We’re Not Partisan Hacks! Justice Barrett Insists At McConnell Celebration

A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things.

Who, Me?

Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett wants you to know that the high court is definitely not another GOP machine.

• “My goal today is to convince you that this court is not comprised of a bunch of partisan hacks,” she said during a speech at an event on Sunday.
• The event was a celebration the 30th anniversary of the McConnell Center at the University of Louisville, which is named after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who was sitting next to Barrett on stage during her remarks.

Sanders Pours Cold Water On Manchin’s Cold Water

Senate Budget Committee chair Bernie Sanders (I-VT) went full “Nice bipartisan infrastructure bill you got there, would be a shame if…..” on Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) in response to the West Virginia Democrat’s declaration on Sunday that he won’t vote for the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill.

• No seriously, that’s almost exactly how Sanders put it during a CNN “State of the Union” interview: “Mr. Manchin, I know, worked very hard on the bipartisan bill. It would be a terrible thing for the American people if both of those bills fail. They are linked together. They’re going to go forward together.” 

Sen. Bernie Sanders says Sen. Joe Manchin preferring $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion for the reconciliation bill is "absolutely not acceptable."

"Many of us made a major compromise in going from the $6 trillion bill that we wanted" down to $3.5 trillion, Sanders says. #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/CNC24VD65f

— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) September 12, 2021

• Yes, the Senate already passed the bipartisan bill. But the House hasn’t–and Sanders’ allies in that chamber know what’s up.
• Sanders’ remarks came shortly after Manchin said during his own “State of the Union” interview that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) “will not have my vote” on reconciliation, repeating his complaints about “inflation” he claims the sweeping legislation would cause.

.@DanaBashCNN presses Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin on why he doesn't support the $3.5 trillion reconciliation package.

Sen. Chuck Schumer "will not have my vote on the 3.5," Manchin says. pic.twitter.com/LBfgafxkPT

— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) September 12, 2021

Is Biden Finally Getting Ready To Do Something About The Filibuster?

The President has reportedly told Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) privately that he’s ready to step in and lobby moderate Democrats to approve a carve-out in the filibuster in order to pass election reform legislation, according to Rolling Stone.

• “Chuck, you tell me when you need me to start making phone calls,” Biden reportedly told Schumer.
• The President was previously resistant to putting his thumb on the scale with regards to the filibuster even for voting rights legislation, according to a CNN report in March. He privately told Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) that it was on Democratic senators to pressure Republicans to back voting rights reform.
• In the meantime, Democrats are close to reaching an agreement on voting rights legislation that all 50 Democratic senators can support, according to NBC News.

Some Cops Face Discipline For Their Behavior On Jan. 6

The U.S. Capitol Police’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) has recommended “disciplinary action” for six of its officers in the agency’s internal investigation into certain officers’ shockingly friendly conduct with Trump supporters who were storming the Capitol.

• The USCP did not identify the officers or specify what exactly those violations were. The announcement only lists “conduct unbecoming,” “failure to comply with directives,” “improper remarks” and “improper dissemination of information.”
• The agency had investigated 26 officers in its probe. The rest of the 20 officers were found to have committed “no wrongdoing,” according to the USCP.
• The announcement emphasized that the six cases “should not diminish the heroic efforts” of the other USCP officers who responded to the attack and that “the bravery and courage exhibited by the vast majority of our employees was inspiring.”
• The investigation came after footage of officers chumming it up and even posing for selfies with the insurrectionists went viral:

Cops are taking selfies with the terrorists. pic.twitter.com/EjkQ83h1p2

— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) January 6, 2021

• It’s unknown if the selfie cop was one of the six officers who was recommended for disciplinary action. He was suspended after the attack.

Conservatives Are Ready To Delegitimize California’s Recall Race

The Golden State’s gubernatorial recall election that will decide Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) fate is tomorrow, and conservative wingnuts are already working to sow doubt over the results:

Leo Terrell on Fox and Friends Sunday questions the integrity of California's recall election on Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/XkcOIgDqQa

— Steward Beckham (@iTweetyNerd) September 12, 2021

• Actually, they’ve been setting the stage for that for a while now:
  • Fox News host Tucker Carlson falsely claimed two weeks ago that non-citizens would be allowed to vote in the election.
  • Fox Nation host Tomi Lahren told her viewers last week that the “only thing” that could keep Newsom from getting voted out in the election is “voter fraud.”
  • Trump himself claimed (without evidence, naturally) that the race was “probably rigged.”
• Maybe all this has something to do with the fact that Newsom is enjoying a 14-point lead in the polls on whether he ought to be recalled.

Biden Gives Newsom A Boost

The President is traveling to Long Beach, California today to rally for Newsom the day before the state’s recall election.

Looking Back At America’s Wildest Post-9/11 Moments

Here are a couple of truly illuminating threads laying out how borderline deranged everything became in wake of the Sept. 11 attacks:

Post 9/11 thread for people to post the wildest shit they remember from 01 to 06

I'll start:

People thought Osama had an entire mountain hollowed out that he was using as his base and that's why AQ was hard to find and that somehow a group of like 30 dudes arranged this. pic.twitter.com/lQDupNdpTp

— grimm (@ExileGrimm) September 10, 2021

It’s hard to choose which is the most bonkers, but this pin has to be one of the top contenders:

@hume_r pic.twitter.com/VlHCRpms8f

— grimm (@ExileGrimm) September 10, 2021

There were also some nutty editorial cartoons:

Lol man pic.twitter.com/GfquaONYqL

— Kiki Rosecrans (@KikiRosecrans) September 10, 2021

Even kids’ movies and TV weren’t safe:

just remembered these absolutely wild post 9/11 disney channel propaganda videos pic.twitter.com/4vS9AxGnKa

— Ilana אילנה إيلانة (@Ilana_Who_) August 6, 2021

i am thinking once more about how amanda bynes peace sign was edited out of the original 2003 what a girl wants poster because they didn’t want to make a statement about the iraq war pic.twitter.com/AA5sRzklsO

— sara lebow (@SlebowSays) September 12, 2021

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