The Neverending Thread for Political Shit

[beantownbubba]

A friend swears this is true: George Santos issued a press release claiming to have been sworn in as a Congressman today (not true; nobody got sworn in because of the Speaker fiasco) by the Speaker of the House (not true; there isn't one). You can't make this stuff up.

Also, multiple outlets are reporting that Santos tried to charge supporters to accompany him to his swearing in. No indication of whether anybody took him up on this once in a lifetime (I hope) offer.

There were a couple of pretty funny articles yesterday about how awkward his day was. Sounds like he was the loneliest little liar in Congress. And he he was sworn in-"ish".

It is true that he got to sit on the floor of the House, not in the visitors gallery. He was kind of lonely though.

[beantownbubba]

Very curious to see how the Speaker of the House election plays out. Any way it goes, it's more clear than ever that Kevin McCarthy is a loser of historic proportions.

How sweet would it be if the Dems could turn a few repubs and put Cheney in

Sorry, missed this yesterday. The mind boggles at the myriad ways that might play out - both the election itself and how the House might (or might not) work subsequently.

[pearlbeer]

Five votes down - how many to go?

It's great to see such a clear display of the current version of the R party being unable and largely uninterested in governing.

What seems to be hard to put together is what the 20 non-supporters really WANT. The majority of these Reps, don't really seem to actually have a serious, overriding principle that they are standing upon - individually or as a collective. They just seem more like...well...assholes. Arsonists who just want to get their way in order to have their way. They don't just want to own the libs - they want to own anyone that does not agree with them.

As much as I delight in the Rs having to dine at their own table of Drunk Uncles and just get through this goddamn Thanksgiving dinner, it does reflect poorly on our Nation as whole and weakens our global standing at a critical time.

[beantownbubba]

The old definition of insanity comes to mind: Doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. Six ballots and counting...

[Zip City]

The old definition of insanity comes to mind: Doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. Six ballots and counting...

It's vote or go home. They can't do anything else

[beantownbubba]

The old definition of insanity comes to mind: Doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. Six ballots and counting...

It's vote or go home. They can't do anything else

Those may be the 2 obvious choices but that still gives them the time and space to negotiate something between votes. What i'm reading is that until this last vote they haven't really put much effort into that, so it's just a war of attrition that both sides think is to their benefit. Who might negotiate and what they might achieve are very much open questions but without that they're just retaking the same vote which makes no sense to me.

If they don't elect a Speaker and can't conduct business at some point do they stop getting paid? That would be a motivating factor I suspect.

The Reps don't have any kind of "elder statesman" type that people could justify as a safe compromise choice. Think about that. Out of 222 elected officials, not one commands the respect of the whole. Crazy. The only possible candidate that might bridge the 2 camps is Trump himself, but it would take a lot of dominoes to fall for that to happen including Trump agreeing to do it. While OT1H, it might appeal to his self-image as a savior/hero and it would truly solidify his control of the party, OTOH there is no way the job itself holds any interest for him unless he sees it as a way to get back at enemies through investigations (which others can and will do for him if they ever get off the dime) and as a form of self-preservation (i.e. he would try to make the Speakership litigation/indictment proof a la the presidency, but good luck w/ that).

[chuckrh]

[John A Arkansawyer]

The old definition of insanity comes to mind: Doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. Six ballots and counting...

I'm not sure the Republicans want a Speaker and even less sure they could elect one if they did. So why not keep on keeping on?

[pearlbeer]

Seven votes down. My Kevin negotiated with hostage takers and the hostage takers won. Surely, any more crazy-ass concessions and he will start losing votes from the other side.

[tinnitus photography]

[pearlbeer]

here we go again...8th times a charm!

[beantownbubba]

Whomever McCarthy is playing with I'm pretty sure he's playing checkers, not chess.

[beantownbubba]

Surely, any more crazy-ass concessions and he will start losing votes from the other side.

One would think, but who would they vote for? I'd love to hear the getting to yes people and other experts in negotiating and game theory try to game this out. There aren't a lot of good answers and the best answers probably involve the Democrats in some fashion, which would also exponentially increase the complexity.

Can somebody be humiliated if they simply ignore the humiliation? We've said that any number of politicians lack shame, but this is a little bit different and perhaps unique - I don't know what to compare it to.

[pearlbeer]

Surely, any more crazy-ass concessions and he will start losing votes from the other side.

One would think, but who would they vote for? I'd love to hear the getting to yes people and other experts in negotiating and game theory try to game this out. There aren't a lot of good answers and the best answers probably involve the Democrats in some fashion, which would also exponentially increase the complexity.

Can somebody be humiliated if they simply ignore the humiliation? We've said that any number of politicians lack shame, but this is a little bit different and perhaps unique - I don't know what to compare it to.

Now they are going to have to fight and whip to adjourn. You know your workplace is broken when there is massive discord when someone says "hey- you guys wanna knock off early and go to the pub?"

After eight votes though, I suppose I'm starting to feel a bit sorry for My Kevin and the Rs. It must be incredibly frustrating to feel like you are governed by a very vocal minority of the electorate. Oh wait....yeah, fuck them.

[pearlbeer]

[pearlbeer]

10 failed votes!


This is like the countdown to Homecoming!

[beantownbubba]

Mind boggling, but you do Messi a disservice, sir.

[Flea]

At this point, ascending to the Speaker position will be like winning The Smartest Dumbfuck contest.

[tinnitus photography]

[tinnitus photography]

[pearlbeer]

This one goes to 11...no 12....wait 13!

[beantownbubba]

After 14, count 'em, 14 voting rounds i want to say that we've moved from fiasco to farce but I'm not sure I can tell the difference.

[beantownbubba]

Did the 15th and finally "successful" round of voting make it more or less of a fiasco/farce? Among other developments, apparently one should never say "never kevin" because that lasted less than 4 days. OTOH, maybe 4 days of sticking to your, ummmm, "principles", or at least your line in the sand, counts as a profile in courage in spineless Washington, where everything is for sale, including the speakership.

It's not like I ever believed them, but if the gang of 5 or 20 or whatever their number were actually serious about "draining the swamp" going after McCarthy made some sense. Now draining the swamp recedes back to the ranks of meaningless political slogans and the "never Kevin" folks rejoin the swamp they allegedly decry. Or, IOW, business as usual.

And you gotta love the voting "present" maneuver. In the actual world, voting in a way that insures a certain outcome is the same as voting for that outcome but I can already hear Gaetz, Boebert and the rest claiming on Fox that they never voted for McCarthy. A swamp by any other name still stinks and swallows everyone it touches into the muck.

[beantownbubba]

If you haven't read or watched Hakeem Jeffries first speech as minority leader it's worth a few minutes of your time.

[Beaverdam]

I would highly recommend watching the Stephen Colbert/John Bohner interview regarding Bohner’s opinions regarding our country’s current political state.

Very intriguing…

[beantownbubba]

The false equivalence between the Trump & Biden classified info is completely inevitable so I'm working hard at not getting too exercised about it. Do they not test reading comprehension anymore on those standardized test we all (at least I) took in elementary school? Because the coverage on this is at about second grade level. But I do wonder about the timing of the disclosure of the Biden papers - it comes at a very sensitive time in the Garland/Smith deliberations on whether and what to charge Trump with. Hey, everybody's a conspiracy theorist, right?

[cortez the killer]

The false equivalence between the Trump & Biden classified info is completely inevitable so I'm working hard at not getting too exercised about it. Do they not test reading comprehension anymore on those standardized test we all (at least I) took in elementary school? Because the coverage on this is at about second grade level. But I do wonder about the timing of the disclosure of the Biden papers - it comes at a very sensitive time in the Garland/Smith deliberations on whether and what to charge Trump with. Hey, everybody's a conspiracy theorist, right?

An all-too-perfect gift for the whataboutist crowd.

[Clams]

So McCarthy punished the lying freshman from Long Island by putting him on a couple of House committees. I swear, the political and wtf threads should just be combined into one.

[pearlbeer]

So McCarthy punished the lying freshman from Long Island by putting him on a couple of House committees. I swear, the political and wtf threads should just be combined into one.

...and yet Al Franken was forced to resign for pretending to touch a boob one time.

[beantownbubba]

So McCarthy punished the lying freshman from Long Island by putting him on a couple of House committees. I swear, the political and wtf threads should just be combined into one.

To say nothing of the congresspeople who STILL DENY the 2020 election, the 2022 election or both. Plus those who think 1/6 was legitimate political discourse. Plus those who have threatened with varying degrees of seriousness physical violence against other politicians and disfavored groups while speaking favorably about white supremacist, neo-nazi (or outright nazi) and other violent fringe groups. It's quite a collection.

...and yet Al Franken was forced to resign for pretending to touch a boob one time.

Some might say that's an inevitable result of or an appropriate punishment for excessive wokeism. I don't know how far I'd take that but they do have something of a point.

The thing about this week in Congress is that it is now clear beyond any shadow of a doubt that to be a Republican is to accept what the Party has become and IS RIGHT NOW, and it is not your father's GOP. There's no way around it: if you're an old fashioned, traditional Republican or what used to be considered a mainstream conservative you either have to actively oppose your party's actions and direction or leave the Party. Anything else is acquiescence at best and more realistically, defending the indefensible.