Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

When I was faster i was always behind.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

A tremendous foreign policy asset… to all of our adversaries.

You come for women, you’re gonna get your ass kicked.

This must be what justice looks like, not vengeful, just peaceful exuberance.

We do not need to pander to people who do not like what we stand for.

So many bastards, so little time.

The only way through is to slog through the muck one step at at time.

Disappointing to see gov. newsom with his finger to the wind.

When they say they are pro-life, they do not mean yours.

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

Jack Smith: “Why did you start campaigning in the middle of my investigation?!”

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

Come on, man.

T R E 4 5 O N

Fear or fury? The choice is ours.

There are more Russians standing up to Putin than Republicans.

The Giant Orange Man Baby is having a bad day.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

“Perhaps I should have considered other options.” (head-desk)

It is possible to do the right thing without the promise of a cookie.

You are here: Home / Politics / Democratic Politics / Vote 119, Day 15, In Case You’re Losing Track

Reader Interactions

268Comments

  1. 1.

    PaulB

    Reminder, for those keeping score at home:

    Not Kevin:
    Andy Biggs
    Dan Bishop
    Lauren Boebert (Hern)
    Josh Brecheen (Hern)
    Mike Cloud
    Andrew Clyde
    Eli Crane
    Byron Donalds
    Matt Gaetz (Trump)
    Bob Good
    Paul Gosar
    Andy Harris
    Anna Paulina Luna
    Mary Miller
    Ralph Norman
    Andy Ogles
    Scott Perry
    Matt Rosendale
    Chip Roy
    Keith Self

    Present:
    Victoria Spartz

  2. 2.

    Dangerman

    No bathroom breaks and quad shots for members until it’s done. Checks will be made at the door for firearms and Depends.

  6. 6.

    Sparkedcat

    Now it’s like we are listening to the White Album. Number nine, number nine, number nine.

  11. 11.

    JGreen

    @Suzanne: It’s ok, you don’t have to watch this–you’ve seen this movie before (several times).  The plot never changes and you already know the ending.   You can save your popcorn for some more amusing entertainment.

  14. 14.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Tazj: I thought Jim Jordan had maybe fallen asleep in a sauna overnight and got extremely dehydrated

  15. 15.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Tazj: My dear wife has this crap on, and I heard that voice and immediately said “he’s not from Montana.” That’s a south Jersey/Philly accent.

  19. 19.

    Anoniminous

    Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-In) voted “present” last time to lower the needed vote total to 217 but since Kevie got 201 votes last round, down from 202, it didn’t do him a bit of good.

  20. 20.

    Baud

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I don’t know how it’s playing out, but I suspect it’s something like giving a side eye to someone who let out a fart.  I wouldn’t expect this will lead to a popular revolt, but it will lead a bad aftertaste in people’s mouth.

  21. 21.

    UncleEbeneezer

    Less than 48 hours until we fly down to the Yucatan.  Doing all our last minute preparations around the house and figuring out some of the arrival challenges like arriving pretty late on Sat night and having to head out for a tour at 7:20 am the next morning.  But starting to get excited!!!

  24. 24.

    PaulWartenberg

    This is essentially the Freedom Caucus’ attempt to re-enact the January 6th Insurrection. To delay and delay and delay so that nothing will get done.

    The problem is that the other Republicans will not call the HFC’s bluff by switching votes to Present and letting Jeffries win the Speakership.

    So they will repeat the vote.

    Insanity is repeating the same Speaker vote and expecting a McCarthy win.

    Insanity is repeating the same Speaker vote and expecting a McCarthy win.

    Insanity is repeating the same Speaker vote and expecting a McCarthy win.

    Insanity is repeating the same Speaker vote and expecting a McCarthy win.

    Insanity is repeating the same Speaker vote and expecting a McCarthy win.

    Insanity is repeating the same Speaker vote and expecting a McCarthy win.

    Insanity is repeating the same Speaker vote and expecting a McCarthy win.

    Insanity is repeating the same Speaker vote and expecting a McCarthy win.

    Insanity is repeating the same Speaker vote and expecting a McCarthy win.

    Insanity is repeating the same Speaker vote and expecting a McCarthy win.

    Insanity is AAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAU UUUUUUUUUUUUG GGGGGGGGGGGG GGGGGGGGGGGG GGGGGGHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

  25. 25.

    lowtechcyclist

    In the time Matt Rosendale’s been yammering, they could’ve gotten through the first hundred names on the roll call.

  28. 28.

    PaulB

    We need to return to what the Founding Fathers envisioned and have duels and caning in the House.

  32. 32.

    BlueGuitarist

    @West of the Rockies:
    purple tie creep is Matt Rosendale (MT-02)

    He keeps saying “equal representation”  but MT gets 1 rep for each 540,000 people, while districts average 761,000. If NY got 1 rep per 540,000 people NY would have gained 10 seats instead of losing 1 because of reapportionment formula small state bias formula and cap on house size at 435.

  35. 35.

    Redshift

    I looked it up, and some of the past deadlocks did in fact run kind of like this — voting over and over with pretty much the same results, and trying to woo supporters. It’s stupid, but not uniquely stupid.

    However, in the really long fights, there were candidates dropping out in favor of someone who might get more votes and other maneuvering (and of course, the biggest were when slavery was the dividing issue.)

    I’m hoping this one goes to more than 9 ballots at least, so they can beat 1919 and have the most chaotic Speaker election in 150 years, not just 100!

  36. 36.

    lowtechcyclist

    Scary that Rosendale was so tedious that Boebert is almost a relief after him.  And she’s terrible.

  39. 39.

    Tony Jay

    There’s got to be a wheedling little voice whispering in McCarthy’s ear –

    “You know what, Kevin? They’re never going to let you have Nancy’s office, so take the DoJ’s fucking deal and rat out all of those backstabbing fucktards.”

    Go on, Lurch, be a legend.

  41. 41.

    White & Gold Purgatorian

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:  It has been the lead story on the CBS evening news the last two nights, and I’m sure it will be again tonight. They have not been both sidesing the issue either. That will start to shape normie opinions if the cf continues much longer.

  42. 42.

    Redshift

    Now that I think about it, it’s even better than that — if this goes to more than nine ballots, we can say the GOP has presided over the longest election for Speaker since the Civil War!

  43. 43.

    The Moar You Know

    oh no, they’ve discovered they can speechify during the vote.  These may start taking quite a while.

  45. 45.

    scav

    Lord, the media is going to be so addicted to the GQP-MAGA high they’ve been sweet on for years.  Now in stereo and at firehose quantities and not the orange sippy straw they had to suck up to with TFG.

  48. 48.

    James E Powell

    Repeating from last thread.

    Some of those things that the guy who nominated Donalds wants would significantly impair the Republican practice of not letting Democrats do anything when Republicans are in the majority.

  50. 50.

    tobie

    @Old School: Oh fuck, he’s from the Eastern Shore of Maryland, and his business, like every other rich person on the Eastern Shore that doesn’t own Perdue Chicken or Tyson’s Food, is real estate. I so want to see audits of everyone in the home trades (from big shot developers to small biz trades). They’re tax cheats, every last one of them.

  51. 51.

    The Moar You Know

    Looking forward to the inevitable correction of the record from our loser 45th president, as to Kevin McCarthy’s coffee fetching abilities.

  54. 54.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    I’m watching the roll call just because I think it’s funny how early in the alphabet it’s all over for Kevin. Still funny even the ninth tim

    ETA: I think he made it to “Clyde”.

  56. 56.

    Immanentize

    @Old School: I read that the answer is no. I saw where the IRS refused an inquiry from a mber’s staff because they were technically a “member-elect.”

  59. 59.

    BlueGuitarist

    @Almost Retired:

    In the 2020 census California’s apportionment population increased by more than the entire population of MT and yet MT gained a seat and CA lost one because of the small state bias in the reapportionment formula and capping the House at 435.

    Little known fact: 435 was the number for size of house where no state would lose a seat in 1910 reapportionment, even Iowa which had lost population.

  66. 66.

    MisterDancer

    @PaulWartenberg: This is essentially the Freedom Caucus’ attempt to re-enact the January 6th Insurrection. To delay and delay and delay so that nothing will get done.

    …a little bit? I think they really want McCarthy to step aside and allow one of the True Believers to be made Speaker. In that, it’s a bit like Jan6th, yeah.

    But damn few of them want that position in this case, because it means that person has to do Real Work — they can grandstand but they still have to do something. They can’t just sit on committee and make up shit all day!

    The delays are because they can’t even suss out the above. All they’ve ever known is how to beg for money and scream about bullshit, and this is the outcome. They have no real tools to force this outcome, but are hemmed in by their slavish devotion to stupid ideas about how to run America that can never bend, lest they be shown as powerless.

    And Authoritarianism can never be without power.

  67. 67.

    M31

    HAHAHA did Donalds miss his vote AGAIN

    the dude is out in the cloakroom doing shots or something

  69. 69.

    Ken

    Vote 119, Day 15, In Case You’re Losing Track

    You have to laugh, because once you start screaming it will never stop…

  71. 71.

    Immanentize

    From the last thread — here is a good history of many ballots. Longest was 133 in 1855.

    Of the 14 prior instances in which it took multiple ballots to elect a Speaker of the House, eight made it past the sixth ballot; only four made it past the 12th:t.co/oGNl8ox4iy(And only *one* post-dated the Civil War and the emergence of the modern party system): pic.twitter.com/nNyLa1R0rK— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) January 4, 2023

  72. 72.

    Jeffro

    @PaulB: almost all of whom are committed insurrectionists.

    Maybe the non-crazies in the GOP will sign off on getting these bums thrown out from Congress?  A guy can dream…

  80. 80.

    geg6

    @zhena gogolia:

    I do!  But I am working from home today and can put the tv on while I’m working.  Believe it or not, I’ve gotten quite a lot done today.  Probably because I don’t listen to when they cut from the House floor to the commentators.  Fuck that shit.  Who wants to listen to Andrea Mitchell, Chris Jansing or Katie Tur?  Not me, that’s for sure.  Nicholle is on now, so I can start listening now.  I can deal with her.

  85. 85.

    zhena gogolia

    @Immanentize: I finished grading before Christmas, but I’m doing new material this coming semester and I’m having to work every day preparing.

  88. 88.

    geg6

    @JPL:

    All the bullshit McCarthy has been telling them behind closed doors in secret and then telling the press.  It’s pretty funny that they’ve pretty much kept mum, but McCarthy is leaking like a sieve.

  89. 89.

    Immanentize

    @zhena gogolia: Im teaching two sections of Con Law (50 each) this semester, so my attitude with the current Court is “YOLO students, figure it out on your own.”

  90. 90.

    M31

    so Gaetz didn’t nominate Trump this time?

    So Trump can’t even get into the race to be one of the losers? That’s like loser squared

  96. 96.

    Captain C

    @Baud:

    I don’t know how it’s playing out, but I suspect it’s something like giving a side eye to someone who let out a fart.  I wouldn’t expect this will lead to a popular revolt, but it will lead a bad aftertaste in people’s mouth.

    Unless you’re a fetishist at a convention, bad fart smell is not the first thing you want people to associate with you.

  97. 97.

    Immanentize

    @zhena gogolia: I have long been vexed by the problem of evil ever since my mother got a brain tumor (which she amazingly survived) when I was 5. The newest ponder I put to God is: “why Barbara Walters and not Andrea Mitchell?” Maybe death actually is a heavenly reward?

  98. 98.

    Leto

    @eclare: woodworking. I attend Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology, which has a very good program. First semester complete, two weeks till we’re back. It’s both very rewarding and very frustrating. Frustration mainly because I’m trying to put into practice what I’m learning and it’s a skill set that takes time to learn. Repetition, repetition, repetition. Similar to what we’re watching now, except I’m getting better while MuhKevin is stuck in the mire.

  101. 101.

    Ken

    @Immanentize: Why hasn’t CCN put up a huge counter yet?

    Tragically, the guy who was doing that had a nervous breakdown, and had to be sedated.

    @mrmoshpotato: It could be a BREAKING NEWS banner!

    “Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead. As is Kevin McCarthy’s dream of becoming Speaker, though he doesn’t know it yet.”

  102. 102.

    Leto

    @Jeffro: she was speaking about how McCarthy basically threatened all of the shitbirds with no committee assignments if they didn’t come around while they were in conference.

  105. 105.

    PaulB

    So, they’ll almost certainly adjourn after this, but will it be an adjournment until tomorrow or will it be an adjournment until Monday?

  109. 109.

    Immanentize

    @Fair Economist: I’ve seen such studies, but they do not ever consider the impossibility of gerrymandering districts of a much smaller size for such an undemocratic result. Also, none consider the effect of popular opinion (say on abortion) that more districts would have on policy. Until those studies are attempted, the idea that nothing would change is wishful 🤔 ing (perhaps even partisan driven like the polls last election)  based on so many presumptions based in the current 435 position.

    By your very terms (not quite infinity), an expansion to one representative per voter would lead to a much greater Democratic Congress.

  110. 110.

    Immanentize

    @eclare: three years ago, I told students abortion was going down. And likely birth control and same sex marriage would be on the block.

    My students are like so many law students and are basically institutionally conservative and not very forward creative/intuitive. They thought I was a crazy lefty nut.

    Let me tell you! I am Not crazy!!

  112. 112.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Ken:

    Tragically, the guy who was doing that had a nervous breakdown, and had to be sedated. 

    I feel that there will be more than 24 hours to go in this shitshow.

  115. 115.

    Leto

    @eclare: exactly. I’m better than I was six months ago, I’ll be better in another six. I have pretty much nothing but time from here on out so just gotta relax and remember that.

  118. 118.

    eclare

    @Immanentize:   I knew Roe was gone once a friend texted me that RBG had died.  My one word response, “fuck.”  I now accept that there are no precedents to follow, at all. It’s the wild west now in SCOTUS.

  119. 119.

    CaseyL

    Just tuning in. Looks like there’s been a lot of attrition, with at least one Dem (Spanberger) not there.

    FYI – Don’t know if this has been mentioned, but the South Carolina Supreme Court (!) just ruled that the so-called “fetal heartbeat law” is unconstitutional on the grounds of privacy, and struck it down.

  120. 120.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Immanentize:

    three years ago, I told students abortion was going down. And likely birth control and same sex marriage would be on the block. 

    My students are like so many law students and are basically institutionally conservative and not very forward creative/intuitive. They thought I was a crazy lefty nut.

    Let me tell you! I am Not crazy!!

    Oh, just because you were right about 3 things, you make that last claim!  We’ll be the judge of that!

  122. 122.

    Immanentize

    @James E Powell: Voters don’t need to change it. It is a congressional law, nothing constitutional about it at all, just needs a majority of the House, the Senate and Pres. signature. Whether the Senate would go along, wellllll….

  125. 125.

    Immanentize

    @rikyrah: It is a great ruling, but the judge who wrote it (3-2 decision) is retiring in February. The S.C. legislature will choose her replacement.

  126. 126.

    Leto

    @James E Powell: think about the discussion around expanding the Supreme Court, and the shitshow that is. It’s fluctuated over it’s history, yet WE GOTTA KEEP JUST 9! This is where conservatives have so poisoned our culture/discourse that any talk of expanding government is automatically rejected. Even though expanding the court to at least match the number of federal districts we have would be a good thing.

  127. 127.

    Baud

    @eclare:

    I now accept that there are no precedents to follow, at all. It’s the wild west now in SCOTUS.

    This will be great for us in 30 years if we can get there.

  128. 128.

    Highway Rob

    I looked away for a second and then a bunch of Republicans were shouting “Order” at Rep. Waters.  Anybody catch what happened?

  129. 129.

    MattF

    Also just tuning in. Numbers don’t seem to be changing much, if at all. Back to watching (MCU) Moon Knight. It’s pretty good!

  131. 131.

    James E Powell

    @Immanentize:

    The 435 House number is as big a problem as two senators per state or the electoral college.

    But changing the House number would not require a constitutional amendment.

  133. 133.

    Warblewarble

    Only fair that each and every Democrat has a chance to nominate Hakeem Jeffries, Keep the votes going.

  137. 137.

    Ruckus

    rethuglicans do not want to have a working house. Taken from their side, having a house that gets nothing done is good, because if the house doesn’t exist, it can do nothing to help President Biden, or the democratic senate. The rethuglican house members do not want progress of any kind. Sure they have to vote over and over but that is a small price to pay for it not even being possible for any legislation whatsoever even being brought up. Because their concept is that if they can’t have their way 100% of the time, they are going to hold their breath because that is the second best way to have a rethuglican president and congress. It’s childish and smaller than tiny but for them, it’s better than any liberal government. And they will vilify any rethuglican who wants, in any way, an operational, democratic government. They are holding their breaths until they get what they want.

  140. 140.

    James E Powell

    @Immanentize:

    Voters don’t need to change it. It is a congressional law, nothing constitutional about it at all, just needs a majority of the House, the Senate and Pres. signature.

    Oddly enough, I know that. But if voters are not convinced that it is not just a good idea, but an urgent necessity, there will never be a majority of the House, the Senate or Pres. signature.

  142. 142.

    Leto

    @Immanentize: so for the holidays we went back home to my parents house, which is just outside Charleston. We hadn’t been back since right before we left for Italy, which was 2011. The old saying of, “You can’t go home again” was in full effect. The small town I grew up in is basically gone. A number of major plants have opened (Boeing, Volvo, Catepillar, and at least 1 other), the interstates (26 and 95) haven’t been paved since at least 1995, and the small town I grew up in has essentially doubled in population and is pretty much unrecognizable to me. Any last inkling of desire to “move back home” were totally extinguished.

    Which is kind of my long winded way of saying: SC has always been batshit insane, and if there’s a worse option to choose from ofc that’s what they’ll do.

  145. 145.

    WaterGirl

    @Immanentize: I’m starting to feel a little hopeful that maybe this is the beginning of the crack where they all start turning on one another and start spilling the beans.

    She’s a whore!

    He’s sleeping with your wife!

    She lied about you so she could chair the committee.

    You take money from Russia!

  146. 146.

    Roger Moore

    @Leto:

    she was speaking about how McCarthy basically threatened all of the shitbirds with no committee assignments if they didn’t come around while they were in conference.

    Which is a pointless threat.  They can deny him the victory if they stick together, so he won’t have the power to deny them their committee assignments unless they change their mind.

  147. 147.

    Baud

    Just a reminder that McCarthy wanted Senate Republicans to not pass the omnibus spending bill in December so the new House would have leverage to negotiate a better deal for the GOP.

  148. 148.

    lee

    Those 20 are never going to change their votes. They have this ‘one simple trick’ that will prevent increasing the debt ceiling, funding the government and passing any legislation. If a Speaker is never selected, the House can never convene.

    My wish is for 11 GQP to walk out or vote present at a time when all of the Democrats are there. This will elect Jeffries as Speaker.

  149. 149.

    Brachiator

    @zhena gogolia:

    I cannot believe you people are watching this. Do you not have jobs?

    I just check the news headlines and comments here from time to time, during work breaks.

    You could not pay me to watch the actual proceedings.

  150. 150.

    Ruckus

    @Immanentize:

    435 is actually a much bigger problem. Because the people do not have equal representation as the states. It was designed that way from the start and was fine until the house grew enough to have somewhat reasonable say in federal government. And 435 fixed that. Also, because some states, or the population thereof, say CA will have more say than RI or any of the other 49 states actually. Imagine, a government of the people, by the people and for the people. Wouldn’t that be strange…..

  151. 151.

    Leto

    Madeline Dean on MSNBC just laying out straight truth. Essentially saying MuhKevin is a weak, spineless “leader”, the crazies have the run of the place, she takes no joy in this, but it’s their problem to solve. Also apparently when the shitbirds nominated Trumpov that there was audible gasps from Dems, recognizing that tomorrow is the second anniversary of the 6th and he lead the insurrection.

  153. 153.

    Bill Arnold

    @rikyrah:

    South Carolina Supreme Court rules state abortion ban after cardiac activity, typically around 6 weeks, unconstitutional.

    Excellent.
    They shouldn’t even be allowed this framing. There is no heart with valves and etc pumping blood at 6 weeks. (There is some electrical activity.)
    The standard for death is a heart that is not pumping (with no mechanical pump substituting) or a brain that is not working. (For example, without such standards, organ transplants would not be legally viable. )

  154. 154.

    Redshift

    @Immanentize:

    Voters don’t need to change it. It is a congressional law, nothing constitutional about it at all, just needs a majority of the House, the Senate and Pres. signature. Whether the Senate would go along, wellllll….

    Exactly! It doesn’t require a constitutional amendment, it’s just a law. And a law from the past century which clearly goes against what the Founders intended, so conservatives should support it, too! (Hah!)

    “Repeal the Permanent Apportionment Act of 1929!” has been my quixotic political quest for years. It’s like the filibuster in that the people who enacted it didn’t even intend to create what we have now, they were just overcoming an immediate problem

    It would also reduce the rural bias in presidential elections, since enlarging the House would reduce the proportion of total electoral votes that come from the two senators per state.

  156. 156.

    Leto

    @Baud: is this acknowledgment that Senate R’s recognized the absolute lunacy that was incoming to the House? I’d like to think that, but idk.

  157. 157.

    BlueGuitarist

    @Kent:

    @Immanentize:

    @Jeffro:

    Yes increasing the size!
    also constraining gerrymandering

    Plus getting rid of the current small state biased apportionment formula based on the geometric mean.
    the only bill Washington vetoed in his first term was the 1792 apportionment, which he considered unconstitutional since it didn’t have the same divisor for all states. current apportionment also doesn’t have same divisor.

  158. 158.

    The Moar You Know

    Just a reminder that McCarthy wanted Senate Republicans to not pass the omnibus spending bill in December so the new House would have leverage to negotiate a better deal for the GOP.

    @Baud: We’ve all been guilty of a little unrealistic wishful thinking now and then.

    Most of us figure out it’s bullshit within thirty seconds or so and move on with our lives.

  159. 159.

    Anyway

    Working here and taking a BJ break.

    He keeps saying “equal representation”  but MT gets 1 rep for each 540,000 people, while districts average 761,000. If NY got 1 rep per 540,000 people NY would have gained 10 seats instead of losing 1 because of reapportionment formula small state bias formula and cap on house size at 435.

    I wish Dem members would take their nominating opportunity to speechify on this point – each D should say “From the great state of blabla representing eleventybillion Murricans I vote for Jeffries…”  Get the discrepancy out there — maybe one or two pundits will pick up on it.

  160. 160.

    Burnspbesq

    @tobie:

    They’re tax cheats, every last one of them.

    Probably not. Thanks to generations of effective lobbying and Republican fuckery, the Code is so stacked in their favor that they don’t need to cheat.

  161. 161.

    JPL

    @Bill Arnold: just read about it on Mediaite.  I personally have problems with someone like Alexander besmirching someone else.   Now he needs to release the information he has so her district can elect someone else who’s in whacko.

  162. 162.

    Ruckus

    @Leto:

    I haven’t been back to Charleston since 1973, and I don’t miss it at all, although if it hadn’t changed in that length of time it would surprise the you know what out of me.

  163. 163.

    PAM Dirac

    @lee:

    My wish is for 11 GQP to walk out or vote present at a time when all of the Democrats are there. This will elect Jeffries as Speaker.

    And he won’t be able to do a damn thing unless there is also an agreement that they won’t walk right back in and pass the rules and the other bullshit they want to do.

  164. 164.

    BlueGuitarist

    @Redshift:

    Yes! Repeal the Permanent Apportionment Act of 1929!

    The rural bias: they froze the size of the house when the census showed urban population exceeded rural.
    also: long last time for DC statehood.

  165. 165.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg: We’ll be in Valladolid for two days (actually more like 1.5 days since we won’t get there until late Sat night) so we plan to

    • go on a tour of Ek Balam and Rio Lagartos on Day 2 (the only thing we actually have booked),

    • checking out Valladolid on day 3 before heading to Merida in late afternoon/evening.

    Once in Merida we plan to:

    • see a bunch of the city (maybe try the bus tour), and visit nearby Dzibilchaltun temple,

    • drive down to Uxmal, Labna, Sayil (and a bunch of cenotes nearby)

    • do a day trip to Sisal or Progresso (depending on weather forecast)

    Leaving us one free day before we head back to Cancun to fly home on Sat.  Possible rain on Thurs and Friday, so we’ll see.

  166. 166.

    Roger Moore

    @Baud:

    Just a reminder that McCarthy wanted Senate Republicans to not pass the omnibus spending bill in December so the new House would have leverage to negotiate a better deal for the GOP.

    He wasn’t wrong.  He would have a lot more leverage, maybe even enough to get some Democrats to vote for him for Speaker, since they couldn’t even begin debating a new spending bill until there was a Speaker.

  167. 167.

    eclare

    @Leto:   I think some did.  At least a couple of senators, including Cornyn, IIRC, laughed off McCarthy’s threats over voting for the Omnibus.

  169. 169.

    Barbara

    @zhena gogolia: I am not watching, just looking at this site and mostly WaPo.  I wouldn’t be watching even if I didn’t have a job.  Even if it produces high levels of schadenfreude at times, mostly it just makes me angry to know that “Option A” Pelosi is a masterful tactician working every day to improve life for all Americans, whereas “Option B” — whoever that is — is an idiot who hates anyone who looks and thinks like me and will be doing his best to make life miserable for the majority of Americans and most of the rest of the world.

  170. 170.

    C Stars

    @Brachiator: Yes, I find it edifying to check up on the news here at BJ occasionally. I don’t have any particularly pressing work deadlines today but I’d still rather not watch the actual proceedings. Especially since, from what I can gather, each time they fail to elect a speaker someone from the GOP gets on up and makes a speech blaming the Democrats, which is both hilarious and maddening.

  172. 172.

    TriassicSands

    At some point, Jeffries may have accumulated more votes for Speaker than any one in history — without being elected Speaker.

    What is McCarthy’s problem? I think it is that those who currently oppose him don’t believe a word he says. So, all his maneuvering to remain in Trump’s good graces and to try to become Speaker is now coming back to haunt him.

    For anyone who hasn’t watched the Hannity-Boebert interview, it’s pretty amazing in a nausea-inducing way. If Boebert has four other never-Kevins who are as committed as she is, McCarthy has no chance of ever being elected. (As long as everyone votes.) It’s math so simple even Boebert can understand it. McCarthy, consumed by ambition, probably doesn’t.

    @Old School:

    That Trump sure has staying power. It’s hard to believe that anyone would want Trump as Speaker. Even though they love his fascism and general craziness, they have to realize he’s far too stupid and lazy to be Speaker.

  173. 173.

    Citizen Alan

    @Fair Economist: No, but it would increase blue state representation in the House and, by extension, in the Electoral College. Also, with, say, 1 Representative for every 200,000 people, there’s a good chance that you’re no more than 2 degrees of separation from your local Congressman. Whereas I’m from a rural state and yet I’ve never been within shouting distance of my congressman (the execrable Trent Kelly).

  175. 175.

    lee

    @PAM Dirac: ​
    I’m sure the first thing that would happen is for them to call a vote to recall The Speaker.

    I still would like it to happen.

  177. 177.

    Roger Moore

    @Bill Arnold:

    I have mixed feelings about this kind of argument.  It’s true that what the embryo has at 6 weeks is some electrical activity in its cardiac cells, not an actual heartbeat.  On the other hand, basing our decisions about abortion on what’s going on with the developing embryo is accepting anti-abortion framing.  The key thing is the right of the pregnant person to decide whether or not they want to be pregnant, not at what precise stage of development the embryo gets rights.

  179. 179.

    Old School

    Ken Buck (R-CO) missed Vote #9 for a medical appointment and will not be at any votes tonight or tomorrow.

    Kevin Hern’s (R-OK) mom’s funeral is Saturday and will miss any votes this weekend.

    Wesley Hunt’s (R-TX) wife just gave birth.  His status is uncertain.

  180. 180.

    ian

    @lee:

    This will elect Jeffries as Speaker.

    His speakership would last as long as it takes 218 Republicans to vote against him.

    If we want Hakeem Jeffries as Speaker, we need to either start winning special elections or retake the house in 2024.

  181. 181.

    PaulB

    According to CNN, as long as we don’t have a Speaker:

    No oversight
    No clearance for sensitive and classified information
    No House rules
    No payment for staff
    No legislating
    But members-elect will get paid

    Love that last one.

  184. 184.

    Leto

    @Ruckus: I’m happy that the area is growing, has more jobs, etc… but a lot of what made the town special, at least to me, is gone. And I recognize the rose tint glasses here, but I still have some friends in the area and they were pretty much unified in message: don’t come back, it’s too fucking busy/crowded. A lot of the natural beauty of the place has been replaced by roads, more stores, and just shit.

    But we’re nestled in a place here in PA that’s really pretty, central to a lot of amazing woodworkers/resources, Avalune has a good paying job, we just put in bird feeders out back to good results… on the whole, life’s good!

  186. 186.

    BlueGuitarist

    Ciscomani’s “only in America” remind anyone else of yogi Berra’s “only in America” response to hearing about the first Jewish mayor of Dublin?

  187. 187.

    Martin

    Wondering at what point rank and file republicans give up and start heading to the local bar, letting the rest sort this shit out. At some point you stop caring which kind of fucked you are.

  189. 189.

    Roger Moore

    @Burnspbesq:

    the Code is so stacked in their favor that they don’t need to cheat.

    For some people, as long as the code requires them to file taxes, they’ll cheat on them.  The tax code could be so screwed up they have a negative real tax rate, and they’d still be trying to figure out how to get it to a more negative number.

  190. 190.

    Sean

     is this acknowledgment that Senate R’s recognized the absolute lunacy that was incoming to the House? I’d like to think that, but idk.

    @Leto: I think it was. Kevin Cramer was on record saying it was clear they didn’t want the task of governing, so the senate would do it for them.

    (Sorry, RCP link)
    Sen. Kevin Cramer: Some Senate Republicans Think They Should “Spare” House GOP From “The Burden Of Having To Govern” | Video | RealClearPolitics

    Now, this comes as the potential next Speaker, Kevin McCarthy, warned that he would block any bills that Republican senators support, if they back the omnibus spending package that’s barreling through the Senate. When I asked Sen. Kevin Cramer about that threat from Kevin McCarthy, he pushed back.

    SEN. KEVIN CRAMER: …you know statements like that and statements coming from House Republicans is the very reason some Senate Republicans feel they should spare them from the burden of having to govern.

  191. 191.

    Burnspbesq

    @CaseyL:

    Some fuckwad will probably petition for cert, and Alito and Thomas will get a chance to give themselves more unaccountable power by gutting the adequate and independent state ground rule.

  192. 192.

    bjacques

    Congressman Juan Ciscomani is living the American Dream, to become a Congressman and vote to deport his mom.

  193. 193.

    rikyrah

    Under  the  jail 
     Phucking Demon 

    Fifty Shades of Whey (@davenewworld_2) tweeted at 1:00 PM on Wed, Jan 04, 2023:
    A police officer in Louisiana admitted to extremely horrific sex crimes involving children. Dennis Wallace Perkins was sentenced to 100 years in state prison.

    Perkins raped, he recorded videos, and he used his semen to “season” cupcakes before serving it to schoolchildren. WTF t.co/YLioIRphCQ
    (https://twitter.com/davenewworld_2/status/1610712902817792044?t=0dfM0sYwcRSIWO1nPOODKg&s=03)

  194. 194.

    Citizen Alan

    @James E Powell: Well, “the voters” wouldn’t have anything to say about it since 435 is set by statute and could easily be changed. The reason why it never will be is because of Congress itself. Increasing the number of Congress-critters necessarily means diminishing the power of each individual critter now serving. Do you think the incoming Wyoming Congress member who replaced Liz Cheney would like to the state split between her and someone else? Or would she rather be the Congresswoman from Wyoming.

  195. 195.

    Redshift

    @Citizen Alan:

    Also, with, say, 1 Representative for every 200,000 people, there’s a good chance that you’re no more than 2 degrees of separation from your local Congressman.

    That’s been my nonpartisan argument for it. Having congressional representatives who can reasonably get to know all their constituents would be better representation.

  197. 197.

    James E Powell

    A common reference for people of a certain age is the moment when Goldwater went to Nixon to tell him it was over. Who is going to tell Kevin McCarthy?

     

    Now listen, whoever comes to you with this Barzini meeting, he’s the traitor. Don’t forget that. – Vito Corleone to Michael Corleone in The Godfather

  200. 200.

    Leto

    @Martin: if it’s always projection, then they’ve been drinking the entire time which would explain why they keep doing the same stupid shit over and over.

    @Sean: worthless recognizing worthless.

  202. 202.

    Tony Jay

    Since there’s no actual House of Representatives in existence without a Speaker to anoint each of them with the holy oil of incumbency, shouldn’t it follow that the DoJ is free to hand out indictments against the ringleaders and conspirators of the January 6th Insurrection without being accused of partisan bias?

    And, most importantly, wouldn’t it be ever so funny if half the MAGOP disappeared in handcuffs and Jeffries was elected Speaker by the remaining Rep-Elects?

  203. 203.

    Baud

    @WaterGirl:

    No, unfortunately.  It was intended as a joke.  People were going to lose their jobs because they were spending all their time here enjoying the shitshow.

    Too obtuse.

  206. 206.

    James E Powell

    @Citizen Alan:

    Well, “the voters” wouldn’t have anything to say about it since 435 is set by statute and could easily be changed.

    Really? Nothing to say about it? You really think that such a change would be made if it wasn’t for voters demanding it?

  207. 207.

    PaulB

    @James E Powell:  Who is going to tell Kevin McCarthy?

    Well, according to anonymous sources, this time they are really, really close to a deal. Really. They mean it. This is very different from last night’s reporting when they were also really, really close to a deal. No, really, dammit!

    [This might even be correct, but given the general accuracy of the reporting thus far, I think I’ll wait until the crazy caucus actually agrees that they have a deal and vote for McCarthy.]

    [Or, of course, until McCarthy concedes or gets thrown under the bus by the rest of his caucus.]

  212. 212.

    Bill Arnold

    @Roger Moore:

    The key thing is the right of the pregnant person to decide whether or not they want to be pregnant, not at what precise stage of development the embryo gets rights.

    Yep, but falsehoods need to be called out.
    Similarly, the neural infrastructure that is necessary (not sufficient) for human consciousness is not present, and arguably only tentatively present even after birth.
    Same with pain; sensory nerves are literally not connected to the developing human brain until roughly week 23/24.

  213. 213.

    Martin

    Take some solace that the GOP leader has so far negotiated away everything he has and gotten nothing in return – lost a bit, actually.

    Maybe Democrats should support McCarthy – that’s the kind of negotiating on legislation that we want to see.

  214. 214.

    PaulB

    If this keeps up, those giving the nominating speeches will run out of things to say.

    “Yeah, you know what that guy said three days ago? Ditto.”

  218. 218.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @rikyrah: A police officer in Louisiana admitted to extremely horrific sex crimes involving children. Dennis Wallace Perkins was sentenced to 100 years in state prison.

    I googled the name and got details. Horrific is the word, and the sheer volume of illegal acts and material is overwhelming.

    His wife was a party to the behavior, including the child porn.

    You’ll all be happy to know though that he’s a good Christian and Jesus has forgiven him. So it’s all cool.​

  221. 221.

    PAM Dirac

    @ian:

    His speakership would last as long as it takes 218 Republicans to vote against him.

    I’m not sure what would exactly happen. What standing rules are in effect to give the Speaker what powers? Usually the Speaker introduces the rules package right after being elected, so Jeffies could certainly introduce such a package, which would be voted down. Could the majority offer amendments or otherwise put in their own set of rules or could the Speaker prevent that? What are the rules in effect after the Speaker is elected, but before the new set of rules are voted on?

     

    ETA: Whatever the rules are, a majority can prevent any new rules from being made and any other things from passing.

  225. 225.

    rikyrah

    @Old School:

     

    Ken Buck (R-CO) missed Vote #9 for a medical appointment and will not be at any votes tonight or tomorrow.

    Kevin Hern’s (R-OK) mom’s funeral is Saturday and will miss any votes this weekend.

    Wesley Hunt’s (R-TX) wife just gave birth.  His status is uncertain

     

    Are they pro- or anti- McCarthy votes?

  226. 226.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @Elizabelle: On the one hand, Bill Murray’s character differs from McCarthy in that he showed signs of personal growth over the many repeats of Groundhog Day.

    On the other hand, it was implied that he went through the loop thousands of times. So maybe Kev will get there yet.

  229. 229.

    bbleh

    What happened to the C-SPAN vote counter?  I am VERY EXCITED to know whether Hern surpasses Donalds this round!

    @rikyrah: that rocks!  Nobody better, for at least two or three reasons.

  230. 230.

    Miss Bianca

    Man, I just read that Ali Alexander dude’s rant and ho-kee smokes…that guy sounds buggier than batshit.

    How is that MTG has right-wing detractors now who manage to sound even more bugfuck nuts than she is?

    My head hurts…

  231. 231.

    PaulB

    @rikyrah:  Are they pro- or anti- McCarthy votes?

    Those were all votes for McCarthy.

    (Although Buck twice said that he wouldn’t keep voting for McCarthy forever.)

  234. 234.

    sab

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: My spouses’s weekly coffee klatch had this as the only topic of conversation. They are all Catholic Democrats, mostly not very political but not oblivious. All in their very early seventies: the Vatican II generation.

  235. 235.

    Craig

    @Leto: cool. Laney College in Oakland has a great woodworking program with a fantastic shop. It’s great because you can keep taking cheap classes over and over and have access to the shop and actually get pretty good. It’s been 8 years since I’ve been back, maybe it’s time.

  236. 236.

    MisterForkbeard

    @ian: Well, sorta. They can’t kick him out until there are rules to do so, and Jeffries would get to advance the House Rules package.

    Not that it would pass, but they can’t replace him until some rules are in place from what I understand. And theoretically he could sneak in some rule about “5 members from each of the major parties” has to call for his removal before the vote comes up, etc. Though how he’d get that through I have no idea.

  237. 237.

    Leto

    @Elizabelle:

    Once again, the eyes of the nation have turned here to this… tiny village chamber in Western Pennsylvania Washington, DC. Blah, blah, blah, blah! There is no way that this winter vote is *ever* going to end as long as this groundhog skid mark keeps seeing his shadow. I don’t see any other way out. He’s gotta be stopped. And I have to stop him.

    – Phil Conners, maybe

  240. 240.

    sab

    I keep forgetting that they have had since early in November to figure this whole thing out. It’s not like they were busy doing anything else in Congress.

  242. 242.

    Citizen Alan

    @James E Powell: Well no, but I was referring to the fact that it wouldn’t require a constitutional amendment like abolishing the EC or changing the structure of the Senate would.

  243. 243.

    bjacques

    Donalds missed his own vote again. I’m beginning to doubt his commitment to Speaker Motion.

     

    This vote goes to eleven!

  246. 246.

    Leto

    @Craig: we have a pretty good shop. Multiple table saws, band saws, two good planers, three jointers, and a number of other machines. Only thing is that it’s a school so you have a ton of people on the machines, which just means things are quite as tight as they should be. I fully recognize this due to the fact that I taught my job (Air Force instructor) and we had similar issues. Overall though, this is the type of environment I needed (full time hands on) and sought out. Also glad I got in when I did because my instructor only has a few more years left and he’s one of the best.

  248. 248.

    Geminid

    @Leto: No, this is up to Caucus Chairmen Pete Aguilar. When he gives the word, the new Illionois 13th CD Rep will start butting in on Republicans’ nominating speeches, and interrupt them so persistently they’ll be reduced to jumping up and quickly yelling “I nominate So-and-So!” and sitting down before she can butt in again.

  251. 251.

    mrmoshpotato

    @p.a.:

    No media outlet break out the ‘America Held Hostage’ counter yet? 

    I saw someone call these motherfuckers “legislative terrorists” yesterday or the day before.

  255. 255.

    Elizabelle

    @hilts:  been blissfully unaware of the pundit industrial complex.  just you guys and headlines.

    i am in no hurry to see a Republican House.  They can do this up through Groundhog Day.

  256. 256.

    Ruckus

    @Leto:

    I live in LA county, CA. The town I grew up in, about 6-8 miles from where I now live, was the 4th oldest city in LA county. It’s changed a lot from when I moved there at 2 days old, which was a while ago.

    I’d bet that there are only a few places that haven’t changed a fair bit since either I was born or serving in the military, as I was discharged before a few people on this blog were born. IOW in my nearly 3/4 of a century, a lot of things have changed in the world.

  257. 257.

    Bill Arnold

    @mrmoshpotato:

    When do the Rethuglicans start punching each other?

    No metal detectors. No rules, really. Do Federal laws apply?
    4 foot lengths of 1/2 inch rebar for everyone.[1] Or alternatively, pepper spray or mace, if one is squeamish about physical damage of human bodies.
    [1] 4 foot lengths for CSPAN cameras, so that viewers can properly see the action.

  259. 259.

    Bill Arnold

    @bjacques:

    Supersoakers filled with “Fentanol”!

    Dyed florescent yellow so that the streams show more clearly.
    Nerf bats seem a little too wimpy for this crowd, though paintball guns might be considered Republican-enough.

  262. 262.

    Matt McIrvin

    @TriassicSands:

    That Trump sure has staying power. It’s hard to believe that anyone would want Trump as Speaker. Even though they love his fascism and general craziness, they have to realize he’s far too stupid and lazy to be Speaker.

    They wouldn’t elect him as Speaker to make him Speaker. It’s to put him in the presidential line of succession. It’s the first step in a second coup plot.

  264. 264.

    BlueGuitarist

    @Seanly:

    political science suggestion is cube root of the population, which would be 691.

    current office holders not likely to want to raise it even that much.

  266. 266.

    Geminid

    @Matt McIrvin: He can’t get the votes. A lot of those Reps want no part of Trump. They know the sooner the party puts him in the rearview mirror the better.

  267. 267.

    Kent

    @PaulB:

    According to CNN, as long as we don’t have a Speaker:

    No oversight
    No clearance for sensitive and classified information
    No House rules
    No payment for staff
    No legislating
    But members-elect will get paid

    Love that last one.

    Well, one solution suggests itself.  The whole damn staff should walk off the job until they get paid.    Clean your own damn toilets for free.  Keep the heat on yourself.  Run your own damn dining room, etc.

  268. 268.

    TriassicSands

    @PaulB:

    Present: Spartz

    Spartz is not a NO vote. She says she’s voting present in order to get Republicans to pause the voting and go back into discussions. Apparently, she realizes what others do not — simply holding one vote after another when there are more than four NEVER KEVIN representatives is a waste of everyone’s time.

    Spartz voted twice for McCarthy and then, apparently using her brain, concluded that nothing was going to change if all they did was follow each failure with a new vote. She’s got a point.

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