US Politics May 2021: Joe Manchin's Choose-Your-Adventure Book

Yeah idk I’m not holding my breath that it happens none the leas

Is it? Waiting for the memo his people are crafting to entrench his argument that Congress has to do it means it’s not happening.

At least the “new FDR” pieces have slowed to a trickle.

Biden doesn't want to do it, but Schumer does, so I wouldn't count it out altogether.

Schumer can't get Manchin and Sinema on board with legislation that makes Democrats competitive in national elections.

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/05/24/suspicious-package-rand-paul-490640

no rush guys. at all. you have a lot on your plate. in fact if you need to settle your existing caseload, that's perfectly alright. I'm sure it's nothing.

government shouldn't be involved in investigating anything

It was probably a delivery meant for Cocaine Mitch.

the 2019 bill barr memo, unredacted

💥 OMG. They just now unredacted those key portions. So I’m now going to just show you the pages that were previously redacted. I’ll show you the before and after.

1/

— Jennifer Taub (@jentaub) May 25, 2021

"Just this weekend Richard Marx called for violence against me and now we receive this powder filled letter.”

No, it don't mean nothin'
No victim, no crime
It don't mean nothin'
Till you sign it on the dotted line

pierce has had it

https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a36531276/half-republicans-believe-donald-trump-still-president/

This is beyond the beyond. There is no compromise with this. There is no common ground. There is no deal to be struck. Millions of our fellow citizens are lost in rebellion against reality, and the only solution for the common good is to isolate them from decision-making and hope enough of them find their way back to make the country governable again. I’m not optimistic.

i agree. the idiocy is mindboggling...like, just being near it all the time, by virtue of living in this country and paying attention, is making ME dumber...a LOT dumber!

i feel like algernon about 3/4 of the way through the book

from the comments... good reminder: Once again let us to re-issue the reminder that these Republicans constitute only around 14-16% of the total population... the stink they make give them appearance of being a larger group, they are by far the minority in the country.

KEEP TRUMP ALIVE

good piece: dense, heavily referential doomscrolling

https://americanaffairsjournal.org/2021/05/the-brazilianization-of-the-world/

move over, Lollapalooza pic.twitter.com/YCp9P0fxEj

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 25, 2021

*Please no coolers*

William H. Macy is not invited. Harsh.

"please no cool people"

That American Affairs article has a subhead that beautifully sums up late stage capitalism: Modernity without Development.

i haven't been to brazil, but i have been to the first centuries after christ, and in some ways life right now reminds me of that: he said he was coming back, during our lifetimes. but it's been several generations now. some go on believing more fervently than others, others shuffle off because the promise was broken

the party will rage on till 5pm at the latest

Biden Concerned Ambitious Agenda Could Be Stalled By Him Not Really Caring If It Happens Or Not https://t.co/dwHfwFZXAz pic.twitter.com/LsWEYPKytX

— The Onion (@TheOnion) May 25, 2021

How dare you?!

'Modernity without Development'

Unreleased Minutemen track.

It was finally released on Pedro Econospiel Vol. II

lmao i love it when someone's guess undermines a supposedly impressive stat

Rick Scott made a game show for reporters and asked us to guess how much milk prices are up. @GarrettHaake guessed 30%.

Turns out it’s 5.5% pic.twitter.com/tIf3wYJ0T0

— Arthur Delaney (@ArthurDelaneyHP) May 26, 2021

I pointed out milk prices went up 9% from 2019 to 2020, asked if Trump was to blame. Scott said “excessive government spending” was the culprit https://t.co/fOePp9DNwT

— Arthur Delaney (@ArthurDelaneyHP) May 26, 2021

I would like more inflation

grrrreat:

Former President Trump is reportedly working with former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) on drafting a new policy agenda, modeled after Gingrich’s 1994 “Contract with America,” ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, Politico reports...

Scott said “excessive government spending” was the culprit

When all you have is a hammer...

Trump has no policy ideas of his own. Except maybe Space Force.

modeled after Gingrich’s 1994 “Contract with America,”

Which was itself modeled after Jim Crow, massive resistance to desegregation, and racist-as-fuck Reagan-era culture-war bullshit. The Tea Party, Freedom Caucus, MAGA Trumpism, and QAnon followed in those footsteps.

But... talking about these things as separate movements dignifies them unnecessarily. And it minimizes their toxicity. It implies that these are temporary flareups of nationalist fervor, when really it's just a strain of white grievance politics that has been there all along.

No respect, no respect

MyPillow founder Mike Lindell was thrown out of the Republican Governors Association's spring conference this week after he showed up to the event in Nashville and vowed to confront GOP governors about his false claims surrounding the 2020 presidential election...

why did RGA throw him out? he's a thought leader with the GOP, for real. who else are they listening to?

Bad breath

Visible boner

https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/27/politics/paul-ryan-donald-trump-gop-reagan-presidential-library-republicans/index.html

He's always right there leading the way.

lol, Paul Ryan, leadin' from behind. I have a good friend with generally well-intentioned politics that I suspect have occasionally lead him to vote Republican in the past. Some years back he was pointing to Paul Ryan as the future of the Republican party, and I was like, nah, this dude is a mercenary coward, he'll be out as soon as he can cash in. And indeed ...

If the conservative cause depends on the populist appeal of one personality, or on second-rate imitations, then we're not going anywhere. Voters looking for Republican leaders want to see independence and mettle," Ryan is expected to say.

ethered

https://www.thebozho.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/PaulRyan2-crGreggSegal-750x500.jpg

"Once again, we conservatives find ourselves at a crossroads. And here's one reality we have to face: If the conservative cause depends on the populist appeal of one personality, or on second-rate imitations, then we're not going anywhere. Voters looking for Republican leaders want to see independence and mettle."

"And then he pulled a well-worn, dogeared copy of The Founatainhead and held it aloft before the assembled crowd, who gasped in awe at his obvious leadership acumen."

In another eight or nine months, he's going to take on Pat Buchanan.

https://www.kapwing.com/bf3fec15-f2cc-4a58-98c8-4ff5da89bc35

https://i.imgur.com/cBsul0L.jpg

Paul Ryan is trending on Twitter b/c, per CNN, he is giving a speech tonight to urge the GOP to reject the "populist appeal of 1 personality" b/c "we're not going anywhere."

Also Paul Ryan is on the board of Fox Corp, which exists to amplify the populist appeal of 1 personality. pic.twitter.com/MeWue4Nzts

— Jennifer Bendery (@jbendery) May 27, 2021

accompanying Independent Mettle playlist

lots of appropriate titles!

By the way--I'm sure many will disagree--I think Ryan is a preview of the next couple of years. I don't believe that Trump has a hold on the party that will keep everyone to the side while he breezes in for the nomination. I think there are many people who will pick their spots to break away, in the hopes (many deluded, I'm sure--not sure if Ryan considers himself viable) of getting the nomination themselves. I suspect even Cruz--especially Cruz--is angling for what he believes is the ideal moment where he doesn't alienate the voters he wants.

I don't think it'll be Trump either but at this point it seems more likely to be the MyPillow guy than someone like Paul Ryan. anyone who speaks out against Trumpism or the big lie is gonna get demolished.

I think it all hinges on whether Trump can remain out of jail and healthy enough to credibly be the nominee. If he can, then we'll continue on the current path, if not, there isn't much else propping it up.