Category: Cowardice

He Does This Because They Let Him

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And they let him because they don’t want to get anything done.

I am referring, of course, to Joe Manchin, who latest Jihad for moderation literally threatens the right to franchise in the United States.

Seriously, Manchin can throw a monkey wrench into the works because it feeds his ego, and there are on consequences.

It’s one thing to have an big tent and working with conservative Democrats, and it’s another to work with disloyal Democrats.

Make him face consequences, and if he wants to bolt to the Republican Party, let’s see how he fares in a Republican primary in 2024: (He won’t, particularly since he voted for impeaching Trump)

Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia said on Sunday in no uncertain terms that he would not vote for the Democrats’ far-reaching bill to combat voter suppression, nor would he ever end the legislative filibuster, a written promise that imperils much of President Biden’s agenda.

The bill, which all the other Senate Democrats had supported and the party had portrayed as an urgent effort to preserve American democracy, would roll back dozens of laws being passed by Republican state legislatures to limit early and mail-in voting and empower partisan poll watchers. The measure, known as the For the People Act, would also restore many of the ethical controls on the presidency that Donald J. Trump shattered.

………

The 818-page bill would end partisan gerrymandering, tighten controls on campaign spending and ease voter registration. It would also force major-party candidates for president and vice president to release 10 years’ worth of personal and business tax returns and end the president’s and vice president’s exemption from conflict-of-interest rules, which allowed Mr. Trump to maintain businesses that profited off his presidency.

With Mr. Manchin’s vow, passage of the full For the People Act appears to be impossible, though parts of it could pass in other ways if Democrats are willing to break up the bill, a move that they have resisted. Mr. Manchin’s blockade of filibuster changes makes other Biden initiatives far less likely to pass, including any overhaul of immigration laws, a permanent expansion of the Affordable Care Act, controls of the price of prescription drugs and the most serious efforts to tackle climate change.

………

House liberals were more scathing. “Manchin’s op-ed might as well be titled ‘Why I’ll vote to preserve Jim Crow,’” Representative Mondaire Jones, Democrat of New York, wrote on Twitter. 

Senate Democrats should kick Manchin loose and stop obliging his narcissism.

First, Manchin has no where else to go, and second, it’s better to have him outside the tent pissing in than to have him inside the tent pissing in.

There is literally no upside to making even the smallest accommodation Joe Manchin.  It makes Democrats appear weak, and reinforces the belief among the electorate that Democrats cannot be trusted to deliver on their promises because they are cowards.

Cowardice is not a good look for any political institution.

If It Makes You Nervous, Find a New Job

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Arguably the most popular policies of  Joe Biden with the general public is raising taxes on the rich.

Even a majority of Republicans support raising taxes on the rich.

Still, it appears that this fantastically popular policy prescription is giving moderate Democrats the vapors, because they have nothing to offer but the ability raise money from rich people.

Seriously, soaking the rich is good policy and good policy, but these guys are so afraid of offending the money bags types they are useless:

President Biden’s desire to offset more than $4 trillion in spending proposals with higher taxes is struggling to gain momentum in Congress.

Pockets of skepticism have emerged within Biden’s party over White House plans to raise the corporate tax rate, revamp the international tax system and double tax rates on wealthy investors, among other measures critical to the administration’s plans. The party faces regional divides over taxes as well, with farm-state Democrats skittish about taxes on heirs and coastal Democrats demanding the repeal of limits on state and local tax deductions, which would amount to an expensive tax cut that would require higher taxes elsewhere.

Yes, these tremulous Democrats are determined to save tax breaks for rich folks.

………

The open-ended nature of the discussions has led to a bevy of ideas from Democrats and little clear progress toward a resolution. Democrats said some donors are anxious about the political ramifications of raising taxes before the midterms, especially given the party’s tough odds to hold onto the House. Rep. Sean Maloney (D-N.Y.), chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee responsible for party fundraising, has privately warned the tax plans could hurt vulnerable House Democrats up for reelection in 2022, said two people familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal matters.

It won’t hurt anyway.

………

“The administration knows these taxes are very popular,” said Celinda Lake, a Democratic pollster who advised Biden’s campaign. “But Democrats in Congress are nervous from decades about being attacked as tax and spenders.”

When Bill Clinton created budget surpluses, and destroyed welfare, Democrats were attacked as tax and spenders.  It is going to happen anyway.

Living in fear of your own shadow is not is not living/

Another Right Wing Meme Slain by Facts

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It appears that everyone involved with the Paris attacks are European nationals, not refugees:

All of the attackers from Friday’s massacre in Paris so far have been identified as European Union nationals, according to a top EU official. The announcement further casts doubt on the validity of a Syrian passport found near the bodies of a slain attacker.

“Let me underline, the profile of the terrorists so far identified tells us this is an internal threat,” Federica Mogherini, the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission, said after a meeting with EU foreign ministers. “It is all EU citizens so far. This can change with the hours, but so far it is quite clear it is an issue of internal domestic security.”

Needless to say, the right wing pants wetting fear will continue unimpeded by the facts.

Why Republicans will take the Senate in November

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Because when the populace is in a state of abject pants soiling terror, people are more likely to vote conservative, and between Isis, Ebola, and the shootings in Ottawa, when juxtaposed with the hysterical coverage of our national press, leaves me unable to reach any other conclusion.

So, I expect Democrats to lose the Senate, and I expect Obama to use it as an excuse to try and privatize Social Security, which he has been itching to do since his election in 2008.

I hope that it fails because the Republicans are unwilling to give him a win.

Jon Stewart Owns Lindsay Graham

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This Man is the Biggest Scardy Cat in the Senate

Jon Stewart cut Lindsey Graham a new one for his constant, and constantly hysterical, fear mongering over, basically everything.

He describes Graham’s, “Panic for 13 years,” and said that, “The poor man lives his entire life trapped in ‘The Blair Witch Project,” and that he’s, “Seen chihuahuas in handbags who are less fretful and shaking.”

Of course, craven abject fear has been a dominant theme of movement conservatism for decades, as I observed when involuntarily forced to watch Fox News.

Republican politics thrive on fear and panic, so it’s not surprising that they advocate for it, but I also think that they are really that scared of well, everything.