Mitch McConnell To Face Challenger
[guest post by Dana]
Sen. Rick Scott confirmed today at a GOP luncheon that he will indeed be running to unseat Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
In a letter sent to senators:
“Like each of you, I am deeply disappointed by the results of the recent election. Despite what the armchair quarterbacks on TV will tell you, there is no one person responsible for our party’s performance across the country. I know there is no shortage of people who are eager to point fingers and assign blame here in Washington, but I won’t be one of them.”
Oh. Okay.
–Dana
I don’t think he stands a chance.
Dana (1225fc) — 11/15/2022 @ 12:59 pmHope Scott wins. What Mitch did in Alaska and otger winnable states is inexcusable.
NJRob (ba8f28) — 11/15/2022 @ 1:33 pmMy guess is that Trump gave the order and Scott said, “Yes, sir!”
Paul Montagu (b351b8) — 11/15/2022 @ 1:42 pmIt’ll go nowhere, because there’s no savvier operator in the Senate than McConnell, and benching him would be foolish and stupid.
Bottom line, this was sop to the sap at Mar-A-Lago.
@2. Mitch just blamed ‘candidate quality’ again in a presser and whipped out his August excuse. So you see, it’s the candidates fault, not his for failing to back his party’s team. Mitch’s ‘Paths of Glory’: –you go to war with the army you have and when they fail on your strategy and you fail to properly back them- it’s their fault for not ‘taking the Ant Hill’- eh, Mitch?
DCSCA (6e5b01) — 11/15/2022 @ 1:43 pmA first-term Senator to challenge Mitch McConnell for the Senate leadership. Right. After he wins the Miss America pageant. This is Trump’s doggie yelping in defense of his master.
nk (5c60ce) — 11/15/2022 @ 3:26 pmIf Scott/Trump wins, he looks strong. If Scott loses, Trump looks weak again.
Let’s see if the narrative shifts or the glide downhill accelerates.
Appalled (e3b62d) — 11/15/2022 @ 3:28 pmthis was sop to the sap at Mar-A-Lago.
Paul Montagu (b351b8) — 11/15/2022 @ 1:42 pm
🤣
Thankfully, I was between sips.
norcal (a1f318) — 11/15/2022 @ 3:45 pmDesatan says his election in floriduh ignoring rubio did similar was because of him and is the model. Model: since 2018 250,000 new voters registered gop in floriduh moving there from other states and democrat registration actually down 10,000 dixiecrats changing to gop. So all the other states get 250,000 goppers to move to your state. Texas maybe ;but latinx did not much turn gop there.
asset (adb800) — 11/15/2022 @ 4:00 pmRich Lowry nails it regarding Trump and the candidates he supports.
********
https://www.nationalreview.com/2022/11/dont-count-trump-out-yet/
The bolded part is mine.
Blaming McConnell for the losers Trump supported is just another dumb MAGA talking point.
norcal (a1f318) — 11/15/2022 @ 4:04 pmTim Scott would have made sense.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 11/15/2022 @ 4:29 pmOn Sunday, Senator Cotton said there was no challenger,
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 11/15/2022 @ 4:30 pmOn further thought, the GOP establishment standing chin-deep in a pool full of “Trump”, gently murmuring “Don’t make waves, don’t make waves, …!” hasn’t worked out all that well, either. Maybe a little splash is in order.
nk (5c60ce) — 11/15/2022 @ 4:43 pmI suspect this is a tag-team effort with Trump, to coincide with Trump’s BIG announcement.
Trump needs to get the stink off himself after the midterm drubbing his candidates took. What better way than to scapegoat and target McConnell?
norcal (a1f318) — 11/15/2022 @ 5:12 pmHope Scott wins. What Mitch did in Alaska and otger winnable states is inexcusable.
Rick Scott actually wants to end Social Security and Medicare. I can’t imagine a worse move going into 2024. Take the cohort that always votes, and tends to vote GOP and attack the one thing that they absolutely rely upon.
(And, no, children, they didn’t have 401ks and IRAs when they were your age)
Kevin M (90f346) — 11/15/2022 @ 5:16 pmHara-kiri was considered the most honorable way in Japan.
nk (5c60ce) — 11/15/2022 @ 5:17 pmAs far as McCarthy having to negotiate with the wackjob Trumpies to get his speakership, he could always negotiate instead with Pelosi. There’s really no reason for MTG (or some of the others) to have a committee assignment.
Would this split the GOP? Isn’t it about time?
Kevin M (90f346) — 11/15/2022 @ 5:20 pmHara-kiri was considered the most honorable way in Japan.
Trump could always go for the ice-floe thing.
Kevin M (90f346) — 11/15/2022 @ 5:21 pmHere’s my sunset plan for Medicare and Social Security: Everyone over 50 will get these as they are until they die. Taxes will continue on everyone, at the current rate, until the funds are actuarially sound, but if you are under 50, you won’t get any ever.
If you see the flaw in this, then you understand why they will continue.
Kevin M (90f346) — 11/15/2022 @ 5:26 pmTrump could always go for the ice-floe thing.
Kevin M (90f346) — 11/15/2022 @ 5:21 pm
Well, he has enough blubber to keep him going for quite a while. 😛
norcal (a1f318) — 11/15/2022 @ 5:27 pmApparently Scott is unaware of Reagan’s quote about the closest thing to eternal life on earth being a government program.
norcal (a1f318) — 11/15/2022 @ 5:29 pmEnding a ponzi scheme that’s on the verge of collapse that I’ve been paying into for most of my life, but I know I won’t see a dime from.
He has the right idea.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 11/15/2022 @ 5:35 pmHere’s mine.
Anyone who can earn 100k from other means doesn’t get a dime. Anyone who has combined assets with social security gets some until that 100k.
You’re like Biden where you make the cutoff to benefit yourself and no one else.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 11/15/2022 @ 5:37 pmKevin,
they had pensions which was a dream to my generation.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 11/15/2022 @ 5:38 pmNJRob (eb56c3) — 11/15/2022 @ 5:35 pm
I think Chile had the right idea years ago when it required people (via mandatory payroll contributions) to invest in their own retirement accounts.
norcal (a1f318) — 11/15/2022 @ 5:40 pmThere is more internecine warfare among Republicans (the party that just won the House) and among Democrats (the party that just lost the House.)
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 11/15/2022 @ 5:41 pmCorrection:
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 11/15/2022 @ 5:42 pmEnding a ponzi scheme that’s on the verge of collapse that I’ve been paying into for most of my life, but I know I won’t see a dime from.
You know, I thought the same thing back in the 80’s. But guess what? They “saved” it by tripling my taxes and delaying my access. After paying through the nose for the next 30 years, my attitude changed about collecting.
Yours will too. Just be glad that you have those 401k thingies that I didn’t see until the late 90s. My generation didn’t have good options.
Kevin M (90f346) — 11/15/2022 @ 5:49 pmThere is more internecine warfare among Republicans (the party that just won the House) than among Democrats (the party that just lost the House.)
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 11/15/2022 @ 5:42 pm
It’s hard for the Democrats to have internecine warfare when they’re so busy celebrating the results of an election in which they did much better than expected.
norcal (a1f318) — 11/15/2022 @ 5:50 pmthey had pensions which was a dream to my generation.
Dream to mine, too. The Boomers generally didn’t have those either unless they worked for a big union or for the government (birm).
Kevin M (90f346) — 11/15/2022 @ 5:51 pmKevin M (90f346) — 11/15/2022 @ 5:49 pm
You were a federal employee, right? Didn’t you get in under CSRS?
norcal (a1f318) — 11/15/2022 @ 5:52 pm“Killer” Kristi Noem could have been talking about Arizona’s Kelli Ward or, of course, the orange loser.
But I doubt she’s that in touch with reality.
Jim Miller (85fd03) — 11/15/2022 @ 5:57 pm@22:
You think that $100K is enough to retire on? OH BOY are you in for a shock. At 5% interest (someday we may have that again), that gets you about $400 a month. Tell you what — live on $400 for the next month, covering all expenses, and come back and we can discuss this some more.
Kevin M (90f346) — 11/15/2022 @ 5:58 pmBut I doubt she’s that in touch with reality.
Jim Miller (85fd03) — 11/15/2022 @ 5:57 pm
I volunteer to give her reality lessons. She’s a dish. Best-looking female politician out there.
Sorry, asset and JVW.
norcal (a1f318) — 11/15/2022 @ 6:02 pmYou were a federal employee, right? Didn’t you get in under CSRS?
Never. I’ve been an R&D engineer for small companies most of my career. Never saw a 401k until the late 90s, and those had a low cap for a while after that. Sure, I saved some money (less now in this market), and I own my house. But even then my life would change a LOT without Social Security or Medicare.
Of course, if the gave me my FICA taxes back, with interest, that would be a different animal. But they won’t.
Kevin M (90f346) — 11/15/2022 @ 6:02 pmKevin,
that’s 100k in annual income. I said income, not assets.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 11/15/2022 @ 6:05 pmBut we’re off the point: Rick Scott is anathema to Boomers. Utter FYATHYRIO show-stopper. If you want people who always vote to always vote against you, that’s the way to go.
Kevin M (90f346) — 11/15/2022 @ 6:05 pmWhat does it mean when social security goes bankrupt? I know do you>
asset (adb800) — 11/15/2022 @ 6:06 pmYou said “assets” quite clearly. That you conflated assets and income does not help you.
Kevin M (90f346) — 11/15/2022 @ 6:07 pmBut they still lost. Nobody wants to be a backbencher, especially when the opposition will be continually bashing their President, and one lead by a geriatric group like the House Democrats:
Nancy Pelosi-82
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 11/15/2022 @ 6:10 pmSteny Hoyer-83
Jim Clyburn-82
David Scott (Agriculture)-77
Rosa DeLauro (Appropriations)-79
Bennie Thompson (Homeland Security)-74
Peter DeFazio (Transportation)-75
Maxine Waters (Financial Services)-85
Carolyn Maloney (Oversight and Reform)-75
Eddie Bernice Johnson (Sience and Space)-86
Richard Neal (Ways and Means)-73
etc.
What does it mean when social security goes bankrupt? I know do you>
Social Security is not in any real danger. The scary old numbers from 20 years ago were based on low births among Gen X, but [legal] immigration has mostly been into that cohort, and immigrants all work. Maybe delaying benefits by a year and maybe extending the income cap a bit (or alternatively the tax rate a bit) and it’s fine.
MEDICARE on the other hand is going to have to go the Medicare Advantage route for most people. It has real problems, and the basic, no premium, benefits are going to get scaled back. Or maybe the Democrats will hide it all under the carpet labeled “Medicare for All.”
If there is any current stress on this system, it’s that both Obama and Biden have allowed easy entry into disability programs which drain these trust funds. That should really stop.
Kevin M (90f346) — 11/15/2022 @ 6:15 pmRip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 11/15/2022 @ 6:10 pm
You have a problem with gerontocracy or something? 😉
norcal (a1f318) — 11/15/2022 @ 6:17 pmKevin,
I said anyone who can earn 100k from other means.
That’s the quote. You misinterpreted it. I don’t know where you get assets from earnings.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 11/15/2022 @ 6:22 pmNJRob (eb56c3) — 11/15/2022 @ 6:22 pm
Do you want to means-test Social Security? That’s not very conservative. It’s not a far cry from that to Lizzie Warren’s wealth tax.
norcal (a1f318) — 11/15/2022 @ 6:26 pmI do see my 2nd line as confusing. For that I apologize. To clarify it means if you get 75k in earned income, from a pension, 403b, 401k, part time job, etc, then your social security would cap at 25k. And so on.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 11/15/2022 @ 6:27 pmnorcal,
I want to phase out social security. It’s bankrupt because our corrupt politicians spent it. The living are spending the young and unborn into debt slavery. But it’ll take time. In that time we need to cap social security and create a program of I(k) for people.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 11/15/2022 @ 6:28 pmThat’s the quote. You misinterpreted it. I don’t know where you get assets from earnings.
You said, in full:
Did someone else write that second sentence?
Kevin M (90f346) — 11/15/2022 @ 6:34 pmDo you want to means-test Social Security? That’s not very conservative. It’s not a far cry from that to Lizzie Warren’s wealth tax.
Social Security is taxed if an individual makes an additional $34K ($44K for married).
Kevin M (90f346) — 11/15/2022 @ 6:39 pmIt’s bankrupt because our corrupt politicians spent it.
1) No, it isn’t.
Kevin M (90f346) — 11/15/2022 @ 6:41 pm2) Any excess spending is on young people who have schemed their way into the system as “disabled”, with Democrat assistance.
https://twitter.com/GregAbbott_TX/status/1592553350129909762?cxt=HHwWhIDQhbK18ZksAAAA
God bless. Finally someone acknowledges what’s really happening.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 11/15/2022 @ 6:46 pm(emphasis mine)
https://www.cbpp.org/research/social-security/what-the-2022-trustees-report-shows-about-social-security
The Trust fund is slowly declining. If nothing changes, it will be depleted in 2035. That does not mean that benefits will be zero as there is significant FICA tax income, enough to pay 80% of promised benefits. So, no, it’s not broke and it never WILL be “broke.”
The question is, will there be the political will to make the small changes necessary to cover the annual shortfall (of about 2-3% of benefits paid)? It really would not take much UNLESS everyone waits until 2035 and they have to choose between:
1) a sizable FICA tax increase, or
2) a sizable benefit cut.
Neither will be popular.
Kevin M (90f346) — 11/15/2022 @ 6:49 pmMeanwhile, in the real world:
https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html#media
More hydrogen leaks. And now, two guys are literally risking their lives torquing nuts on a live, fueled bird. THAT is nuts. More work arounds. And incredibly dangerous.
This rocket is not ready to fly.
DCSCA (008acd) — 11/15/2022 @ 6:56 pmthey have to choose between:
1) a sizable FICA tax increase, or
2) a sizable benefit cut.
Neither will be popular.
Kevin M (90f346) — 11/15/2022 @ 6:49 pm
Hence politicians who say one thing and do another.
norcal (a1f318) — 11/15/2022 @ 6:57 pmAnyway, where were we?
McConnell will win this going away.
Kevin M (90f346) — 11/15/2022 @ 7:10 pm“there is no one person responsible for our party’s performance across the country”
it’s trump’s fault, cuz nevertrump just suddenly right now decided to stop blaming voters
JF (71cebd) — 11/15/2022 @ 7:13 pmAnyway, where were we?
McConnell will win this going away.
Kevin M (90f346) — 11/15/2022 @ 7:10 pm
Scott will fail just like Trump’s frivolous lawsuits. Winning isn’t the point. It’s just grandstanding for the suckers.
norcal (a1f318) — 11/15/2022 @ 7:13 pmAndy Biggs (NSDAP-AZ) just lost to McCarthy, 188 to 31, for leadership of the House GOP conference.
nk (5c60ce) — 11/15/2022 @ 7:20 pmAnd the tumbleweed on a fencepost from South Dakota is right that Ronna McDaniel should be fired, though for the wrong reasons.
nk (5c60ce) — 11/15/2022 @ 7:27 pmLets say I’ll be making more than $100K when I take SS at the latest possible moment. All that means is that I am paying into SS and taxes in an amount that exceeds my monthly SS payment. It is inefficient for sure because I’ll deposit my SS check and then send it back to Washington, but rest assured, Uncle Sam is getting that money back.
steveg (edef14) — 11/15/2022 @ 7:50 pmAndy Biggs (NSDAP-AZ) just lost to McCarthy, 188 to 31, for leadership of the House GOP conference.
The Insurrection Caucus is now saying that McCarthy needs to negotiate with them if he wants their votes on the floor. Me, I think they he’d get a better deal with Pelosi and denying the Insurrectionists committee assignment might just be all he needs to do.
Kevin M (90f346) — 11/15/2022 @ 11:40 pmLets say I’ll be making more than $100K when I take SS at the latest possible moment.
Well, if that’s the case (and I assume you mean inflation-adjusted) then great. You may lose out *some* money but they call Social Security INSURANCE (OASI) for a reason. And it’s not certain you will lose out — you will probably live longer given all that Medicare money having been spent on the diseases of the aged.
But here’s the thing: trying to find work after your late fifties — no matter how you’ve done up to then — can be a problem, so it can also work the other way. I know a number of people who thought they were all set, but found themselves on the beach at 60 and burned through their 401ks waiting for a job that never showed up. Bad stuff can happen, too.
Kevin M (90f346) — 11/15/2022 @ 11:48 pmCongrats to NASA; Orion has successfully completed the TLI burn and is now on a trajectory to the moon.
Finally.
Outstanding. Well done, kids.
DCSCA (e05cab) — 11/16/2022 @ 12:38 amI think a trump Desantis ticket. With the understanding that Trump will resign in his 3rd year. Leavind DeSantis with the chance to serve almost 10 years.
Only parh either one has to 1600..
EPWJ (650a62) — 11/16/2022 @ 9:47 amTrumpWorld not amused.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 11/16/2022 @ 10:21 am62…June 14, 2027? “I promise ot to serve a day past my 81st birthday. You saw what happened during that last year of Biden. It was awful what they put him up to but I he choose it not us”.
urbanleftbehind (21f983) — 11/16/2022 @ 10:54 am@64. Insanity on parade:
McConnell’s Approval Sinks To New Low In New Poll. (11/15/22)
Mitch McConnell is one of the most unpopular politicians in the country. A new Civiqs poll found only 7% of Americas have a favorable view of Mitch McConnell.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/11/mcconnells-approval-sinks-new-low-new-poll/
DCSCA (8f4a7c) — 11/16/2022 @ 10:56 am@62. Trump/DeSantis 2024… in the immediate. They’ll bury the hatchet. Yep. But then, remember the Ds all but had Cuomo in the paddock for a run for the roses until he imploded, too. Alas, my poor Nikki is fading some.
Trump/DeSantis 2024… “Yeah, that’s the ticket!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyp9fh-u4w8&t=1s
DCSCA (8f4a7c) — 11/16/2022 @ 11:04 amtulsi gabbard vs biden that would scare democrats. (probably republicans too!)
asset (1c1525) — 11/16/2022 @ 12:38 pmThey can fund Social Security partially from general revenues, which might mean borrowing, or levy a special unusual tax to make up the difference that the fellow behind the tree (to quote Russell Long) pays
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 11/16/2022 @ 12:48 pmKevin M (90f346) — 11/15/2022 @ 11:40 pm
But what will Trump say? Pelosi, by the way, will probably stay in Congress, like ex-Speaker Joe Cannon after 1911. (or Dennis Hastert for one term. Pelosi gave him a special office. This is before his decades old pedophilia and his being blackmailed became known)
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/14/us/politics/mccarthy-speaker-gop-midterms.html
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 11/16/2022 @ 12:55 pmI don’t think that MTG can bring along the rest.
Here s what the NYT wrote about Gaetz:
This is the earlier NYT article the NYT linked to:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/26/us/politics/mccarthy-republican-lawmakers.html
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 11/16/2022 @ 12:59 pmNumber 4 (or is it still Number 5) is:
Hakeem Jeffries – 52.
https://jeffries.house.gov/about
Number 4 is Katherine M. Clark – 59.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 11/16/2022 @ 1:07 pmnorcal (a1f318) — 11/15/2022 @ 5:40 pm
The problem with Bush’s proposal awhile back was that he used different estimates if economic growth to estimate personal investments (because ultimately stock prices depend on economic growth) and Social Security revenues.
You can’t make an assumption of high economic growth for one option and low growth for the other.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 11/16/2022 @ 1:20 pm.
There are lots of different news stories – but cable covers the same ones over and over
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 11/16/2022 @ 1:21 pm@73 Read about what happened to the workers of chile when it was tried and also the corruption it incurred.
asset (1c1525) — 11/16/2022 @ 1:48 pm@68. JVW would approve; am increasingly impressed w/Tulsi, myself. She may become my new Nikki.
DCSCA (d5c776) — 11/16/2022 @ 2:53 pm62…June 14, 2027? “I never said that. The video you just showed is a lie, because I never said that!”
Kevin M (90f346) — 11/16/2022 @ 3:20 pmThey can fund Social Security partially from general revenues, which might mean borrowing, or levy a special unusual tax to make up the difference that the fellow behind the tree (to quote Russell Long) pays
The moment they do that it becomes welfare instead of a paid-in insurance program.
(yes, I know that the government doesn’t have to do what it promises, but still…)
Kevin M (90f346) — 11/16/2022 @ 3:22 pm@70, 71:
MTG has already gotten what she wants from McCarthy — her committee assignments back and then some. She won 2-1 in her district, so she seems a legitimate representative of her district’s citizens as wacky as that might seem.
Kevin M (90f346) — 11/16/2022 @ 3:25 pmSpeaking of Congressional leaders, 82-year old Pelosi is not running for a leadership position, and I was expecting this whether her husband was assaulted or not. Time for some fresher-faced leaders there, and in the White House.
Paul Montagu (b351b8) — 11/17/2022 @ 9:45 am