The bullying seems to be having an effect. Here’s Mike Rogers on X just now: “.@Jim_Jordan and I have had two cordial, thoughtful, and productive conversations over the past two days. We agreed on the need for Congress to pass a strong NDAA, appropriations to fund our government's vital functions, and other important legislation like the Farm Bill…. As a result, I have decided to support Jim Jordan for Speaker of the House on the floor. Since I was first elected to the House, I have always been a team player and supported what the majority of the Republican Conference agrees to. Together, our Republican majority will be stronger to fight Joe Biden’s reckless agenda for America.”
We LIKE President Biden's agenda, thank you very much to the Thug Party. My [disabled adult] son is thankful for food on the table, thanks to SNAP, and our house, in which he pays half expenses, thanks to Disability Social Security and 2 retired parents. I'm happy driving around in my used 2014 electric car and knowing it charges due to the solar roof panels I've paid for out of a very small inheritance. When will this worm people, no offense to worms, crawl back to their hiding places and leave us good folk alone?!
I hope it doesn't have the effect he needs. We need most of those 50+ no votes to stay no votes. I'm hoping there are still enough out there with a spine to stick with their oppostition. Jordan isn't a solution, he's the beginning of a new nightmare
Of course. Probably about 10 Republicans are negotiating over which of them can have the three free passes to vote against him. Others are having staffers comb through data so they can scream “Look! OSU Wrestler No. 6 gave $100 to the Obama campaign in 2012! PARTISAN WITCH HUNT!”
Also, notice how they call Trump “President Trump” and claim “Once someone is president you always call him President” but they can’t say “President Biden.”
What is worse is that the bullies are willing to just burn down the whole thing just to get their point across (or, in some cases, their point is to burn it all down)
Read Prof. Kathleen Belew's book, Bring the War Home: The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America, where she talks about the goals of the White Supremacist movement which is what this is about. https://www.kathleenbelew.com/bringthewarhome
There is a point when the White Supremacist movement decided to join the government as a means to overthrowing it. This is what we are seeing in action. The MAGAs are having their moment of joy as they drive over the cliff, only to realize on the way down, or not, what awaits them.
What should I be stocking up on to weather this next iteration of insanity? Any suggestions are welcome. (Although hugging Nickel the Dog might actually be enough.
I get where you're going with this, and while I trust that this is not your intention, framing the Republicans' absurd methods as mental illness does harm to people with mental illnesses, syndromes, or conditions, as well as neurodivergent people. It perpetuates the cultural bias against people who are perceived by cultural standards as mentally unfit, by asserting an association between these conditions and the morally bankrupt, greedy, predatory and opportunistic motives and actions of the right. While it is entirely possible that many of these politicians actually do have diagnosable mental impairment of some sort, most probably do not, and are perfectly sane by clinical standards. The measure of how unfit - or even dangerous - any given politician might be should be assessed by their words and actions - by their observable impact on our society - rather than by assumptions about their mental health.
That's a fair criticism, thanks. Bad taste joke (I've had my own wrestling matches with things in that book, but I can see why some people would not find that funny). I'll delete the comment, but I'll wait a few minutes in hopes you see my reply in an email.
That’s exactly what I was going to post. I don’t know how anyone with even a few brain cells could trust Jordan, or believe that he would stick to a deal.
Not a doubt in my mind that he's just using it for cover. "Jim threatened me with MAGA retribution, so I'm gonna vote for him because I'm a coward. Now how do I make this seem like MY idea?"
When Sports Illustrated writes an article which clearly labels you as a groomer, liar, and unfit for office... maybe you shouldn't be Speaker of the House.
I'm just thankful Sports Illustrated wrote a major article on it, and it's negative for Gym Jordan. I agree - this has to be headline #1 as long as Jordan's running for Speaker.
Curious, I did a quick search for percentage of SI readers who voted for tRump. I didn't go deeply and didn't find much. Hoping others may. It would be interesting to learn what the demographics are to see what influence the story might have on those who vote for those who vote for Speaker.
After posting, I looked more. This is their target audience: "The target group of SPORTS ILLUSTRATED are predominantly young (ø 42 years old) educated and successful men with above-average Net household income." For other nerds I found this about their employees https://www.zippia.com/sports-illustrated-careers-783905/demographics/ If you scroll down, there is hope their readers do not reflect their employees' political affiliations!
The people who need to see this are his constituents, who keep voting him back into office and have given him 16 years of their trust, while he delivers nothing for them.
You should see his "district map". I put it in quotes because it's not like any map a human brain can possibly conjure! The state of Ohio is fighting tooth and nail to be THE MOST CORRUPT state in the Union. And they're winning. Fortunately, I don't live in his fiefdom. But I think when they manipulated this map, they went door-to-door, and all who said they would vote for him were then included in the map.
I’m laughing at what you wrote here, Daniel, and I looked at the map by following the link that Eve posted below. I’ve never seen a district map like this, and yes, it looks like they went door-to-door to find each Jim Jordan voter. This is the ultimate definition of gerrymandering.
I laugh as well, Janet, but it's a laugh covering sadness. I'm embarrassed that I'm from the same state as a traitor such as this. I know, I know; you have BoBo to hang your head over, but at least she's not up for Speaker, for Goodness sake! Then add jd vance to the list of sadness here, and 3 trump-lickers vying for Sherrod Brown's Senate seat. I'm not sure how much longer I can maintain residence here.
At least SI is revisiting it. A lot of times with these scandals, once the news is "old news" the media lets it die. The rest of the media needs to pick it up and remind folks that the nickname Gym Jordan didn't come out of a vacuum.
Sadly, I would think that every day Gym SOB Jordan is in the news is retraumatizing to those men. For that reason alone he should be relegated to the dust bin of history.
Here is a thought: those in the GOP who oppose Jordan could grow a spine, join the Democrats, elect Jeffries, and we all get back to work. Surely, they can survive under a Speaker from the opposite party until the next election. Cons - your own scum-of-the-earth party members will hate you. Pros - you will have saved the government from shutdown, passed the budget, aided our allies, which will all be remembered by your voters come next November. JUST saying.
Maria, It's too much to ask that they put the Speakership in the hands of the minority party. But they could join with Democrats to elect a Republican who would not be a hostage to MAGA extremists.
At www.FeathersOfHope.net we have just published a list of 23 selected Republican Representatives with their DC and District phone numbers. All are from districts where MAGA forces are not dominant. We are urging everyone to call them, asking that they break with extremism and support a bipartisan coalition to elect a traditional non-MAGA Republican Speaker.
Alas, there aren’t even four or five reasonable Republicans left.
The ONLY Republicans in Congress are either extremists or those who enable them. Those who start the fire or those who claim they don’t but gladly step aside so the guys with the matches can get through.
The bullying recipes used by alt right Maga and Co are straight from Goebels' old manual "perfect little nazi 101". GOP as such is a traitor party to America's interests and peace in the world. It must be treated as such.
At www.FeathersOfHope.net we have just published a list of 23 selected Republican Representatives with their DC and District phone numbers. All are from districts where MAGA forces are not dominant. We are urging everyone to call them, asking that they break with extremism and support a bipartisan coalition to elect a traditional non-MAGA Republican Speaker.
1) Great Explainer on how the House works. Have you sent it to Republican House members?
2) When Trump gave Jordan the Presidential Medal of Freedom, he meant that Jordan would obtain permanent freedom from any charges arising from his days as a wrestling coach. Trump is a forward "thinker!"
I am so dismayed that I can barely respond, and somewhat frightened. The thought comes from Forest Gump, "Stupid is s stupid does."
Or does it? Look what I found on QUORA. "Stupid is as stupid does. The phrase comes from George Bernard Shaw‘s play Major Barbara. The quote is often used to refer to those who believe in something simply because it makes them feel good about themselves. It doesn’t matter if what they believe isn’t true or not. They still believe it.
It's easy to fall into this trap. We all have our own beliefs and ideas about how life works. And we tend to hold onto them even though they don’t make sense to other people.
But here's the thing: People who think differently than us can teach us a lot. In fact, their different opinions can actually change our minds about ourselves and the world around us."
I think the statement is generally true, but it also requires significant caveats. The main caveat is that one must use a certain level of discernment when considering if there is something to learn that will be at all useful or beneficial. If somebody knows how to cook cuisine from all over the world, I might be interested in the different things I can learn from them. If however, their difference is that they adore cat snot and dog shit pie, and want to teach me to make it, that's a hard pass.
Thank you for your thorough break down of the breakdown.
A moment of crisis like this contains the seeds of opportunity. Under "normal" political circumstances in Washington, rules changes, political alignment changes, and visionary political adaptations are not even remotely possible because there is no motivation or reason for anyone involved to rock the boat. If a group of Republicans who are sick and tired of being pushed around by extremists while their party and the country journey merrily to Hell in a handbasket are willing to think outside of the box and reach across the aisle to form a coalition House majority with Democrats (who, it cannot be stated emphatically enough, will ALSO have to think outside of the box) on the basis of reasonable compromises, then a truly historic moment would have occurred of which Americans could be justly proud. It would effectively end the MAGA insurrection in Congress and open the way for the DOJ to prosecute Congress-people who are culpable for January 6. It would end the performative "impeachment inquiry" that Jordan has been incompetently leading and foisting upon us all. It would create the opportunity for the much-needed rules changes that Jay has detailed. Finally, it would restore a core of conscientious conservatives to power in the GOP and begin to put paid to the nightmare of Trumpism as a political force in this country. If a group of half-cocked MAGAs can have the courage come up with a plot to overthrow the government and put a demented idiot on the throne and then actually go through with it, why can't a group of principled members of Congress show the courage to step up and fix the broken system?
Once again I find myself viewing the whole GQP-poisoned mess as an out of body experience. With two pseudo-representatives pretending to represent me, the alienation here is real.
Jordan should probably be in jail for his role in the insurrection or his role in the wrestling scandal. He should not be anywhere in the succession line for the Presidency.
Rewrite of the old spiritual: "I looked over Jordan and what did I see? A right-wing nut job a-comin' after me!" But seriously, I don't think "empowering" McHenry will work. Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution says that "[t]he House of Representatives shall chuse [sic] their Speaker ...." They can't "empower" someone to do the Speaker's job without electing that person to be the Speaker.
You are right. The trick here would be that the Constitution doesn't specify what the Speaker actually does; that's in the House Rules. So the House can simply amend the rules (which is part of what McHenry *can* already get on the floor).
You're right, Kevin. But this assumes that the Dems go along or all but four Reps go along with enhancing McHenry's authority. Could be a difficult feat to pull off in the present environment.
When viewed through the lens of class struggle the fight over the speakership is just another battle between the tattered professional managerial class in the GOP and the angry petite bourgeoisie class represented by Mr. Jordan. Trumpism exists not because of Mr. Trump's super powers but because a significant portion of the electorate has given up. They no longer think anyone can provide them with what they are really asking for: status for working class people in a world fixated on rewarding the skill sets that most people do not possess: parsing symbols from behind a lap top.
The roots of MAGA contain these elements, certainly, but there is also White Nationalism, the old Confederacy having found a new home, fear of the Great Replacement, and other racially charged issues driving so much of the Republican base these days. It is why I believe in just a few election cycles that will die off and the extremists will have to wait for another generation to emerge and try to disrupt things from another position entirely.
All true. I'm just here to say that there is this other factor that may be less generational and more connected to class than race. We ignore that at our peril by ascribing to ourselves the moral high ground.
I agree with most of what you’ve written, but I think it’s missing one piece of fodder for the discontentment. It’s the idea that making a living isn’t good enough- making a killing has replaced middle class aspirations. People see all of the ways others have made fast fortunes, and steady honest work over a longer time span is not as attractive. The goal of living a satisfied life has been replaced by reaching a place where playing/recreating is more important.
We fell for the 1980s line “high wage high skilled jobs will replace those being sent offshore.” It is folly to think such a thing could happen without first investing in training and educating the workforce. Now we have a generation who distain knowledge and fact.
I just can’t see the world through their eyes, and try as I might I haven’t found a way to foster productive dialog with friends and family who have crossed into the land of brutal fantasy.
The "high wage high skilled jobs" promise has actually taken place; there are a lot more six-figure IT jobs now than back then.
The real problem is that there was a bait-and-switch. Not everybody can work in those jobs. "Bring jobs back to America" doesn't mean bring "well paying" jobs back. Instead, we are now told that "we need to lower labor costs to create jobs". "Lowering labor costs" is, of course, a euphemism for cutting wages.
"Not everybody can work in those jobs." This is critical. But you're talking economics and I'm talking about something less tangible. If we say that those who have access to high status are those with the narrow skill sets that capitalism of the moment requires then aren't we designating low status to the rest? Access to basic self-esteem shouldn't be conditional on your ability to manipulate symbols.
I don't disagree about the "winner take all" mentality but for me that stems from the lack of social mobility. In fact, most of what we're seeing I would ascribe to blowback from a system that doesn't work for people who didn't start on third base. The mistake most progressives make is to define this as an issue of physical privation when, for me, it is mostly a spiritual condition. All people need access to status of some kind. What the gradual secession of elites from the concerns of ordinary people did was obscure that necessity.
“And Rep. Matt Gaetz (F-FL), who set off the chaos by moving to topple Kevin McCarthy as Speaker...” Does the F stand for F**k up? That would be spot on🤣
What does it take for all this to happen? Are there any moderates with enough chutzpah to act? When I read that Biden is considering going to Israel and I only want security to keep him safe and it feels too risky - would Hamas or Iran or others do this? (spit spit) and we have .. well, after Kamala, "Secretary of State is fourth in line of succession after the Vice President, the Speaker of the House, and the President pro tempore of the Senate." It's Patty Murray, yes? Just looking at worst case because the world is in a worst-case place. But isn't Blinken also on a big tour of the Mideast. OY OY OY people - and especially to the House: we need a good, smart, non-reactionary, non-groomer (thanks, @Eve) speaker.
Vote out the MTV rule, then bring back our Kev with Dem support and "iron-clad" guarantees to push a "bipartisan" agenda, including passage of all pending funding bills. Forget about the "we'll primary you!" threats, as those "moderates", many from NY, will see their seats jeopardized by Dem state gerrymandering, so what do they have to lose by acting in the interests of the country as a whole? Yes, I get it, a yuuge ask, but is there any other VIABLE alternative save MAGA-ing the Speakership?
The bullying seems to be having an effect. Here’s Mike Rogers on X just now: “.@Jim_Jordan and I have had two cordial, thoughtful, and productive conversations over the past two days. We agreed on the need for Congress to pass a strong NDAA, appropriations to fund our government's vital functions, and other important legislation like the Farm Bill…. As a result, I have decided to support Jim Jordan for Speaker of the House on the floor. Since I was first elected to the House, I have always been a team player and supported what the majority of the Republican Conference agrees to. Together, our Republican majority will be stronger to fight Joe Biden’s reckless agenda for America.”
We LIKE President Biden's agenda, thank you very much to the Thug Party. My [disabled adult] son is thankful for food on the table, thanks to SNAP, and our house, in which he pays half expenses, thanks to Disability Social Security and 2 retired parents. I'm happy driving around in my used 2014 electric car and knowing it charges due to the solar roof panels I've paid for out of a very small inheritance. When will this worm people, no offense to worms, crawl back to their hiding places and leave us good folk alone?!
I hope it doesn't have the effect he needs. We need most of those 50+ no votes to stay no votes. I'm hoping there are still enough out there with a spine to stick with their oppostition. Jordan isn't a solution, he's the beginning of a new nightmare
That's because it's not just bullying with a threat of a primary challenger, it's a threat of violence; it's always been a threat of violence.
What a weasel. Caving to dictators and bullies encourages them and solves nothing.
Of course. Probably about 10 Republicans are negotiating over which of them can have the three free passes to vote against him. Others are having staffers comb through data so they can scream “Look! OSU Wrestler No. 6 gave $100 to the Obama campaign in 2012! PARTISAN WITCH HUNT!”
Also, notice how they call Trump “President Trump” and claim “Once someone is president you always call him President” but they can’t say “President Biden.”
What is worse is that the bullies are willing to just burn down the whole thing just to get their point across (or, in some cases, their point is to burn it all down)
Read Prof. Kathleen Belew's book, Bring the War Home: The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America, where she talks about the goals of the White Supremacist movement which is what this is about. https://www.kathleenbelew.com/bringthewarhome
There is a point when the White Supremacist movement decided to join the government as a means to overthrowing it. This is what we are seeing in action. The MAGAs are having their moment of joy as they drive over the cliff, only to realize on the way down, or not, what awaits them.
Thinking Jordan is full of BS. He has *never* voted in favor of a Farm Bill.
What should I be stocking up on to weather this next iteration of insanity? Any suggestions are welcome. (Although hugging Nickel the Dog might actually be enough.
I get where you're going with this, and while I trust that this is not your intention, framing the Republicans' absurd methods as mental illness does harm to people with mental illnesses, syndromes, or conditions, as well as neurodivergent people. It perpetuates the cultural bias against people who are perceived by cultural standards as mentally unfit, by asserting an association between these conditions and the morally bankrupt, greedy, predatory and opportunistic motives and actions of the right. While it is entirely possible that many of these politicians actually do have diagnosable mental impairment of some sort, most probably do not, and are perfectly sane by clinical standards. The measure of how unfit - or even dangerous - any given politician might be should be assessed by their words and actions - by their observable impact on our society - rather than by assumptions about their mental health.
That's a fair criticism, thanks. Bad taste joke (I've had my own wrestling matches with things in that book, but I can see why some people would not find that funny). I'll delete the comment, but I'll wait a few minutes in hopes you see my reply in an email.
No need to delete unless you want to. Thanks for the gracious reply!
Does Rogers not realize that Jordan is likely lying?
That’s exactly what I was going to post. I don’t know how anyone with even a few brain cells could trust Jordan, or believe that he would stick to a deal.
Not a doubt in my mind that he's just using it for cover. "Jim threatened me with MAGA retribution, so I'm gonna vote for him because I'm a coward. Now how do I make this seem like MY idea?"
Sad. Yet another cowardly GQP sellout.
Wonder what really went down in their exchange
“I have always been a team player and supported what the majority of the Republican Conference agrees to.”
In other words, “I have no ideas or spine of my own. I just rubber stamp whatever they put in front of me.”
😱🤯🤬🤬🤬
When Sports Illustrated writes an article which clearly labels you as a groomer, liar, and unfit for office... maybe you shouldn't be Speaker of the House.
https://www.si.com/college/2023/10/13/jim-jordan-speaker-candidacy-roils-osu-wrestling-community?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&fbclid=IwAR1KmWdtpj4jErCD7tCh8Yd575d2QFTuAHCBcY1nvyHTbfTvn_OhVs47NoE
Why then is this not making BIGGER headlines? I remember when it all first was in the news and now, silence. Thanks for "elevating" it.
I'm just thankful Sports Illustrated wrote a major article on it, and it's negative for Gym Jordan. I agree - this has to be headline #1 as long as Jordan's running for Speaker.
Hard to pick among the headlines. He also assisted Trump directly in the attempt to overturn the election, so there’s that. And asked for a pardon!
Yes, but the MAGA crowd will be all for that. However, they're supposedly against grooming, etc., 100%... so...
I agree. A Sports Illustrated article will reach far more people - among them some MAGA - than will any political messages.
Curious, I did a quick search for percentage of SI readers who voted for tRump. I didn't go deeply and didn't find much. Hoping others may. It would be interesting to learn what the demographics are to see what influence the story might have on those who vote for those who vote for Speaker.
After posting, I looked more. This is their target audience: "The target group of SPORTS ILLUSTRATED are predominantly young (ø 42 years old) educated and successful men with above-average Net household income." For other nerds I found this about their employees https://www.zippia.com/sports-illustrated-careers-783905/demographics/ If you scroll down, there is hope their readers do not reflect their employees' political affiliations!
Not just that. For as long as he’s in Congress.
The people who need to see this are his constituents, who keep voting him back into office and have given him 16 years of their trust, while he delivers nothing for them.
This is Jim Jordan's congressional district map: looks like a snake, doesn't it?
https://spectrumnews1.com/oh/columbus/news/2020/10/24/congressional-race-to-watch--jordan-vs--freshour-in-oh-4
Appropriate
That is the craziest district map I have ever seen.
You should see his "district map". I put it in quotes because it's not like any map a human brain can possibly conjure! The state of Ohio is fighting tooth and nail to be THE MOST CORRUPT state in the Union. And they're winning. Fortunately, I don't live in his fiefdom. But I think when they manipulated this map, they went door-to-door, and all who said they would vote for him were then included in the map.
I’m laughing at what you wrote here, Daniel, and I looked at the map by following the link that Eve posted below. I’ve never seen a district map like this, and yes, it looks like they went door-to-door to find each Jim Jordan voter. This is the ultimate definition of gerrymandering.
I laugh as well, Janet, but it's a laugh covering sadness. I'm embarrassed that I'm from the same state as a traitor such as this. I know, I know; you have BoBo to hang your head over, but at least she's not up for Speaker, for Goodness sake! Then add jd vance to the list of sadness here, and 3 trump-lickers vying for Sherrod Brown's Senate seat. I'm not sure how much longer I can maintain residence here.
At least SI is revisiting it. A lot of times with these scandals, once the news is "old news" the media lets it die. The rest of the media needs to pick it up and remind folks that the nickname Gym Jordan didn't come out of a vacuum.
Sadly, I would think that every day Gym SOB Jordan is in the news is retraumatizing to those men. For that reason alone he should be relegated to the dust bin of history.
Thanks. Perhaps we should all mail a copy of the article to coach Jordan....a massive mailing that would clog his office....
I think that's a great idea.
I just mailed mine!
Here is a thought: those in the GOP who oppose Jordan could grow a spine, join the Democrats, elect Jeffries, and we all get back to work. Surely, they can survive under a Speaker from the opposite party until the next election. Cons - your own scum-of-the-earth party members will hate you. Pros - you will have saved the government from shutdown, passed the budget, aided our allies, which will all be remembered by your voters come next November. JUST saying.
Maria, It's too much to ask that they put the Speakership in the hands of the minority party. But they could join with Democrats to elect a Republican who would not be a hostage to MAGA extremists.
At www.FeathersOfHope.net we have just published a list of 23 selected Republican Representatives with their DC and District phone numbers. All are from districts where MAGA forces are not dominant. We are urging everyone to call them, asking that they break with extremism and support a bipartisan coalition to elect a traditional non-MAGA Republican Speaker.
Here's a link to the post:https://jerryweiss.substack.com/p/finding-republican-partners .
.
I know.... but a girl can dream, right?
Maybe the ones from districts that voted for Biden could switch parties all together!? We’d only need 4 or 5…
Alas, there aren’t even four or five reasonable Republicans left.
The ONLY Republicans in Congress are either extremists or those who enable them. Those who start the fire or those who claim they don’t but gladly step aside so the guys with the matches can get through.
Right? SO close.
What a dream! Nice to think of the possibility, no matter how remote.
The bullying recipes used by alt right Maga and Co are straight from Goebels' old manual "perfect little nazi 101". GOP as such is a traitor party to America's interests and peace in the world. It must be treated as such.
It is the authoritarian playbook, correct.
At www.FeathersOfHope.net we have just published a list of 23 selected Republican Representatives with their DC and District phone numbers. All are from districts where MAGA forces are not dominant. We are urging everyone to call them, asking that they break with extremism and support a bipartisan coalition to elect a traditional non-MAGA Republican Speaker.
Here's a link to the post:https://jerryweiss.substack.com/p/finding-republican-partners
.
Paging Jessica Craven!!
Couple things.
1) Great Explainer on how the House works. Have you sent it to Republican House members?
2) When Trump gave Jordan the Presidential Medal of Freedom, he meant that Jordan would obtain permanent freedom from any charges arising from his days as a wrestling coach. Trump is a forward "thinker!"
I am so dismayed that I can barely respond, and somewhat frightened. The thought comes from Forest Gump, "Stupid is s stupid does."
Or does it? Look what I found on QUORA. "Stupid is as stupid does. The phrase comes from George Bernard Shaw‘s play Major Barbara. The quote is often used to refer to those who believe in something simply because it makes them feel good about themselves. It doesn’t matter if what they believe isn’t true or not. They still believe it.
It's easy to fall into this trap. We all have our own beliefs and ideas about how life works. And we tend to hold onto them even though they don’t make sense to other people.
But here's the thing: People who think differently than us can teach us a lot. In fact, their different opinions can actually change our minds about ourselves and the world around us."
God bless his/her little heart.
I think the statement is generally true, but it also requires significant caveats. The main caveat is that one must use a certain level of discernment when considering if there is something to learn that will be at all useful or beneficial. If somebody knows how to cook cuisine from all over the world, I might be interested in the different things I can learn from them. If however, their difference is that they adore cat snot and dog shit pie, and want to teach me to make it, that's a hard pass.
Oh, ye of little faith!
🤣🤣🤣🤣
Thank you for your thorough break down of the breakdown.
A moment of crisis like this contains the seeds of opportunity. Under "normal" political circumstances in Washington, rules changes, political alignment changes, and visionary political adaptations are not even remotely possible because there is no motivation or reason for anyone involved to rock the boat. If a group of Republicans who are sick and tired of being pushed around by extremists while their party and the country journey merrily to Hell in a handbasket are willing to think outside of the box and reach across the aisle to form a coalition House majority with Democrats (who, it cannot be stated emphatically enough, will ALSO have to think outside of the box) on the basis of reasonable compromises, then a truly historic moment would have occurred of which Americans could be justly proud. It would effectively end the MAGA insurrection in Congress and open the way for the DOJ to prosecute Congress-people who are culpable for January 6. It would end the performative "impeachment inquiry" that Jordan has been incompetently leading and foisting upon us all. It would create the opportunity for the much-needed rules changes that Jay has detailed. Finally, it would restore a core of conscientious conservatives to power in the GOP and begin to put paid to the nightmare of Trumpism as a political force in this country. If a group of half-cocked MAGAs can have the courage come up with a plot to overthrow the government and put a demented idiot on the throne and then actually go through with it, why can't a group of principled members of Congress show the courage to step up and fix the broken system?
Are there not five principled Republi—oh, darn it.
There.
Are.
No.
Good ones.
Once again I find myself viewing the whole GQP-poisoned mess as an out of body experience. With two pseudo-representatives pretending to represent me, the alienation here is real.
“Crossing Jordan.” ::chef’s kiss emoji::
Jordan should probably be in jail for his role in the insurrection or his role in the wrestling scandal. He should not be anywhere in the succession line for the Presidency.
Either one works for me.
Rewrite of the old spiritual: "I looked over Jordan and what did I see? A right-wing nut job a-comin' after me!" But seriously, I don't think "empowering" McHenry will work. Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution says that "[t]he House of Representatives shall chuse [sic] their Speaker ...." They can't "empower" someone to do the Speaker's job without electing that person to be the Speaker.
You are right. The trick here would be that the Constitution doesn't specify what the Speaker actually does; that's in the House Rules. So the House can simply amend the rules (which is part of what McHenry *can* already get on the floor).
You're right, Kevin. But this assumes that the Dems go along or all but four Reps go along with enhancing McHenry's authority. Could be a difficult feat to pull off in the present environment.
Of course. I was just trying to say that the Constitution isn't an obstacle here.
When viewed through the lens of class struggle the fight over the speakership is just another battle between the tattered professional managerial class in the GOP and the angry petite bourgeoisie class represented by Mr. Jordan. Trumpism exists not because of Mr. Trump's super powers but because a significant portion of the electorate has given up. They no longer think anyone can provide them with what they are really asking for: status for working class people in a world fixated on rewarding the skill sets that most people do not possess: parsing symbols from behind a lap top.
The roots of MAGA contain these elements, certainly, but there is also White Nationalism, the old Confederacy having found a new home, fear of the Great Replacement, and other racially charged issues driving so much of the Republican base these days. It is why I believe in just a few election cycles that will die off and the extremists will have to wait for another generation to emerge and try to disrupt things from another position entirely.
All true. I'm just here to say that there is this other factor that may be less generational and more connected to class than race. We ignore that at our peril by ascribing to ourselves the moral high ground.
I agree with most of what you’ve written, but I think it’s missing one piece of fodder for the discontentment. It’s the idea that making a living isn’t good enough- making a killing has replaced middle class aspirations. People see all of the ways others have made fast fortunes, and steady honest work over a longer time span is not as attractive. The goal of living a satisfied life has been replaced by reaching a place where playing/recreating is more important.
We fell for the 1980s line “high wage high skilled jobs will replace those being sent offshore.” It is folly to think such a thing could happen without first investing in training and educating the workforce. Now we have a generation who distain knowledge and fact.
I just can’t see the world through their eyes, and try as I might I haven’t found a way to foster productive dialog with friends and family who have crossed into the land of brutal fantasy.
The "high wage high skilled jobs" promise has actually taken place; there are a lot more six-figure IT jobs now than back then.
The real problem is that there was a bait-and-switch. Not everybody can work in those jobs. "Bring jobs back to America" doesn't mean bring "well paying" jobs back. Instead, we are now told that "we need to lower labor costs to create jobs". "Lowering labor costs" is, of course, a euphemism for cutting wages.
"Not everybody can work in those jobs." This is critical. But you're talking economics and I'm talking about something less tangible. If we say that those who have access to high status are those with the narrow skill sets that capitalism of the moment requires then aren't we designating low status to the rest? Access to basic self-esteem shouldn't be conditional on your ability to manipulate symbols.
You are talking about income distribution issues. And I agree with you. It's really just a different way of looking at the same problem.
I don't disagree about the "winner take all" mentality but for me that stems from the lack of social mobility. In fact, most of what we're seeing I would ascribe to blowback from a system that doesn't work for people who didn't start on third base. The mistake most progressives make is to define this as an issue of physical privation when, for me, it is mostly a spiritual condition. All people need access to status of some kind. What the gradual secession of elites from the concerns of ordinary people did was obscure that necessity.
“And Rep. Matt Gaetz (F-FL), who set off the chaos by moving to topple Kevin McCarthy as Speaker...” Does the F stand for F**k up? That would be spot on🤣
It stands for Fascist.
Ahhhhh! Perfection!
I saw that and forgot to ask! Thanks!
I saw that and supplied my own interpretation.
What does it take for all this to happen? Are there any moderates with enough chutzpah to act? When I read that Biden is considering going to Israel and I only want security to keep him safe and it feels too risky - would Hamas or Iran or others do this? (spit spit) and we have .. well, after Kamala, "Secretary of State is fourth in line of succession after the Vice President, the Speaker of the House, and the President pro tempore of the Senate." It's Patty Murray, yes? Just looking at worst case because the world is in a worst-case place. But isn't Blinken also on a big tour of the Mideast. OY OY OY people - and especially to the House: we need a good, smart, non-reactionary, non-groomer (thanks, @Eve) speaker.
It’s yet another test that the GOP may fail, I’m afraid.
Vote out the MTV rule, then bring back our Kev with Dem support and "iron-clad" guarantees to push a "bipartisan" agenda, including passage of all pending funding bills. Forget about the "we'll primary you!" threats, as those "moderates", many from NY, will see their seats jeopardized by Dem state gerrymandering, so what do they have to lose by acting in the interests of the country as a whole? Yes, I get it, a yuuge ask, but is there any other VIABLE alternative save MAGA-ing the Speakership?
Do you think it can happen?