Somewhere out there someone who’s the best at what they do is terrified that they have imposter syndrome while a bunch of barely literate pedophiles are very calmly running the world

Let’s allow ourselves to think a bit more creatively than that. The worst case is that he’s the ringleader.

Good question…

Michael Wolff suggests in an email (in 2015) that if Trump were to say in public that he had never been to Epstein’s house or on his plane, Epstein would have leverage over him. Which…means that Trump was at his house and on his plane and that Epstein had the receipts to prove it. So.

(1/X) A lot of good commentary out there on why Dems shouldn't have caved, a lot of it from people I don't usually agree with: Yggy and the Nates, Jon Stewart (!). For me, it all comes down to Cedric the Entertainer: you have to wish that a motherfucker would cancel all the flights/cut SNAP....

Instead of folding like cheap chairs, Democrats should have forced the GOP to end the shutdown by killing the filibuster. Holding onto the archaic, antidemocratic tradition doesn't help them stop fascism, it makes them complicit to it. My latest in @thenation.com www.thenation.com/article/poli...

Yes. Agreed. Thanks for clarifying. @lawrenceodonnell.msnbc.com’s main point was that this was not just up to Schumer to keep those Dems 5 who flipped in line. This from @gregsargent.bsky.social & @brianbeutler.bsky.social is really on point. The best I’ve heard. Hopefully Democrats Listen to us.

Literally saw people last night claiming Chuck was against it because he voted No and if one did not recognize this as a coordinated from the top Dem caucus effort to get the votes the GOP needed without anybody involved being up for election at least four years one should maybe not post politics.

Assume all the yes and no votes from Dem senators are strategic and not sincere votes. The party caucus made a decision. No way to know how many were in favor. Then the caucus decided who would vote yes and no based on what would protect each of them politically the most. That’s how this works.

This is exactly correct.

The real question is not whether the GOP would extend the subsidies but whether they’d be willing to nuke the filibuster to not do that. Where the ultimate disconnect is is that the democratic base would see the loss of the filibuster as a win, and senate dems would consider it a loss.

Such an obvious scam

The base can handle some kayfabe but not when Republicans are torching the constitution and abducting people off the street.

This is a bad deal, and the old way of doing things is clearly not working. We need new leaders in the Senate.

If outside moderate factionalists really want to disclaim this outcome, they should seize the whip hand in demanding accountability. Immediate new leadership elections, mid-session resignation for all Dem capitulators who would be replaced by Dem governors. www.offmessage.net/p/16-thought...

Prescient

"Democrats could have held the line on the shutdown, and spent weeks watching Trump’s approval ratings fall," writes @jonathanbchait.bsky.social Instead, he argues, they're making a mistake by giving in: www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...

Democrats won't create the lasting change or tap into the rage of the majority with Schumer and Jeffries in the lead. Centrists won't get it done, no matter how the establishment wills it. The country has radically shifted. The last 10 years is your evidence.

Cowards die many times before their deaths, The valiant never taste of death but once.

All of this

You are not that stupid and neither are we

“This was a very very bad vote”

The answer Sen, Shaheen is that since America elected the Black man to be president, the official position of the Republican Party is “not to work together with Democrats to address the problems that are facing this country.”

The original Dem demands were: 1) Permanent ACA subsidies 2) Medicaid funding restored 3) No more blank checks for the regime (rescission) They dropped Medicaid immediately. Went silent on rescission. Cut back to 1 year of subsidies on Friday. And surrendered today. The Senate Democrats!

Thoughts on Dems throwing a game they were winning. www.offmessage.net/p/16-thought...

You’d be a formidable senator.

“The failure isn’t presumptively just on Schumer and the seven-plus rank-and-file senators who voted to cave. Assuming there are no consequences for the leadership failure, it’s also on the rest of the caucus.” @brianbeutler.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/brianbeu...

This is key. The vote the Dems secured here is a fake nominal vote. Everyone knows this.

80% of Democratic voters want a new leader in the Senate. Does that matter at all to Democratic senators?

I don’t understand anything

This.

The arrogance of a Senator who is not even running again to take the lead in undermining the Caucus and the voters.

Since the Democrats worked extra hard to hide who actually supported this, I think the No Kings/Resistance position should be to primary every Democrat unless they publicly call for Schumer's ouster this week Either they go into total rebellion mode, which they won't, or the people will

if democrats want to retain any amount of integrity they need to immediately vote out chuck schumer as party minority leader

Harm to SNAP recipients, federal workers, and others is real. In a normal democracy it’d make sense to prioritize reducing that harm in the short term. In a rapidly backsliding democracy, harm is happening no matter what. Preventing authoritarian consolidation is the most harm-reducing move.

Here’s the list of the eight Democrats who caved: ⚫️ Catherine Cortez Masto ⚫️ Dick Durbin ⚫️ John Fetterman ⚫️ Maggie Hassan ⚫️ Tim Kaine ⚫️ Angus King ⚫️ Jackie Rosen ⚫️ Jeanne Shaheen Their excuses don’t hold water. They betrayed all Americans who were counting on them to stand firm and keep fighting.

👇

Hey @schumer.senate.gov You suck at this.

Ro Khanna calls for Schumer‘ ouster

I've looked at all the details of this deal to end the shutdown reached by a small group of Senate Democrats. I've talked to a number of friends on the Hill to see if there's anything I'm missing. Sadly, I am not. This is a shit deal. It's a betrayal. It's cowardice.

The coordinated nature of this—none are facing voters in 2026—means that either Schumer approved it or failed in his job as Senate Majority Leader to stop it. Dems voting "no" get zero credit until they demand a change in leadership. Schumer out as Leader, Durbin out as Whip.

If Chuck Schumer was a stronger leader, he would have been able to convince most of these senators to hold the line. I’m terribly disappointed in him.

The most Democrat consultant-brained piece of this was making it a procedural fight about ACA subsidies — that, if extended for a year, would help the GOP in the 2026 midterms anyway — instead of making it stand against Trump’s lawlessness and corruption. But that would require believing in things.

Bullies gain power when their misconduct succeeds in causing righteous people to yield in the face of wrongdoing. That’s why voting for Trump's continuing resolution - without any protection against his health care cuts or his growing illegality - is a mistake. I voted NO.

John Fetterman, Angus King, Maggie Hassan, Dick Durbin, Jon Ossoff, Jeanne Shaheen, Kirsten Gillibrand, Catherine Cortez Masto, Mark Warner, Cory Booker, and of course Chuck Schumer. Maybe others not top of mind. Not all responsible will publicly vote for the cave - that's not how this works.

No it won’t. You people are so fucking deluded about where we are & how low information the average person is. The GOP will lie & because these people do not understand anything unless they are actively feeling it, caving loses Dem voters, it loses people who would’ve looked into why theyre hurting

Wow!