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

it must be remembered that our elected leaders almost never lead us, but follow public opinion and keep their private opinions out of sight. it is up to activists to change public opinions and this is a full time job that is difficult to do in elective office. there are exceptions, of course, but this is the rule.

I think it's more of a push-pull relationship. If a political leader wants to work toward some potentially controversial goal, they need sufficient political push from below -- which means that they'll never be far enough in front from the activist POV -- but then once pushed they can amplify the grassroots effort significantly, helping to sway people on the fence (or people who just aren't paying attention). And in the amplification, the core message often gets diluted a bit, the goals compromised to some degree, which frustrates activists even more. And the political leaders, who are in a tougher position than the activists appreciate, get frustrated by the activists in turn. But they both need each other.

^ I think you've described the relationship to a tee, especially given the opening "if a political leader wants to work toward some potentially controversial goal". Pols who aren't time servers usually do want to accomplish some potentially controversial goal, but it isn't universal.

pretty sweet to see NYC's towers lit up neon rainbow the same week the SCOTUS slapped down the health care typo challenge and the confederate flag came down in some places. there was a line around the stonewall blocks long. barry's "amazing grace" was a little tremulous and pitchy though

and although I kind of dismissed newsom above, this is a pretty good interview of his motivations on this in 2004 and the fall out: http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/06/san-francisco-mayor-gavin-newsom-supreme-court-ruling-same-sex-marriage

Newsom helped hand the election to bush for his own political gain so fuck him

"I agree with you, I want to do it, now make me do it."

- FDR

^a snopesy never-said-it, right?

pols are the enemy, especially the ones you vote for.

It's apocryphal because it's true -- that was his attitude. He would maneuver people into forcing him into doing what he always wanted, lament to the press what Congress was forcing him to, and eagerly signing the legislation.

*sign

"it's apocryphal because its true" is pretty good

CNN and other tv news seem more interested in the capture of those 2 escaped prisoners in NY than in Supreme Court rulings,killings in Tunisia, Kuwait, Somalia and France; or funerals and pole climbing in Charleston. Nothing new about this approach but still annoying

geez, how about TPP while we're at it? Or the Greek financial crisis?

what the hammer? what the chain?

news is no news

Maybe the two escaped prisoners are also carrying the 1.6 billion euros that Greece owes

To paraphrase an old, true saying: if you owe your banker a million euros you can't repay, you have a problem; if you owe your banker a billion euros you can't repay, your banker has a problem.

goddamnit I just got this email from the clinton campaign: "More like Chillary Clinton, amirite?" it is emlazoned on a beer cozy. I don't know if I can vote for her if she keeps sending out this shit.

when i think of chill people, which is something i do all the time, i always think of hillary clinton. man she is so chill

http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/246676-fannie-freddie-execs-get-34m-pay-raises?wpisrc=nl_daily202&wpmm=1

The leaders of the government-controlled housing agencies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac got hefty pay raises on Wednesday, according to new disclosure reports. Fannie Mae CEO Timothy Mayopoulos and Freddie Mac CEO Donald Layton will each earn target compensation of $4 million, according to disclosures filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Lawmakers had previously capped the controversial government sponsored entities’ executive pay at $600,000.”

One would hope members of both parties in Congress would see the bad optics on this. The link says someone is proposing a bill to limit their salaries. But I guess many dream of the gravy train themselves so they may not eager to limit this (plus that nonsense about attracting talented people is only possible if exorbitatn salaries are offered).

curmudgeon! You used "optics" in a sentence!

The market dictates their wage they could work somewhere else blah blah

I like that people want to get paid the same rate as another job they don't have

x-post--Sorry man, I've been corrupted or that use of the term is just everywhere now

throwing you under the bus now fyi

IA over 'optics' and 'lens' on this board

if you view my argument through the prism of my optics metaphor

you will never prise 'prism' from me

how can we incentivize that

you know who has a tremendous instagram is chuck grassley

https://instagram.com/p/4zQnLXF-Ej/

the excitement, how does he contain it

grassley goes so hard u wear hairnet + hardhat in the training room

The GOP-controlled Senate is on track this year to confirm the fewest judges since 1969, a dramatic escalation of the long-running partisan feud over the ideological makeup of federal courts.

The standoff, if it continues through the 2016 elections as expected, could diminish the stamp that President Barack Obama leaves on the judiciary — a less conspicuous but critical part of his legacy. Practically, the makeup of lower-level courts could directly affect a number of Obama’s policies expected to face legal challenges from conservatives.

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/payback-gop-blocks-obama-judge-picks-judiciary-119743.html#ixzz3f8eSpyA3

Meanwhile here's the truly frightening candidate: http://www.jsonline.com/news/scott-walker-calls-for-open-records-overhaul-to-be-completely-removed-or-changed-b99532073z1-311638151.html

Important piece of this story: http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/walker-office-operating-as-if-proposed-open-records-exemptions-are-law-b99532581z1-311737471.html

its like attorney client privilege minus the attorneys and the clients

http://www.kirkbangstad.com/

This dude is trying to take out Sean Duffy. He also sang in the Glee Club the year after I graduated. I hope he wins.

heh, Nancy needlin Boehner:

Democrats responded by reintroducing a resolution that would have mandated the removal of Mississippi’s state flag from display on U.S. Capitol grounds, because it displays the Confederate “Battle Flag.” That resolution, offered by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), was tabled on a mostly partisan vote that referred it to a committee.

Those Democratic moves left Boehner angry over what he saw as the rejection of his attempt to defuse the issue. “The Speaker offered a thoughtful and responsible way to address this issue and Pelosi responded with a cheap political stunt,” Kevin Smith, Boehner’s spokesman, said.

Surprising story on McConnell's liberal civil rights record:

But Mr. McConnell’s interest in race issues was inspired by his upbringing in Kentucky by parents who opposed segregation. It was fermented on the campus of the University of Louisville, where he encouraged students to march with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It was reinforced by his internship in the office of Senator John Sherman Cooper, a Kentucky Republican who helped break the Southern-led filibuster of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

It also surfaced during his first term in the Senate, when Mr. McConnell’s vote helped Congress override President Ronald Reagan’s veto of a measure imposing sanctions on South Africa during apartheid, and has persisted through his years in the United States Capitol, most recently last month, when Mr. McConnell stood before reporters and said that a statue of Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy, should be removed from Kentucky’s Capitol.

“This whole business of America moving past its original sin,” Mr. McConnell said in an interview, “has been over a big period during which I have lived.”

huh I had no idea

A huge story and win for Democrats: Florida Supreme Court orders redrawing of congressional districts.

Destroyed records. Shadowy projects with names like “Sputnik” and “Frankenstein.” And a college student whose identity was stolen to provide cover for political operatives.

Welcome to Florida, where the tentacles of gerrymandering are as tightly coiled around the statehouse as an invasive Burmese python.

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2015_07/culture_war_video056589.php

The rightwing just never stop with their attempts at entrapment videos

a previously unknown antichoice group called the Center for Medical Progress

fwiw this "group" is one guy ("investigative journalist") who created a website to give his clinic harassment a veneer of legitimacy

literally no "medical" anything involved in "the center for medical progress"

ohhh THIS is what the conservative douchebag singer I went to college with was ranting about on Facebook yesterday when he called surrogacy under any circumstances an abomination and human slavery (it took a while but it eventually got to "I'm mad people are selling fetus parts")

I heard about this last night without any context and the first thing I thought of was that it was some James O'Keefe type shit. No surprise to discover that's exactly what it is.

what is O'Keefe up to these days anyway

I'm sure we'll hear from him soon.

Meanwhile Chuck Schumer continues his dance of the seven veils for the Dems' anti-treaty wing.

http://prospect.org/article/how-american-south-drives-low-wage-economy

Just as in the 1850s (with the Dred Scott decision and the Fugitive Slave Act), the Southern labor system (with low pay and no unions) is wending its way north.

By
Harold Meyerson