Emerging leader Sen. Chris Van Hollen says he is refusing to fund the government next month until the war is defunded.

  • mercano@lemmy.world
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    2 hours ago

    The best part about being one of his constituents is I never need to write him a letter urging him to vote the way I want him to, he just does it.

  • frostedtrailblazer@lemmy.zip
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    1 hour ago

    We need a new Senate majority leader. We need someone not afraid to drop the filibuster day one.

    If we keep the filibuster in place we waste our House and Senate majorities.

    We can pass Medicare For All, federally protect access to abortion, undo Citizens United, pass legislation to allow states to have Citizens Ballot initiatives, bring back a broader version of the Fairness Doctrine, expand the court with term limits, uncap the House, give D.C. and Puerto Rico the option for statehood, and much more.

    If Democrats are afraid of losing their lead in 2028, then the surest way to ensure they gain more seats in the House and Senate is by actually passing positive change now in this rare moment where they actually can. The surest way they can do that is not wasting two years getting blocked by the filibuster with only one or two bills passing through reconciliation only to then get vetoed.

    A veto’s not a big deal since you can amend the bill slightly and it’s suddenly a new bill. If the veto gets used on say Medicare For All, then put more time into investigations since they will have shown they don’t care about what the American people care about and it will be on record.

    • NekoKoneko@lemmy.world
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      4 hours ago

      Yup, agree completely. Trump will veto most of it, but he’s a craven narcissistic populist in addition to being a fascist. El-Sayed’s suggestion to call Medicare for All “Trumpcare” may in fact be all the ego-stroking needed to make the difference. Either way, if he vetoes everything, we can go into 2028 with a clear demonstration of what needs to happen and who is in the way of it.

      • BillyClark@piefed.social
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        59 minutes ago

        At least if we get rid of filibuster, Trump will have to veto everything. With the filibuster, it’s the senate’s fault for sucking. Without, it’s Trump’s fault for sucking.

        Maybe Republicans had a reason to keep the filibuster, since it makes Trump’s job easier, but I don’t think there’s any legitimate reason for Democrats to keep it.

        Filibuster is just so stupid. In the future, after we hopefully abolish it, nobody will understand why we ever had it.

        Just like when we get real universal healthcare, people will look back at these times and wonder what the fuck was wrong with us idiots.

      • GorGor@startrek.website
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        2 hours ago

        Trump and his veto are not a problem. He is the most easily manipulated moron in history. You just need two things to get him to do anything, power and flattery.

      • frostedtrailblazer@lemmy.zip
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        4 hours ago

        There’s a chance he could get impeached as well - should investigations become the core focus, assuming he’s not rubber stamping legislation.

          • halcyoncmdr@piefed.social
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            2 hours ago

            Just need to find some willing to retire at the end of their terms, and some to find the backbone. There’s enough old fucks that several might already be looking at that anyway.

          • frostedtrailblazer@lemmy.zip
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            3 hours ago

            If the full documents come up as well as the handling of Iran, then there could be 10 Republican Senators that vote that way. If not, at least they’ll be on record for how they voted which is also something many of them would want to avoid.

    • takeda@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      4 hours ago

      Unfortunately you are right. trump selected Steven Miller for Chief of Staff, Republicans choose Gym Jordan for minority leader.

      Those are clear signs they don’t look for compromises.

      Side note, one has to wonder… People are overwhelmingly are dissatisfied, and they still hang to the senile 80 year man, who isn’t even hiding that he is destroying America and creating a room to our enemies to get stronger.

      What is it that they willing to stick with him even with clear pedophilia connections? Bribes, blackmail? I’m very interested what is in the other 3 millions Epstein documents. I’m starting to think many prominent congresspeople are there as well.

      • frostedtrailblazer@lemmy.zip
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        4 hours ago

        I expect they’ll pull from Mitch’s playbook at the minimum, so shutting down the filibuster option has to be one of the first focus points. Once the Senate rules are in place they can’t retroactively get rid of the filibuster, and they stay in place for two years.

        At this point, surely many of them must have something on each other. I think you’re onto something with many congresspeople being implicated to some degree or another.

  • Lopoloma@fedinsfw.app
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    2 hours ago

    The man who wasn’t backed by his parties leader for all his career won’t back that leader once change is imminent that could help pushing his ideas. I wouldn’t back that Schmuck Chummer and neither should you.

    Democracy now!

  • notsure@fedia.io
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    4 hours ago

    People said the ‘status quo is fucked’, democrats took this too mean, “life is fucked because extraneous circumstance, need to return to satus quo”, wtf is wrong with these fucks?

  • IninewCrow@lemmy.ca
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    4 hours ago

    Holy crap America … you need an ancient wizard to tell you to get rid of the dinosaur in your midst?

    I love Bernie Saunders and I think he’s great … but you really need to get some younger people into positions of power to get you through the next few decades or you’ll be thrown under the bus of more progressive countries around the world or else you’ll just fall under a total facist state because your elderly leadership was easily coerced.

    • protist@retrofed.com
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      3 hours ago

      Bernie Sanders is not running to be majority leader, but also Bernie Sanders clearly still has the fight in him, and there’s no reason for him to stop right now. If you watch the press conference this article is about, not only is he completely right, but he also presented this with Senator Elissa Slotkin, who is 50. Senator Jon Ossoff is 39. New Senators include Abdul El-Sayed, 42, Annie Andrews, 46, James Talarico, 37, and probably Scott Colom, 43.

      Republicans win with the oldest senator, Chuck Grassley, 93, and the most vegetative senator, Mitch McConnell, 84.

      • IninewCrow@lemmy.ca
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        3 hours ago

        I know he isn’t running for leadership … what I’m point out is that your leadership and even your spokespeople have to always be old people in positions of power … and it’s OK to have older wiser people in power but over the past few decades that idea has become farcical because you are being led by a government of 70 and 80 year olds

    • schipelblorp@sh.itjust.works
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      3 hours ago

      I think Sander’s knows he’s too old for leadership at this point. The man he is proposing for Majority Leader is 67, which is still old, but only a little bit above the average for the Senate, and quite a few years younger than the 85-y-o Sanders.