I guess this was written before 'moderate' Democrats, including frequent Contrarian guest Jacky Rosen, caved on the shutdown, all on a pinky swear from John Thune that the Senate might have a vote on ACA subsidies in December.
I am sure many of you observed that none of these Dems face an election or a primary challenge next year.
All that momentum from last week's elections, gone just like that.
Will the Contrarian get behind a primary challenge to Schumer? There's reporting that says he was more involved in the cave that he is admitting, which frankly is easy to believe....and to do this only days after this election has done incredible damage to the credibility of the Democratic Party.
(EDIT: to clarify what should be obvious: even if Schumer didn't directly approve of this capitulation, he did not prevent it, once again demonstrating his fecklessness and incompetence as the Senate minority leader)
I don't trust Republicans in any way, shape or form. It will be Lucy pulling the football away from Charlie Brown all over again. But it might bring the House back into session and with it the swearing in of Adelita Grijalvo and make the discharge petition a reality after all this time. If they agree to kick the can down the road to the end of January, I'm unsure how that will help with the healthcare subsidies, since by that time people will have selected their plans. And having been out of session for two months, the House will have so much work to do to catch up on all the cancelled votes, it won't get around to doing anything about the tax subsidies until two weeks before the deadline and can't possibly have a decent plan in such a short time. History repeats itself. Over and over and over again!
The GOP again has just proven that the Dems will cave, so why would they negotiate with them in December? Why would they negotiate the the Dems ever again?
It's not a matter of caving. The issue has been brought to the forefront. The GOP Congress and the Felon are at fault for the increased health insurance rates. Would you rather Americans starve? GOP certainly doesn't care.
It also is beginning to look like we can't trust Democrats either. In the past many of us felt there was little difference between the parties. But with such a horror sitting in the Oval Office, I think we all depended on someone, anyone, to oppose him, and relied on the Democratic Party to do this.
YOu're so right, Patricia. Little will happen. And if they haven't exacted a promise to call back the House so Adelita Grijalvo will be seated, heaven help us.
This is just incredible....I am slightly consoled seeing the Rubin is just as outraged as many of here readers are.
The more I think on it, the more it really does seem like Schumer at least partly engineered this, esp for the fact that every one of these Senators is retiring or not up for election or a primary this year.
Once upon a time there were fistfights in Congress. Mike Johnson needs his nose bloodied. I don't usually believe in violence but then I don't usually believe evil can prevail.
Was the immediate past representative from Kentucky (?) a Democrat? Otherwise why would a new Republican in a formerly Republican seat make a difference? (Maybe because there was a vacancy, i.e. no vote at all, from that district, and after the election there won't be one....?)
The issue has been brought to the forefront. The GOP Congress and the Felon are at fault for the increased health insurance rates. Would you rather Americans starve? GOP certainly doesn't care.
If that was the case, why did they bother at all? It's not like everyone didn't know what the GOP and Trump were like before this started.
All the Dems accomplished was making those same people suffer for a month, and gaining exactly nothing for it,. They did, however, damage their credibility even more, and showed the GOP that they can be rolled over at any time. There is no reason at all now for the GOP to ever feel any need to negotiate with the Dems on anything.
The GOP NEVER felt a need to negotiate with Democrats. Why should they? The voters, in their wisdom, handed all the levers of power to the GOP. We, WE, left the Democrats totally without weapons. And now we expect them to fight! With what, exactly?
Meanwhile, we must not forget who is the enemy. Everyone has their hair in a knot because Mike Johnson will not swear in Grijalva, who is expected to be Vote #218 on the Epstein discharge petition. Have we, even once, wondered why just one more of the dozens of Republicans won't even consider signing on? You know, those jerks who have been on paid vacations for weeks?
I worried about this shutdown at the moment it began. Because what motivation did the Republicans have to end it? Thanks to us, the voters, the GOP has no fear of Democrats. They have ultimate power to do whatever they want...and they're doing it! I don't believe they even fear the voters. After all, it's pretty clear that they plan (and are working toward) no more free and fair elections.
At this moment, we have one weapon working hard for us: the courts. And please, let's not opine about Schumer "collaborating with the Republicans". That's self-defeating garbage.
Schumer didn't collaborate with Republicans, I don't think anyone is saying that..he didn't need to, he gave them everything they wanted anyway.
He did appear to collaborate with the Senators that capitulated all retiring or not running in 2026... he wither worked with them directly, or didn't know what was happening..either one is grounds for his removal as minority leader.
The GOP finds ways to fight and slow down actions they don't like when they are the minority. They were taking the blame for this shutdown..and after last week the Dems had some real momentum..the Dems just don't know how to fight, at all..its' just pathetic.
I for one put next to no faith in the Epstein thing..The GOP doesn't care what Trump has done.
The GOP never has, and never will negotiate with the Democrats. When McConnell was Majority Leader, he ran ruff shod over the Senate. The real reason the GOP doesn't want to end the filibuster is because it would mean they'd have to vote up or down on issues that are difficult for them to vote on.
Susan Collins could have stopped the Big BS Bill as Appropriations Chair; but she didn't. Later, to show how moderate she is, she voted against the Bill, knowing it would pass.
No, once Representative Grijalva signs the petition, the legislation goes up for a vote in the House. If the Senate votes for the legislation (and that's a big IF), the Felon can either sign or veto it.
I see now that Rubin did record a session last night, where she starts by calling it the 'Sell Out Vote' and saying "normally when you sell something, you get something"..then she goes on to say "apologies to food stamp (recipients) who apparently went through hell for nothing" and calls this "inexplicable" and a 'dog's breakfast".
Glad to see her post this, but I am also hoping / guessing tomorrow's morning piece will give more detail, since so many more people read her morning posts, which are the tentpoles of The Contrarian, than view these interview videos.
For the record, she also openly discusses the need for Schumer to be replaced as Dem Senate leader. Glad to hear her say it.
In the past there's been lack of support for people like AOC, populists, because "If they run the Party will lose." Well, the party has lost anyway. And it's abandoned the causes that would have served the interests of the working class and the poor. We should not be deterred from supporting AOC simply because corporatist Democrats fear her. Rather they fear their donors.
After this, we should be looking at that (weak, hackneyed) argument that progressives lose in the other direction. Democrats lose when they triangulate and follow consultant driven compromise rather than conviction and courage.
It was 'centrists' like Manchin and Sinema that thwarted Biden over and over, not progressives...and we saw that again last night.
What we saw in NYC is that progressives can beat even a well known Democrats who had massive funding and the votes of even many Republicans.
Although I think she still understates the differences between 'centrists' and 'progressives', in Rubin's video last night, she draws the lines instead between 'fighters' and 'cavers'...and solidly puts Schumer in the latter camp.
AOC is ready now IMO. She has the name, she now has the experience, she has tons of grassroots support, the same type of grassroots support that gave Mamdani the most votes in an NYC mayoral election in generations... Schumer pretty much sealed the deal by letting this happen. We shouldn't forget that she also beat a well entrenched establishment Democrat in her first primary.
I heard Bernie Sanders last night on the Rachel Maddow news, and he said focusing on replacing Schumer is a huge mistake. We need to primary people on the basis of their stand on medical care for all. He said Medicare, but since I'm on it I advise that we ask for a National Health system like that of civilized nations. As a correction to my own disappointment about the eight who "caved," I'd advise everyone who wants to open their mind to listen to Lawrence O'Donnell's take on this situation, keeping in mind that O'Donnell has been THE fiercest critic of the occupier of the White House and his cult in Congress.
I admired Nancy but she should have used that spine to impeach war criminal Dubya. She lost my support forever when she declared “impeachment is off the table” (after voters returned control of the House to Dems in the Nov 2006 midterms).
True … and Dubya would not have been convicted by the Senate … but an impeachment by the Pelosi House would have at least held him accountable. In my lifetime, Repuke presidents since Nixon have gotten away with all their crimes.
I keep posting. According to Congressman Eric Swalwell (D-CA) Trumpepstein may cause an "Epstein bomb" causing over 100 Republican members to "jailbreak" from Trump.
Yes, you have 'kept posting'; about the Epstein vote, with this implied idea that this vote will save the Republic. We shall see...putting faith in Republicans to turn against Trump is wishful thinking, to put it mildly.
You seriously think that is a hard choice for the GOP when Trump is one of those 'preverts' (sic)? Like they haven't made that exact choice over and over again already?
I assume you're referring to the president's allegation that Obama has made $40million under the table from the ACA. If this is not true I hope Obama will sue for libel. If he doesn't, well...
This cave in by certain Democratic Senators leaves an awful sinking feeling in my stomach. How could they? STAND FIRM ON MEDICAL INSURANCE NOW OR WE WILL NEVER GET IT BACK.
I'm hoping that this capitulation will result in the House having to swear in Adelita Grijalva and force release of the Epstein files. That's the only possible positive that I can see.
but swearing her in does NOT "force release of the Epstein files". It allows for a vote requiring another vote, to get them released. That vote is not guaranteed to succeed. Rs don't want it because they don't want to go on the public record against the release - but most of them probably will.
Then that resolution - if it succeeds - will have to be approved by the Senate (fat chance) and not vetoed by Trump (very fat chance).
A lot of people seem to think that the Epstein files have some new potent magic in them. They will only confirm what anyone actually paying attention already knows, which is that Trump was a great pal of Epstein and diddled girls with him - source, evidence under oath at Maxwell's trial - not to mention lots of other accusations from credible sources over the years.
Will seeing Epstein's files allow non-believers to believe? Will Fox viewers ever hear of their contents anyway?
I think it's pretty easy to demand that the Democrats keep filibustering to keep the government shut down if you aren't personally affected. But many millions of our fellow citizens are working without pay, or have their needed federal aid cut off with no certain replacement. What the Democratic senators who voted for this compromise showed is that they care more about these suffering fellow Americans than the president who went to the Supreme Court to get cover to deprive these people of their benefits. The ads for the next election write themselves. I just think at this moment Democrats do not have enough votes to demand and get everything they are asking for from the corrupt GOP Senators and Congress people. You have to be realistic. Starving innocent children is not going to win us votes.
All that was accomplished is the Democrats caused a lot of pain and got nothing at all in return. It proved the GOP does not need to worry about opposition from Democrats. This is back to James Carville's 'play dead' or Schumer's 'wait for them to screw up'.
Again, all the Senators that voted for this awful 'compromise' are either not running this year or are retiring. None of them are risking anything.
Now the Trump and GOP will continue to fire those same workers the Dems are allegedly protecting, with renewed gusto, knowing they need fear nothing from the Dems.
The ads for the next election? What will they say...."We will fight for you...until it get hard, then we won't'. or maybe, "We will defend you against Trump....maybe, sorta....not really.'
I too was hoping today's issue would continue Jen's rant (that is a compliment) from last night. She was on fire! After the Democrats successes of November 4th, after the new energy Dems seemed to have, this vote takes the wind out of our sails. Does anyone believe the president will ever again concede anything? Especially on healthcare? Since 2017 he's been trying to kill the signature accomplishment of the former president. Maybe this is poetic justice for the former president who's done so little to help the Party take on the criminal sitting in the Oval Office now.
I too was at least heartened to hear her anger, that we all share. I am hoping she calls out Jacky Rosen by name, she Rubin herself has had her as a guest on this outlet several times.
Oh for heavens sake! Will the Dems ever learn? There is no way the MAGAs will ever be fair, truthful or honest. It’s all about power. We, the people, hold the real power, if we can stop bickering with each other and work together! Tuesday showed us the possibilities. The Dems in congress need to get the message!! Stand up and fight for us!
That momentum isn't "gone" at all. It's out there. And you are lumping all kinds of things together that have nothing to do with one another, including unnamed mutterings about "reporting that he was more involved..." which you know nothing about (nor does anyone else, for that matter).
It was never clear how this would end, given simple arithmetic. Trump refused even to sit down with Schumer and Jeffries (look what happened the last time that happened). Our Demented Baby-President held Great Gatsby parties at Mar-a-Lardo, while families depleted food banks. Our air traffic controllers have been working understaffed, without pay, for a month. How long would it have been before some disastrous collision reminded us what the cost of this shutdown truly was? Schumer held his own coalition together for 40 days, longer than any shutdown in history? How was this supposed to end, anyway?
I suggest starting with the obvious: those Democrats who defected feared what was happening to their own constituents and to the nation more than they feared the Senate Majority Leader.
Who do you suggest could have changed the basic realities involved? Mary Poppins isn't a Democratic Senator.
If Schumer didn't directly work with this group of Senators that have nothing to lose (which has been reported yes and actually makes perfect sense, given who he is and who caved), then has once again shown his gross incompetence as a leader...this isn't even the first time he has led a cave to the GOP on budget related negotiations this term.
You can take your complaints to Jennifer Rubin. Her video last night was far lass polite in her criticism of these Dems and of Charles Schumer than mine is.
As she says there, the Dems caused all this pain and gained nothing, escaped showing that in the end they will cave, and the GOP has nothing to lose by playing hardball every time, and has not reason to even pretend to negotiate the the Dems.
I just watched Jon Stewart's Monday night program where he pulls no punches in showcasing how those few democrats pulled a stunning defeat from the jaws of success. To a statement that "it wasn't working," he screams out BUT IT **WAS** WORKING! And we got NOTHING for caving. Of course, the Republican Congress is now going to consider heath care as a right and support veterans to boot. (Are you interested in some land in Florida? or how about pool dancing?) And we thought King George was bad.
I cannot bring myself into affinity with farmers. They voted for Trump. No doubt farmers would be a lot smarter had they gone to Trump University. Let farmers eat soybeans. Soybeans are a great source of protein.
“All of us who are dismayed by the present state of the union, this is no time to give up,” Biden declared. “It’s time to get up. Get up now, get up.”
If you have become overwhelmed, rely on my 2 buckets to sanity. 2 buckets says stay in the fight. We are winning with a year to midterms. If you stay in, we will shut them down.
I can think of quote a few more inspiring progressive leaders to quote than Biden, whose own ego that led him to run for a 2nd term when he should never have done so is why we are in this mess...not to mention his lack of doing anything about SCOTUS or a hundred other issues when he had the chance in the first half of his term.
That's a good idea for all of the ICE agents who break state laws. Trump's lackeys in the DoJ can't do much about having state charges reduced or rescinded.
I live in downtown Chicago and, in spite of numerous court orders, the ICE and DHS masked and armed agents continue to terrorize innocent residents. On Saturday, a Latino mother, father and their 1 year old daughter went to Sam’s Club to shop for groceries. When they pulled into the parking lot they noticed a helicopter overhead and multiple cars full of agents. The husband put down his window so the wife could film what was unfolding. Then, a car with agents pulled up and sprayed a liquid chemical agent into their car directly hitting the parents, with splatter going onto the daughter. The family was treated in the emergency room and will be okay.
Think about this event and what it means. In spite of numerous court orders prohibiting DHS officers from the indiscriminate use of chemical riot control agents, they sprayed a mother, father and 1 year old child in the face. This was entirely unprovoked. These people were bystanders to what was unfolding. They provided no threat to the agents. All the wife did, while in her car, was to film the events. Yet they were attacked by agents acting at the behest of the U.S. government. The authoritarian trump regime is openly and consistently defying orders from federal judges and innocent people are paying the price. This is what it has come to- open defiance from a reckless and lawless government.
Where are all the "black helicopter" alarmists now that we need the. (To explain, the right has worried for many years about overzealous government. Now that it is here, they are okay with it. It's not what is done that is the problem, but who does it.
Rump resembles Berzelius (sp?) Windrip more every day... this should be required reading for all, next to Orwell's classic 1984. But that assumes people still choose to read...
People can also listen to the audiobook version. The thing that surprises me the most is the portrayed reaction of the citizenry to Buzz and the minute men. We are seeing the exact same reaction to Trump and MAGA today.
have a book in publication titles "A Quarter Past One". I hope to have it in Amazon and Barnes and Noble before June. I gave my book out to three friends to review and one, an old high school classmate told me about Lewis' book. I was amazed by the similarities between Lewis' book and mine.
Be careful of Amazon. They may change your price, or give your Kindle away for free, or delete reviews they claim are your family or people who already knew you. They did all that to me with my book, taking almost a dozen 5-stars away with no justification, and allowing one review from someone who didn't even have an account (was using his wife's), or had even read the book!! He said both!! They let his 1-star stand, which of course reduced my overall rating. And there is no way to get help via their laughable "author line," which consists of chickees at a call center halfway around the world who have no power or understanding and are reading off a card. Try lulu.com and best of luck!
Thank you for the recommendation. I am using Dorrance Publishing. lulu looks interesting. I may use them for my next book. I have two in the works, one is a scientific approach to near death experiences and the second a novel that looks at how our scientific assumptions might be holding back our progress in space exploration. Do you have anything in the works?
I just broke up with a boyfriend who had a PhD in nuclear physics and used to watch all the “ghost shows” to glean something about the scientific aspects of alien sightings. Not far from your interest in near death experiences - at least as hard to prove!
Never heard of Dorrance - will check it out. Using lulu again for the next one, which I’m writing with a famous jazz bassist about his 60-year career. He’s played with everyone from Judy Garland to Queen Latifah and also writes original and very witty, thoughtful songs. Writing a book with someone else is a whole other animal, it seems; I did The Insanity Hoax one with lulu, and was working on it virtually every day for two years. Not so now.
BTW, I thought I posted something in my substack, but it seems to have disappeared…
And then there are the pardons. Giuliani just recently, but pre-emptive pardons of all J6 conspirators. To the worst of the worst Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht. Not having sunk morality to the lowest levels possible, now we put our allies at risk as well. We read that Britain and the 5 Eyes can't trust our government (you can't even imagine how bad this is):
I don't know what the status of the state actions re the perps just pardonned might be, but Giuliani et al have been sanctioned by state courts and bar associations....
AI.
New York
Action: Giuliani's law license was initially suspended in June 2021 by an appellate court panel, effective immediately, because he posed an "immediate threat" to the public interest. He was formally disbarred in July 2024.
Reason: The court found "uncontroverted evidence" that he made "demonstrably false and misleading statements" to courts, lawmakers, and the public while pushing baseless claims of widespread voter fraud on behalf of Trump.
District of Columbia
Action: Giuliani was disbarred in D.C. in September 2024 through a process of reciprocal discipline, following his disbarment in New York. A D.C. Bar disciplinary board had previously recommended disbarment after finding he violated professional conduct rules, including bringing a proceeding or issue without a basis in law or fact.
Reason: The D.C. action was based on the same conduct as in New York: advancing unsubstantiated claims of election fraud in Pennsylvania and other swing states, which the board concluded caused harm to the integrity of the legal profession and the country.
DEATH THREATS: I read an op-ed article I THOUGHT was in the New York Times over the weekend--by David French. It described just some of the many civil servants who have been threatened with death, including their family members, and where they send pizzas to their houses to let them know the "goons" know where they live. I went back to copy the article, and it had disappeared--though I could have missed it or maybe it was somewhere else (I read a lot of articles) I couldn't find it anywhere in the Times or elsewhere. You have to trust me on this one--I read it and it was a thorough accounting.
Regardless: My point is that Congresspeople or some sort of quasi-power that is unconnected with Trump/et/al, MUST deal with being intimidated out of their wits in some sort of systematic way--I think the intimidation factor has been a MAJOR part of the problem all through "The Trump Erra" and at least all the way back to the impeachments. Things are really coming to a head now.
KUDOS to those MOMS in the picture, and to Jen whose writing is so clear on this entire matter.
United we stand; divided we fall. However, this story isn't over yet. The House will have to convene to vote on the package. They will have to swear in the new Democratic member who will immediately vote to release the Epstein files. The House can refuse to convene, and tRump can refuse to sign the bill, but that would cement the blame where it belongs.
There are promises that came with the negotiated package, but tRump isn't bound by any agreement especially those he didn't make himself.
Why can’t these ICE/CBP agents be charged with criminal conduct? By subjecting people to filthy conditions in a prison is creating a public health hazard. This is how diseases such as hepatitis, dysentery, measles and other communicable diseases can get out of control and harm public health. Allowing this sort of thing is not only inhumane but it says a lot about those who subject others to those kinds of conditions.
If the repugnants hiding under their desks think they can rewrite history, lie their way out of this after Trump is gone, or that we will forget, they have another think coming. There WILL be punishment. The American citizens will DEMAND it!
SNIP: Federal Judge, Warning of ‘Existential Threat’ to Democracy, Resigns
Judge Mark L. Wolf, writing in The Atlantic, said he was stepping down to speak out against the “assault on the rule of law” by President Trump, whom he accused of “targeting his adversaries.” END SNIP
Also, increasing reports of people attacked by criminals pretending to be ICE agents. You can't fight ICE agents, but how do you know who you are dealing with?
So why the hell do the judges allow trump's dopes to lie to them without repercussions? Jail time and or loss of law license would be an appropriate start, the same thing that would happen if we did it???
Trump was vigorously bood at an NFL game when he read his oath of office. Keep up the enthusiasm and give money to Democrats to we can take back our Democratic Republic on Nov. 2026!!!!!!!
And he phoned the owner of the Commanders' stadium to say he wants that venue named after himself. Every NFL player should refuse to play in any stadium that carries his name.
I guess this was written before 'moderate' Democrats, including frequent Contrarian guest Jacky Rosen, caved on the shutdown, all on a pinky swear from John Thune that the Senate might have a vote on ACA subsidies in December.
I am sure many of you observed that none of these Dems face an election or a primary challenge next year.
All that momentum from last week's elections, gone just like that.
Will the Contrarian get behind a primary challenge to Schumer? There's reporting that says he was more involved in the cave that he is admitting, which frankly is easy to believe....and to do this only days after this election has done incredible damage to the credibility of the Democratic Party.
(EDIT: to clarify what should be obvious: even if Schumer didn't directly approve of this capitulation, he did not prevent it, once again demonstrating his fecklessness and incompetence as the Senate minority leader)
I don't trust Republicans in any way, shape or form. It will be Lucy pulling the football away from Charlie Brown all over again. But it might bring the House back into session and with it the swearing in of Adelita Grijalvo and make the discharge petition a reality after all this time. If they agree to kick the can down the road to the end of January, I'm unsure how that will help with the healthcare subsidies, since by that time people will have selected their plans. And having been out of session for two months, the House will have so much work to do to catch up on all the cancelled votes, it won't get around to doing anything about the tax subsidies until two weeks before the deadline and can't possibly have a decent plan in such a short time. History repeats itself. Over and over and over again!
The GOP again has just proven that the Dems will cave, so why would they negotiate with them in December? Why would they negotiate the the Dems ever again?
It's not a matter of caving. The issue has been brought to the forefront. The GOP Congress and the Felon are at fault for the increased health insurance rates. Would you rather Americans starve? GOP certainly doesn't care.
You said this exact same thing below, i replied there.
totally agree
It also is beginning to look like we can't trust Democrats either. In the past many of us felt there was little difference between the parties. But with such a horror sitting in the Oval Office, I think we all depended on someone, anyone, to oppose him, and relied on the Democratic Party to do this.
YOu're so right, Patricia. Little will happen. And if they haven't exacted a promise to call back the House so Adelita Grijalvo will be seated, heaven help us.
My only quibble is 'beginning to'
This is just incredible....I am slightly consoled seeing the Rubin is just as outraged as many of here readers are.
The more I think on it, the more it really does seem like Schumer at least partly engineered this, esp for the fact that every one of these Senators is retiring or not up for election or a primary this year.
Word of the Day: Self-Serving. (Okay . . I lied . . . it's two words.)
SELF-SERVING BUBBLEHEADS. (Or maybe it's three words. . . Whatever.)
She will not be seated until the election in, I think, Kentucky (?) is won by the republican so her vote will mean nothing.
Once upon a time there were fistfights in Congress. Mike Johnson needs his nose bloodied. I don't usually believe in violence but then I don't usually believe evil can prevail.
Was the immediate past representative from Kentucky (?) a Democrat? Otherwise why would a new Republican in a formerly Republican seat make a difference? (Maybe because there was a vacancy, i.e. no vote at all, from that district, and after the election there won't be one....?)
The issue has been brought to the forefront. The GOP Congress and the Felon are at fault for the increased health insurance rates. Would you rather Americans starve? GOP certainly doesn't care.
If that was the case, why did they bother at all? It's not like everyone didn't know what the GOP and Trump were like before this started.
All the Dems accomplished was making those same people suffer for a month, and gaining exactly nothing for it,. They did, however, damage their credibility even more, and showed the GOP that they can be rolled over at any time. There is no reason at all now for the GOP to ever feel any need to negotiate with the Dems on anything.
The GOP NEVER felt a need to negotiate with Democrats. Why should they? The voters, in their wisdom, handed all the levers of power to the GOP. We, WE, left the Democrats totally without weapons. And now we expect them to fight! With what, exactly?
Meanwhile, we must not forget who is the enemy. Everyone has their hair in a knot because Mike Johnson will not swear in Grijalva, who is expected to be Vote #218 on the Epstein discharge petition. Have we, even once, wondered why just one more of the dozens of Republicans won't even consider signing on? You know, those jerks who have been on paid vacations for weeks?
I worried about this shutdown at the moment it began. Because what motivation did the Republicans have to end it? Thanks to us, the voters, the GOP has no fear of Democrats. They have ultimate power to do whatever they want...and they're doing it! I don't believe they even fear the voters. After all, it's pretty clear that they plan (and are working toward) no more free and fair elections.
At this moment, we have one weapon working hard for us: the courts. And please, let's not opine about Schumer "collaborating with the Republicans". That's self-defeating garbage.
I hope the dems can use this to hammer republicans in the midterms. Can't trust them.
Schumer didn't collaborate with Republicans, I don't think anyone is saying that..he didn't need to, he gave them everything they wanted anyway.
He did appear to collaborate with the Senators that capitulated all retiring or not running in 2026... he wither worked with them directly, or didn't know what was happening..either one is grounds for his removal as minority leader.
The GOP finds ways to fight and slow down actions they don't like when they are the minority. They were taking the blame for this shutdown..and after last week the Dems had some real momentum..the Dems just don't know how to fight, at all..its' just pathetic.
I for one put next to no faith in the Epstein thing..The GOP doesn't care what Trump has done.
The GOP never has, and never will negotiate with the Democrats. When McConnell was Majority Leader, he ran ruff shod over the Senate. The real reason the GOP doesn't want to end the filibuster is because it would mean they'd have to vote up or down on issues that are difficult for them to vote on.
Susan Collins could have stopped the Big BS Bill as Appropriations Chair; but she didn't. Later, to show how moderate she is, she voted against the Bill, knowing it would pass.
This is the gambit for Epstein, as painful and capitulating as it is.
December 2nd is Tennessee's 7th District special House election that could provide the foil to Ms Grijalva's deciding vote on the discharge petition.
Any closer to that would give the slimy Speaker cover to further delay her swearing-in.
No, once Representative Grijalva signs the petition, the legislation goes up for a vote in the House. If the Senate votes for the legislation (and that's a big IF), the Felon can either sign or veto it.
Correct, but the floor vote is the point. Get the diddler defenders on the record saying they support protecting powerful pedos.
Agree, the only thing this GOP House could build is a good case of hemorrhoids.
I see now that Rubin did record a session last night, where she starts by calling it the 'Sell Out Vote' and saying "normally when you sell something, you get something"..then she goes on to say "apologies to food stamp (recipients) who apparently went through hell for nothing" and calls this "inexplicable" and a 'dog's breakfast".
Glad to see her post this, but I am also hoping / guessing tomorrow's morning piece will give more detail, since so many more people read her morning posts, which are the tentpoles of The Contrarian, than view these interview videos.
For the record, she also openly discusses the need for Schumer to be replaced as Dem Senate leader. Glad to hear her say it.
It is past time for Schumer to retire…COMPLETELY. He has only been successful because of Pelosi standing with him. Only one of them had a spine.
Absolutely..I am hoping for an AOC primary challenge.
I was glad to hear Jennifer Rubin express this same sentiment in her video piece last night too.
In the past there's been lack of support for people like AOC, populists, because "If they run the Party will lose." Well, the party has lost anyway. And it's abandoned the causes that would have served the interests of the working class and the poor. We should not be deterred from supporting AOC simply because corporatist Democrats fear her. Rather they fear their donors.
After this, we should be looking at that (weak, hackneyed) argument that progressives lose in the other direction. Democrats lose when they triangulate and follow consultant driven compromise rather than conviction and courage.
It was 'centrists' like Manchin and Sinema that thwarted Biden over and over, not progressives...and we saw that again last night.
What we saw in NYC is that progressives can beat even a well known Democrats who had massive funding and the votes of even many Republicans.
Although I think she still understates the differences between 'centrists' and 'progressives', in Rubin's video last night, she draws the lines instead between 'fighters' and 'cavers'...and solidly puts Schumer in the latter camp.
AOC is ready now IMO. She has the name, she now has the experience, she has tons of grassroots support, the same type of grassroots support that gave Mamdani the most votes in an NYC mayoral election in generations... Schumer pretty much sealed the deal by letting this happen. We shouldn't forget that she also beat a well entrenched establishment Democrat in her first primary.
You are so correct!!! (Notice I did not use the other word for “correct?)
:)) Got it!
I heard Bernie Sanders last night on the Rachel Maddow news, and he said focusing on replacing Schumer is a huge mistake. We need to primary people on the basis of their stand on medical care for all. He said Medicare, but since I'm on it I advise that we ask for a National Health system like that of civilized nations. As a correction to my own disappointment about the eight who "caved," I'd advise everyone who wants to open their mind to listen to Lawrence O'Donnell's take on this situation, keeping in mind that O'Donnell has been THE fiercest critic of the occupier of the White House and his cult in Congress.
Well that would include Schumer of course, who has never supported Medicare For All..it would include most other Dems in the Senate too.
But Schumer and his gang of 8 did more damage than that, they sold out he best and maybe only chance to boost subsidies for ACA.
Still waiting for your response to calling me 'antisemitic' yesterday for criticizing Schumer?
I admired Nancy but she should have used that spine to impeach war criminal Dubya. She lost my support forever when she declared “impeachment is off the table” (after voters returned control of the House to Dems in the Nov 2006 midterms).
She has maneuvered many times against the progressive wing in her party as well.
Still, she is more of a fighter than Schumer ever dreamed of being.
True … and Dubya would not have been convicted by the Senate … but an impeachment by the Pelosi House would have at least held him accountable. In my lifetime, Repuke presidents since Nixon have gotten away with all their crimes.
I’m not sure where that would have gotten us. I’d take Dubya any day over what we have now.
Not over. Goes to the House, where Teumpepstein comes into play.
Many Congressional Republicans privately admit Trump is nuts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNzVt7q0W5A
I keep posting. According to Congressman Eric Swalwell (D-CA) Trumpepstein may cause an "Epstein bomb" causing over 100 Republican members to "jailbreak" from Trump.
Massive Congressional visits November 18.
https://www.instagram.com/flare.usa/p/DP_mdOyjdiG/
Visit CongressionalRepublicans.
https://www.mobilize.us/indivisible/event/851451/
I think that if we play our cards right, many can be convinced by the election outcome to come forward.
Yes, you have 'kept posting'; about the Epstein vote, with this implied idea that this vote will save the Republic. We shall see...putting faith in Republicans to turn against Trump is wishful thinking, to put it mildly.
They will individually have to vote with the victims or with preverts.
You seriously think that is a hard choice for the GOP when Trump is one of those 'preverts' (sic)? Like they haven't made that exact choice over and over again already?
Never up, never in. It's happened in other administrations.
I can't imagine some of them voting to protect Clinton, Barak, etc. Just recently discovered the money laudering aspect.
Those. 'other administrations' were from another bygone era. They were not the Trump admin.
If you think there will be some serious uprising against Trump by the GOP, you are simply dreaming...especially after this.
You should listen to Rubin's video from last night. She is much less polite about this than I am.
Are you referring to the SATIRE from 2017, which was recently republished as SATIRE, and then republished again by the President who does not understand SATIRE? https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/09/trump-obama-obamacare-royalties-claim
I assume you're referring to the president's allegation that Obama has made $40million under the table from the ACA. If this is not true I hope Obama will sue for libel. If he doesn't, well...
So far they've voted for the pervert over and over.
Gotta keep trying....
Some say they also want to talk about health care, SNAP, etc.
Their yadda yadda yadda doesn't mean much in the end, if they cave.
"some say they also want to talk about health care, SNAP, etc." ..who is that, the voices in your head?
Seriously, do you even hear yourself? You've moved from wishful thinking to pure delusion.
Exactly.
This cave in by certain Democratic Senators leaves an awful sinking feeling in my stomach. How could they? STAND FIRM ON MEDICAL INSURANCE NOW OR WE WILL NEVER GET IT BACK.
Yeah, what exactly was the point in making a stand?
Indeed.
I'm hoping that this capitulation will result in the House having to swear in Adelita Grijalva and force release of the Epstein files. That's the only possible positive that I can see.
but swearing her in does NOT "force release of the Epstein files". It allows for a vote requiring another vote, to get them released. That vote is not guaranteed to succeed. Rs don't want it because they don't want to go on the public record against the release - but most of them probably will.
Then that resolution - if it succeeds - will have to be approved by the Senate (fat chance) and not vetoed by Trump (very fat chance).
A lot of people seem to think that the Epstein files have some new potent magic in them. They will only confirm what anyone actually paying attention already knows, which is that Trump was a great pal of Epstein and diddled girls with him - source, evidence under oath at Maxwell's trial - not to mention lots of other accusations from credible sources over the years.
Will seeing Epstein's files allow non-believers to believe? Will Fox viewers ever hear of their contents anyway?
yea, that’s about all I can see too. I don’t know why anyone would trust Thune to follow up on any vote.
I think it's pretty easy to demand that the Democrats keep filibustering to keep the government shut down if you aren't personally affected. But many millions of our fellow citizens are working without pay, or have their needed federal aid cut off with no certain replacement. What the Democratic senators who voted for this compromise showed is that they care more about these suffering fellow Americans than the president who went to the Supreme Court to get cover to deprive these people of their benefits. The ads for the next election write themselves. I just think at this moment Democrats do not have enough votes to demand and get everything they are asking for from the corrupt GOP Senators and Congress people. You have to be realistic. Starving innocent children is not going to win us votes.
If those eight Democrats (well, seven and Dino Fetterman) thought they were helping any Americans they were incredibly short-sighted and narrow.
And neither will caving.
All that was accomplished is the Democrats caused a lot of pain and got nothing at all in return. It proved the GOP does not need to worry about opposition from Democrats. This is back to James Carville's 'play dead' or Schumer's 'wait for them to screw up'.
Again, all the Senators that voted for this awful 'compromise' are either not running this year or are retiring. None of them are risking anything.
Now the Trump and GOP will continue to fire those same workers the Dems are allegedly protecting, with renewed gusto, knowing they need fear nothing from the Dems.
The ads for the next election? What will they say...."We will fight for you...until it get hard, then we won't'. or maybe, "We will defend you against Trump....maybe, sorta....not really.'
Not so. They may be playing chess here. Big pressure on House to come back into session.
Schumer is too slick by half. He has no concept how to strategize effectively.
Please.
I too was hoping today's issue would continue Jen's rant (that is a compliment) from last night. She was on fire! After the Democrats successes of November 4th, after the new energy Dems seemed to have, this vote takes the wind out of our sails. Does anyone believe the president will ever again concede anything? Especially on healthcare? Since 2017 he's been trying to kill the signature accomplishment of the former president. Maybe this is poetic justice for the former president who's done so little to help the Party take on the criminal sitting in the Oval Office now.
I too was at least heartened to hear her anger, that we all share. I am hoping she calls out Jacky Rosen by name, she Rubin herself has had her as a guest on this outlet several times.
Oh for heavens sake! Will the Dems ever learn? There is no way the MAGAs will ever be fair, truthful or honest. It’s all about power. We, the people, hold the real power, if we can stop bickering with each other and work together! Tuesday showed us the possibilities. The Dems in congress need to get the message!! Stand up and fight for us!
Dianne Walter: . . . she said while they threw dirt on our graves.
That momentum isn't "gone" at all. It's out there. And you are lumping all kinds of things together that have nothing to do with one another, including unnamed mutterings about "reporting that he was more involved..." which you know nothing about (nor does anyone else, for that matter).
It was never clear how this would end, given simple arithmetic. Trump refused even to sit down with Schumer and Jeffries (look what happened the last time that happened). Our Demented Baby-President held Great Gatsby parties at Mar-a-Lardo, while families depleted food banks. Our air traffic controllers have been working understaffed, without pay, for a month. How long would it have been before some disastrous collision reminded us what the cost of this shutdown truly was? Schumer held his own coalition together for 40 days, longer than any shutdown in history? How was this supposed to end, anyway?
I suggest starting with the obvious: those Democrats who defected feared what was happening to their own constituents and to the nation more than they feared the Senate Majority Leader.
Who do you suggest could have changed the basic realities involved? Mary Poppins isn't a Democratic Senator.
If Schumer didn't directly work with this group of Senators that have nothing to lose (which has been reported yes and actually makes perfect sense, given who he is and who caved), then has once again shown his gross incompetence as a leader...this isn't even the first time he has led a cave to the GOP on budget related negotiations this term.
You can take your complaints to Jennifer Rubin. Her video last night was far lass polite in her criticism of these Dems and of Charles Schumer than mine is.
As she says there, the Dems caused all this pain and gained nothing, escaped showing that in the end they will cave, and the GOP has nothing to lose by playing hardball every time, and has not reason to even pretend to negotiate the the Dems.
Agreed Jason! Unbelievable that the democrats caved and you are right the momentum gone. Disgraceful.
trying to think of all the adjectives..disgraceful, yes....baffling? enraging? but also..not entirely surprising?
I just watched Jon Stewart's Monday night program where he pulls no punches in showcasing how those few democrats pulled a stunning defeat from the jaws of success. To a statement that "it wasn't working," he screams out BUT IT **WAS** WORKING! And we got NOTHING for caving. Of course, the Republican Congress is now going to consider heath care as a right and support veterans to boot. (Are you interested in some land in Florida? or how about pool dancing?) And we thought King George was bad.
I agree with your comments completely. Schumer has got to go. He sure as hell is no Nancy Pelosi.
I totally agree.
I cannot bring myself into affinity with farmers. They voted for Trump. No doubt farmers would be a lot smarter had they gone to Trump University. Let farmers eat soybeans. Soybeans are a great source of protein.
“All of us who are dismayed by the present state of the union, this is no time to give up,” Biden declared. “It’s time to get up. Get up now, get up.”
If you have become overwhelmed, rely on my 2 buckets to sanity. 2 buckets says stay in the fight. We are winning with a year to midterms. If you stay in, we will shut them down.
https://hotbuttons.substack.com/p/too-much-two-buckets-to-sanity?r=3m1bs
Farmers got a bail-out during #45, and are getting one again.
Neat website.
What do farmers have to do with the Dems caving?
I can think of quote a few more inspiring progressive leaders to quote than Biden, whose own ego that led him to run for a 2nd term when he should never have done so is why we are in this mess...not to mention his lack of doing anything about SCOTUS or a hundred other issues when he had the chance in the first half of his term.
Time to put Bovino in jail. On state charges.
That's a good idea for all of the ICE agents who break state laws. Trump's lackeys in the DoJ can't do much about having state charges reduced or rescinded.
Last week, a suit was filed in Pennsylvania, challenging the 2024 election by the Election Truth Alliance.
However, so far, I can't get a copy of the complaint to assess its chances. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XERg8QilFA
With Pacer access, should be able to get it. Supposed to be W.D. Pa 1:25-cv-00329
I live in downtown Chicago and, in spite of numerous court orders, the ICE and DHS masked and armed agents continue to terrorize innocent residents. On Saturday, a Latino mother, father and their 1 year old daughter went to Sam’s Club to shop for groceries. When they pulled into the parking lot they noticed a helicopter overhead and multiple cars full of agents. The husband put down his window so the wife could film what was unfolding. Then, a car with agents pulled up and sprayed a liquid chemical agent into their car directly hitting the parents, with splatter going onto the daughter. The family was treated in the emergency room and will be okay.
Think about this event and what it means. In spite of numerous court orders prohibiting DHS officers from the indiscriminate use of chemical riot control agents, they sprayed a mother, father and 1 year old child in the face. This was entirely unprovoked. These people were bystanders to what was unfolding. They provided no threat to the agents. All the wife did, while in her car, was to film the events. Yet they were attacked by agents acting at the behest of the U.S. government. The authoritarian trump regime is openly and consistently defying orders from federal judges and innocent people are paying the price. This is what it has come to- open defiance from a reckless and lawless government.
Where are all the "black helicopter" alarmists now that we need the. (To explain, the right has worried for many years about overzealous government. Now that it is here, they are okay with it. It's not what is done that is the problem, but who does it.
You forgot the magical expression, IOKIYAR....
Well, it's THEIR black helicopters...
At what point does local law enforcement take action against the ICE kidnappers?
On Jan. 1 2026 when Mamdani becomes mayor of NYC.
For a synopsis of today's events, written 90 years ago, read "It Can't Happen Here" by Sinclair Lewis
Rump resembles Berzelius (sp?) Windrip more every day... this should be required reading for all, next to Orwell's classic 1984. But that assumes people still choose to read...
People can also listen to the audiobook version. The thing that surprises me the most is the portrayed reaction of the citizenry to Buzz and the minute men. We are seeing the exact same reaction to Trump and MAGA today.
have a book in publication titles "A Quarter Past One". I hope to have it in Amazon and Barnes and Noble before June. I gave my book out to three friends to review and one, an old high school classmate told me about Lewis' book. I was amazed by the similarities between Lewis' book and mine.
Be careful of Amazon. They may change your price, or give your Kindle away for free, or delete reviews they claim are your family or people who already knew you. They did all that to me with my book, taking almost a dozen 5-stars away with no justification, and allowing one review from someone who didn't even have an account (was using his wife's), or had even read the book!! He said both!! They let his 1-star stand, which of course reduced my overall rating. And there is no way to get help via their laughable "author line," which consists of chickees at a call center halfway around the world who have no power or understanding and are reading off a card. Try lulu.com and best of luck!
Thank you for the recommendation. I am using Dorrance Publishing. lulu looks interesting. I may use them for my next book. I have two in the works, one is a scientific approach to near death experiences and the second a novel that looks at how our scientific assumptions might be holding back our progress in space exploration. Do you have anything in the works?
I just broke up with a boyfriend who had a PhD in nuclear physics and used to watch all the “ghost shows” to glean something about the scientific aspects of alien sightings. Not far from your interest in near death experiences - at least as hard to prove!
Never heard of Dorrance - will check it out. Using lulu again for the next one, which I’m writing with a famous jazz bassist about his 60-year career. He’s played with everyone from Judy Garland to Queen Latifah and also writes original and very witty, thoughtful songs. Writing a book with someone else is a whole other animal, it seems; I did The Insanity Hoax one with lulu, and was working on it virtually every day for two years. Not so now.
BTW, I thought I posted something in my substack, but it seems to have disappeared…
Like many Americans, I didn’t realize Trump’s claim of “going after the worst of the worst” was actually his Cabinet recruitment strategy.
And then there are the pardons. Giuliani just recently, but pre-emptive pardons of all J6 conspirators. To the worst of the worst Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht. Not having sunk morality to the lowest levels possible, now we put our allies at risk as well. We read that Britain and the 5 Eyes can't trust our government (you can't even imagine how bad this is):
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/world/europe/kash-patel-fbi-mi5.html?unlocked_article_code=1.0E8.0XJl.0lWpuF7SXG-Z&smid=url-share
I don't know what the status of the state actions re the perps just pardonned might be, but Giuliani et al have been sanctioned by state courts and bar associations....
AI.
New York
Action: Giuliani's law license was initially suspended in June 2021 by an appellate court panel, effective immediately, because he posed an "immediate threat" to the public interest. He was formally disbarred in July 2024.
Reason: The court found "uncontroverted evidence" that he made "demonstrably false and misleading statements" to courts, lawmakers, and the public while pushing baseless claims of widespread voter fraud on behalf of Trump.
District of Columbia
Action: Giuliani was disbarred in D.C. in September 2024 through a process of reciprocal discipline, following his disbarment in New York. A D.C. Bar disciplinary board had previously recommended disbarment after finding he violated professional conduct rules, including bringing a proceeding or issue without a basis in law or fact.
Reason: The D.C. action was based on the same conduct as in New York: advancing unsubstantiated claims of election fraud in Pennsylvania and other swing states, which the board concluded caused harm to the integrity of the legal profession and the country.
DEATH THREATS: I read an op-ed article I THOUGHT was in the New York Times over the weekend--by David French. It described just some of the many civil servants who have been threatened with death, including their family members, and where they send pizzas to their houses to let them know the "goons" know where they live. I went back to copy the article, and it had disappeared--though I could have missed it or maybe it was somewhere else (I read a lot of articles) I couldn't find it anywhere in the Times or elsewhere. You have to trust me on this one--I read it and it was a thorough accounting.
Regardless: My point is that Congresspeople or some sort of quasi-power that is unconnected with Trump/et/al, MUST deal with being intimidated out of their wits in some sort of systematic way--I think the intimidation factor has been a MAJOR part of the problem all through "The Trump Erra" and at least all the way back to the impeachments. Things are really coming to a head now.
KUDOS to those MOMS in the picture, and to Jen whose writing is so clear on this entire matter.
United we stand; divided we fall. However, this story isn't over yet. The House will have to convene to vote on the package. They will have to swear in the new Democratic member who will immediately vote to release the Epstein files. The House can refuse to convene, and tRump can refuse to sign the bill, but that would cement the blame where it belongs.
There are promises that came with the negotiated package, but tRump isn't bound by any agreement especially those he didn't make himself.
Why can’t these ICE/CBP agents be charged with criminal conduct? By subjecting people to filthy conditions in a prison is creating a public health hazard. This is how diseases such as hepatitis, dysentery, measles and other communicable diseases can get out of control and harm public health. Allowing this sort of thing is not only inhumane but it says a lot about those who subject others to those kinds of conditions.
Why isn’t Lairmore being charged with perjury? Lying under oath!
If the repugnants hiding under their desks think they can rewrite history, lie their way out of this after Trump is gone, or that we will forget, they have another think coming. There WILL be punishment. The American citizens will DEMAND it!
It would be great to see a "Nuremberg II" type of trials for all of these people in the future. The crimes against humanity keep growing.
THIS JUST IN: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/09/us/politics/mark-wolf-federal-judge-resigns.html?unlocked_article_code=1.0E8.cUWb.mSqtgUd7kN_4&smid=url-share
Apparently in the Atlantic over the weekend.
SNIP: Federal Judge, Warning of ‘Existential Threat’ to Democracy, Resigns
Judge Mark L. Wolf, writing in The Atlantic, said he was stepping down to speak out against the “assault on the rule of law” by President Trump, whom he accused of “targeting his adversaries.” END SNIP
Also, increasing reports of people attacked by criminals pretending to be ICE agents. You can't fight ICE agents, but how do you know who you are dealing with?
Great reporting again Jen!
So why the hell do the judges allow trump's dopes to lie to them without repercussions? Jail time and or loss of law license would be an appropriate start, the same thing that would happen if we did it???
When is she going to report on DC Nov 18?
Trump was vigorously bood at an NFL game when he read his oath of office. Keep up the enthusiasm and give money to Democrats to we can take back our Democratic Republic on Nov. 2026!!!!!!!
And he phoned the owner of the Commanders' stadium to say he wants that venue named after himself. Every NFL player should refuse to play in any stadium that carries his name.
He read his oath of office? I didn't know he could read anything without pictures.