Stupid questions: Shouldn't Schumer call a floor vote on the House covid package during CPAC?

[ancianita]

For that matter, and while the supporters of overturning confirmation on 81 million votes are gone,
isn't this the weekend he should come up with new Senate rules?
Rescind the Byrd rule?
Nuke the filibuster?

If all this got done as FMF45 takes some podium tomorrow, what's the worst they could do?

Just throwin' this in: Is Liz Cheney carrying what I think she's carrying?

[woodsprite]

1. She's carrying a cell phone. Is that what you thought? nt

[ancianita]

5. Okay, then. But I really couldn't tell. Actually, I thought it was a small gun.

Not out of the realm of possibility, and as we've seen, a probability for that party.

Thanks for your perspective.

[Buns_of_Fire]

14. You were seeing part of the guy's shoe in the background. nt

[ancianita]

16. That's what I thought, so I looked closer.

I've held a .38 snub nose and know the handle can be hidden, so I looked as closely as I could and still couldn't tell if it was a phone. Just sayin'.

[CTyankee]

21. At first I thought it was a gun.

[bottomofthehill]

2. A phone?

[Beachnutt]

3. I hope they do and liz is carrying a cell phone

[Ferrets are Cool]

4. Decorum

[ancianita]

6. Why decorum? Is that our euphemism for taking a knife to a gun fight?

[brooklynite]

7. Does Schumer have 50 votes to change the rules?

[dsc]

20. He would need a majority of those voting

which would be less than 50 in this scenario.

[ancianita]

22. Why would it be less than 50? We know that

We know that when trumpcult gets back we'll still have fifty votes, so what good is their presence for this legislation. McConnell voted without Dems present all the time -- every chance he got, no matter what events called Dems away.

We know every last one will vote no. So. Why wait until they get back? What good does that do? They'll just play their games, delay our legislation, then get on tv, telling the public how radical we are and that we're too slow at what we do, anyway.

Isn't the Congress in session and aren't the Democrats in town? Maybe my math is off, but that's how I'm figuring all the rulings.

[brooklynite]

24. The Senate is rarely in session on weekends.

Fairly sure Schumer is back in NYC.

[ancianita]

26. This weekend could have been thought through better. Habits of mind. Not cool.

I'm sure he is, likely visiting grandkids.

Everyone needs a life. I just wish, at certain points, Schumer would back up the "bold, fast" talk. Because if this is fast, I'm not seeing it.

[Hoyt]

8. Glad Shumer and Harris have better sense than that. Any advantage would be short lived.

[ancianita]

12. How short, exactly?

[Doremus]

9. It's times like these when I think the old guard needs to hand off

to those with a spring in their step. Fresh blood with fresh ideas and the enthusiasm to push them through.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

10. Don't ever apply to be a cop.

[ancianita]

13. What? Why not?

[WhiskeyGrinder]

17. They mistake phones for guns all the time.

OTOH, maybe it’s a prerequisite and you’re well suited!

[ancianita]

19. True.

I'm too old. If I had to do my life over, being a cop wouldn't even be an option. But I'd happily be a federal prosecutor.

[ancianita]

11. One more: isn't a two-thirds vote the vote of those present? Well? What the F are we waiting for?

Why should we fail to get the tough stuff done while the Right is fluffing itself? Why should we care about negative blowback? Can't we just say we did what they've always done, giving plenty of examples, and seriously get on with our legislative goals?

If the shoe were on the other foot, wouldn't McConnell do the same? Aren't the tools he uses worth using when they result in the greatest good for the greatest number?

[pecosbob]

15. I believe that fifty-one Senators are required for a quorum to do Senate business

I do not think that proxies are currently allowed for Senate floor votes.

[ancianita]

18. So if that's all we need, no proxies allowed, are you suggesting that Schumer can do it?

I honestly don't know and thought someone might be able to say why he can't do everything I've asked about. Our people are in town and so 50 can convene, including the VP, and maybe a few Republican remnants who care about their constituents' back home. It could end up being bipartisan, yes?

[pecosbob]

23. Whether Schumer can or would do so are different questions

One thing is for sure...for better or worse depending on your perspective it would signal that Dems are prepared to wrestle in the mud with the pigs, so to speak.

I tend to think that holding the moral high ground is better, but like all progressives I have grown quite tired of Dems inability to move legislation forward.

[ancianita]

25. I hear you.

I don't know about wrestling in the mud or moral high ground, but when doing what helps the majority of Americans, including the 74 million who voted you-know-who, I think most people don't care one bit about these political nuances.

The public puts a lot more stock in what gets done. In that sense the public are us, progressives, which in my view is the new mainstream because of the extreme crises we face.

The public sees these crises now, and needs faster help right now more than ever. So Schumer should get over his habits of mind, and get moving to restructure the Senate to get it out of glacial pace.

I won't help him spread any excuses as legislation gets stalled, and I won't forget that he blew this chance to get ahead of trumpcult.

[intrepidity]

27. Wouldn't that be amazing?

I don't see why they shouldn't.

[ancianita]

28. Yes!

Failure of imagination, imo.

[Lucinda]

29. Several (not sure which chamber) left proxies and went to the convention

Heard earlier that they did the paperwork and designated proxy voters for while they were out this weekend - they claimed they were not able to travel due to health issues - but used it to go to Florida...

[ancianita]

30. Yes, I read that. Do you know how that affects a floor vote? And perhaps they were

expecting one, right?