The Alabama Senate Race Just Got a Lot More Interesting...

[Big RR]

No Guin, I hope it's not the case, but that's what it seems the dems have done again and again for quite some time.

By all means keep working, writing to congress, and let's see if we can sway things in a better direction. And let's see if we can get a message that inspires and attracts people; it's not enough to just not be with Trump, we need to move in a direction we can point to and inspire others to follow us. When an idiot with no ideas or policies can get people chanting and win the presidency, think what could be done with new, vibrant ideas. I'd like to see that, but I haven't for a long time with the dems--we have to move beyond pragmatism (or triangulation or whatever else you want to call it) and create the government we deserve, one that provides solutions and doesn't just sidestep problems. I am not optimistic, but it could happen.

[BoSoxGal]

Sadly decades of psychological research has shown us that humans are motivated more by fear than by high ideals; the Trumps will always be with us. *sigh*

[Big RR]

True, but then I have a fear that we may "progress" right back into the 19th century if some of us don't try and change things for the better.

[RayThom]

FYI: I sent my above "winning" ramblings to my Hollywood studio lawyer, and Republican friend. Incidentally, he could be a compadre of Roy and Kayla's -- he's one of them there Jew people, not a black. Unfortunately, he too often gets effected by the LA-LA land heat.

Below is his reply. I fear he takes things way too seriously. As you can plainly see, he has also listed all of Lord Dampnut's wonderful "accomplishments" so far, in no particular order.
*******************

"You're getting Trump Derangement Syndrome like the rest of your ilk. Stop with the lefty outlets! You people just can't get over that he's president. Trying to get him out of office before the election is futile. YKIAIKI!!
TRUMP-PENCE...MAGA through 2024
PENCE-GREITENS...Keeping America Great through 2032
GREITENS-?...KAG through 2040

Cut taxes
Stop CF immigration
Build the wall
End Obamacare
Reform social security
End the welfare state
Guns in every law-abiding home
State reciprocity for concealed carry
Whoop-ass on CF and Commie countries
Deregulation
Expose the fraud of climate change
End TPP
End NAFTA
Keep exposing the media for the losers they are

WIN-WIN-WIN "

Delusion has no bounds. And he say I need help.

[rubato]

One small step ... It is a start but a small one. It appears that ca 90% of Repuglican voters turned out for Moore in spite of his history. The success of the repuglican war on truth is still shocking.


yrs,
rubato

[Burning Petard]

Think Jones will get sworn in soon enuff to take part in the final tax -cut -and - splice Senate vote?

snailgate

[Big RR]

Well when the shoe was on the other foot (before the healthcare vote when republican Brown was elected to replace Ted Kennedy, here's what Trump's lawyer jay Sekulow said:

Here’s the troubling reality: It’s been nearly one week now since Scott Brown was elected to the U.S. Senate by the voters of Massachusetts. And, Senator-elect Brown has not yet been seated. He is not yet a member of the U.S. Senate and can’t participate on the work currently underway in the Senate itself.

In my view this is an unacceptable delay tactic on the part of the Senate leadership a tactic that disenfranchises the voters of Massachusetts who sent a strong message in the election of last week.

There's absolutely no reason to wait to seat Senator-elect Brown and with each passing day he is prevented from participating in the legislative process. This delay tactic along with reports that top Democrats continue to plot passage of health care reform show that its business as usual in Washington ignoring the will of Massachusetts voters and moving forward with a disturbing health care plan that America simply does not want.

Leaviing aside he statement on healthcare, the reasoning appears to be sound, but what do you bet he'll repudiate it?

and if I recall, the senate majority leader made a pledge to not act on healthcare before he was seated--do you think we'll see similar magnanimity here?

[Lord Jim]

if I recall, the senate majority leader made a pledge to not act on healthcare before he was seated--do you think we'll see similar magnanimity here?

In that case, the Erstwhile Senator Slime used the seating of Scott Brown to force the House to accept the Senate passed version of the bill with no changes...(Because if any changes had been made, the bill would have had to go back to the Senate for a second vote, which would have failed since the Dems no longer had 60 votes)

Magical Underwear wearing Harry "Mitt Romney didn't Pay Taxes For 10 Years" Reid wasn't acting out of the goodness of his heart, or any sense of fair play...

[Big RR]

Jim--if I recall correctly the House also passed a reconciliation bill that made some changes but was not subject to filibuster, and that was also passed by the senate. So Brown was seated, the House passed the senate bill and then amended it through a reconciliation bill. It was still approved by a majority of each house after the new senator was seated. IMHO it was using the longstanding senate rules as they were intended to be used (OK,maybe not the reconciliation, but there is an argument)--whether that is fair or not is up to each of us.

However, he could also have accelerated a vote on any compromise bill before Brown came, and chose not to do that. IMHO, I think that made good political sense and was fair, but you can draw your own conclusions. However, what do you bet the vote on the tax bill is accelerated to be before Davis comes?

[Lord Jim]

Unfortunate prediction:

This is the point the Democratic Party gets overconfident crawls up its own ass and stops trying to appeal to centrists/moderates.

No, I think they'll wait until after they've taken back The House to do that...

Everything I've looked at indicates that the Dems are doing a great job of recruiting district appropriate candidates for the midterms, and the voter turnout in this special election, as well as the off-year votes in November (particularly the results in the House of Delegates races in Virginia) indicates that they're getting the numbers they need to have a big year...

These races taken collectively, provide a perfect template for re-taking the House..(And possibly the Senate; that remains a daunting task, when they need to net two seats with only eight GOP seats in play while they have to defend 10 seats in states that Trump won...still, that's better than needing to net three...)

They turned large percentages of college educated white GOP-leaning voters, while getting their base to turn out in impressive numbers...

(In the Alabama election, African Americans made up 30% of the voting electorate... In 2008, they only made up 28% for Barack Obama...that's impressive)

If they can continue to replicate this template in the midterms, (run an appropriate candidate for the district/state, and attract disaffected white college educated voters while still getting their base to turn-out in large numbers...)

With an incumbent President sitting at way less than a 50% approval rating, (which always suppresses that party's turnout in a midterm...) there's no reason why the Dems can't re-take the House with a 20 vote or better margin...

The Senate will still be tougher...

I will also guess that the republicans might blame this loss on not going with the Trump bandwagon, and embrace him more

Well, Steve Bannon is already trying to make that argument, but he was last night's Biggest Loser...

Nobody could have lodged their butt up closer to Trump's tiny little crotch then Roy Moore did, so I don't see a whole lot of Republicans seeing getting even closer to Mr. 32% as the path to victory...

Yeah, yeah, I know: that poor horse...not his fault...

That horse is not responsible for the jackass who's riding her...

[Lord Jim]

Big RR, I have a fairly clear recollection, (I'll look up some citations later to back it up) that what happened is that the House had passed one version of OBama Care, and the Senate had passed another...

None of this was done in the Senate under "reconciliation" rules, (given the scope of the bill, that would not have applied) but under standard rules, that allowed for the Filibuster...

At the time the Senate passed it's version, the Dems had a 60-40 vote majority...

After Brown was elected, that fell to 59-41 meaning that second vote on a bill with any changes would not survive a filibuster...(Brown had been elected in part on a pledge to vote against Obama Care...)

Requiring the House to either accept the bill passed by the Senate without changes, or dooming the entire effort to reform healthcare...

[Big RR]

Nobody could have lodged their butt up closer to Trump's tiny little crotch then Roy Moore did, so I don't see a whole lot of Republicans seeing getting even closer to Mr. 32% as the path to victory...

True, but when has factual accuracy ever affected Trump?

[Lord Jim]

True, but when has factual accuracy ever affected Trump?

Never, but I think it will effect a fair number of GOP House and Senate members...

[Big RR]

Jim--but as I recall, the deal struck with the House was that they would pass the senate obamacare bill and right after pass a companion bill including some (or all, I don't recall) of their changes which the Senate would them pass as a reconciliation bill. I think this was a stretch on the part of the dems to avoid the filibuster as they only had 59 votes, but it somehow worked.

[Econoline]

I think this is a bit depressing:

[dales]

Depressing but not surprising.

"Alabama"

Oh Alabama
The devil fools
with the best laid plan.
Swing low Alabama
You got spare change
You got to feel strange
And now the moment
is all that it meant.

Alabama, you got
the weight on your shoulders
That's breaking your back.
Your Cadillac
has got a wheel in the ditch
And a wheel on the track

Oh Alabama
Banjos playing
through the broken glass
Windows down in Alabama.
See the old folks
tied in white ropes
Hear the banjo.
Don't it take you down home?

Alabama, you got
the weight on your shoulders
That's breaking your back.
Your Cadillac
has got a wheel in the ditch
And a wheel on the track

Oh Alabama.
Can I see you
and shake your hand.
Make friends down in Alabama.
I'm from a new land
I come to you
and see all this ruin
What are you doing Alabama?
You got the rest of the union
to help you along
What's going wrong?

[RayThom]

"Alabama"

I probably haven't thought about this song in thirty years.

How time flies.

[Joe Guy]

Well I heard Mister Young sing about her
Well I heard ole Neil put her down
Well, I hope Neil Young will remember
A southern man don't need him around anyhow

[Lord Jim]

One of my all time favorite song lines...

[Sue U]

One of my all time favorite song lines...

Well, who's still here putting out records, and who's not?