US Politics, April 2020 -- Where's the Vax Returns?

lmao

Congratulations to @realDonaldTrump on his big victory in Wisconsin!

The state was critical in 2016, and we are working hard to keep it in the WIN column in November!

— Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) April 13, 2020

Took me a minute to piece together she literally means winning the state primary, which loooooool.

the reason Trump made all those statements today is just like with "firing Mueller", he isn't going to strongarm the state governments, because he'll wind up going along with what they say and just say "well it's a good thing they listened to me, they knew what was good for them! but I totally could have shut them down if they'd defied me!"

lol Ronna is such a fuckin' pathetic clown

The Wisconsin GOP scored an own goal in last Tuesday's voter suppression efforts. Turnout in deep blue Milwaukee is up nearly 20% v 2018 and 2016, vote shares in key swing counties are around 5-10 percentage points more liberal and all but 3 counties have shifted to the left. https://t.co/jz63B2Uea2

— G. Elliott Morris (@gelliottmorris) April 14, 2020

WTF? We are so fucked.

https://cbsaustin.com/news/local/gov-greg-abbott-to-address-texas-response-to-covid-19-ahead-of-easter-weekend

aight, there's one state I ain't visiting for a while

this is how we're gonna wind up fucking it up

we'll see the new projections forecasting deaths at 60,000, ignoring that these numbers assume distancing through at least May, we'll reopen things, suddenly we'll be back in the shit again

wtf

At this point, I'm just hoping the mayor of Austin pushes back on this

he could still wind up fucking the state like Desantis did FL, by passing lighter restrictions that supersede local ordinances

bad headline

the actual story indicates they wouldn't open up until early may, and the language of it makes it seem like there's room for flexibility (which is good. i hope they flexibly change their minds):

AUSTIN, Texas — At his third press conference of the week, Gov. Greg Abbott says Texas businesses can expect an executive order from his office next week, with plans on how to begin reopening the state's economy.

Abbott says he has been in constant contact with President Trump, Vice President Pence, and Treasury Secretary Mnuchin to discuss how to proceed with beginning the process of allowing businesses to open up again.

"We have a desire to make sure it's done in a way that it's safe, understanding that if everyone were to rush the doors and go back into the job market overnight, we would see an outbreak of COVID-19 all over again. That's exactly why I'm issuing the executive order next week establishing what the statewide standards would be in the coming days about what the approach is. These are standards we've been working in conjunction with the White House on," Abbott said. "We will focus on protecting lives, while restoring livelihoods. We can and we must do this. We can do both."

This announcement came hours after Lieutenant Gov. Dan Patrick said on a town hall call with the Texas GOP that he would like to start opening businesses back up by the first week of May.

"We’re not going to open up everything immediately, but it will be done in phases, but we need to get started, and I hope that’s the first week of May, barring any unforeseen big spikes," Patrick said on the call.

gonna have to plan to plan on that one. now, let us proceed with the important business of beginning the process!!

That's exactly why I'm issuing the executive order next week establishing what the statewide standards would be in the coming days about what the approach is.
That's exactly why I'm issuing the executive order next week establishing what the statewide standards would be in the coming days about what the approach is.
That's exactly why I'm issuing the executive order next week establishing what the statewide standards would be in the coming days about what the approach is.
That's exactly why I'm issuing the executive order next week establishing what the statewide standards would be in the coming days about what the approach is.
That's exactly why I'm issuing the executive order next week establishing what the statewide standards would be in the coming days about what the approach is.

i'm like, the very worst at english composition, both in theory and execution, and even i know that would empty the red ink of an editor's pen

Austin just extended their lockdown to May 8th, with other Texas cities to follow.

Yes, so far the Gov is not at odds with local restrictions, I am not at all reassured that a battle over this isn't right around the corner. I have zero faith in Abbott to make the right call on this one.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2020/04/13/pelosi-schumer-coronavirus-congress-budget/

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer said Monday that they won’t agree to the Trump administration’s insistence on more money for small business loans unless their demands are met for additional funding for hospitals, state and local governments and food stamp recipients.

They haven't caved yet! Well, on those items. No mention of voting from home for all.

Or bailing out USPS

Oh, right.

Complicating matters, both the House and Senate are out of session because of concerns about the pandemic, so the only way to pass legislation is through voice vote or “unanimous consent.” This would require agreement from all lawmakers, something that may be impossible to achieve in the House. Both chambers had been officially scheduled to come back into session next week, but that timeline won’t be met. On Monday, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) officially pushed back the date when the House would reconvene until May 4 at earliest.

what the fuck

Tell the Democrat Governors that “Mutiny On The Bounty” was one of my all time favorite movies. A good old fashioned mutiny every now and then is an exciting and invigorating thing to watch, especially when the mutineers need so much from the Captain. Too easy!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 14, 2020

(the captain is the villain of the movie)

is it too soon/late to suggest someone should (redacted) him as soon as possible?

keelhaul?

i dont know why it redacted l*ve and ch*rish!!!!!

more like the caine mutiny

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/97/49/ff/9749ff0cd0213a54f3d79b81d75a87d5.gif

Caine Mutiny was Nixon

super

So here's my scoop: banks have been given the green light by regulators to take the $1,200 CARES Act payments and use them to offset an individual's existing debts. https://t.co/by1oQ1uoJl

— David Dayen (@ddayen) April 14, 2020

this sounds like an issue to bring to the inspector general appointed to oversee the rollout of the checks...

oh wait, that person was replaced just last week, by trump

uh, how are these amounts being disbursed that banks would necessarily see these?

direct deposit into bank accounts

Clark Gable is trending

not Chas Laughton?

too many misspellings most likely

Direct deposits, I iamagine.

poor Franchot Tone! Ignored in life and death.

the trump tweets that are written with a “stewie from family guy” implied intonation are the weirdest trump tweets. too easy!

Meanwhile, Virginia:

The leftward transformation of Virginia since President Trump was elected crescendoed over the weekend, with the governor signing into law protections for L.G.B.T. residents, gun background checks, no jail time for simple marijuana possession and early voting.

The flurry of new measures enacted by Gov. Ralph S. Northam, a Democrat, came five months after members of his party took control of the Legislature back from Republicans for the first time in more than 20 years. Mr. Northam had been facing a deadline of midnight Saturday for signing bills into law.

In Virginia, Democrats have developed a political advantage in the heavily populated northern suburbs of Washington, where Hispanic and Asian voters make up a growing part of the electorate, as well as in places with a significant African-American population like Norfolk.

Democrats have used that upper hand to remake a state that was once the seat of the Confederacy and known as a conservative bastion, one that the political scientist V.O. Key Jr. described as “political museum piece.” He wrote that, by comparison to Virginia, Mississippi was “a hotbed of democracy.”

Did anyone note yet that the conservative incumbent lost his Wisconsin supreme court seat? I refuse to allow myself optimism but...

At the risk of hyperbole, should Biden win Wisconsin, it will be thanks to this shocker.

Well, not just because of the change in judges — which obviously matters — but also to Democratic anger and motivation over the whole way the election was handled.

some found it easier to root for Capt Bligh when he went up vs Brando in '62

I mentioned it upthread, it was a real surprise to me not only because of what happened in Milwaukee but also b/c I saw Kelly signs everywhere, even in a city that leans Dem. I agree it seems like a sign but at the same time I wonder if Bernie staying in the race helped some since a lot of people were still motivated to vote for him

i think it's impossible to conclude anything either way about the general election from wisconsin. pandemic + only one side had a semi-competitive primary makes what you learn from turnout meaningless.

(i mean conclude anything about what it means for general election results. obviously it's good news for pending cases and likely legal malarkey.)

WI republicans clearly operated on the assumption that no matter how much they abused their powers of office to entrench themselves, that very abuse of power would shield them from any consequences. It's an operating practice which has been road-tested and has proved successful for a very long time for white racists in the ex-Confederate states, so it's easy to see why they've been trying it on for size.

Whoa: Senator Richard Burr not only engaged in obvious insider trading on the coronavirus after receiving intelligence reports on the looming pandemic, but he also sold his townhouse to a pharma lobbyist above market price for a tidy profit https://t.co/FX4tS6Lyqo

— Lee Fang (@lhfang) April 14, 2020

damn, he's definitely going to be shamed by the rest of the GOP into an early resignation, now

Plus he shot Alexander Hamilton. What a dick.