The Post put up a shut-down clock on the front page, which means we can expect hostage crisis-levels of government shut-down coverage now. The narrative appears to shift with each new set of headlines and hot takes.
If every single Republican in Congress weren’t a slimy, complicit, thieving treason-weasel, it would almost be possible to feel pity for them as they carefully cobble together agreements, only to have Rage Gramps shit all over them because he misunderstood some vapid twit on Fox & Friends or had an ill-timed racism attack.
Brian Beutler over at Crooked Media has a good piece up arguing that it’s now or never for Dreamers:
It’s been months since President Trump voluntarily terminated President Obama’s 2012 deferred action program for childhood arrivals. Every day, more and more DACA recipients are becoming subject to deportation; the protracted nature of this legislative fight has imposed real costs on their communities. Even if you wish away these ancillary harms, the view that Democrats shouldn’t maximize their leverage now is wrong because the alternative isn’t actually available. The choice isn’t between a shutdown fight now and a Dream Act fight later; it’s between the Dream Act now or not at all.
The Republican legislative strategy in the Trump era has leaned heavily on deception and bad faith. In the GOP’s telling, Obamacare repeal wouldn’t kick people off of their health insurance, and their corporate tax cut bonanza was driven by deep concern for middle-class interests.
The GOP position on Dreamers is no different.
He’s right. Trump and the Republicans have lied about everything, and they aren’t negotiating in good faith. It’s now or never for the Dreamers, and the Democrats shouldn’t budge, not one goddamned inch.
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
I’m probably dreaming, but I really hope that what happened in California that resulted in Democratic control of the state government is beginning to happen nationally.
ruemara
What can I say except I think we have to shut down the government. Whether it’s by not cooperating with a CR or by massive protest & civil disobedience, the best thing to do make it impossible for Republicans to do shit and show them up as the craven bestial crooks they are. And that goes double for their base.
piratedan
apparently we’re deporting the wrong people, we should be sending white Republicans back to their nativist roots in old Mother Russia where they can gleefully blame the Uzbeks and Khazaks for their sorry state of affairs…
Mike in DC
800k is a lot of people. Dig in and fight. We’re fighting to keep people here, they’re fighting for a wall to keep people out. The politics on this are simple, and so are the ethics, and we’re right on both counts.
Lee
@Mike in DC: I honestly agree there is absolutely no downside for the Democrats defending the dreamers.
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: We should be so lucky
Brachiator
Trump is working the public relations angle hard:
I kinda hope these GOP bastards do shut it down.
Also, I don’t think the Republicans give a crap about the Dreamers, except as a bargaining chip.
Yutsano
@ Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) : We’re a long way from any result like that yet. There are still too many white folks entrenched in white supremacy to make that radical of a shift. But I do foresee the Dolt45 interregnum causing a massive political tidal wave that will make changes in this country as long as we can get through them.
@ruemara: I’m a Fed. I’m good with this. Both CHIP and DACA need funded. And hell if it don’t cost me leave when I’m in Seattle that’s all right by my too.
gene108
I believe the Constitution specifies one job for the House of Representatives and that is to authorize government spending.
A Republican controlled House has literally ONE JOB to do and that is pass a budget and appropriations to keep the government running and they have not been able to do that in years.
This level on incompetence needs to be highlighted.
Paul Ryan, you literally have ONE JOB to do and you aren’t capable of doing it.
Brachiator
@Yutsano: I’m starting to have this dream where the government shuts down and we end up with a 2 week tax filling season.
ETA: Yeah, I know that the IRS would continue to process tax returns during a shutdown, but other operations would be suspended or cut back.
Fair Economist
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?:
California flipped because a very large minority, Latinos, realized the Republicans were out to get them and that would never change. There’s no comparable racial minority in the country as a whole. Maybe there are enough women who have reached a similar (and accurate) conclusion.
Mnemosyne
@Brachiator:
Dream, or nightmare? I know accountants already work insane hours during tax season.
Mary G
Frankly,I don’t think the “Freedom” caucus will ever vote for the DACA, so if not now, when? The Dems should stand on fast, no negotiations.
I hate to think of these young people being left in limbo, with no control over their futures.
oatler.
Annd here’s Chuck Todd, retweeting Fox News.
Yutsano
@Brachiator: Anything electronically filed will be fine as the computers will do that. I have to check if the manual processors are considered essential or not.
A 2 week filing season would be both heaven and hell for me. Hell because EVERYONE would want their issues resolved NOW!!! Heaven because it would only be two weeks and I could brace myself for that.
Zach
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/01/stormy-daniels-once-claimed-she-spanked-donald-trump-with-a-forbes-magazine/
I think we were too quick to write off Gorilla Channel as a hoax.
Brachiator
@Mnemosyne:
Both.
I don’t personally do a lot of tax returns, but assist tax professionals. A shutdown would just add to the madness.
Villago Delenda Est
@Mary G: They’re all racist slime in that group, to a man/woman.
catclub
@gene108:
I think war power is another. But maybe that is House + Senate.
Betty Cracker
@Brachiator: From the article you linked:
The Trump admin’s (all-talk, completely phony) veteran-veneration is even creepier than the Bush 2 gang’s, and that’s saying something! Pretty soon they’ll ask us ordinary citizens to clear the sidewalk for uniformed people. Warrior worship never ends well, as Germany and Japan could tell us.
Barbara
@Fair Economist: I think Nevada (a small state) is undergoing this transformation and something similar could happen in Florida, Arizona, Georgia and Texas, but Latinos have a lower than average participation in elections, which is one reason these states have remained more conservative — in addition to gerrymandering and voter ID requirements. If any one of these states became reliably Democratic, it would be lights out for Republicans nationally.
Mike in DC
21 days is the record, followed by 16 and 5 days. Then one weekend shutdown and a few one day shutdowns. Maybe 50 days combined. Pretty sure a long shutdown would trigger a new recession.
trollhattan
Who doesn’t Donny like now, could it be John Kelly?
Brachiator
@Yutsano:
This was the policy during a 2013 shutdown:
It would be a similar situation for me. I would love to be able to say, “well, I really can’t be sure or help you until IRS operations are fully up and working. Then that 2 week window would be crazy!
catclub
@Mary G:
this is probably true, but if a DACA bill came to a vote in the House, most observers think it would pass – with (virtually) all the Democrats and some number of GOP votes.
The Freedom Caucus only bosses the rest around as if they are all there is of the GOP House.
The Dangerman
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?:
Which is why the remaining Red Counties want to split CA into two states, the blue counties and the red counties (roughly), which I’d fully support just to laugh at State 51 when they have NO money to do anything; other than Marijuana, there is NO tax base in Red Counties and, even now, they are a true shithole (when I worked a special project in Tulare County not that long ago, their unemployment rate IMPROVED to only 14.9%; it’s still a wasteland, even with a high profile Congressman, Devin Nunes).
schrodingers_cat
@trollhattan: I think they are playing good cop/bad cop. Kelly is totally on board the nativist immigration agenda.
Yutsano
@Mike in DC: Anything longer than two weeks will give the economy a cold. A month would probably cause a seizure. Not paying 4 million people is brutal.
Also: has anyone told Dolt45 pretty much all deportation activities stop during a shutdown?
kindness
This thing will need 9 Democratic Senators to vote it through. Getting both S-Chip & a Dreamer bill with it is the price. Those of you who say that price is too high ignore that Republicans and their media enablers are going to scream like stuck pigs no matter what Democrats agree to even if it were complete capitulation to Republican hostage taking.
So my thinking is if we are going to see the exact same amount of fussy baby whining then go for it all and don’t give them anything until we get it all. It’s not like we are asking Republicans to put Trump before a firing squad or anything. That would be plan C.
gene108
@Brachiator:
I think there are a few old-timers left, like Graham, who realize Republicans need to increase minority support, in order to better increase Republican chances in elections.
Trump managed to squeeze out a higher portion of the white vote because of his racist promises, but I don’t think that’s sustainable. At some point you have to deliver something more than “Jose who has lived in the U.S. for 20 years, father of 3, and a steadily employed construction worker, whose wife is active in the local PTA,and is well liked by all”.just got deported.
The economy is strong, the stock market is at record highs, and unemployment is low and Republicans are losing gerrymandered, supposedly safe seats. The enthusiasm of racist whites can only carry you so far, because they were not reliable voters in the past and either Republicans go fully to create a white ethno-state or apartheid state or they will not be able to keep these voters engaged.
A few may not care about Dreamers, as such, but they care enough about winning future elections to want to do something now.
Fair Economist
@Barbara: The Republicans could lose Nevada or Arizona and still be competitive. Nevada looks like it’s about to go; Arizona not so much. Florida or Texas would indeed be lights out for them.
Brachiator
@Betty Cracker:
Yep. Trump has quite a fetish for the military, despite never having served.
Fair Economist
@The Dangerman:
Why would you think Nunes could do anything useful no matter how much power he had?
catclub
This seems like a tremendous oversimplification:
There are a lot of moving parts. I still think getting one major item every month – at the next CR deadline – could work.
Mike in DC
@kindness:
More specifically:
1. Dream Act
2. CHIP
3. NO wall
4. No ending chain migration
5. No ending visa lottery without helping those here on TPS status
worn
OMG, Betty, you have the most amazing wordsmithing skills! This might be even better than “beady-eyed fucknugget”, a coinage that will never slip my memory.
gene108
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?:
National demographics do not support this. California is a majority-minority state. The minority part was poked and woke up and started voting Democrat and there were enough of them to really make a difference.
There just aren’t enough minority voters in West Virginia, Kentucky, Idaho, etc. to recreate what happened in California.
What I hope is the newly awakened Democratic voters stay engaged forever and ever.
Republicans win, because our side does not turn our in many elections or does not vote down ballot races.
If we can change that, we can take back a lot of offices.
kindness
@The Dangerman: – The remaining red counties in California certainly Do NOT want to split the state. I live in one and there is no desire to do it here. You hear about it from con-men and raving lunatics but not regular folk.
@Mike in DC: I’d let them have a chain link fence though.
Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)
A happy story: Chris Christie barred from bypassing the security line at Newark airport. He had to go through the regular line. Hahahhahaha
catclub
@Fair Economist: Florida is already half-gone – Obama won it twice, I believe.
Now Texas – that would be a big Biden deal.
The Dangerman
@Fair Economist:
Fair point. Nunes is an idiot and should have stuck with milking cows (although he might have tried milking a bull, so maybe that’s not possible either).
catclub
@gene108:
Georgia is the next interesting one in the line of Majority-minority states.Not there yet, but very soon. Its should be interesting to watch how it goes.
schrodingers_cat
@Mike in DC: Chain migration is a slur and nativist propaganda. USCIS refers to it as family reunification.
Brachiator
@gene108:
It’s hard for the GOP to increase minority support when they are busy demonizing them, deporting them and putting them on “entry denied” immigration lists.
This is why Trump needs the wall and that evergreen, Muslim terrorism. This will keep the racists animated for years and years.
Also, this is a new era. Racists are clearly enjoying being the center of attention and the focus of government policy.
Betty Cracker
@catclub: What “major items” do you mean?
Mike in DC
@schrodingers_cat: Exactly. And it’s a policy Trump’s grandpa benefited from.
cain
@Fair Economist:
Colorado will likely go as well. The funding for democratic candidates have been pretty good. We’re one foot in already.
schrodingers_cat
@Mike in DC: I found out that Nazis were there first. Our neo-Nazis are just following that example.
ruemara
@Brachiator: They’ve won. They’re doing all in their power to stuff people like them into all the little spaces of government. They’re going to be very active, dangerous and fertile for decades. Meanwhile, progressives will be hauling out the mummified remains of Bernie and sitting home because GMOs within 6 months of Trump keeling over in office.
SenyorDave
@Zach: She says one time he made her sit with him for three hours watching ‘shark week.’
I still wonder whether the media has this story backwards. Maybe Stormy Daniels paid Trump $130k to keep quiet about their affair.
terraformer
Betty, your prose is magical.
Kayla Rudbek
@Yutsano: nobody has told him that if the USPTO isn’t authorized to keep on spending user fees, that it shuts down as well and he won’t get any trademarks issued during a shutdown.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@trollhattan:The signs there is a spork with Kelly’s name on it all there. Just Monday there was some article about how Kelly is the real president which was the same thing that happened to Bannon.
Mike in DC
@catclub:
We could probably look at a demographic breakdown of the vote in TX, look at growth projections and figure out when it first goes purple and then blue. My guess is purple in the 2020s, blue in the 2030s.
gene108
@Brachiator:
I think the level of racists Trump got to the polls will want more and more. I think it’s like a drug addiction, where you build tolerance and need higher doses to get high.
Building the wall and calling Mexicans racists and Africa a shithole is a good first hit. But then what? Blacks are still out-and-about. Mexicans are still in the country.
I don’t know, I just think, when very little materially changes for them, they may get discouraged again.
Betty Cracker
@Zach & @SenyorDave: The Shark Week thing isn’t the worst of it — the MoJo article says Trump made her spank him with a Forbes magazine…that had himself, Don Jr. and Ivanka on the cover. This has got to be a joke, right? Right?
Barbara
@kindness: They need 14 Democrats, assuming someone will try to filibuster (and that would not necessarily be a Democrat). McCain is not there, Cochran is day to day, and at least three Republicans have stated they won’t vote for it. That requires 14 Dems to bring the number up to 60.
catclub
@kindness:
add at least two: Graham opposes, McCain is indisposed in cancer treatment in AZ.
Then there is Some UT wacko senator who never votes for CR’s. that gets up to needing 12 Democrats,
NotMax
@Betty Cracker
Don’t want to contemplate what he begged her to do with an issue of Barron’s.
rikyrah
THREAD
As a disabled veteran who relies on the federal government for services & benefits, I understand that a government shutdown may impact me both medically & financially
If it means protecting children covered by CHIP & DACA, I understand & accept the consequences of that decision pic.twitter.com/Br4EWTCbaR
— Red T Raccoon (@RedTRaccoon) January 18, 2018
catclub
@Betty Cracker: DACA, -SChip, Hurricane relief funding, CSR’s(?) – health insurance funding.
Mnemosyne
@Brachiator:
I still say that military school was probably the happiest time of his life despite the harsh discipline, because he was away from his abusive parents.
rikyrah
FULL INTERVIEW: Jorge Garcia and his family discuss his deportation to Mexico after living 30 years in the U.S., and their message to Pres. Trump and Congress. https://t.co/f8u2wc159S pic.twitter.com/qURlXCVhhD
— The View (@TheView) January 18, 2018
catclub
@Mike in DC:
TX would be today if someone could find the magic button that ups latino voting/registration to the same as whites in TX.
Amaranthine RBG
@trollhattan:
Yeah, I find it very hard to believe that this schism isn’t intentional by Kelly. Surely he knew that stating this to a democratic audience would result in leaks and surely he knew how the cheeto shitgibbon would react.
What is the goal here for Kelly?
cmorenc
@catclub:
The FreeDumb caucus wields effective power far beyond their numbers due to the “Hastert Rule” and Speaker Ryan’s continuing willingness to follow it – by which no measure is permitted to come up for a vote in the House unless it has a sufficient number of solely GOP members (218) to pass it without needing any crossover Democratic votes. Even though the formal membership in the Freedom Caucus is only around three dozen, there are enough other far-right R house members and others with narrow, intransigently uncompromising agendas on various issues to effectively undermine the ability of the GOP leadership to get anything passed, so long as they are handicapped by the Hastert Rule. The tyranny of the minority of the majority rules. There are many things even the current house could easily pass if permitted to come to a vote on a simple majority of the house free of the Hastert Rule, where the vote “for” would pass by a wide margin.
Kay
The Blocks own the Pittsburgh paper and the Toledo Blade. They sometimes use the Toledo Blade to attack their own employees on labor issues, which would be fine if they weren’t so sneaky about it- the attacks are conducted with editorials on the general evils of labor unions when actually they’re just trashing employees and pretending it’s public policy.
Roger Moore
@Yutsano:
Especially because one of the things that pushed the Republicans out in California was people who didn’t like the direction of the state moving elsewhere. It’s unrealistic to expect that degree of emigration from the US as a whole.
The Moar You Know
@The Dangerman: Two new Senators, both GOP, for your and my lifetime. At least several House reps, all GOP, for your and my lifetime.
Understand what’s happening now and why Russia and the GOP are pumping money into this scam with a firehose?
Agreed that “New California”, with the exception of coastal San Diego (who has probably half the population of “New California” and will never consent to be part of the “Shithole State”) is, indeed a complete shithole. Lived in this state all my life and inland California is a horror story to behold. You wanna talk about shitholes? I’ve spent quality time in Somalia and was less concerned for my safety than I have been in Fresno or Kern County (which is the scariest place in the world IMO).
Mike in DC
@catclub: I think the lower turnout is probably a combo of relatively lower socioeconomic status (lower strata, lower turnout), some vote suppression, and perhaps some cultural disillusionment with politics among those more recently come from Mexico.
a thousand flouncing lurkers (was fidelio)
@schrodingers_cat: Which it is; it was good enough for my great-great-grandfather and his family in the 1850s, and if it was good enough for them, why shouldn’t it be OK for everyone else? He wanted to give his family a secure future in the US instead of staying in the Kingdom of Bavaria, with its lack of civil rights, religious extremism, and absolutist government, plus the wars and occasional famines that popped up every so often. The fact that he was escaping a misgoverned, tinsel-covered shithole with beautiful scenery and wanted his family to join him didn’t count against him then; it shouldn’t count against anyone else now.
If the argument is that he was a white guy from Europe and that made it OK, we can conclude people offering it are racist bigots.
sdhays
Not to count any chickens before they hatch, but IF the Democrats manage to take back the House AND the Senate this year, they should protect their Senate majority by accepting Puerto Rico and DC’s petitions to become states. My reading of the Constitution says that the President has no authority over this decision and it’s a simple majority thing. It’s the right thing to do regardless of politics and it’s absolutely necessary because of the complete collapse into racist nihilism and treason by the Republican Party.
schrodingers_cat
@Amaranthine RBG: Two possibilities, playing the good cop to T’s bad cop or cementing his own independent political future w/o his boss.
Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)
The House released Glenn Simpson’s testimony before them.
Redshift
Warner and Kaine put out a joint press release this morning saying they wouldn’t vote for a CR without DACA, CHIP, etc., and pointing out how short term CRs are bad. They were two of the votes for the last CR, so I’m feeling pretty good about them holding firm.
catclub
@The Moar You Know:
The constitutional rule that a huge majority of states have to approve any new states basically means no new states. Or in best possible situations, new states would not upset any balance – so new ones might be admitted in pairs.
Fixing the senate will not happen for a long time.
Betty Cracker
@catclub: Beutler’s article addresses DACA only, not the other items on your list. Not sure why it’s an oversimplification to address a specific thing.
catclub
@Mike in DC: all agreed. How do we/the democrats improve the situation? tis a puzzle.
Redshift
@cmorenc:
Right, but that essentially amounts to Ryan voluntarily handing them a loaded gun. Boehner followed the so-called “Hastert Rule” (which I think we should just refer to as the Pedophile Rule) except when he didn’t. I can’t decide if Ryan fails to do that because he’s more stupid, more evil, or more gutless than Boehner.
The Moar You Know
@catclub: I know this, but I don’t even want for anyone to take the first step. It is dangerous and stupid…and the truly bad part is that the way they are suggesting partitioning the state, I would end up in Dumbfuck California, which is just not acceptable, even on a symbolic level. So I will holler about this idiotic idea every chance I get.
Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)
@Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady): TPM posted a pdf of Simpson’s House testimony.
catclub
@Betty Cracker:
Suppose that there is a full year CR passed that has DACA and none of those other things. Then those other things – S-CHIP, hurricane relief funds,
etc, will never happen – there will be no pressure points to get them passed.
What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?
I just called my Congressional rep (Jamie Raskin) and both Senators – Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, to ask that they hold out for a Dreamer fix and long term CHIP funding before voting to fund the government (because I’m sure, like with DACA, they will keep kicking the CHIP can down the road indefinitely if we let them).
stinger
@Brachiator:
In my experience and observation, it’s pretty much an inverse ratio throughout the country. Civilians tend toward warrior worship; veterans tend to have a more jaundiced view.
Fair Economist
@sdhays:
They can do that with Puerto Rico, but not DC, because the Constitution states DC is the federal district and not part of any state.
The problem with PR is that PR should ask for it and it never has. There was a recent referendum, but it was widely boycotted and lacks moral authority.
@catclub: The huge numbers of states supporting is only for DC, because that needs the constitutional amendment. Otherwise it requires only majorities in both houses, with no Presidential veto.
@The Moar You Know: Don’t worry about Dumbfuck California because partitioning a state requires consent of its legislature.
Roger Moore
@The Dangerman:
Very roughly. They do include a few blue and purple counties in “New California”, and those counties are among the most populous in California. “New California” wouldn’t be blue as California is today, much less California if it were to be split in two, but it wouldn’t be flaming red, either.
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@ruemara:
Well then, I guess we should all just slit our wrists. They’ve won, forever and ever.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Amaranthine RBG: Been seeing what Mueller is digging up on Trump and company and it’s time for him to bail (racists doesn’t mean traitor) or just had enough of Trump’s BS and decided to give Trump something to yell about.
Gelfling 545
@Zach: Jesus. No wonder he paid her off. Shark Week.
JPL
@rikyrah: Remember that Melania came here on a visitors visa and worked during that time. She married Trump in 2005 and became a citizen in 2006. During that time, Jorge was doing everything right, and was rejected.
sdhays
@Fair Economist: My understanding is that DC statehood involves redefining the federal district mandated by the Constitution to a tiny stretch of land including the White House and the Capitol building. There are limits on how large the federal district can be, but not on how small it can be. And it doesn’t even mandate that the federal district has to be where it is today; Congress could move it elsewhere if it so chose and was able to convince a state or two to give it some land. DC had a landslide referendum, I think, in 2016 in support of statehood. The Democrats should do it right away if they get the power.
As for Puerto Rico, if it was the Republicans, they wouldn’t let low turnout stop them. The only thing that should give Democrats pause is if they truly doubted that a large majority of Puerto Ricans would prefer statehood. The only way Puerto Rico is going to be treated fairly is if it has power in the US Congress; that should now be abundantly clear.
Gelfling 545
@schrodingers_cat: Not possible. Trump would forget who he’s supposed to be and start playing Mother Goose or somebody.
Roger Moore
@Brachiator:
I suspect it’s easier for people who have never served to fetishize the military. Everything looks better if you’ve only seen the idealized media version than if you’ve experienced the flaws of the real thing.
Roger Moore
@gene108:
One way to help that happen is to make sure those newly awakened voters have a meaningful say within the party. The better the Democratic Party’s elected officials reflect its voters, the more engaged those voters will be.
Roger Moore
@gene108:
The obvious answer is
pogromsrace riots. Nothing like a good old fashionedpogromrace riot to get the racists excited.Tom
@Redshift: Why is it an either/or choice whether Ryan is more stupid, evil or gutless than Boehner?
Fair Economist
@sdhays: Interesting loophole for DC.
For Puerto Rico, however, they do have a legislature and they can ask for statehood. According to polls, the populace was pretty evenly split between statehood and territory before Maria, with a majority against statehood because there’s a small minority for independence. Imposing statehood on them if they don’t ask for it is at the least rude.
Brachiator
@gene108: RE: This is why Trump needs the wall and that evergreen, Muslim terrorism. This will keep the racists animated for years and years.
You really don’t need metaphors. The nativist agenda is pretty clear. Remove as many “undesirables” as you can. Make the rest into second-class citizens.
You seem to be ignoring the deportations and immigration exclusions. And although there are some court challenges, if Trump prevails more people will be hurt.
And already there are increasing stories of people feeling free to openly insult nonwhite people.
This is why you offer scapegoats. Scapegoats are always tasty.
SiubhanDuinne
@Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady):
Saw that upstairs in John’s thread. I laughed and laughed.
Brachiator
@a thousand flouncing lurkers (was fidelio):
I sympathize with the sentiment, but you cannot just ignore current immigration laws. I mean, passports did not even exist in 1850 (they were briefly used during the Civil War, and regularly in 1918).
schrodingers_cat
@Brachiator: Family reunification is allowed by our current immigration laws. Citizens can sponsor their spouse, minor children and parents, there are no quotas for those categories. Citizens can also sponsor their siblings, depending on the country the wait can be several years to decades because of the # of slots available are limited. GC holders can sponsor only their spouses and minor children.
Frankensteinbeck
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?:
I think it is. However, we are in the part where the Republicans have just passed a scorched earth law that will require overwhelming control to remove, and will now do everything in their power to make the country ungovornable. That interregnum lasted… two decades in California?
@Fair Economist:
However, demographics are moving steadily nationwide, and things are balanced truly precariously. We’re already at a point where the GOP has control solely by cheating, and if Democrats get enough power to fix those cheats, odds are Republicans can never get it back. Still, the only thing I can see that might cause us to hit the tipping point in the immediate future is if already liberal whites wake up to the fact that the GOP hates them and is trying to kill them, and start voting more aggressively and consistently. We might be looking at that happening right now. Or not. When there’s no precedent for the voting shifts we’re seeing now, there’s no guessing what they actually mean.
Mnemosyne
@Brachiator:
As SC already pointed out, I think you missed that fidelio was talking about family reunification, not DACA.
sdhays
@Fair Economist: Absolutely. I think there’s already a petition sent years ago by Puerto Rico for statehood, so in theory, Congress could make it happen whenever. But, as you say, statehood shouldn’t be imposed. My inclusion of Puerto Rico is based on the assumption that a majority there now want it (and you’re right, that may not be the case). Anyway, Democrats should make it clear that a new petition would be welcomed if the people of Puerto Rico want to become a state.
sdhays
@schrodingers_cat: It floors me that family-based immigration is now “controversial”. And “family” has been euphemized into “chain”. Like a chain gang. Just disgusting.
Mnemosyne
@Brachiator:
Also, too, I actually think that’s another part of the good argument we have: the Trump administration is trying to change an immigration policy that dates back to the 1850s, at least. Why? What’s the point? What huge change in the world has occurred that requires this?
Another Scott
(Sorry if this has already been mentioned.)
According to TheHill – A bill will pass the House (the Freedom Caucus caved). The Senate is still up in the air with the Democrats holding strong.
TheHill:
Mitch is sweating…
Cheers,
Scott.
Roger Moore
@Mnemosyne:
Most immigrants are now non-white. That’s a major panic point for the Republicans. They’ll dance around it because they’re afraid to say it in public, but we all know that’s the core objection. If this were whole villages being brought over from Ireland or Norway, there would be nary a peep.
schrodingers_cat
@sdhays: Its not controversial, the nativist propaganda is trying to make it so. He may be President, its up to us to not let him change the essential character of this nation.
randy khan
@Another Scott:
Sounds like Schumer told Manchin his vote isn’t needed (and, honestly, with Kaine and Warner on board, that seems right).
J R in WV
@Brachiator:
Now, you’re forgetting all that time Mr Dumpf served at his Military Academy through High School, walking off demerits, saluting, being saluted (joke!) by others. Marching from class to class. Military 24/7 for the whole school year!!!
I will confess he (Dumpf) does a good salute for his Marine Honor Guard – mostly. Of course, after a week or so, President Obama got it down cold, no doubt after asking for some coaching and demonstration by his staff.
Dumpf’s military experience is just that, a joke in a military high school. My dad went away to a military school for something like his last year of HS and first year of college … hated it with a passion. Never spoke of it that I recall, I suppose he must have or I wouldn’t know, but there it is.
fuckwit
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: yes this feels like a repeat