American Politics Thread 2013: I'm a cool Rodham grandma in the USA

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill in Washington are getting ready for a four-week break, followed by a September in which House Republicans have only scheduled nine days of work for the entire month, and they're leaving quite a to-do list behind. Four of the 12 appropriations bills that have to pass before the end of the fiscal year are being ignored; the farm bill is stuck; immigration reform is demanding attention; and a debt-ceiling crisis looms.

http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/07/31/19797380-what-a-governing-allergy-looks-like

oh they're hella busy fundraising, right?

Of course.

The Senate approved all five NLRB appointments yesterday. That was the good news-- Reid's threats to go nuclear paid off at least in the short-term.

Jesus I thought they were already 'off' the whole summer?

off their meds

August! When not only congress is on vacation, but also most of the rest of DC, leaving the town to deranged tourists who for some reason thought visiting a swamp in August was a good idea. (I'm a bit homesick.)

Its a tad cooler than usual though for some reason

i'll take it

srsly though, this time ... benghazi!!!

i don't get why people are suddenly talking about this CIA gun running thing, we knew this in the spring

Benghazi
Ben-e-e-e-h-ghazzii
no no no no
he only wants to impress youuu

Another Monday with my brother on furlough (every Monday for awhile), Republicans repeating cliches to their constituents and promises to lobbyists, Congressional Dems confused, and the Prez pushing his "moderate" "compromises"

I have been reading "This Town" and Joan Walsh comes away with an obvious (and unsurprising) conclusion about why people might possibly be cynical:

http://www.salon.com/2013/08/05/ka_ching_we_can_believe_in/

Joan Walsh goes very well with "obvious (and unsurprising)"

Why are some folks surprised about Messina, former longtime aide to Max Baucus (before Messina joined the White House) deciding to make big bucks with the Conservative Brits --

2011 article in The Nation

http://www.thenation.com/article/159577/jim-messina-obamas-enforcer#axzz2b7vDKgpM

As a former chief of staff to Baucus and deputy to Emanuel, Messina has clashed with progressive activists and grassroots Obama supporters both inside and outside Washington over political strategy and on issues like healthcare reform and gay rights, alienating parts of the very constituencies that worked so hard for Obama in 2008 and that the campaign needs to reinspire and activate in 2012. Obama’s fixer has arguably created as many problems as he’s solved.

Barry Crimmins ‏@crimmins
Former Obama campaign manager #JimMessia now working for Brit Tories. It's a lateral move.

Why is anyone surprised that anyone in the Obama administration would reneg on their "no ego, no glory" memo?

some of my dyed in the wool OFA buddies are just so backstabbed about messina and it's sort of frustrating to watch

Obama Cancels Meeting With Putin Amid Tension Over Snowden
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324522504578653791984020314.html

Not sure I think this is a good move.

hey at least he waited til his 2nd term to be Jimmy Carter after doing Dubya in his 1st.

oh shit i missed it are we boycotting sochi?

I'd go with 65-70% likely now, howbout you?

i trust the Olympics-industrial machine will crush this issue before it comes to that

Things are looking -- very slightly -- optimistic:

When White House aides talk up Summers, it is usually in the context of his relationship with Obama during the darkest days of the Great Recession, shaping policies Obama believes saved the country from another depression. That relationship is real and meaningful. But Summers did not anticipate the Great Recession, and some believe his advocacy for an end to Glass-Steagall helped set it in motion. Top administration officials disagree, but Obama’s criteria appears clear: seeing a crisis before it strikes and dealing with Fed policy outside of its historically abstract sandbox. If you place the Summers-versus-Yellen campaigning aside, and take Obama's own words at face value, he's leaning toward Yellen.

http://m.dailykos.com/story/2013/08/08/1229930/-Campaign-Finance-Complaint-Filed-Against-Scott-Walker?showAll=yes

Oh yeaaaah

god let us dream he's leaning towards yellen

Mitch McConnel's chief negotiator is leaving his post.

“If you have to do business with the dark side, it’s better to negotiate with an evil genius than with someone who only knows how to say no and doesn’t understand the details,” the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to offer a candid assessment.

Kumar is “negotiating on behalf of an irrational, unpredictable crowd, and he likes to run out the clock, which is a dangerous combination. But to his credit, he never wanted to let the clock strike midnight and the world to blow up,” the official said.

no lie the howls from the goldbug alpha zerohedge bro zone at seeing a woman in charge of the cental bank would carry me through another 3 administrations at least

lol otm

TPM worries McConnell's primary and election woes could shut the gubbmint down again. He overstates McConnell's sanity.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2013/08/how_mcconnells_woes_could_blow_up_washington.php?ref=fpblg

mcconnell even being in trouble is still amazing to me

goldbug alpha zerohedge bro zone

perfect

so even if turtlemang gets primaried, there's absolutely no way Grimes takes this, right? iirc KY has a blue streak that TN, MS, SC , AL et al don't, but that's cold comfort these days

hard not to feel schaudenfreude for blobfish

hopefully these 'gop gains seats in 2014' memes will be reversed by the candidates being total fucking nutjobs courtesy of the primaries

xps just from an outsider's pov, Grimes looks like a formidable candidate. Blobfish gets primaried, she get an opponent that's even more of a loon, and she could squeak out a victory.

and then who would be minority leader?

Looking at the minority hierarchy right now, if Mitch loses, it seems Cornyn is next in line.

from what little i've read via a lol huffpo piece from a while back McConnel's challenger doesn't appear to be total whackjob (relatively speaking, of course). he seemed to be positioning himself more as a 'new blood' alternative rather than a rabid tea party revolutionary. this may not actually reflect reality though

cornyn didn't sign on to the lee scheme, base would have a fit if he got majority leader though tbf 2015 is so far off that they may not mind by then. lot of tea party heroes have betrayed the party/america (rubio, toomey, christie) and eventually been welcomed back. there was talk cornyn would get primaried even.

fun fact: both Rand Paul & Grimes did undergrad at Rhodes College, a couple of blocks over from my crib

Still talk of Cormyn being primaried by ... Louie Gohmert!

lol was just reminded of this when I looked at his wiki page:

"On January 3, 2013, Gohmert broke ranks with the House leadership to nominate outspoken Florida Representative Allen West for Speaker of the House, even though West lost his bid for re-election in November 2012 and was no longer a member of Congress.

lol lol

Whoa, how did I miss Gohmert's "aspersions on my asparagus" line?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/holder-seeks-to-avert-mandatory-minimum-sentences-for-some-low-level-drug-offenders/2013/08/11/343850c2-012c-11e3-96a8-d3b921c0924a_story.html

^just came to post that. great start

OTM

First good thing this Holder man has done in years.

and we finally (fingers crossed) got rid of the soft aparthied of "stop and frisk" in nyc....a good day