US Politics

No, you decide with me.
Someone has to persuade us to pick them.

Sorry, I'm not trying to be argumentative but the current system has some pro's as well as cons.

Someone has to persuade us to pick them.
And as we're seen with just about every US President - they use promises to sway voters and then promptly abandon them once in office.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/02/25/police-chief-militias-want-blow-up-capitol-target-biden-speech/6817819002/

Looks like the Democrats are planning to shit the bed over raising the minimum wage to $15. These idiots really love to be hated, don’t they?

Looks like the Democrats are planning to shit the bed over raising the minimum wage to $15. These idiots really love to be hated, don’t they?

Is it a democrat decision to not include the $15 push in the Covid relief bill? I thought it was the Senate Parliamentarian that made the call. The SP is non partisan.

My understanding is that this is just a disagreement about which bill it is included with and how the bill is voted on rather than abandoning the goal.

As far as I can tell, the only people who have opposed raising the minimum wage to $15 are the Republicans.

Edit: The argument appears to be that you can't use the "reconcilliation method" of passing emergency legislation to push through major legislative change. Something to do with major leigslative change requiring a super majority rather than a simple majority.

And who the fuck is the senate parliamentarian? When the senate parliamentarian stood in the way of Bush’s tax plans, they just fired the senate parliamentarian. It’s about political will.

And if you’re struggling along on $7.50, looking forward to a wage increase and you hear that isn’t going to happen because of the ‘senate parliamentarian’ are you going to think “oh, ok, rules are rules” or are you going to think “WTF is this shit?”

Meanwhile, the administration is going to bat trying to get fucking Neera Tanden nominated to OMB, in a demonstration of where their actual priorities are.

Meanwhile, the administration is going to bat trying to get fucking Neera Tanden nominated to OMB, in a demonstration of where their actual priorities are.

Not a bad priority IMO. There’s no point in setting a good strategic direction if the implementation (where and how the money is actually spent) is out of your control.

I think the wage increase should be a major short term priority, and they’re not pushing harder because it hits some of their major donors’ pockets and because it’s putting themselves out on the furthest limb in recent history, and it could be a great success or a massive failure. No one wants to be deemed responsible for breaking the economy. -adding, but that’s what political capital is for.

As far as I can tell, the only people who have opposed raising the minimum wage to $15 are the Republicans.

also 2 dems Manchin and Sinema
https://www.businessinsider.com/manchin-poses-threat-to-progressives-plan-to-raise-the-minimum-wage?r=US&IR=T

I've never before heard a senior politician frame a rise in a minimum wage in these terms before:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/feb/25/bernie-sanders-mcdonalds-walmart-workers-congress-minimum-wage

And who the fuck is the senate parliamentarian?

The person that decides what can and can't be passed under the Senate's Reconciliation process.

When the senate parliamentarian stood in the way of Bush’s tax plans, they just fired the senate parliamentarian.

Not quite true. He was fired for a range of inconsistent and contradictory rulings, i.e not doing his job properly.

https://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/08/us/rules-keeper-is-dismissed-by-senate-official-says.html

And if you’re struggling along on $7.50, looking forward to a wage increase and you hear that isn’t going to happen because of the ‘senate parliamentarian’ are you going to think “oh, ok, rules are rules” or are you going to think “WTF is this shit?”

Thats not the case is it? Nobody is saying its not happening. Its just that its literally against the rules of the house to pass it under emergency legislation using the reconciliation process.

Call me old fashioned, but I consider pushing through legislation using illegal methods to be a slippery slope no matter how important the legislation is.

They'll do it. They have big industry backing (Amazon for one). They just can't do it as part of the emergency stimulus package.

The rules are pretty clear. EIther stick to the rules or change them. The senate should not just be able to dodge them.

The Byrd Rule, named for Senator Robert Byrd, was adopted in 1985 and amended in 1990.[10] The Byrd Rule defines a provision to be "extraneous"—and therefore ineligible for reconciliation—in six cases:[2]

If it does not produce a change in outlays or revenues;
If it produces an outlay increase or revenue decrease when the instructed committee is not in compliance with its instructions;
If it is outside the jurisdiction of the committee that submitted the title or provision for inclusion in the reconciliation measure;
If it produces a change in outlays or revenues which is merely incidental to the non-budgetary components of the provision;
If it would increase the deficit for a fiscal year beyond those covered by the reconciliation measure (usually a period of ten years);[c] or
If it recommends changes in Social Security.

lol the byrd rule was only invented because of the misuse of the filibuster. Which itself is a made up bit of nonsense which was never intended to ensure that all legislation ever would require a super majority.

None of these rules are actual rules, they’re not part of the constitution. The parliamentarian’s advice is literally that - it’s advice. It’s non-binding. Ok, no one has ignored it in relation to reconciliation before, but who gives a fuck? What’s more important? Upholding a dumb procedural norm, or making sure people have enough money to live their lives? If you’re a Dem senator, the former.

And ok, maybe you’re right, maybe they shouldn’t push this via reconciliation. But they have the votes in the senate to just end the filibuster, and then pass this with a normal majority. But, again, they won’t do that because dumb norms are more important than actual people.

I mean, I get it, munchkin and sinema aren’t going to vote for an increase in minimum wage, they don’t have the votes for it and they want a way out that doesn’t make them look like losers, but either way you cut it it is cowardice.

Ezra Klein has a good article on the stupidity of senate rules up at the NYT: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/04/opinion/democrats-senate-reconciliation.html#click=https://t.co/SN8RC2lZvn

Spotted this afternoon

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Not a bad priority IMO

Yeah but Neera Tanden? Fuck that.

Exactly. Yes, getting someone nominated is important, but getting blocked because your pick is legit awful, and then spending your energies pressing for your awful pick instead of just choosing someone else? That’s what’s revealing.

It's not going well.

Retaliatory strikes in Syria because ...

a civilian contractor was killed in a rocket attack on US targets earlier this month. A US service member and five other contractors were also injured when the rockets hit sites in Irbil, including a base used by the US-led coalition.

It stinks.

And without congressional approval either. So Dems perfectly willing to run roughshod over the constitution in order to launch airstrikes (which, reports say, killed 0 Iranians and 22 Syrians), but have the utmost respect for some dumb senate conventions when it comes to legislating for people to have a wage they can actually live on. Great people.

It’s also completely illegal. An attack on Americans in Iraq does not justify killing Syrians in Syria regardless of tactics.

Way to makes new enemies - an extremist recruitment drive.

Just seen the CPAC stage controversy; it's quite a particular design.

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Oh wo, upside down tho?

Just waiting on the news article declaring that Ireland is secretly full of Nazis.

An attack on Americans in Iraq does not justify killing Syrians in Syria regardless of tactics.

The Pentagon has confirmed that the target was the military group that conducted the attack in Iraq.

but have the utmost respect for some dumb senate conventions when it comes to legislating for people to have a wage they can actually live on. Great people.

What would have happened if the Dems somehow fired the person who made that call and overrode the "dumb conventions"? Would the recovery bill have made it through both houses?

Really struggling to get my head around this idea that it is acceptable for any government to abandon their own laws and guidelines to push something through.