Democratic "sit in"

[HotCarl]

Ok I'll preface this by saying I think the biggest travesty in American Politics is the notion that you MUST pick a side. You're either team blue or team red and whichever side you're on you better defend it. If people were honest with themselves and picking a cause to promote or defend there would be more cooperation and people working towards a cause instead of just 'trying to beat the other team'. So i don't hate or dislike a politician or person simply b/c they claim to be a republican or democrat.

 

That being said... This sit in is fucking ridiculous. I feel like I'm watching grown children bicker with one another. At that, every time I see one of these people in front of a camera all they have done is complain about the republicans, not once have they stated why the fuck they're there in detail and what they hope to accomplish?! (Gun Control, i get it but my point is no one has even mentioned that yet).

 

I appreciate someone being very passionate about a cause, regardless whether or not I agree with that cause. But where was this passion when it was reported that social security will run out? or when reports of veterans not being able to get the healthcare they deserve? or other similarly notable causes that deserve just as much attention?! What happens when Paul Ryan shows up to work tomorrow only to declare a recess for the rest of the week. Will these people still be sitting on the senate floor come Monday morning?!

 

Ok so there's been no bipartisan support, so why not work towards that? Instead of trying to bully everyone else into what YOU (and presumably the people you represent) want.

 

What's the end game?

 

Disclaimer: I am the last person to claim to know the in's and out's of the federal government so I'm sure I may have some facts mixed up by all means constructive criticism is welcomed.

[MattKatz]

dude im with you....To me all these people should be fired because they are ABSOLUTELY NOT doing their job. Go to work and try to purposely be counterproductive and see how long you are employed......And these people are supposed to represent the people and run our country.....Right...they are running it alright....Right into the damn ground.

[airwg2189]

The Democrat party has been an embarrassment to this country as of late. Between Hillary's law-avoidance, shafting Bernie with votes not being counted, violent protests in the name of "not Trump" that aren't being reciprocated in the slightest, the cringe-worthy media bias that is backfiring 100%, and now this, I'll be amazed if they don't get completely blown the fuck out in November at all levels of government.

[Cordell]

I have to agree with you guys, I don't like democrats at all because their actions are just pointless. Certain "gun control" ideas aren't horrible in theory, but they won't accomplish anything in reality. Every time something bad happens they blame the gun, they clearly don't understand the concept of responsibility. Whether it's someone pulling the trigger or holding up government they just don't get it.

[Trouble Maker]

Is this some kind of ironic or inside joke? Where have you all been over the last 6 or so years complaining about the obstructionist Republicans in Congress?

 

Not having a 9th Supreme Court Justice, not to mention so many of the lower court nominees that have been held up over the past few years, is causing infinitely more harm than this little stunt.

[mmrmnhrm]

Not to mention holding something like 60 votes (and counting) on repealing Obamacare. The GOP is not without guilt in this bullshit.

[Geeto67]

Is this some kind of ironic or inside joke? Where have you all been over the last 6 or so years complaining about the obstructionist Republicans in Congress?

 

Not having a 9th Supreme Court Justice, not to mention so many of the lower court nominees that have been held up over the past few years, is causing infinitely more harm than this little stunt.

 

I had the same exact thought. The (unintentional) irony is thick today on CR.

[sol740]

Both parties are guilty of being obstructionist when the appropriate issues pop up, they both write checks they can't cash, and then have a convenient scapegoat. Why wouldn't they support the platforms that got them elected? Clearly the country is also divided into eerily partisan camps, and our current crop of politicians reflect this.

[Rustlestiltskin]

http://i66.tinypic.com/t8841k.jpg

[wagner]

Its all just background noise to me anymore, the media's coverage of political stuff is a joke, and the "major" two party system is pretty much eating itself right now.

 

We need less of this full left, or full right on the bell curve junk and more in the middle logic. That will never happen as long as you have people getting their "news" from idiots on Comedy Central and talk shows.

[10phone2]

great logic.... let's worry about guns and not the reasons the cause a lack of hope or lack of skill which leads to it.

[Geeesammy]

Ill give them something to sit on

[El Karacho1647545492]

It's not just Dems and it's not just gun control. Ever since Citizens United the main job of politicians has not been to serve their constituents, but rather to raise funds for their own re-election campaigns and to better position their party to win seats. It's no longer about governing, rather it's about moving political chess pieces in order to gain an undefeatable majority in Congress, SCOTUS, and ultimately office of the POTUS.

 

I've been saying it since Citizens United became a thing; money in politics is what is preventing the progress of this country. It has become more politically reasonable to hold up EVERYTHING until you can get exactly what you want, than to compromise on ANYTHING.

 

Fuck politicians, fuck Citizens United, and fuck the media for gobbling up the money that all this BS generates rather than reporting on the real issue that is money in politics.

[Geeesammy]

Its not republican or democrat, its "i hate republicans" or "i hate democrats"

[CRed05]

Its not republican or democrat, its "i hate republicans" or "i hate democrats"

 

http://s2.quickmeme.com/img/d4/d4922e4d253d5f018d18fa22d72db64e34aebefd75e8bf835c1b321a59596197.jpg

[Geeto67]

Both parties are guilty of being obstructionist when the appropriate issues pop up, they both write checks they can't cash, and then have a convenient scapegoat. Why wouldn't they support the platforms that got them elected? Clearly the country is also divided into eerily partisan camps, and our current crop of politicians reflect this.

 

mostly true, but the level of Republican Obstructionism has lead to some pretty disappointing records being set. Its the most aggressive approach to obstruction of government business that this country has ever seen.

 

- In 2015 the Senate confirmed 11 federal judges - the lowest number since 1960 and only one appellate court judge, the lowest since 1953. When the republicans regained control of the senate, the number of vacancies almost doubled rapidly. Judicial emergencies have tripled since January of 2015.

 

- this is the first time in US history that the house and Senate has openly refused to hold hearings on the president's budget. They declared that they would openly not approve or hold hearings before the president had submitted his budget to the committees.

 

- the gallup poll approval rating of the current republican led congress is at approx 13%, which is near a record low (lowest was 8% in sept-nov 2015).

 

- the number of bills awaiting review and approval has grown from 205 to 298 since republicans retook control in the senate.

 

- The republican party has openly declared many times that obstructionism is their strategy. If the GOP can't get what it wants, nobody should be able to get what they want either. you can't have bi-partisan cooperation if one party's strategy is to not cooperate.

 

 

It's kind of hard to blame both parties when one party has demonstrated that they own the lion's share of contributing to the problem.

[airwg2189]

To clarify my comment earlier, I'm not saying Republicans are innocent from acts like this, but this is quite telling so close to election season. Maybe I'm looking at this the wrong way, but I would think you'd want to be on your best behavior with your job/your friends' jobs/your party power on the line. Recently, it's been Democrat convention/superdelegate this, Hillary scandal that, BLM violence at Trump rally, etc., all dominating the news cycles. It seems to leave a bad taste I think.

 

Both parties are pathetic, but the Dems have been taking Ls going into the final stretch of the race...

[El Karacho1647545492]

Maybe I'm looking at this the wrong way, but I would think you'd want to be on your best behavior with your job/your friends' jobs/your party power on the line.

 

The power of incumbency has never been more important. With no accountability in either campaign funding or on pure fact-checking in elections, it's never been easier to be a career politician. With gobs of money pouring in from lobbyists and job guarantees for after your term (so long as you promise to push X Y and Z agenda) it's never been more profitable to be a politician either.

 

Impose Congressional term limits and overhaul campaign finance and you'll see a much more effective government. Easier said than done, of course, since Congresspeople are the ones who would have to vote to uproot A) their job security and B) their cash cow.

[Geeto67]

Impose Congressional term limits and overhaul campaign finance and you'll see a much more effective government. Easier said than done, of course, since Congresspeople are the ones who would have to vote to uproot A) their job security and B) their cash cow.

 

 

Convince me on the term limits. Because of the nature of individual committees in congress it can take years and sometimes decades to move up in those roles. having a revolving door in some of those committees could set a bad precedent and frustrate initiatives.

 

completely agree with finance reform.

[mmrmnhrm]

Convince me on the term limits. Because of the nature of individual committees in congress it can take years and sometimes decades to move up in those roles. having a revolving door in some of those committees could set a bad precedent and frustrate initiatives.

 

But that's just it... your place on a committee is determined not by your familiarity with the subject, but by how long you've held your seat. Why should someone who has never so much as planted an herb garden be put on the farms and agriculture committee? Or a pacifist on the defense oversight committee?

[El Karacho1647545492]

Convince me on the term limits. Because of the nature of individual committees in congress it can take years and sometimes decades to move up in those roles. having a revolving door in some of those committees could set a bad precedent and frustrate initiatives.

 

completely agree with finance reform.

 

But that's just it... your place on a committee is determined not by your familiarity with the subject, but by how long you've held your seat. Why should someone who has never so much as planted an herb garden be put on the farms and agriculture committee? Or a pacifist on the defense oversight committee?

 

This, exactly this. Roles on committees are allocated by political capital. You "do your time" you get the chair that you want, rather than "hey this guy is wet behind the ears but he knows his shit" getting you the role.

 

If everyone's on a level playing field (that is, no one would have more than, say 12 years experience) then there's less incentive to allocate roles by tenure and more incentive to allocate roles based on who will get more shit done.

[Geeto67]

But that's just it... your place on a committee is determined not by your familiarity with the subject, but by how long you've held your seat. Why should someone who has never so much as planted an herb garden be put on the farms and agriculture committee? Or a pacifist on the defense oversight committee?

 

because you are confusing personal experience with being an advocate. In theory, they are our elected representatives and should be advocates of our interests and not their own.

 

A great example of this is Shirley Chisholm, who was on the house agriculture committee. As a black woman from Bedford-styvesant Brooklyn, she had no agricultural experience. However, at the time the food stamp program was under the department of agriculture and she used her influence to secure expansion to better cover her constituents (at the time the program was regional and not national).

 

Point is, the committees aren't always what you think they are and a good politician can find something in their constituents interest in every one.

 

From studying the states that have enacted term limits for their state lawmakers a few worrying trends have emerged:

 

- newly elected members tend to be more partisan and ideological and less likely to compromise or work on a bi-partisan solution.

 

- Lobbyist influence increased as special interests groups work harder to engage less knowledgeable officials.

 

- expected diversity shift did not happen

 

I mean this all seems to point to increasing the ills that we are currently facing, not alleviating them.

 

 

If everyone's on a level playing field (that is, no one would have more than, say 12 years experience) then there's less incentive to allocate roles by tenure and more incentive to allocate roles based on who will get more shit done.

 

I don't agree. A "level" playing field here would mean more obstructionism and running out the clock on the opponent and push more toward this idea of securing the majority than focusing on workable solutions. A "If you don't like your opponent, just push republican in his region next election and hopefully the block resolves itself", instead of a "common ground" for everyone's interest approach.

[HotCarl]

I'll just reiterate my initial disclaimer, in no way am I JUST pointing the finger at democrats as being obstructionist, or Republican's as being the work horse of our government. In my opinion they're all terrible in some way. I was just commenting on the newest story being ran which is the "sit in".

[Furloaf]

Hope they like hemorrhoids

[Coaster]

So there were some pictures from behind the scenes posted today of this "Sit in". Complete with catered food and potty breaks, not to mention armed security.

 

Apparently the civil rights protestors were doing it wrong.