Ouster of the House Speaker

[gregl]

George Carlin...“Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.”

Or (very sadly) the power of people to elect large groups of stupid people.

Greg

[fastupslowdown]

Breaking News on CNN this morning: Jordan loses secret ballot on whether he should drop speaker race.
122-86. Wasn't even close. The baseball analogy is three strikes and you're out. When the ballot was secret his support totally collapsed as the numbers show.

[spopepro]

Eh, it’s not far off from what the voting looked like before when it was against scalise for the nomination. I’d say the support didn’t really change.

The republicans are going about this all wrong. They are running it like a competitive race instead of building to a consensus choice. They are over reliant on the old ways where when a decision was made everyone wearing an R from president to citizen would get in line and vote for it, even if they had to bite their lip to do so. It is clear the days of republican lock step voting are now gone.

[j44ke]

Seems like some Republicans didn't like threats of bodily harm against their families. Go figure.

[fastupslowdown]

Shocking development: Jim Jordan finally accepts the results of a lost election.

[ides1056]

There's three years difference between Biden and Trump and Biden isn't over-weight with high cholesterol. This age thing is bupkus. I'll take the older guy versus the psychopath in a heart beat. There's zero evidence he's not fit for the job. Just look at how he's managed Ukraine and Israel

Ukraine and Israel: we are teetering on the edge of a very dangerous place and the clowns can't get off their merry-go-round.

[thollandpe]

Wow. Tom Emmer takes a dive.

He's a life-long Republican, the majority whip, religious man and father of seven.

Right-wing bona fides: has taken stands against campaign finance reform, is against any and all gun control. Led the National Republican Campaign Committee. Is a climate change denier, tax-cutter, and does not support women's autonomy on reproductive rights issues. Gets an A+ from anti-abortion groups and the National Rifle Association.

Deal breakers: he voted to uphold the right for gay people to marry, and he voted to certify the 2020 election (although he never said that Biden won and later voted to support the hail-Mary lawsuit from Texas to throw out the election results in swing states).

But that was enough. The guy who he beat to become majority whip said "I can't go along with putting one of the most moderate members of the entire Republican conference in the speaker's chair."

This is where we are.

[Mabouya]

"I can't go along with putting one of the most moderate members of the entire Republican conference in the speaker's chair."

Well, if Emmer can be "one of the most moderate" members of the House GOP, that tells you everything you need to know about the party.

I suppose there really isn't any need for governance in that gang - posturing and paying obeisance to Trump are enough.

[j44ke]

If they ever actually pick someone then they'd have to do some governing stuff.

[fastupslowdown]

By Tuesday afternoon Trump called one person close to him with the message, “He’s done. It’s over. I killed him(Tom Emmer)"

[fastupslowdown]

Well, if Emmer can be "one of the most moderate" members of the House GOP, that tells you everything you need to know about the party.

I suppose there really isn't any need for governance in that gang - posturing and paying obeisance to Trump are enough.

Not sure he's moderate but he did vote to certify the election and he supported gay marriage. What did him in is he wasn't bending at the knee for Trump

[fastupslowdown]

Ukraine and Israel: we are teetering on the edge of a very dangerous place and the clowns can't get off their merry-go-round.

Because they don't care. The focus is on the 2024 Presidential election. If the election is close it comes down to the House and a key reason Trump wanted Jim Jordan there. They also care about Hunter Biden hearings.

[72gmc]

From Heather Cox Richardson’s newsletter:

“Johnson is a self-described Christian and staunch Trump ally. He defended the former president during both of his impeachment trials and fought for Texas v. Pennsylvania, the key lawsuit contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election (the Supreme Court decided that Texas did not have standing to sue). He voted against certifying the 2020 election results.“

[spopepro]

From Heather Cox Richardson’s newsletter:

“Johnson is a self-described Christian and staunch Trump ally. He defended the former president during both of his impeachment trials and fought for Texas v. Pennsylvania, the key lawsuit contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election (the Supreme Court decided that Texas did not have standing to sue). He voted against certifying the 2020 election results.“

Yes, but that’s the same as a majority of the Rs in the house. On economic issues he’s about in the middle of house Rs by voting record. Dude is the definition of an empty suit that hasn’t had enough history to cause Rs to balk… yet, which is why he’s the choice for now.

To that end, my early opinion is that going along with removing McCarthy is a win for the DNC and a loss for the people, at least in the short term. The DNC wins as no one is going to be excited about Johnston at their fundraiser, nor has he shown the aptitude to work on national party functions improving D chances in the next election. But I do think aid for Israel, Ukraine, and the next spending bill are going to be a drawn out problem.

[72gmc]

But I do think aid for Israel, Ukraine, and the next spending bill are going to be a drawn out problem.

Based on what I read, I agree that at least Ukraine aid and the next spending bill are at risk. Who knows if there was a less risky option that was at all possible.

[BBB]

Anti-abortion, climate change denier and election denier. Are these people just nut jobs, or are they plain dumb, or both?

[gregl]

Anti-abortion, climate change denier and election denier. Are these people just nut jobs, or are they plain dumb, or both?

They are a very sad and disturbing reflection of the US citizens who voted for them. They are smart enough to stoke the anger and fears of their constituents for their own gain.

Greg

[fastupslowdown]

Mike Johnson seems to be Jim Jordan with a jacket.

He talks nicer, has better relations with Democrats but his voting record and positions are nearly identical to Jim Jordan's

[BBB]

They are a very sad and disturbing reflection of the US citizens who voted for them. They are smart enough to stoke the anger and fears of their constituents for their own gain.

Greg

Politicians in Australia are not immune from this sort of behaviour either. But, they are playing with fire (literally, the case of climate change denial - it's still spring in Australia and there are serious bushfires in two states of Australia) as an angry and divided country for the sake of political gain is not a good outcome.

I don't get the anti-abortion thing. Thankfully it is not a major, or indeed minor, political (or moral) issue in Australia, but in 2023 surely giving roughly 50% of the population the choice to have some form of autonomy over their own bodies is a good thing. These knuckle draggers want to go backwards it would seem instead of forwards. The Lord of the Flies photo earlier in the thread is probably misplaced and maybe the ape banging the bone in 2001 A Space Odyssey is probably closer to the mark.

As for the election business...a temper tantrum by Trump, a large number of failed legal actions over electoral fraud leading to an armed insurrection in which people died and people have been sent to prison. If you upend the electoral process and disregard the legal system you are inviting dictatorship. I suppose this might be seen as a 'gain' to some (f*ck the Libs and all that), but for anyone with two working brain cells it will be a complete disaster.

[j44ke]

Johnson is also the brains behind the Constitutional argument about state legislatures over. feds on federal election rules, which the Supreme Court rejected 6-3. He definitely feels that states should be free to conduct elections as they see fit (including correcting erroneous election results) and not be subject to constraints like the Voting Rights Act. He views the current administration as unconstitutional and thus all their budget expenditures to be so too, including Ukraine and Israel. And he likes to underline how much he studies Constitutional law and how smart that makes him.

One of my high school English teachers used to say, "Beware the southern gentleman because he is neither one nor the other." We read a lot of Faulkner.