This is Guardian headline fucking rich:
Sean Duffy says ‘it’s going to take us some time to unwind what’s happened’ but also points finger at Congress, claiming lack of funding for systems upgrade
Also, LOL at these clowns:
“This is what the leadership of president Trump looks like,” Markwayne Mullin, the homeland security secretary just said at the start of a briefing on the crisis at US airports.
“Dumbshit liar accidentally tells the truth” is another way to put it.
It’s hi-fucking-larious when these maroons, who basically took all the money in the Treasury and used it for whatever they wanted, blame Congress (which Republicans control) for not appropriating money. Note also that when Musk went wilding through the government, he got a Starlink contract for FAA communications. These fuckers had all the money in the world to do the dumb stuff they wanted to do, but they chose not to modernize the FAA air traffic control system. That’s completely on them, and I hope some Democrat can open his or her mouth to say that.
That said, it’s less than funny to compare the carelessness of Republicans when it comes to seeking Congressional approval on anything with the amount of hand wringing and debate from Democrats around the filibuster. In the comments in the last couple of days, people have been citing Josh Marshall’s excellent pieces that point out that the filibuster is the main blocker to Democrats getting anything passed in the next couple of years. Marshall’s latest notes that Chris Van Hollen says that he’s for getting rid of it.
People who think that some of us support Van Hollen over Schumer think it might just be because Schumer is a terrible spokesman for our party, but the real reason is that Schumer has a bad case of Senate brain and treats the filibuster like it’s as permanent as the East Wing (oops! bad metaphor!). If the Democrats are going to get anything done in the next few years, the filibuster must go.
I’ve seen some obscenely bad takes on this whole thing from supposed politics knowers, but Marcy Wheeler takes the cake when she argues that Democrats getting rid of the filibuster could lead to Republicans passing a bunch of bad legislation in the lame duck. Here’s someone who’s constantly correcting people on missing the little details she supposedly knows talking about a majority leader race that won’t be final until next year. The fear-based reasoning around the filibuster is really something to behold.
I have an example of why the filibuster must go, and it comes from the letter my Representative, Brittany Pettersen sent me yesterday.
Alongside other members, I was unfortunately significantly delayed entering the Capitol due to a traffic incident and a police escort of a bus during the vote. Speaker Mike Johnson was notified and knew that we were outside of the Capitol dealing with the blockade, yet House Republicans chose to close the vote as we were attempting to enter the chamber. The reality is that even if all Democrats were present, we didn’t have enough votes to change the outcome. Only one Republican was willing to stand up to Pete Hegseth while the rest continued to shield him from accountability. But in January, with our new Democratic majority, Secretary Hegseth will be investigated for his unlawful actions and I will vote to impeach him. I have officially filed my vote to impeach Pete Hegseth with the Clerk which is reflected in the Congressional Record.
[…]
To hold Hegseth and Trump’s Department of Defense accountable, I have also cosponsored H.Con. Res. 38 and H.Con. Res. 40 - two War Powers resolutions that would ensure that Congress maintains the power to declare war, not the President or Secretary of Defense. I have also cosponsored H.J.Res. 126, a War Powers Resolution that would block future unauthorized military strikes following the illegal use of force in the Caribbean Sea.
Thanks again for reaching out to my office. I’m deeply sorry to the constituents that I have disappointed. Secretary Hegseth's actions are reckless, violate our Constitution and international law, and have created a global crisis. He must be removed, and next year when we are in the majority, we will bring the justice our country deserves.
Rep Pettersen made me some promises in that email, and some of them are only going to come to fruition if the filibuster is abolished. Republicans (with Schumer’s assistance) will probably use the filibuster to block War Powers limits on the Iran War. And the filibuster will let it happen without Schumer and others going on the record being for the war. This is why Schumer and his co-conspirators will work so hard not to remove the segregation-era filibuster that helps them elide accountability.
Unfortunately, even Bernie Sanders has a bad case of Senate Brain and is reluctant to abolish it. Contrast this with a statement he made in 2020 supporting its abolition.
People like Talarico, AES and others have made big promises to their constituents. AES especially wants to pass a lot of messaging bills and have Trump veto them (or maybe sign some of them). The way our Congress “works” — passing a couple of big omnibus bills every year and doing little else but naming post offices — is incredibly dysfunctional. Sadly, there are a lot of Senators who find comfort in doing very little. We just elected a bunch of new Senators and Representatives who want to get things done. Unless the filibuster is limited, there’s no way that will happen. It seems like a no-brainer, but unfortunately, Senate Brain is a terrible affliction. I have no predictions on how the Senate Majority Leader fight will turn out, but it’s not a sideshow. The near-term future of our Party (and our Country) depends on it.
