04-06-2021, 02:11 PM
(This post was last modified: 04-06-2021, 02:34 PM by Eric the Green.)
(03-30-2021, 10:19 AM)David Horn Wrote:(03-29-2021, 09:25 PM)Bob Butler 54 Wrote:(03-29-2021, 04:51 PM)David Horn Wrote: It seems that Biden learned the lesson of 'too little, too late' and is working on a consistent pattern of big wins with Democrats alone. The infrastructure bill will prove that true or not, because it has to pass. If the GOPpers have no intention of building things for their constituents, as I suspect, then Biden will bless abandoning the filibuster (or forcing it to the floor as a speak-a-thon), and pass it with Dems alone. If it plays that way, the Republicans are dead for the next cycle.
Let's see who and how many play chicken with their political futures this time. Bets? Anyone?
I'm waiting for a big round of court cases. Mostly, Fox is being sued by Dominion for reporting on the Big Lie. That case will involve recordings of Fox repeating the Big Lie, and of their recanting that the Big Lie was a big lie. Secondly, in Georgia Trump himself is in line for participating in voter fraud. If those court efforts go as the 50 to 1 cases before them, it gets really hard to perpetuate the alternate version of the truth.
But judging from the fanatics wading through here, the ability of people to ignore the truth is bottomless.
It feels like we're at a pivot point, with the future direction of the nation at stake. If the theory holds, then this should be resolved, in due course, in favor of the greater good for the greater number, and a loss of trivial "freedoms" for the radical libertarian right. But, and there always is a "but", we have a lot of pain to endure on the journey.
Assume that the SCOTUS becomes a monstrous PITA in the path of progress, and may force a step back for every step forward for a while at least. Is there stomach for court packing? Will Steven Breyer step down before he falls down? Is Thomas fully healthy? Or Alito? The rest are under 70,and unlikely to be replaced soon. So it will fall to political courage -- a rare commodity in Washington DC.
OK, now that I know what "PITA" means
I can comment a bit. (I guess PITB would also work, referring to "butt" and "but") So far the Court has been quiet; perhaps they are worried about packing if they go too far right. We can only hope. Meanwhile, the Democrats, as long as Manchin goes along, can pass things that cost money and raise taxes (through reconciliation process), and probably nothing else. Also, the Court can't do much to stop spending; once dollars are spent, the Court can't put the money back in the Treasury. Since the filibuster is not in the Constitution, they can't really uphold that either. Senate rules are up to the Senate.
Meanwhile, unless and until a few more Democrats are elected to the Senate (watch WI, PA and NC in 2022) and Warnock is re-elected (in spite of voter suppression), and Democrats retain the House, only a tepid minimum wage raise at best can be passed, and even mild gun control is hard. Manchin needs to be convinced to support bypassing the filibuster for the sake of the right to vote, and support the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. These are the kinds of reforms that I forecast for the 2020s. It seems to me it is our destiny to reform our democracy this decade. If we don't, it is pretty-much dead. Also, young people need to vote in midterms, like they failed to do in 2010 and 2014, thus giving us Republican severe gerrymandering, but did better in 2018, thanks to the push from their fellow students in Parkland FL.
The more we can get the GOPHERS out of the way, so they don't dig HOLES that undermine our country and provide its grave, the further forward we can go.