OK, it’s time to focus on why I like pretty much everything Biden’s done so far. (1) I think he’s aware of the sands of time passing through the hourglass. He’s the oldest person to assume the presidency, he has experienced unexpected loss, and knows that nothing is guaranteed to him. (2) And I think this is most important: He saw the Rethugs rope-a-dope Obama during his first term as he sought consensus, then saw them shut down his agenda entirely. While he would welcome whatever bipartisanship the R’s might offer, he understands that vainly seeking bipartisanship in lieu of enacting extremely popular policies is a fool’s errand. Pass the bleeping relief bill, and helped cement Democratic popularity throughout the country. Not a single person who gets help from that bill will blame Democrats for acting w/o Rethuglican support. They, uh, might blame Rethugs, though, for doing nothing to help them.
Speaking of which:
Senate Passes Budget Bill After All-Night Rethug Filibuster. 51-50. VP Harris casting tie-breaking vote. While the Senate and House will ultimately have to reconcile their two bills, this, of course, is YUUGE:
The House, which approved its own budget bill on Wednesday, must now act on the Senate’s version, which it is expected to do within a day.
With the budget resolution complete, Congress can turn in earnest to writing Biden’s expansive pandemic relief proposal into law — and push it through the Senate without Republican votes if necessary under the special rules unlocked by the budget legislation. That process will take weeks, with Democrats eyeing mid-March as the deadline for final passage of the relief legislation because that is when enhanced unemployment benefits will expire if Congress doesn’t act first.
“With the passage of this resolution we have the opportunity not only to address the pandemic, to address the economic collapse, to address the reality that millions of kids have seen their education disrupted,” said Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). “We have the opportunity to give hope to the American people and restore faith in our government to fight for them.”
Happy Friday!
Rethugs Zapped By Jewish Space Lasers. I have it on good authority that the Jewish space lasers are a little quicker than Gentile space lasers b/c they’re circumcised. No wind resistance. I know that the Conventional Wisdom is so often wrong, but I don’t see how this benefits the R’s at all. McCarthy should’ve just stripped her of her committee posts. The vote wouldn’t have happened.
Fox On Receiving End Of $2.7 Billion Lawsuit. For ‘disinformation’ campaign over allegedly rigged voting machines. Sad. Fox has settled a ton of lawsuits in the past.
Pillow Fight! Look who’s gonna take on the MyPillow guy. I can’t stand this much winning. BTW, I agree with this:
One final note: it won’t even be very hard to make a better pillow than Lindell’s . If you’ve ever squeezed a “My Pillow” at the pharmacy or wherever, it feels like a laundry bag stuffed with crushed styrofoam coffee cups.
More Cleaning Up After The Elephants. Acting AG rolls back two Bill Barr initiatives. Biden withdraws several Trump nominations, including that of a RWNJ for a seat on the Federal Reserve. Biden to raise annual refugee admission to 125,000. Only thing this threatens is Rethug hegemony.
Newsom In Deep Doodoo. Facing a recall. He could still survive, just make sure that the victory party isn’t at the French Laundry.
Hawley Burnt His Mentors. This divorce is just so–sad. Read and enjoy. I still think he’s the leader for the 2024 Rethug nomination.
UD Requests $126 Mill From State. Must’ve missed it, didn’t see anything about UD opening the books. It’s probably just me, but it doesn’t seem to be an unreasonable quid pro quo. Looks like the JFC is wired, though.
Delaware Redistricting Postponed Until Fall. It was inevitable, considering the delays in releasing the essential census data to facilitate the redistricting:
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, redistricting data from the U.S. Census Bureau likely won’t be given to the states until at least August.
Redistricting is an extremely complex process, but we have always met our obligation,” House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf, a Rehoboth Beach Democrat, said in a statement. “However, our redistricting schedule — which would have started this spring — has been thrown off because of problems due to the previous presidential administration and the ongoing pandemic. Rather than leave things in doubt, we feel it is best to be upfront and announce this fall session now so everyone can plan accordingly.”
There could be one plus:
“Just like every one of our constituents, we have had to make adjustments to account for the failed leadership of the previous administration and this is no different,” Sen. Sokola said in a statement. “On the bright side, however, Speaker Schwartzkopf and I hope these extra session days will allow our members to focus all of their attention on this important process and provide greater opportunity for public input than ever before.”
What do you want to talk about?