At first glance, if it holds, it does appear to capture how a mature, shrewd President who's been to the rodeo more than once mostly held his own against a screaming drooling mob fumbling around with open cans of gasoline and cigarette lighters.
Debt ceiling deal reached in principle by Biden and McCarthy to avoid default:
https://www.npr.org/2023/05/27/1177688226/debt-ceiling-deal-biden-mccarthy-latest
U.S. President Joe Biden said on Sunday he had finalized a budget agreement with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to suspend the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling until Jan. 1, 2025 and that the deal was ready to move to Congress for a vote.
@TonyStark Think this was the source that planted the seed. “Untested legal theory”
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/could-biden-avert-debt-default-by-using-14th-amendment-2023-05-02/
@Stoneycase He won’t be removed. We as a country continue to fail to give Democrats enough of a control over Congress to make that happen. And that’s outside of the fact that the Senate is set up poorly to start with.
We had a chance to have a different SCOTUS and people blew it. Those same people want purple unicorns to fly in and fix their problems now. Trump got 3 SCOTUS picks. Probably won’t be fixed in my lifetime unless Democrats get a 2/3 Senate majority.
@Stoneycase It would have been far better and easier to have avoided this whole situation to begin with and the sooner everyone who isn’t a fan of the oncoming GOP fascism admits that, the better off we’re all going to be.
If we dare to do that, we’d need to be absolutely sure that a Democratic majority has the Senate and I see no reason to believe a lot of people even understand the implications. At least not on social media.
@joeinwynnewood @Stoneycase Thanks, Joe. Of course you’re correct. The wacky uninformed replies I get on Mastodon (and you get them, too) aren’t a reflection of reality, fortunately.
People need to understand the filibuster is a real problem and has blocked progress for decades. Pretending otherwise is foolish.
@TonyStark @Stoneycase
YW.
Imagine what it would be like if we were still on Twitter! 😏
I am a bit surprised at the persistent lack of knowledge on a lot of this stuff. Of course I'm happy to inform folks, but it certainly can get a bit tedious.
For the current topic of uninformed consternation, Kos has done an admirable job of assessing the situation - https://m.dailykos.com/stories/2023/5/28/2171894/-Furious-Freedom-Caucus-vows-to-scuttle-debt-deal.
(Sure wish we could get him posting here...)
UPDATE: Sunday, May 28, 2023 · 5:28:39 PM +00:00 · kos No one has seen the fine print, but there is real potential that this deal ends up being far better than the preliminary reports suggest. UPDATE: Sunday, May 28, 2023 · 4:46:44 PM +00:00 · kos Not...
@mikebabyak @Stoneycase @mikej I realize I post on social media. I just worked a primary on my state that was very successful for Democrats, particularly progressive ones- good progressive ones who understand real results and coalition building.
I talked to about 800 voters over the months. Very few on Twitter. None on Mastodon and only a couple had even heard of it. People who spend too much time on it aren’t reflecting what people really think.
@mikej @mikebabyak @Stoneycase @TonyStark I really liked Liz Warren in ‘20. I even voted for her in the CA primary even though it was obvious that Biden was going to be the candidate. Even though Biden wasn’t my first choice, there was no way in hell that I was voting for anyone else.
His policies have been way more progressive than I was expecting. I will gladly vote for him again.
Earlier this evening, Speaker McCarthy and I reached a budget agreement in principle. It is an important step forward that reduces spending while protecting critical programs for working people and growing the economy for everyone. And, the agreement protects my and Congressional Democrats’ key priorities and legislative accomplishments. The agreement represents a compromise, which means…
@GreenFire Numerous social media users prefer not to live in reality. I’m glad Biden does.
Nobody lives a life of zero compromise and it’s ridiculous for anyone to see zero compromise as a good thing. He’s averting a world financial disaster and getting many concessions we all want along with it. Chip Roy is losing his mind about it. If anyone else is complaining in a zero fact manner, they’re helping out Chip Roy.
@GreenFire @silverhorseman Same. I really think naysayers are Freedom Caucus fans or people who didn’t think Biden was up to the job and are now wrong and would rather burn the country down than admit they were wrong.
He wasn’t even in my top 10 picks in the primary. I’ve admitted he’s exceeded my expectations. Others can do the same.
@TonyStark @GreenFire Permanently compromising our way into fascism, but realistically.
Realistically forcing 43 million USians to throw half of their paycheck away monthly. Realistically forcing hungry people out of the supermarket because they're too young to eat.
Fuck this shitty president and his awful deals.
@municipaladhesives @TonyStark @GreenFire
Our founders designed the American government to require compromise. I grant you, this is problematic now that one of our two major parties has gone insane. Biden is doing the best anyone could under the circumstances, in my opinion.
This is horribly frustrating, but the Left isn't helping by pissing and moaning. They need to win races and stop railing against compromise (you want a dictator?).
@municipaladhesives @TonyStark @GreenFire
How many voted for Jill Stein or not at all in 2016? Talk about pushing us into fascism...the GOP is doing that. Don't help them!
@juca @TonyStark @GreenFire You have a well-organised fascist movement to enact cruel measures on the most marginalized and enforcing absolute minority rule in one party, and a second party hell-bent on nothing except appeasing that first party.
Democrats are playing the role of the Washington Generals: hapless and helpless, always playing the hand dealt to them rather than dealing themselves.
Give people something to vote for and they'll do it. Shackle them with student debt and shove them off food stamps and they won't turn out for you BECAUSE THEY'RE TOO BUSY WORKING FOR CRUMBS
Compromise is one of those complicated by-products of democracy. Zero compromise really just means you're a dictator.
(Which an awful lot of conservatives seem to want - to be the dictator who says "let it be done" and that's that, no argument, no moderation, no options or lenience for the other side.)
Humans - the ordinary kind, living cheek by jowl with others who don't necessarily precisely agree with them on the details - give and take, and sometimes have to live with the lesser evil.
Compromise doesn't feel great, but it's actually good for us as people to give way and not just 100% get our own way.
(That said, I watched Beau of the 5th Column this morning, and he said something about 'work requirements (for welfare)' and OH AMERICA NO. Go look up Australia's "robodebt" if you want details: this does not end anywhere good.)
@seldear @GreenFire I personally wish there were no work requirements for it. Intrinsically, to get it in the first place, you have to already do a bunch of work. Or you’re doing a bunch of work for someone else who can’t.
However, this country isn’t progressive. At least not yet. Most voting power is in the center. Won’t change until that does. And interestingly, I’ve only received negative comments about this deal from self-described left people. A mess of wrong.
Beau's careful and considered note was that it looks like Biden got the better deal out of the negotiations, but without seeing the text of the legislation, he couldn't make the definitive call on what was good and what was bad.
Which seems reasonable enough.
@seldear @GreenFire @TonyStark
Unless your party controls every part of the government with big majorities, you either compromise or you get nothing done.
Want to get your way every time? Then win far, far more elections.
@TonyStark @seldear @GreenFire
I get the impression that very few people actually realize what Biden pulled off, so once again he is not going to get the credit he deserves. It's just as well I suppose, since the success of his efforts relies on being low-key about it.
Biden is dealing with horrible people. If he came across as a macho chest-beater, if he tried to humiliate McCarthy, if he provoked the toddler caucus, we would still not have a deal.
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