Both Senators McCain and Murkowski have voted no on the skinny repeal.
Here’s the live feed:
by Adam L Silverman| 321 Comments
This post is in: America, Domestic Politics, Election 2016, Election 2017, Election 2018
Both Senators McCain and Murkowski have voted no on the skinny repeal.
Here’s the live feed:
Comments are closed.
Adam L Silverman
I’m watching Senator McConnell speak now. It sounds like he’s going to cry.
Bailey
I have no faith that this piece of shit legislation will stay dead.
Baud
Turtle is crying because he couldn’t kill people
Baud
@Bailey: Agreed.
Mike J
Here’s the McCain vote:
https://twitter.com/AmandaWills/status/890807835046461440
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@Baud:
One thing we can agree on
Tom Q
Less jubilation than the absence of agony.
I’ve long been on the “John McCain is overrated” train, but a salute to him tonight. He made the difference.
Jesus, McConnell is a sore loser.
Mike J
“I expect that they’re pretty satisfied tonight…”
Yep.
tobie
To quote Joe Biden, this is a BFD. Expect the wheels to come off the Trump train with ever increasing speed. Now I need a drink!
Yoda Dog
Over at LGM….
lulz…
Bailey
Turtle is crying crocodile tears that Democrats wouldn’t help them. As if this legislation weren’t entirely written in a closet by a baker’s dozen of the whitest, malest cabal of evil.
Odie Hugh Manatee
So, they finally figured out which sacrificial R Senators will vote NO so they take the heat off of the rest of the assholes?
If this is winning then please, keep it up assholes…
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
Take a bow everyone who called, emailed, protested, tweeted, facebooked
You. Won.
Morzer
I see Senator Wormtongue lying his ass off as he moves to the Trump position on wrecking healthcare via corrupt, destructive neglect.
Yarrow
THANK YOU, JOHN McCAIN!!!!!
And I can breathe, just a little bit. I am so exhausted.
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
Yes! We! Can!
TS
@Adam L Silverman: And “the American people are hurting” – mainly from what he has just failed to do.
Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus
tobie
@David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch:
Sweet Jesus, it feels good.
SiubhanDuinne
@Yoda Dog:
LOL. Certainly glad I woke up when I did!
Villago Delenda Est
@Adam L Silverman: My Schadenfreude meter has EXPLODED!
Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA
Wow, the turtle is pissy.
Yarrow
@Adam L Silverman: He does look like he’s about to cry. HILARIOUS! Suck it, McConnell, you traitor to your country.
Adam L Silverman
@Bailey: @Baud: Live today to fight tomorrow.
Also: a running man with a knife may cut a thousand throats in one night.
TaMara (HFG)
@Adam L Silverman: Oh, sad!
Baud
Wow. Who’d have thunk Paul Ryan would do a better job than Mitch McConnell?
Yarrow
Trump is going to DESTROY McConnell. Maybe that’s why McConnell looks like he’s going to cry.
Major Major Major Major
Post turtle.
Mike J
Good ending for my birthday.
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
Trump tommorow:
“McCain is a total loser who has doomed millions to death because of failing OBAMACARE! Hey John, did the cancer crush your brain against your skull? SAD!???”
TS
@Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA:
Nothing compared to what might shortly appear on twitter. Scaramucci should be pleased – this will overtake his outburst.
delk
I hope somebody tells Mitch to keep his chin up.
Westyny
I want to name a basketball team after him right now.
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
@Baud: Turtle pulled a Boehner and held a vote without the votes.
You never-ever saw Nancy or Reid or LBJ ever do that.
SiubhanDuinne
Schemer: “We are not celebrating. We are relieved.”
grandpa john
@Adam L Silverman: Trying to shift the blame to DEms with one lie after another. Dems should have got up and walked out on the on the amoral souless despicable piece of shit with his asshole litany of lies
lgerard
So I guess the new concept of first passing a bill, and then writing it afterwards was not a success
Adam L Silverman
@Bailey: @Yarrow: Senator Schumer will now put oil over the water and offer an olive branch as a way out. He’s just now recommending a return to regular order and to work together to actually fix things. He’s doing a good job. Far more magnanimous than McConnell has been.
sukabi
@Yarrow: how’s he going to do that? Pretty much anything Drumpf does is self incriminating as well..
Yarrow
@SiubhanDuinne: Well, I’m celebrating but it’s because I’m so relieved.
Mike J
Dear Chuck,
Shut the fuck up. Now is not the time for graciousness. Step on his balls. Don’t give us any both sides do it bullshit.
InternetDragons
I’m just elated. I had gotten almost burned out calling Dems in red states to encourage them to call their senators (I’m lucky to be in a blue state). Honestly? I thought we were going to lose tonight.
I know things are ugly and messy, and a lot has been damaged, and there is still so much to be done to save our country from Trump and his minions. But tonight? I’m going to let myself just be happy and relieved.
Major Major Major Major
You guys KNOW this is all a DISTRACTION from RUSSIA, right‽
Fucking sheep.
Adam L Silverman
@Yarrow: It will be interesting to see if he remains majority leader. He is not liked. He micromanages his caucus – both now in the majority and when it was in the minority. He’s a top down authoritarian. His committee chairs have very limited authority because of how he runs things. This may provide enough ammunition for the GOP caucus to remove him.
Baud
@Mike J: We’re still in the minority.
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
Do you think Trump is going to be so pissed that he forgets he can’t actually fire McConnell and tweet it?
Yarrow
@sukabi: Yep. And that’s the beauty of it.
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
Well said, well spoken.
Bailey
@Adam L Silverman:
Yes. Yes he is.
Maeve
Call me cynical but I wonder if McCain got “permission” or at least subtle signals that if he voted no, it would let all the other republicans vote yes but not worry if it actually passed
And not so cynical on Lisa (my senator) Murkowski getting a lot of praise in local newspapers fo standing tough and even the comments are more for her than against. Our gov is a former repub that ran as independent and the lieut gov is a democrat. House is now controlled by coalition of dems, independents an two moderate republicans that broke with the too far right republican caucus. Senate is still republican caucus. Anyway she has a model of actual bipartsinship.
Totally disagree w her on lots of things (she’s terrible on the environment vs private industry) but she actually, in her way, tries to rep her peeps.
Yarrow
John McCain, a man with truly no fucks left to give. Who’s the hero now, Trump?
bluehill
Respect to McCain, Murkowski and Collins for putting country before party. With McCain, have to wonder if his health factored into his thinking. I doubt that his biggest concern is being primary-ed so he can finally be the maverick he thought he was. With Murkowski, wonder how much Trump’s and Farenthold’s blustering hardened her “no” vote.
Frankensteinbeck
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?:
And McCain will laugh at him, which might have been why this happened.
jmw
https://media.giphy.com/media/IgLMZ7YFdkXXW/giphy.gif
He earned it this time
Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA
@TS: Dammit, I need to sleep at some point. [heads off to check Mango Mussolini on Twitter]
TenguPhule
@Bailey: You’re learning!
O. Felix Culpa
@Mike J: Happy BFD birthday!
I’m still working on exhaling. This was stressful.
mouse tolliver
Schumer’s both sides are to blame speech is one of the reasons why I can never fully trust Chuck Schumer. This is the kind of mealy-mouthed bullshit that makes people want to stay home. It’s like he’s not even fully on his own side.
Baud
And THIS is why I’m not in the predictions game.
GregB
Mitch, you fucking loser.
I hope Putin releases the furry tape.
Now get me some fried chicken and a bourbon you sad excuse for a shitheel.
Adam L Silverman
@Mike J: Happy birthday!
Maeve
@bluehill:
In the Alaska media it definitely hardened her support. We don’t let outsiders tell us what to do!
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
Adam L Silverman
@delk: Which one?
bluehill
Only a couple of hours before Trump starts tweeting. Might have to stay up for that.
Frankensteinbeck
I want McConnell to cry. Not for schadenfreude, but because it means he has nothing else to try and accepts he has lost.
Baud
@mouse tolliver: I like Schumer. This is an extremely difficult situation that he has been handling deftly.
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@Frankensteinbeck: Oh I know. A big reason he votes no was to spite Trump, probably. I tried to capture Trump’s crassness and lack of respect for a dying man, let alone anybody else
Major Major Major Major
Maybe Trump will stroke out when he hears.
@Mike J: Happy birthday!!
TriassicSands
@Baud:
You give Ryan too much credit. McConnell had a harder job and played at least as dirty, if not dirtier than Ryan did. But the rules and narrow majority were too much to overcome. If Ryan had been Majority Leader, he would have failed, too.
TenguPhule
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: 8.5/10
Getting better.
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@Frankensteinbeck: Footage of him crying would also make great material for attack ads
SgrAstar
WOW!
The Dangerman
So, does this monster come back to life if McCain checks out relatively quickly (flying across country couldn’t have been good for him)?
Oh, and McConnell can kiss my ass.
Baud
@TriassicSands: I’m not too concerned about being fair to McConnell.
Bailey
@TenguPhule:
Really? You felt this was the proper moment to be a condescending prick? Okay then.
Adam L Silverman
@Maeve: His governor came out in opposition. That likely had more to do with it. Also, McCain really dislikes McConnell.
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Mike J: The 27th? My mom would have been 91.
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@TenguPhule:
I’ve studied under the best
Adam L Silverman
The Senate has now adjourned until Monday at 4:30 PM EDT. The Republic is now largely safe, barring Presidential tweet crises, for almost four whole days!
Yarrow
@Adam L Silverman: I agree. I think that’s partly why he looked like he was going to cry. He knows his tenure as majority leader may be in jeopardy. He didn’t deliver.
Frankensteinbeck
@The Dangerman:
No. McConnell needs 51, specifically.
Repatriated
@mouse tolliver:
You (and we) aren’t the intended audience here.
It’s providing cover for the three “No” votes, and potentially laying the groundwork for their further defections from party-line votes.
Major Major Major Major
@David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: My CNN alert called it a ‘devastating’ blow.
Did McCain fly all the way out there just for drama?
@Frankensteinbeck: The governor will appoint a republican.
TenguPhule
@Bailey: Sorry, I was trying to be light hearted. No offense meant.
Mary G
Happy Happy Joy Joy! McCain and Murkowski both nurse grudges, I’m sure, McCain for the POW comments and Murkowski for that Tea Party primary she beat off, but I didn’t think they’d do it on such an important vote.
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@Major Major Major Major:
He flew all the way out to DC to fuck over McConnell and Trump, as well as save his legacy
Baud
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Just wanted to let you know that I’m completely against all those people demanding that we Kill Bill.
I got your back.
TriassicSands
@Baud:
I’m shocked! Oh, the humanity!!!
Mike J
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Bugs Bunny turns 77.
Next year I have to remember a few weeks in advance to invite Juliana Hatfield to share celebrating. I don’t see why she wouldn’t fly out from Boston to hang with a complete stranger.
Major Major Major Major
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: And voted yes on the MTP to heighten the drama? I mean, it’s possible.
Adam L Silverman
@Yarrow: Time will tell.
Villago Delenda Est
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: He’s under the sadly mistaken view that any Senator has any obligation, as a member of a co-equal branch of government, to defer to him on anything at all.
jl
@Major Major Major Major:
” Did McCain fly all the way out there just for drama? ”
As I typed in previous thread, McCain must have known the vote count was hopeless or nearly so. So why didn’t he just kill it a no vote on motion to proceed, or hell, just stay in Arizona and enjoy himself. Maybe the target of his ire now is no longer Obama, but rather Trump and the Trump ass kissers Ryan and McConnell, so he wanted to kill their number one priority dead in front of the whole country and humiliate them for good measure.
Keith P.
So is *this* the end, or do they really have something else they want to try? I mean, seriously, they’ve literally had close to 100 attempts to repeal Obamacare.
Mike J
@Major Major Major Major:
He’s floor manager for the NDAA, which comes up in 8 hours.
The Dangerman
@Frankensteinbeck:
Just 50 with Pence there.
McCain went from a hero of the Right to a Villain (actually, I think he took one for the Gang that hated this thing; if McCain had been an aye, Graham might have been the no).
Adam L Silverman
@Major Major Major Major: He has no choice. Arizona law requires a vacancy like a Senate seat be filled from the same party of the person who was in the seat when it became vacant.
lgerard
@Yarrow:
Disagree
H is not going anywhere
He is the bagman for the Chamber of Commerce and corporate America. That is where his power comes from, not from his brilliant strategic skills. He is, after all, the one who rid them of McCain-Feingold
Yarrow
@Baud: I think Schumer handled the post-vote speech very well. Conciliatory and gracious and open to bipartisanship was the right tone for tonight. Save the stepping-on-the-balls for the actual work that needs to be done.
Thoroughly Pizzled
Sometimes this world still has the capacity to surprise me for the better.
O. Felix Culpa
@mouse tolliver: It’s called being diplomatic. Schumer knows it ain’t true, but he looks gracious next to that crabbed, bitter old fart McConnell.
SiubhanDuinne
@delk:
???????
TenguPhule
@Keith P.:
The next attempt is going to be to try and pass amendments to the ACA which will gut some of the major provisions.
Fortunately they need 60 votes for it.
Unfortunately, this is dependent on McConnell following the Senate Rules.
ETA: And this is only the one that the media is aware of. Its not out of the question they have more which can still be introduced.
piratedan
is it possible that this turns back the tide on other things as well…
If the ACA lives on, battered and bloodied yet alive…
could this be the wedge that allows the ladies to turn the tide on other issues, like the investigation of the WH itself and its foreign ties? Will this defeat of McConnell sap him of his juice now that his quixotic attempt to ruin healthcare and pander to the 1% is shot to hell?
Juju
I can breath again.
Yarrow
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?:
He sure did. THANK YOU, JOHN McCAIN!!!!
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@jl: Probably this. Maybe he even had an epiphany as evidenced by his hugging of the Democrats on the floor. I hope there’s video of McCain just walking away from Pence mid-sentence, his jaw hanging open stupidly
Adam L Silverman
But her emails!!!
@mouse tolliver:
Quit being a moron. That speech was for the Senate, not for the general public. The best way to shore up the ACA is actually to get bipartisan legislation passed that fixes some of the issues and limits Trump’s ability to sabotage it. They need Republicans, and as many as possible on board to accomplish that. Regular order is also the best way to keep things moving along as slowly as possible when needed until the 2018 campaign season rolls around.
It also offers a big contrast with McConnell’s speech which when viewed side to side sort of dispels the idea that both sides did it and both sides are the same.
jl
@Mike J: Oh. I forgot that there is other legislation they need to get done. Thanks for reminding me.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: Thanks bud.
NotMax
Caesar Rodney is grinning.
@Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe
Had you surmised Dolt 45 saying “No Brain McCain” or “Braindead John” your score would have been significantly higher.
TenguPhule
@Adam L Silverman:
Wasn’t there supposed to be another vote scheduled on Friday?
patrick II
@Adam L Silverman:
I was wondering about that. Not too be too much of a ghoul, but if McCain passes the governor would likely appoint someone he trusted to vote against it again.
mouse tolliver
@Baud: My anger isn’t just about this one situation. Democrats keep pulling this kind of crap. They do this too much, and they’ve been doing it for too long. If you want people to vote for you, you’re not going to win support if you’re constantly talking about how bad you suck.
Yarrow
@Adam L Silverman: It was some of the same “tell” as last December. He doesn’t hide it well when he’s scared.
Peter
This is good news…FROM John McCain? That feels weird to say.
Major Major Major Major
@Adam L Silverman: I know, that’s why I stated it in a declarative, fact-shaped manner.
@Mike J: I can’t imagine they need his vote for that, either. But I guess at this point he probably doesn’t know what to do if he isn’t mucking around in congress.
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@Villago Delenda Est:
He’s under the delusion that congressmen work at will for him. The GOP so far has been largely defering to him, but that may change if he continues to piss them off and ruin their agenda
patrick II
@TenguPhule:
It’s Friday.
Mike J
@jl: in case you want to catch up on the Defense Auth bill
https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/2810
Morzer
Anyone else notice how McConnell made sure to say that Trump was fully involved in the attempt to pass this monstrosity? No way the Traitor Turtle is going to be fall guy for the small-fingered subsidiary of Putin Inc.
Yarrow
@lgerard: We’ll see. McConnell isn’t well liked and he made the Senators take a vote they didn’t have to take on a bill they didn’t like.
Fair Economist
Quite possibly Schumer promised bipartisanship and regular order to McCain to get him to flip so this little speech may be the reason Obamacare lives another day. We won, don’t knock our teammates.
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@Yarrow:
Yes. He finally became a true American hero, regardless of his true motivations
TenguPhule
@patrick II: I’m still in Thursday.
jl
@Adam L Silverman: My NV contacts have told me that Heller is an earnest none too bright mediocrity who kind of wants to be told what to do. A nice guy who’s willing to work hard enough (but not much harder) and willing to do the right thing if he is lead to it and it won’t cause too much trouble.
His feckless behavior during this episode seems to bear that out. His yes vote seems to bear out ‘none too bright’
I think Heller would have lost the last election if the NV Dems had put up a better candidate, who IIRC was actually a lot like Heller in terms of personality and working style, (though a center very slightly left politically) except less into the ‘willing to work hard enough’ part.
dmsilev
@TenguPhule: Defunct now. The plan was to amend the House bill by replacing it with the skinny repeal …thing, and then pass the amended hot potato back to the House. Since the amendment vote failed, there’s no point in voting on the bill per se (several GOP Senators came out opposed to the House bill).
TS
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?:
He voted to save his legacy – obviously heard what his obit would be if he voted yes. He could have voted NO two days ago & stopped the drama – guess he really wanted to draw out the result.
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@NotMax: Damn. Betting pool to how close Trump gets to saying that?
I bet 10000 Ameros
Captain C
@Adam L Silverman: I’d say that THOSE are tears to replenish one’s electrolytes with, but they’re probably quite poisonous.
bluehill
Maybe McCain viewed his vote as something much larger than healthcare and more as an endorsement of an anti-democratic and unconstitutional process, which if successful, would severely weaken the foundations of our democracy and pave the way for potentially worse legislation in the future and prevent principled opposition. I’m not that steeped in U.S. history, but I can’t recall a more meaningful vote in terms of its broader impact on our form of government.
lgerard
@Yarrow:
That is good thing though. They can continue to be against Obamacare without having to deal with the consequences of repealing it…it is a return to the best of all possible worlds
patrick II
@TenguPhule:
McConnell in D.C. wishes he was still Thursday where he is too.
Mike J
Adam, can we add something to the top of the post?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xb6F6kIqlxw
Adam L Silverman
@piratedan: It further backs up the legislative calendar. Without doing the ACA repeal, specifically the tax repeal portions, it is almost impossible to do tax reform. Anything they do will now need to be done under the 60 vote cloture threshold in the Senate, not reconciliation. So that is going to eat up a lot of time and is no longer a sure thing. They have to do either appropriations, other than the defense authorization which is ready to be voted on. Most likely this is now going to be a year on year omnibus CR. They have to do a debt ceiling increase. If they don’t want to trigger the sequester on the defense appropriation, or anything else budget related, they have to pass a Budget Control Act waiver, which they haven’t seem to have remembered to do so far based on the NDAA as it passed the House. The Senate also has a bunch of nominations to get through. They go on August recess at the end of next week. They come back at the beginning of September and have about 3 weeks before the end of the fiscal year to get the NDAA, a CR or individual appropriations bills, a BCA waiver, and a debt ceiling increase done. That is not a lot of time. And everyone in the House and 1/3 of the Senate will start the 2018 midterm campaign starting in the Fall. This Congress is now functionally done. The Senate will get through most of the nominations. They’ll probably get an omnibus CR and a debt ceiling increase. Hopefully they’ll remember a Budget Control Act waiver before they pass the NDAA-defense appropriation next Monday. But that’s it. This is a lame duck GOP majority Congress and time will tell, but we may have a lame duck Presidency with 3 and a 1/2 years to go depending on what happens in the 2018 midterms.
Adam L Silverman
The suspense is killing me!
jl
@Fair Economist: If McCain will start advocating a bipartisan process for health care, then then he will be doing some great and good work. Enough to cancel out a lot of mean things I’ve typed here and said elsewhere.
If Schumer did work a tentative deal on that, then those two guys, neither of which I care much for politically, did some very good work.
Here’s hoping.
Edit: to clarify, I think the best thing would be just to do nothing and concentrate on countering Trumpster sabotage. But if the GOP is going to continue to try to keep their BS promises (lies) on health care, then far better to force them into a bipartisan process. I do remember David Anderson said the Collins bill earlier this year was actually a good start.
Adam L Silverman
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?:
Captain C
@David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: John McCain just kicked his ass.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Mike J: Happy b-day then, and to Buggs.
Adam L Silverman
@TenguPhule: Everything has been moved to next week.
Amir Khalid
So, what next for McConnell? It seems certain he still means to bring down Obamacare; his credibility depends on it, and so might his career. Has anyone gamed out his remaining options?
Major Major Major Major
@Adam L Silverman: Well, what’s he waiting for?
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@Adam L Silverman:
They control 2 branches of government and they still can’t get anything accomplished. Which is a good thing. The R rank and file must be pissed or will be when they find out
Villago Delenda Est
@Major Major Major Major: Now wait just a Yosemite Sam moment here, Mx4. I understood this health care kerfuffle was a distraction from Russia, which was a distraction from Donald’s tax returns, which was a distraction from Hillary’s emails!
Adam L Silverman
@patrick II: Arizona law requires that a House or Senate vacancy be filled with an appointment of someone of the same party until the next election. So if Senator McCain were to announce his retirement, or Deity forbid die, then Governor
SandovalDucey will appoint a GOP replacement who will stand for reelection in November 2018. Under these circumstances both of Arizona’s Senate seats would be contested next year, but the one currently held by Senator McCain would still have to contested in it’s normal scheduled time in 2022.Mike J
But make no mistake, if the people who wrote this bill were proud of it, they wouldn’t be forcing this vote in the dead of night.
Keith P.
Nothing on @realdonaldtrump yet. He’s probably tuckered out from all the winning and getting himself a good night’s sleep.
Captain C
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: I said in the previous thread:
clay
Geez, I didn’t know this thread was here. All my pithy insights were wasted on a dead thread!
I’ll just restate that McCain risked his life to fly back to DC and then voted to proceed… all so he could be the deciding vote to shut this shit-fest down. (Not to overlook the bravery of Collins and Murkowsky!)
Yes, he is a drama queen, but you know what? He earned it tonight. Tonight, he’s a hero to millions of Americans.
He also pulled a pretty epic troll in McConnell, Pence, and Trump.
jl
@Villago Delenda Est: The Trump administration is becoming distractions all the way down.
A hall of mirrors of distractions.
Distractions distracting us from distractions.
Getting hard to tell what is a real distraction versus a fake distraction.
Morzer
@Amir Khalid:
Easy – the Trump gambit: wreck Obamacare through malevolent neglect and then blame the Democrats.
Suzanne
This makes all of those calls to McCain feel worthwhile.
Now, I need to have some words with Flake…..
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@Adam L Silverman:
Sure would like to know what ole McBomb said to him. Must of been some doozy.
McCain: “I came, I saw, I fucked them up”
Adam L Silverman
@jl: Tracking. That all makes sense. He’s toast next year now.
Timurid
I wonder what this is going to do to what’s left of Trump’s mental health…
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@Morzer:
I don’t believe that will work. People will ask questions like why didn’t Trump or the GOP do anything to fix it? Its ultimately on them and Trump is too stupid to realize that
clay
@mouse tolliver: Schumer’s number one job isn’t to convince people to vote for Dems. It’s to manage and support the agenda of Democratic Senators. So far, he’s done a bang-up job.
NotMax
So in maybe a month or so Dolt 45 will proclaim the bill too mean and SWEAR he never suggested he would support or sign it.
@Adam L. Silverman
Good trick, as Sandoval is governor of Nevada. Arizona gov is Ducey.
patrick II
@Adam L Silverman:
So, if the governor picks a moderate Republican if McCain retires, the chances of Arizona Republicans holding both seats go down?
McConnell crying and lying if you haven’t seen it.
I am used to conservatives jumping on these Youtube videos, but comments are entirely negative towards McConnell.
Adam L Silverman
@Mike J: No. I’m not encouraging those who need to seek treatment for their addictions…
Fair Economist
@Adam L Silverman: Sandoval is the Republican governor of Nevada. The governor of Arizona is Republican Doug Ducey. Otherwise, yeah.
Mike J
Morzer
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?:
I would like to agree with you, but if the media are their usual both sides selves, they’ll try quite hard to give lies about the Democrats and healthcare some credibility.
??? Martin
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: 50,000 quatloos on The Mooch stabbing one of the press pool!
Major Major Major Major
@Adam L Silverman: The word you’re looking for is ‘enabling’.
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@Mike J:
People will blame you, you idiot. You’re in charge. Welcome to real leadership, you phony reality star fake
Morzer
@Mike J:
Yup, that’s the strategic genius we all know. Hard to imagine how he failed consistently in business, isn’t it?
Major Major Major Major
I’ll bet Cory Gardner feels like a fucking idiot right now.
Adam L Silverman
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: They control it in the sense that they have numbers/bodies in specific places. They don’t control it because they have no real understanding of how anything works, nor any real interest in figuring out how things work. With a few exceptions like AG Sessions or Steve Bannon. The result is they are largely paralyzed. It isn’t that we’re getting bad government and governance. Rather it is the Federal government is largely paralyzed, so we’re getting no government or governance. The political appointees aren’t in place. A lot of those that are are clueless. ICE and CBP seem to be functioning. The DOD seems to be just ignoring the President. And everything else is on autopilot. If we’re very, very lucky we’ll weather this malignant neglect long enough to switch at least one if not both chambers of Congress next year. Pray, if you’re a believer, for a mild hurricane season, no major earthquakes, and nothing taking down our 1950s code power grid or an interstate overpass or a tunnel.
eclare
@Yarrow: Agree, who knew it would be McCain? I posted downstairs, I really wonder if Donnie calling him a loser for being captured turned his vote, he does hold grudges. But who cares? Tonight we celebrate, tomorrow we fight again.
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@Morzer:
I want to believe that, with all of Trump’s chaos and authoritarian tendencies the media at the very least will continue to pound harder on the GOP and Trump
Yarrow
@lgerard: Except now they have all branches of elected government. Previously it was theater. This time they failed.
Maeve
@Adam L Silverman:
“His governor came out in opposition. That likely had more to do with it. Also, McCain really dislikes McConnell.”
So that’s why Heller voted NO – except HE DIDN’T
TRUMP: No man can stop the repeal bill
MURKOWSKI (removing helmet): I AM NO MAN
Yeah, the dislike and no fucks to give probably had something to do with it
Mnemosyne
As a former (for about 6 months, at best) constituent of McCain’s I’m going to try and call one of his offices tomorrow to thank him. Yes, I’m sure he did it to gratify his own ego, but I really don’t give a fuck what was in his heart when he voted no. I just care that he actually did it.
Yes, the overall war goes on, but it’s nice to win a battle.
TriassicSands
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?:
phony…fake? Isn’t that kind of like a double negative? Perhaps you should triple it for effect and bring it back around to a positive (well, a positive negative).
sharl
Listening to McConnell on C-SPAN radio (DC area); I assume it’s live. He’s bitching about the Dems being so unhelpful and uncooperative. He’s challenging the Dems: what are YOUR ideas on health care?
He’s clearly upset.
LOL
ETA: Schumer now up, responding to McConnell. ‘We’re not celebrating…we are relieved’
‘Obamacare is not perfect, but can be improved’
Calling for regular order, and working together.
Adam L Silverman
@NotMax: @Fair Economist: Sorry I was thinking about Heller and Sandoval and crossed a wire. Thanks for catching it, I’ve corrected it and am racking out shortly.
eclare
@Yarrow: Time to buy popcorn! Along with the battle between the Mooch and Jarvanka.
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@TriassicSands:
Phony fake is from Death of a Salesman
mouse tolliver
@But her emails!!!:
If it wasn’t for the public, then he shouldn’t have said it into a mic while standing in front of a camera. And you’re the moron if you don’t realize Republicans will use his own words against him one day. Because that’s what they always do. It feeds a larger narrative that only helps Republicans. This both sides bullshit is why Hillary lost votes to Jill Stein.
jl
@Adam L Silverman: Bannon is half crazy, and the other half is sophomoric and half-baked. That leaves Sessions, and Trump and Trumpster loyalists are trying to push him out.
It’s never safe to just sit back and assume that you can watch incompetent and foolish enemies tear themselves apart and do your work for you… but… Jebus Crikey… look at this mess..,
NotMax
@Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe)
We can hope. He is absolutely wounded by what occurred tonight and there’s nothing the Village press corps savors more than the scent of blood.
Mike J
BTW, you think the Defense bill is about defense?
Section 123 forbids the Coast Guard from buying a new, desperately needed icebreaker. There’s a chance they would want to use it in the arctic, and somebody might do some climate science while they’re there.
Adam L Silverman
@patrick II: I don’t know who Governor Ducey would pick. I do know the absolutely bugfuck nuts woman who ran against McCain last year and has declared against Flake for next year has been publicly lobbying McCain to retire because of his cancer. It’s quite ghoulish and seems to have pissed everyone off. So she’s likely out of contention. But, of course, Arizona so who knows.
Yarrow
@Amir Khalid: McConnell’s in trouble. He didn’t deliver Obamacare repeal. That means he can’t deliver those sweet, sweet tax cuts, at least not at the level he promised. He’s not well liked by his caucus. And he’s tied to the Russian collusion. Someone has something huge on him or his family. He looked like he was going to cry tonight and he wouldn’t cry just because the bill failed. He’d cry if he was going to suffer as a result. So….
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@Adam L Silverman:
But isn’t no governance bad governance?
Agree with your comment overall.
Adam L Silverman
@Mike J:
jl
@sharl: McConnell’s cynicism has not end, no bottom. I think he is a complete fraud, interested only in weilding power and absolutely nothing else.
And even bigger rake than Graham. Wow. Think about that for a minute.
Adam L Silverman
@??? Martin: According to Fox News reporting on that mess, White House staffers/officials have expressed concerns that it is not physically safe to go in to work later this morning as long as this (this being Scaramucci) is going on.
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@Yarrow:
One can only hope. What specific ties does he have to Russian interference? Aside from refusing to open an investigation initially?
Adam L Silverman
@jl: One of the first principles of waging a successful counterinsurgency is to work to a break. As in setting conditions that provides an opening or opportunity that can be exploited. This is a break.
NotMax
@Adam L. Silverman
Maybe the State Department should put out a recommendation to evacuate.
;)
eclare
@Baud: Schumer kept all the Democrats together, Manchin included. I give him props for that.
Adam L Silverman
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: Read this:
http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/07/department-of-energy-risks-michael-lewis
But not tonight. Or you won’t sleep.
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@Adam L Silverman:
Scaramucci enters the White House with a AR-15 on the hunt for Rinse Pubics and other domestic enemies of the Donald.
Yes, Adam, I know the odds of sneaking a weapon into the White House, no matter who you are, are astronomical
Edit: I’ll take a look at that tomorrow
MisterForkbeard
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: Yarrow has a specific anecdote about McConnell looking incredibly shattered after an IC briefing earlier in the year, and that’s when he announced the Senate would be opening an investigation. Specifically, that McConnell had something to hide and had learned something that put him in trouble. At least, I think that’s what it was – Yarrow’s mentioned it multiple times. :)
Personally, I do think that McConnell is tied up in this a little. But probably more along the lines of “He knew it was going on and didn’t care/covered it up so he could benefit personally” than “McConnell was actively working with Russians”.
Adam L Silverman
@NotMax: I’m sure that Alpha Male Seb will safeguard everyone…
As someone who has professionally crossed paths with that guy I can personally attest he’s not only a phony and a fraud, but when confronted with someone (in this case me) who is not, and who is, in fact, the national security professional he claims to be, he get’s whiny. I would neither trust him as far as I could throw him, my impression is he’d sacrifice women and children to save himself.
O. Felix Culpa
@jl:
All of them, Katie.
Adam L Silverman
@MisterForkbeard: There are RUMINT (rumors) allegations that he laundered Russian funds through his SuperPAC, Ryan as well. It is hard to run these allegations to ground as like a lot of the RUMINT allegations around what is now Mueller’s investigation there’s a lot of rabbit holes.
eclare
@O. Felix Culpa: Agree very much so, at this point, have to look gracious in defeat. Let’s see what happens from there.
Major Major Major Major
@O. Felix Culpa: Starting to wonder if I’m the real distraction at this point.
JKFJS
@Frankensteinbeck: Actually, he only needs 50, because Pence can be the 51st. Since it didn’t even get to 50, Pence didn’t vote, as there was no need. Had McCain voted “Aye”, it would have been the 50th vote and Pence would have cast the 51st vote to break the tie.
MisterForkbeard
@Adam L Silverman: And (I can’t believe I’m saying this) it would be good news if McConnell had done that.
Yarrow
@Mnemosyne:
I’m calling the offices of McCain, Collins and Murkowski tomorrow to say thank you. I am truly so grateful to them for voting No. I need to thank them for their votes.
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@eclare:
Manchin may be many things, but he’s not a complete idiot. Credit for Schumer
Comrade Colette Collaboratrice
@SiubhanDuinne:
As I said in the previous thread, I hope his chin recedes right into his wobbly neck and chokes him.
I’m trying to figure out how to turn that into a hex. If I say it three times, will it come true?
jl
@TriassicSands: I agree. The GOP has lied so damn much about the PPACA, and made so many absurd impossible promises, and their caucus is so split, and their reactionary wing is so used to getting pampered whenever they have a tantrum, that it became an almost impossible job in the Senate where too many have to worry about honest elections. McConnell was hoping to force something through with threats, and I think he must have relied heavily on threats of a donor strike if the hug tax cuts don’t start rolling in for them. So McConnell had to rely on speed, stealth and political strong arm tactics to try to push through a huge tax cut disguised as health care legislation, which was actually a junky fake.
We need to give some back handed credit to Trump. That fool made things harder by using his bully pulpit to blare out the most insane and impossible GOP promises to the whole country, and dialed up to 11.
Edit: Now that it is over (for now!) I don’t mean to minimize the threat. The danger is that political strong arm tactics and money threats work so well with pols, and of course, moderate GOPers always (OK, give some credit, now we need to say ‘usually’) cave.
NotMax
BTW, anyone else notice that Brownback nominated ambassador at-large for international religious freedom?
Captain C
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: There are indications and hints that various Republican campaign funds were (intentionally or inadvertently) used as money laundries for dirty Russian money. He would have been deeply involved in this. Also some rumors about his proclivities which may not thrill his constituents if confirmed.
Captain C
This may win the internets for the day:
opiejeanne
@Mike J: Happy birthday!
TenguPhule
@Adam L Silverman:
Why are the warnings always at the end of these things?!
/Dr. Strange
jl
@Adam L Silverman: I hope what you say is true.
I’d be interested in a post on that topic. At what point to do you just hunker down and watch the enemy try to destroy each other by any means necessary?
Adam L Silverman
@MisterForkbeard: This is going to come down to following the money. That’s the core of all of this mess. And its a trail that goes back to at least the 90s, maybe the 80s. We won’t know how wide or narrow the network of individuals involved until Mueller finishes.
Yarrow
@Adam L Silverman:
Wow. Really? I hadn’t paid that much attention to him–just figured he was a blowhard but wouldn’t actually hurt someone. That’s insane. Of course, I wouldn’t go near any place where Donald Trump was, so there’s that as well.
TenguPhule
@jl:
We tax hugs now? Why was I never told about this?!
NotMax
@Adam L. Silverman
Old Yiddish proverb:
With a rod you can catch a fish, with a ruble you can catch a man.
jl
@Yarrow:
” Of course, I wouldn’t go near any place where Donald Trump was”.
Same sentiment here, for several reasons. Just the ‘ick’ factor, for one, is more than enough.
jl
@TenguPhule: The super duper rich like to hug their money.
Adam L Silverman
@jl: I think there’s a chapter on that in here somewhere:
http://www.marines.mil/Portals/59/Publications/FMFRP%2012-15%20%20Small%20Wars%20Manual.pdf
piratedan
@Adam L Silverman: and the list of potential replacements is weird…
there’s Govenor Ducey himself and he would be succeeded by the sec of state I think, also GOP
there’s the AZ GOP Congressional group…
McSally – she’s in a R+2 district
Gosar – he’s in a safe R district
Biggs – another R in safe district
Schweikert – ditto
Franks – ditto and he’s a personal abomination
plus, there’s the chance that Ducey could nominate someone like Cindy McCain or someone from the state lege… my guess is that it wouldn’t be McSally, in this environment, that seat would likely flip although she would likely be the one best positioned to retain the seat.
Adam L Silverman
@Yarrow: There are actually Federal regulations about how appropriate decorum in the workplace. They cover civil servants, uniformed personnel, and contractors. Had I done, in the office or out of it, but publicly as was done, what Scaramucci did I would not only be unemployed, but I would never be employed again. I would expect my clearance to be suspended, if not caged. And I would expect that grievances would’ve been filed against me for unprofessional conduct.
Yarrow
@MisterForkbeard: Yes, I have. :) LOL. I’d just never seen McConnell look shaken as he did in December, when he suddenly changed his tune from “no investigations” to “Okay, I’ll allow investigations.” He read from the podium and it looked like one of those hostage videos. I could see a bit of that tonight, when he sounded like he was going to cry and you could see the fear on his face. But nothing like that other time. I don’t know what the something is that they have on him, but it’s not good.
Adam mentioned the rumors about money-laundering and so forth. He also was told about the Russian involvement in the election before the election and did nothing, so there’s that. But a year or two ago I wouldn’t have thought Jeff Sessions would have so many meetings with the Russian ambassador that he would conveniently “forget” so who knows what McConnell is hiding.
TenguPhule
@Adam L Silverman:
I am no longer confident we’re going to survive long enough to reach the Civil Unrest stage.
My fucking nightmares are going to be much worse then usual tonight.
Adam L Silverman
@NotMax: We have a saying for everything.
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@Adam L Silverman:
However it shakes out, we can’t just look forward and not back. House cleaning time
Adam L Silverman
@Yarrow: I actually think you’re confusing McConnell with how Grassley looked when he couldn’t compose himself enough to take questions and handed off to Feinstein after that Gang of 8 briefing back in late January.
Yarrow
@Captain C: Oh…that is so much win.
Adam L Silverman
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: I have never said we should.
Calouste
@Adam L Silverman: So what if McCain goes super-maverick and becomes an Independent (can’t see him becoming a Democrat)? Does it go by the party affiliation he had when elected?
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@TenguPhule:
Autocracy uber alles
sharl
@NotMax: According to a harsh article in the Kansas City Star, a lot of state legislators are saying ‘good riddance’. He’s leaving a real disaster behind. I’m sure it’s Obama’s and Pelosi’s fault somehow.
That new ambassadorship sounds like a trifling thing, other than maybe for the unfortunate host countries he’ll likely annoy, but it still needs Senate confirmation, so there’s no actual date yet on his departure for the new gig.
eclare
@Major Major Major Major: I hope so. Could not believe when I saw an interview with him a few days ago. Surely he is out in the next election?
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@Adam L Silverman: Just affirming
Yarrow
@jl: Yeah, he’s just so gross. I can’t imagine being in the same place as him. I’d never choose to do that.
Morzer
@mouse tolliver:
Speaking of Dr. Stein:
http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2017/07/23/0302000000AEN20170723003700315.html
Adam L Silverman
I’m to bed.
Everyone take a deep breath. While this is just one battle, the line held. Many, if not most/all, of you called your Senators and Congresspeople. Or you protested. You all done good. Now get some rest.
eemom
@Tom Q:
Oh for fuck’s SAKE. OK, for God knows what reason, McCain vote no on this particular murderous obscenity. He voted YES on others in the last three days.
Why the fuck do we have to call anyone a hero for NOT voting to kill people?
Adam L Silverman
@Calouste: I do not know.
Yarrow
@Adam L Silverman: Interesting. I thought Scaramucci wasn’t even officially working in the White House yet. Does he have any security clearance?
Morzer
@NotMax:
And you can beat a rube with a rod and he’ll give you his fish and thank you.
TenguPhule
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: Listen to Adam, Goku,
If you read the whole thing you are going to never sleep soundly again.
Amir Khalid
@Mike J:
That is Trump’s option, one he’s already exercising. McConnell’s repeatedly lost Senate votes he was supposed to deliver. Does the Turtle have yet another plan in him? His misreading of McCain’s intentions and the consequent defeat must have strained the Republican Senate caucus’ confidence in him and its willingness to keep going along with Plan (n + 1).
TenguPhule
@eemom:
Because unfortunately the alternative is that he changes his mind and does vote to kill us all.
Yarrow
@Adam L Silverman: Nope. I’m not. I’ll see if I can hunt down my comments on it. You and I had a back and forth on it at that time. It was December and McConnell.
Chet Murthy
@mouse tolliver:
who cares what he sez -afterwards-? he held his (our) caucus together. Isn’t that what counts?
Frankensteinbeck
@Amir Khalid:
Last thing Turtle did before giving his speech was officially move the Senate to the next scheduled order of business, a military bill. It’s theoretically possible he’ll come up with something, but this attempt is dead and his odds of starting another are poor.
opiejeanne
@NotMax: Who approves something like that, or is it just some weird idea of Trump’s?
Chet Murthy
@Bailey: With all due respect, ISTR you’re a known troll, and as such, I’m with TP.
Yarrow
This is me. Except I was so wound up I haven’t quite calmed down enough to go to sleep. I’m going to be tired tomorrow. But in a much better way than I have been.
Major Major Major Major
Who was president of the senate while Mitch was speaking? He looked …tired.
eclare
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: So does anyone think it would be effective for me to tell my useless elder statesmen Senators that I will give money instead to candidates in other states? Alexander and Corker are awful.
Mnemosyne
@Chet Murthy:
I’ve been saying something since Obama was first elected: I no longer give a shit about what politicians say, I only care about what they do. People spent so much goddamned time tying themselves into knots about Obama not saying things in exactly the way they wanted that they failed to notice that, for the most part, he got shit done.
NotMax
@Amir Khalid
After skinny repeal comes itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polka dot repeal.
Or maybe (dare I say it?) wee repeal.
opiejeanne
@Adam L Silverman: Ho-lee shit. I’ve been viewing this as something fairly recent, like maybe the past 8 years at most.
NotMax
@opiejeanne
Requires Senate approval, as per any other ambassadorship.
Position was created in the 90s by way of a bill Brownback pushed when in Congress.
Chet Murthy
@mouse tolliver: Oh bullshit. I don’t care WHAT my tribunes SAY, as long as they VOTE the way I want. And Nancy & Chuck have pretty much delivered on that.
Amir Khalid
@NotMax:
Unpossible. Repealing wee is not on the Republican agenda — at least, not yet.
opiejeanne
@Morzer: One of the Green Party delegation is named Medea??? What parent gives their child a name like that?
Major Major Major Major
@Amir Khalid: @NotMax: Yeah, plus Amir has snatched up all the wee bottles on the market right now. You just can’t find the stuff.
Morzer
@opiejeanne:
I suspect she has a father named Euripides lurking in the background.
Mary G
@Maeve:
Winner! I want a poster now.
opiejeanne
@NotMax: Thanks. This is the first I’ve heard of it; it sounds ridiculous in the sense that it’s useless in the countries where there really is suppression of religious freedom.
Morzer
@Mary G:
Trump: “Das war ein Befehl!”
(With apologies to Downfall).
NotMax
@Morzer
Old, old, old joke –
Sign in the window of the Greek cobbler shop:
EURIPIDES
IMENIDES
?BillinGlendaleCA
@opiejeanne: She’s the Code Pink lady.
RM
Live footage of John McCain tonight!
opiejeanne
@Morzer: Heh. Must have been terrible for her in HS English when they got to some of the Greek literature.
Villago Delenda Est
@Yarrow: Good. He should suffer. He is evil. He is a racist. He is a traitor.
Morzer
@opiejeanne:
I suspect the occasional teacher was known to say:
“Frankly, Medea, I don’t give a damn.”
jl
@Maeve: I’m reading news that Sandoval desperately lobbied Heller to vote ‘no’ on skinny mini. The word ‘begged’ was used to describe it.
And Heller voted ‘yes’, and on a loser. My relatives and friends in NV describe Heller as ‘none-too-bright’. After his behavior in this mess, that seems optimistic.
Heller in dead heat with opponent in upcoming election. And now the GOP NV gub has got to be royally pissed at Heller, for several reasons.
Yeesh. Hope Heller goes down bigtime next year. He deserves it.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Yarrow: There are rumors that the reason the Turtle left the Army during basic wasn’t just to work for a senator. Or as the commenter FKA Botsplainer said, he likes chicken.
opiejeanne
I may not sleep for a while because I am so relieved and a bit wound up still. This means my kids won’t lose their health insurance, especially the one who is self-employed thanks to the ACA..
?BillinGlendaleCA
@jl: I’m guessing that Sandoval won’t be campaigning really hard for Heller.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@opiejeanne: No problem, the night crew is here.
Amir Khalid
@Morzer:
It will be interesting to see at whom Trump lashes out over this failure: “Wer sind Sie, dass Sie es wagen, sich meine Befehle zu widersetzen?”
eclare
@opiejeanne: That is huge, and a reason to stay up. I can’t believe the way Republicans have toyed with people month after month, after zombie plan after zombie plan, just to keep people stressed out for months. That is cruel.
jl
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Maybe Sandoval will figure better to take a loss. Better to work across the aisle with someone with a brain and a spine rather than this loser. I put a comment above on my NV contacts’ assessment of Heller, which they gave me during his Senate campaign. NV is a small state and some of them had crossed his path in work or various civic activities. Seems like they had a good assessment of him.
Edit: some of them personally knew his opponent too, who they said would have been a Democratic version of Heller. I hope NV can do better this time.
TriassicSands
@jl:
You’re probably being too generous. “Almost always cave” is all they’ve earned up to this point. And it’s really only two of them.
opiejeanne
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Yup. I need to get up terribly early (for me). I’m going to go work a crossword puzzle and hope that knocks me out. It usually works pretty well.
Yarrow
@opiejeanne: Trump first went to Moscow in 1987. Follow the money from there.
And, as usual, there’s a Trump tweet for every occasion. From two days ago:
Chet Murthy
@TenguPhule: Ha! eemom, I gotta say, this is TenguPhule sayin’ this! As bloody-minded as he can be, he’s onboard with “let’s thank these fuckers, b/c they might kill us all next time”. Worth considering, eh?
Keith P.
Request to CNN: Please for the love of God never book Shawn Steel on any of your shows ever again. Please.
Yarrow
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Yeah, I’m aware of that. I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s part of it, but don’t think it’s the only thing.
Patricia Kayden
Yay!!!! Yay most of all for Republican incompetence! Yay that millions get to keep their healthcare!! Yay for the ACA remaining in effect. Fix it.
Yay for the humiliation of Turtle. May he suffer many more humiliations!!
opiejeanne
@eclare: I have a kooky neighbor whom I like a lot, and she describes herself as shallow and dumb. She’s neither, but she is a bit lazy intellectually and doesn’t want to actually know what’s going on in such depth as the junkies here like, or even as little as I understand. She was describing how stressful this has been for her WITHOUT understanding anything for the basics and I just wondered to myself if knowing more helps or makes it worse. I think for me knowing helps; I hate suspense, I hate not understanding, I don’t like surprises. I told her that I have to disengage for a while, to keep it from overwhelming me, but that’s not entirely true. While we were in Yellowstone we were kind of going nuts because there was no connection to the outside world inside the park, no connection to the internet (Verizon works, ATT does not), and our lodge didn’t really have wifi despite promises that they did. Being forced to ignore the rest of the world should have been relaxing and it was, sort of, but very frustrating when it’s not your first choice. Took us a while to catch up.
eclare
Watching CNN, still can’t believe McCain did it. Yertle was awful.
opiejeanne
@Yarrow: I meant the money laundering through the RNC; I didn’t realize that that bit of corruption went back that far.
I know more about Trump’s trips to Moscow than I really care to know.
LAC
I nodded off to sleep while by my father ‘s hospital bed – he suffered a skull fracture and brain bleed after a fall and has yet to fully regain consciousness. He being cared for by some wonderful nurses and doctors in ICU. I woke up and after seeing the headlines I replayed the roll call. I don’t care about the media mancrushing McCain. I want to thank him and Republican women who stood up and the democrats who remained united. To McConnell, fuck him and the horse he rode on. I hope it knocks him off and stomps him hard.
Yarrow
@opiejeanne: I think when the truth comes out we’re all going to be surprised at how far back some of this stuff goes and how many people and institutions were compromised.
Yarrow
@LAC: Sorry to hear about your dad. I hope you get good news there soon. It’s nice to have good news with this vote in the meantime. I watch the vote more than once too. Savoring….
opiejeanne
@Yarrow: I don’t doubt it at all, just hadn’t considered it being that old before.
I thought I was beyond being shocked by this administration, and I was wrong, wrong every day of this week. Today was stunning, and that’s just the crap that Mooch pulled today.
opiejeanne
@LAC: I hope your dad gets better soon.
SFAW
I woke up to this news.
If this isn’t the best news I’ve had in a while, I don’t know what’s ahead of it.
I freely admit that I thought McCain would wimp out at the end, but me being fucking worng about that is Good News for McCain and America.
[Of course, I still think Traitorous Turtle will find some way to fuck over America — that’s most/all of his raison d’etre — but a Friday where he, ZEGS, and President* Lying Littledick have a sad is a Good Friday. I just hope the bill doesn’t get resurrected this Sunday.]
Is it too early to have a beer?
Yarrow
@SFAW: It’s five o’clock somewhere!
SFAW
In other good news, Baltimore Ravens lineman John Urschel is retiring at age 26, in order to pursue/finish his PhD at MIT. [Beavers represent!] Doing it in math is a little disappointing — we’re still using the same numbers that we’ve used for a thousand years or so, sir! — but going from a job that will eventually destroy his brain, to one that celebrates using his brain, is always a good thing.
E to the u, du/dx, e to the x dx, baby!
jonas
@mouse tolliver: Schumer’s speech wasn’t addressed to you, it was addressed to The Village. He knows tomorrow’s WaPo/NYT/CNN headline is going to be: “After Republicans implode, Schumer talks up bipartisanship” They eat that shit UP and that’s what Ma and Pa Middletown see on the morning programs when they wake up and have their coffee. It’s messaging: Democrats are reasonable; Republicans are nuts and want to kill you.
jonas
@Amir Khalid: “Stimmen für McConnells Gesetzentwurf war ein Befehl!!
WaterGirl
@Mary G: Revenge is a dish best served cold?
LAC
@Yarrow: @opiejeanne: Thank you both. Fingers and toes crossed
SFAW
@Yarrow:
Actually, it’s five o’clock here (within an engineering approximation). Just not PM.
And it wouldn’t be the first time I had used that rationale (i.e., yours, not the “engineering approximation” one).
jonas
@Adam L Silverman: This kind of stuff pisses off partisans — and sometimes you need to stick to your partisan guns — but this kind of bipartisan magnanimity plays great on the MSM. If Schumer can consistently feed the narrative that “Democrats are reasonable, Republicans are petty, partisan thugs who want to kill you,” that’s good for us. Remember, most voters don’t vote with their heads, they vote based on how they *feel* about a candidate/party.
SFAW
@LAC:
Sorry to hear about your father. I hope he has a full and complete recovery.
Central Planning
@Adam L Silverman: “ouch!”?
rikyrah
@Adam L Silverman:
You just made me so happy.???
rikyrah
@LAC:
Sending up positive thoughts and prayers
Brachiator
@Adam L Silverman:
Thanks for this bit of info. I was away from the media and the Internets for most of the day, and fell asleep before this last vote happened.
I wasn’t sure if they would try another vote over the weekend.
hedgehog mobile
Phew.
satby
@LAC: best wishes for your dad’s recovery!
sm*t cl*de
@Yarrow:
Just take a Luminol sprayer and a UV light.
Vhh
@delk: He will first need to have surgery to give him a chin.
Miss Bianca
@Major Major Major Major: late to this thread, but just wanted to say I will make it a personal mission to make sure Cory Gardner goes down. Also, too…wow, John McCain. I sure misunderestimated you.
Vhh
@jl: When your opponents are shooting themselves in their collective,you either say nothing or urge them to aim higher.
Uncle Cosmo
@?BillinGlendaleCA: My dad would’ve been 104.
(Within a day or two anyway. His home birth wasn’t reported because his parents thought he was too sickly to survive. They brought him to church on August 27, 1913 to be baptized & when asked how old the baby was they said a month, & so the backdated birth was recorded by the state of PA.)
a thousand flouncing lurkers (was fidelio)
@Yarrow: The fact that he was in a position to deliver it is pretty galling to McConnell and his muscle. When you have your thumb in someone’s eye, saying “I know you’ll be very interested in working with me to develop a good line of glass eyes,” is pretty much a Fuck-all-y’all.
Uncle Cosmo
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: @clay: I will be calling the office of Sen. Ben Cardin shortly & encouraging them to reach out to McCain, Collins & Murkowski & encourage them to join in cosponsoring his S. 1511, which aims to correct some of the problems with the ACA. Maybe other Senate Dems (looking at you, Chuck Schemer) ought to do the same.
mr_gravity
@Mike J: Dude! Today is MY birthday.Also my name is Mike. And I have a dog named J. (cue twilight zone music)
a thousand flouncing lurkers (was fidelio)
@mouse tolliver: it was for the Village, who will be screaming about bipartisanship like a newly-branded calf. So he’s shoving it all on McConnell’s shoulders, pre-emptively, for the benefits of the Loyal Sons of David Broder, Lodge #0001. They are more likely to take note than most of the rest of us, and they need a lot of help seeing the light of day, what with the ceremonial hoods and all.