Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2017/01/31/senate-democrats-boycott-trump.html
…
3 Likes
On the one hand something must be done to either keep these morons out of office or at least show a non trivial part of the country Does Not Want. On the other I recall vividly how republicans vowed and then succeeded in stonewalling Obama. The two parties are not the same and I do not want to give that appearance. I simply express extreme distaste in one side using a tactic the other had successfully used for nearly a decade while calling party out for inaction. This stonewalls dialogue in republican coders as they go ‘well you’re a hypocritical. Shun.’ And to be blunt I want to try reaching out to those voters like my parents who see trump as either shaking the system up or bring it crashing down around it’s rotted core.
5 Likes
I have very little faith left for the Senate Democrats, but they are the only hope we have right now.
12 Likes
I don’t see the boycott as the best solution either. Question the appointees, point out why they are unsuitable for their jobs, vote against them if you think that is the correct thing to do. Using obscure procedural rules to block, or slow down, appointees is just going to be seen as “business as usual” in DC and will not to much to advance any type of dialog.
The real problem is the whole vague process of the appointment process, but that’s not going to change any time soon. Didn’t Thomas Jefferson suggest we should have a constitutional convention every 20 years or so?
3 Likes
The trouble there is opening it to an up-down vote will let the nominees in. The republicans are all falling in line, as they always do, and no matter how shitty a person is, they will get the 51 votes they need for nomination.
10 Likes
Under normal circumstances, that would be the honorable way to fight.
I didn’t want to be another hysterical voice in the OMG everybody panic chorus, but these are not normal circumstances.
The new administration has wasted no time testing the waters to see exactly how much bullshit it can get away with.
I want my elected representatives to do their part and say NO as loudly as possible. If that means dusting off their copy of Roberts Rules of Order, so be it. Make use of the obscure procedures to stall while said procedures still exist.
As much as I wish I could stay on team wait and see, I have to acknowledge the possibility that things could get much worse much sooner than I previously thought. As lukewarm as my enthusiasm is for the specific vanilla democrats who represent me is, I hope their survival instincts are kicking in, and that they use what influence they have while they still have it.
17 Likes
Our only hope for institutional morality. There are options outside the halls of Congress that affect what people do therein.
8 Likes
I seem to recall the GOP caring a lot about perjury recently. They never get a conviction but it seems like committing a crime during your job interview would be something to take issue over.
U.S. Code sections 1621 and 1001 of Title 18.
Section 1621 covers general perjury, and stipulates that anyone who “willfully and contrary to such oath states or subscribes any material matter which he does not believe to be true” is guilty of perjury and shall be fined or imprisoned up to five years, or both.
Section 1001 covers false statements more generally, without requiring an oath. The section stipulates that “whoever, in any matter within the jurisdiction of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the government of the United States, knowingly and willfully” falsifies or conceals information, including before a congressional committee’s inquiry, may also be fined or imprisoned up to five years.
7 Likes
Oh. My. God. Could it be? It is, it is! Long thought extinct, here we see examples of Democratic politicians belonging to the phylum Chordata!
Now, now, don’t crowd too close, they are extremely fragile and all but extinct. We can but hope that, with luck and proper stewardship, they might multiply.
9 Likes
I don’t think there’s much dealing with the Republicans in the house/senate these days. But if you work on your parents, maybe in 2018, there will be some dealing with them.
2 Likes
Its completely legitimate to deal back to the GOP the same treatment they gave us.
The blocked a supreme court nomination for 11months.
The Dems should unleash the mother of all blocking on them - its the GOPs game. Make them choke on it.
10 Likes
I’m more concerned about not stiffening the resistance of any voters you’re trying to sway.
No it isn’t. That is you going ‘well this asshole put a gun to someone’s head to keep them from doing anything. It’s OK for us to do the same thing to spite them.’ That is never OK. You lose sight of the country’s needs for your desire for personal revenge.
So what do you do if you genuinely believe that the country needs to not have this SCOTUS judge, or that Education Secretary?
10 Likes
It’s about fucking time.
Cooperation and bipartisanship don’t work when the other side views all compromise as contemptible.
HOLD THAT LINE.
8 Likes
Given how wildly unpopular this move is, I think those voters will appreciate the spine - the stand up for a principle. In the minds of most conservatives, America letting folks from other countries come here is part of what makes America special. Everyone wants to come here, and we let 'em!
3 Likes
Democrats—with their “being the bigger person” and reaching across the aisle—haven’t been faring too well. Maybe showing the American people another side—an angry, willing-to-fuck-shit-up side—will serve them (and us) well. It’s worth a try.
5 Likes
People saying they shouldn’t stoop to the GOP’s level are making a false equivalency.
The fucking Republicans adopted their obstinate stance on the bullshit premise that the Democrats were beyond the pale, while that pack of craven arseholes are actually beyond the pale.
7 Likes
So you want to degenerate politic into a couple five year olds either having a slap fight or putting fingers in ears going LALALALALA I CAN’T HEAR YOU LALALALALALA whenever the other speaks? Because that’s where I see this stupidity heading.
Republican Senator Orrin Hatch, who chairs the Finance Committee, has excoriated Democrats for their refusal to cooperate in the hearings, calling them “stupid” and “pathetic.”
Nice projection there, senator.
They learned from the best. Time to reap what you sowed, you obstinate chicken neck.
2 Likes
No, it’s simply a matter of refusing to allow unconscionable shit. Fuck the optics - they don’t matter a damn when the other side will just make up any old bullshit to drive their narrative anyway.
These fascist scumbags must be given no quarter; it’s that simple. Anything less is collaboration.
5 Likes
