Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

There are a lot more evil idiots than evil geniuses.

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

Every one of the “Roberts Six” lied to get on the court.

I desperately hope that, yet again, i am wrong.

Wake up. Grow up. Get in the fight.

A norm that restrains only one side really is not a norm – it is a trap.

There are some who say that there are too many strawmen arguments on this blog.

Oh FFS you might as well trust a 6-year-old with a flamethrower.

Today in our ongoing national embarrassment…

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

“When somebody takes the time to draw up a playbook, they’re gonna use it.”

We know you aren’t a Democrat but since you seem confused let me help you.

Dear elected officials: Trump is temporary, dishonor is forever.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

If you can’t control your emotions, someone else will.

It’s pointless to bring up problems that can only be solved with a time machine.

Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.

They were going to turn on one another at some point. It was inevitable.

Polls are now a reliable indicator of what corporate Republicans want us to think.

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the gop

Republicans in disarray!

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No Data, No Source, More Vibes

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I started to write this nearly a week ago.

Another mostly “normie” week for me.  The big house project, and the start of gardening season.

10 days or so ago I put up the post titled No Data, No Source, Just Vibes, saying that it sure felt like something was shifting.  At that point the orange monster had already lost the election in Canada and had not yet lost the election in Australia.

A week ago – last Monday, I believe – Joyce Vance wrote her The Week Ahead newsletter, and she seemed to agree with me.  As a country we saved ourselves before, more than once, and she seems to think we can do it again.  She even manages to extend a bit of grace for it taking some time for us to pull ourselves up after the shock.

At dinner this weekend, a friend told me that one of the most encouraging conversations she’d had recently involved a look at how other countries that have been through a democratic backsliding process, like Hungary and Poland, did. It turns out that the temporary paralysis that came with the first 100 days of this administration is fairly normal for countries in this position, especially for the opposition. Then, everyone gathers themselves together and moves forward.

The timing of our conversation was perfect, because as I’ve been doing a lot of research about how other countries have worked through attempts by would-be dictators to take over, as I continue to work on my book. I had reached the same conclusion—that giving ourselves a little grace for the shock of dealing with a president who wants to dismantle democracy is appropriate. But it’s also important to remind ourselves that just like Americans saved the country during the Civil War, during the Civil Rights era, during Watergate, we can do it again.

The moment calls for courage, and if elected officials, regardless of party, can’t muster it, then they need to step out of the way (and we don’t need to reelect them). It’s a failure of imagination to think government has to be the enemy. That it has to be stagnant, cowardly, and mired in gridlock. But at a bare minimum, our elected officials should be capable of defending the Constitution. Why else do they take an oath to uphold it? Trump offers only the politics of grift and revenge, and that is not democracy.

This is where we are as we start the week ahead. It’s time to move forward. Our progress may feel slow. It may not always be linear. But we are beginning, and right now, it feels important to be here and to keep going.

For the final piece of the trifecta,  Trump lost the election for Pope, as well, on May 8.  (How can that be just 4 days ago????)

We have a million miles to go, but it feels like the tide is turning.

It sure feels to me like it’s time for us to ramp things up.

We certainly live in interesting times.

 

No Data, No Source, More VibesPost + Comments (191)

Hakeem Jeffries – Evolving Strategy – ‘Dumb Effing Individuals’

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UNITED STATES – APRIL 30: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., speaks about President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office, at the Atlas Performing Arts Center in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Punchbowl seems to think that Hakeem Jeffries has a new media strategy.

Something has changed with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. He seems to be everywhere these days and coming out from under the shadow of the louder progressive voices who are taking on President Donald Trump.

This week, Jeffries participated in an over 12-hour sit-in on the Capitol steps on Sunday along with Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and other House Democrats. In addition, Jeffries made an off-campus speech to a crowded theater near Capitol Hill to mark Trump’s first 100 days in office.

The Democratic leader has also beefed up his direct-to-camera videos, while increasing his rhetoric against Trump. And he now has two news conferences a week instead of one.

Jeffries’ new media strategy is a stark contrast to the typically measured leader we’ve long covered.

In a video he posted earlier this month, Jeffries referred to Trump’s Cabinet officials as “dumb effing individuals.” He also hit back at Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on X after Cruz criticized Democrats for going to El Salvador to advocate for the release of wrongfully detained Salvadoran immigrant, Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

[snip]

During his speech to supporters this week, Jeffries also acknowledged the shift in his attitude towards Republicans. If you recall, Jeffries was “Mr. Bipartisan” at the start of the Congress, hoping to work with his GOP counterparts after a crushing election last November.

But the Democratic leader said Republicans rejected that plea  and that Democrats can not stand for what they’re doing now.

“Donald Trump is doubling down, and instead of being a check and balance on this president’s abuse of power, Republicans in Congress are nothing more than a rubber stamp for his extreme agenda,” Jeffries said.

First of all, I wonder why Punchbowl thinks this is a “media strategy” rather than a strategy to oppose the orange monster.  Arrogance?  Does the media think everything is about them?  Do they see everything as kabuki, rather than actual tactics or strategy?  These days, is there an actual difference?  I think YES.

Anyway, let’s not take their word for it.

We will not let this guy abolish Veterans Day.

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— Hakeem Jeffries (@hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social) May 3, 2025 at 6:17 PM

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This is not Joe Biden’s economy.

It’s your failed economy, Donald.

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— Hakeem Jeffries (@hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social) April 30, 2025 at 4:28 PM

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What do you guys think?

Hakeem Jeffries – Evolving Strategy – ‘Dumb Effing Individuals’Post + Comments (221)

What’s Everyone Doing to Keep the Pressure On?

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It’s Friday afternoon.  I read this from Hakeem Jeffries and found myself wondering…

What have we done this week to keep the pressure on?  I have to say that I have done nothing.  Hopefully you guys have a better answer than me.  If not, we need to make some phone calls to elected officials before the end of the day.

.

h/t rikyrah

So you don’t have to click on twitter, here’s the letter.

The tweet references “four union leaders” but I didn’t see the names of those leaders, and I don’t know how many different unions are involved.  Still, I think this is an important move.

What's Everyone Doing to Keep the Pressure On? 1

Your thoughts?

Open thread.

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“He said, ‘Kill them all.’”

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Ben Terris has a long story in New York Magazine this morning about Senator John Fetterman (“John Fetterman’s Struggle”, via paywall-free Archive.is). It reports stories from current and past staffers who are deeply concerned about Fetterman’s mental health and his ability to continue in his role. It is by turns sad and infuriating. If the reporting is accurate, it sounds as if Fetterman’s problems run deeper than post-stroke auditory processing issues and hardcore Zionist support.

Here’s an excerpt, detailing an e-mail his former chief of staff Adam Jentleson sent to Fetterman’s chief doctor at Walter Reed last year:

“I think John is on a bad trajectory and I’m really worried about him,” the email began. If things didn’t change, Jentleson continued, he was concerned Fetterman “won’t be with us for much longer.”
His 1,600-word email came with the subject line “concerns,” and it contained a list of them, from the seemingly mundane (“He eats fast food multiple times a day”) to the scary (“We do not know if he is taking his meds and his behavior frequently suggests he is not”). “We often see the kind of warning signs we discussed,” Jentleson wrote. “Conspiratorial thinking; megalomania (for example, he claims to be the most knowledgeable source on Israel and Gaza around but his sources are just what he reads in the news — he declines most briefings and never reads memos); high highs and low lows; long, rambling, repetitive and self centered monologues; lying in ways that are painfully, awkwardly obvious to everyone in the room.”
Not ideal! There are also stories that give color to rumors about trouble in Fetterman’s marriage. Per staff, the senator and his wife Gisele have had heated arguments about Israel’s relentless attacks on Palestinians – Fetterman allegedly said in a meeting that they should all be killed –  about his apparent inability or unwillingness to adhere to his treatment regimen, and about the visit to Trump in Mar-a-Lago right around the inauguration. She did not want to go:
Gisele, however, wasn’t so keen on traveling with him. “It was a whole saga,” said a former staffer. “She wasn’t going to go, and they had fights about it.” To convince her, Fetterman told her to think of this as an opportunity to showcase what a model Dreamer looked like in an effort to get the president-elect to soften his views on illegal immigration. If she didn’t go, Fetterman said, she’d lose the right to complain about whatever he did as president. “He said in a small group with senior staff, ‘I told her to put up or shut up,’” the staffer recalled. “‘If she doesn’t go, I don’t want to hear about it.’”
She did wind up going, and for now, per a statement quoted in the article, she’s standing by her man and blaming Jentleson for telling lies about Fetterman’s condition. But man, I don’t know. There are e-mails and group texts and other accounts in this article that describe a man who is struggling to work his treatment program and seems to be in denial that anything is wrong. That’s the sad part. They also describe a man who is hideously racist towards Palestinians, which is the infuriating part.
Again, this is all a he-said, they-said story, and it’s possible it’s not true. But if it is, this Pennsylvania voter thinks Fetterman should resign, stick to his treatment, and live as a private citizen from here on out. His constituents and his family deserve better.
Open thread.

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No Data, No Source, Just Vibes

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I have sort of been a “normie” in the past week or so because of a big push for one of my clients, a big undertaking at home, and the start of gardening season.

So I haven’t had time to read all the newsletters and substances and articles in the news.

But vibes?   Even normies have time for vibes, and it sure feels like something is shifting.

Cue 100 people telling me I’m wrong?  I hope not, but the chips will fall where they may.

Open thread.

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Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

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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.

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— 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.

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— Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) April 16, 2025 at 4:35 PM

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.

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Unreasonable To Be Annoyed by This?

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This just arrived in my inbox.

Unreasonable To Be Annoyed by This? 1

Unreasonable To Be Annoyed by This?

I unsubscribed immediately, and I entered this in the “why are you leaving” box:

I never signed up.

Also, I am appalled that a senator who is not even registered as a DEMOCRAT thinks he should be leading an effort to oust the DEMOCRATIC leader in the Senate.

I have never been a big fan of Bernie but it’s a big tent, and he certainly redeemed himself with me when he supported Biden’s priorities in the senate.

I have seen people claim in the comments here that Bernie is out there on the stump, telling people that Democrats are bad.  I find that hard to believe, and I don’t think for a minute that AOC – who is out on the road with him – would be dumb enough to be running around the country saying that.

But Bernie, who his not even a fucking DEMOCRAT – raising money for himself and trying to get Schumer remove as the DEMOCRATIC Leader in the senate – is a bridge too far.

Is that unreasonable?  I think if you want a say in the leader of the party, join the fucking party!

Am I wrong?

Unreasonable To Be Annoyed by This?Post + Comments (299)