Friday Open Thread [1.9.15]

Friday Open Thread [1.9.15]

Sen. Joe Manchin has a sad. You see, he is so West Virginia dumb that he doesn't understand basic balance of power stuff about the three branches of government. He said he was disappointed that the White House threatened to veto his legislation approving the Keystone XL pipeline, arguing the president’s move was “not the way a democracy works.” Oh really?
“He never even gave it a chance, never even gave it a chance. Now, that’s just not the way you do legislation. It’s not the way a democracy works. And it’s not the way the… three branches of government should work.”
Well, first off, you are the one not giving something a chance. You are the one who wants to rush this to a conclusion, you dumbfuck Carper wannabe. The State Department and the Nebraska and U.S. Courts are reviewing the pipeline, so you are not giving them a chance to complete their work. Second, the President is free to tell Congress at any time he wants that "hey, Congress, you might not want to waste your and the taxpayer's precious time on this ill conceived bill, because I am just going to veto it anyway." There is nothing anti-democratic or unconstitutional about that. In fact, he is doing Congress a favor. Now, if Congress wants to waste their time and pass the bill anyway, that is of course their prerogative. But that does not require the President to sign it. You see, some Republicans, and obviously some West Virginia Democrats, believe that when Congress passes a bill it is automatically law. Go back to Social Studies class, Senator.
The 62 Project: Version 2.0

The 62 Project: Version 2.0

The 62 Project ranks the legislators based on the entirety of their careers. Version 2.0 reflects the departures of legislators, the arrival of new legislators, and adjustments to the rankings based on events that followed my initial ranking of individual legislators. For those not familiar with the original project, here's the link where you can find out a lot more info (and snark) regarding your favorite legislators. I will offer comments for those who moved significantly in either direction.  Since the new legislators have not yet...legislated, I have assigned them placeholder positions based on my sense of where they project as we kick off the 148th General Assembly....