I agree that we need to desire a end to the schism, but I will say it will never end unless Republicans denounce the violence and the lies, especially of the last couple of months. Continued equivocation on the legality of the election is a rotting cancer to the core of our democracy. Anything less is making it acceptable to attack the foundations of our nation.

I don't either, I think it's counterproductive right now.


I'm in the middle on this. I don't want petty revenge, but I do think justice is important. If there are no consequences, then escalation continues and is emboldened.

I also think the better country is sometimes only possible after having resolved conflicts, and ignoring them doesn't fix the schism.

Right now I think the practical reason is simply that the Senate is divided so very little is getting done that doesn't involve compromise. But other than that I see no special onus on the Democrats to do so. They should push through whatever they can that fits with their agenda.

Not that simple. The Dems are always reaching across the aisle, and when they have power all we hear from the GOP is we need to come together and compromise. When the GOP has power they never compromise and strong arm their way to get what they want. Why should the dems assume the GOP won't continue to act the same way when they get power back?

Sounds like they may wait to send the articles to the Senate which would be smart so that the emotion dies down and it can be a meticulous rebuke to those who partook in the insurrection. Those that were simply idiots (stealing the podium) can get less punitive measures (yet still some) while those running around with weapons and zip ties can get the heavy hand of justice smacking them on their candy ass. While Trump can be repudiated and the GOP can split off from the TOP.

Our world moves too fast for that to work. By then the GOP will have forgot about the transgressions and moved on to complaining about the deficit and trying to block legislation on gun control, climate change, etc.

Once again the Dems would just be letting the GOP off the hook.

And at this point, that's impeachment. Can't be a slap on the wrist. It just emboldens the Trumpist faction and they'll try it again.

Will it be better for the country to not hold the President accountable for impeachable actions if that is what we determine them to be? Will there be less of a schism if this does not happen?

The answers to those questions for me is no. The best way to start the bi-partisanship is for both parties saying we are not condoning this behavior from anyone occupying the Office of the President no matter what party they belong to. Anybody who chooses to behave in this manner will be held accountable in the strongest way possible.

funny how the Arizona GOP rants consistently about snowflakes, cancel culture and 1st amendment, but they act like a bunch of spurned teenagers if one of their own dares speak/act against them.

Arizona's Maricopa County GOP censures ex-Sen. Jeff Flake, plans vote to also censure Cindy McCain

This sounds like a really dumb idea after you're just just lost 2 Senate seats and the state went blue for President...

If the Republican really want unity with the Democrats, ALL (R and D) members should swear on the Bible and make sure its televised:

1) The election was 100% legal and certified. Donald Trump lost the election to Joe Biden. No more Stop the Steal talk.

2) Stop all lawsuits trying to overturn the election

3) ALL members will not use "stop the steal" or calling the other side traitors in all campaign tweets/emails/fund-raising etc. No matter how right they feel they are about it. That includes both the DNC and RNC too.

4) All members will agree that COVID-19 is real and a continued threat, and will then wear masks, follow all directions from the Biden COVID-19 team, and actively encourage all their constituents to do so.

5) Any responsible now or later as investigations continue for incited for sedition/voted against Biden's certification must apologize on camera for their actions and promise not to do so ever again under threat of expulsion. They will be censured if they do this, removed from any committee leadership roles. Members will cooperate completely with any investigations and not lie or deceive or face lying to congress charges and expulsion. Members who won't agree will be removed from Congress. Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley should resign for their roles. All must stop all talk of Q conspiracies and agree that Q beliefs are a threat to our democracy or be expelled.

And yet they say impeachment will further divide the country.

When you elect Kelly ward as your "leader" intelligence is not one of your best attributes.

That's kind of brilliant.

Impeach him. Then hold the articles. Let Biden and the Congress jump right into slow and stop the spread of the virus, rebuild the economy, etc.

Then, when Trump does something really stupid (which will happen) and/or some really damning shit comes out (which will happen), send it to the Senate immediately.

Force them to vote at that point.

Dems just spent 4 years watching McConnell and the GOP destroy norms and taunt Dems with their majority. So now their party is eating itself from within and they want Dems to send them a lifeline and Dems should do so trusting the GOP to do the right thing?

They don't want impeachment squashed because it's the wrong thing to do. They want it squashed because it drives the fork further into their party. Is there anything anyone has seen from this GOP leadership that would give you reason to trust any promises they make?

As for stimulus in a theoretical exchange? Not enough. Throw in anti-corruption and voting rights and we can get to the table. Otherwise let's get every GOP congressman on record for whether they support what happened on 6 January or not.

Just quoting this one rather than all 4/5 of the other posts - I said just beforehand (and part quoted by ISiddiqui) that Trump definitely needs to brought to account, probably Don Jr, Guiliani and Cruz, and possibly Hawley.

That doesn’t mean the Dems can’t also begin to try and reduce the divide.

Agreed, but the argument the GOP is putting out there is that you can't bring the country together if you hold Trump accountable.

The answer to that argument a simple, no.

I don't think Trump should be let off the hook under any circumstances, it just sets too dangerous of a precedent.

If it doesn't happen this week it will never happen. There's zero chance Dems will push an impeachment trial in late-February.

Because not following through with reconstruction really brought the country together!

A couple things I wanted to add:

1) Add Brooks (Trump Rally and other comments) and Gohmert (architect of the very late lawsuit and appeal to the Supreme Court) with Cruz and Hawley.

2) A ban on all social media for Biden's 100 first days for all members and RNC/DNC. . If you want to talk about things happening, have a press conference, go on the Sunday talk shows or put out a statement. All members must talk to and answer questions from the press, and stop referring to them as the eneny of the people. Biden and the White House press go back to pre-Trump handling of social media-no attacks on members of Congress, and only use it for things like religious observances, condolescences to those who have died, national ermergencies like weather, announcements of the president schedule and state visits, etc. You know the normal things a White House press staff are suppose to use social media for.

I don't think there's any putting the genie back in the bottle on 2), though I do agree on using more appropriate language vis a vis the press. Rest of the list is a good idea.

These numbers are something. I finally got a good explanation on the number discrepancy for Perdus/Loeffler from Monica Kaufman-Pearson. For those who don't know, she was an Atlanta news anchor from the number one television station in Georgia. She was the first black anchor in the deep south, and worked for over three decades. She said it was that Perdue had strong support from farmers. both black and white, because he actually worked pretty hard for them. Add to that, the Perdue name is pretty strong in South Georgia, and his cousin was a pretty popular Governor. It also didn't help Kelly that she was unlikable.
Her opinion is that if Perdue hadn't ran from debating Ossoff, and he has ran a positive campaign on what he had accomplished instead of the constant (and at times racist) attack ads, he would have won. She is probably right.

Updated Georgia Senate run-off vote totals (99% in):

Warnock ✔️: 2,282,336 (51.0%)
Loeffler: 2,193,103 (49.0%)
--
Ossoff ✔️: 2,263,187 (50.6%)
Perdue: 2,212,194 (49.4%)

— NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) January 11, 2021

The terrifying pattern that keeps repeating behind the late collapse of Trumpism suggests that if Trump, or someone associated with Trump, had just put the slightest effort towards addressing something/anything directly, in regards to even just one of the hundreds of documented fuck-ups over the entirety of the last four years, this all likely would have gone entirely the opposite way.

If he had done literally nothing in response to COVID other than say "listen to the scientists," I think he gets reelected.

He only lost because he went out of his way to make things worse.

And he ran like a pussy when Ossoff called him out on his secret stock sales that he had nothing to do with that took place right after a classified briefing.

I've not been monitoring TV news but have not read about Biden's Pandemic team holding daily press meetings to discuss what they will do tactically.

What I want to hear is understanding of problems, their root cause and then say similar to ... "we have a distribution/delivery/manpower problem(s). The vaccines are at the States but the "last mile" ain't working so this is what I plan to do X, Y, Z. And I ask the Military, CDC, FDA, Pharma etc. to be ready on Day 1".

The key here is have a tactical plan and let people know they have a tactical plan. The lack of specificity is a worrisome.

Just my 2 cents.

I agree with this.

That's tough to do when you're not actually the President yet. We know that the admin isn't being cooperative regarding the transition, so he may be better off waiting to get all the info first before offering detailed solutions.

Sure Biden has limitations but nothing stopping him from speaking with Newsome and discussing what need to be done on Day 1. Nothing to stop him from speaking to Moderna/Pfizer etc to understand what they can or cannot commit to etc

And then share it with us in a semi weekly press conference

This was announced on Friday.

We are working with a company that is negotiating to provide vaccines in Vermont. Part of their contract with the state is that no one is more than a 30 minute drive from a vaccine site.

I'm now eligible for a vaccine in NY, but there isn't any available.

Thanks. I knew about first paragraph but did not catch the second one.

Looking forward to reading the details.

exactly...
there's really nothing the trump morons could have or even WOULD have told them. They probably don't understand anything they are told. I mean if they wanted to talk to fauci, just go talk to him.

Honestly I don't know why people don't just ignore trump and friends and do the job to save lives. Everyone knows they are full of shit.


but yeah...maybe they HAVE been takling to these people and the news is just going that extra step telling us that trump is refusing to let bidfen talk to anyone

how fast can i drive? :D

You mean there is a better way to do this than Eventbrite?

Florida counties use Eventbrite to schedule vaccine appointments | Healthcare IT News

So what exactly is wrong with Kamala's cover pic on Vogue? Is it because she is wearing Converse and/or that was not the picture she wanted on the cover?

I think the pics look great and don't understand the controversy.

They are saying they white washed her

Ah that would be bad.

A couple articles I read alluded to too casual, disrespectful, bad pic looking forced etc. White wash was not the centerpiece of the controversy from what I've read.

Apparently they told her that they were going to use the suit picture (and that is the digital cover). So then using the casual cover is poor form. I wonder if they told her the casuals were just test shots and then they went ahead and used it.

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I'm so excited to get back to controversies like this...

dola- I haven't read many things about the inauguration, but doesn't it make sense to do it from a private, secure location?

I get the optics wouldn't be great, but better than the POTUS getting assassinated.

lol

Fox fear-mongering on a new migrant caravan coming to get us.

Maybe they can welcome Trump to the border when he pays a visit there this week.

FWIW I certainly don't expect smooth sailing from Day 1, there will be inevitable issues, confusion to work out. But there should be plan and then verifiable progress communicated every week vs the information wasteland we have now.

I do believe the States should be the "last mile" but it's obvious many States have failed in distribution so let's have the Federal Government get it done.

Biden dresses down his Covid team over plans to speed vaccinations - POLITICO

I doubt very much that the federal government has the authority to just take over and do that, just like they can't enforce various other measures on a nationwide basis. Promises like this one sound good and are understandable, but it's not up to just Biden to make it happen. The President is not a King.

I say just give the Vaccine to Walgreens and CVS. They'll have it distributed in no time.

The federal government can absolutely fund, staff, and administer vaccine sites.

Why? The asshole in office now is for all purposes or at least he is operating like so.

If Trump could send hospital ships to NYC, I have to believe Biden can mobilize MASH (? field hospitals or whatever they call them now) units to hot spots. Get every trained medic not deployed to key spots and start giving out shots.

This is under the assumption what I've read is accurate. 20+M vials have been deployed to the States, they have only inoculated approx 6+M. So it's not a supply issue (at least not right now) but a distribution, "last mile" issue.

Possibly but not sure they would have refrigeration needed or the most efficient for mass inoculation. Whenever I've gone to CVS minor medical, the wait has been horrendous because it's just one Nurse or PA. The pharmacies haven't been too bad but still wait while they fill out drive through prescriptions.

But yes, anything to speed things up would be good.

I was thinking setup centralized areas. Mega churches with their mega parking lots, or county convention centers (e.g. where they held my kids HS graduation ceremonies) etc.

I still say Chick-Fil-A.

Or ice cream trucks. I mean, they already have freezers. Just gotta come up with a good COVID jingle.

I guess you make frozen food warehouses priority distribution hubs.

Why are we "building the foundation for an extended inoculation effort"? Can't we just add on the foundation that the current administration has put together?

The above is a rhetorical question

No to Chick-Fil-A

I think people should be able to get a Vaccination on Sundays :p

This is absurd hyperbole. There are literally dozens of examples of things he wanted to do and tried to do and didn't get done because he was told he couldn't.



Sure, it's possible to do those things, but they take a certain amount of time to set up at scale. To reach the stated goal you need to *average* several hundred thousand per day over the first 100 days at a minimum. Not reach that by the end of the period, average it. Then there's also all the competing beauracracy with state health agencies, hospitals, clinics, etc., all of their protocols, and so on.

I'm not trying to argue the President can't do anything or that Biden can't/won't make an improvement over what we have now. I'm saying he doesn't have the power to just snap his fingers and make this happen. If the reports now are at all accurate about his mindset, he will be very frustrated by what actually happens.

They're going to setup Disneyland as a "Super Site" for vaccinations.

I think that's the way to go. I mentioned in the other thread I got tested in a hospital parking lot set up for COVID antibody and testing back in May and they were able to process a high volume of tests very efficiently. Just need enough volunteers and staff.

Well the current administration could've done all that but they stonewalled, denied, and dragged their feet.

But hey, that's fine...what's more dead Americans amongst administrations?

By the way, thank you, this is the funniest statement on the Trump administration I've ever read.

Also happens to be true. What happened when he wanted ACA replaced? What happened when McGahn refused to fire Mueller like he wanted? There are so many examples of this, so what about this do you find 'funny'? A King would have just commanded they happen and that's the end of it.

Paging Mr. RZA.

You first said that Biden wouldn't have the authority.

Why didn't we have a plan in place to roll out the national guard to set up triage units to administer the vaccine. coordinate with FEMA, CDC, FDA, etc...and have plans in place months in advance.

This vaccine roll out has nothing to do with Trump being told no and everything to do with his administration being a total unorganized shit show.

i think "unorganized" doesn't apply here. "unorganized" signifies that people are actually TRYING and it's going wrong. They are all talk and then don't do anything....and/or REFUSE to do anything and even a step further REFUSE to let people that know what they are doing do anything...at the expense of lives of course.

It seems like the fundamental problem is the same as it was for PPE, the idea that the states must control everything. The feds seem to have done a pretty good job of buying and delivering vaccine, but there's no coordination on how to get it into people's arms. That's where a new approach is needed. We've only administered something like a third of the vaccines delivered. We need more places and more hours ASAP.

And what ever happened to the repeated promises that the military would handle this?

Reminds me, did y'all hear that McDonald's is coming up with a "new" crispy chicken sandwich? Will have to give it a try.

I agree. Referring back to my original statement


He can "make some things" happen and he can certainly be much more supportive of States.

The States are not blameless. Yeah, Trump should have done better but once the vaccines were in State hands, they own much of the blame. From an article yesterday.


This stuff seems pretty basic. Why this wasn't done already shows Newsom's incompetence.

If I recall a big problem with the PPE process was that even if you could come up with the best plan in the world most of the states are cripplingly broke right now & putting the feds in charge of distribution would have at least removed that chokepoint.

The US government is arguably broke herself.

State of CA can go into debt to pay for any emergency measures to get vaccination to her citizens. Yeah, money comes into play but I'm putting the majority of blame on Newsome's inadequate planning & response (after the vaccine got there).

With that said, I'm all for Biden and Feds taking more ownership and driving the "last mile".

There is something this administration excelled at, and that is handing trillions of dollars to major corporations with few to no string attached. The part of Operation Warp Speed that was just throwing money at drug companies they did very well. Actually organizing anything to get the vaccines out? That takes actual work.

States are very limited in the debt they can carry, and some states aren't allowed any debt. With reduced receipts coming in and extra expense caused by the virus, you are asking the over-burden states to carry the load? So, they should reduce funding for schools, police, firefighters and health programs? Is that really the best way to handle this?

As the world's 5th largest economy, I think CA can do more. Get creative, have silicon valley chip in with a special tax ... I'm almost positive Google, Apple, FB etc. would be willing to help out.

Re: other less well off states, your point is taken. But does CA really have an excuse?

Yes I did. Perhaps it wasn't clear that I mean that in reference to the way the states handle the vaccine, state health agencies, etc? It seems clear to me that's where the majority of the action will either happen or not, and that's the area Biden doesn't control.

https://taxfoundation.org/2021-state...climate-index/

CA ranks 49th.

Yes there's also an issue getting people to give the vaccines. California is getting slammed with COVID which means those that should be out giving vaccines are needed in hospitals to treat patients. They've approved an emergency waiver allowing dentists to give vaccine injections to speed things up and other states are taking similar measures. Infinite money from Apple or Google isn't going to create people to give injections though.

CA economy is $3.2T and is bigger than India and just behind Germany.

I'm not sure how the 49th ranking counters my point that if there is one state that does not need Federal assistance, it would be CA (or TX or NY).

We'll agree to disagree.

The approved emergency waiver re: dentists, pharmacists, student nurses etc. was reported in the Jan 11 article I linked above. Why not do that in Dec when States already had some vaccines.

I'm pretty sure "infinite money from Apple or Google is enough to create people to give injections". Newsome may be taking from other States to make things happen but enough money will make things happen with the proper planning and creativity.

A perfect example is the Jan 11 article said Newsome didn't even think of nursing students until questioned by the reporter.

So are you saying help other states, but fuck California?

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Nope.

I was clear in saying that (1) States bear responsibility for the "last mile" mess and (2) I am good with Biden and the Feds helping out States more.

My counterpoint was towards those that seem to imply States have no/little responsibility for current "last mile" mess with arguments of not enough budget because they will go into debt (further) or cannot fund schools, police, firefighters, health programs.

The prime example is CA. The 5th largest economy of the world and not being able to find "money" to make things happen in this particular crisis is IMO a poor excuse.

I still disagree. There should be an organized concerted effort from the US government that gives equal access to all citizens. No citizens of any state is worth more or less than others.

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I honestly don't see where we differ from your above statement. I did not say citizens should not have equal access. My main point is States bear the brunt of the "last mile" fiasco, and that Biden should step in to help out because it's obvious many States can't do a good job.

Interesting and ethical question you bring up. Did you really mean "all citizens" implying non-citizens like permanent residents, legals (e.g. foreign students) and illegals should wait until citizens are done with their shots?

Yeah, I am not parsing words here.

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np

There's no way this was actually published!

NYTimes is reporting that Mike Leach will be Biden's Chief Diversity and Inclusion Director.

Safe to assume they googled the wrong Mike Leach �� pic.twitter.com/6hVqxlgkDQ

— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) January 13, 2021

California has to fund all the welfare states in the south.

But they don't believe in handouts...

Comey thinks Biden should pardon Trump.

Yeah, no.

$2T relief package, details this evening.

He's also supposed to give more details on his Covid attack plan this week so big week for big news.

I like how Biden is keeping above the impeachment fray and focused on the other stuff.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/13/polit...age/index.html

Unemployment claims for the week are back up to almost 1 mil. There's definitely a need for a big recovery bill.

Let's see if he has the votes for another $2T relief package. Joe Manchin is already a "No"

He might not at this point. And that's OK!

A competent and involved White House will negotiate with the leadership of both parties in Congress. And with individual Senators and Representatives who have issues that they want addressed. And also with folks in Congress that will want to attach pet projects to this "must pass" legislation. And, after negotiations, they will likely come to an agreement that does not give everyone what they want, but that satisfies enough people that it can pass both houses of Congress and get signed by the President.

That's how this shit is supposed to work.

We had 8 years of a congressional GOP that cared more about obstructing President Obama than anything else followed by 4 years of a White House that lacked both the competence and desire to negotiate with Congress.

We've forgotten that things don't need to be that dysfunctional. That give and take and a mix of back room and public negotiations is just the process working.

I'd love to get back to that.

:+1:

Yet to be seen if Biden can bring us back to those days but yeah, I'd take that any day over the 8+4 years of dysfunction.

You have more faith in Biden negotiating with McConnell than I do.

Looks like Jamie Harrison is going to be picked to lead the DNC.

(Remember, Stacey Abrams is definitely running to be GA Governor in 2022)

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Given that some Republicans are on board with it, I don't think they need Manchin. You could even argue that's part of why he's comfortable voting No and having it pass anyway.

Manchin will be important on other issues of course.

Honest question, what record does he have in terms of organizing and mobilizing?

wow, wasn't expecting that. Maybe as Abrams replacement as the Get out the Vote organization she ran? Not sure there was a place for Harrison in SC politics though if he couldn't beat a clearly flawed Graham.

Well he lost to Graham, so not great I would say, but the most organized and legitimate Democratic challenge to Graham that I can remember.

He knows how to raise a lot of money and lose which should fit right in.

I don't get you, Rainmaker. Not long ago you were adamant that Democrats who fought against Republicans in red states should get positions in Biden's Cabinet and DNC. You talked about Beto, Ossoff, even Harrison because they were willing to take on entrenched Republicans even though they lost.

Now you shit on the Democrats doing exactly what you said. It seems highly hypocritical.

For the organizing question, Harrison was chair of the SC Democratic Party for a number of years. He also was in the DNC and started the Every Zip code project which incentivized state Democratic Parties to invest in every part of their states and not just the urban areas.

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