Regarding 'Merica's Actual Oldest Political Party

[Abbot Mythos]

The only surprise to me is that this news is breaking three (3) years prior to the 2028 elections:

John Fetterman faces party plot to kick him to the curb

As per this article:

"Top Pennsylvania Democrats are quietly gearing up for a political showdown three years out.

According to a new report, party officials are laying the groundwork to challenge Sen. John Fetterman in a 2028 primary, frustrated by his increasingly public break with the party line."

I notified The Pennsylvania Democratic Party, back in March, that I would not be voting for Genocide John again under any circumstances. And, I suggested they begin searching for a more suitable candidate to represent them in 2028. It appears I am far from being the only one dissatisfied with his job performance.

[Abbot Mythos]

This begs the question: Just how vile does a Republicult™ presidential candidate have to be before they can be beaten by a Democratic, female, Black and Asian-American vice president?

'I am not done.' Kamala Harris weighs in on another presidential bid

Now, I voted for Kamala Harris in 2024. And, I will vote for her again, if she wins the Democratic nomination for POTUS in 2028. But, voting to nominate her to run for POTUS again in 2028 is a not a risk I'm willing to take. The stakes are just too high for that.

[Abbot Mythos]

I have once again been reminded why my Certificate of Voter Registration lists me as having NO AFFILIATION since 9/4/2008, even though the last Republican candidate I voted for was Arlen Specter for U.S. Senator in 1992.

Senate Democrats blink on the shutdown after 40 days of pain

As per this article:

"After nearly six weeks of a painful shutdown, a critical number of Senate Democrats backed a Republican funding bill to reopen government — with little to show for holding out so long."

[Faust]

They folded on everything right? AMA funding is gone right?

[Abbot Mythos]

They folded on everything right? AMA funding is gone right?

To be honest, I don't even know.

I've been so disgusted, after reading the "Moderate Democrats" folded last night, I've barely looked at the news. My attitude is, if you're kicking your opponent's ass, don't waste your energy, or your time. Finish them off, and move on.

Now, I did look at one highly partisan political site a little while ago. And, those people published an article that read like the Dems had just executed some brilliant, winning strategy. Nevertheless, my reaction was WTF?!

So, after I finally cool down, I'm going to have to study the situation in detail, and get back to you.

Now, this may be another case of "kicking the can down the road," as American politicians are famous for doing that. But, to do it when you're clearly winning is incredibly stupid. Still, it's not like the Dems have not snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in the past.

[Abbot Mythos]

They folded on everything right? AMA funding is gone right?

The eight senators who recently caved to the Republicult™ to end this government shutdown voted to hold yet another formal vote on the DIVISION A—CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2026. (And, unless you're an accountant with intimate knowledge of the U.S. Federal Budget, I wouldn't waste much time reading this thirty-one (31) page document.)

Now, it does appear the Republicult™ in the senate will have the votes to pass the this continuing appropriations act (CR). But, it only funds the government until January 30, 2026. So, this is basically a "kick the can down the road" move, and everyone gets to argue over another CR again early next year.

Most of the articles written about these negotiations are big on opinions, and low on facts. But, here's one that's as good as any I have read:

Here's what's in the Senate deal that would end the government shutdown

As per this article:

"The eight Democrats had been engaged in bipartisan talks over ending the stalemate for several weeks, and reached the agreement without the support of the party's leaders in the upper chamber.

The agreement they struck does nothing to address the expiring health care tax credits (emphasis mine) — which had been their party's key demand — besides the promise of a future vote on the issue. The deal left many Democrats furious with the eight senators who voted to advance it and with the party's leaders for allowing the defections."

And so, it's my opinion that our eight illustrious senators are saving the Republicult™ from the embarrassment of intentionally bankrupting and starving many of our citizens over the holidays for nothing in return. Now, is this a humanitarian thing to do? Sure, it is, in the short run. But, I don't believe it is in the long run.

I sincerely hope I'm wrong about this. But, this looks to me like yet another case of the Dems snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

[Faust]

Maybe that makes sense, it avoids a humanitarian crises in the usa over the Christmas period then allows them to trigger the shutdown again in Jan, that said

If they genuinely think the republicans won't budge, then the shutdown is pointless and harmfull.

If they think something will have changed by end Jan I dont see what it could be, but they must have something, because otherwise they will be facing two embarrassing climb downs instead of one.

[Pergamos]

They folded on everything right? AMA funding is gone right?

yes,  I can't see that being a good thing for Republicans.  A lot of people are not going to have medical insurance now, and any of them that have been paying attention will know that's the Republicans fault.

[Abbot Mythos]

I believe this is one of the better articles about why the Dems caved, and permitted The Big Beautiful 2025 US Government Shutdown to end with a whimper:

Why Democrats Finally Caved In The Government Shutdown Fight

Donald Trump was willing to make millions of people suffer. Democrats didn't have the stomach for it.

As per this article:

"Democrats walked away with the promise of a symbolic vote on health care that's almost certain to fail, no extension for enhanced subsidies for people enrolled in the Affordable Care Act, and no guardrails to stop Trump from ignoring the law and withholding more funds passed by Congress. Their hope now is to count on a public backlash to Trump's ruthlessness next November."

Now, a lot can happen between now and January 30, 2026, when another continuing resolution (CR) must be approved to fund our government. But, I agree. Unless the "public backlash to Trump" is at Category 5/DEFCON 2 by then, I do not expect the Dems to force another shutdown.

And so, as of right now, it appears that the Dems only "strategy" is to attempt to encourage a substantial majority of Americans to vote in their own best interests on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2026.

[Abbot Mythos]

I don't understand New York City politics. But, I'm beginning to like this guy:

Mamdani stands by 'fascist' claim despite 'productive' Trump meeting

As per this article:

"In an interview on NBC News's "Meet the Press," moderator Kristen Welker noted that, during his press conference with Trump on Friday, a reporter asked Mamdani whether he still believes the president is a "fascist," a label the mayor-elect has used to describe Trump in the past.

"You were about to answer. Then, President Trump sort of jumped in, and he said, quote, 'That's okay. You can just say yes. It's easier than explaining it,'" Welker said in the interview.

She continued: "So, Mr. Mayor-Elect, just to be very clear, do you think that President Trump is a fascist?"

Mamdani defended his response on Friday and doubled down on his position.

"And after President Trump said that, I said, 'Yes,'" Mamdani said, adding, "That's something that I've said in the past. I say it today.""

[Faust]

It went well because Mamdani said all the right things to appeal to trump:
"You and I have both been unfairly treated by the media"
"You have done an lot of good work for New York and brought a lot of business to it"

Trump doesn't care about political ideology at all (other than auctioning to the highest bidder), so he tends to get on well with people who are charming, appeal to his ego, and focus on saying things in a non adversarial way.