Green-Bobert-Gaetz?
GOD am I glad that at least the Hitler Youth Kid is no longer on that list.
Tell me, if during one of those Speaker ballots a dozen or so Republicans in Congress voted for Jeffries, and the Democrats there too, would he become Speaker of Congress? Or is it only a vote for or against a proposed Speaker (McCarthy)
Tell me, if during one of those Speaker ballots a dozen or so Republicans in Congress voted for Jeffries, and the Democrats there too, would he become Speaker of Congress? Or is it only a vote for or against a proposed Speaker (McCarthy)It's been suggested that the Democrats should have offered committee chairmanships to the first 6 Republicans to vote for Jeffries.
Tell me, if during one of those Speaker ballots a dozen or so Republicans in Congress voted for Jeffries, and the Democrats there too, would he become Speaker of Congress? Or is it only a vote for or against a proposed Speaker (McCarthy)It's been suggested that the Democrats should have offered committee chairmanships to the first 6 Republicans to vote for Jeffries.
Let's see... the committee for Energy Resources, Judiciary, Armed Services, Tax Revenues, Ways&Means, and Oversight Committee.
What'do ya think? Would that have done the trick. :-\
I think Biden is mediocre
Aren't you a conservative -not reactionary- Republican w/ sense?...
He'd be an infinitely stronger President with that grin showing more often. I like him way better smiling.
The central problem is that performative cultural outrage, now quite bigoted, has become the most valuable commodity for winning the primary elections that enable these people to continue having careers, and, almost as important, relevance, which we have seen is worth any and every sacrifice in their eyes.
I feel like there's a whole population in this country that has given up on politics as proble-solving. So they just vote for politicians who will entertain and validate them. People who were just happy somebody as outwardly successful as Donald [Sleezebag] was praising them, even if they didn't trust him to do anything.
Let me add, original comment following on that - it all speaks to a profound systemic flaw -very much also on the part of sundry nominees- that we are offered Mike Pence, Sarah Palin, Dan Quayle, Joe Biden, for that matter, as VP candidates, none of whom look like much of anyone's idea of a possible President. THAT's plum tragic, it is, because some of them actually go on to be President, Joe, all on the strength of a nominee picked them largely for being no threat. BAD juju.
Contra what I said on Skype, Nikki isn't VP material - she's running mate material. There's a profound difference.
I'll add on to that, possibly the most important thing to happen in politics in the world, bar the Soviet Union having a BAD 1991.
Reactions?
And you weren't watching in shock on TV, Nazi Wednesday and after while some third world crap went down HERE? The US going sour is everybody's problem, now, isn't it?
Nobody in the world's safe from a US gone stupid enough, fair to say?
...Liberal? Aren't you a conservative -not reactionary- Republican w/ sense?...
Mylochka -who is just old enough to faintly recall Kennedy's head blowing up, and Watergate far better than I do (which is all anyone talked about in 1974, even nine year-olds)- said recently that Nazi Wednesday was the most important thing to happen in US politics in her lifetime, 61.25 years now.Assuming you don't count [Sleezebag] actually winning the 2016 election as one singular "thing," possibly. 1/6, whatever you call it, was shocking, but it's not clear that Donald will face consequences for it even now. He could actually be re-elected, sad to say. Which is its own kind of "consequence," and will teach the wrong kind of lesson. But it might be more like Iran-Contra, where it seems like it should be kind of a big deal (technically the US government committed treason, whoopsie!) but I imagine the average college student today wouldn't be able to coherently define it. All the Snowden-type revelations were also concerning, possibly more so to me than 1/6, but it's not clear to me that we've done anything about them. 1/6 might simply fade into memory. A lot depends on if DeSantis is able to shove [Sleezebag] off the road, I guess.
I'll add on to that, possibly the most important thing to happen in politics in the world, bar the Soviet Union having a BAD 1991.
Reactions?
-And you're trying to let the bad guys off the hook again.You're mistaking descriptive for prescriptive speech. I'm not saying 1/6 should be forgotten, I'm saying it nearly has been and probably will be. It's just one more outrageous and stupid thing associated with [Sleezebag].
-See also what Dr. Pedantry blog said about P-something, the Greek w/ a giant girl dressed as Athena, also d00dz with clubs.Which was a poor parallel because this isn't an ancient Greek city-state but a country of several hundred million people. There was a 0% chance that the mob storming the Capitol would have led to an outcome actually favorable to [Sleezebag]. The worst-case scenario--outright massacre of the entire Legislative Branch--would have been terrible for the country and possibly led to profound violence, but it still would not have put him in power. Very likely he would have wound up dead. Even the incompetent display we got hurt [Sleezebag]'s image, and led to an abundance of false-flag narratives when even the Trumpists realized it looked bad.
Who knows.Who knows?
His entire central point was that you can't allow a thug to just keep practicing coups until he wins. P-whatsis did.Well, as to that, I have two answers:
subcontracting out to a guy with a family of magical child soldiers.LOVEly, that there is. No WAY something horrific could go down.
YOU weren't anything, were you? Was Belgium in on the 'UN peacekeeping'?
Not sure if the many Russian 'advisors' in Vietnam counts. They were pretending to not be there. Jarlwolf was almost certainly one of them, you know.
Head to head with the Chinese army not pretending to be anything else, I'm sure counts.
YOU weren't anything, were you? Was Belgium in on the 'UN peacekeeping'?
Not sure if the many Russian 'advisors' in Vietnam counts. They were pretending to not be there. Jarlwolf was almost certainly one of them, you know.
Head to head with the Chinese army not pretending to be anything else, I'm sure counts.
NATO was in it. And a whole infantry battalion from my country.
I have no idea if China has a monetary debt worth speaking of, but I do seem to remember reading an article (many years back) that China was buying up lots of USA bonds and could, if they wanted, default the USA debt if they wanted...
Factors that contribute to the Republican Wall of Disinterest/Outrage™:
- Most Republicans are not watching or otherwise receiving news that communicates the foibles, misdeeds, lies, nonsense, or malfeasance of Donald J. [Sleezebag]. They are literally not aware that a serious problem exists. [Sleezebag] is simply "a little vulgar" or "a little too combative."
- Republicans are being drowned in a sea of stories, many false or overwrought, of Democratic Party wrongdoing and cover-up that leads them to immediately discount the circumstances surrounding any Republican wrongdoing.
- Many [Sleezebag] voters don't actually believe government can solve their problems. All they want from [Sleezebag] is the emotional validation of somebody who is wealthy, popular, and powerful telling them that they are good people just as they are.
- Republican politicians are terrified of being primaried. That means joblessness and irrelevance. They are addicted to the attention they receive and the influence they wield. Supporting Donald [Sleezebag] is merely the cost of doing business. Quietly, many are doubtless praying that the court system will somehow end [Sleezebag]'s unrivaled dominion over the airwaves.
- With each passing day, [Sleezebag] supporters have ever greater incentives to double down on their commitment. The alternative is being forced to admit that they made serious errors of political judgement for years on end. They'd become the villain of our national story.
- [Sleezebag] infuriates people in a way nothing else has in more than a decade. The media made him, and they continue to feed that beast because, love him or hate him, everybody clicks when Donald [Sleezebag] is the subject. You simply can't look away from (another) good train wreck. That enormous unearned media helps voters to regard him as a figure of enduring relevance in our national politics.
- Other Republican candidates have bent the knee. There is nothing more odious to Americans, and especially to the kinds of people predisposed to see strength in Donald [Sleezebag]'s shtick, than somebody who defers. By trying to draft in [Sleezebag]'s wake and tiptoe around his liabilities, [Sleezebag]'s competitors are actually damaging their credibility with the voter base they are trying to woo.
Oh, maybe because I was at the dentist Tuesday, and the waiting room TV is always on a certain fascist propaganda channel...
I am convinced that Fox News is the single most dangerous entity on the planet at this point. The shameless redirect has made it impossible to govern this nation well.
Thanks to selective reporting, Republicans see only a fraction of [Sleezebag]'s wrongdoing, which makes it even harder to break out of the cult routine.
If a segment of a population is too lazy to check more news sources then the one(s) within their comfort circle...
But they are that lazy.
I wasn't joking about not being 100% sure he ain't the Antichrist - he's corrupted and suborned most churches further into the error of hate politics, and the signs and wonders he does? -That anyone ever supported a sorry joke like him in the first place.
Speaking as a person with an inner ear disorder and having had more than my fair share of falls, I would strongly advise him to stay away from places with marble floors and stairs.
[Sleezebag] was arraigned for espionage yesterday.
HOORAY for "the Rule of Law"! While I understand that because he has a Secret Service detail, authorities know where he is at all times, I was shocked that they didn't pull his passport. Tonight I saw an interview with the former attorney for Reality Winner, (a service person convicted of espionage) - "I can't understand why a person indicted for espionage can still travel internationally- Why,... ( stammers, looks dumbfounded) That's just bonkers!" the attorney said.
[Sleezebag] was arraigned for espionage yesterday.
HOORAY for "the Rule of Law"! While I understand that because he has a Secret Service detail, authorities know where he is at all times, I was shocked that they didn't pull his passport. Tonight I saw an interview with the former attorney for Reality Winner, (a service person convicted of espionage) - "I can't understand why a person indicted for espionage can still travel internationally- Why,... ( stammers, looks dumbfounded) That's just bonkers!" the attorney said.
So today [Sleezebag] bought a Glock. I think it had his picture on it.
Donald [Sleezebag], The guy who has been threatening judges, jurors, prosecutors and witnesses, while out on bail, While being specifically warned by judges not to make threats. Me, I find those high capacity Glocks threatening. It's easy to get lucky with lots of rounds. The fact that he can buy one? "THAT"S JUST BONKERS!!"
Maybe his SS detail is heavier-armed, and he feels he needs protection against them?
Sadly the Secret Service has had some scandals this century. Many SS agents are [Sleezebag] supporters. I doubt that the ones who don't support him wish to risk their lives for him.
The dangers of legislative term limits are many, however. First, they constrain choice, which is inherently anti-democratic.
Second, they are likely to make elected officials more dependent upon lobbyists and consultants to build relationships with other legislators, and to develop both issue and procedural knowledge.
legislators will gum the works of government by preening for the next sinecure,
WHAAAA? Do you live somewhere where a legislative seat is flipping between Democrat and Republican (and nothing else) frequently? My driver's license address has this old Republican windbag, Virginia Foxx, who's been there since 2005. Her incumbency is clearly constraining my choice. She's unassailable. She'll have to retire or die. I don't even know if that should be the case with SCOTUS justices. I definitely have no taste for it in legislators.
I don't even know what this means or could possibly mean. Every elected official is already deeply in the sack with lobbyists and consultants already. I can't even imagine a theory, of there being more of it, or how you would justify a comparison against some kind of control group. In other words, I pronounce this concern to be Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt.
Again, "as if" that's not done already.
They're problematic when you decide the incumbent is good at their job and want them to keep delivering.
But beyond that, there is a bigger issue: democratic accountability is forward-looking. If, once elected, I know that there is no reward of reelection waiting for me after the end of my term, you lose the biggest lever you have to influence me in the direction you'd prefer I go. More on this below.
It means that being a legislator is like any other career path: experience matters.
the less time they have to become an expert on any issue,
much less to master parliamentary procedure.
Right now, the influence of lobbyists and consultants is offset by a legislator's fear of future accountability to voters. Most legislators can't simply go "all in" on their own brand of crazy without risking alienation of crucial supporters.
I'm not interested in legislators as permanent ongoing institutions with an entourage. Especially because in the USA, it will be a Democrat or a Republican so ensconced. I am a Socialist. Exactly what kind, I cannot quite tell you, although not the Marxist-Leninist Bolshevik tank driving kind. There are a number of kinds of Socialists, historically over the years, that were / are not that. The point is that a system that promotes nearly lifelong incumbency, is decidedly against my political interest. And even if Socialism became competitive in the American political landscape again, I wouldn't change my tune. Who needs a legislator that routinely stacks up their incumbent advantages? Doesn't keep them on their toes.
Loss of control within a political party, that some young upstart will succeed you, and do a much better job at it, is a motive to perform. Your concern is really only highest when a politician intends to retire.
I will take the inexperience of Alexandria Occasio-Cortez over any such claim, any day. Until the day that I have piles of Socialists to choose to put into office, and am spoiled for choice. In the interim, I will take the ones that actually want to fight, and haven't had as much time to become fat and corrupted.
Legislators have an extensive staff for a reason. Some legislators are so old, iit is clearly only their staff that is doing the actual work. The old fart who's about to die of a brain disease, is just a figurehead for the staff bureaucracy, which promotes a certain political value.
Frankly, who cares. I know idiots get elected, but if you can't figure that stuff out in a few months, there's something basically wrong with your brain.
You sound like a Centrist. I'm not surprised that a Centrist would want to preserve the structural status quo.