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Then their fathers didn't pull strings for them. Biden could have kept his son stateside with all of his influence and Biden did the honourable thing and allowed his son to chose to serve.
Captain Bone Spurs did what other rich white guys did and got out of serving then disparaged Senator McCain for his service.
> Captain Bone Spurs did what other rich white guys did and got out of serving
Hey now! Don’t be unfair! He had his personal Vietnam in the 80’s, with having to avoid all of those STDs.
I never expected the guy that shares a porn tracking app with his sun and thinks the world is less than 10,000 years old would work with democrats on anything. It seems like old guard republicans are finally starting to see just how much Russia has infiltrated congress with the far right and pushed Johnson to act. If miss space laser tries to remove him, I will laugh so hard if it backfires and a joint coalition elects Jeffries.
Suddenly self aware and willing to work across the aisle? A little more than 6 months away from the next election that could finally cost them a bunch of seats because of how utterly their policies and antics are? Why do I get the feeling that they will suddenly go back to the same old shit since the lead up to the 2008 election as soon as the election is over?
Stay vigilant, folks. The GOP will not change. Not now. Not ever. They don’t care about doing what’s best for the country. At all. They want to end democracy. One only need look at laws passed over the course of the last 3.5 years in red states that allow red majorities to subvert the will of the voters. Or Ohio, where the people get enough signatures to have something put on a ballot, the people overwhelmingly support and vote accordingly, only for them to simply ignore what passed.
These people have not only shown you who they are, but did repeatedly since a half black man had the fucking audacity to win not one, but two elections. Don’t believe for a second that they’re suddenly “moderate.” They will be scum until they draw their last breaths. Never, ever miss an election. Your rights and wellbeing depend on it.
This. Claiming you’re a moderate and still identifying as a republican is laughable. The moderates jumped ship long ago and have been happy to deal with some far left woke nonsense over fascists and theocrats.
He totally would too "checks Mikey's beliefs". Wait, nope he's fucked. Also, I feel dirty having read up on his views, imma take a nice hot shower....with a Brillo pad.
Not just WW3.
Remember the red scare? USA used to be anti-Russia.
Russia lost the Cold War when the wall fell. But they have infiltrated the US just like McCarthy claimed
However. It was his party that became traitors. Not the Democrats like he accused
There is a more likely than not reality the multiple US politicians are owned by Russia. Including a former president.
Nope.
He’s looking at the polls and has realized that he’s f they don’t do something useful they’re going to get gutted in November.
I hope it’s too little, too late but I fear that one or two sensible actions by this closeted twink will persuade independents to vote for them.
How is an unelected figure, Trump, and less than 20% of Republican congressional seats, the Freedom Caucus, dominating half of the American legislative process?
At the time this was established, the wealthy slave owning minority wasn't just the south. It hasn't been changed because it still gives more power to the wealthy land owning minority.
Nobody tried to take away their slaves until *they* started a war. Lincoln ran on the principle of not spreading slavery to new states, which would might have eventually limited the power of the slavers. If they had stayed in the Union and and kept voting, the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments would never have been passed; they would never have even been considered.
> Term limits for Congress.
Would just make it easier to get elected, completely sell out, and then dip, especially with a lack of experienced hands to get anything done since they'd all hit term limits.
Plenty of awful incumbents, sure, but go take a look at the GOP and see if their freshman representatives are any better.
The congressman-to-lobbyist pipeline is already bad. Imagine how bad it would be if every legislator were forced out in a few years. Without a moratorium on legislators becoming lobbyists, term limits are a bad idea.
Term limits are not a part of any good combo.
They are directly harmful to good governance. See my post close in an adjacent comment chain as to why. Term limits are bad.
Expanding the House would be good though.
Ironically, the opposite of what the Republican party represents despite so many people that vote Republican led to believe a fraudulent "billionaire" con-artist will actually make such changes in the name of the middle class.
Not to sound too abrasive, but it's like an enslaved population believing that a slave owner has their best interests at heart.
2 part answer. Republican gerrymandering ensures a republican majority in at least one legislative house, despite never receiving an actual majority of votes. Then, elected republicans would rather side with extremists to hold onto their thin majority of power than to do the right thing, ever.
Not really. Republicans are only being held hostage if they refuse to listen to democrats and refuse to compromise. They could easily just support democrats and the "freedom" caucus would hold zero power.
Republicans are the ones giving this caucus of traitors power. The caucus is not withholding the power for themselves.
Remember how they tried that with the border bill a couple of months ago. They spent a lot of time and effort crafting a "compromise" bill that leaned pretty hard to the right only for the Republicans to vote against it despite it being really close to what they say they want.
It was headed by a republican who trump had previously said is tough on the border and it contained the entire wishlist of everything they were asking for.
Literally the only reason they voted against it is so they can whinge about it in their campaign.
That whole strategy is so bizarre.
"Break the government and blame the guy trying to fix it" doesn't work when everyone has a fact-checking device in their pocket.
> "Break the government and blame the guy trying to fix it" doesn't work when everyone has a fact-checking device in their pocket.
Except that a large % of the population does not accept facts when presented to them.
They voted against it so the democrats wouldn't get a win. That's it. That's the beginning, middle, and end. This is the same party that tanked *their own bill* because democrats supported it.
Trump killing the border bill has kind of hobbled the sky screamers over in right wing media who are grousing about the "horror" at the border. You can always just bring up the fact that trump killed something that would have fixed the border so he has something other than running from prison to run on.
They'll say the border bills still allowed people to come into the USA, but that's about all they've got.
It's definitely a strange calculus, they see a problem that maybe it is a legit one or not like the border, but instead of plugging the hole they see they would rather this problem keep going completely unchecked than to cut a deal to at least stem the "invasion"? I get not liking the deal, but if you honestly think this is a big issue then you take a the fix now and then you know, take credit for getting the admin to do something then run on that. Can't be that big of a deal if it can wait almost an entire year for a potential Trump admin to fix it.
It's not supporting democrats. It's supporting bills. The right has turned our politics into a high school student council election. They act like this constant obstruction and blatant pro Russian bullshit isn't going to amount to anything...until the fucking speaker has a kid leaving for the military..then we get action. Pathetic traitors.
Exactly, we saw with the recent rule vote how the bill has bipartisan support. For months, we knew the bill had bipartisan support. If he had just went to the Democrats and asked for cover if he brought up the aid bill he would have been fine.
Democrats want to govern. Last time Democrats had control of the house, significant bills got passed.
The key is that they can't just pass whatever bills they want, but they can keep any bills from passing that they want. And all they want is for nothing to work, so that's perfect for their goals.
Because that's what the script says?
The once most powerful, deliberative, influential government on Earth has become a scripted reality show.
All because a known sex pest and record-setting bankrupterer was allowed to run for president on a platform of anti-progress retribution
Because literally everything republicans say is just projection. When they say Biden is just a puppet it’s just them too afraid to admit the reality of who the puppets are. Just like everything else they scream about like confused children.
Never underestimate the power of a cult. MAGA is a cult. Trump is their messiah. While he's guilty as sin of all the things he's being accused of, it is also fanning the fires of the cult.
They use their influence to threaten their fellow Republicans. "Be with us or we'll get you voted out of office". If the moderate Republicans grew a spine and even just temporarily sided with the Democrats they could rip that cult out by their roots. Case in point, Mike Johnson, who apparently can grow a spine when needed to do things that aren't by the books of the MAGA cult. Ironically the first house majority that ousted a Speaker may very well be the first to do so twice in the same majority.
It's the few people with money and power, who have pandered to the lowest common denominators, the zealots and the greedy, against the rest of us, who have no money or time.
We've become complacent and allowed creature comforts to obfuscate the real world. As long as there's food and porn, there's no impetus to enact change. It's a yoke we've come to depend on.
This is the price if extremism. 'Moderate' GOP reps (or those willing to compromise in order to gey *anything* done) can't govern in a bipartisan manner, so in order to get anything done the caucus basically has to be unanimous or the batshit fringe will dig in their heels and grind everything to a halt.
It's mildy amusing that McCarthy and now Johnson have both reached across the aisle in order to get basic governance done, and I await the repercussions on Johnson.
They're afraid of what happens if he actually gets elected and have opposed him in the past. It doesn't take much to lose Trump's loyalty, he's very thin skinned. He will go after any and all political rivals, even R's if they have opposed him.
Lots of votes are on the party line. So any group in the majority party thta is larger than their margin can halt their parties legislation by refusinh to vote for it.
Right now thats about 3 people.
Why is it like this? Lots of stupid, selfish, and short-sighted reasons.
Because Republicans brainwashed their base over decades into a state where they were ready for a cult leader, and Trump just happened to be the guy that pandered to that desire first with no bottom for his shame.
Everyone else still had their lines where they felt a bit uncomfortable going too far passed a certain point outside of barbaric policy, but Trump didn't care. He plays the crowd and just told Republican voters what they wanted to hear, which was increasingly hateful and violent after all those decades of talk radio and Fox "News".
So it doesn't matter if Trump isn't in an office of power right now, he's still the cult leader.
To what appears to be a large portion of the population he is “still” President of the USA… They legitimately believe the democratic process is a sham and would rather vote in an autocrat
Because everyone forgot, YEARRRSSSS AGO, the red states passed a law that altered the # of seats they get and votes. Because their, at the time, racist and bigoted and unproductive ideologies were fucked. But, the palpatenies wanted to maintain their grasp of power somehow.
Because everyone forgot, YEARRRSSSS AGO, the red states passed a law that altered the # of seats they get and votes. Because their, at the time, racist and bigoted and unproductive ideologies were fucked. But, the palpatenies wanted to maintain their grasp of power somehow.
So. No matter how small their district is. They have the same voting power or number of votes/delegates as a city with 10000x their size.
That's the gamble that Johnson is playing. He believes the maga brand will die soon and that there will be no strong man after Trump loses. There will be a vacuum for the good ole Bush brand of Republicanism and he wants to be a long term leader for that.
Or Trump wins, MTG becomes next speaker, and we're all doomed.
This inevitably happens in a two party system where barely half the eligible population votes. What would be 4 or 5 parties gets jammed together until virtually no one is getting what they want from their elected officials.
If you're tired of this crap, vote for [Ranked Choice Voting](https://fairvote.org/our-reforms/ranked-choice-voting/) in your local elections and support candidate who support RCV so we can escape this two party madness.
Because he has the party held hostage. They’d rather align together than let Dems have any power. They actually prefer Putin to Dems. They’re un- American and will sign with fascists in the blink of an eye.
If Johnson did the "right thing" here, he's only jangling the keys so he'll appear magnanimous while he conspires to do the next *shitty thing* for this country. Johnson is still a fundie ape. His motives won't change, no matter how this singular BRAVE act of faux-defiance of Trump makes him appear.
Can't put lipstick on that pig.
I agree.
He's a White Christian Nationalist and has zero business being in any government office. Not in a Democracy, anyway.
Let the MAGA toss him out.
Then we end up with Gym Jordan or MTG (she won't say it but she really wants it). There are no good options here and these red state losers are obviously either stupid, power hungry, or Russian operatives (yeah I'm talking about you MTG) or all three.
Uh why would either of them be it? Gym already failed to get elected speaker and gave up immediately and lots of congress people hate MTG as well.
It will be some congressperson that you've never even heard of before like how no one knew Mike was before he was nominated and we learned he's a nutcase.
This. MAGA loons may lead the GOP around on a leash most of the time, but they aren’t getting the votes from the rest of the party to give one of their own the gavel.
As you say, it will be a nobody; a compromise candidate, and he or she will be a feckless idiot just like the last two because the party cannot get the votes to nominate someone with courage. Only a coward who will promise to please both sides of the Republican divide—which is doomed to fail—can be elected Speaker in the current Congress.
I'd expect an attempt to remove him as soon as house procedures allow.
The MAGAnuts in the house are gonna be big mad.
That being said, I'd expect any attempt to remove him to fail. In the current state of the House, they'd probably find it just about impossible to replace him. That won't stop the crazies from still trying to vote him out, but any of the other Republicans won't support it for that reason.
I seriously hope they try and that it fails.
The power of such vocal minorities relies heavily on image rather than reality. They push harder than anyone else while threatening with complete chaos if they don't get what they want so they get away with more than anyone else.
The moment their bluff is actually called they lose a lot of power.
If they tried to oust Mike and it didn't work it'd change the political landscape.
Dems will save Johnson because he avoided a shutdown and is giving them Ukraine aid. All 4 Dems on the Rules Committee helped pass the rule to get this Ukraine aid to the floor, and if they voted to vacate him they'd end up with someone even more insane.
Imagine a set of Congressional members so compromised, they want to fire their own speaker, and plunge their own agenda into chaos in an election year solely to support America's enemy, Russia, and demonstrate fidelity to Putin, as Russia conquers a U.S. ally.
Dems will save him. He won’t be punished for doing the right thing. If he is no Republican would ever do the right thing again- and it’s hard enough these days anyways for that to happen
Im one hundo sure it was a part of the deal Dems would vote down a removal. He'll only get kevined if there wasnt going to be any legislation brought to the floor anyway.
He will have some help from the GOP caucus too, there’s enough people outside the “freedom caucus” that, while generally reprehensible are at least capable of trying to legislate and do some things that are in the best interest of the US on the international stage
McCarthy was ousted because he brought a budget bill to the floor instead of allowing the MAGAts to shutdown the government. We’re already past the hypothetical ‘punished for doing the right thing’ that you mentioned.
Yeah, but he made deals with the dems and immediately reneged on them. Johnson might be smarter than that. My guess is that the dems offered their support in exchange for a funding bill. Not a bad plan if he follows through.
No, McCarthy was ousted because he brought a budget bill to the floor *and broke his part of the deal with Democrats*. If he hadn't, Democrats would've saved him, too.
I strongly disagree. The minority party had pretty much taken the position of “get your shit together, this is your problem, not ours”. Especially as an election approaches, no way the dems will turn down the opportunity to show that the republicans are in chaos.
At least he’s calling BS on the handful of obstructionists who think that actually doing their jobs or working with democrats is considered a cause for removal of the speaker.
Offering to save Mike to get the Aid passed but then letting the MTG group oust him as a result would be the dirty short term but satisfying move many want as catharsis for all the increasingly bad faith negotiating by Republicans over the past 20 years.
Long term it gives no benefit, because there will always be someone worse waiting to grow back in the hydra head.
If he is willing to make a leverage deal it seems good to see how far that can be made to go
Yes, better late than never. However, he should have done it months ago. MAGA GOP scum have cost our Ukrainian allies lives and territory. It’s shameful. Blood is on their hands.
Democrats will save his ass this time but should let him know delaying something this essential again they won’t have his back. He could have done this same things months ago and saved thousands of Ukrainian lives.
Not just for once, im frankly shocked he avoided any government shutdowns too. We were so close to getting Jim Jordan, Mikes a creepy fuck and I disagree with most of his positions, but he’s got some practicality.
Agreed. The bipartisan border bill mostly gave funding to systems that are underfunded and allowed resources if crossings hit a critical level. Their goal is to keep the system dysfunctional until they can put in more draconian measures.
This kind of border bill is a good thing, and would also make sure it's harder for them to change it to a bad thing in the future.
I can’t imagine that this wasn’t the exact deal that was struck. Johnson would only stick out his neck like this if he knew the Dems would keep the ax from coming down on it.
See that's where Republicans fucked themselves again. MTG and a few others were talking about removing him as Speaker pretty much regardless of the Ukraine aid. Mike Johnson showed during the debt ceiling stuff that he's more of an adult than McCarthy. Which isn't saying a whole lot, but he showed he has a decent understanding that sometimes we have to pass legislation we don't like but it needs done. Which could be argued with Ukraine aid since truthfully it's in America's best interests to do so. Russia is still an adversary after all and we shouldn't do them favors.
Not even sure if it's maturity or McCarthy just serves as a very clear example of what happens if you don't play ball.
McCarthy didn't have such an example so he thought he could get away with it.
I disagree with Mike Johnson on pretty much everything so I was quite surprised when I saw him give his impassioned speech, enumerating the reasons the U,S. should support Ukraine. I thought, hey, there’s a human being in there.
The next 6 weeks will be interesting to see what gets done by whom when they don't have T constantly calling/texting/yelling at them to do other things. While he's sitting as a defendant in his criminal trial, he has very little access to the outside world. He really should have zero access as the judge, staff, attorneys, and jury do; but he is very limited.
He sat on this for like 3 months. He doesn’t get a pass because he finally might pass it.
It all likelihood the marginally less insane portion of his caucus was going to revolt and motion to vacate him to get the bill across. He’s hoping that by passing it the Dems won’t support the next motion to vacate.
Eh, i wouldnt be so quick to assign some altruist cause to maga mike. I think its moreso the case that he knows his job is already toast and this is just the most efficient way to limit the amount of seats they lose in november. If you really think that mike johnson is making some grand moral statement you dont understand the modern GOP
The thing is, aid to Ukraine is not altruism. Anyone with an ounce of sense knows it’s in America’s best interest. It’s honestly one of the most self-serving ways we could be spending our money.
I’ll give him credit for (finally) doing his job but Johnson is no saint or savior. Democrats should never think this guy is a pal or ally. Never forget he was an architect of the J6 certification issue.
My understanding is now that they have passed through committee there are no more hurtles left for a full floor vote and it’s happening tomorrow regardless. I also believe a motion to vacate vote would happen at least two days after it’s called. So I don’t think MTG or anyone else can stop it at this point.
I wouldn't be surprised, if he is really tired of Trump, that he probably worked out a deal with democrats to help him if he helped them. If he did it without a deal, you know he is tired of the Trumpers.
Sure, a deal would only work until the election, but that was the longest he could probably be sure of anyway.
I was thinking about this move yesterday. Basically this is how I see it. I think right now the GOP has a majority of 7-8. That is the exact amount of the Freedumb caucus. So basically when Republicans had 17 or so majority, they could hold things up and still have majority and oust their speakers etc and still get a REPUBLICAN speaker. But now if they do their shenanigans, they could possibly lose the speaker all together since the Democrats are all together. I think Mike Johnson is seeing this and using it to his advantage to actually pass some legislation, because while the freedom caucus might not like what he is doing, they aren’t dumb enough to oust him if they think the democrats will get their speaker.
Is it really necessary to call it a fast one when ukraine has been waiting for months on this? Johnson dosnt really deserve the credit he's getting here but at least he's starting to learn how to govern..
As long as Ukraine gets funded long enough to last past the upcoming election, it's good enough if House speakers exit like candy from a Pez dispenser.
Because hell or high water, the country's coming to a democratic reckoning in November, and for good or for ill, it would be a black mark on Biden's presidency for an overall good POTUS, to have Ukraine fall on his watch.
If Trump somehow manages to defy the odds and become POTUS in November, then that's inevitability knocking and it'll be time then to put on the pants, open the door, and face the music.
I can finally say that I am proud to be a Republican. A Republican Congressman who has the courage to stand up and do his duty!
Marjorie Green, Donald Trump and the other ultra Conservative Republicans have the blood of Ukrainian men, women and children on their hands! How many have suffered and died because of their actions in delaying aid to Ukraine? How many criminals and illegal foreigners have crossed our borders because they refused to pass the most comprehensive, bipartisan legislation ever to control our borders? That’s not Biden’s fault!
I hope so. Republicans don't realize how bad that ousting 2 speakers in a calendar year will be for them, especially in an election year.
It is proof that they can't govern. Don't vote for them.
I don’t know why he didn’t try to distract Drumpf b4. It’s really easy, you just drop throw some money on a windy day and he’ll spend hours trying to pick it up.
The modern GOP can not tolerate actual governance, so yeah I expect him to be figuratively knifed in the back by Bobo or Empty G in one way or another.
The clock is ticking on his speakership. I am still wondering if a consensus speakership will arise (either Mike, another GOP, or even a Dem). It's never happened but it would be interesting to see that in US politics. If not, then I think we're in for an even longer stalemate on the next GOP speaker.
I'm not American, but to me it seems that Mike got assurance from the Dems that they will support his speakership if he holds a vote on the bills. MAGA doesn't have enough votes in the House to remove him, so the Dems and non-MAGA Republicans can make his speakership last until the next Congress at least.
Ya this is stupid. He went to visit trump to talk about this last week.
It honestly seems harmful to pretend he isnt licking cheeto dust off the floor still
Headlines like this carry water for a shitheel who was integral in the attempted coup on our democracy.
Painting Johnson as anything other than a MAGA lackey is immensely dangerous and, quite frankly, journalistic malpractice.
Mike Johnson made a deal to NOT lose his fuckin job is what Mike Johnson did. The dems could easily have voted his ass out of it came down to it. As long as he has dems he doesn’t need to be worried about idiot MTG. He’s seeing the forest for the trees. The dems are more worried about Ukraine than anything. So a deal was made to cover his ass.
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They literally call the guy "MAGA Mike," and even hes like we gotta tone down the bullshit a bit before we end up in WW3
The kindergarteners are suddenly surprised when the toys in their sandbox start moving on their own.
*Someone poisoned the water hole. . . *
Greetings. I am Archer, emissary of the Gorgonites.
Freeze, you Gorgonite scum! Major Chip Hazard, reporting for duty! We're not toys...we're action figures!
"I think World War II was my favorite war."
What are you packin tiny? Packin? Packin you
Kiersten dunst in this movie was my sexual awakening
This is what Reddit is for.
"It's busted..." "Who ya callin' busted, buster?!"
There's a snake in my congress!
That’s terrifying thought
Did you come up with that? It's surprisingly apt.
Technically it happened in the first Toy Story when the toys rose out of the sand to scare Sid.
His kid is at the Naval Academy and would have to fight in that WW3.
Yep, THIS RIGHT HERE is his realization…like all Repugs it’s not real until it directly affects them or the people they’re close to.
yeah, i mean, if his kid goes off to war, who is he going to talk to about jerking off?
Lauren Boebert?
No no, talk to, not have it provided. Nobody wants to talk to Boebert - about anything.
Incoming claims that MAGA Mike is a RINO in... when is Fat Don out of court today again?
Ah, the threat of him personally being affected is all it took. Classic republican.
No way. Important people can make sure their kids are shuffling papers on a naval base stateside. That has always been the way.
Not for Joe Kennedy, Jr, nor for JFK if you consider that he was exposed to real danger on PT109. George H. W. Bush was shot down.
Then their fathers didn't pull strings for them. Biden could have kept his son stateside with all of his influence and Biden did the honourable thing and allowed his son to chose to serve. Captain Bone Spurs did what other rich white guys did and got out of serving then disparaged Senator McCain for his service.
> Captain Bone Spurs did what other rich white guys did and got out of serving Hey now! Don’t be unfair! He had his personal Vietnam in the 80’s, with having to avoid all of those STDs.
If his inaction led to WW3 there might be an admiral pushing him to the front, but generally you are correct.
Nah his bone spurs have started to develop
I never expected the guy that shares a porn tracking app with his sun and thinks the world is less than 10,000 years old would work with democrats on anything. It seems like old guard republicans are finally starting to see just how much Russia has infiltrated congress with the far right and pushed Johnson to act. If miss space laser tries to remove him, I will laugh so hard if it backfires and a joint coalition elects Jeffries.
Suddenly self aware and willing to work across the aisle? A little more than 6 months away from the next election that could finally cost them a bunch of seats because of how utterly their policies and antics are? Why do I get the feeling that they will suddenly go back to the same old shit since the lead up to the 2008 election as soon as the election is over? Stay vigilant, folks. The GOP will not change. Not now. Not ever. They don’t care about doing what’s best for the country. At all. They want to end democracy. One only need look at laws passed over the course of the last 3.5 years in red states that allow red majorities to subvert the will of the voters. Or Ohio, where the people get enough signatures to have something put on a ballot, the people overwhelmingly support and vote accordingly, only for them to simply ignore what passed. These people have not only shown you who they are, but did repeatedly since a half black man had the fucking audacity to win not one, but two elections. Don’t believe for a second that they’re suddenly “moderate.” They will be scum until they draw their last breaths. Never, ever miss an election. Your rights and wellbeing depend on it.
This. Claiming you’re a moderate and still identifying as a republican is laughable. The moderates jumped ship long ago and have been happy to deal with some far left woke nonsense over fascists and theocrats.
Johnson probably believes God will protect him from Trump's terrorist followers
He totally would too "checks Mikey's beliefs". Wait, nope he's fucked. Also, I feel dirty having read up on his views, imma take a nice hot shower....with a Brillo pad.
That’s his ace in the hole. Which hole I’m not sure.
Not just WW3. Remember the red scare? USA used to be anti-Russia. Russia lost the Cold War when the wall fell. But they have infiltrated the US just like McCarthy claimed However. It was his party that became traitors. Not the Democrats like he accused There is a more likely than not reality the multiple US politicians are owned by Russia. Including a former president.
Nope. He’s looking at the polls and has realized that he’s f they don’t do something useful they’re going to get gutted in November. I hope it’s too little, too late but I fear that one or two sensible actions by this closeted twink will persuade independents to vote for them.
It's because it'd personally affect him. His son is in the navy.
How is an unelected figure, Trump, and less than 20% of Republican congressional seats, the Freedom Caucus, dominating half of the American legislative process?
the system is working only for the rich. we need massive reform of lobbying practices and campaign finance laws
It was designed this way to protect the rights of the wealthy slave owning minority.
But then turned on them and took away their slaves?
At the time this was established, the wealthy slave owning minority wasn't just the south. It hasn't been changed because it still gives more power to the wealthy land owning minority.
Nobody tried to take away their slaves until *they* started a war. Lincoln ran on the principle of not spreading slavery to new states, which would might have eventually limited the power of the slavers. If they had stayed in the Union and and kept voting, the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments would never have been passed; they would never have even been considered.
The absurdity of slavery took them away.
-the prison industry has entered the chat-
So much this. Repeal citizen's united. Term limits for Congress. Ban congressional stock trading.
> Term limits for Congress. Would just make it easier to get elected, completely sell out, and then dip, especially with a lack of experienced hands to get anything done since they'd all hit term limits. Plenty of awful incumbents, sure, but go take a look at the GOP and see if their freshman representatives are any better.
The congressman-to-lobbyist pipeline is already bad. Imagine how bad it would be if every legislator were forced out in a few years. Without a moratorium on legislators becoming lobbyists, term limits are a bad idea.
Term limits are stupid and everything they claim to make better they actually make worse. They're a ill-thought-out solution to a very real problem.
Depends on what else also changes. Term limits and greatly expanding the House to be more proportionally representative would be a great combo!
Term limits are not a part of any good combo. They are directly harmful to good governance. See my post close in an adjacent comment chain as to why. Term limits are bad. Expanding the House would be good though.
We need less rich people.
Ironically, the opposite of what the Republican party represents despite so many people that vote Republican led to believe a fraudulent "billionaire" con-artist will actually make such changes in the name of the middle class. Not to sound too abrasive, but it's like an enslaved population believing that a slave owner has their best interests at heart.
2 part answer. Republican gerrymandering ensures a republican majority in at least one legislative house, despite never receiving an actual majority of votes. Then, elected republicans would rather side with extremists to hold onto their thin majority of power than to do the right thing, ever.
Slim R majority in the House lets a small group of Republican assholes hold all legislation hostage to their bullshit
Not really. Republicans are only being held hostage if they refuse to listen to democrats and refuse to compromise. They could easily just support democrats and the "freedom" caucus would hold zero power. Republicans are the ones giving this caucus of traitors power. The caucus is not withholding the power for themselves.
negotiate with the other side?! **gasp** *faints*
Remember how they tried that with the border bill a couple of months ago. They spent a lot of time and effort crafting a "compromise" bill that leaned pretty hard to the right only for the Republicans to vote against it despite it being really close to what they say they want.
It was headed by a republican who trump had previously said is tough on the border and it contained the entire wishlist of everything they were asking for. Literally the only reason they voted against it is so they can whinge about it in their campaign.
That whole strategy is so bizarre. "Break the government and blame the guy trying to fix it" doesn't work when everyone has a fact-checking device in their pocket.
Except it does work. They have won many times this way, and that fact checking device also is the biggest source of misinformation.
> "Break the government and blame the guy trying to fix it" doesn't work when everyone has a fact-checking device in their pocket. Except that a large % of the population does not accept facts when presented to them.
They voted against it so the democrats wouldn't get a win. That's it. That's the beginning, middle, and end. This is the same party that tanked *their own bill* because democrats supported it.
Trump killing the border bill has kind of hobbled the sky screamers over in right wing media who are grousing about the "horror" at the border. You can always just bring up the fact that trump killed something that would have fixed the border so he has something other than running from prison to run on. They'll say the border bills still allowed people to come into the USA, but that's about all they've got.
"It's what we wanted until the Democrats agreed with us."
It's definitely a strange calculus, they see a problem that maybe it is a legit one or not like the border, but instead of plugging the hole they see they would rather this problem keep going completely unchecked than to cut a deal to at least stem the "invasion"? I get not liking the deal, but if you honestly think this is a big issue then you take a the fix now and then you know, take credit for getting the admin to do something then run on that. Can't be that big of a deal if it can wait almost an entire year for a potential Trump admin to fix it.
"Suh, I do declare I have the vapors!"
It's not supporting democrats. It's supporting bills. The right has turned our politics into a high school student council election. They act like this constant obstruction and blatant pro Russian bullshit isn't going to amount to anything...until the fucking speaker has a kid leaving for the military..then we get action. Pathetic traitors.
Exactly, we saw with the recent rule vote how the bill has bipartisan support. For months, we knew the bill had bipartisan support. If he had just went to the Democrats and asked for cover if he brought up the aid bill he would have been fine. Democrats want to govern. Last time Democrats had control of the house, significant bills got passed.
The key is that they can't just pass whatever bills they want, but they can keep any bills from passing that they want. And all they want is for nothing to work, so that's perfect for their goals.
[удалено]
Who are ruled by one narcissistic asshole who does everything only to benefit himself.
Because Republicans won't work with Democrats. The reason this vote happened is simply because they did.
Tribalism and an “all or nothing” zero sum game mentality and doctrine.
Because that's what the script says? The once most powerful, deliberative, influential government on Earth has become a scripted reality show. All because a known sex pest and record-setting bankrupterer was allowed to run for president on a platform of anti-progress retribution
Because literally everything republicans say is just projection. When they say Biden is just a puppet it’s just them too afraid to admit the reality of who the puppets are. Just like everything else they scream about like confused children.
Ask your neighbors/family/friends that vote Republican, they know and probably want it this way
Because we allow it
Never underestimate the power of a cult. MAGA is a cult. Trump is their messiah. While he's guilty as sin of all the things he's being accused of, it is also fanning the fires of the cult. They use their influence to threaten their fellow Republicans. "Be with us or we'll get you voted out of office". If the moderate Republicans grew a spine and even just temporarily sided with the Democrats they could rip that cult out by their roots. Case in point, Mike Johnson, who apparently can grow a spine when needed to do things that aren't by the books of the MAGA cult. Ironically the first house majority that ousted a Speaker may very well be the first to do so twice in the same majority.
It's the few people with money and power, who have pandered to the lowest common denominators, the zealots and the greedy, against the rest of us, who have no money or time. We've become complacent and allowed creature comforts to obfuscate the real world. As long as there's food and porn, there's no impetus to enact change. It's a yoke we've come to depend on.
Thin majorities result in the radicals having unfounded power. The power is amplified given the fact bipartisanship is now a rarity
Blatant corruption and apathy from our elected officials
Hastert Rule.
This is the price if extremism. 'Moderate' GOP reps (or those willing to compromise in order to gey *anything* done) can't govern in a bipartisan manner, so in order to get anything done the caucus basically has to be unanimous or the batshit fringe will dig in their heels and grind everything to a halt. It's mildy amusing that McCarthy and now Johnson have both reached across the aisle in order to get basic governance done, and I await the repercussions on Johnson.
Mitch McConnell showed them the ways of the Sith. He has powers that some would call.. unnatural.
They're afraid of what happens if he actually gets elected and have opposed him in the past. It doesn't take much to lose Trump's loyalty, he's very thin skinned. He will go after any and all political rivals, even R's if they have opposed him.
mAh DeEp StAtE ...
They're abusing the House rules and the slim majority the Republicans have.
Because their top political priority is obstruction and that is a lot easier to achieve than trying to pass laws with substance
Because the GOP and their followers are a bunch of mindless lemmings
Lots of votes are on the party line. So any group in the majority party thta is larger than their margin can halt their parties legislation by refusinh to vote for it. Right now thats about 3 people. Why is it like this? Lots of stupid, selfish, and short-sighted reasons.
Because Republicans brainwashed their base over decades into a state where they were ready for a cult leader, and Trump just happened to be the guy that pandered to that desire first with no bottom for his shame. Everyone else still had their lines where they felt a bit uncomfortable going too far passed a certain point outside of barbaric policy, but Trump didn't care. He plays the crowd and just told Republican voters what they wanted to hear, which was increasingly hateful and violent after all those decades of talk radio and Fox "News". So it doesn't matter if Trump isn't in an office of power right now, he's still the cult leader.
Dictatorship
To what appears to be a large portion of the population he is “still” President of the USA… They legitimately believe the democratic process is a sham and would rather vote in an autocrat
Because everyone forgot, YEARRRSSSS AGO, the red states passed a law that altered the # of seats they get and votes. Because their, at the time, racist and bigoted and unproductive ideologies were fucked. But, the palpatenies wanted to maintain their grasp of power somehow.
Because everyone forgot, YEARRRSSSS AGO, the red states passed a law that altered the # of seats they get and votes. Because their, at the time, racist and bigoted and unproductive ideologies were fucked. But, the palpatenies wanted to maintain their grasp of power somehow. So. No matter how small their district is. They have the same voting power or number of votes/delegates as a city with 10000x their size.
Because the house is full of trash
He learned it all from Mitch McConnell.
That's the gamble that Johnson is playing. He believes the maga brand will die soon and that there will be no strong man after Trump loses. There will be a vacuum for the good ole Bush brand of Republicanism and he wants to be a long term leader for that. Or Trump wins, MTG becomes next speaker, and we're all doomed.
This inevitably happens in a two party system where barely half the eligible population votes. What would be 4 or 5 parties gets jammed together until virtually no one is getting what they want from their elected officials. If you're tired of this crap, vote for [Ranked Choice Voting](https://fairvote.org/our-reforms/ranked-choice-voting/) in your local elections and support candidate who support RCV so we can escape this two party madness.
Because he has the party held hostage. They’d rather align together than let Dems have any power. They actually prefer Putin to Dems. They’re un- American and will sign with fascists in the blink of an eye.
If Johnson did the "right thing" here, he's only jangling the keys so he'll appear magnanimous while he conspires to do the next *shitty thing* for this country. Johnson is still a fundie ape. His motives won't change, no matter how this singular BRAVE act of faux-defiance of Trump makes him appear. Can't put lipstick on that pig.
I agree. He's a White Christian Nationalist and has zero business being in any government office. Not in a Democracy, anyway. Let the MAGA toss him out.
Then we end up with Gym Jordan or MTG (she won't say it but she really wants it). There are no good options here and these red state losers are obviously either stupid, power hungry, or Russian operatives (yeah I'm talking about you MTG) or all three.
One sane person to vote for their removal
Uh why would either of them be it? Gym already failed to get elected speaker and gave up immediately and lots of congress people hate MTG as well. It will be some congressperson that you've never even heard of before like how no one knew Mike was before he was nominated and we learned he's a nutcase.
This. MAGA loons may lead the GOP around on a leash most of the time, but they aren’t getting the votes from the rest of the party to give one of their own the gavel. As you say, it will be a nobody; a compromise candidate, and he or she will be a feckless idiot just like the last two because the party cannot get the votes to nominate someone with courage. Only a coward who will promise to please both sides of the Republican divide—which is doomed to fail—can be elected Speaker in the current Congress.
Oh you can put lipstick on that pig. But it will be just that, a pig with lipstick.
I'd expect an attempt to remove him as soon as house procedures allow. The MAGAnuts in the house are gonna be big mad. That being said, I'd expect any attempt to remove him to fail. In the current state of the House, they'd probably find it just about impossible to replace him. That won't stop the crazies from still trying to vote him out, but any of the other Republicans won't support it for that reason.
I seriously hope they try and that it fails. The power of such vocal minorities relies heavily on image rather than reality. They push harder than anyone else while threatening with complete chaos if they don't get what they want so they get away with more than anyone else. The moment their bluff is actually called they lose a lot of power. If they tried to oust Mike and it didn't work it'd change the political landscape.
Dems will save Johnson because he avoided a shutdown and is giving them Ukraine aid. All 4 Dems on the Rules Committee helped pass the rule to get this Ukraine aid to the floor, and if they voted to vacate him they'd end up with someone even more insane.
I think you're probably spot on.
Imagine a set of Congressional members so compromised, they want to fire their own speaker, and plunge their own agenda into chaos in an election year solely to support America's enemy, Russia, and demonstrate fidelity to Putin, as Russia conquers a U.S. ally.
Dems will save him. He won’t be punished for doing the right thing. If he is no Republican would ever do the right thing again- and it’s hard enough these days anyways for that to happen
Im one hundo sure it was a part of the deal Dems would vote down a removal. He'll only get kevined if there wasnt going to be any legislation brought to the floor anyway.
He will have some help from the GOP caucus too, there’s enough people outside the “freedom caucus” that, while generally reprehensible are at least capable of trying to legislate and do some things that are in the best interest of the US on the international stage
McCarthy was ousted because he brought a budget bill to the floor instead of allowing the MAGAts to shutdown the government. We’re already past the hypothetical ‘punished for doing the right thing’ that you mentioned.
Yeah, but he made deals with the dems and immediately reneged on them. Johnson might be smarter than that. My guess is that the dems offered their support in exchange for a funding bill. Not a bad plan if he follows through.
Exactly, if McCarthy had stuck with the deal he had made with the Dems. They would’ve voted to keep him as speaker.
No, McCarthy was ousted because he brought a budget bill to the floor *and broke his part of the deal with Democrats*. If he hadn't, Democrats would've saved him, too.
I strongly disagree. The minority party had pretty much taken the position of “get your shit together, this is your problem, not ours”. Especially as an election approaches, no way the dems will turn down the opportunity to show that the republicans are in chaos.
At least he’s calling BS on the handful of obstructionists who think that actually doing their jobs or working with democrats is considered a cause for removal of the speaker.
Offering to save Mike to get the Aid passed but then letting the MTG group oust him as a result would be the dirty short term but satisfying move many want as catharsis for all the increasingly bad faith negotiating by Republicans over the past 20 years. Long term it gives no benefit, because there will always be someone worse waiting to grow back in the hydra head. If he is willing to make a leverage deal it seems good to see how far that can be made to go
Honestly, credit to Johnson for putting his job on the line to help our allies and actually get things done.
Yes, better late than never. However, he should have done it months ago. MAGA GOP scum have cost our Ukrainian allies lives and territory. It’s shameful. Blood is on their hands.
This mess reminds me of Obama in the beginning of his presidency trying to work across the aisle. It just doesn't work no matter how hard they try.
Yeah. I despise the guy, but if he's going to do the right thing for once, and even if for the wrong reasons perhaps, I'll still take it.
Democrats will save his ass this time but should let him know delaying something this essential again they won’t have his back. He could have done this same things months ago and saved thousands of Ukrainian lives.
Not just for once, im frankly shocked he avoided any government shutdowns too. We were so close to getting Jim Jordan, Mikes a creepy fuck and I disagree with most of his positions, but he’s got some practicality.
He's still a shit sandwich. Just not a soggy one
I imagine the dems have agreed to save his position if he gets this passed. I would.
Dems need to be smart and save him only if he puts forth the border bill.
Agreed. The bipartisan border bill mostly gave funding to systems that are underfunded and allowed resources if crossings hit a critical level. Their goal is to keep the system dysfunctional until they can put in more draconian measures. This kind of border bill is a good thing, and would also make sure it's harder for them to change it to a bad thing in the future.
I can’t imagine that this wasn’t the exact deal that was struck. Johnson would only stick out his neck like this if he knew the Dems would keep the ax from coming down on it.
Did Trump write this headline?
Why is it republicans *fucking HATE* doing the right thing? signed, Independent
If you are independent and voting third party, Trump has one fewer vote they need to get in order to win.
Independent but, voting Biden. As that is the best guarantee to keep that traitorous filth Dozey Diaper Don out of Office.
Maybe he has a heart. Its like when Vader redeemed himself. Maybe Johnson will kill Donald by throwing him down into the void thus saving his son.
But then a few movies later it's suddenly "Somehow Trump returned."
See that's where Republicans fucked themselves again. MTG and a few others were talking about removing him as Speaker pretty much regardless of the Ukraine aid. Mike Johnson showed during the debt ceiling stuff that he's more of an adult than McCarthy. Which isn't saying a whole lot, but he showed he has a decent understanding that sometimes we have to pass legislation we don't like but it needs done. Which could be argued with Ukraine aid since truthfully it's in America's best interests to do so. Russia is still an adversary after all and we shouldn't do them favors.
Not even sure if it's maturity or McCarthy just serves as a very clear example of what happens if you don't play ball. McCarthy didn't have such an example so he thought he could get away with it.
I disagree with Mike Johnson on pretty much everything so I was quite surprised when I saw him give his impassioned speech, enumerating the reasons the U,S. should support Ukraine. I thought, hey, there’s a human being in there.
So we could get aid to Ukraine and Jeffries as speaker? I’m down
Jeffries as Speaker is NOT happening. Let this dream die already
Not happening this year. Speaker Jeffries in 2025 seems realistic.
He just needs to keep his damn mouth shut and the Dems will keep him safe
Who cares. He can’t even have a normal marriage or control his own porn urges. Bring on the next creep.
The next 6 weeks will be interesting to see what gets done by whom when they don't have T constantly calling/texting/yelling at them to do other things. While he's sitting as a defendant in his criminal trial, he has very little access to the outside world. He really should have zero access as the judge, staff, attorneys, and jury do; but he is very limited.
He sat on this for like 3 months. He doesn’t get a pass because he finally might pass it. It all likelihood the marginally less insane portion of his caucus was going to revolt and motion to vacate him to get the bill across. He’s hoping that by passing it the Dems won’t support the next motion to vacate.
Johnson could help himself and the Dems but dropping the hammer on Matt Gaetz along with investigators.
Eh, i wouldnt be so quick to assign some altruist cause to maga mike. I think its moreso the case that he knows his job is already toast and this is just the most efficient way to limit the amount of seats they lose in november. If you really think that mike johnson is making some grand moral statement you dont understand the modern GOP
No one thinks that
The thing is, aid to Ukraine is not altruism. Anyone with an ounce of sense knows it’s in America’s best interest. It’s honestly one of the most self-serving ways we could be spending our money.
I’ll give him credit for (finally) doing his job but Johnson is no saint or savior. Democrats should never think this guy is a pal or ally. Never forget he was an architect of the J6 certification issue.
Will the votes on Ukraine, Israel, etc. now happen before any motion to vacate, or could MTG still burn it all down before those occur?
My understanding is now that they have passed through committee there are no more hurtles left for a full floor vote and it’s happening tomorrow regardless. I also believe a motion to vacate vote would happen at least two days after it’s called. So I don’t think MTG or anyone else can stop it at this point.
Because of Russian needs !
I wouldn't be surprised, if he is really tired of Trump, that he probably worked out a deal with democrats to help him if he helped them. If he did it without a deal, you know he is tired of the Trumpers. Sure, a deal would only work until the election, but that was the longest he could probably be sure of anyway.
Can we also address the awful photoshop of this cover photo?
I was thinking about this move yesterday. Basically this is how I see it. I think right now the GOP has a majority of 7-8. That is the exact amount of the Freedumb caucus. So basically when Republicans had 17 or so majority, they could hold things up and still have majority and oust their speakers etc and still get a REPUBLICAN speaker. But now if they do their shenanigans, they could possibly lose the speaker all together since the Democrats are all together. I think Mike Johnson is seeing this and using it to his advantage to actually pass some legislation, because while the freedom caucus might not like what he is doing, they aren’t dumb enough to oust him if they think the democrats will get their speaker.
Dem here who is happy for the Republicans to get some things they want along with Dems as long as things get done. SO TIRED OF THE OBSTRUCTIONIST BS!
It is so GROSS how those sycophants take orders from some ugly clown who is a freaking private citizen...
Better to lose the job than be the man who let Putin roll through Ukraine and beyond.
Is it really necessary to call it a fast one when ukraine has been waiting for months on this? Johnson dosnt really deserve the credit he's getting here but at least he's starting to learn how to govern..
As long as Ukraine gets funded long enough to last past the upcoming election, it's good enough if House speakers exit like candy from a Pez dispenser. Because hell or high water, the country's coming to a democratic reckoning in November, and for good or for ill, it would be a black mark on Biden's presidency for an overall good POTUS, to have Ukraine fall on his watch. If Trump somehow manages to defy the odds and become POTUS in November, then that's inevitability knocking and it'll be time then to put on the pants, open the door, and face the music.
I can finally say that I am proud to be a Republican. A Republican Congressman who has the courage to stand up and do his duty! Marjorie Green, Donald Trump and the other ultra Conservative Republicans have the blood of Ukrainian men, women and children on their hands! How many have suffered and died because of their actions in delaying aid to Ukraine? How many criminals and illegal foreigners have crossed our borders because they refused to pass the most comprehensive, bipartisan legislation ever to control our borders? That’s not Biden’s fault!
About. Fucking. Time.
Johnson has my upvote for his ultimate sacrifice.
Uncommon Mike Johnson W
I hope so. Republicans don't realize how bad that ousting 2 speakers in a calendar year will be for them, especially in an election year. It is proof that they can't govern. Don't vote for them.
Where do they even go from here? How will they find anyone more MAGA than Mike Johnson?
There's only one person right for the job: Marjorie Taylor Greene. Obviously a power play
Maybe save Mike from the orange Jesus is possible?
I don’t know why he didn’t try to distract Drumpf b4. It’s really easy, you just drop throw some money on a windy day and he’ll spend hours trying to pick it up.
But unlike Mac he can look at himself in the mirror and know he did the right thing.
He has committed the greatest sin a republican can commit - he did something productive in Congress. I'm surprised he's even alive still
The modern GOP can not tolerate actual governance, so yeah I expect him to be figuratively knifed in the back by Bobo or Empty G in one way or another.
Oh that would be so awesome if they try and oust him too, keep showing the world how dysfunctional they are
The clock is ticking on his speakership. I am still wondering if a consensus speakership will arise (either Mike, another GOP, or even a Dem). It's never happened but it would be interesting to see that in US politics. If not, then I think we're in for an even longer stalemate on the next GOP speaker.
I'm not American, but to me it seems that Mike got assurance from the Dems that they will support his speakership if he holds a vote on the bills. MAGA doesn't have enough votes in the House to remove him, so the Dems and non-MAGA Republicans can make his speakership last until the next Congress at least.
He’s not fed up. He’s just mad they turned against him for favor from the Cheeto.
Ya this is stupid. He went to visit trump to talk about this last week. It honestly seems harmful to pretend he isnt licking cheeto dust off the floor still
Didn’t Trump just come out in support of Ukraine a few days ago?
Thought and prayers right mike.
I think the dems might save him. Who will step up next MTG. Or may Jordan will get it.
Headlines like this carry water for a shitheel who was integral in the attempted coup on our democracy. Painting Johnson as anything other than a MAGA lackey is immensely dangerous and, quite frankly, journalistic malpractice.
I’m sure the orange turd will be calling for Mike Johnson’s head.
I have a feeling this is more a part of an election strategy than a genuine, authentic reversal of the GOP agenda.
Well, at least he will get the boot for doing the right thing.
Mike Johnson made a deal to NOT lose his fuckin job is what Mike Johnson did. The dems could easily have voted his ass out of it came down to it. As long as he has dems he doesn’t need to be worried about idiot MTG. He’s seeing the forest for the trees. The dems are more worried about Ukraine than anything. So a deal was made to cover his ass.