Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

Infrastructure week. at last.

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

Republicans in disarray!

They’re not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. let’s win this.

The republican caucus is already covering themselves with something, and it’s not glory.

If you are still in the GOP, you are an extremist.

Conservatism: there are some people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

Battle won, war still ongoing.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

I know this must be bad for Joe Biden, I just don’t know how.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

This really is a full service blog.

A Senator Walker would be an insult to the state and the nation.

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

A last alliance of elves and men. also pet photos.

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

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

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Suspect this approximates McCaul’s reasoning:

Meanwhile, Florida woman, grabbing her YOLO moment:

Reader Interactions

188Comments

  1. 1.

    Suzanne

    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.

  4. 4.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @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.

  6. 6.

    Geminid

    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

    @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

    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

    “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

    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….

  15. 15.

    steppy

    @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

    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.

  20. 20.

    trollhattan

    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!

  23. 23.

    hells littlest angel

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

  32. 32.

    PAM Dirac

    @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.)

  35. 35.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @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

  38. 38.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @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.

  43. 43.

    eclare

    @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

    @eclare:

    Christian Brothers College became Christian Brothers University.

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

  45. 45.

    Quinerly

    @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

    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)

  48. 48.

    Gravenstone

    @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

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

  51. 51.

    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.

    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.

  60. 60.

    David ⛄ 🎅The Establishment🎄 🦌 🕎 Koch

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

  61. 61.

    FelonyGovt

    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

    @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

    @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

    @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.

  66. 66.

    CaseyL

    @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

    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

    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

    @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

    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

    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.

  74. 74.

    lowtechcyclist

    @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

    @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.

  78. 78.

    trollhattan

    @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.

  81. 81.

    mrmoshpotato

    @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

    @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

    @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.

  85. 85.

    Argiope

    @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

    @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

    @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.

  89. 89.

    MisterForkbeard

    @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

    @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

    @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.

  93. 93.

    James E Powell

    @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

    @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!

  97. 97.

    James E Powell

    @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

    @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.

  100. 100.

    Suzanne

    @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

    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

    @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.

  105. 105.

    gene108

    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

    @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

    @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

    @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.

  111. 111.

    HumboldtBlue

    @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

    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

    @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

    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

    @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

    The Cincinnati Kid (photo)

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

  119. 119.

    frosty

    @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

    @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.

  124. 124.

    geg6

    @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

    @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

    @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.

  128. 128.

    HumboldtBlue

    @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.

  133. 133.

    Another Scott

    @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

    @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.

  136. 136.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @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”.

  139. 139.

    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?

  140. 140.

    gene108

    @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.

  142. 142.

    trollhattan

    @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.

  144. 144.

    HumboldtBlue

    @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

    @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.

  149. 149.

    gene108

    @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.

  152. 152.

    geg6

    @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

    @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

    @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

    @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

    @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

    @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.

  159. 159.

    Steeplejack

    @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

    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.

  164. 164.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @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

  166. 166.

    mrmoshpotato

    @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.

  170. 170.

    Kent

    @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.

  172. 172.

    Kent

    @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.

  176. 176.

    Matt McIrvin

    @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?

  178. 178.

    Tom Q.

    @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.​
    ​
    ​

  180. 180.

    HumboldtBlue

    @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

    @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

    @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.

  185. 185.

    Jim Appleton

    @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?

  187. 187.

    Matt McIrvin

    @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

    @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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