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You are here: Home / Politics / Politicans / NANCY SMASH! / Wednesday Evening Open Thread: *Still* Proud to Be A Democrat

Wednesday Evening Open Thread: *Still* Proud to Be A Democrat

by Anne Laurie|  January 4, 20237:54 pm| 188 Comments

This post is in: NANCY SMASH!, Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat, Republican Stupidity

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Email from new House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark advises members to vote NO on a potential Republican motion adjourn.

If Republicans want more time to debate McCarthy's survival, they'll need to come up with the votes themselves.

— Alayna Treene (@alaynatreene) January 4, 2023

you can say that maybe jefferies doesn’t have the juice that pelosi did, but you’re asserting it without any evidence *and* contrary to jefferies handing mccarthy his ass in every vote this week (whatever number we are up to by the time you read this)

— GOLIKEHELLMACHINE (@golikehellmachi) January 4, 2023

Per notice just sent out from Whip Katherine Clark’s office – “Members are advised that they should be prepared to stay in Washington, D.C. until a Speaker is elected.”

— Nicholas Wu (@nicholaswu12) January 4, 2023

When I followed up about rules changes and any deals that could emerge, @SpeakerPelosi noted she meant her comment about a rules change “facetiously.” She smiled & said it’s clear if it was plurality, @RepJeffries would have won multiple votes yesterday. Dems will hold, she said.

— Robert Costa (@costareports) January 4, 2023

Pelosi adamant about Dems not helping House GOP out of its speaker mess. “This is a problem of their own making. This is called leadership. They should be able to work it out. Don’t put this at the Democrats’ doorstep.” https://t.co/A4hIULYSxi

— Jim Puzzanghera (@JimPuzzanghera) January 4, 2023

McCaul on CNN discussing what he called “the nuclear option” — changing rules to elect speaker via plurality vote

House becoming more and more like the Senate

— Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) January 4, 2023

not if the McCarthy holdouts voted for McCarthy — would essentially be daring them to make Jeffries speaker

— Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) January 4, 2023


Suspect this approximates McCaul’s reasoning:

Seems like a Jefferies speakership would be ideal to at least the 5 super crazies. They don’t have to do anything but make sound bites and raise money

— MidtermsMadness (@MadMidterms) January 4, 2023

Meanwhile, Florida woman, grabbing her YOLO moment:

Boos over booze: Kat Cammack drew howls for accusing Democrats of drinking alcohol on the House floor amid the ongoing speaker fight. 

But with the chamber unable to adopt rules, there was little to be done about the remark. https://t.co/rObc5GQgyr

— Congress Minutes (@politicongress) January 4, 2023

Current speaker is Rep @Kat_Cammack, R-FL, 34, first elected in 2020, former deputy chief of staff to her predecessor Rep Ted Yoho

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) January 4, 2023

Because, you know, it's the Democrats who are running this goat-rope https://t.co/Ku59ARbcZs

— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) January 4, 2023

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Reader Interactions

188Comments

  1. 1.

    Suzanne

    January 4, 2023 at 7:58 pm

    I don’t know who Justin Stapley is, but I do know that he’s an idiot.

    Stapley is the surname of a prominent/old LDS family. I wonder if he’s a member.

  2. 2.

    Baud

    January 4, 2023 at 8:01 pm

    If there are no House rules, there are no rules against drinking booze.

  3. 3.

    Mike in NC

    January 4, 2023 at 8:03 pm

    8 PM means it’s time for the Kevin McCarthy shitshow to resume…

  4. 4.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    January 4, 2023 at 8:04 pm

    @Suzanne: could be:

    Justin Stapley @JustinWStapley
    Political theorist, federalist, constitutionalist. PoliSci student & Undergrad Research Fellow@UVU. Bylines: @heraldextra @standardex @sltrib@utahpolicy

    Utah Valley University (Orem), Salt Lake Tribune and two other local papers.

  5. 5.

    Anne Laurie

    January 4, 2023 at 8:06 pm

    @Mike in NC: 8 PM means it’s time for the Kevin McCarthy shitshow to resume…

    That’s why I posted this now!

  6. 6.

    Geminid

    January 4, 2023 at 8:06 pm

    The CBS 8pm radio news led with a report on the Republican Speaker fiasco. It finished with a soundbite from President Biden decrying the spectacle, and saying that “the whole world is watching.”

  7. 7.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    January 4, 2023 at 8:06 pm

    @Baud: I imagine Sam Rayburn, Nicholas Longworth and Garner all kept a pretty good bar stocked up at the podium, to say nothing of Tip O’Neil.

    But John Boehner had to hide his bourbon in a travel mug. CSpan cameras and all.

  8. 8.

    dmsilev

    January 4, 2023 at 8:07 pm

    Boos over booze: Kat Cammack drew howls for accusing Democrats of drinking alcohol on the House floor amid the ongoing speaker fight.

    Honestly, the Democrats should roll in a full bar, let AOC prove that she still has her professional touch, and sit back and watch the show with some quality cocktails. When the GOP squawks, tell them that until there’s a Speaker to rule the bar out of order, there’s no rule against it.

    And then tomorrow, come in with some grills and start making tacos or something.

  9. 9.

    trollhattan

    January 4, 2023 at 8:07 pm

    “Popcorn and blankets and alcohol.”

    Was she here for my kid’s 21st birthday sleepover? Wondered who hit the heck out of the popcorn.

  10. 10.

    Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg

    January 4, 2023 at 8:08 pm

    Hey, everybody loves a good tailgate.

    If I were in Congress, I’d be cracking’ some bottles and cans open, and throwing the occasional handful of pretzels.

    Maybe even passing a bag of Jell-O shots….

  11. 11.

    trollhattan

    January 4, 2023 at 8:09 pm

    @dmsilev: “Appletini anybody? Appletini? How about a mimosa?”

  12. 12.

    dmsilev

    January 4, 2023 at 8:11 pm

    @trollhattan: A ‘Kevin’s Tears’ specialty drink.

  13. 13.

    Old School

    January 4, 2023 at 8:12 pm

    Popcorn and blankets and alcohol?

    Oh my!

  14. 14.

    Steeplejack

    January 4, 2023 at 8:13 pm

    @Suzanne:

    He’s in/from Utah, according to his Twitter profile, so probably?

  15. 15.

    steppy

    January 4, 2023 at 8:13 pm

    @Suzanne: No matter who he is, he certainly is the personification of Murc’s Law.

    BTW, I am sitting here literally eating popcorn watching the motion to adjourn.

  16. 16.

    dmsilev

    January 4, 2023 at 8:13 pm

    Hahahahaha. WaPo:

    California Republican Kevin McCarthy told reporters at around 7:40 p.m. that he doesn’t think “voting tonight is productive.”

    “I don’t think a vote tonight will make a difference,” McCarthy said, “but a vote in the future will.”

    Narrator: The House is proceeding to vote tonight.

  17. 17.

    PAM Dirac

    January 4, 2023 at 8:14 pm

    Voting on the motion to adjourn. Looks like the Rs will be unified on this.

  18. 18.

    Baud

    January 4, 2023 at 8:14 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Politics before cameras must have been nuts.

  19. 19.

    billcinsd

    January 4, 2023 at 8:14 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I am so old I remember when Utah Valley was a Community College

  20. 20.

    trollhattan

    January 4, 2023 at 8:15 pm

    Since is open thread, a shout out to my fellow California commies [small c] as this latest ass-kick of a storm bears down. High winds only ATM here, but rain is a-comin’. Lots and lots of rain. The rivers are high and the ground, soaked. That there’s the first line of a Central Valley flood blues song.

    Forecast has Friday break, then rain through next week. Whee!

  21. 21.

    billcinsd

    January 4, 2023 at 8:16 pm

    @trollhattan: Orange Whip? Orange Whip? Orange Whip? Three Orange Whips, please

  22. 22.

    Steeplejack

    January 4, 2023 at 8:16 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    I know somebody has to be “that guy” on Twitter every day, but how did this apparent nobody rise to the top?

  23. 23.

    hells littlest angel

    January 4, 2023 at 8:16 pm

    Reconvening and then immediately moving to adjourn is sure to thrill the Republican base. These folks keep reaching new heights of knuckleheadery.

  24. 24.

    WaterGirl

    January 4, 2023 at 8:16 pm

    @Old School: Can sex on the floor of the House be far behind?

  25. 25.

    lowtechcyclist

    January 4, 2023 at 8:16 pm

    @PAM Dirac: ​
     

    Yeah, so far only one R vote against adjourning. Need four more, don’t expect to see them.

  26. 26.

    Steeplejack

    January 4, 2023 at 8:17 pm

    @steppy:

    I’m wishing I had some popcorn, or even potato chips.

  27. 27.

    Baud

    January 4, 2023 at 8:17 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    I read far as from and had to think about what you were asking?

  28. 28.

    hells littlest angel

    January 4, 2023 at 8:18 pm

    @PAM Dirac: Unified on not doing any work? Yeah, solidarity!

  29. 29.

    Starfish

    January 4, 2023 at 8:18 pm

    @Steeplejack: I thought that Elon Musk got to be the “main character” on Twitter every day after he paid $44 billion for the honor.

  30. 30.

    steppy

    January 4, 2023 at 8:18 pm

    @Old School: I heard calls for Florida Woman to have her words taken down. Because the House still is not in session, those cries went nowhere.

  31. 31.

    WaterGirl

    January 4, 2023 at 8:19 pm

    Surely the 20 holdouts will vote NAY on adjourning – the point is surely to humiliate and further weaken Kevin McCarthy, right?

  32. 32.

    PAM Dirac

    January 4, 2023 at 8:19 pm

    @lowtechcyclist: Yes, unlike the roll call vote, you don’t know who has voted and who hasn’t. I take this as a clue that disunity on the speaker vote doesn’t mean disunity on a lot of other things (Hunter Biden’s laptop, etc.)

  33. 33.

    Steeplejack

    January 4, 2023 at 8:20 pm

    @billcinsd:

    I don’t know exactly when the trend started, but everyone wants to be a university. “College” is so last century.

  34. 34.

    Starfish

    January 4, 2023 at 8:20 pm

    If only! If Dems took a shot every time McCarthy lost a Republican, we’d all be unconscious by now🍹 https://t.co/Vb1i29o4rv
    — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) January 4, 2023

  35. 35.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    January 4, 2023 at 8:21 pm

    @Baud: this was the Texas legislature in the sixties, per Molly Ivins writing in 1975

    Take the last all-House duke-out. It was, distressingly enough, over ten years ago. Although there have been a fair number of fistfights in the Capitol since, none has qualified as total Fist City. On the last such occasion (the cause long forgotten), over half of the 150 House members were actively engaged in slugging their colleagues, insulting the wives and mothers of same, knocking over desks, and throwing chairs. Now, any legislature can have a mass duke-out, but where else would there be musical accompaniment? In mid-melee, four members mounted the speaker’s dais and held forth, in barbershop-quartet harmony, with “I Had a Dream, Dear.”

    I wonder how many of those pugilists rose up to national government

  36. 36.

    WaterGirl

    January 4, 2023 at 8:22 pm

    @Baud: I had to go back to my original comment, and then I laughed out loud!

  37. 37.

    TaMara

    January 4, 2023 at 8:22 pm

    @Starfish: I love her…

  38. 38.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    January 4, 2023 at 8:22 pm

    @billcinsd: I’m always tempted to order an orange whip, but I never remember. And of course I could only do it with three other agreeable people. And a bartender who knows what an orange whip is.

  39. 39.

    Suzanne

    January 4, 2023 at 8:23 pm

    @steppy: I ate popcorn earlier. I also had a blanket. No alcohol, tho.

  40. 40.

    Baud

    January 4, 2023 at 8:23 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    The good old days.

  41. 41.

    steppy

    January 4, 2023 at 8:24 pm

    @Suzanne: I don’t have a blanket.

  42. 42.

    Suzanne

    January 4, 2023 at 8:26 pm

    R.E.M.’s official social media just posted “Exhuming McCarthy”.

    LMMFAO.

  43. 43.

    eclare

    January 4, 2023 at 8:27 pm

    @Steeplejack:   Maybe ten years ago two schools here did that:  Memphis State University became the University of Memphis and Christian Brothers College became Christian Brothers University.

  44. 44.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    January 4, 2023 at 8:28 pm

    @eclare:

    Christian Brothers College became Christian Brothers University.

    When did they start selling brandy (just keeping up the theme)

  45. 45.

    Quinerly

    January 4, 2023 at 8:28 pm

    @Suzanne: I’m drinking red wine, eating popcorn with red chile, and I am under my electric blanket. This counts for something…….

  46. 46.

    bbleh

    January 4, 2023 at 8:29 pm

    Thank dog for this exemplary episode of Kevin McCarthy’s leadership! The party* looks forward to much more of this over the next two years!

    * (the one I’m hosting right now, I mean)

  47. 47.

    Starfish

    January 4, 2023 at 8:29 pm

    @Suzanne: Bless all the very good social media managers.

  48. 48.

    Gravenstone

    January 4, 2023 at 8:30 pm

    @Steeplejack: My alma mater went the “University” route about a decade ago. Their enrollment is barely larger than when I enrolled 30ish years ago. There are larger community colleges.

  49. 49.

    geg6

    January 4, 2023 at 8:30 pm

    They just cheated their way to an adjournment.  Not impressed with the woman with the gavel at this point.

  50. 50.

    James E Powell

    January 4, 2023 at 8:30 pm

    @Suzanne:

    Enemy sighted, enemy met, I’m addressing the realpolitikLook who bought the myth, by jingo, buy America

  51. 51.

    WaterGirl

    January 4, 2023 at 8:30 pm

    I think the Republican unity on the vote to adjourn means that both sides – Kevin and the anti-Kevins – must feel like there’s a good chance that they will get what they want.

    In McCarthy’s case, that means SPEAKER.

    For the anti-Kevins to feel this way does not bode well for the next 2 years for governing.

  52. 52.

    different-church-lady

    January 4, 2023 at 8:31 pm

    House votes to continue humiliating McCarthy tomorrow.

  53. 53.

    eclare

    January 4, 2023 at 8:31 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:   There is also a Christian Brothers High School here…school goes way back, I am sure brandy has been available for a while!

    Just googled, the high school was founded in 1871.

  54. 54.

    Sure Lurkalot

    January 4, 2023 at 8:31 pm

    @Suzanne: I had a beer and now have a blanket.

    ETA Quinerly’s version of this has won me over. I’m jealous.

  55. 55.

    different-church-lady

    January 4, 2023 at 8:32 pm

    @WaterGirl: Yeah, but it’s great news for the next two years of not governing!

  56. 56.

    hilts

    January 4, 2023 at 8:32 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    According to CNN, Chip Roy indicated he might back McCarthy and claims that he can bring along 10 more of the 20 rebels.

  57. 57.

    different-church-lady

    January 4, 2023 at 8:33 pm

    @Suzanne: It’s more like entombing at this point

  58. 58.

    WaterGirl

    January 4, 2023 at 8:34 pm

    @different-church-lady:

    House votes to continue postpone humiliating McCarthy UNTIL tomorrow.

  59. 59.

    WaterGirl

    January 4, 2023 at 8:35 pm

    @different-church-lady: The stuff they are asking for is horrifying.

  60. 60.

    David ⛄ 🎅The Establishment🎄 🦌 🕎 Koch

    January 4, 2023 at 8:35 pm

    This remake of “Groundhog’s Day”, were Kevin keeps losing, is even more hilarious than the original.

  61. 61.

    FelonyGovt

    January 4, 2023 at 8:35 pm

    I’ve been stuck doing other stuff all day. I see ol’ Kev has failed to be anointed during votes 4, 5 and 6? What a clusterfuck.

  62. 62.

    Miss Bianca

    January 4, 2023 at 8:36 pm

    @Steeplejack: It definitely started at least 10 years ago, which is when Western State College and Mesa State College became Western Colorado State University and Colorado Mesa University, respectively. It drives me crazy because they’re NOT “universities” – they are small liberal arts colleges. Aaargh!

  63. 63.

    lowtechcyclist

    January 4, 2023 at 8:36 pm

    @dmsilev: ​
     

    Honestly, the Democrats should roll in a full bar, let AOC prove that she still has her professional touch, and sit back and watch the show with some quality cocktails. When the GOP squawks, tell them that until there’s a Speaker to rule the bar out of order, there’s no rule against it.

    And then tomorrow, come in with some grills and start making tacos or something.

    And nobody could complain that it was against the rules, because THERE ARE NO RULES YET, because THERE IS NO HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES YET to vote those rules into being!

    Nuts to merely being proud; I’m enjoying the hell out of being a Democrat in this crazy moment right now. If the Rethugs end this circus tomorrow, I’ll be disappointed – I think another week or so would be about right. Let them drive home the degree of their incompetence and infighting over nothing. MOAR POPCORN!!!

  64. 64.

    Steeplejack

    January 4, 2023 at 8:36 pm

    @geg6:

    To be fair, the clerk is winging it somewhat in uncharted (to her) waters. Also, an ex-legislator on MSNBC (David Jolley, I see just now) said that the so-called 15-minute votes are often extended to as long as 45 minutes and beyond in the regular operation of the House.

    That said, I agree that the clerk should pull in the choke-chain a bit and let both sides know that there won’t be any “leeway” that could be seen as partisan.

  65. 65.

    WaterGirl

    January 4, 2023 at 8:39 pm

    @geg6: You mean because she asked if anyone wanted to change their vote?

    That seemed very odd to me.

  66. 66.

    CaseyL

    January 4, 2023 at 8:39 pm

    @hilts: If I’m counting correctly, that still leaves 8-10 No Votes, which is still enough to torpedo things.

    Ah well.  If it does get resolved tomorrow, there’s still a lot of chaotic fun to be had: seeing just what McCarthy had to sell to reach his Promised Land.

    (The House will indeed attempt to end aid to Ukraine and not raise the debt ceiling.  The former will fail in the Senate, as – IIUC – the House can’t make unilateral changes to budgets already passed and signed.  The latter… well, I have a lot of faith in the Biden Administration, so I trust they have a response ready to go.)

  67. 67.

    frosty

    January 4, 2023 at 8:40 pm

    All the PA state colleges that were XXX State Teacher’s College when I was a kid are now XXX University. Some have grown, a couple have consolidated under one name.

    My undergrad alma mater is still a college. I think the ones that kept that name are all private schools and don’t have to be a university to brag.

    ETA: Weren’t there rules on being a university? Like having a grad school or offering PhDs or suchlike?

  68. 68.

    Sister Golden Bear

    January 4, 2023 at 8:40 pm

    Latest from the SF Peninsula:

    Internet went down. My ISP had emailed warnings that it might happen due to downed trees during the coming week. They claim they had crews on standby, so we’ll see what happens.

    Good news I’ve still got power and cell service {crosses fingers}. There’s a number power outages in varying sizes nearby.
    I’m not that worried about the tall trees on all sides of the house…. but still sitting in the middle of the house just in case.

  69. 69.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    January 4, 2023 at 8:41 pm

    @hilts: Chris Hayes and David Jolly just said that McCarthy has essentially made a deal with the Club For Growth, a super pac, about primaries that will bring some of the nuts back into the fold. Drain the swamp indeed.

    This is… just another story, I guess. Jesus.

    Chad Pergram @ChadPergram

    McCarthy aligned Super PAC, the Congressional Leadership Fund, announces a deal with the Club for Growth to back McCarthy. The deal is that CLF will not back specific candidates in safe open-seat primaries, something conservatives had complained about in the past.

    Jake Sherman @JakeSherman 13m

    The first good signs for McCarthy in a while:
    1) He won an adjournment vote, with the idea being giving the two sides more time to talk.
    2) CLF deal w Club for Growth.
    3) His allies are saying the meeting tn w his opponents was good. McCarthy has a LONG way to go. Very long

    ETA they not even pretending to hide it

  70. 70.

    mrmoshpotato

    January 4, 2023 at 8:42 pm

    Rep. Kat Cammack accused Democrats of drinking on the House floor amid the speaker fight, prompting howls and boos across the chamber.

    I don’t know if this is actually true, but I hope some Dems cracked open some cold ones come 5 o’clock!

    “They want us to fight each other. That much has been made clear by the popcorn and blankets and alcohol that has come in over there,” she said.

    Ummm….duh?

    And let’s not forget the bastards carting in cases of Butt Light after the Rethuglican House voted to destroy (affordable) healthcare for millions, and patient protections (“🖕 lifetime maximums!” shouted ACA) for all!

  71. 71.

    Sure Lurkalot

    January 4, 2023 at 8:42 pm

    Since there are no truly good choices and as far as I can see, no one with the power/personality/compromising info who can gain consensus, only the shittiest stuff they all agree on will pass and then die as it moves along. Not that they won’t damage the country and world, but it’s the cards we’ve been dealt.

  72. 72.

    kalakal

    January 4, 2023 at 8:43 pm

    @Sister Golden Bear: Stay safe

  73. 73.

    Baud

    January 4, 2023 at 8:43 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    I thought Club for Growth was a business PAC, not a MAGA PAC.

  74. 74.

    lowtechcyclist

    January 4, 2023 at 8:43 pm

    @Miss Bianca: ​
     

    It definitely started at least 10 years ago, which is when Western State College and Mesa State College became Western Colorado State University and Colorado Mesa University, respectively. It drives me crazy because they’re NOT “universities” – they are small liberal arts colleges. Aaargh!

    It was already underway when I left academia in the late 1990s. Still can’t believe tiny King College in Bristol, TN, which had about 600 students when I left there in 1998, has been King University for some time now.

    I really don’t get it. To me, ‘University’ means big and impersonal. If you’re running a small college, a big part of your recruitment pitch to prospective students is that students who matriculate there won’t be just a number; the faculty who teach their classes will know their names. You don’t want to obscure or obfuscate that.

  75. 75.

    MisterForkbeard

    January 4, 2023 at 8:43 pm

    @Sister Golden Bear:   North Bay here. Rainy and windy as he’ll out there, but no outages of any kind yet.

    The city did send out warnings for everyone to stay home, and warned of outages due to wind and wet. So there’s that.

  76. 76.

    Steeplejack

    January 4, 2023 at 8:44 pm

    @Sister Golden Bear:

    Hang in there! 🤞

  77. 77.

    HumboldtBlue

    January 4, 2023 at 8:46 pm

    @geg6:

    She’s got no power, you can’t blame her for the GOP bullshit.

    @Miss Bianca:

    On the flip side, last year Humboldt State University became Cal Poly Humboldt.

  78. 78.

    trollhattan

    January 4, 2023 at 8:47 pm

    @billcinsd: Only know them from XC and track–they have a kickass distance team my kid’s school has competed against. Me: “Utah Valley, who the heck is that?”

    BYU is in her conference but seldom comes to the coast for meets before the WCC finals. They’re hella fast too, the Flying Sister Wives.

  79. 79.

    trollhattan

    January 4, 2023 at 8:48 pm

    @MisterForkbeard:

    We still have streets closed from trees blown down during the NY storm. This ain’t helping.

  80. 80.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    January 4, 2023 at 8:48 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: quick scroll through open secrets suggests Richard Uihlein gave over $20M to the Club For Growth in 2022 alone. And he wasn’t the only multi-million dollar donor. The name Virginia James mean anything to anyone? Or Richard Yass?

  81. 81.

    mrmoshpotato

    January 4, 2023 at 8:48 pm

    @dmsilev:

    Honestly, the Democrats should roll in a full bar, let AOC prove that she still has her professional touch, and sit back and watch the show with some quality cocktails. When the GOP squawks, tell them that until there’s a Speaker to rule the bar out of order, there’s no rule against it. 

    And then tomorrow, come in with some grills and start making tacos or something.

    Induction cooktops!  Omelettes made-to-order!  Sausage or bacon for your side?

  82. 82.

    FelonyGovt

    January 4, 2023 at 8:48 pm

    @mrmoshpotato: Of course we want them to fight each other. Like they haven’t relished each and every time it’s appeared that the Dems were at odds about something. The popcorn is a delightful touch, IMO.

  83. 83.

    hilts

    January 4, 2023 at 8:49 pm

    @CaseyL:

    I’d love to see McCarthy get more humiliation, but it sounds like cracks are forming in the group of 20 and if tomorrow’s first vote peels away some no votes, that could turn momentum in his favor.

  84. 84.

    eclare

    January 4, 2023 at 8:50 pm

    @Sister Golden Bear:   Stay safe and home.  Fingers crossed the power stays on.

  85. 85.

    Argiope

    January 4, 2023 at 8:50 pm

    @Sister Golden Bear: I feel like you all shouldn’t have to deal with bomb cyclones since you already do earthquakes.  In the Midwest we’re used to tornado warnings and periodically having to go to the basement just in case, and storm related power outages are pretty normal for us.  So that’s no big.  But I’m certain I’d utterly lose my shit in an earthquake.  No one should have to do both.  I hope the next 24 hours go smoothly for you.

  86. 86.

    Redshift

    January 4, 2023 at 8:50 pm

    @Steeplejack:

    I know somebody has to be “that guy” on Twitter every day, but how did this apparent nobody rise to the top?

    His entire career in the GOP leadership has been in the era when the main qualification to be Speaker is to be dumb enough to want it. Anyone who isn’t a nobody can see that you’ll have no real power and get to spend your term being tormented by the crazy caucus.

  87. 87.

    Feathers

    January 4, 2023 at 8:52 pm

    @Steeplejack: @eclare: @Gravenstone:

    It’s basically a scam. Colleges realized that they could change the name and start charging $35-50K for a master’s degree where very little was taught, but the piece of paper meant grads could get 5K higher salaries. Of course, as more people got masters, the salary differential shrank and people started to feel they needed them just to be competitive in the job market. Or they want a master’s to be able to bypass the entry level jobs, only to realize they don’t have the temperament to be successful in the field.

    Of course, these degrees for are paid for with student loans and a huge part of the student loan disaster. There’s a small but significant group of people who get laid off in a recession, go back to school for the new hot field, but then that crashes and they haven’t earned enough to pay off the degree. I know people who’ve done it more than once.

    Masters degree programs are so often completely predatory. The school may be legit overall, but running a diploma mill on the side to rake in bucks off the school’s good name.

  88. 88.

    Sister Golden Bear

    January 4, 2023 at 8:53 pm

    @MisterForkbeard: Nearby we’ve got numerous power outages, mostly small but two that are pretty big.

    @trollhattan: It’s been chainsaw and wood chippers since NY’s Day.

  89. 89.

    MisterForkbeard

    January 4, 2023 at 8:54 pm

    @trollhattan: There are a LOT of sirens out there tonight. I went on a (very wet) short walk about 5 hours ago, and there were a lot then… And also the streams in town were overflowing already.

  90. 90.

    Roger Moore

    January 4, 2023 at 8:54 pm

    @Gravenstone:

    Being a university is not all about size.  My alma mater is counted as a “National University” in the US News rankings, but is positively dwarfed by the nearby* community college.  Admittedly, that’s one of the largest community colleges in California, but its total enrollment is something like 10 times the combined undergraduate and graduate enrollment of my alma mater.

    *Within range of an orange mortar. Ask me how we know.

  91. 91.

    Steeplejack

    January 4, 2023 at 8:54 pm

    @Baud:

    I hate this trope, but ¿Por qué no los dos?

    The Club for Growth is a 501(c)(4) conservative organization active in the United States, with an agenda focused on cutting taxes and other economic policy issues. Club for Growth’s largest funders are the billionaires Jeff Yass and Richard Uihlein. The club has two political arms: an affiliated traditional political action committee, called the Club for Growth PAC, and Club for Growth Action, an independent-expenditure only committee or Super-PAC.

    According to its website, the Club for Growth’s policy goals include cutting income tax rates, repealing the estate tax, supporting limited government and a balanced budget amendment, entitlement reform (including Social Security reform, Medicare and Medicaid reform), free trade, tort reform, school choice, and deregulation. The group has opposed government action to curb greenhouse gas emissions. The Club for Growth PAC endorses and raises money for candidates who meet its standards for fiscal conservatism. According to Politico, “The Club for Growth is the pre-eminent institution promoting Republican adherence to a free-market, free-trade, anti-regulation agenda.” The Guardian described the group as “one of the biggest backers” of Republicans who later voted to overturn the results of the 2020 United States presidential election, having spent around $20 million on their campaigns in 2018 and 2020.

  92. 92.

    Feathers

    January 4, 2023 at 8:55 pm

    @dmsilev: If no new rules have been voted on, shouldn’t the old ones still apply? Or do they automatically expire?

  93. 93.

    James E Powell

    January 4, 2023 at 8:55 pm

    @billcinsd:

    I can’t begin to count the number of times I’ve done that while people stared at me wondering what the hell I was talking about.

  94. 94.

    Miss Bianca

    January 4, 2023 at 8:56 pm

    @frosty:

    Weren’t there rules on being a university? Like having a grad school or offering PhDs or suchlike?

    Rules? Rules, schmules! Who needs RULES anymore? Just ask the House of (Not Yet) Representatives!

  95. 95.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    January 4, 2023 at 8:58 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: and The Congressional Leadership Fund, brought to you by Timothy Mellon ($15M, one of THE Mellons?) Stephen Schwarzman ($10M, Blackstone) and Ken Griffin ($24M, Citadel), among others.

  96. 96.

    Roger Moore

    January 4, 2023 at 8:58 pm

    @Baud: ​
     

    I thought Club for Growth was a business PAC, not a MAGA PAC.

    You say “tomayto”, I say “tomahto”.

  97. 97.

    James E Powell

    January 4, 2023 at 8:58 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    I think the Republican unity on the vote to adjourn means that both sides – Kevin and the anti-Kevins – must feel like there’s a good chance that they will get what they want.

    I think it means they all realize that Republicans – all of them – are looking like clowns. They want to take this off TV.

  98. 98.

    Sister Golden Bear

    January 4, 2023 at 9:01 pm

    @MisterForkbeard: I’m sure the stream in Palo Alto near the Stanford Shopping Center will flood, since it always does in a bad storm.

    There’s creek a block away from my house but it’s rarely flooded. Although it’s done so at least once. One of the previous owners build a small berm in front to keep water out. Unfortunately, they didn’t get the part of how it also keeps water in, since they essentially created a bathtub without an outlet.

  99. 99.

    Steeplejack

    January 4, 2023 at 9:02 pm

    @Redshift:

    I was talking about the tweeter Justin Stapley.

  100. 100.

    Suzanne

    January 4, 2023 at 9:02 pm

    @Quinerly: That sounds fabulous.

    I am picking up pieces of toys purchased by grandparents, who apparently need to be reminded that toddlers should not be given anything with pieces.

  101. 101.

    James E Powell

    January 4, 2023 at 9:06 pm

    I’m really struck by the number of Republican guests on cable shows who say that McCarthy has to step aside. Whether it’s true or not, I’m just surprised they say it without reservation.

  102. 102.

    Roger Moore

    January 4, 2023 at 9:07 pm

    @HumboldtBlue: ​
     

    On the flip side, last year Humboldt State University became Cal Poly Humboldt.

    The Cal Poly schools have always been part of the Cal State system. If anything, they’re considered the cream of the system, so moving from Humboldt State to Cal Poly Humboldt is still a step up.

  103. 103.

    mrmoshpotato

    January 4, 2023 at 9:12 pm

    @Roger Moore: I say fuck ’em!

  104. 104.

    MisterForkbeard

    January 4, 2023 at 9:13 pm

    @Roger Moore: Bah. Cal Poly SLO will always be the only real Cal Poly. Go Mustangs, etc.

  105. 105.

    gene108

    January 4, 2023 at 9:13 pm

    The funniest thing to me about McCarthy failing to become Speaker is no other Republican has stated they want the job.

    His caucus is just fucking with him because they can, and I think they’d fuck with any other Republican who tried to become Speaker, so they’re no other Republican candidates.

  106. 106.

    Dan B

    January 4, 2023 at 9:14 pm

    @Sister Golden Bear:  We’re getting an occasional blast here in Seattle but no rain till tomorrow.  We’re in several “Pineapple Expresses” every winter and there was one a week ago with a King Tide that flooded a neighborhood by the Duwamish River.  I’m hoping the snowpack in the Sierras lasts.  Stay safe!

  107. 107.

    eclare

    January 4, 2023 at 9:14 pm

    @Feathers:   The requirements to take the CPA exam changed about thirty years ago to require a master’s degree (ie, pay for two more years of college).  Luckily I lived in GA at the time and was grandfathered in under old rules, and I sat for the exam with a bachelor’s degree.

  108. 108.

    geg6

    January 4, 2023 at 9:14 pm

    @Steeplejack:

    It’s the Speaker who makes the decision to hold a vote open.  I do not think the clerk gets to make that decision.  If she did have the authority, I’d like a citation better than David Jolly.

  109. 109.

    Roger Moore

    January 4, 2023 at 9:15 pm

    @MisterForkbeard: ​
     
    My girlfriend is a graduate of Cal Poly Pomona, and my step niece got her masters from Cal Poly Humboldt back when it was still called Humboldt State.

  110. 110.

    MisterForkbeard

    January 4, 2023 at 9:19 pm

    @Roger Moore: Pomoma. Phtttbb. :)

     

    @Sister Golden Bear: Looks like Newsom declared an emergency 30 minutes ago, as per CBS.

    We’re actually at a lull right now – wind, but hasn’t rained for 10 minutes

  111. 111.

    HumboldtBlue

    January 4, 2023 at 9:20 pm

    @Roger Moore:
    Oh, I’m well aware.​ 

    And the rain has arrived for us. Heavy winds earlier today and it’s been drizzly and breezy and windy, but the train has truly arrived.

  112. 112.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    January 4, 2023 at 9:20 pm

    I was trying to place the grinning bobble-head nodding along giddily with Looney-Toons Kari Lake as she declare herself Empress of All the Arizonas. I am reminded that is the once A-List Village journamalist John Solomon, who after twenty years at AP (with Ron Fournier and Josh Kraushaar, I believe) spent a few years at The Hill (as they went downhill together) before ending up at Real America’s Voice (which may or may not or might as well be the pillow guy’s on-line network?)

    PatriotTakes @patriottakes 5h

    Kari Lake is now calling herself, “the real governor, the duly-elected governor” of Arizona.

  113. 113.

    geg6

    January 4, 2023 at 9:22 pm

    @frosty:

    Edinboro, Clarion and CalU are now Pennsylvania Western University.  Indiana and Slippery Rock are still stand alone.  Not sure what’s happening with schools further east.

  114. 114.

    piratedan

    January 4, 2023 at 9:24 pm

    well the 4th estate has already started chirping about how the Dems aren’t taking this seriously by standing together and making the GOP get their shit together.  For some reason, I guess watching a conference that voted in the majority just two years ago to disenfranchise the winner of a fair and free election be at odds with itself on just how odious they can be with public promises of spurious investigations and monkey-wrenching the current administration and nary a hint of policy in their collective utterances is worthy of the benefit of doubt.  All the while, the Dems watch their prophetic words of just how dysfunctional the GOP is come to fruition.

  115. 115.

    Steeplejack

    January 4, 2023 at 9:24 pm

    @geg6:

    I’m not saying she had the authority. I think she was unsure about the procedure and didn’t shut it down at the stroke of 0:00.

  116. 116.

    David ⛄ 🎅The Establishment🎄 🦌 🕎 Koch

    January 4, 2023 at 9:28 pm

    The Cincinnati Kid (photo)

    Scriptures tells us, “peace will reign in the kingdom and the lion will lie down with the lamb” (photo)

  117. 117.

    zhena gogolia

    January 4, 2023 at 9:29 pm

    @David ⛄ 🎅The Establishment🎄 🦌 🕎 Koch: My God, McConnell looks happy in that picture!

  118. 118.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    January 4, 2023 at 9:29 pm

    @David ⛄ 🎅The Establishment🎄 🦌 🕎 Koch: am I the only one who wonders if this isn’t McConnell edging toward the exit?

  119. 119.

    frosty

    January 4, 2023 at 9:33 pm

    @geg6: ​ CalU* etc are the ones I know about; they may be the only ones that consolidated.
    *Older son’s alma mater, so I heard about it.​
     

    ETA: I’m still amused that the two schools he applied to were Indiana U and California U … of Pennsylvania.

  120. 120.

    trollhattan

    January 4, 2023 at 9:35 pm

    @Roger Moore:

    CSU Humboldt’s transition to become a Poly was a rigorous one, and I applaud them for the vision and effort. A great addition to our state university system and one that will hopefully keep the campus vital and well-attended. Happy with Newsom for backing their effort with needed funding.

  121. 121.

    Steeplejack

    January 4, 2023 at 9:37 pm

    Molly Jong-Fast in Vanity Fair: The Republican Party isn’t really a governing party anymore. It’s an incubator for right-wing celebrities.

  122. 122.

    eachother

    January 4, 2023 at 9:38 pm

    This ain’t republican unity. They just want to go home.
    Adjourned.

  123. 123.

    Timill

    January 4, 2023 at 9:38 pm

    @geg6: There is no Speaker; there is only the Clerk..

    And no rules to gainsay her.

  124. 124.

    geg6

    January 4, 2023 at 9:40 pm

    @lowtechcyclist:

    Unless you have a large university with 24 campuses with enrollments ranging from 500 to 58,000.  I work for a behemoth of a university but my campus has less than 1000 students.  Same university on the diploma, not differentiated by campus.  Best of both worlds. Of course, we don’t have all 200 or so degree programs at every campus, but students can take the first two years before declaring their major at any campus and then change campus location to whatever other campus (usually the main campus, but not nearly 100%) offers that major or choose a major that is available at their campus and stay put all four years. It’s not a transfer to do that.  It’s seamless.  Big has its advantages for our students, as does the smallness and intimacy of my campus.

  125. 125.

    David ⛄ 🎅The Establishment🎄 🦌 🕎 Koch

    January 4, 2023 at 9:40 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: ​
      He’s 80. He has 4 years left on this term. He has health problems. He’s been photographed with deep and numerous bruises, indicative of blood thinners, primarily used for arrhythmia, thrombosis and embolisms. Winning another term means he’ll have to serve from age 85 to 91. Some people want to be carried out of office. Others don’t.

  126. 126.

    Gvg

    January 4, 2023 at 9:40 pm

    @James E Powell: There is a large streak of selfishness and non cooperation in the Republican “party” these days. So many signs leading to this. Ann Rand worship, all the stunts over the debt ceiling going back years now, making celebrities out of brand new morons who throw insults better, and tantrums that don’t make sense. They don’t understand that it is actually OK or even good and fair that no one gets every thing they want all the time because that is impossible. Congress is supposed to make deals and compromise but they hate every one that doesn’t give them anything they want which now means they hate each other too. That is why they hate McCarthy but it’s really anyone. I think they may go through a few speakers after whoever gets it now…They drove out the last 2 Republican speakers but the cycle is speeding up.

    it might be interesting to here what Boehner and Ryan have to say another this if they are willing to talk.

  127. 127.

    Sister Golden Bear

    January 4, 2023 at 9:40 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    I was trying to place the grinning bobble-head nodding along giddily with Looney-Toons Kari Lake as she declare herself Empress of All the Arizonas.

    Norton I, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico says “Sorry, it’s already part of my empire.”

  128. 128.

    HumboldtBlue

    January 4, 2023 at 9:41 pm

    @trollhattan:

    It was certainly big and very welcome news up here, and as I’ve said before, their marine biology, forestry and environmental programs are very good.

  129. 129.

    Amir Khalid

    January 4, 2023 at 9:41 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Has the pretender Governor of Arizona filed an appeal yet over her election lawsuit that got tossed?

  130. 130.

    Geminid

    January 4, 2023 at 9:45 pm

    @Gvg: Now it’s like these Republicans worship Ayn Rando.

  131. 131.

    Xavier

    January 4, 2023 at 9:46 pm

    @Steeplejack: Shorter Club for Growth: “More money for rich people.”

  132. 132.

    Ladyraxterinok

    January 4, 2023 at 9:46 pm

    @eclare:

    I learned at his funeral (1995) that my dad overtime composed several questions for various  CPA exams

  133. 133.

    Another Scott

    January 4, 2023 at 9:46 pm

    @Gvg:

    Made me look…

    Warren Davidson, from the OH district once represented by John Boehner, called Jim Jordan "our most effective member" in his speech nominating Kevin McCarthy for House Speaker

    ex-Speaker Boehner once called Jordan a "political terrorist"

    — John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) January 4, 2023

    Hehe. But they don’t care. :-/

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  134. 134.

    Kent

    January 4, 2023 at 9:47 pm

    @HumboldtBlue: A number of OR and WA kids go down to Humboldt every year because the WUE gives them in-state tuition and honestly, it is closer to OR than it is to the majority of the CA population centers.  Nice school.  They are usually up here at my school in Vancouver during college job fairs.

  135. 135.

    JaySinWA

    January 4, 2023 at 9:47 pm

    @Amir Khalid: Sounds like she’s had enough of the courts. Just declare yourself duly elected and pretend to have authority seems to be her new schtick.

  136. 136.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    January 4, 2023 at 9:49 pm

    @David ⛄ 🎅The Establishment🎄 🦌 🕎 Koch: I have a hunch he’d hang on if he could guarantee he’d hold on to power, but he’d rather go die in Kentucky than watch I don’t know which goon take his place as caucus leader, and he’s held that position longer than anyone.

    Also, not for nothing, we haven’t heard anything about his most important goal being making Joe Biden a one-term President, or his proudest moment being when he told Joe Biden “you will not do X”.

  137. 137.

    trollhattan

    January 4, 2023 at 9:49 pm

    @David ⛄ 🎅The Establishment🎄 🦌 🕎 Koch: Add “stabby wife.”

  138. 138.

    SFBayAreaGal

    January 4, 2023 at 9:50 pm

    Power out where I live on the Peninsula. Went out around 5:30 pm.

  139. 139.

    Jim Appleton

    January 4, 2023 at 9:50 pm

    The vote on the motion to adjourn was 216 yeas, 214 nays, one vote short of a tie.

    How is it that voting in this country, — local, regional, state, general — whether popular or administrative, so often boils down to razor margins

    ETA: I know gerrymandering and vote manipulation are key factors, but is it the case that they’re the main factors, or is something else driving?

  140. 140.

    gene108

    January 4, 2023 at 9:51 pm

    @eclare:

    The requirements to take the CPA exam changed about thirty years ago to require a master’s degree (ie, pay for two more years of college).

    In NJ & PA the change was about 20 years ago, a year before CPA exam became computerized (I took the last paper & pencil exam in November 2003).

    A Master in Accounting around here is a one year degree to meet the additional credits required to be licensed. I was able to take it with undergrad credits, but I’d need additional credits to be licensed.

  141. 141.

    Redshift

    January 4, 2023 at 9:51 pm

    @Steeplejack:

    I was talking about the tweeter Justin Stapley.

    Ohhh –  too many nobodies at the top to keep track of…

  142. 142.

    trollhattan

    January 4, 2023 at 9:51 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: And wouldn’t it be great to find ourselves writing “Senior senator from Kentucky, Rand Paul.”

    Who could Kentucky elect to make Rand Paul the “second-worst senator from Ken…” I’ll stop now.

  143. 143.

    JaySinWA

    January 4, 2023 at 9:52 pm

    @Jim Appleton: because people like T ask the election officials to find just the number of votes they need instead of packing extras? /s

  144. 144.

    HumboldtBlue

    January 4, 2023 at 9:53 pm

    @Kent:

    it is closer to OR than it is to the majority of the CA population centers.

    That’s why I chuckle when they refer to the Bay Area as Northern California. Stop it, you’re the top of the Central Valley,

    And CPH has a lovely little campus, built into the hills, and obviously, a key cog in the community.

  145. 145.

    geg6

    January 4, 2023 at 9:55 pm

    @Steeplejack:

    A timer at 0.00 seems pretty clear to me.  I was screaming at her here.  Unless she had the authority to hold the vote open, the tabulator should have shut down, the gavel dropped and any votes post-0.00 do not count.  If she had the authority, fine.  But if there is no evidence she did, she was wrong to allow it.  If, after yesterday, she didn’t do some homework and that made her unable to make a decision on how votes should work, that’s on her.  It’s not like there are no precedents for this or that she had no access to what previous Congresses and Clerks have done in the past in these situations.  I certainly would have been boning up on it after enduring Tuesday’s shitshow.

  146. 146.

    eclare

    January 4, 2023 at 9:57 pm

    @Ladyraxterinok:   Imoressive!  It’s tough.  I once worked with people who sat for the bar and CPA exams, some said the CPA exam was harder.

  147. 147.

    Amir Khalid

    January 4, 2023 at 9:57 pm

    @JaySinWA:

    What’s the legal term for falsely claiming to be a duly elected official? Fraud? Sedition? Or just delusion?

  148. 148.

    mrmoshpotato

    January 4, 2023 at 9:57 pm

    New Olive and Mabel!

  149. 149.

    gene108

    January 4, 2023 at 9:57 pm

    @David ⛄ 🎅The Establishment🎄 🦌 🕎 Koch:

    He’s 80. He has 4 years left on this term. He has health problems. He’s been photographed with deep and numerous bruises, indicative of blood thinners, primarily used for arrhythmia, thrombosis and embolisms. Winning another term means he’ll have to serve from age 85 to 91. Some people want to be carried out of office. Others don’t.

    Some people love their jobs so much they’d rather die while working than even think about retiring.

    A strange attitude for the vast majority of the workforce, but some people really do love what they do.

    Rita Moreno, for example, is 91 and still working as an actress.

  150. 150.

    Ladyraxterinok

    January 4, 2023 at 9:58 pm

    @Ladyraxterinok:

    • He died in 1995, 86yo
  151. 151.

    Barbara

    January 4, 2023 at 9:59 pm

    @Amir Khalid: ​She did appeal. For whatever it’s worth.

  152. 152.

    geg6

    January 4, 2023 at 10:00 pm

    @Timill:

    Everyone keeps saying this, but she is in charge until there is a Speaker.  This is not an unprecedented event.  It’s happened a lot, just not recently.  There is a record somewhere that should either spell it out or a series of records that can serve as a guide.  People keep saying this on tv, too.  I don’t believe it.

  153. 153.

    Another Scott

    January 4, 2023 at 10:01 pm

    @geg6: AFAIK, the vote timer is never enforced.

    Also:

    Record Vote. Clause 1(b) of Rule XX states that “if any Member… requests a recorded vote and that request is supported by at least one-fifth of a quorum, the vote shall be taken by electronic device.” Record votes are taken in the same manner as the yeas and nays. The allotted time under the rules for a record vote is “not less than 15 minutes.” It is the prerogative of the Speaker or presiding officer whether or not to allow additional time beyond the 15 minutes. The Chair also has the discretion in certain circumstances to reduce the voting time to not less than five minutes.

    Yes, there are no “rules” yet, but the Clerk is the presiding officer here and still works for the House and is not going to break with tradition on things like the vote clock.

    The majority is going to do what it does. The Clerk is not going to change the outcome.

    My $0.02.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  154. 154.

    eclare

    January 4, 2023 at 10:02 pm

    @gene108:   My bad, masters is a one year program.  Still a useless requirement, IMO.

    Yeah, I took it using a pencil too, two and half days of fun!

  155. 155.

    CaseyL

    January 4, 2023 at 10:02 pm

    @gene108: I don’t pretend to know anything about McConnell personally, but from what I read and see, he has no life other than the Senate.  His kids want nothing to do with him.  His (current) marriage seems strictly transactional.

    I’ve never heard anyone described as a friend of his; or about any hobbies he has; or anything he does or loves or cares about except exerting power.

    He’ll die in office because that’s all he’s got.

  156. 156.

    Barbara

    January 4, 2023 at 10:03 pm

    @Amir Khalid: ​It’s unlikely to be criminal if it’s objectively unreasonable for anyone to believe you.​

    ETA: but it would be something like impersonating a public official with intent to deceive

  157. 157.

    Jim Appleton

    January 4, 2023 at 10:03 pm

    @JaySinWA:  In that case, no votes changed, and that was apparently a one-off.  Possible it was a look behind the curtain (Rafenspberger is a rat), but Occam points to one-off.

    I think there is a deeper question of why we are so evenly divided.

  158. 158.

    eclare

    January 4, 2023 at 10:04 pm

    @mrmoshpotato:   Thanks!  Love those two and the narrator.

  159. 159.

    Steeplejack

    January 4, 2023 at 10:04 pm

    @gene108:

    If you are in a position of great power, cosseted and surrounded by yes-men and minions, why would you want to retire? Especially if you have spent your life eliminating all other interests.

  160. 160.

    trollhattan

    January 4, 2023 at 10:04 pm

    Heh

    January 4, 2023 at 9:02 pm EST By Taegan Goddard

    “These fucking people. Now they’re just being clowns.”

    — Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), speaking to a reporter about the 20 Republicans who refuse to vote for Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) for speaker.

    Tarbender, I’ll have another.

  161. 161.

    HumboldtBlue

    January 4, 2023 at 10:05 pm

    @mrmoshpotato:

    In return, here’s Sherpa getting loved on by everybody.

  162. 162.

    JaySinWA

    January 4, 2023 at 10:08 pm

    @Barbara: Ah I missed the appeal, that and the AZ supreme court filing for a redo election seem dubious at best.

    https://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report/010423_lake_az_scotus/kari-lake-wants-arizona-supreme-court-order-new-election/

  163. 163.

    cain

    January 4, 2023 at 10:12 pm

    @Another Scott: He’s probably referring to the fact that Gym is a small dick.

  164. 164.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    January 4, 2023 at 10:13 pm

    @CaseyL: I’ve never heard anyone described as a friend of his; or about any hobbies he has

    In December, he likes to go to preschools and tell the little ones there’s no Santa Clause

    In the summer, he goes to parades and parks and street fairs and barbecues and knocks the ice cream off their cones

  165. 165.

    ian

    January 4, 2023 at 10:14 pm

    @trollhattan: I would argue that Rand Paul is the second worst senator from Kentucky.

  166. 166.

    mrmoshpotato

    January 4, 2023 at 10:18 pm

    @gene108:

    @CaseyL: I would also argue that McTurtle loves the position of power as a Senator, and being able to fuck over large amounts of people.  He’s an evil son of a bitch.

  167. 167.

    Leslie

    January 4, 2023 at 10:23 pm

    @HumboldtBlue:

     

    That’s why I chuckle when they refer to the Bay Area as Northern California. Stop it, you’re the top of the Central Valley

    Exactly. It always makes me think of this meme.

  168. 168.

    JaySinWA

    January 4, 2023 at 10:24 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: He used to pal around with Confederate wannabes posing for pictures with their flag of treason.

  169. 169.

    HumboldtBlue

    January 4, 2023 at 10:25 pm

    @Leslie:

    Nice! I’ve never seen that one.

    Also, McCarthy is having a no-good-all-bad-no-winning-week and there are no Dems to help him out.

    This is hilarious.

  170. 170.

    Kent

    January 4, 2023 at 10:26 pm

    @Jim Appleton:

    The vote on the motion to adjourn was 216 yeas, 214 nays, one vote short of a tie.

    How is it that voting in this country, — local, regional, state, general — whether popular or administrative, so often boils down to razor margins

    ETA: I know gerrymandering and vote manipulation are key factors, but is it the case that they’re the main factors, or is something else driving?

    In a two party system, both parties strive to get to 51%.  You would never end up with a permanent 75%/25% party split because the party at 25% would do what is necessary to carve off 25% from the other party by whatever means necessary.

    To the intelligent person the GOP looks like a 25% party.  But the inattentive are swayed by the bullshit.

  171. 171.

    Eolirin

    January 4, 2023 at 10:30 pm

    @geg6: Not recently? It hasn’t happened in 100 years.

  172. 172.

    Kent

    January 4, 2023 at 10:30 pm

    @Leslie: I have a friend who was a forester in Hayfork CA some years back and I went to visit.  I think that was a seriously more remote posting than any national forest in the whole Pacific Northwest.  Talk about the middle of nowhere.  If Hayfork isn’t it, you can see it from there.

  173. 173.

    El Muneco

    January 4, 2023 at 10:32 pm

    @Roger Moore: Cal Poly Pomona also the alma mater of Seahawk QB legend (and, sadly, fundy lunatic) Jim Zorn.

  174. 174.

    mrmoshpotato

    January 4, 2023 at 10:34 pm

    @HumboldtBlue: BWHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

    *weez*. *cough*

    HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

  175. 175.

    Leslie

    January 4, 2023 at 10:37 pm

    @Kent: I had a friend who grew up in Weaverville. He was not a fan. Gorgeous area, but yes, Hayfork is very remote.

  176. 176.

    Matt McIrvin

    January 4, 2023 at 10:39 pm

    @Jim Appleton: Isn’t there a theorem in political science about that? That in a two-party system, the parties are going to try to position themselves such that they can get 50% + 1?

  177. 177.

    CaseyL

    January 4, 2023 at 10:41 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    I believe it! Socializing, Mitch McConnell style.  Injuring the innocent.

  178. 178.

    Tom Q.

    January 4, 2023 at 10:42 pm

    @Kent: LBJ (I know: hated for Vietnam — but, on legislation, no one was better) claimed that if a bill passed by 20-30 votes, it wasn’t near as good as it might have been.  He was always in favor of pushing legislation to maximum effect that could get a bare majority.​
    ​
    ​

  179. 179.

    Matt McIrvin

    January 4, 2023 at 10:44 pm

    @dmsilev: “Which side was it that brought in a mob to shit on the Speaker’s desk?”

  180. 180.

    HumboldtBlue

    January 4, 2023 at 10:44 pm

    @Kent: @Leslie:

    I used to regularly interact with a CHP officer who I had covered as a high school basketball player at Hoopa High School, and he told me one day that there are areas out there you do not respond to without at least two backups.

    It’s remote

  181. 181.

    Ken

    January 4, 2023 at 10:49 pm

    @JaySinWA: the AZ supreme court filing for a redo election

    This may be the first denial of certiorari that includes an order for involuntary committal for psychiatric evaluation.

  182. 182.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    January 4, 2023 at 11:00 pm

    @HumboldtBlue:

    and he told me one day that there are areas out there you do not respond to without at least two backups.

    Calitucky? kind of a scary thought.

  183. 183.

    Leslie

    January 4, 2023 at 11:01 pm

    @HumboldtBlue: There are similar areas up in the hills around where I grew up. Folks who don’t take kindly to anyone coming on their property.

  184. 184.

    HumboldtBlue

    January 4, 2023 at 11:14 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    No, that’s much farther to the south. Hoopa is native land.

    @Leslie:

    Folks who don’t take kindly to anyone coming on their property.

    Nope

  185. 185.

    Jim Appleton

    January 4, 2023 at 11:43 pm

    @Matt McIrvin:  How does that work?

    How does a party “position” itself so the outcome is razor thin in so many instances?

    ETA: I have to think that machinations — gerrymandering,  suppression — are signs of inevitable demographic failure.  Maybe that’s all?

    Arizona?  Is all we’re seeing, belatedly, purple trending blue, despite bugfuckery?

  186. 186.

    GibberJack

    January 5, 2023 at 1:49 am

    @Suzanne: Landed gentry. Russian allies.

    Prophetic.

  187. 187.

    Matt McIrvin

    January 5, 2023 at 7:07 am

    @Jim Appleton: Suppose you have a bunch of opinions and desires of varying popularity, and you’re a politician. If a thing you advocate is wildly unpopular, you drop it; if it’s extremely popular, you realize you could probably get more, make it closer to what you really want at some cost in support and still win. All that drives you to a collection of policy and rhetorical positions that get you close to the bare amount you need to win. And your opposition is doing the same thing from the other end.

    All that is even without vote-suppression or other antidemocratic tricks, but those will just affect the collection of positions that get you to 50%, one way or another.

  188. 188.

    Uncle Cosmo

    January 5, 2023 at 8:11 am

    @Miss Bianca: ​It drives me crazy because they’re NOT “universities” – they are small liberal arts colleges. Aaargh!

    @frosty: ​Weren’t there rules on being a university? Like having a grad school or offering PhDs or suchlike?

    IIUC, from a technical POV, any “institute of higher learning” can call itself “university” if it awards any post-baccalaureate degrees, not necessarily a doctorate. I got my Bastards, uhhh, Masters at UMBC, 10 years after its founding, the same year they awarded their first PhD.

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