The 119th United States Congress

[romad1]

1 minute ago, gehringer_2 said:

whichever way he went, he should not have changed course. I think the right thing to have done was make no *public* commitment at all while the CR was in the House. All Jeffries needed was the threat/uncertainty to get whatever he was going to get (which in the end was nothing) - I really doubt Schumer making the public commitment made any difference in the House at all. That was the real tactical error. He could have done all the under the table/cloak room signalling he wanted to help Jeffries, then once the CR got to the Senate announced that a shutdown only served Trump and I think he's fine. But you don't get the troops all lined up just to retreat. That fact that he didn't game those scenarios out to the obviously necessary course of action doesn't say much for his ability to be a tactically effective leader. If he can't see around the 1st corner he's going to lose every time.

The opposition party needs to understand that the GOP is doing nothing in good faith. 

[gehringer_2]

3 minutes ago, romad1 said:

The opposition party needs to understand that the GOP is doing nothing in good faith. 

exactly. The first thing to understand when dealing with an unprincipled opponent is that you are dealing with an unprincipled opponent. You wouldn't think that would be a hard understanding to achieve at this point, would you?

Edited March 19 by gehringer_2

[romad1]

1 minute ago, gehringer_2 said:

exactly. The first thing to understand when dealing with an unprincipled opponent as that you are dealing with an unprincipled opponent. You wouldn't think that would be a hard understanding to achieve at this point, would you?

Schumer works out with those guys and thinks they are all good down under. 

[mtutiger]

40 minutes ago, pfife said:

I think Durbin has the same outlook as Schumer.   Im not sure who it should be either 

Durbin may not even run for reelection... 

[mtutiger]

36 minutes ago, romad1 said:

I think Murphy is a possible candidate.  He's been on the problem.  

 

I'd be OK with Patty Murray or Chris Murphy... I don't see any of the others being viable.

Schatz maybe would have been in the category, but he voted with Schumer

[romad1]

1 minute ago, mtutiger said:

I'd be OK with Patty Murray or Chris Murphy... I don't see any of the others being viable.

Schatz maybe would have been in the category, but he voted with Schumer

Good on TV is definite requirement.   Either of the VA senators fit that?   Is Tammy Duckworth that?  She has a compelling story. 

[Motown Bombers]

If Tina Smith wasn't leaving the senate, I would say her. I feel Dems will want to go away from another white man, so I'll throw Klobuchar out there as well. 

[romad1]

4 minutes ago, Motown Bombers said:

If Tina Smith wasn't leaving the senate, I would say her. I feel Dems will want to go away from another white man, so I'll throw Klobuchar out there as well. 

Klobuchar might be a good candidate.  Is she young enough/dynamic enough? 

[Motown Bombers]

Just now, romad1 said:

Klobuchar might be a good candidate.  Is she young enough/dynamic enough? 

She's older than you would think. She's going to be 65. I want someone experienced, not someone who's young and accomplishes nothing. 

[romad1]

2 minutes ago, Motown Bombers said:

She's older than you would think. She's going to be 65. I want someone experienced, not someone who's young and accomplishes nothing. 

Have they neutered Adam Schiff with all their schoolyard name calling by now?  He's pretty effective but...the tar may have landed unless i'm not mistaken.   

Really what they need is a "Man on a White Horse" like figure.  That needs to be someone with Duckworth or Mark Kelly's record but with a hair more tv appeal and the ability to hold sway.  Has that person been created for this moment?   

Reading what George Macdonald Fraser said about Gen Slim (considered among the best British generals ever) that 

Quote

Novelist George MacDonald Fraser, then a nineteen-year-old lance corporal, recalled:

But the biggest boost to morale was the burly man who came to talk to the assembled battalion... it was unforgettable. Slim was like that: the only man I've ever seen who had a force that came out of him... British soldiers don't love their commanders much less worship them; Fourteenth Army trusted Slim and thought of him as one of themselves, and perhaps his real secret was that the feeling was mutual.^[67]

and:

...I see him clear, with that robber-baron face under that Gurkha hat, and his carbine slung, looking like a rather scruffy private with a general's tabs, which of course is what he was.^[68]

 

[Motown Bombers]

2 minutes ago, romad1 said:

Have they neutered Adam Schiff with all their schoolyard name calling by now?  He's pretty effective but...the tar may have landed unless i'm not mistaken.   

Really what they need is a "Man on a White Horse" like figure.  That needs to be someone with Duckworth or Mark Kelly's record but with a hair more tv appeal and the ability to hold sway.  Has that person been created for this moment?   

Reading what George Macdonald Fraser said about Gen Slim (considered among the best British generals ever) that 

 

It would be unprecedented, but I would consider Slotkin. 

[CMRivdogs]

1 hour ago, romad1 said:

Good on TV is definite requirement.   Either of the VA senators fit that?   Is Tammy Duckworth that?  She has a compelling story. 

Tim Kaine has been fairly vocal in his opposition to the MUMP regime. Warner has been fairly quiet but did vote against the measures. I have a feeling he prefers to work behind the scenes. Duckworth has been a bit low-key lately as well.

 

[chasfh]

2 hours ago, gehringer_2 said:

exactly. The first thing to understand when dealing with an unprincipled opponent is that you are dealing with an unprincipled opponent. You wouldn't think that would be a hard understanding to achieve at this point, would you?

I think it's possible the Democrats calculated that even though the knew their opponents were unprincipled, the electorate would see how bad the Republicans are on this measure and would reject them on that basis. So I think it might be less that they're naive about the nature of their opponents than they are about the nature of what the electorate will and will not accept. If that's the case, with any luck, the realization is landing hard with them and they are developing effective strategies to counter the fascists without selling out their own philosophical souls. That will be a delicate dance for them.

[romad1]

8 minutes ago, chasfh said:

I think it's possible the Democrats calculated that even though the knew their opponents were unprincipled, the electorate would see how bad the Republicans are on this measure and would reject them on that basis. So I think it might be less that they're naive about the nature of their opponents than they are about the nature of what the electorate will and will not accept. If that's the case, with any luck, the realization is landing hard with them and they are developing effective strategies to counter the fascists without selling out their own philosophical souls. That will be a delicate dance for them.

Watch any Fox local news broadcast even the ones in the DC and NYC markets and you'll see what the average idiot is fed and might even believe.

[mtutiger]

2 hours ago, romad1 said:

Watch any Fox local news broadcast even the ones in the DC and NYC markets and you'll see what the average idiot is fed and might even believe.

The economic stuff is going to be a real issue for the Trump folks... I don't know that I buy what chas is selling above, but the administration trying to consolidate power while people see their real wages / purchasing power  falling is in real tension. 

That's the part of me that thinks Schumer's tactic wasn't unreasonable, I still think he executed it so poorly and seems ill fitted for the moment

[romad1]

2 hours ago, mtutiger said:

The economic stuff is going to be a real issue for the Trump folks... I don't know that I buy what chas is selling above, but the administration trying to consolidate power while people see their real wages / purchasing power  falling is in real tension. 

That's the part of me that thinks Schumer's tactic wasn't unreasonable, I still think he executed it so poorly and seems ill fitted for the moment

no argument.  The other local broadcast that is full of oligarch-approved content are those local stations owned by Sinclair. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_stations_owned_or_operated_by_Sinclair_Broadcast_Group

I don't see a Detroit station there but our big local ABC station in Washington is Sinclair and it is skewed to a happy narrative of Orange King good.

Edited March 20 by romad1

[Tigerbomb13]

 

[romad1]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/schumer-faces-growing-calls-democrats-190313833.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZHJ1ZGdlcmVwb3J0LmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAHLvlfwMhobbycfDgC0dMzs9O2jH9yq_qd-0H_frKO-z0jcJAhTCmmfOQzpYN___rySBjmiKcCymwhPZ88pjMNKLTHK4zoEUULkSeZOdVcLQB7p7YrouzRB-gFfA8ygun6WisV5W7KgC_fgcKi_WsL2P86K_FtqQQzOwYD4e2luK

[romad1]

Oh

Michael Corleone? 

[chasfh]

16 hours ago, mtutiger said:

I don't know that I buy what chas is selling above

Does this mean you believe it makes more logical sense that Democrats are actually naive like children about the nature of their Republican adversaries who have been showing everyone their fascist cred for the last decade-plus, than that they can actually see what practically everyone else can but were just banking on the electorate rejecting them on that basis? You think the former is more logical than the latter?

Or is there something else you see me "selling" up there that you're referring to?

[mtutiger]

On 3/19/2025 at 8:33 PM, romad1 said:

no argument.  The other local broadcast that is full of oligarch-approved content are those local stations owned by Sinclair. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_stations_owned_or_operated_by_Sinclair_Broadcast_Group

I don't see a Detroit station there but our big local ABC station in Washington is Sinclair and it is skewed to a happy narrative of Orange King good.

Even with that though, the recent polls (including NBC) is showing him underwater on the economy for literally the first time *ever* as a national figure.... 

Material conditions still matter to a degree.... maybe propaganda can overpower that, but in a country that is congenitally bred to hate incumbent Presidents, we'll see how it ends up working.

[romad1]

8 hours ago, mtutiger said:

Even with that though, the recent polls (including NBC) is showing him underwater on the economy for literally the first time *ever* as a national figure.... 

Material conditions still matter to a degree.... maybe propaganda can overpower that, but in a country that is congenitally bred to hate incumbent Presidents, we'll see how it ends up working.

The argument you make is that economic things can break through the media marshmallow.   No disagreement.

The reason people think he's a business genius is because they had a soft filter about the first Trump administration because of the media being neutered despite the fact that he exacerbated Covid.

[CMRivdogs]

3 hours ago, romad1 said:

 

The reason people think he's a business genius is because they had a soft filter about the first Trump administration because of the media being neutered despite the fact that he exacerbated Covid.

A make believe reality TV show set him up that way. It got good ratings and the Goobers believed it was true. 

When he was president a fake TV news network and hundreds of dying AM radio stations caught the "conservative" virus. Granted this began back during Reagan and Clinton, however by the time Trump came along he was a master showman. And the Goobers believed it was true

Edited March 21 by CMRivdogs

[ewsieg]

History shows that not doing anything usually is a pretty good offense for the minority party going into midterms.   With all the chaos we're seeing now, it's tough to argue against that.  But while we all agree what Trump is doing is idiotic, he's doing a lot less than he claims he's doing.  Courts, so far, are ruling against him.  Much of his executive orders appear to be more of a press release then any actual order.  So if he boots Elon and embraces his first term of just golfing and not wanting his people to get in his way (meaning he doesn't empower them to act like the idiots they are) it's possible we get a soft landing on this and of course he's going to claim how amazing he was.

So in my opinion, I somewhat embrace Carville's thoughts on not fighting the GOP on everything.  Explain why you don't like what he's doing, but point out you don't have the votes.  While doing that, spend your efforts making a case why government is important.  Every time DOGE claims another 'win', dig into it.  Find a sympathetic anecdotal story about someone effected by DOGE's "win".   Tie every DOGE win with a hard working American whose life is now more difficult as a result.

[CMRivdogs]

4 minutes ago, ewsieg said:

History shows that not doing anything usually is a pretty good offense for the minority party going into midterms.   With all the chaos we're seeing now, it's tough to argue against that.  But while we all agree what Trump is doing is idiotic, he's doing a lot less than he claims he's doing.  Courts, so far, are ruling against him.  Much of his executive orders appear to be more of a press release then any actual order.  So if he boots Elon and embraces his first term of just golfing and not wanting his people to get in his way (meaning he doesn't empower them to act like the idiots they are) it's possible we get a soft landing on this and of course he's going to claim how amazing he was.

So in my opinion, I somewhat embrace Carville's thoughts on not fighting the GOP on everything.  Explain why you don't like what he's doing, but point out you don't have the votes.  While doing that, spend your efforts making a case why government is important.  Every time DOGE claims another 'win', dig into it.  Find a sympathetic anecdotal story about someone effected by DOGE's "win".   Tie every DOGE win with a hard working American whose life is now more difficult as a result.

And start promoting his time at the golf course (he's spending his weekends there at least) and the cost of his trips to the US taxpayer.