Republicans in Disarray

[Res Ipsa]

[Doctor CamNC4Me]

Imagine being held hostage by a minority of legislative malcontents bent on seeing you fail with no other agenda!



- Doc

[Res Ipsa]

In the "You Can't Make This Stuff Up" department:

One of the Anti-McCarthy 20 is a first-term Congress critter from Florida named Anna Paulina Luna. Not only is she battling McCarthy's minions, she's also fighting back home to preserve her good name. You see, a former candidate named Matt Tito accused Representative Elect Luna of being a witch on the Bubba the Love Sponge Show. High powered legal talent has been retained. https://www.thedailybeast.com/rep-anna- ... n?ref=wrap

Lest you think Mr. Tito is backing down, he's standing strong. His defense: he didn't make up the accusation because he heard it from Hispanics for Trump associate Paloma Zuniga. The factual nature of Mr. Tito's claim is supported by another former candidate who says it must be true because so many people are talking about it.

This is not the first dustup between Ms. Luna and Mr. Tito. During the primary season, Ms. Luna accused filed for a protective order against three of her political rivals, including Mr. Tito, claiming they were plotting to murder her to take her out of the race. https://nypost.com/2021/06/15/florida-c ... rder-plot/ A restraining order was issued against fellow (R) William Braddock. Mr. Braddock, who had just filed to run against Ms. Luna for the House seat, told the Tampa Bay Times “This woman is off her rocker and she does not need to be representing anyone.”

I suggest this goes a long way toward understanding why the House has been unable to elect a speaker.

[Res Ipsa]

House reconvenes, votes adjourn until noon tomorrow.

This short musical number explains what this means. https://youtu.be/Xb6F6kIqlxw

[honorentheos]

https://Twitter.com/TheRickyDavila/stat ... ZH92VCj8ng

“We are looking for a willing partner to solve problems for the American people, not save the Republicans from their dysfunction. We need a partner in governance to build upon the incredible progress that we made for the American people over the last few years, by the way, with a similar majority.
...

And those are just the highlights of what Democrats did - with a similar majority.”

[honorentheos]

Biden's turn:

"Newly-elected Rep. Greg Landsman, he couldn’t be here today, he’s dealing with trying to figure out who’s gonna be the next Speaker of the House of Representatives. I wish him a lot of luck.”

https://Twitter.com/cspan/status/161070 ... ymeljUCpuA

[Vēritās]

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[Alphus and Omegus]

The majority of the Republicans who are angry at the minority trying to force their views are unlikely to ever note that the Republican party generally does the exact same thing to America. Far-right viewpoints are very unpopular, but extreme Republicans don't care to adapt and respond to majority opinions.

[Res Ipsa]

Conservative pundit Tom Nichols wrote a column for the Atlantic titled "The GOP-Speaker-Vote Burlesque." The lede:

If you think the crisis of American democracy is over, the circus in the House should remind you that a significant portion of the Republican Party has no interest in governing, policy, or democracy itself.

The money quote:

The inane Kabuki taking place around McCarthy’s job isn’t really about debt ceilings or abortion or Ukraine—or anything else. If you think Lauren Boebert or Matt Gaetz or Andy Biggs are possessed of deep thoughts about any of these issues, you have already made the same mistake that brought McCarthy to this impasse. Gaetz’s big idea in politics is that—according to a Trump aide’s testimony to the House Select Committee on January 6—he should be given a blanket pardon for things he swears he didn’t do. (Gaetz has denied asking for the pardon.) Biggs is the high-minded Cincinnatus who suggested that the January 6 riots could be blamed on the FBI; Boebert ran a gun-themed restaurant back in Colorado and often says things that lead to debates not over policy, but over whether she is the most ignorant person currently sitting in Congress.

What all of these GOP members do seem to have in common is a shared belief that they should be in Congress in order to make other people miserable. Usually, those “other people” are Democrats and various people on the generic right-wing enemies list, but lately, the targets include the few remaining Republicans who think their job in Washington is to legislate and pass bills and other boring twaddle that has nothing to do with keeping the hometown folks in a lather, getting on television, and getting reelected.

And the bottom line:

The Republican rebellion is rooted in a giant inferiority complex: We know we’re not popular, we know a lot of people think we’re jerks, but we’ll show everyone that we can paralyze this country and its institutions using the machinery of government. Democracy, process, lawmaking, and governing? All of that is for saps; doing it is how you end up becoming Eric Cantor or Paul Ryan. The GOP rebels have every intention of staying in Washington and staying in power—even if “power” amounts to little more than sitting in the wreckage of the Capitol and keeping warm by burning the furniture. Win or lose, McCarthy never had a chance at being a true master of the House.

I think this is an insightful appraisal of the "Republican rebellion." McCarthy is just the latest GOP political to discovery that the leopards really will eat his face.

[Alphus and Omegus]

It's interesting how the resident Trump superfans have not shown up to offer their commentary on this thread. Too embarrassed?