Ouster of the House Speaker

[vertical_doug]

I see. Yeah I read the article in the Washington Post and saw reference to an email effort but hadn’t seen a direct quote of the text so thought maybe they were running a constituency-focused robo call. If so would be interesting where the funds came from and where they got the list.

When you have no argument, you resort to threats and harassment. Did you see the anonymous texts to NC Congressman Don Bacon’s wife? He was a no vote

[thollandpe]

I see. Yeah I read the article in the Washington Post and saw reference to an email effort but hadn’t seen a direct quote of the text so thought maybe they were running a constituency-focused robo call. If so would be interesting where the funds came from and where they got the list.

When you have no argument, you resort to threats and harassment.

So after having to pay $787 million for their efforts to overturn an election, this “news” organization is throwing their weight around in another one? Wow.

[fastupslowdown]

Found Stefanik's Purim references obsurd. Jim Jordan is no Mordechai. Although I did laugh when she brought up wrestling mats which was a gaffe on her part

[christian]

Only a gaffe if you think she doesn’t want to be speaker. I think she’s angling to be Trump’s VP pick, but surely she would cut Jordan’s legs out from under him for the “youngest speaker in history” position.

[fastupslowdown]

I'm a news junkie and nothing gets me more excited when there's a good literary reference or analogy tucked into a story. Well today a politico piece says Republicans have tied themselves into a Gordian knot

"The Republicans tied themselves into a Gordian knot," Blue Dog co-chair Marie Gluesenkamp Pérez (D-Wash.) told Axios in a statement. "I don't see how they get untangled. But if they come and ask Democrats for help, I'm sure we can find a way to cut through it together."

[gregl]

Found Stefanik's Purim references obsurd. Jim Jordan is no Mordechai. Although I did laugh when she brought up wrestling mats which was a gaffe on her part

Only a gaffe if you think she doesn’t want to be speaker. I think she’s angling to be Trump’s VP pick, but surely she would cut Jordan’s legs out from under him for the “youngest speaker in history” position.

Stefanik is the Ted Cruz of upstate NY. She should be an embarrassment to any of her constituents with an education past the third grade. Unfortunately, she is beloved in her district. She's in love with power and will ride the coattails of whomever she thinks will tow her to a higher position.

Greg

[fastupslowdown]

Stefanik is the Ted Cruz of upstate NY. She should be an embarrassment to any of her constituents with an education past the third grade. Unfortunately, she is beloved in her district. She's in love with power and will ride the coattails of whomever she thinks will tow her to a higher position.

Greg

Stefanik didn't start out this way. She's made a calculated risk that going MAGA will pay dividends. As far as Ted Cruz, he certainly has the education and background to know better

[gregl]

Stefanik didn't start out this way. She's made a calculated risk that going MAGA will pay dividends. As far as Ted Cruz, he certainly has the education and background to know better

Agreed on both assessments. Both Stefanik and Cruz are Harvard alums. The running joke is that Harvard called both and wants their degrees back...

Greg

[fastupslowdown]

I'd be more inclined to agree if Biden wasn't getting a whole lotta shit done. Inflation Reduction Act, CHIPs and Science Act, student loan debt, owning the House GOP at every single negotiating turn. I do worry about his age and whether he'd see the end of a second term -- and clearly he's not the guy who was on the trail in 2008 with Obama -- but this ain't Feinstein being wheeled into the Senate chamber.

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

[echappist]

No, It was reported as part of a pressure campaign by Sean Hannity to target No Votes

and apparently the pressure campaign was for nought.

Speaking to Politico, Bacon [ed. Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska] said: “Jim’s been nice, one-on-one, but his broader team has been playing hardball.”

The publication also reported that other Republicans saying that they had received a “barrage of calls” from various local conservative leaders.

House Republicans also told the outlet that Jordan and his allies had been “calling people who voted for him trying to stop the bleeding” and went on to say that those calls were “pissing off” members.

“He’s lost support because of this … Constant smears – it’s just dishonesty at its core,” one House Republican told Politico anonymously.

According to the Ohio Republican David Joyce, Jordan “didn’t necessarily support the strategy”, Politico reports. Nevertheless, the pressuring tactics appear to have backfired, after 20 Republicans refused to vote for Jordan on Tuesday.

The Florida congressman Carlos Giménez, who voted against Jordan on Tuesday, told Politico that he was not going to change his mind, “especially now, in the light of these pressure tactics”.

Giménez’s fellow Florida congressman Mario Díaz-Balart echoed similar sentiments to the outlet, saying: “The one thing that will never work with me – if you try to pressure me, if you try to threaten me, then I shut off.”

Following Tuesday’s vote, Fox News host Sean Hannity published a list of the 20 Republicans who voted against Jordan, along with their numbers.

“We encourage you to call them – politely, of course – and encourage these holdouts to throw their support behind Jordan and get the country moving again!” Hannity’s website wrote.

[robin3mj]

I really hope Hannity only posted the congresspeople’s regular constituent phone number and not their personal cellphones etc. Either way, seems like it’ll only further harden the holdouts against Gym Jordan.

[j44ke]

I really hope Hannity only posted the congresspeople’s regular constituent phone number and not their personal cellphones etc. Either way, seems like it’ll only further harden the holdouts against Gym Jordan.

Yep. He threatened holdouts and now he has two more. So what's his plan for decreasing the number of people against him, because right now he's doing the opposite.

[bcm119]

.... The solution to Republican dysfunction has to happen primarily at the ballot box, not on the good graces of the loyal opposition.

I agree in theory. But it makes me really uncomfortable that any possible advantage of this chaos to democrats is dependent on republican voters making rational choices 13 months from now. How long have we been waiting for these people to officially hit rock bottom and finally lose support? This dysfunction could have real consequences at a global scale *and* be completely forgotten/ignored/misconstrued/rewritten by the R electorate next year.

[vertical_doug]

I agree in theory. But it makes me really uncomfortable that any possible advantage of this chaos to democrats is dependent on republican voters making rational choices 13 months from now. How long have we been waiting for these people to officially hit rock bottom and finally lose support? This dysfunction could have real consequences at a global scale *and* be completely forgotten/ignored/misconstrued/rewritten by the R electorate next year.

It’s really a function of safe districts from gerrymandering, primaries and national money. Change can ‘t happen when our democracy is you can vote for anyone on the menu, but a hand behind the curtain sets the menu.

[fastupslowdown]

It's worse than I thought. This morning there was hope that Republicans would empower McHenry to assume more responsibility so that House business could proceed while they wrangle over who will be permanent speaker but that plan fell apart. Either Jordan doesn't have the support of Republicans or he wasn't sincere in his backing the McHenry plan. Perhaps it was a little bit of both.

[72gmc]

Perhaps a lot of both!

The best use for Jordan may be to trade him to a foreign dictatorship in exchange for a detained American we'd actually like to have here. It wouldn't be an even trade, so we'd have to add a box of "Friends" memorabilia or the like.

[robin3mj]

While we all know the American people will foot the bill, any Republican congressfolks who have to take out extra security to protect themselves against the browbeating from within their own party should send the invoices directly to Jordan’s office. In a just world it’d be interesting to find out where exactly the intersection of ambition and protecting one’s own pocketbook lies.

[fastupslowdown]

Paul Ryan captures the issue well:

“This is a political-leaning conference right now, not a policy-leaning conference,” Ryan told me. Which makes sense, he added, because “our party is a populist-leaning party right now, not a policy-leaning party.”

The policy geeks who want to legislate are rebelling against the populists. When there were 8 hold-outs McCarthy could negotiate. The 8 had demands. The 20+ don't want committee assignments or policy changes. They have one demand which is they don't want Jim Jordan. There's no way common ground can be had.

[gregl]

So what's the over/under on Jordan continuing this farce? He's at three strikes, but who knows if or how long he'll continue. According to news reports, the last time a speaker candidate did this poorly was in the 1920s (but he was ultimately elected after nine rounds of voting...).

Greg

[rwsaunders]

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