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The Thursday Politics Thread Is Uninvited

Morning Politocadoes!

The government shutdown rolls on unimpeded. While the House again passes measures to re-open the government, Mitch McConnell has once again (fourth time!) voiced opposition to voting on the bill. Government employees furloughed or otherwise told not to report to work, took exception to this and instead showed up at the Hart building in DC on Wednesday to protest to Mitch’s turtley face. The response was mass arrests. Mitch in the end may get the Judiciary he wants, I’m just not sure whether we’ll have a country.

Elsewhere, air traffic controllers are sounding the alarm on safety concerns due to the shutdown. They “cannot even calculate the level of risk currently at play”.

The situation is changing at a rapid pace. Major airports are already seeing security checkpoint closures, with many more potentially to follow. Safety inspectors and federal cyber security staff are not back on the job at pre-shutdown levels, and those not on furlough are working without pay.

But that does not concern Trump. All he wants is adulation. He think he can get it with his wall. It appears to be the hill he’s willing to die on, counting on his rabid fanbase to carry him through. But he’d be wrong about that.

Indeed, polls are dire for Trump and Trump adjacent Republicans

A Politico-Morning Consult poll, released Wednesday, showed the president now has a 40-percent approval rating—a 17-point dip from last polling.

Two other major polls, from CBS News and Associated Press-NORC, found that Trump now has a 36- and 34-percent approval rating, respectively. AP’s new data marks an eight percent drop from last month, while CBS’ figures represent a three-point dip.

….Politico’s numbers found that 54 percent blamed Trump and congressional Republicans for the shutdown, while only 34 percent blamed the Democrats. The D.C. outlet’s pollsters found that those numbers have “remained fairly stable since the shutdown began.”

The Daily Beast describes it as ‘bleeding support’ since the shutdown.

But hey, that’s alright, he can always whip up a frenzy with another batshit insane speech at a podium, right? Welp, looks like he can’t do that either. Trump attempted to bully House Speaker Nancy Pelosi into letting him have his State of The Union speech. Speaker Pelosi (Nancy to her friends and her battered foes) responded by simply rescinding the invitation.

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Pelosi tells Trump: No State of the Union address in the House until government is reopened

Apparently no one told him it isn’t just a tradition, he can’t just show up uninvited like that one time at that AIDS benefit. It’s a thing that the House has power over. So no big important speech for him until the government’s open.

Oh I guess Sean’s going all Lewis Prothero.

Not really a State of the Union address if you’re just addressing the Fox Nation but carry on.

Welcome to Thursday! Please be excellent to each other. The Mayor McSquirrel Rule is in effect even if the government is shut down. Especially if it’s shut down. That jerk’s been fur-loughed, ya hear? Alert a mod if a news items appears to be getting Clammy, so they can pin it to the top of the thread.