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[Jimothy]

That escalated quickly.

 

[The Librarian]

Urgh. I hate when they have the argument about "was the Civil War about slavery" because it always turns into a binary proposition. "No it wasn't, yes it was." History isn't binary, and trying to understand the Civil War as purely "these guys wanted to have slaves" is almost worse than not understanding the Civil War at all.

Sure, but slavery was by far the biggest issue and was the primary cause for secession.

 

[B-Dubs]

Sure, but slavery was by far the biggest issue and was the primary cause for secession.

Tell that to anyone from the South. STATES RIGHTS! is all you'll get

 

[Black Mamba]

http://www.quinnipiac.edu/institute...titute/national/release-detail?ReleaseID=1921

49% of Republicans and 68% of indies think the GOP isn't compromising enough. lolz

Stay the course, House GOP! It is working wonders!

 

[NYCmetsfan]

The misogyny is flying on conservative twitter tonight.

 

[Carpe Libertatem]

Sure, but slavery was by far the biggest issue and was the primary cause for secession.

Yep, the South didn't (and still doesn't) even care about states' rights - if they did, the Fugitive Slave Act wouldn't have been a thing

 

[Link]

Good write up I read about how the Supreme Court has turned its back on voters:

http://m.law.com/module/alm/app/nlj.do#!/article/1034718562

 

[Karakand]

Yep, the South didn't (and still doesn't) even care about states' rights - if they did, the Fugitive Slave Act wouldn't have been a thing

The Constitution of the Confederate States specifically prohibited the abolition of slavery.

 

[Wilsongt]

Welp, old white men win again.


Texas Senate passes new abortion restrictions

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas Senate passed sweeping new abortion restrictions late Friday, sending them to Republican Gov. Rick Perry to sign into law after weeks of protests and rallies that drew thousands of people to the Capitol and made the state the focus of the national abortion debate.

Republicans used their large majority in the Texas Legislature to pass the bill nearly three weeks after a filibuster by Democratic Sen. Wendy Davis and an outburst by abortion-rights activists in the Senate gallery disrupted a deadline vote June 25.

Called back for a new special session by Perry, lawmakers took up the bill again as thousands of supporters and opponents held rallies and jammed the Capitol to testify at public hearings. As the Senate took its final vote, protesters in the hallway outside the chamber chanted, "Shame! Shame! Shame!"

Democrats have called the GOP proposal unnecessary and unconstitutional. Republicans said the measure was about protecting women and unborn children.

House Bill 2 would require doctors to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals, allow abortions only in surgical centers, limit where and when women may take abortion-inducing pills and ban abortions after 20 weeks.
."
Abortion-rights supporters say the bill will close all but five abortion clinics in Texas, leaving large areas of the vast state without abortion services. Only five out of 42 existing abortion clinics meet the requirements to be a surgical center, and clinic owners say they can't afford to upgrade or relocate.

The circus-like atmosphere in the Texas Capitol marked the culmination of weeks of protests, the most dramatic of which came June 25 in the final minutes of the last special legislative session, Davis' filibuster and subsequent protest prevented the bill from becoming law.

The Senate's debate took place between a packed gallery of demonstrators, with anti-abortion activists wearing blue and abortion-rights supporters wearing orange. Security was tight, and state troopers reported confiscating bottles of urine and feces as they worked to prevent another attempt to stop the Republican majority from passing the proposal.

Those arrested or removed from the chamber included four women who tried to chain themselves to a railing in the gallery. One of the women was successful in chaining herself, prompting a 10-minute recess.

When debate resumed, protesters began loudly singing, "Give choice a chance. All we are saying is give choice a chance." The Senate's leader, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, told officers to remove them.

Sen. Glen Hegar of Katy, the bill's Republican author, argued that all abortions, including those induced with medications, should take place in an ambulatory surgical center in case of complications.

Democrats pointed out that childbirth is more dangerous than an abortion and there have been no serious problems with women taking abortion drugs at home. They introduced amendments to add exceptions for cases of rape and incest and to remove some of the more restrictive clauses, but Republicans dismissed all of the proposed changes.

Sen. Royce West, a Dallas Democrat, asked why Hegar was pushing restrictions that federal courts in other states had suspended as possibly unconstitutional.

"There will be a lawsuit. I promise you," West said, raising his right hand as if taking an oath.

The bill mirrors restrictions passed in Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, Alabama, Kansas, Wisconsin and Arizona. In North Carolina, lawmakers are considering a measure that would allow state health officials to apply standards for ambulatory surgical centers to abortion clinics.


Passing the law in Texas would be a major victory for anti-abortion activists in the nation's second most-populous state. A lawsuit originating in Texas would also likely win a sympathetic hearing at the conservative 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on its way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

But Democrats see in the protests an opportunity that could help them break a 20-year statewide losing streak. They believe Republicans have overreached in trying to appease their base and alienated suburban women, a constituency that helped President Barack Obama win re-election.

"In the long run, all they have done is built a committed group of people across this state who are outraged about the treatment of women and the lengths to which this Legislature will go to take women's health care away," Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards told The Associated Press in an interview Friday.

Sen. John Whitmire, a Houston Democrat, said during the debate that it was clear the bill was part of national conservative agenda attempting to ban abortion and infringe on women's rights one state at a time. He pressed Hegar on why the Texas Medical Association, Texas Hospital Association and the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology opposed the bill.

He asked Hegar how he could ignore these experts.
."

"There are differences in the medical profession," Hegar insisted, rejecting the criticism. "I don't believe this legislation will majorly impede the doctor-patient relationship."

Sen. Bob Deuell, a Greenville Republican and a doctor, defended the bill, saying abortion clinics "had not maintained the proper standard of care."

 

[Dartastic]

Welp, old white men win again.


Texas Senate passes new abortion restrictions

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAITxlCsj4Y

 

[The Librarian]

Nuts! https://twitter.com/samsteinhp/status/356066563608154113

 

[Tamanon]

Nuts! https://twitter.com/samsteinhp/status/356066563608154113

Is he going to run in 2016 for President? That seems a bad decision.

 

[PhoenixDark]

Well I'm confused. Wut...

I'm going to be pissed if this is because Obama offered him the DHS job...or maybe he's running for president ie VP.

 

[ivysaur12]

Boehner's press secretary:

@Brendan_Buck: Today in the news: the GOP is dead. Also, GOP poised to recapture Senate.

Great fantasy land you guys are living in. I guess poised to recapture = an uphill climb that most likely won't come to fruition. Cool.

 

[Link]

Well I'm confused. Wut...

I'm going to be pissed if this is because Obama offered him the DHS job...or maybe he's running for president ie VP.

Impressive you found a way to lay blame on Obama for this.

 

[GhaleonEB]

Boehner's press secretary:

Great fantasy land you guys are living in. I guess poised to recapture = an uphill climb that most likely won't come to fruition. Cool.

I recall them being poised to recapture the Senate the last two cycles, as well. They're just so poised!

 

[Aaron Strife]

Nuts! https://twitter.com/samsteinhp/status/356066563608154113

Another easy pickup for the GOP. Goddamnit.

 

[PhoenixDark]

I recall them being poised to recapture the Senate the last two cycles, as well. They're just so poised!

Looks like we can give them MT and WV right now, and NC will almost certainly flip. AR is probably gone too, especially if Tom Cotton runs. AK is a toss up, and I don't think Palin will run.

I don't see any democrat pick-ups on the map, unless Susan Collins is tapped for Homeland Security.

 

[Avon Barksdale]

I recall them being poised to recapture the Senate the last two cycles, as well. They're just so poised!

If they couldn't do it in 2010, it's not going to happen in 2014.

 

[ivysaur12]

Impressive you found a way to lay blame on Obama for this.

It was fairly impressive, honestly.

 

[Aaron Strife]

Looks like we can give them MT and WV right now, and NC will almost certainly flip. AR is probably gone too, especially if Tom Cotton runs. AK is a toss up, and I don't think Palin will run.

I don't see any democrat pick-ups on the map, unless Susan Collins is tapped for Homeland Security.

MT, WV, SD are all Lean R seats or worse. The rest are tossups. NC will not "almost certainly" flip, it's probably one of the better red state seats for Democrats.

I still think the Democrats will hold the Senate, but damn, Schweitzer not running is terrible news. That doesn't make Montana hopeless (Democrats have a strong state bench), but it definitely makes it tough.

I also think Georgia will be much more competitive than people pay attention to it, but I'm not going to factor that into any predictions.

 

[ivysaur12]

MT, WV, SD are all Lean R seats or worse. The rest are tossups. NC will not "almost certainly" flip, it's probably one of the better red state seats for Democrats.

I still think the Democrats will hold the Senate, but damn, Schweitzer not running is terrible news. That doesn't make Montana hopeless (Democrats have a strong state bench), but it definitely makes it tough.

I also think Georgia will be much more competitive than people pay attention to it, but I'm not going to factor that into any predictions.

Especially if they're dumb enough to nominate Virginia Foxx.

 

[The Librarian]

and NC will almost certainly flip.

You've said this before, so I'll ask you politely to stop saying it. PPP, who is based in North Carolina, shows Hagan leading all potential Republican challengers. They know NC better than anybody else. Additionally, given the recent "progress" being made with the state legislature, Democrats will be really fired up to vote in NC. That effort may be hampered by Voter ID legislation, but such an effort will probably get held up in court.

 

[PhoenixDark]

You've said this before, so I'll ask you politely to stop saying it. PPP, who is based in North Carolina, shows Hagan leading all potential Republican challengers. They know NC better than anybody else. Additionally, given the recent "progress" being made with the state legislature, Democrats will be really fired up to vote in NC. That effort may be hampered by Voter ID legislation, but such an effort will probably get held up in court.

I'll keep saying it until I get an impression she can win. NC's economy is in shambles with no light in sight, I don't see a democrat winning in that environment. Especially with black voters being prevented from voting in multiple ways.

 

[Aaron Strife]

I'll keep saying it until I get an impression she can win. NC's economy is in shambles with no light in sight, I don't see a democrat winning in that environment. Especially with black voters being prevented from voting in multiple ways.

Knowing you, you won't accept that she can win until she's being sworn in for a second term.

 

[The Librarian]

I'll keep saying it until I get an impression she can win.

In the face of all polling evidence? Honestly, I don't understand how you operate. You must be trolling again. :/

*sigh* Nevermind then.

 

[ivysaur12]

In the face of all polling evidence? Honestly, I don't understand how you operate. You must be trolling again. :/

*sigh* Nevermind, then.

It's the same as 2012 all over again.

 

[PhoenixDark]

It's the same as 2012 all over again.

How is an old poll taken before she has an official opponent evidence that she's a lock?

 

[Avon Barksdale]

How is an old poll taken before she has an official opponent evidence that she's a lock?

Nobody said that she was a lock.

 

[The Librarian]

How is an old poll taken before she has an official opponent evidence that she's a lock?

The poll was head-to-head matches, not a free for all. Either way, I wish you showed this healthy degree of skepticism during the 2012 campaign.

Bonus.

 

[PhoenixDark]

The poll was head-to-head matches, not a free for all. Either way, I wish you showed this healthy degree of skepticism during the 2012 campaign.

Bonus.

Never said it was a free-for-all. She doesn't have an opponent, and is in a tough state/position for democrats. I'm not the only skeptic about her chances. And what do obvious troll posts about 2012 have to do with anything?

I don't think democrats will lose the senate, thanks to republicans fucking up in 2010 and 2012 with bad candidates. But I don't see any pick ups for democrats outside of potentially Maine, and that's only if Collins moves on.

 

[makingmusic476]

Was listening to Here and Now earlier. Apparently that is pretty much the movie's tagline. Wikipedia verifies:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/93/Sharknado_poster.jpg[img]


[url=http://phrasegenerator.com/politics]Also:

[img]http://i.imgur.com/S4c9ROW.png[img][/url][/QUOTE]

Haha, I just got this:

[img]http://i.imgur.com/7OAH5k2.png

 

[The Librarian]

Never said it was a free-for-all. She doesn't have an opponent, and is in a tough state/position for democrats. I'm not the only skeptic about her chances. And what do obvious troll posts about 2012 have to do with anything?

But those are all her potential opponents. You're ignoring all polling evidence in the face of other factors – factors that don't seem to be overcoming Hagan when you look at the polling! – and acting like you have some sort of insight that none of us posses. The link to those posts was to demonstrate that I have a tough time differentiating your trolling from your serious posting, as I am now. Which makes me dislike conversing with you; I wish I hadn't said anything to you at this point. Please stop acting like you know more about North Carolina than I do.

 

[PhoenixDark]

But those are all her potential opponents. You're ignoring all polling evidence in the face of other factors – factors that don't seem to be overcoming Hagan when you look at the polling! – and acting like you have some sort of insight that none of us posses. The link to those posts was to demonstrate that I have a tough time differentiating your trolling from your serious posting, as I am now. Which makes me dislike conversing with you; I wish I hadn't said anything to you at this point. Please stop acting like you know more about North Carolina than I do.

Not saying I know more about NC. We're discussing a race that doesn't have an opponent, in a state with a horrible economy that is disenfranchising democrat voters. I feel confident assuming she is in trouble until I see evidence otherwise.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/17/kay-hagan-2014_n_3453106.html

In the meantime I'll wait for the republican primary and see if the economy improves there.

 

[Aaron Strife]

Nobody said that she was a lock.

PD logic goes that you're either a lock or toast. No inbetween.

See Scott Brown (lol)

 

[Hitokage]

Knowing you, you won't accept that she can win until she's being sworn in for a second term.

PD is PoliGAF's Wolf Blitzer.

 

[ivysaur12]

2016 is going to be so glorious with Hil Dawg and this:

Democrat offensive.

 

[Frank the Great]

Holy crap at that 2016 Senate map. Even if Dems lose a lot of seats next year, it won't really matter. How much would really change, it's not like anything is getting done anyway.

Hil Dawg will be our savior.

 

[ivysaur12]

Hil Dawg will be our savior.

Praise be to Hil Dawg.

We just need to keep the Senate for a SCOTUS nomination. Because again... Nothing is happening anyway.

 

[Oblivion]

2016 is going to be so glorious with Hil Dawg and this:

Democrat offensive.

Holy crap! That many Republican seats will be at play?

Shame that's not the case for the midterms.

 

[ivysaur12]

Holy crap! That many Republican seats will be at play?

Shame that's not the case for the midterms.

Yup. In a bunch of blue/purple states, too. We're still going to keep the Senate.

God, I love this stuff. Sometimes I think I should've worked in this area.

 

[dabig2]

Good, hopefully 2016 this country can erase the mistake of 2010. Thank god it's during a presidential election year as well so NO FUCKING EXCUSES.

I might literally be done with this country if we screw up again.

 

[Aaron Strife]

2016 is going to be so glorious with Hil Dawg and this:

Democrat offensive.

It should be a great year for Democrats, to be sure.

Arizona (if John McCain retires)
Florida
Georgia
Illinois
Iowa (if Chuck Grassley retires)
Kentucky
New Hampshire
North Carolina
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Wisconsin

Are all at least competitive under the right circumstances. Even if Democrats lose the Senate majority in 2014, they'll gain it right back and then some.

 

[Link]

It should be a great year for Democrats, to be sure.

Arizona (if John McCain retires)
Florida
Georgia
Illinois
Iowa (if Chuck Grassley retires)
Kentucky
New Hampshire
North Carolina
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Wisconsin

Are all at least competitive under the right circumstances. Even if Democrats lose the Senate majority in 2014, they'll gain it right back and then some.

I wonder if Arkansas could also be in play if Hillary runs. You know the Clintons would be endorsing that Democratic candidate hard.

 

[Clevinger]

McCain is never going to retire.

 

[jmls1121]

McCain is never going to retire.

I was just thinking about it today, it must kill McCain that his legacy will be nominating someone like Palin for the Vice Presidency.

 

[Link]

I was just thinking about it today, it must kill McCain that his legacy will be nominating someone like Palin for the Vice Presidency.

He shouldn't worry about that. His legacy as "crazy old man" over the past few years will likely be remembered just as much.

 

[PhoenixDark]

It should be a great year for Democrats, to be sure.

Arizona (if John McCain retires)
Florida
Georgia
Illinois
Iowa (if Chuck Grassley retires)
Kentucky
New Hampshire
North Carolina
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Wisconsin

Are all at least competitive under the right circumstances. Even if Democrats lose the Senate majority in 2014, they'll gain it right back and then some.

Kentucky and Georgia...?

Dunno what to think about Florida. If Rubio vacates his seat to run for president sure, it could be a pick up. But can any democrat beat Rubio? Maybe the far right will have damaged him enough by then (perhaps even with a primary) but who knows.

 

[Oblivion]

Jesus Christ..

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/...uy-coat-hangers-after-TX-abortion-bill-passes

Stay classy, Erick.

 

[Aaron Strife]

Kentucky and Georgia...?

Dunno what to think about Florida. If Rubio vacates his seat to run for president sure, it could be a pick up. But can any democrat beat Rubio? Maybe the far right will have damaged him enough by then (perhaps even with a primary) but who knows.

Rand Paul's special brand of crazy could make it competitive, but even then it's probably the least likely of those states to be in play. Georgia's been trending blue over time, Obama got 46% there without competing at all in 2012 and it even ended up being closer than Michigan, which pundits and Romney never shut up about being a swing state.

As for Rubio, his approval ratings in Florida are pretty middling. The last time PPP was there, 44 approve to 43 disapprove, and Hillary wallops him in a presidential match-up by 16 points. Democrats would be crazy not to take him on given the nature of the state.