Josh Marshall
Given that Republican opposition to dropping the filibuster constitutes an iron wall as long as Democrats are in power, and given that there appears to be at least one and quite possibly two Democrats who are absolutely opposed to abolishing the filibuster, it’s pretty easy to get pessimistic about the prospects of any more legislation for the next two years after the COVID relief bill passes. The one discordant fact is that the people who’ve worked this issue the longest – the diehard filibuster reformers who’ve made it a cause – are not that pessimistic. And these aren’t the kind of activists who keep their juices flowing by always imagining that victory is around the corner. And we should note that they talk about ‘reforming’ the filibuster rather than abolishing it.
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I’m really not sure whether I agree with this or not. I need to think it over. But TPM Reader JG is a sharp guy. And he makes some interesting and compelling points …
a couple thoughts about Jan 6: What was striking about yesterday’s Senate Comm Hearing was the non-presence of former senior Defense Dept officials who could answer the obvious questions about the delay in authorizing Nat’l Guard support despite urgent requests and the withdrawal of prior independent tasking authority for DC Guard authorities. Are they being investigated for criminal acts (sedition, eg) and thus their testimony would raise 5th A problems? The replacement of Esper et al with more Trumpist actings for the final few weeks certainly raise questions about anticipation and coordination of the Jan 6 events and call for investigation of communication with the WH on Jan 5 and 6.
More generally: pushing for a 1/6 Commission is a bad idea.
Meet Meet Mary Anne Clarkson and John Merlino, the two Senate employees who have to read out the entire 628 page text of the COVID relief bill because Sen. Ron Johnson and his colleagues thought it would be a cute delaying tactic. They’re two hours in and about 100 pages through.
One of the issues we’re focused on in the post-Trump presidency era is the series of developments which have made the threat of political violence a constituent part of American politics in a way it hasn’t been in many decades or perhaps as far back as the 19th century. This is largely due to ex-President Trump. But it involves trends which predated him and ones he began but now have a life of their own. This will be one of the organizing focuses of our coverage for the foreseeable future.
We have a pretty stark example of it actually today. Read More
Here’s a really fascinating interview New York Magazine’s Eric Levitz did with David Shor, a left-wing Democrat public opinion data guy whose analyses of public opinion and voting often confound Democratic orthodoxies, often supporting arguments advanced by more right-leaning factions within the Democratic party. It’s worth your time to read.
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From TPM Reader PI …
I’m retired, and before Covid, I visited and cared for my mother every day in a nearby memory care facility. She’s in late-stage Alzheimer’s. I took her to nearby parks, manicurists, restaurants and of course doctor visits and hospital stays when she had seizures. I helped her shower and trimmed her hair, joined her in group activities, sat with her in her facility’s garden, or in her room, watching television. I also spent many a time helping her through the fears, delusions or violence that dementia can trigger, then working with her doctor, psychiatrist and neurologist to find the right meds balance to keep her seizure-free and calm.
From TPM Reader BA …
Last year I worked at a law firm, the type started by three guys in the later 80s who decided to never change how they did business. In February I was starting to get concerned about COVID and asked one of the partners what plans the firm had to adjust. The answer was more or less “nothing”. My wife’s company, like many others, instituted a company-wide work from home policy in early March, while the direction at my office was just “Everything’s fine, try to avoid in-person contact while in the office.” Keep in mind that this was an office which previous denied people the ability to work from home unless there was some family emergency.
In these COVID moments posts I’ve been doing, as you can see, I’ve been publishing some that aren’t so much moments as people’s descriptions of how their lives changes beginning in February and much. There’s a subset of those which touch on how their lives changed for the better, or if not better than some relief from what had come before. In some cases, it’s ‘I had a sucky job. I got laid off and now I have a much better job.’ In other cases they’re much more heart-rending and poignant. A few of those are on the way.
Please keep your notes coming.
The Biden White House has brokered a deal between Johnson & Johnson and Merck that will have the latter company produce additional supplies of the recently approved J&J vaccines. The Post reports that the President will use the Defense Production Act to give Merck priority in purchasing equipment to ramp up for production.
TPM Reader AA went back through his records and sent me a tick-tock of the lead up to lockdown in early March. He’s planning the trip of a lifetime to Japan for he and his wife’s 25th wedding anniversary. That’s in late March. Son is home from college. A stream of anecdotes, most of which are captured in this sentence of his: “We couldn’t decide if we were being smart or paranoid.”
And then he comes to this …
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