American politics 2016: Lawyers, Guns, and D-Money

It's like watching a lava lamp.

http://i.imgur.com/NP32c5o.gif

apalachia, never change

looks like a big tobaccky field fire to me

No seriously, the Appalachia district hardly changes.

harvey gantt otm

http://cepr.net/blogs/beat-the-press/krugman-on-bernie-sanders-electability

The super-delegates are just under 15 percent of the total number of delegates. If Clinton wins this group by a margin of 80% to 20% (she has more than 95% of the super-delegates who have already made a commitment), then Sanders would have to capture more than 55 percent of the elected delegates to get the nomination.

This means that Sanders could not get the nomination just by scraping by in the primaries; he would need a decisive victory. The question then is, if Clinton were to lose decisively in the primaries to a candidate who has all the weaknesses touted by the experts to whom Krugman referred us, how likely is it that she would have been able to win the general election if Sanders had not gotten in her way?

Despair, Sanders fans. Krugman has the business.

all I want out of November is chaos.

however it'd be great if Clinton won the nomination antidemocratically and there was a lil "revolution" to redress that.

http://rlv.zcache.com/jefferson_tree_of_liberty_poster-ra2241f73a53e489fb51ba68c72a6732f_wad_8byvr_324.jpg

In a harsh partisan snub, the Republican chairmen of the Senate and House budget committees — Senator Michael B. Enzi of Wyoming and Representative Tom Price of Georgia — have chosen not to invite Shaun Donovan, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, to testify about the administration’s plan, set to be released on Tuesday as part of the traditional budget week festivities.

“Rather than spend time on a proposal that, if anything like this administration’s previous budgets, will double down on the same failed policies that have led to the worst economic recovery in modern times, Congress should continue our work on building a budget that balances and that will foster a healthy economy,” Mr. Price said in a statement.

Mr. Obama’s budget proposal is of course not likely to please congressional Republicans, and it was never going to be adopted by the Republicans in the House and Senate. They have already expressed outrage at its proposed $10 a barrel tax on oil. But to refuse to hear from Mr. Donovan seems an extreme break with the usual conventions of Capitol Hill and it denies the Republicans a chance to try to pummel him and the budget at a televised hearing. They typically enjoy that.

Republicans often complain that they can’t get administration witnesses they want to testify. They might hear about the budget snub the next time they are pressing for an administration official to turn up.

http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/02/08/congress-declines-to-hear-obamas-budget-proposal-in-person/

rude

continued schaudenfreude re: the completely decimated/bordering on non-existent California GOP:

Low on funds and lagging in the polls, GOP Assemblyman Rocky Chavez has dropped out of California’s U.S. Senate race and will run for re-election to the Legislature.

Chavez, R-Oceanside (San Diego County), announced his withdrawal at the beginning of a radio debate for Senate candidates Monday night in San Diego.

Although he was the leading Republican in the race to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer, Chavez was only pulling 7 percent support in a January Field Poll and had just $369 in campaign cash on hand, according to the latest federal financial disclosure forums. He had $42,889 of campaign debt, according to the filing.

Chavez’s departure leaves two major Republicans in the field, former state party Chairmen Duf Sundheim and Tom Del Beccaro. Both are polling at 3 percent, according to the latest Field Poll.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/02/12/us/politics/alan-graysons-double-life-congressman-and-hedge-fund-manager.html?referer=https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2FjFp15qqKE6&_r=1

so this is...interesting. alan grayson has been running a hedge fund while sitting in congress

lol Grayson

Hadn't thought much about Senate-race politicking over the corpse in the robe. I assume there's gonna be a non-prez-election thread cuz sports fans can't get enough.

http://www.npr.org/2016/02/15/466735802/scalia-s-death-and-the-2016-senate-races

Chuckie a lil bit hypocritical re playing politics with the SC. Lil bit.

http://dailycaller.com/2016/02/14/flashback-in-2007-schumer-called-for-blocking-all-bush-supreme-court-nominations/

Senator Schmuckie vs White House over counterterorism funding, ie Infighting Is Fun. (I have no idea who's right.)

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/02/schumer-and-white-house-exchanging-words.html

savage mules, endless war

http://www.salon.com/2016/02/10/obama_on_verge_of_launching_another_bombing_campaign_in_libya_after_dropping_23144_bombs_on_six_countries_in_2015/

Chuckie a lil bit hypocritical re playing politics with the SC. Lil bit.

idk why anyone tries to make hay out of this (or McConnell's hypocrisy) - when the rules are on your side, you use them, when they're not, you fight against them. that's political operations 101.

savage mules, endless war

p sure America's been bombing someone somewhere non-stop since bombs were invented tbf

technically Schumer said that after Roberts and Alito the burden of proof was on the nominees to show that they were in the mainstream. Obv Kagan and Sotomayor have been in the minority and haven't sought out cases in the manner of Roberts/Alito but I think they've been who they said they were in their hearings.

Yeah with context what Schumer said not really comparable: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/lol-has-anyone-looked-at-what-schumer-actually-said

"LOL."

In the news: Scalia-less Supreme Court lets stand the ruling demanding immediate redistricting in NC to counter gerrymanding.

change we can believe in

Apparently the maps won't do much difference in party affiliation, but at least they don't look like somebody spilled something on the Tar Heel State.

http://i.imgur.com/apKa9ME.jpg

apropos of nothing, i remembered that Joe Wilson (YOU LIE!) existed, and since i haven't heard about him since he said YOU LIE, i thought i'd see what kind of punishment was rained down upon him by his district in SC.

In September 2009, Wilson received international attention when he interrupted a speech by U.S. President Barack Obama to the joint session of Congress by shouting "You lie!"[4][5] The incident resulted in a formal rebuke by the House of Representatives largely along party lines.[6]

Wilson was re-elected in 2010 by a comfortable 9 percent over his nearest challenger and when he ran unopposed in the 2012 general election he was re-elected with 96% of the vote. Wilson won reelection in 2014 with over 62% of the vote in a three-way race.

oh, cool

This is fantastic: Teenager claims to be a state senator, gives lecture to high school students

what state senator has a driver? kind of went overboard there

The White House released their economic report. Only seventeen 'Piketty's in this one!

https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/ERP_2016_Book_Complete%20JA.pdf

https://twitter.com/clairecmc/status/701873255506956288

Claire McCaskill has breast cancer.

http://www.abc15.com/news/national/jeff-flakes-convoy-charged-by-elephants-during-trip-about-poaching

this is just the news the editorial cartoon industry needed.

http://www.wpr.org/marquette-poll-feingold-maintains-lead-over-johnson-us-senate-race

nice :)

we've missed you, Russ

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/02/rsc-budget-deal-219800

welp, no budget for 2017, Ryan back in Boehner's spot lol

makes me yearn for the budget slashing gentility of the bush administration. OH WAIT THAT NEVER HAPPENED.

Fuck off and die: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/debbie-wasserman-schultz-paylenders-cfpb_us_56d4ce38e4b03260bf77e8fc

Seven N.J. newspapers call on Christie to resign

I got some sort of DNC poll in the mail that I haven't opened. If it has any questions about party problems, I'm going to write in "fire Debbie Wasserman Schultz asap"

time to zap the Odious Planet Debbie; as Pierce sez, it makes Clinton's reform bleating an extra sick joke

http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/news/a42611/debbie-wasserman-schultz-resign/

The White House is vetting Jane L. Kelly, a career public defender turned federal appellate judge, as a potential nominee for the Supreme Court, as President Obama closes in on a decision that could reshape the court for decades and create an election-year showdown with Republicans....

Judge Kelly won quick and unanimous confirmation by the Senate three years ago to her current post on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Her nomination could intensify pressure on Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa and the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, to break with his party and hold hearings on Mr. Obama’s Supreme Court candidate.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/03/us/politics/white-house-vetting-jane-kelly-judge-supreme-court.html?_r=0

In a Senate floor speech in 2013, Mr. Grassley effusively praised Judge Kelly, a longtime public defender, just before she won unanimous confirmation to her current position on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

The senator read from a handwritten recommendation letter he had received from a retired judge, David R. Hansen, a Republican appointee he counted as an old friend. Mr. Hansen called Judge Kelly a “forthright woman of high integrity and honest character” and a person of “exceptionally keen intellect.”

“I congratulate Ms. Kelly on her accomplishments and wish her well in her duties,” Mr. Grassley said at the time. “I am pleased to support her confirmation and urge my colleagues to join me.”

Democrats have privately said that selecting Judge Kelly might force Mr. Grassley to change his stance and hold hearings, out of a sense of obligation to a respected jurist from his home state and concern about tarnishing his reputation in Iowa months before he faces re-election. The six-term senator is facing pressure from voters to consider any nominee on the merits, but he said in an interview Wednesday that he would not change his position even for a fellow Iowan....

“In this particular instance,” Mr. Grassley said about the election-year vacancy, “it has got to be the process, and the person doesn’t matter, see.”

I enjoy hearing that last sentence in the voice of Edward G Robinson.

"Obama's got words, the voters have spears! Lots of terms for suicide, Mitch, but not mine, see."

c'mon Iowa, you can do it: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/04/us/politics/charles-grassley-patty-judge-iowa-senate-race.html?_r=0

looking forward to watching Grassley squirm

we'll try, man. still stinging from losing tom harkin's seat to a really lame republican

they didn't cite any polling or, well, anything so i'm not sure what makes this challenger "formidable" but yeah i'd love to see grassley get the boot

also wtf dude is 82, retire already

RIP Grassley Twitter account