got your back.
(https://x.com/scarylawyerguy/status/1916868840715170022?t=GNDWb7yW1wkDpDO9jU6XdA&s=03)
rikyrah
Christopher Webb (@cwebbonline) posted at 9:51 PM on Sun, Apr 27, 2025:![]()
No. Absolutely not
This is exactly what shouldn’t happen. Farmers don’t get a bailout this time. They helped put Trump in office — they can suffer right along with the rest of us losing our businesses and livelihoods. https://t.co/0sWZmnccqC
(https://x.com/cwebbonline/status/1916686751269294082?t=0xsdIj2lkgppotUmUkzwRA&s=03)
rikyrah
Tom Watson (@tomwatson) posted at 7:13 AM on Mon, Apr 28, 2025:
All you need to know about Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson is that they’re hawking anti-Biden books to MAGA now. As this administration works to destroy civil rights and civil society daily, *this* is their story. Amidst the buy gold ads on Mark Levin. Prestige journalism, folks.
(https://x.com/tomwatson/status/1916828118087553396?t=YA9faaHG_do0r61uKDXf0A&s=03)
rikyrah
Dominick Tullo | Fuels & Lubes SMB (@Dominick_Tullo) posted at 6:59 PM on Sun, Apr 27, 2025:
I was told by a major drayage carrier—one that moves over 2 million containers a year—that by this Friday, volumes at the NY ports are expected to be down 40%.
Let that sink in.
The slowdown we’ve been talking about isn’t theoretical anymore—it’s happening in real time.
(https://x.com/Dominick_Tullo/status/1916643362918015185?t=3EsA_T0yEwXKcVItGSqldw&s=03)
rikyrah
David Frum (@davidfrum) posted at 9:55 AM on Mon, Apr 28, 2025:
No to the proposed Trump farm bailout.
American farmers overwhelmingly voted for Trump, they should pay the same tariffs their candidate has imposed on all other Americans, no special handouts. From @TheAtlantic
https://t.co/CEq3ihEmvb
(https://x.com/davidfrum/status/1916868966703661272?t=_IZyvEdF83HMtpzuryaGAQ&s=03)
rikyrah
Tyler McBrien (@TylerMcBrien) posted at 8:14 AM on Mon, Apr 28, 2025:![]()
: https://t.co/Qgtem4Lsmn
NEW: A Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations memo out this morning estimates that Elon Musk and his companies stand to avoid at least $2.37 BILLION in legal liability “through his efforts to gut the federal workforce and exert influence over federal agencies.”
(https://x.com/TylerMcBrien/status/1916843393746878947?t=uZTp_EXB2KR1jMyOpup1vw&s=03)
Geminid
@cmorenc: Rep. Ocasio-Cortez was not pushed out of Oversight. She applied for membership on the Energy and Commerce Committee and won a spot. That committee is one of the more powerful House committees and its members typically do not serve on another committee.
Energy and Commerce’s jurisdiction includes environmental and clean energy legislation, and since that was an early interest of Ocasio-Cortez’s its a good spot for her. Oversight Committee hearings get more attention, but that committee lacks substantive reach.
rikyrah
Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) posted at 11:39 AM on Mon, Apr 28, 2025:
With us now learning that Redstone from Paramount is putting pressure on 60 Minutes to trim its journalistic sails to keep Trump happy and help her with a merger, time to tell a story of journalism from another era. This is a story about greatness at the @nytimes. I was….
(https://x.com/kurteichenwald/status/1916895122651779237?t=xbmu1KVSJQsKEKkoEzKr9w&s=03)
rikyrah
Greg Sargent (@GregTSargent) posted at 11:01 AM on Mon, Apr 28, 2025:
Stephen Miller lining the White House drive with mug shots of migrants is another sign that he’s trying to acclimate us, boiled-frog style, to fascist imagery and tactics.
That’s why it’s so critical that the middle of the country is recoiling at it:
https://t.co/x6tV3Cyj4s https://t.co/qlgpxq8e8E
(https://x.com/GregTSargent/status/1916885434635804803?t=RewB42q3aD8VgMg02twN2g&s=03)
Geminid
If it were up to me I’d pick Chicago-area Rep. Raj Krishnamoorthi to be Ranking Member on Oversight. That guy is really sharp.
Ed. They don’t always go by seniority when picking leaders for Oversight. Jaime Raskin was a junior member when he was chosen to be Ranking Member for the last Congress.
rikyrah
BonkDaCarnivore (@BonkDaCarnivore) posted at 8:45 PM on Sun, Apr 27, 2025:
MGM laying off all concierge staff at all Vegas resorts except Aria and Bellagio; closing buffet at Excalibur, parking staff reductions due to lower visitor counts and demand.
The Golden Age continues
(https://x.com/BonkDaCarnivore/status/1916670135789576431?s=02)
rikyrah
Fred Krueger (@dotkrueger) posted at 7:07 PM on Sat, Apr 26, 2025:
here. we. go.
– 46% of Toy Companies in the US say they expect to go out of business within “weeks”
– 128K Federal workers lost their jobs in last 60 days
– 40% of cargo ships leaving China for the U.S. were empty today.
– Shoes expected to go up 87% in price
– Apparel expected to go up 65%
– US Exports expected to drop 18%
– Tourism to US down 20%
– All foreign goods up at least 10% on USD alone
(https://x.com/dotkrueger/status/1916282928646263224?s=02)
Baud
catclub
Come on, they need their special handouts to pay their immigrant labor.
Parfigliano
@zhena gogolia: Every thing Trump says shows he is impaired.
trollhattan
@catclub:
Also, too, in the West they need their subsidized federal irrigation water. You know, the stuff LA couldn’t put out those fires with.
Geminid
@rikyrah: Westchester County Democrat Tom Watson also posts on BlueSky as guitarwatson.bsky.social. Watson describes himself as an “unreformed liberal.” He’s a good source for New York city and state political news.
prostratedragon
@rikyrah: Warming up for when they let him do beheadings. I wish this were assuredly just gallows humor.
May Day/Law Day is Thursday.
Leto
@rikyrah: I watched a really good video about this, yesterday, from a black farmer: Why Black Farmers Are Not Complaining?
The comments from fellow black farmers are something.
prostratedragon
@rikyrah:
Good framing: (with color graphic)
Baud
@Leto: One quibble.
I assume the number of all farmers has declined over the last century. They should have compared the decline of black farmers to the decline of white farmers.
@heymistermix.com
@cmorenc:
She was “rewarded” by an appointment to Energy and Commerce. It’s considered a plum appointment as one of two “money” committees (the other is Ways and Means). I think leadership genuinely thought they were rewarding her by doing that.
Anyway, thought I would drop in and point out that when I posted the 5 year survival rate for esophageal cancer, some of the commenters here were enraged at my ageism. But here we are, the sadly predictable outcome that I’ve seen with a friend and a relative. It’s a horrible cancer. Connolly should not have run for this position. AOC should have gotten it. But the rigidity of the Democratic hierarchy was more important than the fight against Trumpism.
Also, Crockett has exactly the same position as AOC had on Oversight (Vice Ranking Member). As with AOC, this will not guarantee that she takes over from Connolly.
Baud
@@heymistermix.com:
Not the same position because now there’s no one in front of her.
prostratedragon
@Baud:
So now that’s two. Rep. Al Green filed back in February, citing —‘s statements advocating mass displacement of Gazans. Rep. Thanedar has brought things up to date with much of the mishigas since.
Captain C
@rikyrah: Whatever else happens to Miller, assuming we can oust the Trumpists and Republicans and properly bust them, he needs to have ‘KAPO’ branded on his forehead.
NotMax
@prostratedragon
“Liberation Day” = Tariffs Macht Frei.
//
@heymistermix.com
@Baud:
Incorrect. There are many members on the committee with more seniority than Crockett. Top seniority on the committee is Stephen Lynch, who’s been in the House since 2001. (Not mentioning Eleanor Holmes Norton who doesn’t have a vote since she represents DC.)
Here’s the whole seniority list:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seniority_in_the_United_States_House_of_Representatives
AOC is actually much more senior than Crockett, who is in her second term. AOC has two terms on her
This is the list of committee members, FYI:
https://oversight.house.gov/subcommittee/full-committee/
Leto
@Baud: https://healfoodalliance.org/key-takeaways-from-the-latest-usda-census-of-agriculture/
Again, the people who have been historically discriminated against were/are hit the hardest. But sure, she needs to do a statistical analysis to say the obvious and to satisfy that “one guy.”
Baud
@@heymistermix.com:
Vice Ranking Member means something presumably. It sounds like the position below ranking member. So either the Dems already let AOC and now Crockett cut the line, or they have some other system.
If the latter, then I agree that the next ranking member might not be Crockett.
ETA: IMHO, if we end up with Crockett and AOC on Energy, that seems like a win-win. But I respect that others might feel differently.
Baud
@Leto:
Relevant data is always superior to uninformative data.
prostratedragon
@NotMax:
Subdeal update:
trollhattan
@Baud:
Driving the NW Iowa corner of my yoot is notable for every third, or fourth farmhouse occupied and in good condition and the intervening ones dilapidated/falling down. Farm consolidation seems the only way to stay in bidnez and while they’re maybe not technically corporate farms, the farmers are all beholden to the seed and pesticide/fertilizer providers, the ag equipment makers, and the ag giants they contract with to buy the soybeans and corn.
Locked in, they are. No upstarts out there converting over to artisanal tomatoes and kale.
Omnes Omnibus
@@heymistermix.com: If they are going to go purely by seniority…. Is that what’s going to happen? Do you think they will leapfrog a backbencher over Crockett?
Belafon
@Baud: According to the top, the vice-ranking position was designed to let some of the newer Democrats have some leadership responsibilities, and does not represent any kind of actual rank.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@Baud:
Just about *any* other (D) House member is preferable to that clown. Any.
@heymistermix.com
@Baud:
As I mentioned above, but you missed, AOC was Vice Ranking Member last session. She did not get to be Ranking Member this session because she lacked seniority. Connolly was more senior, so he got the job. Vice Ranking Member is a title, not a place in line.
Lynch is next in line even if he doesn’t have the title. He is not ranking on either of his two committees (Financial Services and Oversight), so as the most senior member of the committee, by the rules of seniority that Democrats worship, he is entitled to that position.
Presuming doesn’t make it so. Seniority is how things are done by Democrats in the House. We all like Crockett but that doesn’t mean a hill of beans compared to how long she has occupied her seat.
Elizabelle
Gerry Connolly is an excellent public servant. I am sad his cancer has returned. That said, I wish that he would step down this year. Virginia has the governor’s race this fall. Could be an excellent time to elect his successor. He has done the hard work. Esophegeal cancer is terrible. It will take his speech. He should follow the example of much missed Jennifer Wexton and bow out while he still has quality of life to spend with his loved ones.
My two cents.
Eolirin
@Baud: Why do we think any of this even matters when Republicans control congress and our reps have as much of a microphone as they’re allowed by the press, and for reasons that almost never have anything to do with their committee assignments?
Like, yeah, I think I’d be inclined to agree with you that it’s a win-win, but only if we have the House, and the Senate, and the White House, because otherwise they’re still completely powerless in terms of the rules and powers accorded them by their positions, so outside of their ability to be persuasive through the press which doesn’t really derive from committee assignments none of this really makes much of a difference.
Baud
@Belafon:
The post said Vice doesn’t represent seniority. So the Dems now have to decide whether seniority overrides the Vice position. They didn’t have to decide that for Connolly/AOC because she was beneath him under both measures, as far as I recall. Happy to be corrected if that’s wrong.
@heymistermix.com
@Omnes Omnibus:
It isn’t leapfrogging. They did the same thing to AOC. By the rules and customs of the Democratic Caucus, it was AOC who was trying to leapfrog because Connolly had seniority.
Vice Chair is a title, not a place in line.
Crockett is a total backbencher by the rules of the Democratic Caucus. She’s in her second term.
Baud
@@heymistermix.com:
Understood. We’ll see what happens.
@Eolirin:
I don’t think it matters all that much. The Dems will decide what they decide and I’ll move on.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@rikyrah:
I was at an annual, role-playing (think D&D) event an old friend of mine hosts each year. He has his own, tiny, game company. They were planning on releasing their first board game this year.
He said that’s been put on hold because of the China tariffs because all the production/support for that is in China. He indicated a lot of small game companies were anticipating going out of business by mid-year.
I resisted the urge to ask him why he wasn’t gonna start his own company to do that. He’s one of these embarrassed (R) types who now votes glibertarian because Trump is Trump but Dems are just a different kind of crappy.
I’ve known him for 37 years, we don’t talk politics.
Leto
@Baud: you didn’t watch the video so it doesn’t matter. Time to cycle, ya’ll have fun.
Belafon
@Baud: I didn’t mean to sound rude if I did. I don’t know how they’re going to go or how they’ll decide. Personally, I think they need to emphasize a bit more fight than they have, which I think you do as well. I was just repeating the stuff at the top.
Baud
@comrade scotts agenda of rage:
I don’t wish ill on people, but I’m also not going to waste time feeling sympathy for people who don’t deserve it.
Baud
@Belafon:
No worries. I get the situation now. I just hope it’s not Khanna. I’m not a fan of him.
Omnes Omnibus
@@heymistermix.com: A backbencher doesn’t have a leadership title. Further, there are long serving members who never get leadership positions. It can’t be all seniority.
Belafon
@comrade scotts agenda of rage: You could start a factory to do what Chinese ones are doing. First you would need to acquire the equipment the Chinese have in their factories. Thus you will need a place to get those. So, you start a factory that makes the equipment for your other factory, but to start that one, you need equipment …
Bokonon
I know Gerry Connolly personally from my time living in Virginia (and being active in state politics), and this news hits hard.
I am so sorry to hear this.
Baud
@Baud:
And a point that shouldn’t need to be made, if Crockett gets the nod, for this reason, that doesn’t suggest that AOC was treated unfairly.
lowtechcyclist
@rikyrah:
So get with it, Joe. Join with millions of your neighbors and take off your shoes. For industry!
Firesign references aside, this is what (a plurality of) Americans voted for, and they deserve to get it good and hard. Maybe after another three years and nine months of this horror show, the message will sink in. Maybe.
Elizabelle
@Bokonon: Yes. My sympathies. He is a great guy, and an actual human being.
CliosFanboy
@rikyrah:
so much winning!!!!!
Geminid
@Omnes Omnibus: While the Steering Committee picked Connolly as Ranking Member of Oversight, the Democratic Caucus as a whole could have overridden them (that happened last in 2013 I think). In this case, members voted 119 for Connally, 86 for Ocasio-Cortez. It was a secret ballot.
Professor Bigfoot
@comrade scotts agenda of rage:
Dems are the party of “hoes, Jews, and Negroes” and that, for most white men, is a “different kind of crappy” all right.
They are not centered.
Professor Bigfoot
@Omnes Omnibus: They’re Democrats.
OF COURSE they’re doing it wrong, according to that guy.
gene108
@lowtechcyclist:
People are only mad because they are directly affected. The same cruel bigoted agenda that doesn’t tank the economy will be wildly popular and fondly remembered, like Trump’s first term.
******
Outside of a political junkies, it doesn’t matter who replaces Connolly. Because of AOC’s upset win in the primaries, and being in NYC makes national media exposure easier, she came to Congress with a high name recognition*.
Neither Crockett nor Lynch have as high a profile to non-political junkies.
*ETA
@heymistermix.com
@Omnes Omnibus:
Yes, Hakeem Jeffries for some reason leapfrogged a bunch of people. As you get higher in leadership, it’s more merit based.
But getting to be ranking on a committee? That’s almost all seniority.
If you look at Lynch, for example, he’s more senior, and he’s got way more subcommittee positions than AOC.
Lynch: https://lynch.house.gov/committees
AOC: https://ocasio-cortez.house.gov/legislation/committees-and-caucuses
There’s also a hierarchy among the committees. A lot of it is based on your ability to fundraise. AOC said her phone was ringing off the hook with lobbyists calling as soon as she was named to Energy and Commerce. Financial Services, which Lynch is on, is probably another big money committee since banks will want to donate to members of that committee.
I will be beyond shocked if Crockett becomes ranking on Oversight. She’s in her second term in Congress.
Also, take a look at he members of Financial Services: way, way more senior members than Oversight.
Finserv: https://financialservices.house.gov/about/members.htm
Oversight:
https://oversight.house.gov/subcommittee/full-committee/
Jay
Truckers are being advised to not take cargo’s to West Coast ports, because they will have to “deadhead” back (drive empty) and Shipping Companies will not pay them for that.
In other news, of the last 30 cargo ships to leave China for the US, 15 have been redirected to Canadian Ports.
Belafon
The younger Democrats are finding a way to get heard, such as the sit-in on the capitol steps. On the other hand, maybe getting some of the younger people in higher up positions would save us from “We wrote a sternly worded letter” type actions from senior Democrats.
Fair Economist
@rikyrah:
The effects of the worst economic policy decision in modern developed nation history are about to bite. Argentina here we come.
(Argentina was one of the wealthiest nations in the world per capita at the start of the 20th century. They imposed massive tariffs in the 20s and 30s and fell well behind, and have continued to fall since.)
KayInMD (formerly Kay (not the front-pager))
@@heymistermix.com: So far as letting the next generation goes, Lynch is 70 and Holmes Norton is 85; not really the next gen.
Not a big fan of Khanna, but I’d love to see Crockett get the job.
cain
@Parfigliano:
The people he got this time seem a lot more evil than last time. That Pam Boondi is a piece of work. Never mind the press secretary boldly saying that Trump admin can and will jail SCOTUS judges.
All these clowns are going to FAFO when their base goes apeshit.
Fair Economist
@gene108:
With these numbers we’re heading for a depression, with no hope of recovery until Trump is out of office because nobody can trust policy to be stable enough for real investment. Everybody *will* be affected.
Baud
@KayInMD (formerly Kay (not the front-pager)):
Lot of good people on that committee.
https://oversightdemocrats.house.gov/members
Elizabelle
Team Jasmine Crockett. She is a rare talent. We need her, and she is inspiring.
@heymistermix.com
@KayInMD (formerly Kay (not the front-pager)):
As would I.
The way this changes is to primary Democrats in safe seats and make sure that the Democrat who primaries the ancient incumbent pledges to vote to change the seniority system.
People on this blog like Crockett, Casar, AOC (some of you), Frost, etc., but the connection doesn’t seem to get made that the only way these young stars move up is for the base to demand that Democrats change their ways when it comes to committee membership.
Maxine Waters, ranking on Financial Services, is 86 years old. I could run through a few other committees and leadership is very old. You have to realize that the current Dem leadership views Crockett, a smart attorney who is a full-fledged adult (I think she’s like 40), as a child who is eloquent but unqualified for a higher leadership position.
lowtechcyclist
@gene108:
You think this moment where they’re directly affected is going to be just a passing moment? You may be right.
But I think that even if Trump reverses his tariffs soon, the effects will take a while to fully work their way through the economy. IOW, the
hitsrepercussions are going to keep on coming. And of course, we don’t know what his war on Hispanic-looking people is going to do to the economy either, but it’s not likely to be good.prostratedragon
@Fair Economist: I feel seen.
KayInMD (formerly Kay (not the front-pager))
@@heymistermix.com: It’s not rules, at all. It’s purely unwritten customs, similar to the customs of many a club or job – so-and-so should get the role or promotion because they’ve “earned” it, simply by sticking around the longest.
Belafon
@lowtechcyclist: I’m waiting for his actions to completely stop the major housing and road construction here in the DFW area.
Belafon
@KayInMD (formerly Kay (not the front-pager)): Which itself was created because Democrats had a nasty tendency of bypassing senior minority members in favor of whites.
Betty Cracker
We’ve lost two Democrats in the House to cancer already this year. Both were in their 70s, and both had their diagnoses well before they ran for reelection in 2024. With the House as evenly divided as it is, there’s a universe in which those two losses could have shifted the balance of power. As it is, their absence makes creepy Pastor Johnson’s job a tiny bit easier.
It’s a cold, hard calculation, and it feels heartless to talk about it, but it’s necessary. I remember getting pissed off when people pressured RBG to quit because I admired her so much, and that felt undignified. But damn it, they were right. None of us are indispensable.
@heymistermix.com
@KayInMD (formerly Kay (not the front-pager)):
Indeed – but they might as well be chiseled in stone and handed down from a mountaintop. AOC — a generational political talent — can’t be elevated over a guy with a terminal illness. Written or not, the rules are there.
frosty
@rikyrah: Do you know what Fred Kreueger’s source is for all these stats?
ETA Here’s the one for toys thanks to Valued Commenter prostratedragon at #26:
https://bsky.app/profile/juddlegum.bsky.social/post/3lnuvkl6z6s2k
ArchTeryx
@@heymistermix.com: Esophageal cancer killed my best friend in about 2 months from the time he announced his diagnosis. And he knew it. I still miss him. Digestive cancers in general are absolutely horrific.
Elizabelle
@Betty Cracker: Agree. Sylvester Turner and Raul Grijalva. We might face a scenario where Dems must move fast and need every vote. Take the decision out of Governor Fleece Vest’s hands.
prostratedragon
What are the specific duties of a committee chairman or ranking member? What do other caucus members expect from them? Not sure I actually know, but could have something to do with who is best where. We tend to think of the public-facing aspects, but are those the only considerations?
@heymistermix.com
@ArchTeryx:
My brother-in-law lasted a little longer but not much. Death was a blessing at the end.
A friend’s dad actually made it a couple of years but quality of life was compromised.
Geminid
@gene108: By the time she was sworn in January of 2019, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez might have been the second-best known House Democrat, next to Nancy Pelosi.
By contrast, I could see from comments here that a lot of people did not know there was such a person as Hakeem Jeffries before he got national exposure as one of the ten House Managers in Trump’s first Impeachment. I knew about Jeffries because of a controversy over his election as Caucus Chairman in November of 2018, but that story only made national news because a couple Ocasio-Cortez’s staffers made some big talk about primarying Jeffries.
It’s just a fact that for many Democrats 90% of the Party’s House members are unknowns, because they don’t make national news. For example, I would not know Rep. Sharice Davids did anything if I relied on “national” news media sites. It’s a different story, though when I look at local and state media.
That’s how it is for most House Democrats. I doubt if many know who Rep. Raj Krishnamoorthi is unless they follow Oversight Committee proceedings closely. But like I said above, Krishnamoorthi would make a good Ranking Member for Oversight even though he’s not nearly as well known as Reps. Khanna and Crockett.
Old Man Shadow
@@heymistermix.com: I watched my father die of throat cancer.
Chemo gave him two good years. The last year and a half were bad. Very bad.
Miss him.
He was retired, but if he wasn’t, I would have told him to retire and spend those two good years with family and friends making memories for them.
That said, I hope Connolly somehow beats the odds and recovers and gives his family many more good years before he passes on.
@heymistermix.com
@Belafon:
Citation needed.
The seniority system has been around since Jesus was a baby. A lack of minorities in leadership is far more likely to be due to a lack of minority members with seniority. Our House caucus is very diverse now, so even if I accept your statement (which I don’t), removing the seniority system would probably mean *more* minorities in positions of power. Crockett vs Lynch is a prime example, as is AOC vs Connolly.
rikyrah
@Leto:
I had seen that video. I was not surprised in the least by their comments.
cain
@@heymistermix.com:
I kind of get it. The more senior you are the more you understand the ins and outs of the House. If the leadership depends on understanding those rules then I can see where that would come in.
But seniority doesn’t imply wisdom even if you know the rules. Also, there are many who are senior and still don’t know the rules or might adhere to much the rules. Everything I’ve understood now is that some rules are just shit that been passed on as “gentleman’s agreement”.
It’s why Dems are in trouble today because they represent status quo and the voting public don’t want it and voted accordingly to their detriment and ours.
Old Man Shadow
@ArchTeryx: My condolences. It’s a terrible way to die and if God exists, I’ve got a lot of things to say to Them about it.
Fuck cancer.
Baud
@Geminid:
Same with Republicans. We don’t hear from most of them.
Baud
@cain:
That’s correct. The status quo is dead.
rikyrah
The Washington Post
@washingtonpost
Breaking news: New civil rights division chief said more than 100 attorneys have left, in many cases because they disagreed with the office’s new focus on combating anti-Christian bias, transgender athletes in women’s sports, and “woke ideology.”
https://x.com/washingtonpost/status/1916961866896597078
cain
@Baud:
Yep, it’s dead now. They got what they voted for.
cain
@rikyrah:
They are fighting for the civil rights of white christian men now. 🙄🙄🙄
TurnItOffAndOnAgain
@@heymistermix.com:
Did she not apply for that position like @Geminid said she did?
It would be in character for AOC, if my recollection that environmental issues were an interest of hers since the start of her career is correct.
Baud
@TurnItOffAndOnAgain:
She put on a happy face. Who knows what’s in her heat?
ETA
@heymistermix.com
@cain:
There are committees in the House where being more senior is probably an asset. Rules is a great example — old hands who’ve seen all the tricks would be helpful there. But not every committee.
@heymistermix.com
@TurnItOffAndOnAgain:
The job she applied for officially was ranking member of Oversight. She ran and lost. I don’t know the negotiations, if any, that were involved in her getting Energy. She didn’t mention them if any existed, just said she was honored and excited to be part of the committee.
Jay
https://www.muskwatch.com/p/musks-trump-ties-could-wipe-away
Baud
@Baud:
Heat = heart
Dorothy A. Winsor
Never mind
TurnItOffAndOnAgain
This is what I was wondering about, yeah. Whether or not it was her second choice over Oversight, it sounds like Energy and Commerce was always in her sights to some degree or another.
) raises eyebrows (
Jeffro
@Jay: that is significant and (obviously) explains why spending $250M to elect trump makes good economic sense (even if it’s completely immoral) for Musk
Which is why it’s important that we keep up the pressure on Tesla…I think he has lost a couple hundred billion in stock market value there?
TEL
@Baud: Yep, totally agree. Ro Khanna is my least favorite bay area rep.
@heymistermix.com
@TurnItOffAndOnAgain:
Yep, should have used scare quotes on that one.
TurnItOffAndOnAgain
@@heymistermix.com: I tried using * but it just turned into a bullet list.
Geminid
Speaking of younger Democrats, there may be a 26 year-old and a 27 year old running in next year’s Illinois 9th CD primary. Former Media Matters staffer Kat Abughazaleh (26) is already in the race, and Skokie School Board member Bushra Amivela (27) has told local media she’s interested in running.
Incumbent Rep. Jan Schakowski is expected to announce her retirement May 5th, at her annual Women’s Power Lunch. Besides Abughazaleh and Amivela, Evanston Mayor Daniel Bliss and State Senator Laura Fine are thought to be considerings runs. Bliss left the Senate seat Finer now holds to run for Governor in 2018. He came in second in the primary with 26 percent of the vote. Jay Pritzker was first with 46%.
Before Bliss won an Illinois House seat in 2008, he was an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at the University of Chicago. Bliss gave up a promising career in Algebraic Topology for politics.
Baud
@Geminid:
We need more math people. He has my support.
prostratedragon
Trending explained:
Oh, I see.
Phillip Bump:
TPM: “Trump’s DOJ Is Taking Cues From MAGA Influencers And Conspiracy Theorists”
Shana
Have any of our local NoVA juicers heard anything about who might run for Connolly’s seat?
Ohio Mom
There are 435 seats in the House of Representatives. That’s a lot of names, parties, districts and faces to remember, and that’s not counting any anecdotal information, you know, the little stories that tell you a little about what the Representative is like as a person.
So no surprise most of us haven’t heard of most of them or know much about the names we do recognize.
Planetjanet
@@heymistermix.com: Who did Jeffries leapfrog? He was elected chair of the Democratic Caucus in 2018 and thus a member of House leadership. He has been a member of the Democratic Progressive Caucus and Democratic Black Caucus since his first term in 2013. I see someone working his way up through the organization.
Geminid
@TurnItOffAndOnAgain: In November of 2018, when Hakeem Jeffries won the election for Caucus Chair over the veteran Rep. Barbara Lee, he’d only served 3 terms in the House. I figure both his colleagues and leadership must have liked what they saw.
I think Jeffries came to Congress well-recommended. He was a New York Assemblyman when he ran to replace Rep. Ed Towns, who was retiring. Jeffries’ Wikipedia biography had an interesting item about the primary: the Jeffries campaign circulated a picture of the candidate standing between Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.
All three men wore big smiles. As a sitting President, Obama did not want to formally endorse in a primary, so he and Clinton did the next best thing and posed for that picture.
Planetjanet
@Shana: I expect Collin Davenport to make a strong showing. He is a good talent.
pacem appellant
@Baud: @TEL: Keep my rep away from everything! I wish CA-17 wasn’t so expensive to compete in. We desperately need a rep who isn’t a techbro shill.
Geminid
@Ohio Mom: I need to get my butt in gear and follow through on my project to post short biographies of each of our new Democratic House members. I think there are around 35 in this class.
I want to include a short description of their individual districts. That’s pretty much how I try to learn national politics now; on a more granular level. I don’t know how effective this is but I figure it beats reading op-ed pieces.
sab
@Elizabelle: She (Jasmin Crockett) is helping fundraising around the country. Doing a joint fundraiser with my Congresswoman Emilia Sykes next month. I want to go but seats probably should go to bigger contributors.
I told them I would contribute the same, seat at the fundraiser or no
ETA I so much hope I can go.
Elizabelle
@sab: Jasmine was on a Red Wine & Blue Zoom maybe a month ago, and she is a superb communicator.
sab
@Geminid: Spring has sprung. You missed your chance. Plants not politics now.
Elizabelle
@Geminid: You are this century’s Michael Barone. Remember him, and those doorstop size manuals with Congressional bios, info on districts, committee assignments. They were fun.
Geminid
@sab: I’m glad to see Reps. Sykes and Crockett working together. They’re both members of the House Class of 2022. Sykes is 39 years-old while Crockett is 44, so they could be serving alongside each other for a while; two smart, hardworking women.
sab
Finally caught up with last weeks MSNBC. Had missed JFK Jr auitism registry. He is a monster and a eugenicist. His dad was a whacko anti-communist working for Joe McCarthy before we gilded him as special. His grandfather lobotomized his daughter because she partied.
Kennedys were mostly not good people. Ambitious as hell and ruthless. Very dishonest aboit their intentions.
I am not a Kennedy fan. The actual Kennedys were awful until Ted grew up in his fifties.
RFK sr worked with the bad MCarthy.
The only good thing about Kennedys was one of them married Sargent Shriver who was a good guy.
jefft452
@Baud: Seconded
Jay
@sab:
You forgot about all the booze Joe brought in during Prohibition.
That was a good thing, less demand for bathtub gin and lead laced moonshine..
eclare
@Elizabelle:
She’s been on Jimmy Kimmel a couple of times. Like you said, she is a great communicator.
HopefullyNotcassandra
@Old Man Shadow: I think this sentiment toward cancer is a great unifier in this country.
So, why is this president cutting research into curing cancer? Why is this president targeting MNRA vaccines (which look promising against aggressive cancers) for no funding at all?
Seems to me this issue alone could unify all of us against the silly death cult currently in power in this country.
You want to cure cancer? For heaven’s sake vote blue! The GOP will throw thoughts and prayers at cancer while cutting your healthcare too!!!
WTFGhost
@lowtechcyclist: There’s the possibility of more, and worse.
One sneaky thing I noticed about the US citizen children they shipped to Honduras, is, they said their respective moms were in the country illegally.
Now, given that
a grotesque, goblinesque, gigeresque slug like creature with pure hatred as ichorour Secretary of State, Marco Rubio might cancel a green card, or a visa, or, given that ICE might find some other legal pretext to decree them in the US unlawfully, it’s entirely possible that these mothers were in the country legally when they went to their immigration appointments, with their children, and became illegally within the US during said appointments.So: “their mothers were in the country illegally” might just mean “we found a legal pretext to deport them, and due process is for chumps! We can’t deport millions if we give due process!”
Jay
Has Xi called yet?
saw on r/Leopards where a $49.99 100 watt solar panel, (AliExpress), from China went to $1499.98 with tariff’s FFS.
Glidwrith
@sab: As I recall Ted Kennedy as a Senator was responsible for kneecapping Carter because he was resentful a peanut farmer could be President. He also stood in the way of offshore wind energy because it destroyed his view of the ocean.
Miss Bianca
@Jay:
Holy shit.
TurnItOffAndOnAgain
@Geminid: Thank you for the extra context.
RevRick
@trollhattan: I watch a Reels on Facebook called Laura Farms. She and her husband “own” a huge farm. They started with an assistant from her father, who owns the neighboring huge farm. Recently, she enumerated some of their expenses and the numbers are staggering. The economics are such that you have to go big, because all the inputs conspire to squeeze out small farms.
Gretchen
@@heymistermix.com: someone announced a primary to Jan Schakowsky, a very progressive Chicago Dem who is 80, and she decided to retire. The challenger used to work for Media Matters and is a TikTok influencer.
Another Scott
@Geminid:
Sorry if you’ve explained more about this below – I’m reading from the top.
??
In normal times, Oversight has a huge role to play in keeping the administration within the lines of what it’s supposed to be doing. And in abnormal times, it let people like Rep Tom Davis subpoena Terri Schiavo.
Their reach is huge – for good or ill. But the reach of many committees in the House and Senate is huge as well.
Thanks.
Best wishes,
Scott.
Gretchen
@Geminid: I live in Sharice Davids’ Kansas district. She is very visible here, visiting businesses and Veteran’s groups. Her party affiliation is rarely mentioned. The district leans a little blue but it’s not a safe seat. She lucked out last time by having a loudly anti abortion opponent. She’s pretty popular here because she’s a workhorse.
Another Scott
@@heymistermix.com:
Connolly got the job because he got more votes.
Best wishes,
Scott.
Geminid
@Geminid: One reason I want to post biographies of our new Democratic Representatives– including the primaries they ran in– is that I find the more I learn about individual Democrats, the more I respect them as a group. These generally are politicians who learned their trade at a lower level, typically as mayors or state legislators. Most stay in close touch with their constituents, and the ones in purple or light-blue districts have to in order to survive.
On the other hand, the less one knows about House Democrats, the easier it is to see them as faceless counters in whatever intra-party narrative people want to push. The Connolly v. Ocasio-Cortez controversy was a good example of this, I think. Some of Rep. Ocasio-Cortez’s proponents loaded every last grievance they had concerning Party governance onto Connolly, and took his win as an indictment of a hidebound, geriatric leadership.
I just saw it as 215 experienced Democrats choosing between two capable colleagues with different strengths. And the way I see it, the 119 Dems who voted for Connolly cared about the success of Democrats on Oversight as much as the 86 who voted for Ocasio-Cortez. They also cared about that success as much or more than anyone here, and they knew the dynamics of the Oversight Committee better.
Oversight Committee hearings get more attention than those of other committees with the possible exception of Judiciary. But that’s because it is essentially a “show” committee with little substantive jurisdiction. The hearings can make us feel good (or bad) but they do not have that much real impact in terms of legislation.
The work of the Energy and Commerce Committee does have a real impact. That’s why I think Rep. Ocasio-Cortez’s membership on Energy and Commerce is good for her career, even if her losing the vote for Ranking Oversight Member was a bitter disappointment for others.
lowtechcyclist
@HopefullyNotcassandra:
Good question! You’d think an MNRA vaccine would be very popular with certain segments of the right, they could be the silver bullet to take out cancer. ;-)
Another Scott
@Shana:
Lowell at BlueVirginia.US has a thread of local politicians’ comments.
There are undoubtedly a bunch of people continuing to think about jumping in (probably started thinking hard about it when Gerry first announced his diagnosis). I suspect there will be lots of whispering before any official announcements.
HTH a little.
Best wishes,
Scott.
Baud
@lowtechcyclist:
It’s clear that a lot of these people simply don’t believe us when we tell them things that are true. So if they don’t believe us, how would they fight for things like a cure to cancer?
sab
@Glidwrith: He also kneecapped Clintoncare.
sab
@rikyrah: I can’t buy milkbone dog biscuits. My dog thinks they are food. I cannot afford to feed a pitbull catchow.
Jay
@sab:
https://itdoesnttastelikechicken.com/easy-homemade-dog-treats/
Matt McIrvin
@HopefullyNotcassandra: RFK Jr. undoubtedly thinks vaccines cause cancer, as well as everything else he doesn’t like.
Matt McIrvin
@lowtechcyclist: Recall also that Trump in fact funded development of mRNA vaccines for COVID, his so-called “Project Warp Speed”, and desperately wanted political credit for this, but was incensed that Pfizer (whose vaccine was developed by Germans not funded by Project Warp Speed, as far as I know) announced that their first COVID vaccine was ready one or two days after Election Day 2020, thereby robbing him of the win he felt he deserved. From that point on, he basically wanted nothing to do with COVID vaccines, concentrating instead on mounting a coup to stay in office. Some of this is probably spite on his part.
Princess
Results not looking good for the Liberals so far in Atlantic Canada.
Another Scott
Meanwhile, Governor Fuzzy Vest is not happy, not at all… VirginiaMercury.com:
There are 6 Democrats in the Lt Gov primary on June 17.
Best wishes,
Scott.
Jay
@Princess:
With only 32 seats reporting, the Liberal Party, is leading in 23 ridings in Atlantic Canada, with the Con’s leading in 9.
And of course, early voting get’s counted first.
Princess
@Jay: Oh really?. CBC said early voting, where Liberals were poised to do better, would come in later. They said rural areas would come in first.
Gin & Tonic
@Geminid:
For anybody who knows mathematics at the requisite level, this is a really amusing turn of phrase.
Glidwrith
@lowtechcyclist: Pardon, but it’s mRNA, short for messenger RNA.
RevRick
@lowtechcyclist: MAGA will continue after Trump, because all the chip-on-the-shoulder resentments will remain and all the economic dislocations will likely worsen.
Geminid
@Another Scott: This is not how Glenn Youngkin wanted his last year in office to go, and it will likely get worse. Winsome Sears is not a good candidate herself. Come November, she’s gonna be Lose-some Sears.
Cardinal News had an article about John Reid’s appearance in Abingdon this weekend. U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith was there and stated his support for Reid. Griffith mentioned something I had not known: Reid’s father Jack Reid was a 9-term Delegate from Henrico County. I got the impression Griffith served with the elder Reid back in the day.
lowtechcyclist
@Matt McIrvin:
I was making a joke about the MNRA typo. Hence the ;-) at the end.
Gvg
@trollhattan: Agriculture has a right number where it’s profitable. It’s different depending on the land, type of agriculture and costs versus production of the time. By land, I mean fertility, growing season and water. During the pioneer days when the US was offering “free” land to settlers who could homestead or prove a farm, it turned out that it took more acres to support a family as you went west into more arid climates that would not grow as much food on the same amount of land as more traditional farms back east. That also accounts for some of the changes like more cattle less beans and corn because plowing lead to things like the dust bowl and keeping the grasslands intact preserved moisture. So the government would find out that nobody could successfully homestead with an original small amount of land and have to increase the size.
When mechanization changed farming but also increased costs and increased output, the breakeven size of farms changed. It’s different in different regions because areas tend to specialize in whatever kind of ag is most successful there. Which crops grow best. Nothing works everywhere. Soil and climate are always important. My uncle was in dairy in Wisconsin.Sometime in the 70’s, the finances worked out that dairy farmers needed about 3 of the old homesteads to breakeven on costs of all the milking equipment and tractors compared to the old days. The best farmers bought others out and many of the old houses fell down because they weren’t needed anymore. A lot of the kids didn’t want to be farmers and left for cities or towns. The better farmers still did all right though and had a lot more contact through TV and phones than they used to. They weren’t as isolated really. Drove to town whenever they wanted.
The real downside was health insurance or the lack of it. Also a lot of farmers and family seem to get cancers. Assumption is it is all the agricultural chemicals around.
Everytime we visited though we saw abandoned houses. Wisconsin winters would wreck an uninhabited house in just a few years. There were sometimes closed schools because Wisconsin had actually lost population at some point. Not sure if that is still the case.
Jay
@Gvg:
https://lexisantamaria.substack.com/p/sorry-nebraska-farmers-america-is
Gloria DryGarden
@Gin & Tonic: I only got through 3 semesters of calculus in engineering school. But now I’m desperate to know what is algebraic topology. I ‘spect I’ll google it some other day. But what a cool title for a subject of inquiry..
dnfree
@Geminid:
@Gin & Tonic: His last name is Biss. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Biss
Matt McIrvin
@Gloria DryGarden: Algebraic topology is about making connections between the stuff covered in “abstract algebra” classes, like groups and monoids and algebras and such (sets of number-like objects with operations you can do to them); and the classification of topological spaces, like the space we live in, or donuts of different numbers of holes, Möbius strips and Klein bottles, etc.
And that’s about as much of it as I understand.