All-Purpose NuILX thread for American Politics

just in case C Dexter is gabbneb I'm quitting this sandbox thread.

― Dr Morbius, Saturday, December 17, 2011 7:25 AM (13 hours ago) Bookmark Permalink

I call 3 days.

i think Poppa Bush knew exactly what he was getting in Souter ... an old-school New England Republican (like himself, really). the only people who were unpleasantly surprised about him were the early 1990s-style Teabaggers.

Yeah, maybe. I guess I should say that since Souter the political parties have gotten what they wanted.

I don't think anyone was "surprised" about him, because no one really knew what to expect in the first place.

Boehner is such a shitty Speaker

can't count votes/control his caucus etc

We seem to be on quite the streak of Presidents getting exactly what they expect out of their nominees, however. Perhaps times have changed?

This often takes years to show itself, if it does at all.

it took what, 3 years to find out Souter would support Roe? I think we can conclude that Roberts and Alito are what we expected them to be.

lol: espn analyst craig james leaving the sports desk to run for congress as a republican.

Meanwhile Obama be havin' fun with drone rockets:

Many administration lawyers strongly disapprove of opinions written under President George W. Bush that justified detainee interrogation methods now widely regarded as torture. But they worry that Obama’s 2009 decision to make them public has set a precedent for the release of normally classified opinions.

The Defense Department’s Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), which has carried out strikes in Yemen and Somalia, refuses to discuss drones or any other aspect of its secret counterterrorism operations.

Senior administration officials say they deserve to be trusted on drones, in part because Obama kept his pledge to do away with the CIA’s secret prisons and the use of harsh interrogation techniques.

House GOP to vote to raise taxes! ALLRIGHT!

just like in Braveheart!

They haven't voted yet but...

At the raucous, two-hour closed-door meeting, House Republicans compared themselves to the underdog, principled Scots in the movie “Braveheart” and, over takeout chicken sandwiches, promised to knock down the Senate bill.

We seem to be on quite the streak of Presidents getting exactly what they expect out of their nominees, however. Perhaps times have changed?

This often takes years to show itself, if it does at all.

― Lord Sotosyn, Monday, December 19, 2011

I think since Souter you have and will continue to see justices doing exactly what the Presidents who nominated them wanted.

Ok, now the House Republicans have voted down the 2 month payroll tax extension. Will they succeed in getting even more things added to a year long bill via Dems caving or will Dems actually stay strong(although they have already dropped the millionaires surcharge tax and agreed to the quicker pipeline decision)

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2011_12/gop_scuttles_bipartisan_deal_o034225.php

inclusion of 'over chicken sandwiches' somehow incredibly undermining & damning, while keeping neutral nyt tone

Dems are not gonna cave on this, it's too much of a coup politically to make Boehner eat shit (again)

also Boehner = worst speaker ever? I cannot recall another speaker in my lifetime who was so shitty at counting the votes of his own caucus.

It's an inchoate bunch, this group.

watching the Senate dems pwn Boehner is a source of almost sadistic pleasure - dude has wanted the job he's got for so long and they're just hanging him out to dry without breaking any visible sweat

it is pretty funny, yes

would be funnier if Reid and Obama just went straight to negotiating with Cantor in the future

Let's just say it's taken the Senate Dems long enough to play nasty.

well I'm not entirely sure they saw this coming and deliberately passed something they knew he couldn't muster the votes for - but now that Boehner's in this situ they're obviously going to play hardball, they have nothing to lose

that reminds me, i saw al franken on local morning sunday tv a week or so ago. i guess he was on because he organized a secret santa thing in the senate and it made the news.

the host was like "do you think this will help collegiality? do you think it will improve things in the payroll tax cut debate?" and he was like "yup, it's gonna solve the whole thing."

lol

Matt Damon be angry at Obama.

How come Ralph Nader never runs for president anymore? We need more options!

good post

Do you really think the Republican'ts and the Demorats represent all of America? They don't represent me!

so you're represented by left-leaning racists; good to know

What are you talking about? You don't know what I believe in! I'm not a racist!

lol

valuable poster

LBJ was literally incapable of pronouncing "negro" without transforming it into the n-word. He also signed the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act.

My point being, actions speak louder than words, and measuring a public figure's racism is a tricky business.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibsP6XN2dIo

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jun/25/nader-critical-of-obama-for-trying-to-talk-white/

sometimes it isn't very tricky at all

The satraps of Wall Street tut-tut the House's antics.

Shep's "....really." OTM

xpost

Asked to clarify whether he thought Obama does try to "talk white," Nader said: "Of course.

"I mean, first of all, the number one thing that a black American politician aspiring to the presidency should be is to candidly describe the plight of the poor, especially in the inner cities and the rural areas, and have a very detailed platform about how the poor is going to be defended by the law, is going to be protected by the law, and is going to be liberated by the law," Nader said. "Haven't heard a thing."

jeez, dan. this is horrible. nader thought that a black candidate for president ought to forthrightly address some specific issues that affect blacks and he thought it was cuet to characterize avoiding these issues as "talking white". ok, so it wasn't as cuet as he thought. let's all throw rotten eggs at him.

Nader's too smart not to know that you don't use "Uncle Tom" in any context about a black man.

Actually, Nader seems entirely tone deaf in that regard. But I've argued before that ignorance and racism need to be seen as connected, but not identical. This argument usually gets no sympathy in ilx. I continue to agree with myself on this, even if no one else here does.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/21/scott-walker-recall-kochsucker_n_1163033.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003

<3

Actually, Nader seems entirely tone deaf in that regard.

fixed.

I still have no regrets about supporting him in 2000.

One further observation: there is no such thing as being too smart not to know something. One's exposure to any subject is not predictable by examining one's intelligence. Nader was raised in a segregated America. Most ilxors were not. Given his background, Nader probably has the same vague and generalized set of ideas about race that are the common property of liberals his age.

Me neither, people said it was Nader's fault that Bush was president for eight years but it was important to send a message! And people got that message!

somehow I suspect that this phone call didn't go QUITE as reported

The GOP will cave, ABC News reports.

Me neither, people said it was Nader's fault that Bush was president for eight years but it was important to send a message! And people got that message!

― billy goat, Wednesday, December 21, 2011 2:21 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Permalink

I literally wrote "suggest ban" with a sharpie on the screen of my laptop above this post just so I could click it

I don't know what you're talking about but Aerosmith rocks!

<3