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Political Discussion Thread (With Rules)


Simon

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7 minutes ago, Sociotard said:

Ruth Bader Ginsburg is dead. I look forward to McConnel announcing that the Senate will not vote on a new Justice so close to an Election.

 

https://www.npr.org/2020/09/18/100306972/justice-ruth-bader-ginsburg-champion-of-gender-equality-dies-at-87

 

Well.

Our Democracy is kind of perma #$#$ed now, at least for the next quarter of a century

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4 minutes ago, archer said:

I would like complete silence from national Democrats on speculations about who a President Biden would nominate to replace Ginsburg.

 

There's not a name which could be brought up by them for discussion which wouldn't be twisted to Trump's benefit.

 

I can see Trump now "They want to nominate Judge _______ , I hear he's a known cat strangler. I mean, I don't say it, but many many people do... good people I'm sure. Do you love your pets? I know I do. Let's not select Judge ________. "

 

 

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11 minutes ago, archer said:

I would like complete silence from national Democrats on speculations about who a President Biden would nominate to replace Ginsburg.

 

There's not a name which could be brought up by them for discussion which wouldn't be twisted to Trump's benefit.

 

Do you really expect complete silence from national Republicans? It's a sure bet Mitch McConnell will try to ram through another Conservative justice confirmation before the election, in complete repudiation of the stand he took during President Obama's last year. Because principles aren't even a pretense any more.

 

Brace yourself for unabashed political pit-fighting.

23 minutes ago, Hermit said:

 

Well.

Our Democracy is kind of perma #$#$ed now, at least for the next quarter of a century

 

Remember the recent SCOTUS decisions, and who voted for what. "Conservative" doesn't necessarily mean "hopelessly partisan."

23 minutes ago, Old Man said:

That’s the game. No way Trump is forced out of office now. Time to move somewhere where the climate won’t kill us for a few more decades. 

 

He still has an election to win.

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4 minutes ago, Lord Liaden said:

 

Do you really expect complete silence from national Republicans?

 

I didn't say I expected complete silence from national Republicans.

 

I said I didn't want national Democrats to mention names for Republicans to take potshots at.

 

If by some miracle the Democrats manage to stop Trump from getting a nominee confirmed before the end of January, Biden deserves to be able to come up with his own list of potentials and his own nominee without giving the Republicans four months of free reign smearing those people.

 

A president can use his office and his administration to help defend the reputation of a nominee.

 

With Biden not being the president, not having an administration, and not having a press corps stationed a few feet from his office, he's not in any position to defend anyone. And particularly not now when he has to focus on getting elected rather than defending the reputations of random judges and law professors.

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That makes good sense. I just don't expect Republicans to wait for nominees to take potshots at. Trump and his chief enablers have already gotten in the habit of inventing Democratic "leftist" bogeymen to frighten people with. I doubt Democrats and Biden will be left with any choice but to defend themselves. Like I said, this is going to be a cage match.

40 minutes ago, Old Man said:

That’s the game. No way Trump is forced out of office now. Time to move somewhere where the climate won’t kill us for a few more decades. 

 

BTW if you're thinking of heading north, you should start practicing pronouncing the last letter of the alphabet "zed" instead of "zee." :P

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15 minutes ago, Lord Liaden said:

 

He still has an election to win.

That just became easier for Trump. Yesterday's ATC had a segment on how the legal fighting over the election has already begun as parties try to shape the conditions of the election to their favor. As they said, Bush v Gore is going to look quaint compared to the legal pit-fight already beginning. The challenges will now ready a SCOTUS with a 6-3 conservative majority, so two Republican-appointed justices have to choose policy over partisanship. That... may not be likely.

 

McConnell said last year that haha, no, he wouldn't wait a second to confirm an election-year SCOTUS nominee from Trump.

 

This makes it even more important for Dems to take the Senate as well as the White House. Without court-packing, there's no way Roe v Wade, marriage equality or the Affordable Care Act survive their next court challenge.

 

Dean Shomshak

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16 minutes ago, Lord Liaden said:

That makes good sense. I just don't expect Republicans to wait for nominees to take potshots at. Trump and his chief enablers have already gotten in the habit of inventing Democratic "leftist" bogeymen to frighten people with. I doubt Democrats and Biden will be left with any choice but to defend themselves. 

 

 

Defending themselves is nothing new.

 

Defending Wilfred Dinglehammer who smoked pot in college, cheated on his wife with a stripper, and who as a judge let an accused rapist out of jail on a "technicality" brings a different level of challenge.

 

If the Democrats bring up the name Wilfred Dinglehammer, Republicans will jump all over it.

 

But if the Republicans are the ones who bring up the name Wilfred Dinglehammer, the Democrats can say, "Who the hell is talking about nominating Wilfred Dinglehammer?" and credibly change the topic to something else.

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For comparison purposes during the coming political fights:

 

Scalia died Feb 13, 2016 which was 11 months and a couple of weeks before the next president was to be sworn in. Most Republicans argued the Senate didn't have enough time to adequately consider and vote on a nominee.

 

Ginsburg died Sep 18, 2020 which is 4 months and a couple of weeks before the next president will be sworn in. Some Republicans have already stepped forward claiming there's plenty of time to consider and vote on a nominee, despite the country being in the middle of multiple national emergencies which should already be placing a hell of a lot of burden on the Senate's time.

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5 hours ago, Lord Liaden said:

He still has an election to win.

 

Problem is, will he accept the results of that election should he lose?  Altho I agree that even if another nominal conservative is picked, it's not at all clear how he/she would go on procedural matters like this.

 

4 hours ago, archer said:

Scalia died Feb 13, 2016 which was 11 months and a couple of weeks before the next president was to be sworn in. Most Republicans argued the Senate didn't have enough time to adequately consider and vote on a nominee.

 

Ginsburg died Sep 18, 2020 which is 4 months and a couple of weeks before the next president will be sworn in. Some Republicans have already stepped forward claiming there's plenty of time to consider and vote on a nominee, despite the country being in the middle of multiple national emergencies which should already be placing a hell of a lot of burden on the Senate's time.

 

Of course.  They always have time to get their pick in place.

 

McConnell's proven repeatedly that he has no ethics when it comes to governance.

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These last few years have really pressed home the reality that if the officials given responsibility to enforce our laws choose not to, those laws are impotent. Now we have to wait to see whether or not the other shoe -- the voting public's responsibility to hold those officials to account -- actually drops. If not, I think we Canucks will have to make room for Old Man and many other Yankee expats.

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3 minutes ago, Lord Liaden said:

These last few years have really pressed home the reality that if the officials given responsibility to enforce our laws choose not to, those laws are impotent. Now we have to wait to see whether or not the other shoe -- the voting public's responsibility to hold those officials to account -- actually drops. If not, I think we Canucks will have to make room for Old Man and many other Yankee expats.

 

To be blunt.  Trump and the US has a track record of taking what they want, and Canada has lots of cool land and fresh water. 

 

Canada isn't far enough.

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