McCarthey out as Speaker of the House - Bozo the clown on deck

[Elixir]

It would be handy if something happened that could be described as "And the Lord God did smite him before the people..."

One of the tragedies of Donald Trump is that he has proven that God has gone out of the smiting business, emboldening evangelicals. Remember, these are people who believe that it is only god’s threats keeping them from heinous behavior.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Yes. Vast majority of Reps voted to keep McCarthy.

Republicans are the House majority.

McCarthy lost his post because Republican members of Congress didn't vote for him. After a Republican, Gaetz, decided to to take it to a vote.
This isn't rocket science. The Republicans got rid of McCarthy for their own reasons. Pretending that it was because Democrats is painfully stupid.
Tom

The Republicans were engaged in foot-shooting. The Democrats simply handed them another round.

I don't think that the Dems even handed them another round. They just stayed out of the circular firing squad.
Tom

They voted to remove the old speaker. That was handing them another round.

 

[TomC]

They voted to remove the old speaker. That was handing them another round.

Not having prevented a shooting is not like handing the shooters another round.
Tom

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Even more to the point,
Whatever Jesus said about gay people, if anything, nobody bothered to record it.
Jesus was very clear about divorce, however.

Lets hear Johnson argue that divorce should be prohibited by U.S. law, and end the practice, and see how he fares in the next election.
Tom

I don't really think "gay people" existed in his time--because marriage was about social obligations rather than love. Thus pretty much everyone would be outwardly heterosexual. Doesn't mean they stayed in the marital bed, though.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Looks like the One-Man implode the House rule is still in effect. Granted, that'd just lead to a vote, and a majority needs to fire the speaker, but only one person can require that vote happen.

 

[TomC]

Looks like the One-Man implode the House rule is still in effect. Granted, that'd just lead to a vote, and a majority needs to fire the speaker, but only one person can require that vote happen.

I kinda wondered about that.

Could anyone call a vote to deplatform the Speaker of the House, or is that a partisan thing?

Could AOC do it? Just to fuck with the GOP the way Gaetz did?

Maybe propose Jeffries as a replacement?


I've lived in the U.S. my whole life, and I find Washington less and less comprehensible as the decades pass.
Tom

 

[blastula]

Anyone can call for the vote, but still majority of House to pass.

 

[starwater]

Yes. Vast majority of Reps voted to keep McCarthy.

Republicans are the House majority.

McCarthy lost his post because Republican members of Congress didn't vote for him. After a Republican, Gaetz, decided to to take it to a vote.
This isn't rocket science. The Republicans got rid of McCarthy for their own reasons. Pretending that it was because Democrats is painfully stupid.
Tom

The Republicans were engaged in foot-shooting. The Democrats simply handed them another round.

I don't think that the Dems even handed them another round. They just stayed out of the circular firing squad.
Tom

They voted to remove the old speaker. That was handing them another round.

No the Democrats voted for Hakeem Jeffries of New York.

 

[Derec]

No the Democrats voted for Hakeem Jeffries of New York.

When they voted for Speaker, yes.
But it is my understanding that the vote to remove McCarthy was a yes/no vote, and they would not be voting for any person then.

 

[TomC]

But it is my understanding that the vote to remove McCarthy was a yes/no vote, and they would not be voting for any person then

That vote was a Republican vote.
Gaetz brought it. Republicans decided it.

Why do you keep bringing up the house minority party? I can't think of a reason other than your party got what it wanted, and it's dumbassery.

So you keep trying to blame the other party to avoid the truth.
Tom

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Yes. Vast majority of Reps voted to keep McCarthy.

Republicans are the House majority.

McCarthy lost his post because Republican members of Congress didn't vote for him. After a Republican, Gaetz, decided to to take it to a vote.
This isn't rocket science. The Republicans got rid of McCarthy for their own reasons. Pretending that it was because Democrats is painfully stupid.
Tom

The Republicans were engaged in foot-shooting. The Democrats simply handed them another round.

I don't think that the Dems even handed them another round. They just stayed out of the circular firing squad.
Tom

They voted to remove the old speaker. That was handing them another round.

No the Democrats voted for Hakeem Jeffries of New York.

That was after they voted for the effective vote of no confidence.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

House GOP, cut IRS or no aid to Israel. This is an interesting poison pill as it provides an avenue to easily shut down any thought of supporting Ukraine's effort to defend themselves, so the GOP can help Putin take over Ukraine.

The legislation reflects the GOP’s ongoing determination to undo the IRS expansion that Biden secured in 2022 in the Inflation Reduction Act, which boosted the agency’s funding by $80 billion to improve taxpayer services and pay for more enforcement actions against wealthy tax cheats. Biden and House Republicans agreed to repeal roughly $20 billion of that $80 billion as part of a deal in May to suspend the U.S. debt ceiling. Now, Republicans are pushing for more reductions.

The GOP bill would pare back funds for most parts of the IRS expansion, including increased enforcement and a new online portal to allow taxpayers to file their taxes for free directly with the government. The legislation excludes cuts to improved taxpayer services that have helped the IRS reduce wait times for calls.
Using the IRS funding to offset the Israel aid might not actually save money: The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office had estimated in 2022 that the $80 billion IRS expansion would cut the deficit by more than $100 billion by improving collections and enforcement.

The irony of course that cutting the IRS funding would likely reduce Government revenue. So not actually reducing the the Government's liability on debt. Of course, the GOP doesn't care.

 

[Elixir]

Of course, the GOP doesn't care.

Huh? They care very deeply indeed. For every hundred billion the GOP manages to save for the billionaire class, a few billion ends up in their campaign coffers.
GQP operatives don’t give two shits about this Country, but they will go to the mat to prop up and defend their phony baloney jobs.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

The irony of course that cutting the IRS funding would likely reduce Government revenue. So not actually reducing the the Government's liability on debt. Of course, the GOP doesn't care.

Yeah, they really hate the IRS funding. Can't have the IRS actually able to catch wealthy tax cheats!

 

[Derec]

Yeah, they really hate the IRS funding. Can't have the IRS actually able to catch wealthy tax cheats!

And it's pretty transparent. Luckily for them though, a lot of regular people hate the IRS too, and they use that to their advantage.

 

[Worldtraveller]

Financial data indicates that for every $1 spent on the IRS to investigate tax fraud, it generates $12 for the government, so it's pretty obvious what the GQP's real intent is here.

As for the new house speaker, it seems he's already pretty shady when it comes to his financial disclosures

As reporter Roger Sollenberger notes, it‘s unlikely that Johnson literally does not have any sort of bank account, and that he’s, like, stuffing his money in a mattress. Rather, the most probable explanation is that the Speaker lives paycheck to paycheck, and the money he does have in various accounts doesn’t meet the reporting threshold set by the House Ethics Committee; members must disclose any accounts, at any financial institution, that has at least $1,000 in them and a combined value of more than $5,000. (Accounts belonging to members’ spouses and dependent children count toward that minimum.) And while it’s a fact that most Americans live paycheck to paycheck, and that about a third would not have the money on hand to cover an unexpected $400 expense, when it comes to Johnson, the numbers don’t really add up.

Consider that swamp drained!

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Well, seems like the House Speaker isn't disclosing assets. His 2022 disclosure form literally shows zero assets (note that link is to the House.gov, so the source is kind of solid). He lists a $250k to $500k mortgage and a pair of other loans, but not a single asset... like a checking account (which needs to be reported if over $1000). He makes over $10k a month. Is he living off of the line of equity with his home?

 

[Elixir]

Well, seems like the House Speaker isn't disclosing assets. His 2022 disclosure form literally shows zero assets (note that link is to the House.gov, so the source is kind of solid). He lists a $250k to $500k mortgage and a pair of other loans, but not a single asset... like a checking account (which needs to be reported if over $1000). He makes over $10k a month. Is he living off of the line of equity with his home?

So I’m worth more than the Speaker of the House of Representatives of The United States of America?
Fat goddam chance.
The other possibility; the Speaker of the House of Representatives of The United States of America is a grifting cheat.
But he’s an upstanding Republican so what are the chances of that?
Shirtcuff guess:
99.9999999999%

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Well, seems like the House Speaker isn't disclosing assets. His 2022 disclosure form literally shows zero assets (note that link is to the House.gov, so the source is kind of solid). He lists a $250k to $500k mortgage and a pair of other loans, but not a single asset... like a checking account (which needs to be reported if over $1000). He makes over $10k a month. Is he living off of the line of equity with his home?

So I’m worth more than the Speaker of the House of Representatives of The United States of America?
Fat goddam chance.
The other possibility; the Speaker of the House of Representatives of The United States of America is a grifting cheat.
But he’s an upstanding Republican so what are the chances of that?
Shirtcuff guess:
99.9999999999%

Or head over heels in debt.

 

[Elixir]

Question for @NightHawkBuzz:
Do you agree with Speaker Johnson that the IRS should be rendered unable to go after billionaire tax cheats?