1765

And then sent thugs to steal the records from the doctor.

1766

Yeah, that’s probably a risk with thinking about. Not just the money angle, but the fact that a lot of those “potential targets” probably have an axe to grind against the government right now. The combination of penury and grievance is not a good mix.

1767

I love this.

They are trying to even the playing field, making it easier for them to win! What a bunch of cheaters!

1768

Fucking humans

1769

And they are doing it with policies that their constituents support! What sort of witchcraft is this? Where are the Koch brothers and what do they think of this madness?

1770

Get ready for this asshole to declare an ‘emergency’.

1771

Motherfucker.

1772

Really, emergency is the best way out of the impasse at this point, and the only way this is going to end. He could wait longer and cause more harm, but when finally forced to action this is what his action was always going to be.

An emergency will allow him to save face but will have no real-world meaning once the courts are done with it, beyond allowing the federal employees to get back to work.

1773

It’s just another frivolous abuse of power. Impeachment proceedings need to start sooner rather than later.

Also, he probably is sick of sitting around the White House and not golfing. Not what he signed up for.

1774
1775
1776

As it has been written here several places, Trump declaring a “national emergency” may be the best way out of this. He declares his emergency and allows the shutdown to end, meanwhile he is sued and while that is being hashed out nothing is done about the wall. And it doesn’t answer where he will get the money.

The Dems can declare victory and Trump will just blame the Dems for the wall not being built. And the government goes back to work.

1777

As its first act in the new Congress, the equally new Democratic majority passed something called House Resolution 1. It was a massive anti-corruption measure aimed at restoring the credibility of American elections and safeguarding the franchises for those whose right to vote had been assaulted by 30 years of conservative mischief, both in Washington and in the states. It advocated a constitutional amendment to reverse Citizens United. It proposed making federal Election Day a federal holiday, and it forbade both partisan gerrymandering and voter purges. It also mandated that the president and vice president reveal the previous ten years of tax returns. (Can’t imagine what gave them that idea.) All in all, it was a clear declaration of support for the right of all eligible citizens to vote, and for their votes to have meaning.

On the op-ed page of the Washington Post— Jesus, Hiatt. Really?—Mitch McConnell called it “a power grab.”

1778

Can’t wait to hear what these brainiacs cooked up.

1779

Indeed, if I could choose one and only one person in the United States government who would be forced to live out the rest of their life as a slug on the shores of the Dead Sea, it would be Mitch McConnell.

1780

Him as a sea turtle. On his back. In the desert. Constantly struggling to turn over. If he can just get onto his belly, there is an oasis mere yards away. But struggle as he might, he can never right himself.

And @ArmandoPenblade comes by occasionally to shit on his head.

1781

If I found Mitch the tortoise on his back in the desert, I would definitely not flip him over.

1782

The shutdown would be over if Mitch let it come to a vote. They don’t have to do anything.
And yet, they can’t even do that right.

1783

I would phrase that as “the shutdown would end if the White House would provide assurances Trump would sign the deal.”

1784

No, there aren’t enough Republican votes to get cloture, much less override a veto. Republicans are chained to Trump.