2015 American Politics Thread: The 114th Congress Is in the House!

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a stinging rebuke to President Barack Obama by Republicans as well as members of his own party, the House ignored a veto threat Thursday and overwhelmingly approved Republican legislation erecting fresh hurdles for Syrian and Iraqi refugees trying to enter the United States.

Dozens of Democrats joined Republicans as the House passed the measure 289-137. That margin exceeded the two-thirds majority required to override a veto, and it came despite a rushed, early morning visit to the Capitol by top administration officials in a futile attempt to limit Democratic defections for the measure.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a1/Picard_as_Locutus.jpg

resistance is futile

the democrats who voted for this fucking thing:

https://twitter.com/polyphonique/status/667435878168547329

47 democrats voted for it:

Rep. Sanford Bishop Jr. [D] GA
Rep. Jim Cooper [D] TN
Rep. Lloyd Doggett [D] TX
Rep. Gene Green [D] TX
Rep. Steve Israel [D] NY
Rep. Marcy Kaptur [D] OH
Rep. Ron Kind [D] WI
Rep. James “Jim” Langevin [D] RI
Rep. Stephen Lynch [D] MA
Rep. Collin Peterson [D] MN
Rep. Tim Ryan [D] OH
Rep. David Scott [D] GA
Rep. Louise Slaughter [D] NY
Rep. Jim Costa [D] CA
Rep. Daniel Lipinski [D] IL
Rep. Henry Cuellar [D] TX
Rep. Richard Nolan [D] MN
Rep. Joe Courtney [D] CT
Rep. David Loebsack [D] IA
Rep. Timothy Walz [D] MN
Rep. Gerald Connolly [D] VA
Rep. James Himes [D] CT
Rep. Jared Polis [D] CO
Rep. Kurt Schrader [D] OR
Rep. John Garamendi [D] CA
Rep. Terri Sewell [D] AL
Rep. John Carney [D] DE
Rep. William Keating [D] MA
Rep. Janice Hahn [D] CA
Rep. Kyrsten Sinema [D] AZ
Rep. Ami Bera [D] CA
Rep. Julia Brownley [D] CA
Rep. Raul Ruiz [D] CA
Rep. Scott Peters [D] CA
Rep. Patrick Murphy [D] FL
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard [D] HI
Rep. Cheri Bustos [D] IL
Rep. John Delaney [D] MD
Rep. Ann Kuster [D] NH
Rep. Sean Maloney [D] NY
Rep. Marc Veasey [D] TX
Rep. Filemon Vela [D] TX
Rep. Donald Norcross [D] NJ
Rep. Pete Aguilar [D] CA
Rep. Gwen Graham [D] FL
Rep. Brad Ashford [D] NE
Rep. Kathleen Rice [D] NY

sorry for weird copy and paste from excel

xpost oops, polyphonic beat me to it

all coward sell outs.

My fucking dem rep (Kurt Schrader) voted for it. Time for some strongly worded outrage from me to land squarely in his lap, I guess.

one of the better wisconsin congressmen voted for it too

motherfuckers

"Defeating terrorism should not mean slamming the door in the faces of those fleeing the terrorists. We might as well take down the Statue of Liberty," said Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y.

seriously, they should really take it down. what's the point

maybe we can tear it down and then construct some sort of massive machine that uses it to pummel refugees

Rep. Steve Israel [D] NY
Rep. Louise Slaughter [D] NY

what's in a name?

wasn't Marcy Kaptur a solid liberal a few years ago?

Yeah, I was just gonna say, Marcy Kaptur?!?!?! WTF??

greg sargent:

An astounding 47 House Democrats voted for the bill, which is actually a lower number than Democratic leaders feared. Earlier today a House Dem source told me that as many as 100 Dems were at risk.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2015/11/19/can-democrats-block-the-gop-bill-stalling-syrian-refugees/

And why would Keith Ellison not vote on this?

Rep. Patrick Murphy [D] FL

the Wasserman-Schultz-approved candidate in the Senate race.

We don't really need to go as far as taking down the Statue of Liberty. I don't think it would be that difficult to replace the torch arm with one that's flipping the bird.

All jokes aside, this is a disgusting and shameful moment for our country. Congratulations, human waste.

And why would Keith Ellison not vote on this?

Maybe he felt there was a conflict of interest? That was my guess.

This is my rep:

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Donald M. Payne, Jr. (NJ-10) released the following statement after voting against H.R. 4038, the American SAFE Act of 2015. This House Republican legislation would immediately halt resettlement of refugees from Syria and Iraq:

“My top priority is the safety and security of my constituents. And, as Ranking Member of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Communications, I understand the seriousness of the threat ISIS poses to the United States and our allies, and to the entire world. We must be vigilant against this terrorist group.

“At the same time, we have a moral and humanitarian obligation to provide refuge to the people escaping the very terrorist violence our nation is working to eradicate, including Syrians. These refugees are rigorously vetted, more so than any other group entering our nation. To abandon these people would be to abandon the very values that define our nation.

“ISIS seeks to destroy innocent lives; those are the lives we must steadfastly protect.”

So glad I live in Marcia Fudge's district and not Kaptur's.

Why didn't they just cut to the chase and call this thing the Giving ISIS Exactly What They Want Act of 2015?

My congressman issued shrewd doublespeak:

After last week’s horrific terrorist attacks in Paris and Beirut, it is clear that our country must help those suffering at the hands of ISIS. The refugees currently fleeing the Middle East seek the same freedoms that we as Americans are blessed to enjoy. I want to ensure our country remains a place of refuge and hope for oppressed people from all over the world, while granting our law enforcement officials the tools they need to properly screen each refugee and keep Americans safe. The ultimate solution for this tragic refugee crisis is to defeat and destroy ISIS and clear the path for new leadership in Syria. On this, our country must lead.”

these chuckleheads seem to think that liberty and compassion are reasonable only when politically expedient and that both law and human decency is justified in capitulation under duress. it's despicable.

While I was initially pretty pissed about this, I had a thought: could this move toward some kind of political compromise where the GOP gets to announce that it imposed "new, harsher screening measures" that don't in fact make it much more difficult than the already onerous process? That might shut up a lot of the opposition and ultimately allow us to let in a decent number of refugees.

Also, any read on what support for this looks like in the Senate?

the NYT story suggested it was more difficult, but so is courage.

xpost

they are afraid of their constituents

no less despicable though

Where was Ellison?

FYI he's Tweeted a photo of a cop pointing a gun at one of his kids at the BLM Mpls protest yesterday, and might have been attending to that.

Garamendi from CA! what a shitbag

David French:

We know ISIS is trying to strike America. We know ISIS has already successfully infiltrated the West through the refugee system. And we know from other contexts that our vetting process can be deadly deficient. Can someone then please tell me why the Obama administration and its allies are so derisive and condescending towards those who would rather help refugees overseas than bring them to America?

Read more at: http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/427375/60-more-nro-staff

Not sure what effect it will have, but my godforsaken rep just received a red hot email one minute ago.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and White House chief of staff Dennis McDonough made their case against the measure in a closed-door meeting, but members coming out of meeting said their pitch wasn’t effective.

“I’ve seen better presentations in my time here,” said Democratic Rep. Steve Israel of New York, who was still undecided. “They may have strong arguments on their side, but they’re not expressing those strong arguments sufficiently.”

“There’s no question that the Republicans have expertly politicized this,” Israel, who runs House Democrats’ messaging strategy, added.

jfc stfu steve israel

there's no question that he's a cowardly fuck

presentation needed more star wipes?

my letter:

Rep. Curbelo -

Thank you for the splendid display of political expediency today. Without men like you taking easy stands, we wouldn't know how to raise our children in a world of tough decisions. I'm especially proud of how, like me, a product of Miami's boys Catholic high school system can ignore what he was taught about critical thinking.

Congratulations on making us a mockery for the terrorists who want to destroy us. And the Syrians who already found EXISTING laws difficult appreciate your devotion to their cause.

"Capitulation under duress" should be your next campaign slogan.

Best,

as

House Democrats’ messaging strategy = we're Republicans

The measure faces an uncertain future in the Senate. Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) pledged Thursday that the Syria bill won’t make it to Obama’s desk. Senators will likely attempt to tack the measure as a rider to the government spending bill that Congress has to address in December.

“We’ve explained here in some detail [that] the problem is not with refugees. I haven’t read the House language,” Reid said during a press conference on Thursday. “I don’t think we’re going to be dealing with it over here.”

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/11/syria-refugee-bill-vote-216053#ixzz3ryTNCZPI

To: Curbelo.house.gov
From: CurbeloIntern2.house.gov
Subject: RE: Latest version of constituent feedback summary doc?

http://i.imgur.com/MVasrLO.jpg

Automatically started looking for my Rep on that list of Democrats before remembering, oh yeah, we don't have any Democratic Reps anymore.

appreciated finally calibrated irony

i avoid sarcasm when sending screeds to my representatives

my congressman is a graduate of a fine Jesuit academy – he understands being spread eagled

Only if he ever reads the text of your message. Presumably, he'll be flooded on the subject and no aide is likely to choose yours as a representative example to put in front of him. Too bad. It was ace.

http://dudespaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/statueoflibertyflipsthebird.jpg

democracy demagoguery in action

This again--- 5 items (largely House Republican riders to appropriations bills) that could cause a government shutdown

the biggest holdups are 1) funding for Syrian refugees; 2) Dividing up a $30 billion spending increase both sides have agreed to in principle; 3) Environmental policy riders; 4) Crop insurance subsidies; and 5) a GOP push roll back financial regulations.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2015/11/20/the-five-things-that-could-still-force-a-government-shutdown/?wpmm=1&wpisrc=nl_daily202

Bbbbbbut what about repealing Obamacare???

Re: the funding Syrian refugees option:

“I would be surprised if there are going to be a lot of Democrats who are going to object if we take a thoughtful, reasonable approach to this,” Thune said.

Labott’s crime wasn’t that she expressed an opinion. It’s that she expressed the wrong opinion: after Paris, defending Muslims, even refugees, is strictly forbidden. I’ve spoken with friends who work at every cable network and they say the post-Paris climate is indescribably repressive in terms of what they can say and who they can put on air. When it comes to the Paris attacks, CNN has basically become state TV (to see just how subservient CNN is about everything relating to terrorism, watch this unbelievable “interview” of ex-CIA chief Jim Woolsey by CNN’s Brooke Baldwin; or consider that neither CNN nor MSNBC has put a single person on air to dispute the CIA’s blatant falsehoods about Paris despite how many journalists have documented those falsehoods).

https://theintercept.com/2015/11/20/cnns-punishment-of-refugee-defending-journalist-highlights-media-abdication/

https://twitter.com/sts10/status/667428763660115968

i would've like to hear Woolsey say, like William Campbell's Squire of Gothos on Star Trek TOS, that Snowden should be hanged until he is DEAD DEAD DEAD.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CUHYXfuWsAAyhMg.jpg