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The 115th Congress of the United States will be sworn in later today, and we don't currently have a thread for general discussion of the bullshit about to be rammed down our throats. So here is one. We already have a few antics going on before the swearing-in. For one, Paul Ryan has halted a push by GOP lawmakers to restore earmarks. quote:Speaker Paul Ryan suddenly halted a proposal to restore congressional earmarks when it looked likely that the House Republican Conference would signal its support for the plan during a closed-door vote Wednesday, according to sources in the room. Also, in a bit of mustache-twirling villainy, Republicans have signalled their intent to strip the independence from the Congressional Ethics Office and bring it under the oversight of the House's own Ethics Committee, which will of course be controlled by Republicans. quote:The House Republican Conference voted Monday night to approve a change to House rules to weaken the independence of the Office of Congressional Ethics and place it under the jurisdiction of the House Ethics Committee — a panel controlled by party leaders. We may not have USPOL anymore, but remember, now more than ever: drink responsibly! Your liver will thank you. 
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Jan 3, 2017 09:34
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It must suck to be Paul Ryan. He didn't even want this job.
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Jan 3, 2017 09:43
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He's probably one of the top 10 most powerful people in the country right now so it probably kinda owns to be Paul Ryan actually. It's being the rest of us that's going to suck. This ethics thing is super loving blatant, I hope it gets more coverage.
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Jan 3, 2017 10:52
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Like, in theory I guess, but his party is trying to return earmarks and rework House ethics rules without his approval. He doesn't really lead them. Meanwhile, even if he can lead them all he is leading them to is the Trump agenda which has a high chance of eventually sinking his greater political ambitions by linking him too closely to Trump after this all goes bad. Or the party could just turn on him like Boehner for not being extreme enough.
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Jan 3, 2017 10:55
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The earmarks thing is interesting though - I've heard Harry Reid and David Axelrod argue for their return as well; that the bartering system it created helped pass laws because there was value in passing them for the local constituency, whereas now the bigger value is in ideology and politics. Not sure if I'd vote to reinstate, but it is worth considering?
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Jan 3, 2017 11:31
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Yeah honestly I'm in favor of earmarks coming back. They worked. Stuff got done.
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Jan 3, 2017 18:31
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They changed their minds about the ethics thing because Trump tweeted.
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Jan 3, 2017 18:33
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That's right, Donald Trump is holding his own party accountable on matters of ethics lmao.
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Jan 3, 2017 18:33
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We're all doomed.
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Jan 3, 2017 18:36
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Just watch Trump Make America Great Again.
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Jan 3, 2017 18:37
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Ryan and Trump: cat herding
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Jan 3, 2017 18:42
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FuriousxGeorge posted:It must suck to be Paul Ryan. He didn't even want this job. Yes he did. He just pretended not to so he could fail with no consequences.
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Jan 3, 2017 18:42
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Hail Satan
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Jan 3, 2017 18:52
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FactsAreUseless posted:That's right, Donald Trump is holding his own party accountable on matters of ethics lmao. This is the most bizarre poo poo.
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Jan 3, 2017 19:01
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FactsAreUseless posted:That's right, Donald Trump is holding his own party accountable on matters of ethics lmao. I had to find a collaborating source on this because it seemed too outlandish to be true. Man we live in interesting times.
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Jan 3, 2017 19:10
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FactsAreUseless posted:That's right, Donald Trump is holding his own party accountable on matters of ethics lmao. He said that they shouldn't be doing anything with ethics until they finish eviscerating the social safety net He understands that with all the stories of babies dying from preventable diseases and lack of access to basic healthcare, we won't notice the ethics story in May 2017
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Jan 3, 2017 19:10
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Devor posted:He said that they shouldn't be doing anything with ethics until they finish eviscerating the social safety net
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Jan 3, 2017 19:19
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Pendragon posted:I had to find a collaborating source on this because it seemed too outlandish to be true. Man we live in interesting times.
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Jan 3, 2017 19:19
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FactsAreUseless posted:Corroborating source. A collaborating source is when Russian hackers send you information on your enemies. I learned something today!
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Jan 3, 2017 19:31
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Pendragon posted:I learned something today! Well done, Ralph.
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Jan 3, 2017 21:07
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Why can't ACA repeal be filibustered?
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Jan 3, 2017 21:33
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Ogmius815 posted:Why can't ACA repeal be filibustered? They can do ACA repeal via their once-per-session (or year, I forget) budget reconciliation, which can only involve financial affairs but also can't be filibustered. Or just abolish the filibuster lol (though I wouldn't bet on this happening right away).
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Jan 3, 2017 21:34
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Because they are passing it through the reconciliation process that only needs 50 votes rather then the supermajority needed to overcome a filibusterer
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Jan 3, 2017 21:34
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Zikan posted:Because they are passing it through the reconciliation process that only needs 50 votes rather then the supermajority needed to overcome a filibusterer Which, amusingly enough, is how it was passed.
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Jan 3, 2017 22:38
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gently caress it, strap yourselves in,
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Jan 3, 2017 22:39
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DeadlyMuffin posted:Which, amusingly enough, is how it was passed. Those who live by the sword
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Jan 3, 2017 22:50
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Nice to see Republicans starting on the the right foot. And here I was worried the NC GOP coupe was going to become a trend. 
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Jan 3, 2017 22:55
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Pendragon posted:I had to find a collaborating source on this because it seemed too outlandish to be true. Man we live in interesting times. It's true that he tweeted about it. It doesn't mean that that's why they cancelled the vote, that's just how it's being reported. There was a huge, bipartisan stink about it so there are a dozen other likely reasons, but "TRUMP SHUTS DOWN HOUSE VOTE ON ETHICS COMMITTEE" is a better headline, whether it's true or not.
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Jan 3, 2017 23:27
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Thank god ObamaCare is being repealed. I cant rent an apartment because it coats me 400/m for healrh care. I dont even go to the doctor.
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Jan 3, 2017 23:50
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LeoMarr posted:Thank god ObamaCare is being repealed. I cant rent an apartment because it coats me 400/m for healrh care. I dont even go to the doctor. It will still be mandatory to have insurance, but it'll be even more expensive and cover less, is my bet.
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Jan 3, 2017 23:57
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Keep the individual mandate, get rid of the protections for people with preexisting conditions.
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Jan 3, 2017 23:59
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Dr. Arbitrary posted:Keep the individual mandate, get rid of the protections for people with preexisting conditions. Trump's campaign proposal was the opposite of that, actually.  Also turn subsidies from tax credits to tax deductions, and allow free import of foreign pharmaceuticals.
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Jan 4, 2017 00:10
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Dr. Fishopolis posted:It's true that he tweeted about it. It doesn't mean that that's why they cancelled the vote, that's just how it's being reported. There was a huge, bipartisan stink about it so there are a dozen other likely reasons, but "TRUMP SHUTS DOWN HOUSE VOTE ON ETHICS COMMITTEE" is a better headline, whether it's true or not. There were many reasons, one of which was Trump's disapproval. Trying to tease out which was the "actual" reason is silly because things happen for a multitude of factors. Nobody but the people at top are going to know what the order of importance actually was but I'm guessing the head of your party shouting at you has a pretty big effect on its own, never-mind the knock on effect of his tweets leading to more people calling up and yelling at their congressman.
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Jan 4, 2017 00:10
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GreyjoyBastard posted:Trump's campaign proposal was the opposite of that, actually. He's also consistently said that everyone should be covered, even those who cannot pay.
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Jan 4, 2017 00:11
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LeoMarr posted:Thank god ObamaCare is being repealed. I cant rent an apartment because it coats me 400/m for healrh care. I dont even go to the doctor. Is this ironic, or do you genuinely believe your healthcare costs will go down as a result of repealing Obamacare? If you don't want to pay for healthcare at all, why wouldn't you pay the tax penalty instead? That would save you $340 a month until you actually get sick.
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Jan 4, 2017 00:31
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GreyjoyBastard posted:Also allow free import of foreign pharmaceuticals. all this does is decrease the leverage of countries that aren't the US to enact price controls on medication the real solution is just to negotiate prices on medication at the government level, like all of those countries with cheaper pharmaceuticals are doing in the first place
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Jan 4, 2017 00:31
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At least one person recognizes how ridiculous this all is. This kid is my new hero.
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Jan 4, 2017 00:36
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TROIKA CURES GREEK posted:He's also consistently said that everyone should be covered, even those who cannot pay. Yeah, that's super gonna happen.
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Jan 4, 2017 02:44
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115 was a pretty good run. Here's hoping the next version of Earth sapients beat our record after the planet cools off.
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Jan 4, 2017 03:56
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Zikan posted:Because they are passing it through the reconciliation process that only needs 50 votes rather then the supermajority needed to overcome a filibusterer So this is basically their one and done essentially, right? Everything else horrific they want to try, Democrats can stop them? And don't give me the sad sack "Oh dems won't cause they are weak/secretly republicans/stupid", I'm asking if this is essentially the only blank check measure they get?
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Jan 4, 2017 04:40
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