Joe Biden 2021

[StassneyHorn 6790]

5 hours ago, Mrs Whiggins said:

People were giving you grief over your steak meal with carrot avatar and I suggested to get a new one. You did, but it's a weird naked guy. But you do you. I don't think you and Donkey are related.

 

He’s gone full on shitlord meme with smooth brains. Don’t aknowledge

[VRHorn 732]

On 6/4/2021 at 10:46 AM, DonkeyCigars said:

Because he can't get the votes from his own party and hasn't resorted to abolishing the filibuster yet?

 

On 6/4/2021 at 10:48 AM, Longhorn_Fan68 said:

lol, this is not the gotcha you thought it would be. bless your heart. keep trying.

 

On 6/4/2021 at 10:50 AM, DonkeyCigars said:

alrighty then, back to the drawing board. one of these days you'll enjoy a riposte of mine, or i'll die trying.

 

On 6/4/2021 at 10:57 AM, DonkeyCigars said:

JS1 posed the question which was essentially "why hasn't Biden done anything negative yet like people who opposed him predicted?"

My point was that he's been more or less handcuffed from passing anything too detrimental due to either public influence or a lack of support in his own party. I think he'll eventually abolish the filibuster and get there, but if you tell me that he will be a good, decorum rich President and the rest of his tenure will look like the last 4.5 months-- I think everyone who is waiting for 2024 will call that a win (considering what changes could be enacted).

 

On 6/4/2021 at 11:09 AM, DonkeyCigars said:

Personally, I don't think that Biden would do much to impact the quality of my life, unlike a Bernie-type. Again, without getting bogged down into the specifics of my personal political positions as they relate to where Biden stands which I don't think anyone here wants (if I wrong, I am happy to oblige I guess this afternoon when I get some time), I was simply answering the question as to why nothing drastically different or negative has befallen.

Further, I answered it because I found it interesting and funny that the question was posed almost as if Biden has championed and gotten through a ton of policy when, to my knowledge and I could be wrong, he's really only passed some stimulus for Covid-19 a couple of months ago. Everything else has either been stalled, getting re-worked/whittled down, or proposed lacking the red meat that Democrats really wanted (e.g. student loan forgiveness).

Why do you think all that is? Is it not because of a) his own party and b) the existence of the filibuster? Because that was my point. He's been leashed (but even unleashed I'm not sure what is real heart for dramatic change would be; he might love that he's hampered because it provides a great excuse for inaction).

Edit to add: I didn't mention it because it seems obvious that expecting/hoping for the other side of the aisle to get on board and vote for things they are in conflict with in a bipartisan way is the epitome of political foolishness. Just wanted to make sure we are all singing from the same sheet of music there.

 

On 6/4/2021 at 11:21 AM, DonkeyCigars said:

1) Green New Deal Support

2) Raise Minimum Wage

3) Raise my taxes as a high income earner

4) Free Tuition / Student Loan Forgiveness

5) Raise corporate taxes to pay for inefficient stuff

About the only things I want him to do are:

1) moderate gun reform

2) legalize marijuana

 

That said, I love how the conversation moved from the actual topic of why Biden can't get anything done to "but what about YOU!?". I guess it was a gotcha after all. Sorry JS1

 

23 hours ago, DonkeyCigars said:

So back to the topic:

Why hasn't Biden changed anything in 4.5 months?

I gave my answer, what do you guys say is the answer?

You know what they say about having to explain a joke, right?

[Js1 87300]

Why won’t the open borders Biden admin say anything?!?

 

[Biff Tannen 46208]

1 hour ago, Js1 said:

Why won’t the open borders Biden admin say anything?!?

 

Pssh.  They don't really mean it.  They had a separate speech that really told everyone to come and illegally vote.  You gotta read between the lines man.

[bad_teammate 13568]

hell yeah we're going to own the GOP with LOGIC by being inhuman to poor people

[DonkeyCigars 143]

2 hours ago, Js1 said:

Why won’t the open borders Biden admin say anything?!?

 

Impressive! She is a pretty straight shooter, I like that.

[atomheartbevo 90686]

We just need to annex a bunch of those countries.  They get to become Americans which is what some of them already want, we create some new and cheaper Floridas for American retirees and tourists.

[immamac 44422]

8 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

We just need to annex a bunch of those countries.  They get to become Americans which is what some of them already want, we create some new and cheaper Floridas for American retirees and tourists.

This is actually the correct answer. 

[bad_teammate 13568]

Nations are a fiction that should be done away with

[staboner 5098]

i've been onboard to 10+ years on just saying F it and legally connecting working rights from panama north. just fucking stupid and inefficient to act as we are now, not to mention destructive to people's lives. 

i fucking love that part of the world and some decade or two ago travelled it regularly. it breaks my heart to know how miserable life is for people there that parents send their children on a gamble up north alone. just unreal it is that damn bad. 

[lemonlime 5503]

2 hours ago, DonkeyCigars said:

Impressive! She is a pretty straight shooter, I like that.

Yet you support this covidiot to be the next president.  Fuck off.

 

[Js1 87300]

I’d take faucism over fascism 

[Dnaguy 12724]

7 hours ago, lemonlime said:

Yet you support this covidiot to be the next president.  Fuck off.

 

[bad_teammate 13568]

Risk of transmission at that outdoor show are probably fairly low who cares

[wildcat09 29601]

I get the politics of it, but us telling Guatemalans to fix their own shit after everything we've done to render that place uninhabitable is some disgusting shit.

[DonkeyCigars 143]

2 hours ago, bad_teammate said:

Risk of transmission at that outdoor show are probably fairly low who cares

exactly. 

To the previous point, I'm becoming more and more of a Kamala fan the more she regresses to her DA median. Sue me, I guess.

[Gatorubet 30795]

I get the politics of it, but us telling Guatemalans to fix their own shit after everything we've done to render that place uninhabitable is some disgusting shit.

And College of the Americas did not make a regional.

[GRHorn 105]

Spoiler

For decades some conservatives, yours truly among them, have argued that Latino Americans, with their ethic of faith and family and work, ought to be natural Republicans. On Saturday in a South Texas city on the Mexican border, Javier Villalobos gave America a glimpse of what this future might look like when he became the first Republican elected mayor of McAllen—the 85% Latino seat of Hidalgo County.

“Villalobos’ election should surprise absolutely no one who followed how counties in the Rio Grande Valley swung heavily toward Trump in the last election,” says Mike Gonzalez, a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation and author of “The Plot to Change America: How Identity Politics Is Dividing the Land of the Free.”

As Mr. Gonzalez notes, the auguries were there for anyone who cared to look. In 2016 Hillary Clinton carried Hidalgo County by 41 points. But in 2020, Joe Biden won by only 17 points. Meanwhile Zapata County—what the Washington Post calls “the bluest of blue counties along the river”—flipped for Donald Trump in 2020, the first victory for a GOP presidential candidate there since Warren G. Harding a century ago.

 

These developments have Democrats sounding the alarm. A May postelection analysis by a trio of left-leaning organizations noted that while Latino turnout in 2020 grew “dramatically” over 2016, Democrats saw a “significant dip in support in places with high concentrations of Latino and Hispanic voters.” Nor were Republicans simply sitting on the sidelines all the while. When asked by Texas Monthly what was attractive to Latinos about the Republican Party, Chuck Rocha, an adviser to the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign, answered this way:

NEWSLETTER SIGN-UP

 

 

“At the Republican National Convention, the party had one Latino speaker after another telling their immigration story and how they lived the American dream. And if you just sit back and watch that or read the coverage, you might think, ‘Hey, these Republicans are all right. They like immigrants. They want to build entrepreneurship. They want us to all be rich like Donald Trump.’ ”

READ MORE MAIN STREET

 

•  

A new National Republican Senatorial Committee survey of Latino likely voters in battleground states offers some striking insights here, especially on values and priorities. At a time when even some conservatives are attacking the GOP commitment to free markets, for example, the NRSC result is striking.

The survey asked Latinos to choose between two statements. The first was unadulterated Milton Friedman : “Some people say free-market capitalism is the best form of government because it gives people the freedom to work and achieve.” 

The second was what we might call the Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez option: “Other people say that socialism is the best form of government because it is more fair and equitable to working class people.” 

Almost two-thirds (63%) of respondents opted for the Friedman position, against only 17% for the AOC line. Hardly surprising, given that so many Latinos came to the U.S. in the first place to escape socialism. But capitalism is just the beginning of the surprises: 

• 67% are “very concerned” their kids “won’t have the same opportunities me and my family came here to find.”

• 58% said too many people in America are happy not to work and “just live off government assistance.”

• 80% percent agree that “public schools are failing.”

• 67% agree that too many Americans “are losing our traditional values centered on faith, family and freedom.”

• 57% “oppose Democrat efforts to pack the Supreme Court with liberal judges.”

• 72% agree “we should do what is necessary to control our southern border.”

• 65% oppose the Democrats’ “bill that would make voter ID illegal.”

• 50% agree that “many of the policies that Democrats say help all minorities actually end up hurting Hispanic families.” 

The NRSC’s conclusion? The political future isn’t California—it’s Florida. Florida’s electorate, the report notes, is substantially less white than it was in 2000, yet it is also more Republican than it was 20 years ago. 

Still, if more Latinos are willing to pull the GOP lever these days, it probably owes as much to the Democratic Party’s lurch leftward than any brilliant Republican outreach. Last year’s riots certainly didn’t help among people who value law and order. In addition, Mr. Gonzalez argues that critical race theory, so popular with the political left, will end up having the opposite effect on minorities than progressives think. 

“Critical race theory insists that Americans who are not WASPs must see themselves as aggrieved victims who want to transform America,” he says. “But people don’t fit into these neat categories cooked up in the faculty lounges. It’s turning off Americans of Latin background.” 

The Democratic postmortem seems to confirm Mr. Gonzalez’s read. The GOP, it concedes, successfully cast Democrats in 2020 as the party of economic shutdowns, defunding the police, keeping schools closed, and socialism. “Republican attempts to brand Democrats as ‘radical’ worked,” it says. 

The really bad news for Democrats? This was all back when Joe Biden was still selling himself to Americans as a moderate.

 

[Biff Tannen 46208]

2 minutes ago, GRHorn said:

“At the Republican National Convention, the party had one Latino speaker after another telling their immigration story and how they lived the American dream. And if you just sit back and watch that or read the coverage, you might think, ‘Hey, these Republicans are all right. They like immigrants. They want to build entrepreneurship. They want us to all be rich like Donald Trump.’ ”

Hey, there are easily conned people of all races.  Look at that.

 

3 minutes ago, GRHorn said:

The survey asked Latinos to choose between two statements. The first was unadulterated Milton Friedman : “Some people say free-market capitalism is the best form of government because it gives people the freedom to work and achieve.” 

 

The second was what we might call the Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez option: “Other people say that socialism is the best form of government because it is more fair and equitable to working class people.” 

This is a false dichotomy.

 

5 minutes ago, GRHorn said:

Almost two-thirds (63%) of respondents opted for the Friedman position, against only 17% for the AOC line. Hardly surprising, given that so many Latinos came to the U.S. in the first place to escape socialism. But capitalism is just the beginning of the surprises: 

• 67% are “very concerned” their kids “won’t have the same opportunities me and my family came here to find.”

• 58% said too many people in America are happy not to work and “just live off government assistance.”

• 80% percent agree that “public schools are failing.”

• 67% agree that too many Americans “are losing our traditional values centered on faith, family and freedom.”

• 57% “oppose Democrat efforts to pack the Supreme Court with liberal judges.”

• 72% agree “we should do what is necessary to control our southern border.”

• 65% oppose the Democrats’ “bill that would make voter ID illegal.”

• 50% agree that “many of the policies that Democrats say help all minorities actually end up hurting Hispanic families.” 

Most of this is fear-based bullshit that is peddled by the far right.

 

6 minutes ago, GRHorn said:

“Critical race theory insists that Americans who are not WASPs must see themselves as aggrieved victims who want to transform America,” he says. “But people don’t fit into these neat categories cooked up in the faculty lounges. It’s turning off Americans of Latin background.” 

This was not my understanding of what CRT means, but perhaps I missed something.

[GRHorn 105]

 

[Js1 87300]

WSJ Opinion piece by a former GWB speechwriter?  Totally not unbiased in any single way! 

Also Donald Trump is not rich.   Stop with that fucking lie. 

[wildcat09 29601]

I'm fascinated by the right's apparently sincere belief that anyone gives a shit about Hunter Biden. It's the weirdest thing. 

[GRHorn 105]

4 minutes ago, Js1 said:

WSJ Opinion piece by a former GWB speechwriter?  Totally not unbiased in any single way! 

Also Donald Trump is not rich.   Stop with that fucking lie. 

It was an opinion piece.
 

There’s probably nothing to it. Dems should ignore. 

[Biff Tannen 46208]

3 minutes ago, GRHorn said:

It was an opinion piece.
 

There’s probably nothing to it. Dems should ignore. 

I'm not saying there's not any validity to it.  But definitely some bias and pretty much what I said earlier.  Certain members of all races are easily conned.

[jimmyjazz 47345]

5 minutes ago, wildcat09 said:

I'm fascinated by the right's apparently sincere belief that anyone gives a shit about Hunter Biden. It's the weirdest thing. 

He does appear to be a moron, though.

[Captainant 28607]

12 minutes ago, GRHorn said:

 

you know, all these attacks on Hunter Biden would be equivalent to the attacks on the trump children... IF HE WERE IN THE GODDAMN ADMINISTRATION!

Hunter is not a part of the Biden WH.

[atomheartbevo 90686]

5 minutes ago, wildcat09 said:

I'm fascinated by the right's apparently sincere belief that anyone gives a shit about Hunter Biden. It's the weirdest thing. 

I blame Billy Carter. And Hillary Clinton.  When they have a hard time attacking the guy in office, find a family member.

 

[Brisketexan 107042]

He does appear to be a moron, though.

Seems like it. He also likes getting wasted, and banging lots of chicks with a hogleg dong.

I probably won’t vote for him as president. Wait, he’s not running? Ok then.

Seriously….I truly don’t understand why the right thinks Hunter Biden matters. I really don’t. It’s bizarre.

[Mrs Whiggins 13051]

Someone call me when Hunter Biden flies to the Middle East to chat up leaders, runs the PPE effort for a pandemic, and oh, I don't know, makes $634 million dollars while having zero qualifications and a nonexistent security clearance. Oh, and gets his FIL to pardon his dad on the way out.

[Js1 87300]

He’s also lost a mother, a sister and a brother in his life. He’s a fuckup but he ain’t a taxpayer funded fuck up working in the WH. 

[TwiceHorn 32111]

On the topic of the Biden DOJ continuing Trump "policies," you may recall that the Trump DOJ intervened in the Jean Carroll defamation lawsuit and argued that the "Office of the President" should be the defendant, rather than Trump in his individual capacity.  That would mean that her claims are subject to a species of official/sovereign immunity and DOA.

The district judge didn't buy the argument, holding effectively that the defamatory remarks Trump made were in his personal capacity and concerning a personal matter rather than an official matter deserving of immunity.

So that's been appealed to the Second Circuit, and the BIden DOJ is continuing the argument. https://www.npr.org/2021/06/08/1004340386/biden-doj-plans-to-continue-to-defend-trump-in-e-jean-carrolls-defamation-lawsui

An interesting factoid.  I'm sure the Biden administration has little interest in helping Trump out, but the ramifications for presidential immunity are something they want to pursue.

Edited June 8, 2021 by TwiceHorn

[Biff Tannen 46208]

50 minutes ago, Mrs Whiggins said:

Someone call me when Hunter Biden flies to the Middle East to chat up leaders, runs the PPE effort for a pandemic, and oh, I don't know, makes $634 million dollars while having zero qualifications and a nonexistent security clearance. Oh, and gets his FIL to pardon his dad on the way out.

Oh I'm sure fox news will be running with that before the 2024 election.  180 degrees from reality and all.

[wildcat09 29601]

13 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

On the topic of the Biden DOJ continuing Trump "policies," you may recall that the Trump DOJ intervened in the Jean Carroll defamation lawsuit and argued that the "Office of the President" should be the defendant, rather than Trump in his individual capacity.  That would mean that her claims are subject to a species of official/sovereign immunity and DOA.

The district judge didn't buy the argument, holding effectively that the defamatory remarks Trump made were in his personal capacity and concerning a personal matter rather than an official matter deserving of immunity.

So that's been appealed to the Second Circuit, and the BIden DOJ is continuing the argument. https://www.npr.org/2021/06/08/1004340386/biden-doj-plans-to-continue-to-defend-trump-in-e-jean-carrolls-defamation-lawsui

An interesting factoid.  I'm sure the Biden administration has little interest in helping Trump out, but the ramifications for presidential immunity are something they want to pursue.

It's not the biggest thing but this has probably made me angrier than anything else his administration has done so far.

[Hugo Stiglitz 23367]

I have nothing nice to say about the Biden administration except good job on the covid response.  Pretty much everything else has been dog shit, still several standard deviations better than Trump tho

[Biff Tannen 46208]

7 minutes ago, Hugo Stiglitz said:

I have nothing nice to say about the Biden administration except good job on the covid response.  Pretty much everything else has been dog shit, still several standard deviations better than Trump tho

Environmental policy has looked good so far too.  But that's pretty much it.  Not much teeth in regards to holding people accountable or doing what it takes to save democracy.

[GRHorn 105]

2 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

Environmental policy has looked good so far too.  But that's pretty much it.  Not much teeth in regards to holding people accountable or doing what it takes to save democracy.

What is he supposed to unilaterally do to “save democracy”?

[Hugo Stiglitz 23367]

5 minutes ago, GRHorn said:

What is he supposed to unilaterally do to “save democracy”?

He supposed to lead an effort to save some  of our democracy.  Leadership skills have suddenly become nonexistent and the evidence is in the behavior of guys like Manchin.

[Js1 87300]

18 minutes ago, Hugo Stiglitz said:

I have nothing nice to say about the Biden administration

I’m utterly surprised you didn’t work in something about Elizabeth Warren 

[wildcat09 29601]

Just now, Hugo Stiglitz said:

He supposed to lead an effort to save some  of our democracy.  Leadership skills have suddenly become nonexistent and the evidence is in the behavior of guys like Manchin.

He can't magically make Manchin change his mind. There's plenty of shit to be critical about, there's no need to pretend he could be a magical wizard if he just wanted to.

[GRHorn 105]

2 minutes ago, Hugo Stiglitz said:

He supposed to lead an effort to save some  of our democracy.  Leadership skills have suddenly become nonexistent and the evidence is in the behavior of guys like Manchin.

Do you mean making a lot of speeches supporting packing the courts, ending filibuster etc?

[Hugo Stiglitz 23367]

Just now, wildcat09 said:

He can't magically make Manchin change his mind. There's plenty of shit to be critical about, there's no need to pretend he could be a magical wizard if he just wanted to.

He’s the President, Manchin is openly undermining him.  That is a failure of leadership. 

[Hugo Stiglitz 23367]

2 minutes ago, GRHorn said:

Do you mean making a lot of speeches supporting packing the courts, ending filibuster etc?

That would be the bare minimum, which he is also not doing. 

[qwertyu1234 497]

4 minutes ago, Hugo Stiglitz said:

He’s the President, Manchin is openly undermining him.  That is a failure of leadership. 

But Biden has no leverage over Manchin and both people know that.

[wildcat09 29601]

Just now, Hugo Stiglitz said:

He’s the President, Manchin is openly undermining him.  That is a failure of leadership. 

This is meaningless. It's like when Trump said we need to "be tough" or when one of the DT crowd said we should've "focused our fire" on China over covid.

There's nothing he can do but try to convince Manchin that Manchin's wishes for bipartisanship are literally impossible, which he's been trying to do. Biden and the Dems have no leverage against Manchin because Manchin is quite literally irreplaceable to the Dems and, given the 50/50 split in the Senate, they can't afford to alienate him. He holds every card.

[GRHorn 105]

1 minute ago, Hugo Stiglitz said:

That would be the bare minimum, which he is also not doing. 

What other methods could he use? I’m curious what you think Joe is not doing. How could he twist multiple Senators’ arms to have them change positions and risk their own seats?

[Satchel 6983]

Politics of yesteryear. Take a listen. Fascinating:

https://www.history.com/speeches/lyndon-johnson-twists-senator-ribicoffs-arm

[Biff Tannen 46208]

7 minutes ago, wildcat09 said:

This is meaningless. It's like when Trump said we need to "be tough" or when one of the DT crowd said we should've "focused our fire" on China over covid.

There's nothing he can do but try to convince Manchin that Manchin's wishes for bipartisanship are literally impossible, which he's been trying to do. Biden and the Dems have no leverage against Manchin because Manchin is quite literally irreplaceable to the Dems and, given the 50/50 split in the Senate, they can't afford to alienate him. He holds every card.

Perhaps we should tell Manchin to fuck himself and focus on getting new Dems elected to other senate seats.

[Hugo Stiglitz 23367]

8 minutes ago, wildcat09 said:

This is meaningless. It's like when Trump said we need to "be tough" or when one of the DT crowd said we should've "focused our fire" on China over covid.

There's nothing he can do but try to convince Manchin that Manchin's wishes for bipartisanship are literally impossible, which he's been trying to do. Biden and the Dems have no leverage against Manchin because Manchin is quite literally irreplaceable to the Dems and, given the 50/50 split in the Senate, they can't afford to alienate him. He holds every card.

They could bully him. 

[wildcat09 29601]

Just now, Hugo Stiglitz said:

They could bully him. 

With what?

[Js1 87300]

9 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

Perhaps we should tell Manchin to fuck himself and focus on getting new Dems elected to other senate seats.

THIS.

Tell Machin and Sinema whatever, get (at least) 2 more Dems elected in 2022 and hold your other seats and then you can do things without them.