maybe someone said something similar once, but as far as i know it's my dad's.

(cue "You Can't Aways Get What You want" rhythm guitar riff)

I shall be playing that in its entirety this Sunday night!

The theme, as Joshua and I have settled on, is immigration - songs and musicians who are not from North America or even more related to immigration. Can't wait to see what Joshua will play!

MtnCaddy wrote:

Hmmmm. And I thought that "doing politics" was something evil and nasty and stuff.

So...picture MtnCaddy in Spring, 1986. He lucks into his first job in the business world right here in Left Coast 'Murica and discovers,

And I thought that "doing business," and "Corporations" were something evil and nasty and stuff...

But business is all about solving someone's problems, period.

An old-school sales guru named Zig Ziggler said,

You can get every thing you want in life
If you help enough other people get what THEY want.

Nowadays that's my view

CW has repeatedly pointed out the dearth of ideas in contemporary Republicanism...

and here's where that bites the GOP in the nether regions:

The Dems offer concrete and reality-based things like Stimulus checks and vax-o-rama and the Repugs offer, er, own the Libs!

So, as Joe has figured this out, I sure hope he goes the distance.

When, say, the WPA saved lives or the ARPA does likewise.

1- offers via the House something like relief, competence, reality-based whatever legislation that us 'Muricans voted for,

2- the GOP reflexively
opposes it,

3- Joe then adds a popular "kicker" i.e "$15" or "Ban Assault Rifles" that most of us still support,

4-which the the grievance based GOP just has to focus on, well, because,

And bingo, We the People get what we want. We-we-we get what we need!

Progressivism 101: It's Easy! It's Fun!

Ahem.

So, I'd say Joe has the formula, the space -- the political vacuum it seems -- to be even more transformative than FDR.

throwing in an assault rifle ban appears to be doing the same this time around.

Gotta shout out to Elizabeth -- Joe is using the GOP's current zeitgeist against them and he's doing better than I expected...

(thinking)

...and we're only something like 9 weeks into post-Trump 'Murica.

Okaaay. What is the current GOP zeitgeist? What do they at long last
stand for?

Trump. Anything Trump wants. Abortion is bad and so is Government. And so is anything the Democrats support even if most Americans support it, too.

K, this is the narrative corner that the GOP has painted itself into. [With a nifty GOP Pro-Never Trump Civil War, to boot, but I digress.]

The all-caps are tough on my eyes, but these are some (pun intended) killer lyrics.

NEVER AGAIN
David Clayton-Thomas & Lou Pomanti
(c) Clayton-Thomas Music Publishing BMI/SOCAN 2019. From the album SAY SOMETHIN' on Linus Entertainment/True North Records.

ANOTHER BLOODY DAY IN AMERICA
ANOTHER MASS SHOOTIN’ IN THE NEWS
WELL HERE’S A LITTLE MESSAGE FROM CANADA
AND I HOPE IT’S SOMETHIN’ YOU CAN USE

NOW WE BOTH WATCH THE SAME VIOLENT MOVIES
AND WE BOTH PLAY THE SAME VIDEO GAMES
AND WE BOTH GOT OUR FAIR SHARE OF CRAZIES
BUT SOMEHOW THINGS JUST AIN’T THE SAME

HOW MANY TIMES MUST IT HAPPEN
HOW MANY LIVES WILL BE LOST
IF THIS IS THE PRICE OF YOUR FREEDOM
IT COMES AT A TERRIBLE COST

IT’S TIME TO GET REAL
IT’S TIME TO GET TOUGH
IT’S TIME SOMEONE SAID
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

THE CHILDREN ARE CRYIN’
THE MESSAGE IS PLAIN
WHATEVER IT TAKES
NEVER AGAIN

ANOTHER SCARY DAY IN AMERICA
KIDS AFRAID TO GO TO SCHOOL
NOTHIN’ MUCH CHANGED AFTER SANDY HOOK
CAUSE THE GUN LOBBY’S MAKIN’ ALL THE RULES

GOD BLESS THE KIDS OF PARKLAND
CAUSE THEY’RE NOT BACKIN’ DOWN… THEY’RE SAYIN’
WEAPONS THAT WERE MADE FOR WAR
DON’T BELONG IN MY HOME TOWN

HOW MANY TIMES MUST IT HAPPEN
IN TIME WE JUST GROW NUMB
YOU STAND AT THE ALTER OF FREEDOM
BUT YOU PRAY AT THE CHURCH OF THE GUN

IT’S TIME TO GET REAL
IT’S TIME TO GET TOUGH
IT’S TIME SOMEONE SAID
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

THE CHILDREN ARE CRYIN’
IT CAN’T BE IN VAIN
WHATEVER IT TAKES
NEVER AGAIN

You saved me some typing.

I had thought of Biden's comment on banning assault rifles the same way: a blind to distract attention from what he really wants to pass. It didn't seem like his style at all to just come out of nowhere and call for a full ban, horror-show or no horror-show.

Likewise with the idea that the Dems led by Schumer are likely to play the filibuster game against the Repubs from both sides: compromise and send us 10 votes to pass our legislation, and we're less likely to defang the filibuster. But we get the law we want. Or don't compromise, frustrate our moderates and some of your own voters, and we're more likely to defang the filibuster. We get the law we want, only a little further down the road.

Heads we win, tails you lose, because a decent suite of progressive legislation is actually what the people of America voted for and want. And we'd be fools not to give it to them with or without your cooperation.

https://morganton.com/opinion/columnists/opinion-bring-back-the-talking-filibuster/article_32a928fa-8be7-11eb-9347-2fd53a1e263a.html