The Biden Presidency Thread

[Jaymann]

And he removed the "Diet Coke" button which Dolt 45 would press to have a butler instantly deliver one on a silver platter.

[Isgrimnur]

And he removed the "Diet Coke" button which Dolt 45 would press to have a butler instantly deliver one on a silver platter.

[Paingod]

Nice response. If you can't hear the question from the reporter, Biden was asked if setting the bar at 100M vaccinations (in a 100 days) was "not high enough" considering the pandemic situation. Joe responded that the media told him it wasn't possible so knock it off.

I like that answer better than "That's a stupid question, you work for a stupid, failing news agency. It's fake news, fake news. We've got the best plans, I'm just not ready to share them with losers like you"

[Jaymann]

Austin confirmed as Sec of Def, did not expect the Rs to miss this chance at hypocrisy.

[Daehawk]

[stimpy]

I predict that website will shut down in a few months now that they have nothing to bitch about.

[hepcat]

Or they'll just continue pointing out hypocrisy and corruption. Did you think Trump was the only bad actor during the last 4 years?

[Jaymann]

I don't agree with Stimp. There are still plenty of R scum floating to the surface, and if Biden slips they will be on it like white on Hawley.

[ImLawBoy]

It'll be interesting to see where they pivot. They're not suddenly going to become liberal Democrats. I could see them staying together to try push the Trumpier elements out of the GOP, but they'll likely need to stop being so obviously pro-Biden if they want to have any real influence.

[El Guapo]

It'll be interesting to see where they pivot. They're not suddenly going to become liberal Democrats. I could see them staying together to try push the Trumpier elements out of the GOP, but they'll likely need to stop being so obviously pro-Biden if they want to have any real influence.

There are ongoing debates within the anti-Trump conservative crowd about where they go from here. I think most of them would like to reclaim the Republican Party if they can, but I think they mostly (accurately) don't think that's likely to happen. I think most of them are going to wind up settling into the moderate wing of the Democratic Party for the foreseeable future.

[YellowKing]

I think most of them are going to wind up settling into the moderate wing of the Democratic Party for the foreseeable future.

It's an extremely small sample set, but the handful of Lincoln Project supporting conservatives I know are going that route. A couple of them have even gone as far as to switch party affiliation.

[Little Raven]

More anecdotal evidence - at least 2 of my GOP friends have announced that they're switching to Democrat. They aren't planning on getting any less politically involved, but they now feel that joining the Democrats and pulling them to the right is going to be more effective than sticking with the insane party.

[stimpy]

Or they'll just continue pointing out hypocrisy and corruption. Did you think Trump was the only bad actor during the last 4 years?

Yeah....because corruption in the government has only been going on for the past 4 years and only Repubs are the bad actors............
Show me 1 video they posted about ANY Democrat.

I'll wait........

[stessier]

Or they'll just continue pointing out hypocrisy and corruption. Did you think Trump was the only bad actor during the last 4 years?

Yeah....because corruption in the government has only been going on for the past 4 years...........
Show me 1 video they posted about ANY Democrat.

I'll wait........

They are still conservatives. Now that the nuclear threat is out of the way, it's not inconceivable that they pick on both extremes.

[stimpy]

If you're against hypocrisy and corruption, it's best to be against it on both sides, otherwise what's the point?

[El Guapo]

Or they'll just continue pointing out hypocrisy and corruption. Did you think Trump was the only bad actor during the last 4 years?

Yeah....because corruption in the government has only been going on for the past 4 years...........
Show me 1 video they posted about ANY Democrat.

I'll wait........

They are still conservatives. Now that the nuclear threat is out of the way, it's not inconceivable that they pick on both extremes.

Yeah, they've been focused on Trump because he was the existential threat to the Republic. Though even now, they're clearly more focused on cleansing the GOP (since the Democrats have faults but still live within the realm of sanity for the most part) so I expect that they'll still focus on the GOP, but we'll see how they evolve.

[hepcat]

Or they'll just continue pointing out hypocrisy and corruption. Did you think Trump was the only bad actor during the last 4 years?

Yeah....because corruption in the government has only been going on for the past 4 years

crime has been going on for as long as i've been alive so why do we need cops?

[stessier]

If you're against hypocrisy and corruption, it's best to be against it on both sides, otherwise what's the point?

You don't really do well with shades of gray, do you?

[stimpy]

Or they'll just continue pointing out hypocrisy and corruption. Did you think Trump was the only bad actor during the last 4 years?

Yeah....because corruption in the government has only been going on for the past 4 years

crime has been going on for as long as i've been alive so why do we need cops?

To keep doughnut shops in business, duh.

[stimpy]

If you're against hypocrisy and corruption, it's best to be against it on both sides, otherwise what's the point?

You don't really do well with shades of gray, do you?

In some matters, yes. In some matters, no.

[hepcat]

Trumpers gonna Trump.

[malchior]

Dafuq?

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Biden administration Friday to block the president’s 100-day “pause” on most deportations, alleging the move violates an agreement signed between the state and the Department of Homeland Security during the final days of President Donald Trump’s term.

Biden this week ordered a freeze on most deportations from the interior of the United States, saying his administration wants to reassess the operations of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and more narrowly focus the agency on immigrants who pose public safety and national security threats.

Paxton’s lawsuit claims the deportation freeze defies an agreement between Texas and DHS finalized Jan. 8 — less than two weeks before Trump left office — requiring the department to provide 180 days notice before making changes to immigration policy and enforcement practices.

Several legal scholars have described the DHS agreements with Texas and other states as highly unusual, and an attempt to stop Biden from undoing Trump’s immigration policies by effectively giving states veto power.

Whether the agreements can block Biden’s moves is unclear. Paxton’s suit claimed they are “binding and enforceable.”

[Fretmute]

With the recent change at the top, I now have more fuck bandwidth. Fuck Ken Paxton.

[Jaymann]

Or they'll just continue pointing out hypocrisy and corruption. Did you think Trump was the only bad actor during the last 4 years?

Yeah....because corruption in the government has only been going on for the past 4 years and only Repubs are the bad actors............
Show me 1 video they posted about ANY Democrat.

I'll wait........

Yo Stimpy, I think the lady on the right is a Democrat. The wait is over!

https://twitter.com/i/status/1352063110404837379

[LordMortis]

With the recent change at the top, I now have more fuck bandwidth. Fuck Ken Paxton.

When do we get to start suing Ken Paxton? I have a very large bag of fucks here.

[stimpy]

Or they'll just continue pointing out hypocrisy and corruption. Did you think Trump was the only bad actor during the last 4 years?

Yeah....because corruption in the government has only been going on for the past 4 years and only Repubs are the bad actors............
Show me 1 video they posted about ANY Democrat.

I'll wait........

Yo Stimpy, I think the lady on the right is a Democrat. The wait is over!

https://twitter.com/i/status/1352063110404837379

Yeah.....not quite.

[Holman]

I like the new Press Secretary.

She seems like a totally reasonable character from Parks & Recreation.

Trump's last seemed like she came from Frat Parties I Skipped While I Was Finishing My Honors Thesis.

[Kraken]

I like the new Press Secretary.

She seems like a totally reasonable character from Parks & Recreation.

Trump's last seemed like she came from Frat Parties I Skipped While I Was Finishing My Honors Thesis.

In the few clips I've seen she comes across as honest, competent, smart, and all-business. Since this administration won't be a revolving-door show, I look forward to watching her grow into the job.

[Daehawk]

https://twitter.com/danagould/status/13 ... 4924183552

[Max Peck]

If the article is true, then that tweet is barely even truthy, let alone true. The Chief Usher was a Trump employee who previously worked at a Trump property, so he wouldn't have been retained any longer than necessary, and apparently the butler staff was sent home, not fired.

[Kraken]

I guess this thread can host Enemies, a Love Story: Inside the 36-year Biden and McConnell relationship.

The last time Joe Biden and Mitch McConnell faced off, Biden blinked first.

It was the winter of 2012. Then, as now, Democrats had just won a presidential election, had a narrow Senate majority, and Biden was earnestly proclaiming that the election would break the Republican “fever” of opposing the Democratic agenda.

The first test came immediately.

A cascade of deadlines on December 31, 2012, set up a world economy-level battle known as the “fiscal cliff.” Without any action by Congress, the next year would bring about $700 billion in combined tax hikes and budget cuts—extreme austerity measures that could cripple the recovering economy.

The Democratic Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, was willing to go over the cliff if McConnell didn’t agree to tax increases for the highest earners, one of Democrats’ signature campaign promises. Reid reasoned that if taxes were to rise automatically, McConnell would have to negotiate from a weakened position. Obama and Biden, however, feared an adverse reaction from the markets and a potential recession.

In a move that angered Reid, Biden took over the negotiations with Obama’s blessing. The outcome—a continuation of the Bush-era tax cuts with a relatively modest hike of 1.8 percent, weighted toward higher earners—was the kind of deal both negotiators could celebrate.

McConnell did, crowing to his fellow Republicans that “in a government controlled two-thirds by the Democrats, we got permanency for 99 percent of the Bush tax cuts.”

Biden did, boasting in a June 2019 debate that “I got Mitch McConnell to raise taxes $600 billion by raising the top rate.”

But many Democrats weren’t celebrating at all and still haven’t gotten over it. At the same 2019 debate, Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado called it “a complete victory for the Tea Party. It extended the Bush tax cuts permanently. The Democratic Party had been running against that for 10 years.”

The story goes on about their long history and personal philosophies.

[Paingod]

I just want to thank the 80m people who conspired with me to elect Joe and oust the tiny dick-tater.

I've been in a good mood for days now and I like the way it feels. I'm not elated that Joe's president, or that Democrats are running things - but I expect them to work to make the nation more engaged in a useful future for my kids than the GOP wants. I'm mostly just not worried that we have an unstable narcissist running the nation, stoking the flames of chaos and hatred for his own enjoyment and profit. I don't go to bed wondering what fresh hell I'll wake up to in the morning, or dread opening news sites to see what's happened today.

[Daehawk]

First dogs Champ and Major moved into the White House

Major is the first shelter dog to live in the White House.

"The First Family wanted to get settled before bringing the dogs down to Washington from Delaware. Champ is enjoying his new dog bed by the fireplace, and Major loved running around on the South Lawn," First Lady Jill Biden's press secretary Michael LaRosa told CNN in a statement Monday.

The Bidens' dogs moving in marks a return to a longstanding tradition of Presidents and their families bringing their pets with them to the White House. Former President Donald Trump and his family did not have any pets for the four years they lived in the White House.

Well unless you count Rudy.

[Holman]

I adore Champ & Major, and I really wonder how it works. Is there an official WH dog handler?

There must be, because dogs make it difficult to do sustained work in proportion to how much they love you.

I want to hear that the Bidens have a couple of hours of dog time marked out throughout the day, but that there's an aide available to cover when a crisis occurs.

[hitbyambulance]

Jill Biden has also said she would "love to get a cat," telling Fox 5 in Washington, "I love having animals around the house."

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Sunday she did not have an update about the cat.

"I'm also wondering about the cat, because the cat is going to dominate the internet whenever the cat is announced and wherever that cat is found," Psaki said in a Sunday evening video answering questions posed on Twitter.

[Jaymann]

I had this dream last night that Joe Biden came over to my house before the election, and we were sitting around my kitchen table, talking strategy. Then after he was inaugurated, he came back over, and we were all slapping each other on the back, saying, "We did it! We did it!" Good times.

[Tao]

Biden signed an EO to put a moratorium on deportations for 100 days so that the new administration had time to assess the current situation and policies.

Federal Judge Blocks Biden's 100-Day Deportation Moratorium

The Judge was appointed almost exactly one year ago to the Southern District of Texas by Trump. I know we saw a good number of Judges shoot down Trump cases, McConnell's plan may now be working and the pendulum may be swinging the other way.

[malchior]

FWIW - here is an argument that the TRO makes for dramatic headlines but doesn't mean much practically. FWIW I skimmed the TRO and Tipton completely sidestepped the whole DHS/Texas contract in his TRO decision. Which is smart because everyone (except Paxton and the derp nation) thinks it is essentially only useful as toilet paper.

https://twitter.com/mjs_DC/status/1354186952539561992

[Jaymann]

This is their big win? They couldn't overthrow democracy so they take it out on teh brown people. Kind of reminiscent of Florida Man executions on his way out the door.

[stimpy]

The change we needed?