The Democrats should do whatever they think will help them the most in the next election. I’m not 100% sure what that is, but I’m leaning more towards “fight” than “give in”. I don’t think they have any chance at all of defeating the nomination, but if they just give in I can see folks taking their lead and just giving in when it comes to voting in Nov. You don’t energize your electorate by rolling over and playing dead.
We must rout the Clintonista *mensheviks *and seize control of the People’s donor lists.
OK, about half-kidding and half venting old grievances against the goddam…enough. We have new fish to bone, bigger ones with teeth and venomous tentacles. But maybe this time let the people tell the leaders where they want to be led, and then let the leaders rush to get in front. They won’t stop pestering us until they get a Leader ribbon.
Someday, we may yet have an election that does not have an inexhaustible vortex of stink. But this one, we gotta get through. Pro-choice, BLM, gay rights, etc. the varieties of cats in our herd, they hate us all, each and every.
Three million more votes isn’t enough? Well, how about six million? Nine? A clear demonstration of numerical superiority focuses a politician’s mind wonderfully.
- Sure.
- There’s no way they can do this
- I read this isn’t at all feasible under at least House/Senate rules. Quorum calls aren’t easy to do and require some procedural move that can’t be done continuously. I’ll see if I can dig up the article.
- isn’t this the same as 3? Or do you mean all D’s resign en masse? If the latter, it’s pointless and self-destructive.
Ah, re 3, here you go: How Democrats can shut down the Senate part II: the majority strikes back - Vox
Summary looks like 1) it’s a pain in the ass and 2) McConnel could just change the quorum rules with a majority vote
Right now, even as we squeak, someone is trying to write a response for Kavanaugh when he’s asked The Question. A response that totally satisfies the extreme “pro-life” people without alarming the moderates. A response fuzzy enough so that Collins and Whats-her-face can pretend to see warmth and light in it. A response that swears on a stack of pancakes that he is no threat to Roe, while at the same time assuring others that it is as dead as a doornail.
In the library of public statements crafted to forcefully and firmly say nothing at all…this will be a chestnut. A daisy, a Doozy, a ring-tailed vinegaroon.
Nonsense. It’ll be the same answer we’ve seen a bazillion times. They’ll feign unfamiliarity with the Roe, claim to judiciously consider stuff put before them in the future on the merits, and claim the God of Standing Precedent is one they think most wise and virtuous. Anyone could write that answer by viewing umpteen other confirmation hearings. This will be the same answer, and matter just as little to the process.
I think he’s required to say something about reasonable restrictions.
**TonySinclair[/B ] is offering the elected Democrats a chance to save face. The elected Democrats can not stop Kavanaugh’s confirmation. Elected Democrats can chose to fight the good fight (continued name-calling, whining, table-pounding), or the elected Democrats could concentrate on trying to actually win something they might be able to win.
Or maybe the yellow-dog constituents will approve of another noble failure by their elected Democrat Senators? Go team???
Ah, the sweet smell of conservative Republicans graciously giving Democrats ratfuc…er, advice about how to do things right and profit off of it! I just love that stuff.
It doesn’t matter if elected Democrats confirm Kavanaugh, or not. Their confirmation vote doesn’t appear to be needed. Elections have consequences.
It doesn’t matter what Senate Democrats decide to do about Kavanaugh’s nomination, because they won’t be in a position to do it. We can’t stop it, we can’t slow it, we can’t hasten it. All we can do is give speeches about how hypocritical the Republicans are, and we’d be doing that anyway.
Except when Democrats win them, of course. Then we have to wait until the next election.
“Undue burden”, Planned Parenthood v Casey, 1992
Like this hasn’t gotten duly hum-hawed over in confirmation hearings before.
This. By all means #resist, but it won’t matter to this fight. This fight is lost. Fight it anyway, but set sights and planning on the next engagement.
Let the Republicans govern by their fucking selves… Democrats are never going to win the public relations battle. Ever. Ignore the Republicans. Let them govern by themselves. Deny them any hint of bipartisanship. Isolate, ostracize, and relentlessly belittle the opposition. While Congress is in session, Democrats should dine at the Red Hen. Refuse to engage with Nazis. Period. This would fire up everyone except moderate Republicans who are three beers from throwing tomatoes at Ruby Bridges, anyway.
This is all academic and pointless to talk about. Democrats are spineless. If Democrats didn’t shut down the government for DACA recipients or families separated at the border, these white folks sure as hell aren’t gonna shut down the government for some women who think their bodies belong to them. Praise be, ladies; we’ve been sent good weather.
It’s what W meant when he talked about “compassionate conservatism.”
That’s silly. The best thing they can do is start to drum up problems with Republicans, creating a bunch of in-fighting. If the Democrats remain strong, all you need is two Reps not to vote to keep it going for a while.
The Right is really into conspiracy theories right now. Take advantage of that. Push rumors that he’s secretly an SJW liberal who is pro-choice, while pretending to be on the right. So many rumors, even if they are caught it won’t really matter, since everything is a liberal plot. Start saying they’re so happy he picked a decent guy instead of someone horrible, drying up the liberal tears demo. Find and bring up stuff that’s bad about his past that will slow down the process. And, yes, there’s threatening other legislation. That’s a time honored tactic to use.
Yes, the fight is likely unwinnable, but it’s silly to pretend they can’t do anything. In fact, knowing he will get through anyways frees up some actions–it would be stupid to pretend there’s someone worse if he had any chance of not getting through.
Just stir the pot. Do things that make it seem like you’re fighting.
I agree and endorse this approach. Doing it effectively is difficult, perhaps impossible. Deciding to do it isn’t.
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The elected Democrats aren’t pretending they can’t do anything. They actually can’t do anything. But thanks for clearly stating the Democrat Party’s game plan for the last 18 months. And their game plan for the next 30 months.
No, I disagree. What the Democrats need to do is put out the message that they’re the grown-ups and we need to have grown-ups running the country. Let the Republicans throw temper tantrums and shut the government down. The Democrats will be the party that shows up for work in the morning and does their job.
People need to stop getting so emotionally invested in elections. Treat it like it’s a job interview. Who would you hire to work in your business? The quiet responsible guy who has a steady employment history? Or the guy you met in a bar at three in the morning? The bar guy is probably a lot more fun to hang out with but the quiet guy is the one you want working for you.
Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe the voters are too stupid for democracy to work anymore. Hell, sixty-three million people voted for Donald Trump. But if that’s the case, the Democrats trying to be as dysfunctional as the Republicans isn’t the answer. If it turns out the voters can’t elect a working government anymore we should just abandon democracy as a failed experiment.
I still haven’t heard anybody say why that’s the best thing. I still haven’t heard anybody deny that if the fight is still going on in November, it will help energize the Republicans more than the Democrats.
There seems to be a significant percentage of Trump supporters who are so fucking stupid that absolutely nothing he does can make them see what a disaster he is, even when he costs them their jobs with his tariffs or whatever, but there is also a significant percentage who are pretty slow, but are finally coming to see that he’s an idiot. The ONLY things they like about him is that he cuts taxes, and his Supreme Court picks. The taxes are done. If the Supreme Court picks are also done, they are much more likely to stay home in November.
Between the Russian bots, gerrymandering, and voter suppression techniques, Dems are swimming upstream in the elections to start with. We don’t need to help turn out the Republican vote, too. Getting this shit over with quickly isn’t giving up, it’s optimizing our chances in November.