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GOP Chaos

Cheerful Charlie

Cheerful Charlie

Contributor
Joined
Nov 10, 2005
Messages
9,035
Location
Houston, Texas
Basic Beliefs
Strong Atheist
The GOP controls the House. But barely. With no Speaker nothing gets done. No natural Speaker who all can support is in sight. A lot of GOP hate is paralyzing the GOP. Sugestions are to expel Matt Gaetz from the Republican Convention. Some are suggesting as many as 5 Freedom Caucus members be so expelled. By November the budget must be renegotiated and passed. This thread is to follow the bizarre politics we will be subject to until election day 2024. The GOP hard liners want to slash Social Security and the safety net. Many more sober Republicans facing election know this is going to be very unpopular. And we have some extreme GOP presidential candidates who may complicate these political minefields.

Never mind popcorn, we may all need industrial strength tranquilizers before this madness is over.
 
From Daily Kos. Brian Fitzpatrick for speaker. He is a prominent member of the Problem Solvers Caucus. A bipartisan caucus made up of 32 Democrats and 32 Republicans. If all Democrats vited for him, all he would need is 5 Republicans to vote for him to become Spoaker Of The House. If 5 of the 32 GOP Problem Solvers members voted for him, he would be speaker. And maybe a few rank and file members who realize letting the Freedom Caucus to run amuck would doom the GOP in 2024. This would throw the Freedom Caucus into a frenzy, but they do that anyway.
 
Jim Jordan is officially running for Speaker of the House. Endorsed by Trump. Who has also be nominated to run by a MAGA Republican. This is getting so exciting.
 
I think the only reasonable option is to try and put a moderate Republican into the Speakership.

Of course, how do we actually find a moderate Republicans? I looked here for a start. Found the Republicans rated as swing and moved to looking at two pivotal votes. Did they vote to annul the election results on January 6th and did they vote to approve the budget, yes, this is low bar stuff (and there was no inquiry vote to work with), and even worse, the Venn Diagram is sadly small.

Brian Fitzpatrick came up. Has little experience, probably no power or influence. But he voted to keep government open and didn't vote to dissolve an election, so... I think this is the best the GOP have to offer. Chris Smith of New Jersey has a lot of experience in the House and checks all of the, probably no one better we can do, let's get an adult back into the chair.

Without Democrat votes, I don't know who can win. It almost feels like it needs to come from outside. I don't see McCarthy-ites winning and Jim Jordan, are they actually going to go there and put Rep. Tarr (*-OH) in charge? I think Jordan probably has the best chance, I think he could possibly make with a tiny bit of pragmatism. He didn't try to fire McCarthy after all. But still... far from a team player. The Gaetz of Congress before Gaetz redefined what it meant to be a total Gaetz.

But can Democrats influence this process? Would enough moderate Republicans allow the Democrats to put a long-time Republican that dates back to when the GOP wasn't as psychotic as it is today? I haven't looked into it, but he seems like a Reagan Republican. He did vote for all four charges on President Clinton. Sadly, even if the Dems try to put an elder REPUBLICAN statesman into the Speakership, I've to wonder if that'd galvanize the GOP who'd then vote for Jordan. I think perhaps the best possible aspect of Jordan becoming Speaker is the cold and hard reality of having that power actually entails. It is so much easier to complain, that it is to lead.
 
Jimmy Higgins said:
I think perhaps the best possible aspect of Jordan becoming Speaker is the cold and hard reality of having that power actually entails. It is so much easier to complain, that it is to lead.
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I have tried telling myself that the speakership would destroy Gym J, but in truth that would be meager compensation for the damage he would do to the Country.
 
Elixir said:
Jimmy Higgins said:
I think perhaps the best possible aspect of Jordan becoming Speaker is the cold and hard reality of having that power actually entails. It is so much easier to complain, that it is to lead.
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I have tried telling myself that the speakership would destroy Gym J, but in truth that would be meager compensation for the damage he would do to the Country.
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That is the thing, at some point, you become the problem and take the heat. Voting to fuck America is a lot different that overseeing the fuckage. It creates a new perspective. Part of the actually being responsible for the outcome.
 
Cheerful Charlie said:
With no Speaker nothing gets done.
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Is that really a problem, from a Republican perspective? Their whole goal is to cripple if not dismantle the federal government, while lining their own pockets. No Republican legislator on the national level has "gotten something done" (other than tax kickbacks to their buddies) in over a decade.
 
Politesse said:
Cheerful Charlie said:
With no Speaker nothing gets done.
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Is that really a problem, from a Republican perspective? Their whole goal is to cripple if not dismantle the federal government, while lining their own pockets. No Republican legislator on the national level has "gotten something done" (other than tax kickbacks to their buddies) in over a decade.
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It is when November comes and the majority party failed to do something as simple as select a leader, plunging the nation into a depression. So I don't see that happening. McConnell will walk over with a cattle prod to get things moving before that happens.
 
Jimmy Higgins said:
Politesse said:
Cheerful Charlie said:
With no Speaker nothing gets done.
Click to expand...
Is that really a problem, from a Republican perspective? Their whole goal is to cripple if not dismantle the federal government, while lining their own pockets. No Republican legislator on the national level has "gotten something done" (other than tax kickbacks to their buddies) in over a decade.
Click to expand...
It is when November comes and the majority party failed to do something as simple as select a leader, plunging the nation into a depression. So I don't see that happening. McConnell will walk over with a cattle prod to get things moving before that happens.
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Assuming he doesn't go BSOD as h's approaching them to use it, in which case they'll take it and use it on him instead. Whether or not this restarts him or just completely bricks him is a tossup.
 
Since Trump has endorsed Jim Jordan, there is at least a moderate probability that Trump will engage in bullying on social media to get House Republicans in line. There could be some things that might initiate this kind of thing...like let's say there is a round of voting where 5 Republicans do not vote for Jordan...then Trump would name them (IMO) and really go after them. I do think, though, that if Jordan doesn't get a lot of votes, then Trump would stick to snide comments...not sure where it would go from there.
 
I'm about to share a perspective that might not be universally accepted, but I sincerely hope it resonates with some. It's important for the Democrats to extend support to the more moderate Republicans, like how McCarthy should have been backed, to prevent the rise of more radical factions within the Republican Party. Recognizing the internal struggles of the traditional Republican members is essential. We must avoid repeating situations like the Hillary Clinton incident, where decisions seemingly right in theory failed to steer America away from a Trump presedency.

If the extreme factions gain control due to our failure to support the more moderate voices, then no Democrat should be in a position to claim
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I would be okay with that in principle, but I remain aware that McCarfthy was NEVER a moderate Republican. His word was worthless and he supported extremeism.

So yes, I would want Dems to support a moderate republican to keep the government functioning, and I think that would be good for the progressive brand, but that does not translate into thinking they should have supported McCarthy.
 
Gospel said:
I'm about to share a perspective that might not be universally accepted, but I sincerely hope it resonates with some. It's important for the Democrats to extend support to the more moderate Republicans, like how McCarthy should have been backed, to prevent the rise of more radical factions within the Republican Party.
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Your statement said the Democrats extend support to more moderate Republicans... but then say like backing McCarthy, who isn't remotely moderate or even just conservative. The number of actually moderate Republicans in the US House is very finite. As indicated in another thread, McCarthy pushed (without a vote) for an impeachment inquiry which starred such witnesses for the GOP that said Biden shouldn't be impeached. He shit on the Democrats on Sunday Morning political tv right after they DID COMPROMISE WITH HIM to keep the government open. McCarthy voted to can the 2020 election.

NOT A MODERATE!

I do note up above that there is likely one or two Republicans the Democrats could support, but I'd imagine support of them could lead the GOP to galvanize behind someone like Jordan.
Gospel said:
Recognizing the internal struggles of the traditional Republican members is essential. We must avoid repeating situations like the Hillary Clinton incident, where decisions seemingly right in theory failed to steer America away from a Trump presedency.
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Yeah, the issue with Clinton was that of misreading polls and a lot of hindsight. What is going on with the GOP is a bunch of sociopaths having a food fight.
 
This is so very funny!

.......
Now ABC News' Jonathan Karl, in an excerpt from an upcoming book called "Tired of Winning: Donald Trump and the End of the Grand Old Party," reports that Trump first became interested in running to be the speaker back in January, when Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was struggling to get enough votes together.

At first, Trump was "embarrassed" when Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) put Trump's name in to become speaker, only to watch the chamber erupt in laughter and to see himself get only one vote.
......

www.rawstory.com

Trump made push to become House speaker back in January – but the results left him 'embarrassed': report

Former President Donald Trump entertained becoming speaker of the House of Representatives this week before aides reportedly heard panicked reactions from Republican lawmakers and talked him out of it.Now ABC News' Jonathan Karl, in an excerpt from an upcoming book called "Tired of Winning...
www.rawstory.com www.rawstory.com
 
Rhea said:

Over the past several weeks, when it appeared likely that a motion to vacate the office of speaker was forthcoming, House Democrats repeatedly raised the issue of entering into a bipartisan governing coalition with our Republican counterparts, publicly as well as privately.
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Jeffries has been reaching out.
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One of the issues is that McCarthy is a great fundraiser, but a crap leader with an even crappier carcass (no... not a spelling mistake).
 
To be clear, I wasn't categorizing McCarthy as a moderate. My intent was to underscore the need to support moderate voices. In voicing my perspective, I think endorsing McCarthy could have been a strategic decision. Given his flaws, he still might be a better choice compared to potential leaders poised to emerge amidst the current shift in the Republican landscape from moderates to far-right representatives.

They're talking about going from McCarthy to Jim Jordan now. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
Gospel said:
To be clear, I wasn't categorizing McCarthy as a moderate. My intent was to underscore the need to support moderate voices. In voicing my perspective, I think endorsing McCarthy could have been a strategic decision. Given his flaws, he still might be a better choice compared to potential leaders poised to emerge amidst the current shift in the Republican landscape from moderates to far-right representatives.
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What part of opening a sham impeachment inquiry to calm the tantrumming toddlers has "better choice" strapped to it?
Gospel said:
They're talking about going from McCarthy to Jim Jordan now. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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I don't know if they have the votes for anyone.
 
Jimmy Higgins said:
What part of opening a sham impeachment inquiry to calm the tantrumming toddlers has "better choice" strapped to it?
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I understand your perspective. However, wasn't it the sentiment of 'Why would anyone choose Trump when we have Hillary, who might not be endearing but is clearly the better option?' that initially led to the rise of the extreme right within the Republican Party? How would revisiting such an approach be beneficial now?

Clearly, removing McCarthy was the prudent decision right now. But let's await the subsequent developments to see if it was later.
 
If Gym gets 218+ votes it’s a clear indicator that now is the time the fascists have chosen to overturn democracy. The 2024 election will be rendered meaningless one way or another. If Trumpsuckers don’t get what they want, they will be encouraged to violently go nuts, and can be expected to comply. Sufficient anarchy will be impossible to quell; the courts will be overwhelmed, police attacked or siding with the Trumpanzees, and government functions ground to a halt.
If Trump gets “elected”, he will waste no time purging the executive branch of anyone not sucking his dick, usurping the power of Congress and the Judiciary and locking up any dissenters. But the trains will run on time (or else!).

All that could be avoided. LOCK HIM UP.
 
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