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

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/03/27/harry-reid-endorses-chuck-schumer-to-succeed-him-as-senate-minority-leader/

fuck this shit

was just gonna say Feinstein and Schumer will both die in the Senate, and help kill most of us along the way.

Schumer can fight for Wall Street from the Senate, and HC from the White House. Ugh

time for the Harry Reid retrospective think pieces

Reid said that Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) would serve as the torch bearers for the populist wing and hold the caucus's feet to the fire.

Oh, thanks

http://www.vox.com/2015/3/26/8296863/mcmorris-rodgers-obamacare

My esteemed congressperson's obamacare panic effort backfired. One of my colleagues is in the fb screenshot which is kind of awesome.

this is kind of inappropriate but

PATTY MURRAAAYYY PATTY MURRAY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgvP-hKC66Y

I hate this site but this is a solid retrospective: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/03/harry-reid-resigns-legacy-116468.html?ml=tb

jeffrey dahmer tells charles manson he's too violent

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qA-K93l5LgM

@ggreenwald
Bill Kristol worried Schumer is "too pro-Israel" to become Senate Dem leader. Don't worry, Bill: no such thing!

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/kristol-podcast-schumer-too-pro-israel-get-support-senate-democrats-leader_900607.html

One day after announcing himself as presidential candidate, Texas Senator Ted Cruz fired a few shots across the bow of Wall Street, and the firm that employs his wife as managing director.

In an interview with Bloomberg's With All Due Respect, Cruz was asked by host Mark Halperin whether, on balance, Goldman Sachs was a positive or a negative force on society.

"Like any institution, there's some of both," Cruz responded, adding, "Goldman is one of the biggest banks on Wall Street, and my criticism with Washington is they engage in crony capitalism. They give favors to Wall Street and big business and that's why I've been an outspoken opponent of crony capitalism, taking on leaders in both parties. I think big business, if they're building a better mousetrap, great, but it shouldn't be government favoring, and let me give you an example: Dodd-Frank. Sold to the American people as stopping 'too-big-to-fail.' What happened? The big banks have gotten bigger. Goldman has gotten bigger..."

http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-03-24/ted-cruz-knocks-goldman-sachs-employer-of-his-wife

This guy, he's phonier than a used car salesman.

If he could actually comprehend the level of irony here his head would explode.

Building a better mousetrap what the fuck?

“I am unabashedly proud of everything about Heidi,” Cruz replied when Bloomberg Politics asked if her career at Goldman Sachs could undermine his critique of crony capitalism at the investment bank.

Not just proud of, but reliant upon. Beyond the personal support that all candidates require from their families, Mrs. Cruz brings political talents to the table that could prove helpful in the 2016 election season. Her Goldman Sachs ties make her a “not-so-secret weapon” in terms of fundraising...

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/416095/ted-cruzs-not-so-secret-weapon-his-wife-joel-gehrke

And she’s a foreign-policy expert, having served on the National Security Council during George W. Bush’s presidency. Far from fretting that she could be a liability to his presidential candidacy, the senator and his team are “very confident that she is one of our campaign’s greatest assets,” according to spokesman Brian Phillips.

Oh yes the successful foreign policy of the W presidency what great experience that must have been.

plausible: harry reid was beaten up. by the mob. in las vegas.

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2015/01/ok-so-what-really-happened-to-harry-reid.php
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2015/03/what-really-happened-to-harry-reid-part-2.php
http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2015/03/29/so-what-really-did-happen-to-harry-reid/

http://www.vox.com/2015/3/30/8309137/harry-reid-mafia

and it's Mitch McConnell instead of Sinatra who says "That's enough."

just super plausible, and sane, and well-suited to real life, to consider

In NRO's political obit for Reid it alluded to Reid's being a sleazeball who's benefitted from the public trough or something but included, of course, no hyperlinks. I tend to think he is.

But I love this bit from the Vox story:

Reid — who has grown wealthy enough while in office to make the Ritz-Carlton his DC residence

a friend of a friend lost pretty much all sight in one eye when a p90x resistance band snapped and hit him square in the face

ps this is the best part of the vox story

Reid reported the attempted bribery to the FBI. They set up a sting, but Reid ended up going off-script and choking the criminal as he was about to be arrested.

"You son of a bitch, you tried to bribe me!" Reid said.

President Petrol

http://arcticjournal.com/press-releases/1438/us-approves-shells-arctic-drilling-lease

While a day ago:

The Obama administration on Tuesday outlined an ambitious plan for slashing U.S. greenhouse-gas pollution over the next decade, calling for accelerating the shift from fossil fuels to clean energy to stave off the worst effects of climate change.

Documents filed with the United Nations formally committed the United States to lowering total U.S. carbon emissions by 26 to 28 percent by 2025, compared with 2005 levels. White House officials called the plan “ambitious and achievable,” and said the pollution cuts could be made without hampering economic growth.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/03/31/obama-administration-citing-climate-risks-plans-steep-cuts-in-greenhouse-gas-pollution/

Why both of these steps, drilling and new :

Here's 1 attempt at an explanation, obviously consider the source

http://www.businessinsider.com/r-heres-why-obama-is-approving-arctic-drilling-again-2015-4

mcconnell is pulling a cotton:

In an effort to undermine international negotiations aimed at combating climate change, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is telling other countries not to trust President Obama’s promise to significantly reduce the United States’ carbon emissions.

In a statement released Tuesday, McConnell warned other countries to “proceed with caution” before pledging any carbon emissions reductions to the United Nations, saying the U.S. would likely not be able to meet its own climate goals. The statement came shortly after Obama announced the official U.S. plan to slash the United States’ greenhouse gas emissions as much as 28 percent as part of an international agreement brokered by the U.N.

“Even if the job-killing and likely illegal Clean Power Plan were fully implemented, the United States could not meet the targets laid out in this proposed new plan,” McConnell said, adding that “Our international partners should proceed with caution before entering into a binding, unattainable deal.”

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/04/01/3641594/mcconnells-inner-tom-cotton/

the loyal opposition!

so now all congress is reduced to is pumping out glorified press releases talking shit about the president every two weeks?

now?

oh no, veto #4. unions bad! what will the dastardly kenyan dictator do next to undermine the confidence of the job creators?

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/237481-obama-vetoes-gop-bill-on-union-elections

xxp it beats actually governing.

McDonald's is raising wages. This New Republic writers says its because of the economy , not due to protests and such

McDonald's is part of a growing trend in big business. Wal-Mart made news earlier this year when it announced it would raise its wages for 500,000 workers to more than $10 per hour next year. TJ Maxx, Ikea, Target and Aetna have all raised their wages in the past few months. All of these companies are not buckling under societal pressure to boost pay. They’re doing so for economic reasons. And surveys of employers bear this out as well

http://www.newrepublic.com/article/121433/mcdonalds-raising-its-workers-pay-because-economy

lameduck Dem presidents discover the unions, huh? visions of Hillary sugarplums in 2023...

All of these companies are not buckling under societal pressure to boost pay. They’re doing so for economic reasons.

these companies would like you to know that they are NOT considering public feedback at all

@glennbeck
Excited to announce that @GGreenwald will be my guest tomorrow at 9amET.

the convergence is upon us

i imagine that there are some issues where they could find common ground (certain civil liberty issues)

you don't have to be a paranoid lunatic to think obama has a poor secrecy and foreign policy record, but it... well it doesn't help, but he does.

curious if glenn and glenn will talk mike pence and indiana

boy...Glenn looks unhealthy.

you think Greenwald will wear cargo shorts and flip-flops to show him up?

So according to this expert the Iran deal is far better than anyone had a right to expect.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/04/glenn-beck-tells-glenn-greenwald-progressives-caused-world-war-ii/

That reads more like a mashup of two different conversations than actual discussion.

Beck and other conservatives with their same crazy talking point regarding Indiana and Iran. Conservative tweets in the link

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-nuclear-meltdown-commences.html

the point about pakistan is a truthbomb. everyone always pisses their pants about proliferation but pakistan literally helped give north korea the bomb and what did we do about it? jack shit.

Jeb Bush identified himself as “Hispanic” in a 2009 voter registration application form for the State of Florida unearthed by the New York Times.

so very lol

if this was a dem the right would put this on his/her tombstone and we'd never hear the end of it

. . . which is exactly what they did!

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=elizabeth+warren+native+american

leader-in-waiting Schmuck in action

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/04/chuck-schumer-bucks-white-house-on-iran-116713.html

This article about the horrifying Kansas bill includes this awesome throwaway moment:

Sen. David Haley, D-Kansas City, called the bill’s passage during Holy Week ironic. He chided Republican members of the Senate, who regularly hold Bible studies at the Capitol, to reflect on whether the bill matched the teachings of Christ.

results 1 - 20 of 5,210,000 for 'horrifying Kansas bill'

https://www.google.com/#q=horrifying+kansas+bill