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brooklynite
brooklynite's Journal
brooklynite's Journal
December 17, 2021
Here's the latest: The Senate may take recorded votes on several dozen of President Joe Biden's nominees rather than passing them through the quicker unanimous consent process, thanks to the intransigence of several Republican senators. However, 20 senators missed the first vote Friday.
Named:
Richard Burr (R-N.C.)
Tom Cotton (R-Ark.)
Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.)
Steve Daines (R-Mont.)
Joni Ernst (R-Iowa)
Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)
Deb Fischer (R-Neb.)
Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.)
Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.)
Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.)
Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)
Jerry Moran (R-Kan.)
Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.)
Rand Paul (R-Ky.)
Gary Peters (D-Mich.)
Rob Portman (R-Ohio)
Jim Risch (R-Idaho)
Mike Rounds (R-S.D.)
Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)
Richard Shelby (R-Ala.)
20 senators are already not present for a long day of voting before the holidays.
PoliticoHere's the latest: The Senate may take recorded votes on several dozen of President Joe Biden's nominees rather than passing them through the quicker unanimous consent process, thanks to the intransigence of several Republican senators. However, 20 senators missed the first vote Friday.
Named:
Richard Burr (R-N.C.)
Tom Cotton (R-Ark.)
Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.)
Steve Daines (R-Mont.)
Joni Ernst (R-Iowa)
Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)
Deb Fischer (R-Neb.)
Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.)
Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.)
Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.)
Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)
Jerry Moran (R-Kan.)
Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.)
Rand Paul (R-Ky.)
Gary Peters (D-Mich.)
Rob Portman (R-Ohio)
Jim Risch (R-Idaho)
Mike Rounds (R-S.D.)
Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)
Richard Shelby (R-Ala.)
December 17, 2021
Adrienne Adams wins the NYC Council Speaker vote...
https://twitter.com/JeffCMays/status/1471935738858119173
December 17, 2021
Read more: https://www.axios.com/capitol-riot-year-sentence-jan-6-insurrection-77e759ab-d1de-49a8-a736-f114acc7b6d5.html
Capitol rioter who threw fire extinguisher at police gets more than 5 years in prison
Source: Axios
A capitol rioter from Florida has been sentenced in federal court to more than five years in prison for assaulting police officers during the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.
Why it matters: The sentence handed down to 54-year-old Robert Palmer is the longest given for any Capitol riot defendant so far.
Editor's note: This is a developing story and will be updated.
Why it matters: The sentence handed down to 54-year-old Robert Palmer is the longest given for any Capitol riot defendant so far.
Editor's note: This is a developing story and will be updated.
Read more: https://www.axios.com/capitol-riot-year-sentence-jan-6-insurrection-77e759ab-d1de-49a8-a736-f114acc7b6d5.html
December 17, 2021
Lovely weather today.....
https://twitter.com/ChrisBastianBkl/status/1471863048428261379
December 17, 2021
I haven't had DCCC reach out to me, which is troubling, especially since I've known Sean Patrick Maloney since his first House campaign. I and other NY funders have been pondering whether the House is winnable, or whether we should focus our resources on shoring up the Senate and going after Statehouse races.
Vulnerable House Dems to DCCC: You're jeopardizing our reelection
Politico"This is a real f---ing problem."
That’s how one vulnerable House Democrat summarized growing discord between members in battleground districts and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. That member and five others POLITICO spoke with in the past week alleged that the Democratic organization whose purpose is to help the party keep the House next year is instead hurting their chances of reelection.
The members were granted anonymity to speak freely about their frustrations with the strategy DCCC Chair Sean Patrick Maloney (N.Y.) has adopted in dozens of competitive districts. Their complaints fall roughly into three categories.
1. Botched messaging
Universally, the members said there’s been too much talk about Donald Trump and not enough focus on pocketbook issues. Terry McAuliffe banged the anti-Trump drum constantly on his way to losing the race for Virginia governor. But at-risk members we spoke with worry that Maloney is still embracing the Trump-as-boogeyman strategy, blasting Republicans as extreme for seeking his blessing or otherwise supporting him.
“This is crazy to me that the DCCC is rolling out a playbook that they know doesn’t work and that they encouraged people in 2018 not to use,” said the member who dropped the f-bomb to describe the situation. The person argued that in 2018, the committee gave the opposite advice — focus relentlessly on pocketbook issues and let Trump’s antics speak for themselves — and Democrats flipped more than 40 seats to take the chamber.
That’s how one vulnerable House Democrat summarized growing discord between members in battleground districts and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. That member and five others POLITICO spoke with in the past week alleged that the Democratic organization whose purpose is to help the party keep the House next year is instead hurting their chances of reelection.
The members were granted anonymity to speak freely about their frustrations with the strategy DCCC Chair Sean Patrick Maloney (N.Y.) has adopted in dozens of competitive districts. Their complaints fall roughly into three categories.
1. Botched messaging
Universally, the members said there’s been too much talk about Donald Trump and not enough focus on pocketbook issues. Terry McAuliffe banged the anti-Trump drum constantly on his way to losing the race for Virginia governor. But at-risk members we spoke with worry that Maloney is still embracing the Trump-as-boogeyman strategy, blasting Republicans as extreme for seeking his blessing or otherwise supporting him.
“This is crazy to me that the DCCC is rolling out a playbook that they know doesn’t work and that they encouraged people in 2018 not to use,” said the member who dropped the f-bomb to describe the situation. The person argued that in 2018, the committee gave the opposite advice — focus relentlessly on pocketbook issues and let Trump’s antics speak for themselves — and Democrats flipped more than 40 seats to take the chamber.
I haven't had DCCC reach out to me, which is troubling, especially since I've known Sean Patrick Maloney since his first House campaign. I and other NY funders have been pondering whether the House is winnable, or whether we should focus our resources on shoring up the Senate and going after Statehouse races.
December 17, 2021
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/17/us/politics/virginia-democrats-abortion.html
Protect Abortion Rights? Virginia Democrats' Vacation Plans Get in the Way.
Source: New York Times
Democrats have less than a month left controlling Virginia before Republicans take over the House of Delegates and the governor’s mansion. With the clock ticking, many in the party want to seize what they see as a fleeting opportunity: protecting abortion rights by codifying them into state law.
But Democratic leaders in the State Senate have dismissed the idea — and not on policy grounds or over concerns about political messaging. Several of the chamber’s members don’t want to change their vacation plans.
One senator is traveling in Africa. Others are in Europe. And the majority leader is headed to Hawaii.
“They’re not going to be able to get back; flights are booked this time of year,” the majority leader, Richard L. Saslaw, said in an interview from California, where he was en route to the Aloha State. The state’s General Assembly does not allow proxy or remote voting, and Democrats’ paper-thin majority in the State Senate requires all members to be present to pass contentious legislation.
But Democratic leaders in the State Senate have dismissed the idea — and not on policy grounds or over concerns about political messaging. Several of the chamber’s members don’t want to change their vacation plans.
One senator is traveling in Africa. Others are in Europe. And the majority leader is headed to Hawaii.
“They’re not going to be able to get back; flights are booked this time of year,” the majority leader, Richard L. Saslaw, said in an interview from California, where he was en route to the Aloha State. The state’s General Assembly does not allow proxy or remote voting, and Democrats’ paper-thin majority in the State Senate requires all members to be present to pass contentious legislation.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/17/us/politics/virginia-democrats-abortion.html
December 17, 2021
Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2021/12/16/biden-concedes-bbb-bill-wont-get-passed-this-year-525194
Biden concedes Build Back Better bill won't get passed this year
Source: Politico
President Joe Biden acknowledged Thursday that negotiations over his Build Back Better bill are poised to drag on into 2022 despite efforts and pledges by Democrats to get it done before Christmas.
“It takes time to finalize these agreements, prepare the legislative changes, and finish all the parliamentary and procedural steps needed to enable a Senate vote,” the president said in a statement. He said that he spoke to Democratic leaders in Congress, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, earlier Thursday and they plan to “advance this work together over the days and weeks ahead; Leader Schumer and I are determined to see the bill successfully on the floor as early as possible.”
With the holidays approaching and the Senate eager to leave town on Friday, however, a vote isn't likely until after New Year's Day.
The statement is a recognition that the president’s team has so far failed to persuade Sen. Joe Manchin (D–W.Va.) to sign onto anything resembling the $1.75 trillion social spending and climate mitigation bill passed by the House of Representatives last month.
“It takes time to finalize these agreements, prepare the legislative changes, and finish all the parliamentary and procedural steps needed to enable a Senate vote,” the president said in a statement. He said that he spoke to Democratic leaders in Congress, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, earlier Thursday and they plan to “advance this work together over the days and weeks ahead; Leader Schumer and I are determined to see the bill successfully on the floor as early as possible.”
With the holidays approaching and the Senate eager to leave town on Friday, however, a vote isn't likely until after New Year's Day.
The statement is a recognition that the president’s team has so far failed to persuade Sen. Joe Manchin (D–W.Va.) to sign onto anything resembling the $1.75 trillion social spending and climate mitigation bill passed by the House of Representatives last month.
Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2021/12/16/biden-concedes-bbb-bill-wont-get-passed-this-year-525194
December 17, 2021
A lot of people here see Sinema and Manchin as blocking a progressive Senate conference...
The reality is that the progressive Senate conference doesn't exist. We have had a center-left Conference for decades. Manchin came to the Senate in 2010. At the time, the Senate had Mark Begich in Alaska (anti-gun control), Max Baucus in Montana (anti-public option), Bob Casey in Pennsylvania, Claire McCaskill in Missouri, Jim Webb in Virginia, Ben Nelson in Nebraska, and of course, Joe Lieberman. The Democratic Caucus has become MORE progressive over time, but not so strong as to be able to ignore the moderate/conservative members. In 2020, we only won TWO seats outright (Arizona and Colorado), and both those members were mainstream Democrats. The progressives we got elected in Georgia came about only because Trump suppressed his own vote in the runoff by endlessly complaining that voting was rigged.
December 17, 2021
There’s one reality Democrats need to get comfortable with when they turn back to this in January: This is now Joe Manchin’s bill. We knew this all along, but Manchin controls the fate of the BBB. If and when the BBB comes out of the Senate, it seems likely to be watered down to reflect Manchin’s priorities, much to the frustration of the progressive wing of the party. Can the Squad and House Progressives back such a bill? It depends on what they think of the party’s prospects heading into November.
There will be a lot of analysis in the coming days and weeks of how Biden, Schumer and Speaker Nancy Pelosi handled the BBB debate. Much of that judgment is likely to be unfavorable.
In this latest instance, Biden has provided Schumer with some badly needed political cover that allows Senate Democrats to leave town for the Christmas holiday with the BBB unfinished. In the House, Biden did the same for Pelosi at one point. Yet Biden also came to the Hill to rally with House Democrats on the BBB in late October and never asked progressives to vote for the accompanying infrastructure bill, which led to an embarrassing setback.
One has to wonder whether Biden and Democratic leaders erred back in the spring when they combined the American Jobs Plan and American Family Plan into one mammoth, $4 trillion-plus package. By aiming to do everything, they risk now getting nothing. In addition, Democrats and the White House allowed Republicans to get a political advantage, seizing on inflation and supply chain problems. This may prove a costly blunder.
"It's Joe Manchin's Bill"
PunchbowlThere’s one reality Democrats need to get comfortable with when they turn back to this in January: This is now Joe Manchin’s bill. We knew this all along, but Manchin controls the fate of the BBB. If and when the BBB comes out of the Senate, it seems likely to be watered down to reflect Manchin’s priorities, much to the frustration of the progressive wing of the party. Can the Squad and House Progressives back such a bill? It depends on what they think of the party’s prospects heading into November.
There will be a lot of analysis in the coming days and weeks of how Biden, Schumer and Speaker Nancy Pelosi handled the BBB debate. Much of that judgment is likely to be unfavorable.
In this latest instance, Biden has provided Schumer with some badly needed political cover that allows Senate Democrats to leave town for the Christmas holiday with the BBB unfinished. In the House, Biden did the same for Pelosi at one point. Yet Biden also came to the Hill to rally with House Democrats on the BBB in late October and never asked progressives to vote for the accompanying infrastructure bill, which led to an embarrassing setback.
One has to wonder whether Biden and Democratic leaders erred back in the spring when they combined the American Jobs Plan and American Family Plan into one mammoth, $4 trillion-plus package. By aiming to do everything, they risk now getting nothing. In addition, Democrats and the White House allowed Republicans to get a political advantage, seizing on inflation and supply chain problems. This may prove a costly blunder.
December 17, 2021
North Shropshire byelection: Liberal Democrats win former safe Tory seat in blow to Johnson
The GuardianThe Liberal Democrats have won a stunning victory in the North Shropshire byelection, taking what had previously been a safe Conservative seat by a margin of nearly 6,000 votes, and capping a disastrous few weeks for Boris Johnson.
Helen Morgan, the Lib Dem candidate, won 17,957 votes, ahead of the Conservatives’ Neil Shastri-Hurst, on 12,032, a majority of 5,925. Labour’s Ben Wood was third, with 3,686 votes. Turnout was 46.3%.
The calamitous collapse in Conservative support – a 34% swing in a seat where they had a near-23,000 majority in 2019 – will prompt significant jitters among many Tory MPs, and is likely to raise questions about Johnson’s future.
It was a swing even greater than the 25% seen last June when the Lib Dems won the Chesham and Amersham byelection.
Helen Morgan, the Lib Dem candidate, won 17,957 votes, ahead of the Conservatives’ Neil Shastri-Hurst, on 12,032, a majority of 5,925. Labour’s Ben Wood was third, with 3,686 votes. Turnout was 46.3%.
The calamitous collapse in Conservative support – a 34% swing in a seat where they had a near-23,000 majority in 2019 – will prompt significant jitters among many Tory MPs, and is likely to raise questions about Johnson’s future.
It was a swing even greater than the 25% seen last June when the Lib Dems won the Chesham and Amersham byelection.
Profile Information
Name: Chris BastianGender: Male
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
Home country: USA
Member since: 2002
Number of posts: 94,571
