Kevin McCarthy Removed

[laterbloomer]

Oct 8, 2023 17:10:42 GMT -5 billisonboard said:

Oct 8, 2023 16:43:45 GMT -5 laterbloomer said:

Don't forget that it was the "moderate GOP" that tried to block every single thing Obama did, including what should have been his Supreme Court nominations. Not as crazy as Gaetz is still a long way from good.

There will be a Republican Speaker of the House. The Democrats might be able to have a voice in which one that will be. That would be a major win.

No, the Republicans have proven they don't compromise any more. There is no benefit to the Dems helping a particular segment get their way. These are the same people that investigated Hilary forever, are now investigating Biden forever, refused to impeach Trump...they only look even remotely reasonable standing next to Gaetz. They aren't. They are not reasonable people. They are the ones jerrymandering voting districts, repealing human rights wherever they can, the inventor's of the cancel culture they whine about when they are held accountable. And the dems cooperating with "the moderate" ones gives them legitimacy in swing states. Just no.

[billisonboard]

Oct 8, 2023 17:25:07 GMT -5 laterbloomer said:

Oct 8, 2023 17:10:42 GMT -5 billisonboard said:

There will be a Republican Speaker of the House. The Democrats might be able to have a voice in which one that will be. That would be a major win.

No, the Republicans have proven they don't compromise any more. There is no benefit to the Dems helping a particular segment get their way. These are the same people that investigated Hilary forever, are now investigating Biden forever, refused to impeach Trump...they only look even remotely reasonable standing next to Gaetz. They aren't. They are not reasonable people. They are the ones jerrymandering voting districts, repealing human rights wherever they can, the inventor's of the cancel culture they whine about when they are held accountable. And the dems cooperating with "the moderate" ones gives them legitimacy in swing states. Just no.

That is certainly one perspective. I can see it potentially being tested if the voting for Speaker stretches out for dozens of ballots and a week or two. Remember the government will be shutting down in about 38 days from now if no action is taken. And the House can't do anything until a new Speaker is selected.

[laterbloomer]

Oct 8, 2023 18:23:47 GMT -5 billisonboard said:

Oct 8, 2023 17:25:07 GMT -5 laterbloomer said:

No, the Republicans have proven they don't compromise any more. There is no benefit to the Dems helping a particular segment get their way. These are the same people that investigated Hilary forever, are now investigating Biden forever, refused to impeach Trump...they only look even remotely reasonable standing next to Gaetz. They aren't. They are not reasonable people. They are the ones jerrymandering voting districts, repealing human rights wherever they can, the inventor's of the cancel culture they whine about when they are held accountable. And the dems cooperating with "the moderate" ones gives them legitimacy in swing states. Just no.

That is certainly one perspective. I can see it potentially being tested if the voting for Speaker stretches out for dozens of ballots and a week or two. Remember the government will be shutting down in about 38 days from now if no action is taken. And the House can't do anything until a new Speaker is selected.

Since the Republicans made this mess how about a bunch of them vote with the Democrats to elect a Democratic Speaker? Cause without Gaetz et al the Dems actually have the majority.

[billisonboard]

Oct 8, 2023 18:52:55 GMT -5 laterbloomer said:

Oct 8, 2023 18:23:47 GMT -5 billisonboard said:

That is certainly one perspective. I can see it potentially being tested if the voting for Speaker stretches out for dozens of ballots and a week or two. Remember the government will be shutting down in about 38 days from now if no action is taken. And the House can't do anything until a new Speaker is selected.

Since the Republicans made this mess how about a bunch of them vote with the Democrats to elect a Democratic Speaker? Cause without Gaetz et al the Dems actually have the majority.

Sounds good. Won't happen but sounds good.

[laterbloomer]

Oct 8, 2023 19:06:18 GMT -5 billisonboard said:

Oct 8, 2023 18:52:55 GMT -5 laterbloomer said:

Since the Republicans made this mess how about a bunch of them vote with the Democrats to elect a Democratic Speaker? Cause without Gaetz et al the Dems actually have the majority.

Sounds good. Won't happen but sounds good.

We have a thing in Canada, if the budget doesn't get passed on time it triggers an election. A certain list of essential services continues to get paid and it triggers an election. Funny thing, they always seem to get the budget done on time. You guys should consider it.

[billisonboard]

Oct 8, 2023 19:26:01 GMT -5 laterbloomer said:

Oct 8, 2023 19:06:18 GMT -5 billisonboard said:

Sounds good. Won't happen but sounds good.

We have a thing in Canada, if the budget doesn't get passed on time it triggers an election. A certain list of essential services continues to get paid and it triggers an election. Funny thing, they always seem to get the budget done on time. You guys should consider it.

That would fundamentally alter the very basic structure of our governmental system. Again, sounds good. Won't happen.

[Tennesseer]

House Republicans are good at one thing and one thing only
This is what happens when your movement is built to get a majority, but not do anything with it.

The House Republican caucus slowly inched toward something resembling stability Tuesday, nominating Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., for speaker by a vote of 113-99 over Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio. But even if Scalise manages to get the requisite 217 votes to actually land the job, the odds look long for him to create the stable governing majority his predecessor (and frenemy) Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., couldn’t.

Yes, McCarthy had particular flaws that made his speakership so tumultuous. He was prone to doing whatever it took to survive each day, promising one thing behind closed doors and then shifting when it was to his advantage. But the challenges Scalise would face as speaker are more systemic than any personal issues McCarthy brought to the table. In effect, Scalise is now the nominee of a caucus that has been built for one thing — winning a majority in the House — but, as a result, has lost its ability to govern.

There are multiple reasons for this failure, but at the base is the number of gerrymandered congressional seats. The number of truly competitive districts has plummeted over the years. Within these safe districts, the primary becomes the key battle, not the general election. Democratic Reps. Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Don Beyer of Virginia made that point in a recent essay for MSNBC arguing for the importance of ranked choice voting:

Consider the district held by Rep. Byron Donalds, the MAGA insurgent put forth in opposition to McCarthy on multiple ballots in January. Donalds won his GOP primary in 2020 with just 22.6% of the vote, or a total of 23,492 votes, then cruised to victory in the gerrymandered general election. In a district of 834,988 people, a remarkable 2.8% of all residents effectively selected the winner.

Most of the 20 members who shook down McCarthy and caused the chaos in January represent some of the most skewed and lopsided districts in the nation. Almost all of them owe their seats to some combination of partisan redistricting and low-turnout primary elections that place extreme fringe candidates in uncompetitive general elections they can’t lose.

Rest of article here: House Republicans are good at one thing and one thing only

[Tennesseer]

Scalise has dropped out of the Speaker's race.

[djAdvocate]

Oct 12, 2023 19:27:37 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Scalise has dropped out of the Speaker's race.

why?

[Tennesseer]

Oct 12, 2023 20:54:22 GMT -5 djAdvocate said:

Oct 12, 2023 19:27:37 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Scalise has dropped out of the Speaker's race.

why?

Couldn't secure enough Republican House votes to win the seat.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

I've not  yet had time to read about Scalise's withdrawal. I have had time to roll my eyes at this next step in the dysfunction that is the current GOP. 

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Oct 12, 2023 20:54:22 GMT -5 djAdvocate said:

Oct 12, 2023 19:27:37 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Scalise has dropped out of the Speaker's race.

why?

Certain orifices probably got pretty sore.

[happyhoix]

Oct 12, 2023 20:54:22 GMT -5 djAdvocate said:

Oct 12, 2023 19:27:37 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Scalise has dropped out of the Speaker's race.

why?

The far right lunatic fringe refused to vote for him, and I guess he didn’t want to do vote after vote like McCarthy did.

[NastyWoman]

Oct 13, 2023 8:29:51 GMT -5 happyhoix said:

Oct 12, 2023 20:54:22 GMT -5 djAdvocate said:

why?

The far right lunatic fringe refused to vote for him, and I guess he didn’t want to do vote after vote like McCarthy did.

 basically the loonies are now holding the repubs hostage in the same way they have gone after the democratic party. They need to find a way to deal with this or we are in for a really, really rough ride.

[resolution]

Now they have nominated Jim Jordan; what a scary thought for a position that is second in line to the presidency.

[giramomma]

I also read he can't get the votes yet.

Also, this amuses me

Republican Rep. Mark Alford of Missouri told reporters after Scalise’s exit from the race Thursday evening that one lawmaker had remarked: “‘You know, you could put Jesus Christ up for speaker of the House and he still wouldn’t get 217.’”

www.cnn.com/2023/10/13/politics/house-republicans-speaker-fight/index.html

McCarthy is busy blaming the dems.

I'm sure that's what people will parrot, rather than thinking that folks brought this on themselves, which they did.

If they don't get their stuff together, soon..that shut down is going to happen right before the holidays. Maybe that might be enough to wake some folks up.

[resolution]

I am flying out to Phoenix on Nov 17, so hopefully some air traffic controllers will still be working. At least we have a place to stay if we get stuck there.

[djAdvocate]

Oct 13, 2023 17:52:27 GMT -5 giramomma said:

I also read he can't get the votes yet.

Also, this amuses me

Republican Rep. Mark Alford of Missouri told reporters after Scalise’s exit from the race Thursday evening that one lawmaker had remarked: “‘You know, you could put Jesus Christ up for speaker of the House and he still wouldn’t get 217.’”

www.cnn.com/2023/10/13/politics/house-republicans-speaker-fight/index.html

McCarthy is busy blaming the dems.

I'm sure that's what people will parrot, rather than thinking that folks brought this on themselves, which they did.

If they don't get their stuff together, soon..that shut down is going to happen right before the holidays. Maybe that might be enough to wake some folks up.

that's fine.  we all know who the House majority party is.

hey, i got an idea!  how about a handful of Republicans that won in Biden districts vote for Jeffries, and we have a coalition government?

[billisonboard]

Oct 14, 2023 10:02:57 GMT -5 djAdvocate said:

Oct 13, 2023 17:52:27 GMT -5 giramomma said:

I also read he can't get the votes yet.

Also, this amuses me

www.cnn.com/2023/10/13/politics/house-republicans-speaker-fight/index.html

McCarthy is busy blaming the dems.

I'm sure that's what people will parrot, rather than thinking that folks brought this on themselves, which they did.

If they don't get their stuff together, soon..that shut down is going to happen right before the holidays. Maybe that might be enough to wake some folks up.

that's fine.  we all know who the House majority party is.

hey, i got an idea!  how about a handful of Republicans that won in Biden districts vote for Jeffries, and we have a coalition government?

When forming coalition government, usually (always?) the plurality party retains the top leadership position and gives power below that level to others to gain their support. If, big If, there is cross party voting, I think it highly unlikely it will be Republicans voting for a Democrat. And if the highly unlikely were to happen, it would be votes for a much more conservative Democrat than Jeffries.

[tbop77]

In a Friday letter to House Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-NC) obtained by The Post, four Democrats said they would be willing to grant him limited powers in an effort to restore basic government functions.



The four moderates were Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), Ed Case (D-Hawaii), Susie Lee (D-Nev.) and Jared Golden (D-Maine). All are members of the House’s bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus.



“In light of our nation’s pressing issues, a looming government shutdown, and the attacks on our key ally, Israel, we strongly support an immediate vote to expand the Speaker Pro Tempore’s authorities to all for the consideration of a legislative agenda limited to the most pressing issues,” the letter read.


One House GOP insider dismissed working with Democrats as “West Wing Fan Fiction,” but warned that Jordan had at least 20 “hard nos” among his colleagues.



“If he fails to consolidate support early next week, who the hell knows what’s next.”



www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/democrats-float-deal-to-end-house-speaker-fight/ar-AA1idh5B?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=568c2da73fb24bc2824bde16743f737d&ei=8

But whatever happens, it's better than working together, right?  

[djAdvocate]

Oct 15, 2023 6:57:58 GMT -5 tbop77 said:

In a Friday letter to House Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-NC) obtained by The Post, four Democrats said they would be willing to grant him limited powers in an effort to restore basic government functions.



The four moderates were Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), Ed Case (D-Hawaii), Susie Lee (D-Nev.) and Jared Golden (D-Maine). All are members of the House’s bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus.



“In light of our nation’s pressing issues, a looming government shutdown, and the attacks on our key ally, Israel, we strongly support an immediate vote to expand the Speaker Pro Tempore’s authorities to all for the consideration of a legislative agenda limited to the most pressing issues,” the letter read.


One House GOP insider dismissed working with Democrats as “West Wing Fan Fiction,” but warned that Jordan had at least 20 “hard nos” among his colleagues.



“If he fails to consolidate support early next week, who the hell knows what’s next.”



www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/democrats-float-deal-to-end-house-speaker-fight/ar-AA1idh5B?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=568c2da73fb24bc2824bde16743f737d&ei=8

But whatever happens, it's better than working together, right?  

fuck Jim Jordan and his election denying ass.

[djAdvocate]

this is the problem with bringing the religious right into politics.
they are absolutists.

if you think abortion is a right, you are the spawn of Satan and deserve death, or at a minimum, to never be anywhere near the halls of government.  if you think someone is evil incarnate, you will NEVER consider their opinions, no matter how reasonable, ethical, and moral.

this is where the US is politically.  i see many parallels to how things are in Turkiye.

[tallguy]

Oct 15, 2023 11:29:48 GMT -5 djAdvocate said:

this is the problem with bringing the religious right into politics.
they are absolutists.

if you think abortion is a right, you are the spawn of Satan and deserve death, or at a minimum, to never be anywhere near the halls of government.  if you think someone is evil incarnate, you will NEVER consider their opinions, no matter how reasonable, ethical, and moral.

this is where the US is politically.  i see many parallels to how things are in Turkiye.

Reason #2 why Ronald Reagan was a horrible president, and why this country would have been MUCH better off in the long run if John Hinckley could shoot straight.  

[djAdvocate]

Oct 15, 2023 11:50:07 GMT -5 tallguy said:

Oct 15, 2023 11:29:48 GMT -5 djAdvocate said:

this is the problem with bringing the religious right into politics.
they are absolutists.

if you think abortion is a right, you are the spawn of Satan and deserve death, or at a minimum, to never be anywhere near the halls of government.  if you think someone is evil incarnate, you will NEVER consider their opinions, no matter how reasonable, ethical, and moral.

this is where the US is politically.  i see many parallels to how things are in Turkiye.

Reason #2 why Ronald Reagan was a horrible president, and why this country would have been MUCH better off in the long run if John Hinckley could shoot straight.  

the first in a long string of errors by NeoConservatives.  their policies have driven up debt, driven down wages, and created wider divisions among us to the point where we can't constructively work together to productive social ends.  simply put, it is the worst, most retrograde undercurrent in US politics since the Civil War, and might yet engender another one.

[happyhoix]

Supposedly 40 GOPers who are going to refuse to support Jordan. Some because they don’t want the minority far right members being the deciders and some because they don’t like how McCarthy was railroaded.

Jordan may not even break 200 votes.

www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/approximately-20-house-gopers-are-plotting-to-ruin-jim-jordan-s-plan-to-become-speaker/ar-AA1ifFVu?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=53fe06bb2ded4161a52e018a9fd53a2a&ei=21

As usual the far righties are threatening ‘retribution’ against the GOP members who don’t toe the line.

Good thing nothing important is going on in the world right now that would require congressional attention. 🙄

[Tennesseer]

Saw this description of jim jordan the other day.

"Someone described Jordan as a 'political termite' - unable to rise to the top through his own merits, so he'll chew through the foundation to bring the whole system down."

[NastyWoman]

Oct 15, 2023 11:29:48 GMT -5 djAdvocate said:

this is the problem with bringing the religious right into politics.
they are absolutists.

if you think abortion is a right, you are the spawn of Satan and deserve death, or at a minimum, to never be anywhere near the halls of government.  if you think someone is evil incarnate, you will NEVER consider their opinions, no matter how reasonable, ethical, and moral.

this is where the US is politically.  i see many parallels to how things are in Turkiye.

Yes, and I have often wondered what made you choose Turkiye over other countries like say Portugal which also had relatively easy entry requirements.

Note, I don't expect you to explain yourself. This is plain curiosity as it applies 0% to my situation. I am just glad that I never gave up my Dutch citizenship.

[djAdvocate]

Oct 15, 2023 19:26:29 GMT -5 NastyWoman said:

Oct 15, 2023 11:29:48 GMT -5 djAdvocate said:

this is the problem with bringing the religious right into politics.
they are absolutists.

if you think abortion is a right, you are the spawn of Satan and deserve death, or at a minimum, to never be anywhere near the halls of government.  if you think someone is evil incarnate, you will NEVER consider their opinions, no matter how reasonable, ethical, and moral.

this is where the US is politically.  i see many parallels to how things are in Turkiye.

Yes, and I have often wondered what made you choose Turkiye over other countries like say Portugal which also had relatively easy entry requirements.

Note, I don't expect you to explain yourself. This is plain curiosity as it applies 0% to my situation. I am just glad that I never gave up my Dutch citizenship.

because i want a non-US Passport.  and St Kitts is not going to cut it for me.  that left very few options.

if i had Dutch citizenship, i would never have done what i did.

[thyme4change]

Oct 13, 2023 18:45:24 GMT -5 resolution said:

I am flying out to Phoenix on Nov 17, so hopefully some air traffic controllers will still be working. At least we have a place to stay if we get stuck there.

November in Phoenix is awesome. We usually eat Thanksgiving dinner on the patio - it is always so nice outside.

[tbop77]

One House member said that Fox News' Hannity show has "gotten involved in the efforts" to elect the speaker and end the deadlock in the lower chamber by sending emails asking them why they aren't supporting Jordan.


Questions are now being raised as to why Fox News and Hannity are apparently trying to influence how lawmakers vote for House speaker, a role that is second in line for the presidency after the vice president.


www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/sean-hannity-email-to-jim-jordan-opponents-raises-questions/ar-AA1ihkqB?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=32207a9ce41e4a6fac8a6fffabba1fe2&ei=9

Can anything help Jordan get the votes?