LMAO Dems said beforehand that they don't want this to actually happen, it was designed as a message bill that just "encourages the president to do something", but even this failed.

https://twitter.com/daveweigel/status/1526332597051203585

  • FirstToServe [they/them]
    ·
    edit-2
    2 years ago

    When you have both houses and the presidency, the only kind of 'message bill' you can possibly have is one that sends the message "we will not pass this"

    Do things. :dosomethingstick:

  • InevitableSwing [none/use name]
    ·
    2 years ago

    Dems said beforehand...

    I'm confused. They actually, basically said "This is symbolic message bill that we don't have the votes for and we want it to fail." Do I understand things right?

    • Sotalsta [they/them]
      ·
      2 years ago

      I think they wanted a bill that would pass, and would sound good publicly but wouldn't actually do anything (the democrat special). Usually it's easy to get reps to support pointless bills because it's free pr, but here they still couldn't get that to pass.

    • CanYouFeelItMrKrabs [any, he/him]
      ·
      edit-2
      2 years ago

      I think a message bill is usually "we want this to come to a vote, even though we know it will not pass that vote"

      • InevitableSwing [none/use name]
        ·
        edit-2
        2 years ago

        I thought a message bill actually had a good chance of passing. Maybe that was true decades ago. In any case - it's not true now. It seems the dems now spend 90+% of their time on kabuki that's designed only to be for show.

        "Look at us! We're doin' stuff. Kinda!"

        • CanYouFeelItMrKrabs [any, he/him]
          ·
          edit-2
          2 years ago

          I mean in the current Congress literally nothing except a budget has a chance of passing or something with overwhelming Republican support. Decades ago the fillobister was actually used less so it might've been different

          • InevitableSwing [none/use name]
            ·
            2 years ago

            I'm recalling the times in r/politics self-serious libs reminded me (sometimes by literally saying "I remind you...") - that Pelosi is an effective leader who passed 100s of bills but they just weren't considered by the senate. Mitch McConnell is the bad guy yada yada fucking yada.

            When Obama was president I was a liberal and I entirely didn't understand how congress actually works. Also I believed a ton of shit lib takes about the need for bipartisanship. I'm middle-aged so I remember when even shitty congresses managed to do some stuff.

            But once Obama became president liberals seemed to just accept that nothing worked. Obama's charismatic reality distortion field melted lib brains very badly and they started to think that it's so great that he's president and he's so dreamy that what he and the democrats accomplish (as in not accomplish) doesn't actually matter.

            Anyway - it will be really fucking funny when the republicans control the senate and they decide to nuke the filibuster. The democrats will say that it's not nice or fair and they should have a voice in legislation. And the republicans will just give them the middle finger and tell them to fuck off. And the democrats will be outraged (Outraged!) by this.

            • CanYouFeelItMrKrabs [any, he/him]
              ·
              2 years ago

              The Senate is busted pretty busted though. The Republicans don't need to nuke the filibuster to get their judges on the Supreme Court and keeping it in place fucks over Democrats more.

              Once it's taken away it's not like they can put it back when the Dems win again. Since the rules are refreshed when a new Congress begins

              • InevitableSwing [none/use name]
                ·
                2 years ago

                when the Dems win again

                I have a minority view at this site but I think our democracy will die and I think the GOP will control congress and the presidency for the foreseeable future (decades?). My take...

                I think the 2022 will have many "irregularities" and many races will be unlawfully given to the GOP. And I think the 2024 elections will be a total shitshow and farce. And we will no longer be in a democracy.

      • Lovely_sombrero [he/him]
        hexagon
        ·
        2 years ago

        No, it isn't designed as normal legislation, instructing the government to do something, instead it is literally a non-binding messaging bill.

    • Lovely_sombrero [he/him]
      hexagon
      ·
      edit-2
      2 years ago

      No, they wanted it to pass, but it is designed to be a messaging bill. It doesn't instruct the government to do something, instead it is "we encourage the president to look for ways blah blah blah". Like when Congress passes a bill congratulating an NBA team for winning the NBA. It doesn't do anything.

  • Rojo27 [he/him]
    ·
    2 years ago

    Good to see the legislative body of the government legislating giving the president a gentle push to do something. Very productive:jesus-christ:

    • Awoo [she/her]
      ·
      2 years ago

      Is it anything like British parliament? Parliament only needs 40 MPs present in the hall to pass legislation so theoretically things can go to vote and simply not have enough members of the ruling party present to get it through.

      • silent_water [she/her]
        ·
        2 years ago

        each chamber has separate rules for quorum. but yeah, they can gavel in a session with like a bare majority iirc and pass whatever they like but then they'd actually need to do something. the democrats are peak "the dog that caught the car"

  • stevaloo [they/them, she/her]
    ·
    edit-2
    2 years ago

    Legislative equivalent of interjecting nonsense into your story to see if the audience is actually listening. Amazing.

  • OfficialBenGarrison [he/him]
    ·
    2 years ago

    It's like they're now begging people to realize that they are the fall guys whenever the GOP falls out of favor to take the blame and go back to being controlled opposition.

  • Snackuleata [any]
    ·
    2 years ago

    I can't believe I used to feel superior to the British because at least we don't have all the pomp and performance before doing stuff.