Notices by Sean Casten (seancasten@mastodon.social)

It brings no joy that we had to do this today. But it matters whether we are a country of laws, and people accused of sexual misconduct cannot be allowed to duck responsibility just by resigning from their job. If the Ethics committee can't do its job, the House must. https://x.com/SawyerHackett/status/1859365555322618312

4. Meanwhile, the most vulnerable in the US are going silent in fear of what retribution may come their way. For those of us who have public voices, we must speak to those who are listening, not just those who feel empowered to speak.

2. I'm thinking specifically today of de Tocqueville's observation that "the greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults." The time has come for us to be great.

1. I was speaking to a group earlier this week and noted that my Mt. Rushmore of writers about America is de Tocqueville, Baldwin, Paine and Douglass. It is not coincidental that all of them were outsiders. They understand America's unique defects AND it's unique potential.

My primary thought on the election, after a week to reflect: We have to face up to some hard, uncomfortable truths about who we are. But we also have the opportunity to run headlong towards the nobility that accrues to to those who commit themselves to making us better. Thread:

5. Those folks - domestically and internationally - is not only nervous about the new White House. They are wondering if the US is who they thought it was. The America they thought they knew agreed that Nazis were bad, knew the good guys won the Civil War, didn't brag about rape.

3. Check your politics at the door if you can. Tuesday's result made Putin, Xi, and the most extreme members of the Knesset really happy for the same reason it makes Ukrainians, Taiwanese and those in Gaza & the West Bank really nervous.

"The best friend of a nation is he who most faithfully rebukes her for her sins—and he her worst enemy who, under the specious… garb of patriotism seeks to excuse, palliate or defend them." - Frederick Douglass

Portrait of a weak, sanctimonious political hack. https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/mike-johnson-trump-arnold-palmer-manhood-1235138445/

2. For example, P2025 says we should eliminate the Consumer Financial Protection Board (you know, so that businesses can abuse consumers more easily.)

1. I want to focus very narrowly on the Financial regulation section because I've served on the committee of jurisdiction for 6 years. So much of the P2025 plan has already been introduced by House GOP members. It's what they'd do if they controlled all 3 branches.

A quick thread on Trump's Project 2025 thing that's been on my mind. It's not just Trump's agenda. It's the agenda of the entire GOP. A small deep dive:

5. Well, a bunch of senior members of the GOP sent an amicus brief to the Supreme Court making exactly that point.

* SCOTUS ruled against them, acknowledging this was a bogus theory.
https://financialservices.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=408900

4. P2025 also suggests that the CFPB is unconstitutional based on a bogus* theory that unless your funds are Congressionally appropriated you can't exist.

3. Well, they've introduced a bill to do exactly that this term. https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/2937

8. Sure enough, the House GOP had a whole hearing on this exact topic, bringing in so-called "experts" to help make the case. https://www.congress.gov/event/118th-congress/house-event/116860

7. P2025 would like to limit / eliminate the Federal Reserve's ability to act as a lender of last resort (e.g., when the economy is crashing, they don't want the Fed to be able to provide stability.) Insanely stupid idea.

6. However, they have separately introduced a bill to legislatively defund the agency even as the courts decided not to. Again, virtually verbatim lifting from P2025. https://congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/1382

9. I could go on, and virtually everything in this thread has a bill, a hearing or at least a moment in a hearing where some member of the House GOP made these arguments, more or less verbatim. https://mastodon.social/@SeanCasten/113183355356384473

Reminder that the majority of the House GOP voted to overturn the election not once but twice (first for AZ, then PA) and did so AFTER we were able to safely return to the floor late on the night of January 6. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/01/07/us/elections/electoral-college-biden-objectors.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb