The challenges ahead (Biden's America)

[elengil]

It's not a good trade-off. But without the Senate, it's probably the best that Democrats can do.

Republicans are perfectly willing to let people suffer unless they get something in return.

Ah I see what you're saying, I didn't pick up that you were talking about a trade-off with the Senate.

[N.E. Brigand]

Democrats need to try to get rid of the Electoral College, even if they fail.

Since Biden won it this time, it couldn't reasonably be claimed that they are doing so out of spite at having lost.

Shift the 2020 results by a combined total of just 50,000 votes in three states (Wisconsin, Arizona, Georgia), and we'd have a situation in which the Electoral College is tied and the President is elected in the House despite losing the national popular vote by more than 5 million and despite the opposition party having more House seats.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

N.E.B., I would be curious to hear your opinion of my http://www.campaignforanewbillofrights.org which includes (to a large extent at the strong urging of our friend Jason) replacing the electoral college.

[N.E. Brigand]

N.E.B., I would be curious to hear your opinion of my http://www.campaignforanewbillofrights.org which includes (to a large extent at the strong urging of our friend Jason) replacing the electoral college.

Good stuff there. At a quick read, I'm for the whole thing.

But I also want to get rid of corporate personhood.

Oh, and the Senate needs to be changed to be proportional. I disagree with the argument that claims the Constitution can't be amended on that point.

[N.E. Brigand]

Here's a challenge:

How Did a Trump Loyalist Come to be Named NSA General Counsel—And What Should Biden Do About It? (Susan Hennessey, Lawfare)

It seems the Trump administration may be trying to "burrow" political appointees into civil service positions where they can't easily be removed by Biden.

[RoseMorninStar]

Is it possible he may not pass the background & security checks?

Glenn Gerstell, his predecessor, noted the agency and its legal office have “a deep tradition of being nonpartisan and it would be important for anybody in the position of general counsel to discharge the job that way.” The WaPo article went on to state:
As general counsel, he will no longer be a presidential appointee, but a senior civil servant with civil service protections. A future Pentagon general counsel could choose to assign him to a different civil service position."

[narya]

My father made an interesting suggestion today when I spoke to him on the phone.

Offer Susan Collins a cabinet post.

If Susan Collins goes to the cabinet, would she be replaced by a Democrat (since the gov is dem) or would the affirmation be contingent on appointing a more recalcitrant Republican in the Senate?

[Túrin Turambar]

Were I Biden, I would actually be inclined to leave the more independent-minded Republican senators (Romney, Collins, Murkowski) where they are. He is certain to need Republican votes for his healthcare and pandemic relief plans, and they might make it harder for the GOP to form a single solid bloc voting "no" to everything.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

He won't be able to get much done with Mitch McConnell setting the Senate's agenda. McConnell has already shown that he is willing to disregard tradition and decency and fairness, and I don't expect that he would act any differently even with Trump gone (after all, he acted that way well before Trump was elected). If giving Collins a cabinet post makes the difference between 51-49 and 50-50, there is little question that it would be worth it.

[River]

It would be optimistic to the point of foolishness to think McConnell's going to let the Senate get up off its bum for Biden. He wasn't even letting legislation happen for Trump. Of course, that may have been because the Trump White House was completely erratic about what it wanted but still, it's like the guy has no idea how to do anything other than ram his thumb up his butt and make noise.

[N.E. Brigand]

Yesterday or the day before I saw a quote from Obama's new book describing how he and Biden met with McConnell and delivered an explanation of why some proposed legislation would be good for the country, and McConnell responded by saying something like: You seem to be under the impression that I'm someone who cares.

[RoseMorninStar]

McConnell is a problem. A big problem. It isn't only the electoral college votes which often are contrary to the popular vote, but improper behavior on McConnell's part and gerrymandering which leaves the majority feeling as if they are not represented in government. That is always problematic.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I saw that too. It is a pretty extraordinary statement. I also saw a quote from an interview with Obama in which he said that his initial instinct to Congressman Joe Wilson yelling out "You Lie" during his speech about health care early in his first term (in regard to Obama's completely true statement that undocumented immigrants would not not receive health care coverage under his proposed health care reform bill) was to smack him in the head. Of course, Obama kept his composure and finished his speech without reacting. But it is a reminder of the eroding of norms long pre-dates Trump's election.

x-posted with Rose.

[RoseMorninStar]

It certainly is a sorry place we find ourselves in.

[N.E. Brigand]

"Reagan proved deficits don't matter." -- Dick Cheney, Nov. 2002

Cheney was right.

And Republicans always govern that way when they have the presidency. It's time for Democrats to do the same.

[elengil]

"Reagan proved deficits don't matter." -- Dick Cheney, Nov. 2002

Cheney was right.

And Republicans always govern that way when they have the presidency. It's time for Democrats to do the same.

I don't believe that it's time to make Republicans the benchmark of how to govern.

[elengil]

The past carries forward - so while this may sound like beating a dead horse, it isn't the Barrett hearings I'm sharing, but the very particular display put on by one particular Senator that is one of the challenges that absolutely MUST be addressed to move forward in this country.

[N.E. Brigand]

"Reagan proved deficits don't matter." -- Dick Cheney, Nov. 2002

Cheney was right.

And Republicans always govern that way when they have the presidency. It's time for Democrats to do the same.

I don't believe that it's time to make Republicans the benchmark of how to govern.

To make myself more clear: in terms of government spending, Republicans have regularly operated in the way that Democrats *should* have been operating. Even a broken clock is right twice a day and all that.

Edited to add: for example, the Obama administration, fearful of complaints about blowing up the deficit, did a much smaller stimulus package in 2009 than they should have. Lots of economists pointed this out at the time. And the result was, as many Republicans said time and again, a very slow recovery from the Great Recession. And the Republicans complained about the deficit anyway! A much larger stimulus, like the CARES Act this year, would have helped people a lot more *and* would have had the result of improving Democrats' election performance in 2010 (when they got "shellacked," as Obama said) and 2012 (which was much closer than it should have been). Democrats did the right thing for the country this past spring by pushing for such a large relief bill, over the objections of Republicans I might add, but they knew that by doing so, by helping people, they risked helping Trump win reelection. And that's probably why he still managed to get 47% of the vote. (Especially after he made sure that his signature appeared on the checks.)

[Voronwë the Faithful]

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Biden's picks for his foreign policy team suggest he is looking for people who can actually do the job, rather than making political choices.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/election ... -list.html

His just announced choice of former Federal Reserve chairwoman Janet Yellen as Secretary of the Treasury gives the same message, plus breaks another glass ceiling as she will be the first female Treasury Secretary, and perhaps also is a bit of a dig at Mr. Trump, who went against tradition and refused to reappoint Yellen as Fed chair (and then almost immediately started complaining about Jerome Powell, who he picked to replace Yellen).