US PoliEra 2023 |OT 1| Kevin's No Good Very Bad Day.

TheHunter · Jan 5, 2023

Kevin you're not having a good time are you?

So 2023 has started off with a laugh and a half as the GOP is unable to even elect a Speaker of the House. Kevin has been denied 11 infinite times and yet he just can't quit the madness. If a speaker isn't elected no House business can go through so this is entertaining only to a point. The US debt will default sometime in the next few weeks so at least the GOP is consistent in trying to tank the country with them.

Hey Kevin you want this?

Deleted member 83599 · Jan 5, 2023

View: https://twitter.com/DougJBalloon/status/1611115135048847360

SwordsmanofS · Jan 5, 2023

Ah that new thread smell. GOP is caught between a rock and a hard place. There are enough Never Kevins that no deal will placate them. And it looks like ol' Kevin has no intention of stepping aside. So what do?

Mandos · Jan 5, 2023

The Dems definitely have more motivation on this than the R's do. Wonder what kind of hilarious screwup we'll see next. That and the NY R's gotta be antsy at this point

Dopsi · Jan 5, 2023

that drake meme is cracking me up

Mezentine · Jan 5, 2023

Perfect thread title

biglo25 · Jan 5, 2023

will this be the thread to see if when the U.S. default on the debt or not because of Republicans

Stooge · Jan 5, 2023

SwordsmanofS said:
Ah that new thread smell. GOP is caught between a rock and a hard place. There are enough Never Kevins that no deal will placate them. And it looks like ol' Kevin has no intention of stepping aside. So what do?

Is there anyone they want that establishment Rs would accept? It's not just Kevin. They refuse to seat an establishment Republican period as far as I can see

Diablos · Jan 5, 2023

BertramCooper said:
View: https://twitter.com/DougJBalloon/status/1611115135048847360

Here's why this is bad news for democrats.

Captain_Vyse · Jan 5, 2023

BertramCooper said:
View: https://twitter.com/DougJBalloon/status/1611115135048847360

Democrats are hurting the institution of the House by not bailing out McCarthy. lol

theme park joe · Jan 5, 2023

I like how we went from 13+ OT years to only 3. Ah, function.

Dr. Feel Good · Jan 5, 2023

theme park joe said:
I like how we went from 13+ OT years to only 3. Ah, function.

I think general traffic on this overall site has been declining over time too though sadly

SwordsmanofS · Jan 5, 2023

theme park joe said:
I like how we went from 13+ OT years to only 3. Ah, function.

In a twist of irony, Trump really was 'good for the media's business'. A lot of outlets have seen declines in engagement and clicks since the Trump days.

Though on the other hand that could just be coincidence; there are other explanations.

cdm00 · Jan 5, 2023

New thread smell

Can't wait for Kevin to rack up another 3-4 Ls tomorrow

SwordsmanofS · Jan 5, 2023

I'll give the GOP the benefit of the doubt and say that I believe McCarthy when he says that they've been in talks with the party for months now. If that is true, then this is worse for him that we thought. If after 2 months of negotiation he still doesn't have the votes, I doubt anything he ever promises now will sway them.

Especially when the hardcore base is loving that they're sticking it to the establishment. What do Never Kevins have to lose?

Funky Dude Sparks · Jan 5, 2023

Genuine unease with the HFC rn

Does canada have a political faction that has problems with government spending?

Deleted member 128704 · Jan 5, 2023

That fucking OP holy shit, dying. And great first post to start the thread off

Rhowm · Jan 5, 2023

View: https://twitter.com/thedailybeast/status/1611168273353297921

Funky Dude Sparks · Jan 5, 2023

Rhowm said:
View: https://twitter.com/thedailybeast/status/1611168273353297921

Always projection with these motherfuckers always projection

Slash · Jan 5, 2023

Happy New Year!

CloverNotes · Jan 5, 2023

Vote number 12 is starting tomorrow right?

Marshall · Jan 5, 2023

Oh Kevin. GOP is in absolute disarray, and putting on a shitshow. I think the Dems take back control in '24.

cameron · Jan 5, 2023

CloverNotes said:
Vote number 12 is starting tomorrow right?

Yes. Noon tomorrow.

The previous 11:

https://twitter.com/ryanstruyk/status/1611161416966311937

TheHunter · Jan 5, 2023

Dr. Feel Good said:
I think general traffic on this overall site has been declining over time too though sadly

I'd say a bit of both.

Going from almost 20 to 3 is more than just loss in traffic.

cameron · Jan 5, 2023

twitter.com/MarkJacob16/status/1611029011727060994

Drakeon · Jan 5, 2023

The biggest problem is Kevin McCarthy is an idiot. He doesn't have a fucking strategy to get enough no votes to flip beyond giving in to all of their demands, which he has already done and gained essentially no votes.

The calls from his side for him to step aside are gonna start happening. Still don't know who can get the votes to win, but it won't be McCarthy, I don't think their problem with him is ideology, it's personal.

plagiarize · Jan 5, 2023

Drakeon said:
The biggest problem is Kevin McCarthy is an idiot. He doesn't have a fucking strategy to get enough no votes to flip beyond giving in to all of their demands, which he has already done and gained essentially no votes.

The calls from his side for him to step aside are gonna start happening. Still don't know who can get the votes to win, but it won't be McCarthy, I don't think their problem with him is ideology, it's personal.

He's lost votes. Not gained essentially zero. He's gained negative votes.

cameron · Jan 5, 2023

twitter.com/ryanstruyk/status/1611150331810816001

twitter.com/mychaelschnell/status/1611174830480523264

Rainy · Jan 5, 2023

What do we rate Stabenow's seat at this point? Lean D?

Dr. Feel Good · Jan 5, 2023

What exactly did McCarthy do up to this point to set all of these deflectors off? I mean I know there have been issues but what specifically led to this point?

madstarr12 · Jan 5, 2023

Rainy said:
What do we rate Stabenow's seat at this point? Lean D?

I think it's safe to put it at Lean D right now. Some of the potential candidates would be very strong against any Republicans that have potential.

TheHunter · Jan 5, 2023

Rainy said:
What do we rate Stabenow's seat at this point? Lean D?

If Slotkin runs lean D at the least.

View: https://twitter.com/stevanzetti/status/1610994645181382657?s=20

My "I didn't molest my sister shirt" has people asking a lot of questions answered by my shirt.

Remmy2112 · Jan 5, 2023

Dr. Feel Good said:
What exactly did McCarthy do up to this point to set all of these deflectors off? I mean I know there have been issues but what specifically led to this point?

Spoke out against Trump immediately after January 6th before he went crawling back to him weeks later to kiss the ring, after Biden was inaugurated. If that was it it might have blown over, but there were also audio recordings of his conversations in group meetings or on the phone of him telling people what they wanted to hear, saying he was going to tell Trump he needed to resign, it was over, etc.

Basically he showed insufficient loyalty to Trump following January 6th is the first domino. There's other dominoes, like him being regarded as someone who is weak that they can roll, because he gave into MTG's demands, which is why she is supporting him. He's also a person who has been desperate to be speaker for like a decade, essentially putting himself on the fast track to the leadership, all with the eventual goal of getting to the top job no matter what he had to do.

The guy doesn't believe in anything but power.

Edit: That his detractors didn't act until now is because they were in the minority, and nobody -seeks- the position of minority leader, as it absolutely sucks, so they were more than willing to let him have that shit job, and waited until he neared the top of the mountain to hit him.

Drakeon · Jan 5, 2023

Dr. Feel Good said:
What exactly did McCarthy do up to this point to set all of these deflectors off? I mean I know there have been issues but what specifically led to this point?

He's straight up incompetent for one. He should've won the speaker job in 2016 too, Paul Ryan didn't even want it. But again, incompetence cost him. If they had actually won as many seats as they were expecting and didn't have this tiny majority, he probably would be speaker. But McCarthy is known around Washington as an affable doofus, most people like him, but you don't go to him to talk policy (stole this from pod save America today).

cameron · Jan 5, 2023

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/01/03/mccarthy-speaker-revolt/

Ever since entering Congress 16 years ago, McCarthy has believed in the power of relationships, learning the names and birthdays of his colleagues' spouses and children. The House gym and special workout regimens were his favorite haunt, learning what made members tick.

One internal enemy who McCarthy eventually won over called him "a savant of relationships," with the goal always out in the open: winning the speaker's gavel.

Yet all those years of making friends left him with the type of political support that makes a congressional leader popular but not beloved — and certainly not feared.

His support has always been a mile wide and only a few inches deep inside the Republican conference. A solid bloc of 15 to 20 hard-line conservatives never took to his back slaps or invites to go on bike rides.

They saw in him what he essentially is: a nonideological lawmaker without much policy substance who really just enjoys political campaigns and tactics.

His lurch rightward, particularly traveling to Trump's resort to make peace with him after he instigated the 2021 attack on the Capitol, did nothing to placate them. He rarely meted out punishment when they said outrageous things or attended racist events, reinforcing their belief that all he cared about was getting their votes some day for speaker.

After four years as minority leader, McCarthy promised that the November midterm elections would produce such a large majority that he wouldn't need to cater to the hard-liners.

In a classic case of overpromising and under-delivering, McCarthy only produced a majority of 222 Republicans. That left just four votes to spare on the speaker ballot that begins each Congress and on any piece of legislation that Democrats unite against.

So those archconservatives, led by Reps. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) and Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), held McCarthy and the entire House GOP hostage for weeks after the midterms. A group that basically admits their deceitfulness upfront, they issued many demands for internal rule changes in their many meetings with McCarthy and other Republicans.

Over objections from the moderate Republicans who face tough elections in swing districts, McCarthy gave in to almost all of these demands from Gaetz and friends.

And, in a spectacularly bad form of negotiating, McCarthy gave in to the hostage takers without any promise of support in return.

--------------------------------

Years of bending to conservative demands produced the same result. After his 2015 demise, with Jordan as his main antagonist, McCarthy ceded the way for his friend, Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), to become speaker.

He became minority leader after Republicans lost the majority in 2018 and Ryan retired, then set out to make peace with Jordan, a co-founder of the House Freedom Caucus. "He's standing next to me now instead of shooting at me," McCarthy bragged in a 2019 interview.

And McCarthy remained close with Trump, even during his most erratic days during the pandemic and after the Capitol riot.

Yet on Tuesday, McCarthy's opponents were Republicans most closely aligned with Jordan and Trump.

banananahammock · Jan 6, 2023

matt gaetz holding the entire gop by the balls is a great way to begin 2023. enjoy the asshole monsters you've created who have no interest in actually passing laws. hopefully voters are getting a real good look at them.

Antrax · Jan 6, 2023

cameron said:
He rarely meted out punishment when they said outrageous things or attended racist events, reinforcing their belief that all he cared about was getting their votes some day for speaker.

I'm not fully convinced the holdouts are this rational, but I agree with the logic presented. If he won't push back on you when you do or say something that's really out there (by all accounts), then he won't push on your ideological opponents either. So then what can he really promise you?

Sibersk Esto · Jan 6, 2023

Speaking out against Trump just makes for a nice pretense. The fact that the McCarthy can be rolled over by the Never Kevers is enough. Why not flaunt their defiance and boost up their public profile if they have the chance?

bruhaha · Jan 6, 2023

Herschel Walker Staffer: Matt Schlapp ‘Groped’ My Crotch

American Conservative Union chairman Matt Schlapp allegedly groped the crotch of a male staffer for Herschel Walker's campaign in October.

www.thedailybeast.com

OfficerRob · Jan 6, 2023

For the most hardcore this is a purity test that McCarthy simply can't pass. They view him as weak and with no concrete ideology, and they are not wrong. They don't trust him to hold strong and not back down. These people refusing to back McCarthy are crazy, but they are not wrong to not trust him.

They don't give a shit about rules, or established leadership, or the Republican party, so thinking they will back down or feel pressure was always a losing strategy. You give them EVERYTHING they want (and in this case that includes McCarthy's head), or they burn it all down while smiling and fundraising off of it. Welcome to fuck around and find out when it comes to catering to crazies Republicans, enjoy the next two years

madstarr12 · Jan 6, 2023

TheHunter said:
If Slotkin runs lean D at the least.

It is her destiny.

tmarg · Jan 6, 2023

I haven't seen her mentioned at all, but it seems like Granholm could possibly compete for it if she wanted to. I have no idea if she would.

Thorn · Jan 6, 2023

tmarg said:
I haven't seen her mentioned at all, but it seems like Granholm could possibly compete for it if she wanted to. I have no idea if she would.

She's secretary of energy

tmarg · Jan 6, 2023

Thorn said:
She's secretary of energy

Pete is secretary of Transportation. Didn't stop anyone from throwing his name in.

Darkspellmaster · Jan 6, 2023

Honestly I would like to know, can they right now remove McCarthy belongings from the Speaker's office? Or can he just leave them in there indefinitely?

rickyson33 · Jan 6, 2023

Darkspellmaster said:
Honestly I would like to know, can they right now remove McCarthy belongings from the Speaker's office? Or can he just leave them in there indefinitely?

no idea, but Gaetz has been trying to get him kicked out of it for days

maybe we see something happen there if this stretches into next week

Casa · Jan 6, 2023

If McCarthy still doesn't have 218 even after this pathetic deal that's being hyped up where he basically strips all of his own power, I think the only way Gaetz and the few holdouts stand down is if Trump actually threatens them. He tried the Trump version of asking nicely last time and they ignored him. If he threatens to sic the MAGA base against them I think they finally fold.

Deleted member 83599 · Jan 6, 2023

Thorn said:
She's secretary of energy

There's always a ton of Cabinet turnover after a president's first term wraps up (assuming they win a second term), so it wouldn't be unusual to see folks like Granholm and/or Buttigieg depart for elected office next year.

Might be more pressure to stick around if we lose the Senate and can't get new folks confirmed in 2025, though. (Though perhaps Joe could get a bunch jammed through during the lame duck.)

Tamanon · Jan 6, 2023

I will say, it's been refreshing to not see cabinet turnover during the first term.

Kusagari · Jan 6, 2023

The problem for McCarthy is there's two contingents against him. The Chip Roy group wants insane demands but do seem like they could eventually back him. But Gaetz and Boebert's group simply oppose McCarthy period and don't seem like they will ever back him.

US PoliEra 2023 |OT 1| Kevin's No Good Very Bad Day.

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