Vox Populi, our weekly live chat about the week’s events begins tonight at 7:00pm PDT. Hope to see you then!
AdLib3 hours ago
Hey CL!
AdLiban hour ago
Hellloooooo? Anybody home? Who’s got the margaritas?
choicelady
an hour ago
I think a couple of us started early on them!
AdLiban hour ago
Hey, AD – fancy talking to you again today! Got my tickets, should hit Civic Center about the same time you do.
choicelady
an hour ago
Hang on – BRB
choicelady
an hour ago
Murph and TW let me know they couldn’t make it tonight so not sure if there will be more than us tonight.
AdLiban hour ago
Sounds perfect!
AdLiban hour ago
I’m back. Well, we can bemoan the SCOTUS or pick something less angrifying.
choicelady
an hour ago
And if that’s not a word, it should be.
choicelady
an hour ago
I like “angrifying”!
AdLiban hour ago
As in “makes one want to puke”.
choicelady
an hour ago
I think Satchell Paige used it. I like it, too.
choicelady
an hour ago
Couldn’t follow the news today, too angrifying. These corrupt SCOTUS hacks have in one year, reversed decades of progress for the US. Now I am angrified by Biden who said he won’t support expanding the court because it would “politicize” the SCOTUS. How out of touch is that view?
AdLiban hour ago
And to be frank, Biden is looking very weak and “old” lately. His voice is whispy and slow. This is not good.
AdLiban hour ago
Don’t waste a second being angry at Biden. He refuses, rightly, not to raise this issue when the votes aren’t there. Some time back he said he WOULD look at it if we had a chance of passing it. I think he’s very rational. He remembers FDR and what happened then.
choicelady
an hour ago
I am indifferent to his persona. RFK, Jr. staged pushups (4) and weight lifts (had someone there helping), so I’m not worried about Joe.
choicelady
an hour ago
If the Dems don’t have the votes for expanding the SCOTUS, at least as a majority, the country is in huge trouble and there is no escape for the expanding Christofascism the SCOTUS extremists have been implementing.
AdLiban hour ago
We don’t have the votes. We CAN if we do well 2024. But he is like Pelosi – don’t waste your energy on symbolic stuff you lose. Hoard your strength for a win.
choicelady
an hour ago
RFK is such a Titan submersible of a candidate, he will implode very soon on his own. Just concerned that some voters who don’t like Trump and voted for Biden last time may not bother to vote for such a weakening candidate. And I like Biden, he’s not weakening on policy but he is barely getting through speeches, I root for him to have a spark but that’s not a great thing to have to do.
AdLiban hour ago
I get that. Biden doesn’t need to insist on expanding the court now but he is strongly embracing tha “wrongness” of doing it and if Dems were in a position to pass that in 2025, his hypocrisy will be detrimental.
AdLiban hour ago
We will always have the snotty “too good to vote” crowd. Had it 2020. But more and more people see what’s going on. Every special election since then has resulted in a Dem win. I don’t think most people feel negative about his speech. They are actually seeing what he’s done. That’s more important.
choicelady
an hour ago
Biden should at least be focusing on how unjust the SCOTUS is, not using inflammatory language but hammering on that and wholly abstainging from any opinion on expanding the court if he would truly support that salvation of the country in 2025 if Dems win back both houses of Congress.
AdLiban hour ago
He is resisting expanding it NOW. He SAID if we have the votes he’d look at it. NOW is absolutely the wrong time. Let’s see who has the power after 2024.
choicelady
an hour ago
He has been focusing on the lack of justice, the reversion to the past, and SCOTUS’ reliance on personal RW opinion. He said all that over the last couple of days. Pulled NO punches.
choicelady
an hour ago
On one hand, there will be very activated voters among women, LGBTQ, students and ex-students struggling with student loan debt, not to mention AAs and Latinos, after all these horrible and corrupt rulings. So we have advantages but it is a bit concerning, how much vigor is lacking in Biden when he speaks. He seems quite old and weak. And I haven’t really given into that criticism before but I saw him speak today and it was a little concerning.
AdLiban hour ago
I wish more pundits – people in the know – would point out how today’s SCOTUS rulings deviate from the norm. No precedent, no legal foundation, and personal whim at play
choicelady
an hour ago
CL – Nope, he didn’t say “now”, here is his quote from yesterday’s MSNBC interview: “”I think if we start the process of trying to expand the court, we’re going to politicize it maybe forever in a way that is not healthy,” Biden said.”
AdLiban hour ago
Ad – so what? He seemed that way 2020. Everyone said so. But people look at his accomplishments. The days of “I want a president I can have a beer with” followed by “I want a president I can grab pussy with” are OVER.
choicelady
an hour ago
This is hugely a mistaken declaration by Biden.
AdLiban hour ago
Today’s comment comes on the heels of the past – there is NO VALUE in telegraphing your wants when your enemies hold a full House. Keeping things under wraps until you can act vigorously is the canny Dem way.
choicelady
an hour ago
CL – Yes, this courts total destruction of precedence AND deciding cases that are phony, lacking standing, even lacking actual injured parties, is a destruction of justice.
AdLiban hour ago
He’s correct. Talk about it now – expanding the court – with NO possibility of getting it done? It becomes a political football. The RW will holler “court packing” and politicize it totally. Keep your powder dry until you can fire the lob across the line. I totally agree with him.
choicelady
an hour ago
Everything you say is true. This court is not just financially corrupt but MORALLY corrupt for departing from law and practice.
choicelady
an hour ago
In 2020, Biden had his moments of gusto, talking tough and loudly. I don’t see him capable of doing that anymore, his age is more pronounced now, his speech is so soft and sometimes hard to hear. This is not an ideal scenario for Dems in 2024, who knows what Biden will be like in a year.
AdLiban hour ago
Well, what do you want to do about Biden? His numbers are up, people are seeing his power in policy accomplishments. Why do we need to be fearful of him – the age of bully he-man is OVER.
choicelady
an hour ago
My fear isn’t that he’s soft spoken. MY fear is there will be a disaster – OKC style – the RW will blame on him.
choicelady
an hour ago
But the problem is, Biden is standing against the acceptance of a majority of Dems on expanding the court. He is saying it is a bad idea and that is the opposite of building support for it. If he does a 180 after being re-elected, he still will have discouraged Dem pols from supporting it. AND, he opposes ending the filibuster. We’re not mindreaders, we don’t know that he really feels the opposite on both issues, he could truly be mired in the past way of thinking and genuinely believe both would be bad for our democrsacy which is just plain dangerous.
AdLiban hour ago
He is NOT doing that. He’s saying NOT NOW. He’s said that several times. And why in the world would you WANT him to give that as a political football to the RNC?
choicelady
an hour ago
He said on the filibuster that it’s no longer HIS CALL. He’s not in the Senate. It’s on us to get out the vote and throw the GOP OUT so these issues can have legs/
choicelady
an hour ago
Remember the quote, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing,” Biden may or may not believe expanding the court is a bad thing but by opposing it, he is doing nothing in the face of evil, IMO.
AdLiban hour ago
Everything you’re saying about Biden was said about Pelosi when she soft peddled issues she couldn’t pass. When they CAN pass, there is bravado and celebration! This is wise – keeps the RW off balance.
choicelady
an hour ago
Well, OK – what SHOULD he do then? How should he expand the Supreme Court which failed so spectacularly under FDR? If you want him to “do something” please say WHAT.
choicelady
an hour ago
I think we’re kind of locked in with Biden for 2024 unless he has a health issue. I think his growing weakness in his speech and demeanor will make him more vulnerable in 2024 than he should be but thankfully, against Trump, he is a much easier choice. I do wonder if some may flock to 3rd Party candidates to protest vote against a fascist vs. a weakened, elderly candidate as the choices. Again, I didn’t think the 2020 Biden was in this situation, I was concerned that he was but he had speeches that proved he still had fire in the belly. Nowadays, I don’t see that, I am just concerned at how I feel the need to root for him to get through speeches and answers to the press each time.
AdLiban hour ago
Today he talked about ways AROUND SCOTUS rulings. How to revise the loan forgiveness, how to keep focus on race and related issues in college admissions. His path was stunning. He found alternatives until we CAN reform the court.
choicelady
an hour ago
Well, still and all tell me how we should have him reform the court NOW?
choicelady
an hour ago
CL – Absolutely, killing the filibuster is on Senate Dems if they winn a majority (without Sinema and possibly Manchin) in 2024. The probllem IMO is that Biden is using his bully pulpit to push back against it. He could at least say it’s for The Senate to decide but like expanding the court, he is vocal about fully opposing it.
AdLiban hour ago
That won’t convince more Senate Dems to support it.
AdLiban hour ago
When did he discuss the filibuster lately? I’ve not heard a thing.
choicelady
an hour ago
He has said over and over he won’t discuss what will become a GOP and rotten press political football. It has proven successful w Obama, Pelosi, Biden to NOT allow issues you cannot pass to be appropriated by the Right. Then go for the jugular when you can.
choicelady
an hour ago
Yes, I was glad to see how prepared he and his team were today to lay out new ways around this ruling to help debt-drowning students. On one hand, I think Biden and his Admin are brilliant, effective and progressive. It is the campaign for re-election that concerns me, not the fantastic record Biden has.
AdLiban hour ago
Here is a Biden quote from 2021: “Biden says eliminating filibuster would ‘throw the entire Congress into chaos’
AdLiban hour ago
Our biggest issues are with rotten media. I grew up with journalism at its peak – and it is pathetic today. We need to focus on MAKING media tell the POLICY successes not focusing on Biden’s soft voice.
choicelady
an hour ago
That is not the position of someone who actually supports removing the filibuster.
AdLiban hour ago
Ad – that was TWO YEARS AGO. And he said then if I recall that it wasn’t his call.
choicelady
an hour ago
So? Pelosi refused impeachment for MONTHS until she didn’t. Remove the filibuster, you do have to make sure the Dems are IN CONTROL of the Senate for LONG times or it bites us in the butt.
choicelady
44 minutes ago
You can change rules in ONLY the first weeks of each Congress. We never had the power, even 2023, to eliminate the filibuster. We need more DEMS to change the RULES to make things work better.
choicelady
43 minutes ago
CL – I think Biden and the Dem party should be coming together behind the message of, “If you are as concerned as we are by the extremist path that the MAGA SCOTUS and MAGA GOP are forcing the majority down and destroying so much of the progress weve made in the last 100 years, vote us into power in 2024 and we will restore the rights and respect due every American citizen.” No need to directly say, “Expand the court!” or “Kill the filibuster!”, just a firm contract with the Americvan people that voting them into unified power in 2024 will allow them to reverse this destructive course SCOTUS and Repubs are forcing on us.
AdLib42 minutes ago
What GOP Senators are up 2024? I haven’t seen a list yet.
choicelady
42 minutes ago
Biden did that today, yesterday, the day before. He did EXACTLY that – and who the HELL reported it? Saw it on Twitter not in major media.
choicelady
41 minutes ago
I agree, the media is horrible and happily pumping up Repubs and Trump as equally viable with Dems to push the close competition to get morre viewers and readers. Both-sidesism is corrupt and greedy. I really dislike most media entities for how they’ve worked to hammer Biden while he succeeds on so many fronts so they can have the horse race they can profit from.
AdLib40 minutes ago
It’s why I stay on Twitter – I see things, sometimes live, that I find in no other place. And that’s what REALLY scares me. The media are waffling at best. Bought and paid for at worst.
choicelady
40 minutes ago
CL – There’s no escaping the facts though that Biden repeatedly uses his bully pulpit to attack ending the filibuster and enlarging the SCOTUS, there are zero statements from him even being ambiguous about either and that of course sways any who look to his opinion, pushing them the wrong way.
AdLib39 minutes ago
AGain – BRB – someone at the door. Again.
choicelady
38 minutes ago
I’m back. That was TWO YEARS ago. And no, he will NOT politicize expanding SCOTUS when he has zero leverage but it would be used against Dems. This is rational. It’s the long game.
choicelady
37 minutes ago
Right about Pelosi but she opposed impeachment UNTIL these two massively egregious crimes by Trump with Ukraine and 1/6 occurred, his obstruction of justice and collaboration with Russia was not enough for her. She didn’t change her position, she just responded with positions on situations that were more extreme…though Trump collaborating with our known enemy seemed pretty extreme.
AdLib36 minutes ago
choicelady
36 minutes ago
That’s the point – you don’t telegraph your willingness to do something BIG until you have the ammo to do it.
choicelady
35 minutes ago
See the link I sent. He proposed a commission to look at the courts.
choicelady
35 minutes ago