Octopus Overlords

You may not have noticed, because he is not nearly as in-your-face as his predecessor, but Joe Biden is currently teaching a lesson to left and centre-left parties around the world. True, it’s one they should have learned long ago, but still they should be paying the closest attention. Because Biden is delivering a masterclass.

...

Recall how Biden campaigned. He presented himself as a reassuring grandfather of the nation who would restore calm and decency to the US government, a steadying presence who believed in the old-fashioned virtue of quiet competence. He would not be exciting; he would not light up social media. When the right claimed he was a radical socialist, the charge did not stick – because Biden had been around for 50 years and people could see with their own eyes that he was a traditional moderate. That view was helpfully reinforced by those leftists who had long written Biden off as a dull, decrepit centrist, barely fit to shine the shoes of progressive favourites such as Bernie Sanders or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

But look at him now. Two-thirds into its first 100 days, and the Biden presidency has easily secured the right to be described as radical. Usually sober observers of the White House are going further: just two months after Biden took the oath, they are branding him a transformational president. The comparisons to Franklin D Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson have already begun. And Biden is encouraging them. Earlier this month, he sat for two hours with a group of presidential historians, pressing them hard on how FDR and LBJ had moved swiftly to make changes so profound and systemic they endure to this day. At the Thursday press conference, Biden made explicit the scale of his ambition. “I want to change the paradigm,” he said, three times.

Kraken wrote: ↑Sun Mar 28, 2021 12:20 am Biden wasn't my choice in the primaries -- second from last -- and I wasn't thrilled about voting for him in the general. I cheerfully admit to being wrong about him. He is going above and beyond to go the extra mile to give it his all and exceed expectations with his compassion and empathetic advocacy (sorry, at least 90% of the 650 nurse recommendation letters that I've edited contain one of those phrases and I hate them all. Except when they write "empathic." That one makes me think of Deanna Troi and smile.)

To be critical, Joe Biden is no Counselor Troi.

I should go to bed, shouldn't I?

Kraken wrote: ↑Sun Mar 28, 2021 5:01 pm In 2013 I wrote that the New Gilded Age would end with a new progressive era -- "the only questions are how and when." Dare we hope that's it's happening now?

Carpet_pissr wrote: ↑Sun Mar 28, 2021 11:49 pmMaybe if he can get enough time to get some real, and needed infrastructure items accomplished (Big Stuff), and people SEE that, or the results thereof....there is a glimmer of hope. Transformative stuff that brings us in line with modern Western countries.

Paingod wrote: ↑Mon Mar 29, 2021 8:23 am
You mean things that make the GOP angry? Things that, if accomplished, they'll either ignore or take credit for?

El Guapo wrote: ↑Mon Mar 29, 2021 10:25 am Biden's well established public image as a kindly grandfather is a borderline political superpower.

Zarathud wrote: ↑Tue Mar 30, 2021 10:10 amI keep talking to scared rich people who fear Biden, so Fox’s message is landing some places.

Paingod wrote: ↑Tue Mar 30, 2021 10:15 am

Zarathud wrote: ↑Tue Mar 30, 2021 10:10 amI keep talking to scared rich people who fear Biden, so Fox’s message is landing some places.

What's funny is that they're living in fear of a shoe that will never drop. It's pure fiction.

Zarathud wrote: ↑Tue Mar 30, 2021 10:10 am I keep talking to scared rich people who fear Biden, so Fox’s message is landing some places.

Lagom Lite wrote: ↑Tue Apr 06, 2021 6:13 pm The progressive left is a thing now, though. Right? Without Bernie, AOC/Squad and hordes of angry millennials (and the more and more overt fascism from the right which gotta turn some neoliberals as well) Biden wouldn't be able to rule much differently than Obama did.

Holman wrote: ↑Tue Apr 06, 2021 7:30 pm
It is, but electorally the USA is still poised on a balance between center-right and fascist.

gbasden wrote: ↑Tue Apr 06, 2021 7:33 pm

Holman wrote: ↑Tue Apr 06, 2021 7:30 pm
It is, but electorally the USA is still poised on a balance between center-right and fascist.

FTFY

When Americans vote to send their two senators to Washington, they trust that they will work to represent the interests of their state on equal footing with 98 other senators. I have always said, “If I can’t go home and explain it, I can’t vote for it.” And I respect that each of my colleagues has the same responsibility to their constituents.

It’s no accident that a state as small as West Virginia has the same number of senators as California or Texas. It goes to the heart of what representative government is all about. The Founding Fathers understood that the challenges facing a rural or small state would always be very different from a more populous state. Designating each state with the same number of senators — regardless of the population — ensured that rural and small states and the Americans who live in them would always have a seat at the table.


The filibuster is a critical tool to protecting that input and our democratic form of government. That is why I have said it before and will say it again to remove any shred of doubt: There is no circumstance in which I will vote to eliminate or weaken the filibuster. The time has come to end these political games, and to usher a new era of bipartisanship where we find common ground on the major policy debates facing our nation.

malchior wrote: ↑Wed Apr 07, 2021 8:25 pm Unless Joe can win over Machin this honeymoon might be over soon. He op-ed tonight in the Washington Post that is very concerning. He very well may torpedo the infrastructure bill. Filibuster reform is dead Jim but that isn't a surprise. Hopes that maybe Manchin was negotiating are possibly dashed now. He essentially stands up for the undemocratic nature of the institution and asks *his party* to work with the Republicans. It is unbelievable that after Trump, the election nullification efforts, and 1/6 that he expects bipartisanship. What world does he live in? Our democracy is in deep trouble and fools like him refuse to see reality. It is infuriating.

WaPo

When Americans vote to send their two senators to Washington, they trust that they will work to represent the interests of their state on equal footing with 98 other senators. I have always said, “If I can’t go home and explain it, I can’t vote for it.” And I respect that each of my colleagues has the same responsibility to their constituents.

It’s no accident that a state as small as West Virginia has the same number of senators as California or Texas. It goes to the heart of what representative government is all about. The Founding Fathers understood that the challenges facing a rural or small state would always be very different from a more populous state. Designating each state with the same number of senators — regardless of the population — ensured that rural and small states and the Americans who live in them would always have a seat at the table.


The filibuster is a critical tool to protecting that input and our democratic form of government. That is why I have said it before and will say it again to remove any shred of doubt: There is no circumstance in which I will vote to eliminate or weaken the filibuster. The time has come to end these political games, and to usher a new era of bipartisanship where we find common ground on the major policy debates facing our nation.

El Guapo wrote: ↑Wed Apr 07, 2021 10:16 pm What's the basis for thinking that Manchin will torpedo the infrastructure bill? Given the ruling that Democrats can 'amend' the reconciliation bill, it's pretty much a given that they'll use that for the infrastructure bill, right?

And as long as that can pass with 50 votes, Manchin may well force Democrats to reduce the size / cut parts of it, but the odds that he'll sink it altogether seem pretty close to zero.

As for the broader issues posed by Manchin publishing this...they're concerning but this doesn't panic me. It's long seemed like the best route on this stuff is to not fully abolish the filibuster but to gut it to the point where it becomes meaningless. Depending on how often Democrats can amend the reconciliation bills, that route plus adding one or two subject matter exceptions (similar to how judges and budget reconciliation items are exempted) probably gets Democrats 95% of what they want. If Manchin ultimately goes along with a filibuster exemption for voting / civil rights bills, then he can go home and say that he heroically saved the filibuster and stood up to the radical left who wanted to change the Senate, and Democrats can pass substantially all that they need to pass.

Also, bear in mind that Manchin, as a bizarro Susan Collins, just wants his bipartisanship to be loud while his partisanship is quiet. As long as he gets bold faced headlines like "Manchin Fights Democrats' Calls to Abolish the Filibuster" and "Manchin Sinks Controversial Biden Cabinet Appointee" then he has what he wants and he can go along with aggressive budget reconciliation which almost no voters will pay attention to. Bear in mind that Manchin sunk all of one cabinet nomination.

Now, if Manchin won't let Democrats pass voting reforms...then I'll freak out.

El Guapo wrote: ↑Wed Apr 07, 2021 10:16 pm Now, if Manchin won't let Democrats pass voting reforms...then I'll freak out.

Zarathud wrote: ↑Tue Apr 06, 2021 6:43 pm Getting a ruling that reconciliation can be done by amendment to the current fiscal year is a huge win. It also relieves the pressure to act on the filibuster.

Biden can turn the Republican playbook of obstruction into a weapon because regular people are still hurting and infrastructure is popular. Biden can say he’s passed more relief in 2021 than any other president and still blame the Republicans if it’s not enough.

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Wed Apr 07, 2021 8:32 pmNow Sinema? She's the one that needs to be examined.