Tuesday, April 02, 2019
I Do Not Think That's What Bipartisan Is
Say "we gambled, and lost, and then we were stuck." Or "actually, this is what we had to do to please Max Baucus anyway." But not "this was good because the imaginary Republicans from the West Wing that we were negotiating with were very pleased." Valerie Jarrett:
What was it that you could have pushed through from the beginning?
It...was...not...bipartisan.
I'm not one who thinks being bipartisan should be a goal in itself, but there are some arguments for why making something actually bipartisan has value, even if, again, I'm one who thinks those arguments are weak. But "we made it shittier to please Alan Alda on the West Wing and we're happy about that" is worse than stupid.
What was it that you could have pushed through from the beginning?
We could have pushed through a plan that didn’t have all of these amendments. There were [almost] two hundred of them, all of which I have put firmly out of my mind, but, for example, we really had hoped that Olympia Snowe would come on board, and we worked with her. We worked with several of the Republicans to say, O.K., what is it that you need in order to support this? Keep in mind it was modelled after the Massachusetts health-care bill that Governor Romney had endorsed, so we started out with a compromise. We didn’t start out with a public option or single-payer.
Then we said to them, “O.K., well, if that doesn’t make you feel comfortable, what would?” We spent months. Had we known that there was nothing that we could do that would persuade them to come on board, we still would have felt like we had to try, because it’s important that the American people see us trying to do that. I think we would have employed the same strategy. If I’d known that there was nothing we could do, I still think we would have thought, Well, let’s just make absolutely sure, because it’s a lot better if it’s bipartisan.
It...was...not...bipartisan.
I'm not one who thinks being bipartisan should be a goal in itself, but there are some arguments for why making something actually bipartisan has value, even if, again, I'm one who thinks those arguments are weak. But "we made it shittier to please Alan Alda on the West Wing and we're happy about that" is worse than stupid.
Stock Up On Food
NEW: Told Letwin et al have no plans for Indicative Votes on Weds. Instead trying to pave way for Cooper bill to be laid on Thurs to legislate against No Deal & mandate govt to put forward proposal. But mood grim. MP tells me Letwin is now “90% sure we’ll drop out with No Deal”
— Beth Rigby (@BethRigby) April 2, 2019
Translation: one of the main Tories who was willing to defy May to try to make something better happen has almost entirely given up and says the apocalypse is probably coming.
Brexit Chaos
I know quite a lot about UK politics but it's reached a level such that I can't follow the threads at all.
Monday, April 01, 2019
WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
European parliament's lead Brexit spokesman says no-deal Brexit 'nearly inevitable' - https://t.co/ajIg6kiWOg
— AndrewSparrow (@AndrewSparrow) April 1, 2019
That Thing You Want Does Not Exist
Waiting for the Brexit vote results but this is important, generally.
Something more along those lines might (might!) have been possible once upon a time, but the Brexiteers preferred being assholes who didn't have a clue what they were doing instead of trying to figure out how whatever is they wanted could actually be achieved. They could have started managing a no deal months and months and months ago. And now the EU is done with them.
As for No Brexit preparations, spoke to a friend in the UK who is going on a little family trip to France soon and post April 12, when they will still be there, if a no deal Brexit happens, their UK driving licenses will no longer be valid. No big deal, just go down to the post office and get the forms for the international licenses. Which they didn't have.
In the light of the Tory Brexiter Andrew Bridgen saying this evening most Tories members want a “managed no-deal” (see 8.34pm), it is worth pointing out that the European commission said on Friday that such a thing was not on offer.
Something more along those lines might (might!) have been possible once upon a time, but the Brexiteers preferred being assholes who didn't have a clue what they were doing instead of trying to figure out how whatever is they wanted could actually be achieved. They could have started managing a no deal months and months and months ago. And now the EU is done with them.
As for No Brexit preparations, spoke to a friend in the UK who is going on a little family trip to France soon and post April 12, when they will still be there, if a no deal Brexit happens, their UK driving licenses will no longer be valid. No big deal, just go down to the post office and get the forms for the international licenses. Which they didn't have.
Common Market 2.0
I don't really see the point of the "like Norway" option other than it's better than every Brexit option, but good that Labour is whipping it.
What will pass? Will May just ignore them all (I don't really understand the procedures in Parliament but these are advisory votes from what I understand, like Congress telling Trump, "please.")
What will pass? Will May just ignore them all (I don't really understand the procedures in Parliament but these are advisory votes from what I understand, like Congress telling Trump, "please.")
People Are Unfair And Mean To My Favorite Candidate
I'm one who thinks a competitive primary is good and necessary and even though now people yell at strangers on the internet more, it isn't as if the campaigns themselves are particular combative relative to the past. Sure it's reasonable to expect some level of comity and niceness from the candidates and it's fair to get mad at them if they don't achieve that, but reasonably fairly highlighting the clear public records of your competitors seems to be, well, a fair thing to do. Also it's more transparent if they do it themselves rather than "drop oppo" on members of the press who then launder it for the public.
But candidates and other people with reasonably large microphones aside, there isn't much point in telling people on the internet to be nicer. Maybe it would be better if they were, but yelling "stop being so divisive!!!" at strangers isn't going to achieve it. Have you seen the internet?
But candidates and other people with reasonably large microphones aside, there isn't much point in telling people on the internet to be nicer. Maybe it would be better if they were, but yelling "stop being so divisive!!!" at strangers isn't going to achieve it. Have you seen the internet?
OK A Decent April Fools'
From the LA Times.
The bright lights of New York City beckon to the restless and the hungry. In the city that never sleeps, as they say, the marquees of Times Square nearly make one forget the concrete dystopia of what is seemingly an unlivable urban wasteland. Surrounded by rats, black trash bags and graffiti-tagged storefronts on Broadway Street, New York’s primary thoroughfare, I wondered aloud if I would be able to find a decent meal in what was surely a culinary heart of darkness.
In Los Angeles, we’re spoiled by the breadth and quality of our dining options. In addition to outstanding year-round produce, I can get great huaraches, refreshing mul naengmyeon and impeccable chả giò within 15 minutes of where I live. But what about New York, a largely culturally bereft island that sits curiously between the Hudson and East Rivers at the foot of the Catskill Mountains? Sure, we’ve all heard of hot dogs, a staple of every New Yorker’s diet, famously gnawed on by rodent and human alike in that “toddling town.”
Details
People forget but this part of Brexit is really just the first step...whatever it is.
While a customs union takes care of some things, there are a billion other things that would have to be negotiated by the end of 2020 and the EU is probably not in the best mood these days.
Britain could be out of the EU by 22 May if the Commons backs a customs union in Monday night’s indicative votes, according to officials close to the Brexit negotiations in Brussels.
While a customs union takes care of some things, there are a billion other things that would have to be negotiated by the end of 2020 and the EU is probably not in the best mood these days.
Sunday, March 31, 2019
Spring Fundraising Funstravaganza Week Day 6!
Thanks to all who help to keep my blogs mighty.
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This Is Trump's Team of Advisers
This is an actual banner from "Fox & Friends Weekend." 6:03am today. I double checked because I didn't believe it at first. Hat tip @BadFoxGraphics pic.twitter.com/tTNH0Y7a25
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) March 31, 2019
Saturday, March 30, 2019
There's Cheating And Then There's Cheating
I don't really understand the culture of golf, but there's cheating and then there's Trump.
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