Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[THE_WIZARD_]

...yes but they are given a different set of rules by the MSM...

[iam416]

Also germane, I think, is the Chairman's polling numbers are starting to drift closer and closer to Trumpland. Gallup has him at 10 points underwater.

He absolutely needs a win. He needs the infrastructure bill passed. He can't afford a government shutdown.

We've been assured that the "grown ups are in charge" now, and while I've seen vanishlingly little evidene that that is the case, shutting down the government and failing to pass a bi-partisan infrastructure bill is a goddamn surefire way to prove to lots of voters that that isn't the case.

[THE_WIZARD_]

This administration is a clusterfuck circus. It's making the Carter Administration look competent...

[lineygoblue]

The Ds have to get something done on the debt ceiling. They're in power. They run everything. If there's a government shutdown then it's on them.

They could try reaching out to the minority party with a compromise proposal.

...

naaaaaaahhhh

[Dr. Strangelove]

They could try reaching out to the minority party with a compromise proposal.

...

naaaaaaahhhh

They can try and do it that way OR do it through reconciliation. McConnell is saying that Republicans will not vote to raise the ceiling. That could be a tactic to get a concession or he wants the Dems to do it alone through reconciliation for some reason. If it's the latter I don't know what benefit R's get from that. I don't know what his actual motive is here.

[lineygoblue]

Reasonable people on both sides need to send the children to their rooms, and then fix the problem. But that's not happening anytime soon because the country is being led based on vote counts and not on what's best for the most people.

[iam416]

There is no fucking earthly way the Rs are going to vote to raise the debt ceiling by $7 TRILLION so that the Ds can proceed with their Trillion Dollar Joe's bucket list of shit. None.

The Ds control EVERYTHING. If they want to raise the debt ceiling by $7T or whatever Trillion, then do it. And own it.

The Wizard is correct in that the Media and the likes of Strangelove will amost certainly blame the Rs for whatever happens to the debt ceiling. But the voters, I think, can understand that if you run everything you own that shit.

[Cody_Russell]

My mistake. 60 votes are needed for this debt deal to move along in the senate.

Could be tough for this to get out of the senate unless Ds make a deal with a few Rs.

I guess it all depends on Manchin and Sinema, right? Have a hunch they will come through for the Ds with how significant they are making this out to be.

[Mike]

There is no fucking earthly way the Rs are going to vote to raise the debt ceiling by $7 TRILLION so that the Ds can proceed with their Trillion Dollar Joe's bucket list of shit. None.

The Ds control EVERYTHING. If they want to raise the debt ceiling by $7T or whatever Trillion, then do it. And own it.

The Wizard is correct in that the Media and the likes of Strangelove will amost certainly blame the Rs for whatever happens to the debt ceiling. But the voters, I think, can understand that if you run everything you own that shit.

But the $7,000,000,000,000 in additional spending will all be fully paid for with pixie dust magic. Problem: SOLVED

[Dr. Strangelove]

There is no fucking earthly way the Rs are going to vote to raise the debt ceiling by $7 TRILLION so that the Ds can proceed with their Trillion Dollar Joe's bucket list of shit. None.

The Ds control EVERYTHING. If they want to raise the debt ceiling by $7T or whatever Trillion, then do it. And own it.

The Wizard is correct in that the Media and the likes of Strangelove will amost certainly blame the Rs for whatever happens to the debt ceiling. But the voters, I think, can understand that if you run everything you own that shit.

The debt ceiling needs to be raised to cover prior commitments, not future ones.

I don't know what McConnell actually wants, if he's playing hardball for a deal or he wants the Dems to pass it in reconciliation without a single R vote. I don't think there's much downside politically to anyone for raising it. The ceiling was raised in 2019 with over half the Republican Senate voting in favor. It was the third time in Trump's Presidency they raised it. Nobody took a beating over that because voters generally don't care or understand it.

[iam416]

The debt ceiling needs to be raised to cover prior commitments, not future ones.

They ain't raising it just to cover prior commitments. LOL.

There will be a beating IF the there is a government shutdown and it will fall on the Ds. But that ain't happening. McConnel -- rightly -- wants the Ds to own their preposterous efforts at $3.5T through reconciliation and everything around it.

I dunno, man. Maybe the Ds are great shape and this is just another in a long list of ways the Ds are dominating politics. Personally, I think they maybe in just the slightest bit of trouble for 2022. But, what do I know.

[iam416]

Again, the Ds control government. Unlike sneaking in immigration law through reconciliation -- LMMFAO -- raising the debt ceiling actually qualifies. They can do this whenever they want. Anytime. They have the votes.

This isn't hard. Blaming any of this on McConnell or the Rs would be like blaming me for the Ohio State debacle against Oregon -- yeah, I was at the game and yeah I voiced my displeasure, but that wasn't a voice that fucking mattered.

I haven't a fucking clue why the Ds are pretending they're not in control.

[Dr. Strangelove]

But the $7,000,000,000,000 in additional spending will all be fully paid for with pixie dust magic. Problem: SOLVED

But again, the debt ceiling doesn't get raised in advance of new planned spending. It gets raised to cover spending that's already taken place and there's a revenue shortfall. The Democrats could truthfully swear an oath to not spend another nickel in reconciliation and the debt ceiling would still need to go up in the immediate future or else we choose to default on some loans.

I am not very knowledgeable about reconciliation but I think you can only use it so many times a year. The ceiling is coming up much sooner than any Dem reconciliation package is probably going to be ready so it's "possible" (again, I am not clear on the rules) McConnell wants to force the Dems to take their bite at the apple to pass a quick CR and debt ceiling increase instead of passing the infrastructure & additional $3.5T plan. I could be wrong about the rules and wrong about Mitch's intentions. He may be holding out for some concession instead.

[iam416]

The actual interesting political battle is the the progressives efforts to get their reconciliation hogwash through by threatening to kill infrastructure. The sniping playing out between the progressives and the Ds who haven't lost their fucking mind is amazing. And IT ACTUALLY MATTERS -- THEY RUN EVERYTHING.

I can't imagine the Progs killing off infrastructure in a doomed effort to bully Manchin, Sinema (and probably Hassan -- she's heading for some real trouble if doesn't firmly cast her lot toward the middle). Can't imagine they'd be that petty and childlish. But, at the same time, I'm not sure I can rule it out. Amazingly.

THAT's interesting shit. Not whether the party completely out of control is going to add extra votes to a massive debt ceiling raise.

[Mike]

I thought the actual spending was approaching $7T. $1.2T for infrastructure, $3.5T for the unicorn package, and a possible $1.5T student loan forgiveness.

As for what McConnell wants, it’s probably to not spend trillions of dollars on cradle to grave welfare.