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Congress CXV: Absurdly long special election edition
KetBra
Dressed RidiculouslyRegistered User regular
Dressed RidiculouslyRegistered User regular
We have lots of threads about the other branches of government. But what about everyone's favorite branch, the Legislative? We're a month or so into the 115th Congress, and there's a lot of things going on! This is your spot to discuss bills moving their way through congress, upcoming votes, hearings that may be going on, and general congressional drama.
But first, let's take a look at our congressional leadership.
In the House, the current Speaker is Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin 1st District). His stated agenda is repealing the ACA, and he would also like to replace it with something. He's not sure what he'll be replacing it with, but rest assured it will be great. He also wants to cut taxes for rich people and raise them for poor people. Please don't ask him about Donald Trump.
The House minority leader is still Nancy Pelosi (D- California 12th District). At this point, she's fighting a rear guard action on the accomplishments of the 111th congress, hoping that the Republican's lack of substantial follow-through on a replacement for the ACA will prevent them from doing anything substantive to destroy the law.
In the Senate, we have our Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky). He's a big fan of the Trump agenda so far, as I would hope, considering his wife is in Trump's cabinet. Currently, he's preoccupied finishing the work of getting Trump's nominees approved, and ramping up for what will likely be a pretty brutal battle over the confirmation of Gorsuch to the Supreme Court.
Our Senate Minority Leader is Chuck Schumer (D - New York). He has been somewhat preoccupied with confirmation hearings lately, and despite a pretty rough start, allowing Senate D's to support some pretty unqualified/bad nominees from Trump, Senate Democrats have been more unified in opposition on more recent nominations. It remains to be seen what the Senate Democrat strategy will be for the upcoming Supreme Court confirmation.
Last but not least, many members have been recently deluged with calls, letters, emails about a lot of the actions the Trump administration has been taking. A lot of congresspeople have had some pretty rough townhalls lately, too. For example:
This is also the place to discuss those! This is not the place to discuss Trump's cabinet, his executive orders, his hair, the Surpreme Court, or the hit 90's sitcom Friends, except in how they pertain to Congress.
http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/
Go forth and let the crongresscritters have a piece of your mind
KetBra on
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Which is good. We need to keep this up and give 'em all hell, actual grassroots style instead of astroturf like the Tea Party did.
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
We also had cutouts of our local reps, because they weren't here one way or another.
They even used it on Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me this week.
Well, it was also nearly a haiku.
I guess its both the same for them.
Republican Congress members face tide of protest in home districts
I don't know if these will pick up more steam or stay strong until the next election. As I mentioned in another thread, the GOP assault on voting, doesn't just rely on screwing minorities out of their right to vote. Those efforts also rely on huge chunks of the voters remaining apathetic to voting or buying into both sides theory. The biggest weak point of bullshit gerrymandering is it's based on who votes, not on how the district would go if every eligible voter participated in an election. If protests like that continue going and pick up steam, while also showing up in numerous districts held by Republicans, 2018 might not be a happy time for the right.
Edit: Also would like to point out the GOP's line seems to be to claim these are paid protesters. I'll enjoy watching that blow up in their faces. Partly, I think they'll find this will go the same way a ton of their homophobic policies went. In that even members of their own base will call bullshit because they happen to deal with flesh and blood protesters at the office and/or at home. There is also the fact that it will probably rub republican and conservative voters that have not been happy with their republican congress critters the wrong way because the GOP essentially said they'll view any opposition as illegitimate.
(I will not be silenced!)
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/02/11/congressman-rarely-used-law-could-make-trump-tax-returns-public/97788564/
Funny, conservatives are always the ones claiming their opposition are paid shills.
yet when protests are discovered that are actually paid shills, they are always in the employ of conservatives.
Another example of "We're doing it, so I'm sure they're doing it to!" guilty conscious, I would bet.
More focused on town halls is the Town Hall Project 2018 with Google doc of upcoming town hall-type meetings sortable by representative and state. It doesn't appear all-encompassing yet but it's a work in progress and there are a lot of names and meeting times already on the list.
Indeed, Gerrymandering ONLY works if you have a very very accurate understanding of the electorate, and the people who do vote vote very stably. If new voters enter the arena in any kind of unexpected way, its the party benefitting from Gerrymandering which stands to take a massive beating. The entire Republican 'majority' in congress and the house is set up based on this fact.
60 Republican districts won by 4%
40 Democratic districts won by 10%
Add a random +/- 5% voting into that and suddenly the Republicans lose 30 seats to chaos alone, while the Democrats lose nothing.
Remember also that demographic changes are eroding the current set of Republican gerrymandered maps, so they are even more vulnerable.
If we can send even say, 1% of unexpected new voters to the polls in 2018 as Democrats then it would be transformative to the election. Hell, if Democrats turned out at the midterm in the same way as they did for the presidential and Republicans were laid back instead? Democrats would win like 90% of house seats.
Run for election as a member of the Republican Party.
Seriously though, this is several shades of fucked up. As a non-American / filthy foreigner I don't know how your state legislative branches link up with Congress. Would Oklahoma forumers contacting their Congressperson make any difference to this?
They tried to bury us. They didn't know that we were seeds. 2018 Midterms. Get your shit together.
Won't do shit, broski.
They wanted to make minimum wage increases a regional thing. Then OKC wanted to raise minimum wage in the city and they banned it despite 75% of the population being for it.
They don't give a fuck in Oklahoma.
They're separate, though Federal law preempts State/Local. Not that Federal would be more liberal on abortion. The main thing is that this would violate Casey. Assuming there are 5 Justices who still support Casey.
If only we'd include the long downtrodden, never listened to man in these decisions. Whatever shall men do if their input is not paramount over all things.
Indeed, and if the woman dies during pregnancy, then the man will also be excuted. If the woman loses her job, the man will also be fired. If the woman suffers from any complications, the man will be poisoned in order to share similar complications. Including long term ones such as hemorrhoids, or depression. Shared decisions and consequences and all of course.
And of course, mandatory anal and penile tearing.
QEDMF xbl: PantsB G+
Otherwise what Oklahoma's horrid state govt does isn't particularly on topic for a Fed Congress thread.
Update: "Um, nope, cuz like we don't want to violate privacy or civil liberties (no, seriously, stop laughing, why are you guys laughing at that?!) also have you folks heard about how slippery slopes work? They can be so slippery!"
A woman is but the fertile ground in which a MAN plants his seed.
Unless Oklahoma has some weird state statute that if someone shows up to your house they don't have to leave until they want to.
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
One of those that Marshall mentions is up here in Montana, and it's actually pretty damn crucial! We're replacing our at-large Representative, as Zinke is most likely to become the Interior Secretary.
So, why is this one important? Well, if the GOP holds it, not only does it give them another seat in the House, but it will position that person to face Tester in 2018. If the Dems win it, then the usual jump off points for a Senate run (Governor, Representative) will be in Dem hands in 2018. They'll still find someone, but that individual will not have the same profile, making the match up easier. Currently, the last GOP candidate for Governor, Greg Gianforte, has thrown his hat into the ring for the Republicans.
Well yes, remember the Oklahoma statute that as soon as someone believes that you have invited them to your house, even if you didn't actually want to do so they are allowed to stay even if they actually kill you while they are staying there.
I just checked and apparently Oklahoma isn't a Castle Doctrine state, so... checks out.
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar