BBO Discussion Forums: Has U.S. Democracy Been Trumped? - BBO Discussion Forums

Should be a long read. How many times was it that the Democrats applied "The Biden Rule" Five? 10? 15?

I am not rejoicing tonight because Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed. If anything, I am grieving over the despicable spectacle we've all endured for the past three weeks. I am grieving for what Justice Kavanaugh and his family were put through. I am grieving for what Dr. Ford and her family were put through. But the sun will still come up tomorrow and we can all hope for "a more perfect Union". I think I'll go down to St. Simons Island for a few days and drink some more rum.

On second thought, I am rejoicing. Seeing the joy in the eyes of Justice Kavanaugh's wife and daughters knowing that their husband/father had survived a putrid and uncorroborated attack on his character and risen above it to take a seat on the SCOTUS was very uplifting. And seeing Justice Kennedy administer the oath to his former clerk was also heartwarming. RBG's snoring was somewhat of a drawback but I was able to ignore it. She has exactly the same number of votes as Kavanaugh. One.

8 Oct 2018 We’ve now heard from several people that Florida’s online voter registration site is NOT letting people register to vote. FL registration deadline is TOMORROW to vote in the Midterms.

I sold my house with an electronic signature. Taxes too. And corporate contracts. // But in Texas, GOP officials have decided – with no legal support – that such signatures for registration can’t be done. They are throwing out 1000s of registrations, largely from young people. / …and by the way, they are rejecting electronic signatures for ONLINE registrations.

President Trump’s Dennison's ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki R. Haley, said on Tuesday she would resign at the end of the year, marking a high-profile departure of one of the few women in the president’s cabinet

Charles,

Unrelated, but do you consider persons and organizations who suppress legal voting rights your enemy?

I have no enemies Winston. Everybody loves me.

And another one's gone, another one bites the dust:

Ford Prepares for Mass Layoffs After Losing $1 Billion to Trump's Trade Tariffs, Report Says

Ford is having a bad year in 2018. Its stock is down 29%, and the tariffs imposed by President Trump have reportedly cost the company $1 billion, as the company is in the midst of a reorganization. Now, the company is announcing layoffs.

So, you only pay lip service to democracy but really only care about power?

Edit: Myself, I do consider enemies those who attempt to subvert democracy for their own selfish interests.

With less than a month until Election Day, it’s time for Democrats to hunker down and get serious about their midterm messaging. In the dispiriting aftermath of the recent Supreme Court confirmation circus, this means taking a couple of deep breaths, not flipping out over the Republicans’ purported “Kavanaugh bounce” (which might be more of a hiccup) and focusing on a few key issues that resonate with a broad swath of voters.

Republicans are twitchy about their electoral prospects. They know that midterm elections tend to go poorly for the party that holds the White House, just as they are aware that President Trump, while beloved by the base, has a popularity problem among the wider electorate. Party leaders are going all in with the culture-warring and scaremongering, looking to drive their voters to the polls with the specter of a wild-eyed, rage-filled Democratic “mob” hellbent on destroying the Republic. In a Wednesday op-ed in USA Today, the president himself indulged in some light red-baiting, claiming that “radical socialist” Democrats want to turn America into Venezuela. The entire screed was classic Trump: unhinged, breathtakingly dishonest and aimed squarely at making the opposition’s head explode.

As part of this base-stroking, Republicans are eager to keep the debate raging over their freshly confirmed, ultra-polarizing Supreme Court justice, Brett Kavanaugh. The brutal fight to seat Justice Kavanaugh, which morphed from an inquiry into the judicial fitness of one man into a culture-war cage match over women’s rights and shifting sexual mores, electrified many left-leaning voters. But it also stirred up die-hard Republicans, potentially endangering the “enthusiasm gap” Democrats had been enjoying.

With Justice Kavanaugh now safely tucked into his lifetime appointment, there’s much less cause for conservatives to stay angry. And even if they’re stewing today, or next weekend, three-plus weeks is an eternity in politics — all the more in a political climate dominated by this endlessly dramatic White House. Thus, we see prominent Republicans, including the Senate majority leader and the head of the Republican National Committee, peddling the idea that if Democrats gain power in Congress, one of their top priorities will be to impeach Justice Kavanaugh. No matter that this claim has no factual basis — it plays perfectly to the Republican base’s enduring sense of victimhood.

Which is why Democrats must resist the urge to follow Republicans down this spider hole, or that of any radioactive topic designed to inflame partisan passions.

Thankfully, Democratic leaders in both chambers of Congress seem to recognize this and are encouraging their members to pivot toward issues aimed at bringing more people into the fold. In the Senate, they have said they will fixate on health care in the coming weeks, with special attention paid to protections for people with pre-existing conditions. This is a wildly popular provision of Obamacare, and one on which Republicans know they are vulnerable. This explains why President Trump fibbed about having fulfilled a campaign vow to protect coverage for pre-existing conditions, when in reality his administration has refused to defend such protections. Every single Democratic candidate should be laboring to make sure that every single American voter knows this.

The day after the Kavanaugh confirmation vote, the House minority leader, Nancy Pelosi, called on her members to pull themselves together — “DON’T AGONIZE, ORGANIZE” — and get busy selling voters on the party’s “For the People” agenda. In addition to cutting health care costs, Democrats pledge to focus on creating well-paying jobs through infrastructure investment and on tackling Washington corruption. The party ought to have a bit of fun with this last agenda item, given that polls have shown for months now that a strong majority of voters are favorably inclined toward congressional candidates who will provide a check on this White House.

So far, Democrats seem to be staying on point. A couple of lawmakers have called for the next Congress, presumably with Democratic control of the House, to revisit the allegations against Justice Kavanaugh. A handful of others have argued that, if it turns out that he lied to Congress, he should be impeached. Ms. Pelosi has swatted down such suggestions, declaring, “We are not about impeachment.”

None of this means that the masses of Americans rightly appalled by this Supreme Court fight, or any of Mr. Trump’s outrages, should simply swallow their pain and get over it. Outside groups and incensed individuals should be working to channel all that frustration and heartbreak into turning out voters next month.

But the truth is, voters repulsed by Mr. Trump and his congressional enablers are already fired up to turn out for Democrats. Thanks to an unforgiving Senate map, the party’s more daunting challenge this cycle is to persuade people in not-so-blue areas of the country to give it a second chance.

As such, candidates and lawmakers need to take a more strategic approach. Stick to a message with broad appeal. Discuss the Kavanaugh battle in the larger context of the need for a responsible legislative branch to hold this out-of-control executive branch accountable. And no talk of impeachment — for anyone.

The only way to get the attention of a Republican Party that has proved itself interested in nothing more than power is to take away that power. Until that happens, the rest is just noise.

Oh, look, another Dennison "accomplishment": Yahoo

Guest post from Michelle Cottle at NYT:

So far, Democrats seem to be staying on point. A couple of lawmakers have called for the next Congress, presumably with Democratic control of the House, to revisit the allegations against Justice Kavanaugh. A handful of others have argued that, if it turns out that he lied to Congress, he should be impeached. Ms. Pelosi has swatted down such suggestions, declaring, "We are not about impeachment."

Thus, we see prominent Republicans, including the Senate majority leader and the head of the Republican National Committee, peddling the idea that if Democrats gain power in Congress, one of their top priorities will be to impeach Justice Kavanaugh. No matter that this claim has no factual basis — it plays perfectly to the Republican base's enduring sense of victimhood.

If Democrats take control of the House, they should hold hearings on the administration's manipulation of the FBI investigation. These could also shed light on the extent to which Kavanaugh misled the Senate.

And there should now be no squeamishness about the urgency of enlarging the Supreme Court if Democrats have the power to do so after the 2020 elections. The current majority on the court was created through illegitimate means. Changing that majority would not constitute politicizing the court because conservatives have already done this without apology

I care not at all about "power". My desire is for comity appeasement.

FYP

Appeasement: To bring about a state of peace, quiet, calm, contentment. Yeah. That's it.

especially : a policy of appeasing an enemy or potential aggressor by making concessions

More like this:

Of course neither the posters here nor E.J. are running for office, but clearly this is in the air. To the extent that the D's make it clear that they are interested in helping working families rather than undoing the Kavanaugh appointment, I expect them to gain votes. But they need to make it very clear with statements that allow for no wiggle room, and it has to be clear that it is a party-wide view. I hope that this is as obvious to them as it is to me.

My Trump-free stay in Oregon was great. But the Dems desperately need my advice.