USA Politics (redux)

[Karl Henning]

Jno. V Last: Mitch McConnell got his judges and lost control of his party because, ironically, it was Donald Trump who was playing the long game.

The Politics of Power

[drogulus]

     The largest bloc of votes that remain to be counted are in the Atlanta area. Ossoff and Warnock will get most of them. After that you have the overseas vote that will favor Repubs, though not as much as the Atlanta area votes favor Dems.

     The Ossoff/Perdue race is headed for recountland. Recounts usually amount to a change on the order of a few hundred votes at most.

     A Georgia election official says Ossoff will probably exceed the recount threshold. He has a lead of 0.4% atm, and he'll probably go over 0.5%.

[71 dB]

Possibly germane:

Bill Kristol:

As a newly inaugurated president, as the man who not only defeated Donald Trump but brought the Democratic party back to power (albeit very narrowly), Biden will enter office with real momentum. Even Democrats, a notoriously unruly lot, will feel some obligation to go along with the new president.

And some Republicans will, too. Some congressional Republicans would like to be in the game and be able to play some role, even if a minor one, in legislation in return for their support. This will be the case especially if Biden begins mostly with legislative proposals—especially on the pandemic, and also some economic relief—that are reasonably easy for some Republicans to support.

Who knows how long any honeymoon will last? And God knows  that honeymoons in a post-Trump and hyperpolarized political environment won't be what presidential honeymoons once were. But the odds tonight got quite a bit better that President Biden will have, and will be seen to have, a reasonably successful first few months in office.

[...]

Meanwhile, a word about Joe Biden: He made a bet on America. He never wavered from the promise to unite the country and actually get things done. People to his left scoffed. Trump supporters disdained him. But Biden never gave in. Tonight's result in Georgia will at least give him a fighting chance to do what he promised—and to focus not just on the very real threats we face, but also on the opportunities before us.

This wasn't a pro-Biden election. This was an anti-Trump election. Given how incompetent 2020 made Trump look americans would have voted for a ham sandwich to get rid of Trump. Anyone is better than Trump. So is Biden, easily. We can expect some good things from Biden. More competent handling of Covid-19 is one of them. Maybe $15 living wage. Maybe incremental improvement of Obamacare. Maybe restore of some important regulation Trump repelled. Things of that nature, but ultimately Biden is a status quo manager. Nothing will fundamentally change. He promised that to his donor, the oligarchs. So, don't expect much from him. That's the reason why some Republicans are willing to work with him --- on Republican terms!!

[Herman]

If both Senate seats go to the Dems, it would bode well for Biden and his chances to actually do something.

However, it also gives a clear signal to the congressional Repubs who are thinking about 2022 and 2024. This runoff shows that cowtowing to Trump and his attempts to end democracy in America doesn't bring any rewards.

Happy Newyear guys.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

     The largest bloc of votes that remain to be counted are in the Atlanta area. Ossoff and Warnock will get most of them. After that you have the overseas vote that will favor Repubs, though not as much as the Atlanta area votes favor Dems.

     The Ossoff/Perdue race is headed for recountland. Recounts usually amount to a change on the order of a few hundred votes at most.

     A Georgia election official says Ossoff will probably exceed the recount threshold. He has a lead of 0.4% atm, and he'll probably go over 0.5%.

I hope for the election workers that they don't have to do a recount--and for the public's sake too.

PD

[Karl Henning]

If both Senate seats go to the Dems, it would bode well for Biden and his chances to actually do something.

However, it also gives a clear signal to the congressional Repubs who are thinking about 2022 and 2024. This runoff shows that cowtowing to Trump and his attempts to end democracy in America doesn't bring any rewards.

Happy Newyear guys.

Happy New Year!  Was thinking of you earlier, good to hear from you.

[Karl Henning]

--- on Republican terms!!

I think you still do not understand the importance of bipartisanship.  Also:  you may want to give the word "oligarchs" a good long rest.

[Karl Henning]

No surprise:

Trump is already inventing false allegations of fraud in Georgia

[Mirror Image]

Only in Trump's America:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/01/06/dc-protests-trump-rally-live-updates/

[MusicTurner]

Lots of things happening today, for sure.

[drogulus]

     The secret service just whisked VP Pence out of the Senate chamber. Some protesters are said to have managed to get inside the building, though not in the chambers. Both houses are in recess. Some Congresspeople have been texted to shelter in place.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

     The secret service just whisked VP Pence out of the Senate chamber. Some protesters are said to have managed to get inside the building, though not in the chambers. Both houses are in recess. Some Congresspeople have been texted to shelter in place.

I've been watching it live on various news channels..CNN for the most part.    And they have no idea whether or not anyone is carrying arms/weapons/bombs, etc.!

[drogulus]

     https://www.youtube.com/v/3Fsf4aWudJk&ab_channel=CBSNews

[Mirror Image]

This is Trump's last stand, but the reality is he'll go down as one of the worst presidents in U.S. history.

[Mandryka]

Proud boys, stand down and stand by.

Where's Toddy? Is he there?

[drogulus]

     

[Mirror Image]

Trump was told by Secret Service to hunker down in the Oval Office. He's the monster that fueled this fire and now he's scared. If he has a spine at all, he'll extinguish this madness, but he doesn't, so people are going to get hurt.

[Mirror Image]

Looks like there won't be a Republican-elected president for quite some time after all this chaos is over.

[Brahmsian]

Trump was told by Secret Service to hunker down in the Oval Office. He's the monster that fueled this fire and now he's scared. If he has a spine at all, he'll extinguish this madness, but he doesn't, so people are going to get hurt.

I really thought I'd seen it all regarding Trump and some of his supporters (I realize not all Trump supporters are extreme and unreasonable).

[Herman]

Well, the past two weeks have brought the attempted coup that was vigorously denied here, to a head.

The Capitol building has been stormed and there have been shots inside the building.

Trump had encouraged his followers to come to DC and "be wild".