Biden Thread

[Montmorency]

lol

Clarence Thomas Promises To Adopt Code Of Ethics For The Right Price

Telling critics in Congress that if they wanted serious reform they simply needed to make it worth his while, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas promised Friday he would adopt a code of ethics for the right price. “After hearing out the Senate Judiciary Committee’s concerns, I admit to seeing the wisdom in developing some kind of ethical framework for the Supreme Court, so long as Papa gets some sugar,” the senior associate justice said in a prepared statement, emphasizing that he would be willing to submit to a code of conduct that included ignoring special interests and disclosing private trips if there was some serious coinage thrown his way. “It’s reasonable to believe justices serving on the highest court in the land should hold themselves to the highest ethical standards, if only so citizens can have faith in their decision-making process. And if that means so much to lawmakers, they should take whatever donors are giving me every year and double it. Also, in order for me to adhere to some sense of values, Ginni needs to wet her beak.” Thomas suggested he might also support term limits for justices if he was guaranteed a yearly all-expenses-paid trip to the Maldives in retirement.

For foreign readers, it might seem to you that we currently have most of our right-wing Supreme Court justices caught up in a pay for play scandal. This would be the wrong impression in my opinion. Republican judges don't need inducements to flout the law - it's what they're bred for. Rather, what we have here is the exposure of a suite of perquisites offered for being part of the right team. The content of the rulings was always going to be ideological, partisan, and result-oriented.

Also, it's kind of predictable that you enable corruption by placing individuals in irrevocable life tenure alongside a handful of other elites, beyond all sanction and ordinary professional regulation. Look, the Framers didn't have a concept of modern bureaucracy; it's our fault for refusing to reform.

[Montmorency]

With Trump surging in the polls following his indictment on criminal charges stemming from alleged hush money payments, one executive at a New York bank said confidence in DeSantis’s ability to win is flagging.

“DeSantis is certainly a better option than Trump at this point,” the executive said. “But he’s a really weak option.”

The executive said many are growing resigned to the possibility of a general election rematch between Trump and President Joe Biden.

“What we probably wind up with is a choice between a guy who is very old and wants to raise our taxes and reregulate everything, and a guy who could be running from prison,” the executive said.

What an interesting framing of the dilemma.

[CrossLOPER]

What an interesting framing of the dilemma.

bOtH sIdZ r tHe SaMe!

[Montmorency]

bOtH sIdZ r tHe SaMe!

Joe Biden? Communist.

Eugene Debs? Ran for president from prison, like Trump might. Communist.

So you see, the American system is really offering us a choice between two Communists.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

There are even people who think this way.

[Montmorency]

You can always count on Rep. Matt Gaetz for a good laugh [debt ceiling]:

I think my conservative colleagues for the most part support Limit, Save, Grow, & they don’t feel like we should negotiate with our hostage.

For years, scholars and commentators have pointed out that the US government is constitutionally required to pay its debts, and the federal government collects enough revenue on an ongoing basis to finance much of its daily operation at least. But the issue of raising new debt to finance previously-budgeted spending that has not yet been reauthorized in a new budget is not as clearcut, so the mere fact of the uncertainty (given the Republican judiciary) is a threat to the US dollar's standing in the event that push comes to shove and the executive has to unilaterally raise bonds. Gaetz' comment is another reminder that mainstream Republicans have been fully invested in the concept of "rule or ruin" for many years.

[Montmorency]

I don't think we'll ever comment on the 2024 election per se, since it's pretty straightforward, but here goes:

De Santis and the rest of the Republican slate are so weak that Trump wouldn't even have to campaign to sail into the GOP nomination. 2024 is a Trump-Biden rematch.

There will probably not be a recession starting a year from now.

The relative popularity of the presumptive nominees is unchanged and will almost certainly remain substantially unchanged.

Biden only needs to win one of Georgia-Arizona-Wisconsin - states he won in 2020 - to win in the Electoral College if the rest of the battleground states stay Democratic, which is widely predicted. Biden will win the popular vote.

The Supreme Court, and moreover the sitting governments of the three states, preclude any shenanigans such as unilaterally awarding EC votes to a preferred candidate.

More speculatively, out of 150 million votes (~10 million fewer than were case in 2020), Biden will receive 51% and Trump will receive 46.9%, and I give an equal chance of the Democrats either holding the Senate 50-50 or losing it by one seat. The House can fall either way, but within a five-seat majority.

[CrossLOPER]

I want my 3+ party clownshow with Trump livestreaming from a cell and DeSantis, Christie and some other random alt-righter calling each other the f-slur, while Newsom stares blankly at all of this, with Biden ultimately winning in a landslide, despite falling asleep. Also, MTG comes out as bi.