I think the Dems continually miss a golden opportunity with this debt ceiling bill. If the Republicans can use their intransigence to grandstand for political point making, so can Democrats. Each and every time this becomes an issue Nancy can stand up and say “Of course we’ll pass the debt ceiling. Every responsible and patriotic member on congress knows it’s their duty to pay what’s owed, like any other American citizen knows. Only reckless deadbeat would jeopardize the economy like that.” or something more politically pithy. The point is, that if Demz had decent political acumen here they could easily turn McConnell’s cynicism against him in a most heinously painful way.
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What’s falling flat? The two bills have been linked since this summer, Pelosi has been upfront that the House won’t pass them unless the Senate passes both, so they’re just prepping to follow through and demonstrate to Manchin and Sinema that they weren’t joking about that.
This is exactly what backbone looks like, not going, “gee, Sinema’s not cooperating, so we’ll just pass this one little bill and lose all of our leverage over getting them to pass the reconciliation bill.”
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And now my eyes glaze over anytime I hear about anyone’s classic car collection.
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Hardly. Manchin’s rhetoric deserved that brief characterization of it.
However, it certainly appears you’d really love to try to create an argument.
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One of my faves is from Will Rogers.
“Every time Congress makes a law it’s a joke, and every time they make a joke, it’s a law.”
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It seems to be in a couple legit-seeming sources but usually I shoot first and ask questions later on this.
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Messaging, messaging, messaging. Something the Dems take all too lightly. Put the message in single syllable words and then drumbeat it home.
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–Mark Twain
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Not at all.
You’ve been making highly emotional posts with little basis in fact, and that is, by definition, a kind of tantrum.
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They don’t. They’re constantly messaging and putting it out there.
Then the lamestream media takes their messaging over to their favorite GQP talking head, asks for what the response from the GQP is, and runs that as all the headlines.
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Exactly this. Demz just don’t understand that they’re just standing there and letting McConnell bully them. The Republicans are throwing down the gauntlet and they must be answered.
Guys, guys, guys. Let’s not get into a Goodfellas shine box thing here. 
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Yes, I get the sense that Pelosi and Schumer realize the Legislature has been in paralysis for five years, and being old souls imagine that once new legislation is passed the benefits of an actually functioning government will be clear to all, and the country will wake up from its bad dream.
Needless to say, I don’t think that will happen. The media landscape is too different from the one that they spent most of their life negotiating. As I think you are saying, there are no longer penalties for ripping the columns off the Capitol Building and using them for battering rams since the GOP and FOX and their ilk have normalized hostage-taking as a political tool. Holding the majority, the Democrats should have a plan “B” that involves making Manchin appropriately queasy about “comity” and “partisanship.”
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SCOTUS says it’s First Amendment stuff, and legal.
Still unattractive and silly, though.
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I linked the basis in fact. Manchin’s words would qualify as GQP great replacement dogwhistling coming out of any fucking republican’s mouth and he gets ZERO cover for that just because he’s a Dem, particularly in light of his behavior and the fact that he’s feeding Faux News shit to run with.
And when I disagree with someone’s post, I generally post something substantive in terms of my argument otherwise, emotionally charged or not. You, on the other hand, seem to love taking cheap shots.
Would you be willing to do a compare and contrast between McConnell and McQarthy’s messaging and Schumer and Pelosi’s messaging? McConnell’s seems quite calm and reasonable (‘No’ to everything) vs. Nancy and Schumer seemingly changing daily.
It may be the situation we’re in, but I’d like to see more definitive message from the Dems than I’m seeing. F’rinstance, the suggestion from @Carmillas_Curse is not all that outside of the realm of possibility. I just don’t see Nancy hammering home the point that the GQP would have us default on our debt in conflict with the Constitution. This is a message that isn’t getting across.
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@becca656 Nailed it down better than I could. Nancy and crew seem to wonk and back stage politic very well, but they just don’t seem to be able to show up daily to toe to toe with the school yard bullies. Every one knows you have to stand up to bullies, every single time.
Stop peeking in my windows.
I keed, I keed.
Speaker Pelosi is talking to Manchin but will not reveal to reporters the details of those discussions. This strategy works for me.
“We’re talking about substance. We’re not talking about rhetoric,” Pelosi said, adding that she has “enormous respect” for the senator and that “we have our common ground.”
She flatly refused to get into detail of her discussions with Manchin,
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I remember when you could go to a library and use authoritative sources that actually cited original sources for quotes. If you wanted a powerul quote about something, you could find a real one, and know who actually said or wrote it. But why do that, when you can just make something up and attribute to whomever you like, and publish it yourself on the internet, where Google is a trusted authority.
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