Michael Steele tells Democrats they are getting punked

[luv2fly]

‘You’re getting punked’: Michael Steele unloads on Democrats for 'ceding power to McConnell'
Sarah K. Burris
January 25, 2021

Speaking to MSNBC on Monday, former Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele told Senate Democrats that they're being manipulated by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on the debate over the filibuster.

"Look, you are getting punked,'" said Steele. "Understand you're getting punked and come back at him (McConnell). Call his bluff. they have no leverage over you. You have the majority and they know it, but they're going to punk you into a situation where you give up something you don't have to give up. For what? For what? Ceding power to McConnell? He has none. You have the majority! Use it, for heaven's sake! Sheesh, this is not rocket science."

More at:
https://www.rawstory.com/mitch-mcconnell-senate/

[Timewas]

1. Yes

Absolutely right...

[Orrex]

42. Hmm...

[Guilded Lilly]

2. Damn straight. Period. n/t

[Cha]

59. Oh yeah?

Rachel Maddow just announced that McConnell has caved and agreed to Schumer's demands

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=15006609

[Guilded Lilly]

61. Yup!...They came back at them. :) just like Steele said they had to :)

Get the bastards!
No mercy.
Damn straight lol.

[Cha]

65. And, Leader Schumer Knows what he's

doing!

[Guilded Lilly]

68. Yesssss...Go get them Chuck!!!! Yahoooooo

[betsuni]

73. They bet on the wrong horse.

Again.

[Cha]

74. Yep.. Jumped the gun..

again.

Safe to bet on those Leaders who have worked so hard for us & have So Much Experience & have our Best Interests at💕💕💕

[Drum]

3. Kick!

[Grasswire2]

4. so frustrating

Who's in charge of strategy, anyway?

And messaging?

And message discipline?

[msongs]

11. message discipline lol nt

[mitch96]

27. "You're getting punked". duh, ya THINK?..... The Dem's have two years and a 100 day

day honeymoon... This is a knife fight in a phone booth and we bring a hot dish... GO GET WHAT WE WANT!! If need be exercise the nuclear option.. go for it..
m

[marylandblue]

5. Majority Leader Joe Manchin is doing the punking.

[dalton99a]

6. No Shit.

[blm]

7. Elizabeth Warren could outsmart McConnell.

Last edited Mon Jan 25, 2021, 10:17 PM - Edit history (1)

Schumer usually comes off as passive in his dealings with Republicans.

I hope Warren advises him.

[elleng]

17. Was just wondering who might have what it takes.

[LizBeth]

53. Yu are right and there was a discussion about this a couple months ago. I would love to see Warren

with Schumer job.

[blm]

56. I think he's been leaning on her some. I see her influence

with him on several issues, pulling him leftward.

[LizBeth]

63. That works. They really need to use what she excels at and if that is how she is used, it works.

[Hotler]

8. Thank you Michael. Some of us here feel the same way. nt

[servermsh]

9. Yes, however Manchin...

That was the same broadcast where Claire McCaskill said Schumer should use the nuclear option on the organizing resolution.

However since then news broke that Manchin won't support that.

If that is true there is nothing we can do. Schumer will have to give in to Mitch's demands, unless he can convince Manchin to change his mind.

[luv2fly]

14. What good are Dems who won't stand together?

Repukes stay together by and large and they get (evil) stuff done. Dems don't do the same so we have to give in to Repukes. How f'in annoying is that!

[DLCWIdem]

23. Not only Manchin also Sinema (AZ) say no

[servermsh]

34. Sinema's comment was on the filibuster of normal legislation.

As far as I know she has not commented on the filibuster of the organizing resolution, which is what is relevant here.

[Marius25]

36. Not getting rid of the legislative filibuster

means absolutely nothing is getting done for the next 2 years outside budget reconciliation.

And then, next time Republicans are in the majority, they'll probably scrap the filibuster so they can pass tons of evil legislation.

[oldsoftie]

39. Maybe not, since they've had the Senate for years & didnt do it.

Maybe they know that NO party is guaranteed a permanent majority.

[Buns_of_Fire]

38. Time for some not-so-subtle pressure.

Something along the lines of "if you won't support the party now, why should the party support you when you come up for re-election?"

[AlexSFCA]

51. this is non sense

All Shumer needs to do is offer something to Munchin’s constituents as part of a legislation. When someone in politics says no, it’s simply a negotiating tactic. McConnel would not have this issue with his caucus and for that, he is a better “leader” if can call it that, he knows how to get things done that are of importance to GOP and those are typically extremely unpopular things. We have extremely popular agenda that should be a no brainer. WV is one of the poorest places in the US, it’s not that difficult to come up with a legislation benefiting Munchin’s constituents. I bet they would love public option for ACA. I bet Pete could come up with multiple ideas in the spot - he is the brain of Dem party.

[lagomorph777]

77. Schumer has plenty of tools to pressure Manchin and Sinema.

Such as committee seats.

Chuck should not be afraid to do what he has to do. In fact, he needs to understand that timidity will land us right back in the minority.

[Ferrets are Cool]

10. I don't like him at all, but in this case, I happen to agree 100%

Edited to add: Ask yourself, what would michyboy if the roles were switched? Then do that.

[onecaliberal]

13. Mitch had dumps people in place the day he took office.

I don’t understand why we are not moving aggressively on everything Joe and Kamala ran on. How many times are we going to do the same insane shit and get the same insane result. Fucking democracy is hanging by a thread.

[Ferrets are Cool]

15. IKR?

[zentrum]

19. ++++

[Sneederbunk]

12. Repugs don't know how to govern but do know how to use power.

Apparently the reverse is true for the Dems.

[dhol82]

16. This!

[Maven]

18. Our predicament in a nutshell.

[KPN]

20. Not using power is part of governing apparently.

[Poiuyt]

32. Exactly right

[uponit7771]

37. +1

[JHB]

21. And it shows how much influence the former RNC chair ever had over his party that he can't...

...do shit to change that.

In other words, anyone who thinks he has one goddamn thing worth listening to is "getting punked."


Go on the attack, Mike. Air the dirty laundry, expose the skeletons in closets, wreck some careers, or you're just a bag of hot air.

[Pepsidog]

22. If Manchin is the reason and Dems can't figure it out, I'm out. Tried of getting shit on by Mitch.

I’m at my wits end at how one person can thwart the will of the majority. Do like Mitch, pay off Manchin and WV with projects and money. This is absurd.

[luv2fly]

25. New Dem motto

"Do like Mitch"

[Celerity]

26. It is now not just Manchin, Sinema is now also on record saying no, and Feinstein always was a no

as well, at least up until now.

Sinema joins Manchin as being on record as against ending the filibuster

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100215005932

snip



There may, may, be others too (perhaps Angus King, Mark Kelly, Bennett, Warner, Kaine, Tester, Booker, and Gary Peters, who have all said no in the past, although some have at least come around to considering it).

[brooklynite]

41. Of course, Biden didn't want to get rid of the filibuster either...

[Celerity]

60. he's since changed his mind, (like many others). He was open to doing away with it in July, if not

before.

Do you support doing away with it, brooklynite ?


https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/14/briefing/joe-biden-california-tucker-carlson-your-tuesday-briefing.html

July 14, 2020

[Pepsidog]

58. I guess we have to be happy with what scraps Mitch throws our way.

[brooklynite]

46. Ciao...

[stage left]

24. Democrats

should not cede one damned inch to Bitch McConnell. Tell him to sit down and shut up.

[Ponietz]

29. We have a mandate. Use it or lose it.

[Blue Owl]

30. "Being Nice" to Mitch is just feeding evil

And fuck evil. We've had enough.

[mtnsnake]

31. Maybe the House can send Katie Porter to have a little heart to heart chat with Manchin & Sinema

to straighten them out just a bit.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

33. Harry Reid may disagree.

But we need to end the filibuster and insist on regular order from here to eternity.

[SunSeeker]

40. K & R

[brooklynite]

43. AND...McConnell caves

Link to tweet

I'm sure everyone beating up Schumer and the Democrats for being spineless will retract their comments.....

[Boomer]

47. Crickets?

Schumer won, now let's hear credit where credit is due.

[orangecrush]

48. Beating up Schumer?

I was rooting for him to kick the turtles ass, and he did!


Good for him!

[nolabear]

52. Hello? Hello? Paging Michael Steele...

[calimary]

62. GOOD! Hey, I worked too hard to take his toys away!

So did every member of my Indivisible group! One woman sent, I think, 850 postcards to Georgia voters, and that was just where it stood immediately after Christmas. She kept going til the last stack of postcards that was timed for delivery early in the first week of January.

I was ready to start churning out “asks” to my Senators to get on Schumer and find a way to insert some backbone. I was yelling at my TV - “he LOST, Schumer! And WE WON, DAMMIT!!! We worked like dogs to make that happen! And YOU ARE NOT going to “share power” with him!!!” But it looks like Mitch caved. Maybe he was watching Schumer tell Rachel Maddow in no uncertain terms that he was NOT going to give in on some lame-ass “power-sharing” “agreement.” Maybe Mitch saw the same thing?

[czarjak]

44. Getting cheated by a punk ain't getting punked, it's getting cheated.

Nice run as chairman of the Rich White Guy Party though, huh?

[orangecrush]

45. THANK YOU!

[AlexSFCA]

49. Is Shumer still best as majority leader?

Would we not benefit from a bulldog like Sanders or Warren to annihilate McConnel? Or Sharrod Brown? In all honesty none of us voted to compromise with McConnel so dems have a mandate to plow through. Look at Biden - he got the message and ignores al rw bs, he proceeds with bold progressive agenda and doesn’t waste a minute of his time. Trump’s trial is the least important thing right as there aren’t votes to convict and never will be. The important thing is to push through while you can. I’ve always felt that Shumer is no match to Nancy Pelosi when it comes to dealing with GOP.

[StarfishSaver]

69. Have you been paying attention?

[reACTIONary]

50. There are two Dems who will not vote to overturn ....

... the filibuster, and even if they did, 50-50 won't won't cut it.

So "come back at him, call his bluff" is just empty bluster.

[James48]

54. Convince ONE Republican to switch sides.

And it won’t be 50/50 anymore.

[usaf-vet]

55. The board you play chess and checkers on is the same. One Senator is play Chess the other Checkers..

..... we better make sure our guy is the chess player and not the cheating checker player in this match up.

Steele is right. TLP folks are right. And the majority of the Democrats nationwide are right.

Don't give the SOB checker player one damn inch.

Our goal is Checkmate!

[StarfishSaver]

70. You don't seem to be keeping up to date

[usaf-vet]

76. Why is the 2024 elections in full swing with voting taking place in less than 30 days?

You're right? I did miss quite a bit.

[LudwigPastorius]

57. Uh....Michael?

Guess you haven't heard the news.

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/1/25/2011887/-McConnell-caves-Schumer-Wins-Dems-take-over-committees-No-give-on-possible-ditching-filibuster

[BobTheSubgenius]

64. I'm surprised to hear this coming from such an entrenched establishment Repub.

But I guess I have to accept that he's being sincere and offering real advice. I can't embrace it fully and with open arms, but...

[Hamlette]

66. Am I the only one that gets pissed off with Republicans criticizing Dems?

I have much more respect for those of the Lincoln Project who never (that I've heard/read) dis on Democrats.

I want to say "you contributed to this mess. You supported Mitch and his ilk and put them in a place to "punk" us. We are the only functioning party right now. If you don't have anything good to say, shut up."

[StarfishSaver]

71. Even worse is Democrats using Republicans criticism of Democrats as "proof" that the Democrats

are weak punks.

[betsuni]

72. A long thread positive Democrats don't know what they're doing,

won't use their power, have no strategy, they're weak and will cave, why can't they be more like Republicans, they think about the feelings of Republicans, playing checkers when they should be playing chess, and on and on. All that's missing is "spineless."

And then their cynical weather predictions turn out to be wrong. Oops! Wait until tomorrow for the next dire prediction. If only useless negativity could be harnessed for power. We'd have a lot of it.

[Vivienne235729]

67. I'm not sure what to think. I feel like there is so much going on we are not privy to

What other deals are being made that we don’t know about? What did Mitch have to give up for this? What did we? I feel like we should fully go nuclear if need be and I’m not convinced we wouldn’t. Or maybe I am just hoping and praying we would?

[JHB]

75. New Rules

https://driftglass.blogspot.com/2021/01/michael-steele-accountability-for-thee.html

If you are unfamiliar with the media's New Rules, the magical journey of imagination that Michael Steele is about to take you on will sound sound nearly incomprehensible -- absurdist theater being played for laughs.

But if you have rewired your mind and your memory to accept the New Rules -- rules that state that all political history began in 2015/6 and that if you are a Teevee Never Trumper you are allowed to make up whatever bullshit backstory you please about your past and it cannot be challenged or questioned in any way because it happened during the Before Time -- then everything Michael Steele said on MSNBC last week is righteous and true and what sort of whiny, petty counterrevolutionary would say otherwise?
****
As those of us who were there and taking notes during Steele's Reign of Error know, Mr. Steele's fanciful Remembrance of Chairmanships Past bears no resemblance to actual history. And so I must once again beg your indulgence while I give Clio the Muse of History her due by repeating that these are exactly the same very reasonable terms that some of us dirty, disreputable Libtards insisted that men like Michael Steele should be required to live up to before they could be trusted to join our team. Because (as some of us dirty, disreputable Libtards warned) if we didn't draw that line, the day would come sooner that you would believe possible when men like Michael Steele would have completely colonized the media and there would be no one to say otherwise as they advanced their careers by lying and lying and lying about their own past and their complicity in building the GOP monster machine that produced Donald Trump.

So, for those of you who weren't paying attention at the time, this is what actually happened during Mr. Steele's tenure as RNC chair. After the Democrats nominated and elected of Barack Obama, the GOP found itself suddenly in urgent needed of a black man who was morally flexible enough to front for the deeply racist Republican Party, and Michael Steele was just the man for that job. The party's recovery from its losses in 2006 and 2008 had nothing whatsoever to do with understanding "why the party was being rejected". I had everything to do with leaning all the way in on the deeply racist Republican Party's rebranding scam called the "Tea Party" and their rallying cries of Birtherism and Death Panels.

[Mike Nelson]

78. Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!

... Mitch is flexing his muscle? He has none! Chuck should tell him the filibuster end has nothing to do with what the minority party wants. I would tell Mitch to support a new Senate rule: The vote of the people (commonly called the "Popular Vote&quot shall henceforth determine the majority leader and committee chairmanships!

[LiberalLovinLug]

79. Democrats are so generous and wishful its killilng them

Just stop.
I don't know how us ordinary folks can see this a mile away. Us and former Republicans who are well versed in their unilateral approach to stealing power.

When has the GOP ever reciprocated? They have done the opposite for decades now. They don't do anything honourably. I'll never forget Lindsey's smarmy face approving Amy Coney Barrett even as some news networks were rebroadcasting those quotes he made back when he was blocking Obama's picks, promising never to approve a pick within 8 months of any other election.

[ananda]

80. Sheesh

I thought Schumer had a win.

[DallasNE]

81. A Relic Of The Jim Crow Era Is Defended In The Senate

It is not like the filibuster has been around for 250 years. It is part of Jim Crow. All 50 Republicans and 2 Democrats support this Jim Crow dinosaur. Shame on them. Accordingly, Michael Steele got this one wrong. The votes aren't currently there.

[MyMission]

82. Steele played republican hardball for years

So he knows how that team operates. He knows they're trying to punk us, it's what they do.

Dems mostly believe two wrongs don't make a right. They try to play fair. We're the good guys (and gals).

I loved a quote from LP, early on, I think directed at Michelle Obama
"We go low, so you don't have to "

I'm torn. I do believe we need to up our game, but really, we're not as good at hardball. We need practice, but don't want to sink to their level.

We can pull out the filibuster, and squash it at a later date.

Tomorrow is only 1 week since inauguration. Biden's taking care of business, but there's so much that needs doing. We need as much good will as possible going into the impeachment. After that, no holds barred.