Friday Open Thread

38
  by: Colorado Pols December 11, 2020 at 6:54 AM MST

“There is no such thing as paranoia. Your worst fears can come true at any moment.”

–Hunter S. Thompson

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38 Community Comments, Facebook Comments

  2. RepealAndReplace says:
    December 11, 2020 at 7:16 AM MST

    I wonder what AOC and the rest of the Mod Squad could teach Joe Biden about what it takes to win in a place like Georgia……

    Transition Highlights: Biden Warns ‘Defund the Police’ Slogan Could Hurt Democrats in Georgia Runoff Races – The New York Times (nytimes.com)

    Debate among yourselves. I need to get to work.

    • kickshot says:
      December 11, 2020 at 7:25 AM MST

      Whatever their advice would be it would damn sure be better than dump's 'Guidelines to Voting in a Pandemic'. 

      He flipped the state all by himself. Winning.

    • MattC says:
      December 11, 2020 at 8:55 AM MST

      The answer is clear.

      They should admit Biden is trying to steal the election. They should advocate respect for 2nd amendment solutions now!

      They should express admiration for Eisenhower and Reagan and especially Trump.

      They should belittle Representative Ocasio Cortez AOC with diminutive nicknames and lump her in with other Representatives and progressive leaders who are women of color and more progressive than the current Georgia republican candidates.

      They should cower from the human rights issues of our day and advocate tax cuts as the solution for every problem.

    • ParkHill says:
      December 11, 2020 at 9:01 AM MST

      To take your question seriously…

      One thing they could teach is that $15 minimum wage is so popular that Florida voted for it by 60%. That would be a good campaign issue in Georgia.

      The thing is many socialist ideas are popular:

      Child Labor laws
      Social Security
      Medicare
      Super Highways
      Obamacare
      FDA
      Public Schools
      State Universities
      etc.

      Notice that in the 2020 elections the DSA doubled their representation in the US House (from 2 to 4). Socialist labeled candidates can and did win in urban districts, not rural Georgia.

      • RepealAndReplace says:
        December 11, 2020 at 10:01 AM MST

        Socialist labeled candidates can and did win in urban districts, not rural Georgia

        On something we agree. I would take it a step further and say that it may win in urbans districts, but not in rural or suburban districts.

        • kickshot says:
          December 11, 2020 at 10:08 AM MST

          Democratic Socialists doubled their numbers in the US House.

          One of the new members, Cori Bush, began her political activism and career after the murder of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO. So, in a way, Darren Wilson has played an expanding role in the movement as well.

          • RepealAndReplace says:
            December 11, 2020 at 11:27 AM MST

            Yes, they went all the way from four to eight. h/t

            But they have a long way to go to match the success record of their fringe opposite, the Tea Party, which took control of the GOP in essentially one election cycle.

            • ParkHill says:
              December 11, 2020 at 4:29 PM MST

              It is true that geographic sorting along with heavy gerrymandering permits a 51% majority to win primaries. Republicans are strongly ideological, and (old, white) rural areas have outsized influence. Democrats are much more of a coalition, so it there is more diversity of thought.

            • kickshot says:
              December 11, 2020 at 5:36 PM MST

              Why is the TP the 'fringe opposite' of DSA?

              • Duke Cox says:
                December 11, 2020 at 6:48 PM MST

                Equivocation is a specialty of our goodfriend R&R. In guitar parlance, R&R believes it works like harmonics. That is, a tone played is the same, depending on its distance from the center, or twelfth fret.

                But politics isn't semitones. 

  3. kickshot says:
    December 11, 2020 at 7:21 AM MST

    Dec 4:

    Pelosi, Clyburn Announce Opening of Joseph Rainey Exhibition

    Kevin McCarthy and Tim Scott will have a "conversation".

    The Far Right is the Democrats' Finest Asset

  4. Conserv. Head Banger says:
    December 11, 2020 at 8:04 AM MST

    News today: the Republican attorney generals of Idaho and Ohio have declined to join the Texas lawsuit against the four battleground states.

    Noteworthy comment from conservative columnist, Charlie Sykes, on The Bulwark dot com: (paraphrased) with the lawsuit, Republicans no longer believe in federalism or states rights.

    • Diogenesdemar says:
      December 11, 2020 at 8:51 AM MST

      “Republicans no longer believe in federalism or states rights.”

      . . . or democracy, or the rule of law, or conservatism,

      . . . or really much of anything else (except for fealty to oligarchs and autocrats).

      Gee whiz, finally, it’s like what Duke and I have been telling you here for years. wink

      (btw, it wasn’t just with this lawsuit, however.)

       

       

      • ParkHill says:
        December 11, 2020 at 9:03 AM MST

        Power. They definitely believe in power.

        No Compromise. They definitely believe in exercising power without compromise or coalition.

      • Duke Cox says:
        December 11, 2020 at 9:11 AM MST

        …and the deficit..OMG…what about that? In 4 years, they haven’t mentioned the word.

        It reflects the ideological bankruptcy of the Republican party, and the “conservative” movement. The reason they adopted “L’ Enfant Terrible” was they didn’t care about his morals or his ethics…just all the “winning” he promised.

    • MattC says:
      December 11, 2020 at 9:03 AM MST

      Federalism? States rights?

      umm,…. that has been true for some time now.

      Like your delusional description of real conservatism  in a recent post.

      As an aspirational description -fine.

      You believing you are part of a Republican party that means what you want it to based on the evidence of McConnell, Trump, Pence, and the rest is just delusional.

      Name one Republican US Senator or House Rep that voted against the debt exploding Republican proposals.
      Bonus if you can include one that didn't also complain long and loudly about any debt increasing D proposal.

       

      Captain Junnuh : This is starting to get embarrassing.
      Bagger Vance: Oh, no sir… this has been embarrassing for some time now
       

    • JohnInDenver says:
      December 11, 2020 at 12:45 PM MST

      Another option — if the elections are so problematic, at least the 16 signatories from the questionable states to the Amicus petition to the Supreme Court ought not be seated.  I'd prefer all those who signed not be seated, creating a 222 to 106 Democratic majority in the House.  Once the Presidential votes are opened and acknowledged by the House, THEN the 106 signers can be sworn in.

       

      • kickshot says:
        December 11, 2020 at 12:48 PM MST

        While it is obvious to pint out the hypocrisy of the signers – denying the decision of the electoral process that put them in their seats, it does not do any good. These frat boys are just out for a lark …. owning the libs.

  5. ParkHill says:
    December 11, 2020 at 8:50 AM MST

    Traitor list of the Week from Buzzfeed: "Here Are The Names Of 106 Members Of The House Who Refuse To Accept That Biden Won."

    Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana’s 4th Congressional District

    Rep. Gary Palmer of Alabama’s 6th Congressional District

    Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana’s 1st Congressional District

    Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio’s 4th Congressional District

    Rep. Ralph Abraham of Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District

    Rep. Rick W. Allen of Georgia’s 12th Congressional District

    Rep. James R. Baird of Indiana’s 4th Congressional District

    Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana’s 3rd Congressional District

    Rep. Jack Bergman of Michigan’s 1st Congressional District

    Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona’s 5th Congressional District

    Rep. Gus Bilirakis of Florida’s 12th Congressional District

    Rep. Dan Bishop of North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District

    Rep. Mike Bost of Illinois’s 12th Congressional District

    Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas’s 8th Congressional District

    Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama’s 5th Congressional District

    Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado’s 4th Congressional District

    Rep. Ted Budd of North Carolina’s 13th Congressional District

    Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee’s 2nd Congressional District

    Rep. Michael C. Burgess of Texas’s 26th Congressional District

    Rep. Bradley Byrne of Alabama’s 1st Congressional District

    Rep. Ken Calvert of California’s 42nd Congressional District

    Rep. Earl L. “Buddy” Carter of Georgia’s 1st Congressional District

    Rep. Ben Cline of Virginia’s 6th Congressional District

    Rep. Michael Cloud of Texas’s 27th Congressional District

    Rep. Mike Conaway of Texas’s 11th Congressional District

    Rep. Rick Crawford of Arkansas’s 1st Congressional District

    Rep. Dan Crenshaw of Texas’s 2nd Congressional District

    Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida’s 25th Congressional District

    Rep. Jeff Duncan of South Carolina’s 3rd Congressional District

    Rep. Neal P. Dunn of Florida’s 2nd Congressional District

    Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District

    Rep. Ron Estes of Kansas’s 4th Congressional District

    Rep. Drew Ferguson of Georgia’s 3rd Congressional District

    Rep. Chuck Fleischmann of Tennessee's 3rd Congressional District

    Rep. Bill Flores of Texas’s 17th Congressional District

    Rep. Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska’s 1st Congressional District

    Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina’s 5th Congressional District

    Rep. Russ Fulcher of Idaho’s 1st Congressional District

    Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida’s 1st Congressional District

    Rep. Greg Gianforte of Montana’s at-large congressional district

    Rep. Bob Gibbs of Ohio’s 7th Congressional District

    Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas’s 1st Congressional District

    Rep. Lance Gooden of Texas’s 5th Congressional District

    Rep. Sam Graves of Missouri’s 6th Congressional District

    Rep. Mark Green of Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District

    Rep. Michael Guest of Mississippi’s 3rd Congressional District

    Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland’s 1st Congressional District

    Rep. Vicky Hartzler of Missouri’s 4th Congressional District

    Rep. Kevin Hern of Oklahoma’s 1st Congressional District

    Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana’s 3rd Congressional District

    Rep. Trey Hollingsworth of Indiana’s 9th Congressional District

    Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina’s 8th Congressional District

    Rep. Bill Huizenga of Michigan’s 2nd Congressional District

    Rep. Bill Johnson of Ohio’s 6th Congressional District

    Rep. John Joyce of Pennsylvania’s 13th Congressional District

    Rep. Fred Keller of Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District

    Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania’s 16th Congressional District

    Rep. Trent Kelly of Mississippi’s 1st Congressional District

    Rep. Steve King of Iowa’s 4th Congressional District

    Rep. David Kustoff of Tennessee’s 8th Congressional District

    Rep. Darin LaHood of Illinois’s 18th Congressional District

    Rep. Doug LaMalfa of California’s 1st Congressional District

    Rep. Doug Lamborn of Colorado’s 5th Congressional District

    Rep. Robert E. Latta of Ohio’s 5th Congressional District

    Rep. Debbie Lesko of Arizona’s 8th Congressional District

    Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer of Missouri’s 3rd Congressional District

    Rep. Kenny Marchant of Texas’s 24th Congressional District

    Rep. Roger Marshall of Kansas’s 1st Congressional District

    Rep. Tom McClintock of California’s 4th Congressional District

    Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington’s 5th Congressional District

    Rep. Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania’s 9th Congressional District

    Rep. Carol D. Miller of West Virginia’s 3rd Congressional District

    Rep. John Moolenaar of Michigan’s 4th Congressional District

    Rep. Alex X. Mooney of West Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District

    Rep. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma’s 2nd Congressional District

    Rep. Gregory Murphy of North Carolina’s 3rd Congressional District

    Rep. Dan Newhouse of Washington’s 4th Congressional District

    Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina’s 5th Congressional District

    Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania’s 10th Congressional District

    Rep. Guy Reschenthaler of Pennsylvania’s 14th Congressional District

    Rep. Tom Rice of South Carolina’s 7th Congressional District

    Rep. John Rose of Tennessee’s 6th Congressional District

    Rep. David Rouzer of North Carolina’s 7th Congressional District

    Rep. John Rutherford of Florida’s 4th Congressional District

    Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia’s 8th Congressional District

    Rep. Mike Simpson of Idaho’s 2nd Congressional District

    Rep. Adrian Smith of Nebraska’s 3rd Congressional District

    Rep. Jason Smith of Missouri’s 8th Congressional District

    Rep. Ross Spano of Florida’s 15th Congressional District

    Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York’s 21st Congressional District

    Rep. Glenn Thompson of Pennsylvania’s 15th Congressional District

    Rep. Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District

    Rep. William Timmons of South Carolina’s 4th Congressional District

    Rep. Ann Wagner of Missouri’s 2nd Congressional District

    Rep. Tim Walberg of Michigan’s 7th Congressional District

    Rep. Michael Waltz of Florida’s 6th Congressional District

    Rep. Randy Weber of Texas’s 14th Congressional District

    Rep. Daniel Webster of Florida’s 11th Congressional District

    Rep. Brad Wenstrup of Ohio’s 2nd Congressional District

    Rep. Bruce Westerman of Arkansas’s 4th Congressional District

    Rep. Roger Williams of Texas’s 25th Congressional District

    Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina’s 2nd Congressional District

    Rep. Rob Wittman of Virginia’s 1st Congressional District

    Rep. Ron Wright of Texas’s 6th Congressional District

    Rep. Ted S. Yoho of Florida’s 3rd Congressional District

    Rep. Lee Zeldin of New York’s 1st Congressional District

  6. ParkHill says:
    December 11, 2020 at 9:28 AM MST

    Jonathon Goldberg via Brad DeLong:

    "This was the plan…. His goal was always to steal the election if he didn’t win…. He told all of his voters to vote on Election Day. He expected this would give him a “mirage” lead that night, and then, because he had already established the illegitimacy of mail-in ballots, he could pretend to be justified in proclaiming victory on Election Night. Sure, there would be lawsuits and the like later, but Trump would have momentum on his side. He even telegraphed over and over that he expected the Supreme Court to come to his rescue…. That was his primary explanation for why he thought it was important to get Amy Coney Barrett confirmed. But as Grossman points out, there was just one problem: Trump wasn’t actually leading on Election Night…. This, by the way, explains why Trump World was so very, very, very, angry about Fox’s decision to call Arizona…. The Arizona call ruined the pretext. If Pennsylvania had been the tipping point, they thought they could get the election thrown to the court. But the Arizona call combined with the undeclared result in Georgia preempted that…"

  7. kickshot says:
    December 11, 2020 at 9:31 AM MST

    If SCOTUS does decide to entertain Paxton's lawsuit and they rule in his favor then we could have a national referendum on McConnell.

  8. doremi says:
    December 11, 2020 at 10:18 AM MST

    Note that Scott Tipton didn't add his name to this list.  A belated finding of spine?

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