'Never Underestimate Joe Biden Again'
https://statuskuo.substack.com/p/never-underestimate-joe-biden-again'...And last night’s speech was one for the history books: a true and frankly unexpected masterclass on how to handle an unruly and disrespectful group of extremists while driving home not only your agenda but also the difference between your vision of America and theirs...The key moment came around 50 minutes in...
What about the debt ceiling and threats to cut Social Security and Medicaid?...“Instead of making the wealthy pay their fair share, some Republicans want Medicare and Social Security to sunset"..."I’m not saying it’s the majority...I’m not even saying it’s even significant…” He paused...letting the tension and shouts of protest build. “It’s being proposed by individuals. I’m politely not naming them,”...At this point, most people... had no idea where this was going...Cameras were cutting to Republicans indicating, “who?!” as if Biden were completely making this up. Rep. Greene was leaping from her chair and giving the thumbs down. C-SPAN panned to Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), who is actually one of the lawmakers who has proposed such a sunset, and he, too, feigned outrage and surprise....“So folks,” Biden said, quietly, springing his trap. “As we all apparently agree, Social Security and Medicare are off the books now.”
In less than two minutes, Biden took a key flash point out of consideration in the upcoming debt ceiling showdown. Commentator Lawrence O’Donnell summed up the astonishing play nicely. “He negotiates the budget, during the State of the Union, on live TV… And. He. Wins.”
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For he is nothing more than a Room Monitor watching over the inmates as they take over the asylum.
Makes me wonder when he is going to realize that he gave up way too much to be where he is now. 
And he was sitting next to the OTHER one who actually "wrote the plan".
to their national bonfire burned out years ago. Back around the time of the debt ceiling crisis of 2011, in fact.
I remember learning then that getting their tool, the "Tea Partiers," to move beyond "culture war" issues to care about national debt at all had been a huge coup for its Koch alliance creators. But then their puppets turned on them, tried to cut corporate welfare, and had to be cut loose.
By now I imagine few in the GOP base even remember (or want to admit) their brief period of caring about how unfair taxing our poor ultrawealthy classes was. Instead, their hostility toward the wealthy predators they helped create, and the GOP establishment threw in with long ago, is growing.
Biden was able to play the fractured pieces of the traitors caucus by banging them against each other. Like informing the base about their nifty idea of sundowning Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, etcetera...!
