dagblog - Comments for "Independent Senators?"

Trump's 2016 win was of

artappraiser — Wed, 16 Dec 2020 05:57:17 +0000

Trump's 2016 win was of course the big signal that Republicans running for president should break with GOP economic orthodoxy.

But the post-election mess enhances the message that Republican voters and maybe the party itself is up for grabs https://t.co/aWb5GFeFT7
— ALICE (@AliceFromQueens) December 16, 2020

Nate Silver said: That doesn

artappraiser — Tue, 24 Nov 2020 00:58:10 +0000

In reply to Independent Senators?

Nate Silver said: That doesn't mean he'd ever in a million years vote with the Democrats on, say, taxes. But on basic good-governance stuff—letting Biden appoint a cabinet, protecting against future elections from being stolen—he would.

Is pretty much same thing here, now that he sees Trump out of the way:

Pretty interesting how Michael Steele said defiantly that the GOP won 11 House seats. He sounded defiantly giddy over it.

He's a wolf in sheep's clothing. #TheReidOut
— Optimist Prime (Warnock + Ossoff = No McConnell) (@EthanObama) November 24, 2020

Addressing the cynical:

artappraiser — Mon, 23 Nov 2020 19:22:06 +0000

In reply to Independent Senators?

Addressing the cynical:

Agreed. Also prioritizing decency isn't as obvious or inevitable in this moment as it might seem. Plenty would suggest Biden needs people w/ killer instincts—bureaucratic knife-fighters eager to go toe-to-toe with obstructionist Congress. His vision is clearly of something else. https://t.co/TIWGzCapKu
— Susan Hennessey (@Susan_Hennessey) November 23, 2020

I just think this time might be different because many voted AGAINST the a childish Trumpian nightmare of stoking partisan divisiveness for narcissism's sake. They didn't vote FOR passionate angry left politics either (see downticket results). Those Senators with similar natural inclinations might just take this as a chance to approve sausage from the House once they have a clearer message that "angry and obstruct" is a minority.

Well whaddya know, crabby old

artappraiser — Mon, 23 Nov 2020 06:50:05 +0000

In reply to The 21 GOP Senators who have

Well whaddya know, crabby old Carl is still good for something besides kvetching! MOST EXCELLENT!

The 21 GOP Senators who have

PeraclesPlease — Mon, 23 Nov 2020 06:35:40 +0000

In reply to this reminds me of how we've

The 21 GOP Senators who have privately expressed their disdain for Trump are: Portman, Alexander, Sasse, Blunt, Collins, Murkowski, Cornyn, Thune, Romney, Braun, Young, Tim Scott, Rick Scott, Rubio, Grassley, Burr, Toomey, McSally, Moran, Roberts, Shelby. (2/3)
— Carl Bernstein (@carlbernstein) November 23, 2020

this reminds me of how we've

artappraiser — Sun, 22 Nov 2020 22:59:02 +0000

In reply to Independent Senators?

this reminds me of how we've always had examples of happy bi-partisanship amongst members of different parties, especially in flyover but it always seems it only happens once they are no longer running for office:

Patriotism means putting country first and accepting the election results: Carol Moseley Braun and Deborah Pryce https://t.co/ftWqkYJ4jQ
— Rick Hasen, Mr. Practicing Attorney (@rickhasen) November 22, 2020

It's becoming clear that

artappraiser — Sun, 22 Nov 2020 18:39:47 +0000

In reply to Independent Senators?

It's becoming clear that someone in the GOP has to become the anti-Trump leader. Don't know if it's from the Senate but a cross-link to this certainly fits here.

TRUMP THREATENS TO WREAK HAVOC ON GOP FROM BEYOND THE WHITE HOUSE

By artappraiser on Sun, 11/22/2020 - 1:32pm |

His attacks on Republican governors since his loss offer a sample of what's in store.

this that you point out

artappraiser — Sat, 21 Nov 2020 19:34:21 +0000

In reply to First at this point it's all

this that you point out

Hillary didn't face such resistance because for all the talk of her far left views republican senators knew she was really at most center left.

is a great example of what I am talking about in my new comment below. This was Senators doing their duty as the elite grownup body.

So it wasn't that long ago that they could do that, in spite of populist Hillary and Obama hate.

In the Trump years, we had too many of them taking advantage of Trump populism and pumping it rather than tamping it down as they are supposed to.

And Mitch goes along with it all, devil's bargain, because it's the only way to get some conservative policy things done that he wants done.

Go to John McCain's dramatic vote on health care as an example. Likewise when the grownup GOP Senators put their foot down on certain foreign policy things that Trump admin was doing.

Don't forget that besides McCain dying, there was Bob Corker and Jeff Flake leaving in disgust in 2018. Enter Romney. Now new moderate bipartisan president. Next?

here's a major problem, maybe

artappraiser — Sat, 21 Nov 2020 19:20:14 +0000

In reply to Independent Senators?

here's a major problem, maybe THE major problem:

Donald Trump lost the presidency, but showed Republicans a way to win the culture wars with working-class Hispanics.

Despite four years of being defined as a racist for his rhetoric and harsh immigration policies, Trump improved his margins in 78 of the nation’s 100 majority-Hispanic counties. And he did better with Latinos in exit polls of each of the top 10 battleground states, a POLITICO review of election data found [....]

from Politico Culture wars fuel Trump’s blue-collar Latino gains

In the past, there was the tendency to attribute this whole thing to a white working class that is dying off. BUT it's not, because it also includes lots of Hispanics and they are growing, not dying off!

Then go for a minute with the simplified classic view of the original intent of the Senate and the House. Where the House is supposed to be the big messy unruly populist body and the Senate is supposed to be the elite grownups checking the populist fervor.

We currently have a significant noisy minority of Senators on the right side of the aisle who don't fill the role of elite grownups that they are supposed to and stoke populist culture wars, i.e. the Rubio types. All you have to do is form a majority block of the grownup Senators to counteract their demagogic populist culture war crap which should stay in the House where it belongs. Dis them to take their role as Senators seriously or run for the House instead.

First at this point it's all

ocean-kat — Sat, 21 Nov 2020 19:13:18 +0000

In reply to As Biden prepares to pick his

First at this point it's all talk. We don't yet know how much resistance republicans will have toward Biden cabinet picks. And Sanders would have faced massive resistance if Obama or Clinton had picked him, even in the time of so called less polarization. Hillary didn't face such resistance because for all the talk of her far left views republican senators knew she was really at most center left. They might spread the propaganda to win elections but they didn't believe it for a second. And third choosing Sanders would make a likely republican senate a sure thing even if both democrats won the run off in Georgia. Sanders as labor secretary would be powerless so why would he want the position?