1) In case you missed it, Nancy Pelosi has been... less than kind, but in a completely hilarious way, to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Guess which side I'd take? On the "Green New Deal," Pelosi said: "The green dream, or whatever they call it, nobody knows what it is, but they're for it, right?" Pelosi is so much better at zingers than I am... This pretty much encapsulates my critiques of Ocasio-Cortez.
2) Former Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) died. He was a very interesting politician, and not just for how long he spent in Congress. He was a Democrat who made common cause with the NRA. Why? Michigan, hunting, and so forth. He complicated a lot of peoples' assessments of party, ideology and gun control, but also led to specious claims about the relationship between the NRA and policy actions in Congress. Region matters too. Remember when Bernie Sanders opposed certain gun control measures? It's never as simple as you think it is.
One final note about John Dingell. He never co-sponsored a major piece of legislation with former Rep. Robert Marion Berry.
3) So... shutdown or no? It's looking like no, but that's based on a lack of noise from the negotiators. We assess progress by lack of volume. Progress occurs when negotiators are quiet and speaking to each other behind closed doors. Is it any wonder that Trump hasn't gotten his wall?
Anyway, none of that seemed to warrant a full post, so this weekend, maybe I'll write about the craziness in Virginia, or something. I dunno. Choices, choices...
Related Posts :
The future of the filibuster: Part I
Saturday music: If you don't love country, you hate 'mer'ca
The future of the filibuster: Part II (Shoes, unlike raincoats, aren't reversible)
Friday music: If you don't love jazz, you hate America- The future of the filibuster: Part III (McConnell got what he wanted)