I don't know enough about him. I think I am probably were the majority of people in America are with him: he is the governor of California who nearly got impeached. That is the extent of my knowledge.
I think (and honestly it would probably be preferable) that the person does not have to be white or male. If it is a POC or female, they are going to have to have Obama level charisma.

He was never close to being impeached. The vote was 62-38.

CA GOP was successful in wasting millions of tax dollars

Again, I'm saying national perception not what actually happened. All the press going into the vote was that the polls were tight.

Grants comments illustrate why he can't be a viable candidate. Perception is more important than facts or reality

Eh, I'm not saying he is nonviable. Just that he has a perception to overcome. Just about any candidate will unless they are a complete unknown.

FWIW, on the recall it depends when you were paying attention. A month out the polls were close. In the last week or two they were not and there was wall-to-wall coverage of 'looks like Newsom will remain in office and it won't be close'. Which is what happened. More important is why the polls were initially close; there have been periods where a lot of Californians weren't happy with what Newsom was doing. The challenge for him would be running on that record is a less liberal environment.

The best option is for Biden to provide opportunities for Kamala to shine. There's another 2 years to pump her up.

Admittedly Immigration reform is a lightning rod that could work for/against her so get her something else - overseeing the BBB stuff while Mayor Pete is dealing with the infrastructure stuff.

With the House's version of BBB


The 8.5% max is with the "benchmark" plan which is the Silver plan option and appeared in the earlier Rescue plan this year. This is great news for me as it adds another +3 years (to 2025).

This definitely helps the non-government, early retirees (e.g. before Medicare 65) and I think helps the gig economy folks. Unsure if it helps small businesses. But overall, think this is a great step in making healthcare costs more affordable for some more groups of people.

Biden running in 2024 confirmed by Psaki.

Seems early to make that decision.

We need someone other than these old geezers running for president. I don't think Biden is going to make it to 2024 as president let along run again.

Other than his age what leads you to that conclusion?

Kamala drawing 1% or less last spring means she's not likely to ever be electable.

Just all the shit that comes from being old. It's obvious he's not what he used to be mentally.

Other than him occasionally pausing when he speaks what indication do you have he is declining? Not to mention, if Trump is opposing him Biden is light years more mentally stable.

Did you watch the Town Hall a few months ago?

Trump is an old geezer too. We need better options than either one of these guys.

What do you mean? These are clearly the ONLY two people in the entire county who should be getting votes! There are literally no other options!

And votes should only be considered legitimate if they were cast for Trump!

Is Kanye running again? He's looking better and better with each passing day.

Or maybe Andrew Yang? He formed his own party right?

I buy that Kamala has problems, but I don't buy this argument. She was one of a couple dozen candidates and not well known among non-politically aware people nationally. If things follow historical patterns, she will face a much smaller field for nomination, is now more of an household name, and will likely have the party apparatus behind her. I think her baggage could holder her back, but I don't think the last election means very much to the next one.

Kanye is dead to me. He is nothing without Kim.

Will Yang's UBI also apply to retirees? If so, I'll vote for him.

She's Hillary 2.0 as far as anyone on the right is concerned. Some ambitious woman who doesn't know or understand her place and is trying to 'make' something of herself.

This. Biden hardly got any votes in the 2008 primaries yet now he is president.

I sometimes wonder if Dan Price isn’t setting himself up for some kind of political future. Then again, I see he’s got some pretty bad allegations against him by his ex-wife. I do love his progressive populist message and ability to convey that message.

I wish Biden wouldn’t run again. I don’t think Kamala is a winning pick, either.

The GOP:

Democrats are in a bind because they refused to allow any young politicians to shine. It was more important to have Nancy stick around to run her insider trading scams and keep taxes down for her wealthy friends.

To win under the electoral college, you have to do well in the Midwest and Rust Belt. Newsom stands no chance there. He'll be portrayed as an elitist Californian from San Francisco who is out of touch with the people (this is partially true).

Harris has an uphill battle as a woman and PoC. She had a sketchy run as Attorney General and is just terrible at politics. But the nomination will be handed to her if Biden doesn't run. She'll toe the establishment line which is more important than winning to the party.

I think the stink of the pandemic is going to hurt any Governor from running. Even if it isn't their fault, there is just too much anger over how things went down that I think the public will crave an outsider (sort of like we saw in Virginia). That would knock out people like Whitmer.

They're in pretty deep shit with the way things are going. Especially with how many of those battleground states are being setup to overturn election results the ruling party does not approve of.

Now if I was the Democrats and hellbent on winning, my pick would be Mark Kelly. Hasn't been in politics long enough to get any stink on him. Popular in a battleground state. And boy does he have a narrative that works on a national level.

How do you attack him? Son of two police officers which makes it tough to pull the soft on crime card. Distinguished military career and was an astronaut for heaven sake. Wife was nearly assassinated and he stood by her through it all.

Doesn't have a long enough voting record to tear apart. Mostly moderate in his policies but also tosses some bones to progressives.

I don't think policy matters much anymore. It's all about narratives and likability. Who in that party can come close to Kelly?

Now if things were totally underwater for Democrats going into 2024, a hailmary pick would be Mark Cuban. Just a guy who will throw punches and doesn't have much affiliation to the party. Basically a complete outsider who might strike a nerve and win. And it doesn't hurt that he has a ton of money to self-fund and wouldn't be as beholden to donors.

Not saying those are my picks, just the ones that would have the best shot to win (Cuban is only an option if Dems are just getting leveld in the polls).

Biden went up against a juggernaut (Obama) and an establishment candidate (Clinton). Harris was up against a really weak class and got stomped.

Biden also remained very likable throughout his VP tenure. He's a savvy politician. Complete opposite of Harris.

Biden opting not to run in 2016 will end up being one of this country's biggest turning points. He would have mopped the floor with Trump. The rise of authoritarianism and fascism never come to fruition. Hundreds of thousands of lives would have been saved. Just crazy to think about when seeing the direction the country is going.

God, Rainmaker. I just about agree with all of that. I love the idea of Mark Kelly. I agree that Biden not running in 2016 was a huge mistake.

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Interesting move, seems totally unnecessary (e.g. no pressure to invite Taiwan and Taiwan probably wouldn't have been put out) but pretty significant poke in the eye.

Overall, I like Biden's approach. Keep Trump's sanctions but also doing somethings that Trump didn't do (or do well) ... coalescing other countries such as AUKUS, the Quad, Taiwan, ASEAN summit etc.

Assume this is more Blinken than Biden. But Biden obviously supports. Decoupling continues.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/24/bide...democracy.html

I would love to see Mark Kelly, he is very popular here and hard to tear down, plus his wife was popular when she was in office as well. Military vet and as RM said, nothing in his record to serve as fodder for the GOP propaganda machine, dude is sharp and would dismantle Trump in debates.

Fascinating article on the Quad vs China, game theory, and predictions of near term environment. No idea how really valid it is but still worth the read for me.

India, Japan, Australia and US. Japan and Australia are taken for granted. India is the key IMO. Considering how well Trump did in India, unsure how well Biden will do there. But all moving in right direction.

Biden is not supportive of TPP "as it stands". Good to see he is taking his own route.

Game Theory Feature

Dems definitely need someone who can counter punch Trump, not just stand there and smile or say "Will you shut up, man!".

Disagree.

Why would you want someone who is going to be dragged to Trumps level and engage in that garbage?

There is no counter punching Trump. You need to let him ramble and come off like the bumbling idiot he is. The only counter to trump is the truth, and we all already know the right has zero interest in that.

Strictly from a personality perspective, a charismatic performer who can deliver a long string of on the spot one liners is really what they need. Think Al Franken.

Where did I say I wanted someone who will be dragged down to Trump levels?

You can be someone who stands up to Trump's bull shit instead of standing there stunned like Biden did or stand there and smile like Harris will do and not stoop to his level.

I think we can all agree that the anti-gerrymandering amendment to the Ohio constitution approved by voters has backfired spectacularly and will only make the problem worse.

Basically instead getting to redraw the map every 10 years, the majority party gets to fine tune their map every 4 years.

In a few states, the GOP has been remarkably effective by saying fuck you after voters pass a non-partisan redistricting commission.

It is the only way they can win elections.

I saw something that ballparked the GOP will win about 80-85% of congressional districts with about 54% registered Republicans.

Edit- in OH.

I saw an estimate that only 10% or so of Congressional districts will be competitive after redistricting is complete. We really don't have much of a democracy anymore.

Absolutely. I wish we could basically create a majority 50-50 make up districts. Most congressmen should have to win a district that is competitive. It would radically change how congress works.

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One solution is to expand the House. This makes it harder to gerrymander.

The current government is a democracy in name only. The House is heavily skewed through gerrymandering. The Senate is undemocratic by design. And the same can be said for the electoral college.

I can't think of a country where you can have minority rule of each branch of government for long periods of time. And if we start disregarding elections entirely as one party wants to do, I don't know what we are.

Beau died in May 2015. Biden admits that he was no where near the right mind space to run in 2016 as a result.

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I would pay good money to see Lauren Boebert and Jen Psaki Jello wrestle in bikinis.

Can Tulsi Gabbert be the guest bikini clad referee?

Democracy has failed. We need a Jello-wrestlocracy!!

With the recent change in "qualifying for HoN", the Lauren pics are conservative . Therefore, she is not putting herself out on public domain to be judged on her looks & body.

abso-fucking-lutly

Yall are saying the quiet part out loud.

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Yeah, I don't blame him. And that general election would have been real tough on him considering the type of attacks that Trump would use. I still think it'll be looked back on as one of the pivotal moments in the history of this country.

Lauren Boebert also looks a lot like Lacey Chabert.

Was wondering what's next for BBB. Senate gyrations start next week.

Here are the hurdles for Biden’s Build Back Better plan when the Senate returns - MarketWatch

Matthew McConaughey is not running for governor of Texas. That train derailed before it got going.

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I really hope she gets replaced by Mila Kunis

https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/30/polit...nia/index.html
Noted quack Dr. Oz is joining the clown car for US Senate in Pennsylvania

SI

Heh, just noted this in the Trump thread.

It doesn't sound like he grew up there (not sure?), but I think it could be amusing that Dr. Oz was born in Cleveland. I feel like that, alone, will be enough to sink him in Western PA.

Apparently Oz went to college in Pennsylvania

Well hell, I had a layover in Denver once, maybe a Colorado house bid against crazy Boebert is in my future?

He lives in New Jersey, works in NYC but apparently voted by absentee from his in-laws' house in Philadelphia.

https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news...s-say/3063223/

Hoping Fetterman wins the Democratic primary there, he'll win easily I think.

Mark Meadows has turned over files and paperwork and will testify before the January 6th panel. Wonder if that revelation that he used his personal email to harass the Georgua SOS has him spooked?

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Or that that same SOS testified for over 4 hours to the Committee today?

Not going to fault Chris for wanting to help his brother. But he prob should have taken a leave of absence and explained to his viewers upfront "love my brother, going to help him where I can, but don't want any misunderstanding with conflict of interest".

Yeah that would have been the responsible journalist thing to do, and probably a conversation CNN should have had with him all this started. He could have come back to CNN after it was all over, now I'm not sure they will take him back

After oral arguements on the Mississippi law today, we can say good by to Roe.

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He might just take the 5th before the panel.

But this strikes me as a semi-significant development.

Meadows is a smart guy, and he's going to have a sense of what's going on, and if he has decided that jumping off the Trump Train is in his best interest, that might mean that there's some sense that the Trump inner circle is in some danger.

As long as there is a sense that Trump will survive unscathed and punish his enemies and reward his friends, there is no reason to be anything other than Steve Bannon defiant.

I think Roberts wants to uphold the limits without completely overruling Roe. But there might be 5 votes for overruling even without him.

Roberts wants to keep slowly killing it and he has to convince Justice "I like beer" to go along with him

SI

Charlie Baker dropped the 2022 MA Gov race today, largely, it seems, because the state GOP is more supportive of Trump's candidate in the primary.

Baker won MA by 33 pts and coincidentally Trump lost MA by 33 pts.

10 years ago, Baker seems like the type of guy who could have strong national aspirations. Now, he's getting pushed aside as a RINO.

SI

WTA is doing the right thing. I know some officials met with her in a conference call (supervised I'm sure) and supposedly she said she was good. Would like the video or meeting recording to be released and let's see. And after that, have her do another meeting but this time in person in neutral country.

Unfortunately, don't think WTA has enough heft. There needs to be other sports organizations doing the same thing.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/01/tenni...ntl/index.html

Shouldn't the accountable person for the dysfunction is Harris' chief of staff Tina Flournoy and not a communications director or chief spokesperson. Maybe that's what Flournoy is doing right now to get better alignment.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/01/polit...ris/index.html

Looks like they are going to go full-throttle with the anti-abortion ads here (well, probably NoVa) if recent local commercials are any indication.

It's weird because overturning Roe would probably help Democrats come election time. Abortion felt like a carrot Republicans loved to hold in front of their voters but never actually wanted to eliminate it (Obamacare is similar in that respect).

Maybe that doesn't matter as much now that so many states are setting up to more or less remove voters from deciding elections.

Although Democrats had the chance to prevent this back when Obama took office and failed to do so. It was something Obama talked about on the campaign trail and said it was a Day 1 thing. But he dropped it after being elected. So maybe voting Democrat wouldn't matter anyway.

What exactly could've Obama done?

Codified it.

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The Dems are always three moves too late.

"Now that the GOP has locked in gerrymandering and voter suppression and election administration, and majorities on the federal courts, we are going to seriously consider forming a committee to decide whether we should create a task force to resolve whether we should have a commission to make non-binding recommendations about whether we should have done anything about that before it was too late. But in the interest of fairness, we will only form the committee if a majority of Republicans say that they won't mind."

MEDIA: Dems pursue hardball tactics at risk of alienating moderate voters.

dola: The only reason I have any hope that the 1/6 committee will say anything other than "Those terrorists were awesome, and it is out fault for not letting them kill us" is that they have a couple of Republicans on it.

double dola: And I'm out. Apparently, I am not in the right frame of mind to be anything other than a whiney bitch today :-)

The Democratic Party’s Guide to Keeping Your Rights - McSweeney’s Internet Tendency


"Maybe there’s something wrong with your district? Have you tried turning your vote off and turning it back on again? See if that does anything."

Albionmoonlight, we've all had those days. It is hard not to have those days constantly.

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The problem with the 1/6 committee is that they'll release a report, it will be thorough and devastating, and they'll expect it to make a difference.

But it won't. They need weeks, if not months, of public hearings, based on the Watergate model. They need to force this into the national conversation for a long time. For example, these witnesses claiming the fifth should have to do that on television to specific questions over and over. Make it clear what they are worried was criminal behavior.

I would like to see that too...tho I imagine that even if they could arrange that right-wing news would simply choose not to air any of it, which wasn't a consideration in the Watergate era.

The same court that is about to overturn Roe vs. Wade would easily overturn the Freedom of Choice Act.

That doesn't do any good anymore. Think of how many people, after lots of congressional inquiry and discussion, still couldn't have given a rip about the Mueller report and investigation.

I'm not saying they shouldn't try, I'm just saying it requires an electorate that gives a darn. Most of the people who give a darn don't need convincing. The ones who could be convinced, will only be convinced by other issues (namely, those that immediately and concretely impact their bottom line).

In general, it mattered to John Q. Public that Nixon's administration and Nixon personally broke the law. It mattered more than partisan allegiances. That's why he was booted. By the 90s at the latest, we'd gotten to the point as a society where we no longer cared about that kind of thing as much. The situation hasn't improved since.

Don't think Ukraine or the West can do much to stop this militarily if Russia wanted to go forward with it. Assume there will be sanctions and many words, but that hasn't stopped Putin before.

U.S. intelligence finds Russia planning Ukraine offensive - POLITICO
Interesting note on SWIFT. No idea how significant it would be assuming countries like China will still continue to do business.

Handmaids tale shit....How did we get to this place?

Truly one of the most disturbing things I’ve witnessed in a long time. A Congressman, in a bid to overturn Roe V Wade and deny American women reproductive rights. Publicly referred to them as “Earthen vessels, sanctified by Almighty God.” Give me strength. pic.twitter.com/LvYM46GRVN

— Dr. Jennifer Cassidy (@OxfordDiplomat) December 3, 2021

I don't know much about the newly elected Mayor of Atlanta Andre Dicksens, but the way he came from obscurity to win that election by landslide versus a well-known early favorite suggest he someone to keep an eye on. What I am reading it was mostly his charisma and relate-ability that put him over the top. He could be a real up-and-comer.

Nothing Madison Cawthorn does is a surprise at this point. He's as bad as MTG and Bobo except he's a white male which actually makes him far more dangerous within the GOP.

Sounds like the right decision. My guess he'll wind up at MSNBC.

Merry Christmas from House Representative Thomas Massie.

Serious question, do Republicans actually send out cards like this to family? Who the fuck sees this and goes, "This guy has always been pro 2nd amendment, voted that way, campaigns on it, but until I saw the Tremors: Christmas Special family cosplay I wasn't sold on the sincerity."

Does anything scream I am a complete fucking douchebag more then that picture?

I own guns, but never felt the need to express it as some phallic symbol of my manhood.

So the women in that picture just want penises?

They shut up and do as they are told.

Or, they are actually as big a part, sometimes bigger, part of that culture than the men are.


Yes. A great many things do.

He is pandering to his base and he (and family) seem to believe in 2A. Good trigger discipline.

The M60 (didn’t know you can buy one) and tommy gun are interesting.

Definitely screams celebrating Jesus's birthday

It’s like the truck nuts of family portraits.

I am sure you are able to cross reference what would replace a penis for the women.