Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

Hot air and ill-informed banter

Shut up, hissy kitty!

Republicans in disarray!

Democracy cannot function without a free press.

Republicans want to make it harder to vote and easier for them to cheat.

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

Prediction: the gop will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

After dobbs, women are no longer free.

The republican ‘Pastor’ of the House is an odious authoritarian little creep.

Let there be snark.

Giving up is unforgivable.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

“Just close your eyes and kiss the girl and go where the tilt-a-whirl takes you.” ~OzarkHillbilly

Let’s bury these fuckers at the polls 2 years from now.

Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.

“The defense has a certain level of trust in defendant that the government does not.”

In after Baud. Damn.

The lights are all blinking red.

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

The republican speaker is a slippery little devil.

When you’re in more danger from the IDF than from Russian shelling, that’s really bad.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

You are here: Home / Open Threads / TGIFriday the 13th Open Thread: The GOP Speaker Race Is A Relatively *Minor* Horrorshow

TGIFriday the 13th Open Thread: The GOP Speaker Race Is A Relatively *Minor* Horrorshow

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TGIFriday the 13th Open Thread: The GOP Speaker Racs Is A Relatively *Minor* Horrorshow

Yes, it’s significant, there will be repercussions… but at least the dead bodies are, so far, metaphorical. Gallows humor — preferably with the entire GOP caucus up on the platform!

TGIFriday the 13th Open Thread: The GOP Speaker Race Is A Relatively *Minor* Horrorshow 2

Ever, Rep. Rogers?

TGIFriday the 13th Open Thread: The GOP Speaker Race Is A Relatively *Minor* Horrorshow

TGIFriday the 13th Open Thread: The GOP Speaker Race Is A Relatively *Minor* Horrorshow 1

Gym Jordan, not giving up yet..

Reader Interactions

195Comments

  1. 1.

    AlaskaReader

    The depths of depravity into which unvarnished capitalism can plunge mortal souls is incalculable.

    If you live in a state which draws it’s primary revenue from fossil fuels,

    …or care about your own future,

    …you may be interested in this.

  3. 3.

    Baud

    If Scalise can’t get the votes and McCarthy is not an option, the hard right members are almost certainly banking on the fact that the more centrist faction of the House GOP would vote for Jim Jordan rather than cutting a deal with Democrats

    I would think the so called “centrists” understand that that would be capitulating to the hard right if they did that. There would be no coming back from that.

  4. 4.

    gene108

    Unlike the Democrat Party, individual Republicans stand up for their principles and core beliefs. They do not compromise to appease powerful special interests like the Democrat Party does. The impasse to select a Speaker shows a Party, whose members are firm in their core beliefs and not easily corrupted.

    // I’m surprised media hasn’t gone with some variation of this notion to justify Republican dysfunction.

  5. 5.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Baud: The rules for partisan hardball that Republicans established during the first Dubya term, post-9/11 era, when they could vote as a solid bloc and Democrats were cowed and split, are still in place. But they don’t have the coordination or the level of popular support any more. So they’re left with nothing. Cooperating with the other party is anathema but they’re split between the extreme right and the extreme extreme right.

    It’s strange to me–I’m used to seeing Republicans do what they’re told; Democrats are supposed to be the ones who form circular firing squads.

  6. 6.

    gene108

    @Baud:

    I would think the so called “centrists” understand that that would be capitulating to the hard right if they did that. There would be no coming back from that.

    The hard right doesn’t actually want to fund the government, unless everyone agrees to their hostage demands. Some ‘centrists’ are aware a prolonged government shutdown would hurt their re-election chances.

  8. 8.

    Geminid

    Some Capitol Hill reporter described an exchange with one of the Republicans leaving the caucus meeting last night:

    Reporter: “So, did you solve it?”

    Republican: “You’re funny.”

  9. 9.

    Ken

    Yesterday was 3 minutes and today was 2 minutes!

    There’s a sophomoric joke about sexual stamina in there somewhere.

  10. 10.

    gene108

    Anyone going to the Taylor Swift movie today? Or know anyone who’s going?

    Upon reflection, though I’m not a Taylor Swift fan, it might be fun. Being in a lively crowd having a good time singing and dancing could be therapeutic.

  11. 11.

    NotMax

    TCM twosome: the Ingrid Bergman/Charles Boyer Gaslight (1944) airs at 8 p.m. Eastern today, a previous version from 1940 at 6 a.m. Saturday.

  12. 12.

    Geminid

    @Baud: In terms of public perceptions, Jordan would be a poor choice. I don’t think he is widely respected in his own caucus either.

  14. 14.

    NotMax

    Least surprising item of the week.

    Trump Somehow Manages to Make the Israel-Hamas Conflict All About Him

    The Israel-Hamas war has provided an opportunity for Donald Trump to demonstrate once again, more forcefully than usual, that he has no business being president of the United States.

    At a rally on Wednesday in South Palm Beach, Florida, near his Mar-a-Lago resort, Trump criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, derided the country’s defense minister as “this jerk,” and touted Hezbollah as “very smart.” Source

  16. 16.

    Ken

    @gene108: Weren’t there some Republicans trying to push that back in January, after the first few days of voting? It didn’t really work then either.

  20. 20.

    sab

    Horror show: I am still horrified by ticks in my bed. They rode in on my dog, who never goes anywhere. She caught them from either the deer or the woodchucks.

  21. 21.

    Tony Jay

    *** BREAKING NEWS *** JACKAL NEWS *** BREAKING NEWS *** JACKAL NEWS ***

    Thomas Friederman

    No Future? A Radical New Group Wants America To Rethink Everything

    Is this the way forward? The non-partisan David H. Koch Institute for the Preservation and Improvement of a Constitutional Republic thinks so, and its cadres of hip young futuresmiths are serenely confident that ‘The Democracy Revolution’ and ‘America 2.0’ won’t stop there.

    “The House moves that all powers, responsibilities and duties inherent to the Office of Speaker of the House of Representatives shall henceforth be wielded by the Office of the People’s Speaker of the House of Representatives, said Office to be occupied for no longer than one calendar month by a member of the majority Party, said member to be selected by lottery three days before the end of the previous incumbent’s term, said lottery to include only names of Representatives from the same Party as the previous Speaker of the House of Representatives or People’s Speaker of the House of Representatives, minus the names of current and previous incumbents. The Office of the People’s Speaker of the House of Representatives will return all powers, responsibilities and duties inherent to the Office of Speaker of the House of Representatives to the Office of Speaker of the House of Representatives immediately upon the election of a new Speaker of the House of Representatives by a majority of the House.”

    Everyone gets a chance to be in the barrel (except Democrats, who don’t have the votes anyway), but no one has to stay there long enough to make mistakes. Plus, for the modern Media Market, there’s the inbuilt drama of wondering just whose name will come out of the box next and what domestic and/or international crisis their term in office will coincide with. As my taxi-driver said to me when I explained the theory to him, “By Allah, Mister Friederman. The Networks will love it!”

    *** JACKAL NEWS – WE DISTORT, YOU DERIDE

  23. 23.

    Geminid

    @Baud: I like Dusty Baker, the Astro’s manager.

    Baker used to be a Brave. When he was a rookie and the Braves were playing the Cardinals, Hank Aaron gave Baker some advice about facing pitcher Bob Gibson:

    “If you hit a home run, don’t run the bases too fast, and don’t run them too slowly.

    And don’t dig in! Bob Gibson would knock his own grandmother down if she dug in on him!”

    Baker said he was left wondering, “what about my 21-game hitting streak?” It ended that night.

  30. 30.

    p.a.

    @Geminid: I have a 1964 World Series Champions newspaper photo of the Cards (not on newsprint, on shiny magazine-type  paper) and no word of a lie Gibson looks like he wants to get up and pummel the photographer.

     

    My father was a Yankees fan, so I wonder why he kept it.  Found it after he died.

  33. 33.

    Ken

    @Princess: It’s another case (and we’ve had a lot lately) where I wonder if the Biden campaign will need to pay the Republicans for creating all these nice, ready-made ads for them.

  36. 36.

    Geminid

    This morning’s Politico Playbook has a fairly long article about yesterday’s events in the House Republican caucus, and previewing today’s. That cranky caucus will meet again today at 10am.

    The report said that Steve Scalise “bled support all day” yesterday, a number of Republicans say “Jordan? No way!” and there is some Congressman from Oklahoma named Hern who might be a compromise candidate.

    I’m just glad I don’t have to be at today’s meeting. Those people hate each other.

  40. 40.

    Ramalama

    @gene108:

    Being in a lively crowd having a good time singing and dancing could be therapeutic.

    I thought this exact same thing just yesterday when seeing the commercial for her movie. It’s sometimes very fun to be in a crowd with people who are mad dog crazy for an act even if you aren’t (or aren’t yet). This has happened a few times for me in Quebec with stars I knew nothing about but the crowd around me, glowing and swaying along. Really great.

    Unfortunately I’m so not a Swiftie. Not anti-Swiftie. But I don’t get it. I think that would bother me being surrounded by people who love her, and me already having decided?

    I mean, five notes coming out of Lauryn Hill’s mouth singing on Saturday Night Live, it grabbed me. I was instantly transformed. Tracy Chapman’s song coming out of my Boston radio? I’m there. Listening to Big Country’s entire first album? I cannot move.

    Anyway.

  43. 43.

    Suzanne

    There was an interesting piece in the Tiger Beat on the Potomac yesterday about how the rise of right-wing radio and Fox News has created an incentive structure for Republicans to behave in flagrant-asshole fashion. It’s so true. I’m just having my morning coffee and I’m too bleary to find a link.

    I’m so interested in the concept of incentive structures. I feel like it gets at a lot.

  44. 44.

    Baud

    @Suzanne:

    Not nearly in the same league, but I feel like social media has done that for the left of center too. I feel like there is more push back on our side in recent years though.

  46. 46.

    Jeffg166

    There are 31 republicans in the problem solving caucus. If they want to solve this problem they could vote for Jeffries

  47. 47.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Ramalama: We’ve been going to a lot of live music lately, and most of these are acts that I like a lot but am not a superfan of. We saw Janelle Monáe a few weeks ago–an amazing, slick show with just electric energy, and my wife was wondering why she was playing venues the size of MGM Music Hall and not, you know, stadiums. But her crowd loves her.

    I would put Taylor Swift in the “actually pretty good but not my thing” category, but it’s not baffling why she’s a superstar. My niece is a giant fan.

  51. 51.

    Ramalama

    Speaker of the House doesn’t have to be an elected official? If the GOP had any sense, they would try to get Cassidy Hutchinson to do a stint. Great interview with her on PSA (Obama dudes) and she reiterated her Republican bona fides, while also expressing a harkening back to fairness and decency (did that ever exist?). She’s super hot, young, and incredibly articulate, and well-versed in the goings on on the Hill. My words to God’s elbow.

  52. 52.

    Geminid

    @Jeffg166: Maybe those 31 Republicans will draw straws, and the 5 who draw the short straws will be the Designated Defectors. The other 26 might envy them.

  54. 54.

    NotMax

    And just why did Rep. Harriet Hageman (WY), an avowed Jordan supporter, show up to the meeting clutching a coil of strong rope?

  55. 55.

    Snarki, child of Loki

    Okay, Repug. Dumbos, here’s the “ask” for a bipartisan speakership:

    Vote to repeal the debt limit.

    Gaetz’s head on a platter.

    Change the House “dress code” to require that MTG and Santos wear clown shoes.

    We’ll even give you a choice of Speaker! Jeffries or AOC.

  56. 56.

    satby

    Josh Marshall sums it up: As I said, couldn’t happen to a nicer caucus. The pathogen they developed to break the republic ended up infecting them too. It’s of a piece with election denialism and parliamentary terrorism. All fruit of the same poison tree.

  57. 57.

    Soprano2

    @Suzanne: The gerrymandering plays into it too, My rep got elected with something like 65% of the vote in the last election; he knows his seat is safe no matter what he does or says. There are a lot of them like that whose incentives are to play to the worst of the base rather than to get things done for all the people.

  58. 58.

    New Deal democrat

    I want to restate and amplify something I wrote last night: I do not think there is *any* path to 217 for any GOPer by means of the GOP caucus alone.

    That’s because there are 2 mutually exclusive veto groups:

    (1) extreme RWers who will not vote for anyone without the same Rules that defenestrated McCarthy.

    (2) relatively more moderate GOPers who will not allow the Rule allowing a single Member to make a Motion to Vacate the Chair to survive.

    It’s possible one of these groups throws in the towel, but I doubt it.

    That makes turning to the Democrats for help, and paying a price for that help, the only way forward.

  59. 59.

    MattF

    Republicans are very deeply screwed. Each faction is split into multiple sub-factions, to the degree that any member can be characterized by the particular set of red flags they are waving. The notion of a ‘conservative libertarian majority’ has reached its logical endpoint.

  60. 60.

    Geminid

    @NotMax: Hageman’s the one who knocked Liz Cheney out.

    They say that Hageman lady throws a wide loop. Maybe she’ll rope Matt Gaetz, jerk him to the ground and hogtie him.

  61. 61.

    NotMax

    @Ken

    Third in line

    Rankles, that. The President is not in line for the presidency, he or she already occupies the office . Next (first in line) is the Veep. Speaker (unless line of succession is changed yet again) is second in line.

  62. 62.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Snarki, child of Loki: ​ Change the House “dress code” to require that MTG and Santos wear clown shoes.

    You forgot the bags over their heads. We can take a vote on whether they are paper or plastic.

  67. 67.

    MattF

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: Ha, yes. Naturally, we hate Republicans. But now, Republicans hate Republicans— and with all of that special demented fervor that they’ve nurtured over the years.

  70. 70.

    MisterDancer

    @satby: Yes, Josh nails it. Suzanne, I can’t find that Politico piece you mentioned, and every time I go on that website I feel icky afterwards :)

    But “we” do know what’s starting to finally leak into the minds of the mainstream press — the GOP is broken. And has been broken for decades. I was mentioning yesterday the defection of Sen. Jeffords to caucus with/throw the Senate to the Democrats in 2001, an act we could never imagine in today’s all-Conservative GOP.

    The breakage has now, as Josh says, seeped into the most basic functions of the GOP as a political party. They gave up writing a plank for the last Presidential election, along with so much more because they stopped even pretending to care about policy. They spent decades, now, convincing voters to vote them in to rip good governance to shreds. They made Faustian bargains to build an entire media echo chamber to brainwash millions into supporting that belief, just as the UK and other countries have suffered under.

    They’ve built alter after alter to naught but shallow power, and now too many of them have no idea how to do anything but the most performative, media-hungry acts, as if that’s all that a Representative is there to be.

    And it’s depressing as hell that, for so many, that performative BS is all they need to do, for the rest of their lives.

  72. 72.

    Soprano2

    I’m going to post about the results of my husband’s driving test here, since I posted the original in the morning thread. He took the test on Wednesday afternoon, and failed every part of it. I had to go back in the room with him and watch him take the test; it was a hard thing to see even though it confirmed what I already knew. He tried to tell the examiner that he drove that day! When I said “No, you didn’t” he gave me a dirty look and then said “I drove yesterday”. I told the examiner “No, he didn’t drive yesterday. The last time he drove was probably around September 20th”.  I didn’t tell him I’d already taken the car key off hubby’s key chain, either. So now the next step is to go to the DMV and exchange his driver’s license for a state of MO ID. It’s such a sad thing for him to lose his independence like that, but safer for everyone. Eventually I’m going to tell him that he should tell everyone he has a chauffeur now. I hope for all of you that you never have to experience this with someone you love.

  73. 73.

    NotMax

    @Dorothy A. Winsor

    If a person whose office places them in the line of succession does not meet any of the constitutional requirements to assume the presidency, he or she is skipped over.

  74. 74.

    Anyway

    @Suzanne:

    how the rise of right-wing radio and Fox News has created an incentive structure for Republicans to behave in flagrant-asshole fashion.

    Whenever that’s been pointed out in the past it gets labeled as SHRILL! LIBS!!

  77. 77.

    Ken

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: My understanding is the Speaker does not have to meet the requirements, but they would not be able to become President. The age requirement would be another; a Representative has to be at least 25, and President 35. (Though I wonder if a Speaker has to meet the age requirement, since they don’t have to be a Representative.)

    However yesterday electoral-vote reported that Cenk Uygur intends to run for President. He feels that the Constitution’s “natural born Citizen” really means “naturalized Citizen”. Following that logical path, perhaps the requirement to be 35 means Mercury years, and a sixth-grader could be President.

  78. 78.

    Anyway

    @Soprano2:

    I’m so sorry to hear this. I feel for you (and hubby). How does he get around, if he can’t drive? Are you his ride? From your posts you have a day job and the pub — how do you manage?! Sending warm thoughts…

  85. 85.

    Narya

    @Soprano2: I’m so sorry. My dad decided it himself a few years ago, and my mom is agreeing to get someone to drive her for all but very local trips, so we haven’t had to go through what you did. That must have been hard; sending good thoughts your way (and his).

  86. 86.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Ken: While, morally, I feel that naturalized citizens should be eligible for the Presidency, I also think that the Constitution is pretty clear on the subject and that there’s no way that argument would fly in court. I recall the Congressional Research Service put out a pretty comprehensive document on the legal history of the subject around the time that birthers were trying to claim Obama was ineligible.

  87. 87.

    Baud

    @Matt McIrvin:

    Cenk is trolling.  He’s running in the primary and I’m not sure they check eligibility for the primary ballot.  He just wants a platform to attack Biden for whoever is paying him, or to grift, or both.

  88. 88.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Ken:

    My understanding is the Speaker does not have to meet the requirements, but they would not be able to become President.

    I think you’re right. Technically, if I understand the law correctly, someone further down in the line than the Vice-President would only become Acting President if the President and VP were both unavailable–but this is for all intents and purposes functionally the same as being President, and the eligibility requirements are also the same.

  90. 90.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Soprano2: We went thru this with my old man after he almost drove over a 6′ high embankment in a parking lot. As I recall it was surprisingly easy taking away the car keys. He was already fairly dependent on Ma for most things.

  92. 92.

    Cheryl from Maryland

    @Soprano2: thank you for letting us know.  I’m sorry you have had to go through all of this, but I hope you also feel relieved.

  93. 93.

    Ben Cisco

    @Soprano2: I am sorry you are having to go through this; my understanding is that you were expecting/hoping for this outcome? Still doesn’t make it easy. It’s an experience I would not wish on anyone. HUGS

  98. 98.

    Soprano2

    @Anyway: I drive him when he  needs to go somewhere, I’ve been doing that mostly for the past year already. Luckily I don’t manage the pub, I have managers who do that. But yeah, my life is pretty hectic sometimes. I feel that I inherited my sister’s life too, because that’s how she lived. Hubby didn’t actually go that many places without me, mostly to the store and to get his hair cut (last time I had to take him to that; he left to go there and came back without his hair cut, when I checked the GPS I found he had driven around for awhile. I think he forgot he was going to get a haircut and then just drove around aimlessly for awhile before coming home). I’m glad he quit driving before I had the experience of him getting lost. That happened with my grandfather; he went to get gas and ended up 5 miles north of Branson in a farmer’s field! My poor grandmother was beside herself with worry. That was the day we took the car away.

  100. 100.

    Another Scott

    Meanwhile, for your eructation pleasure… Phys.org:

    The study undertaken by researchers in Poland and Turkey focused on methane emissions resulting from enteric fermentation and manure management and showed that over the four-year period, dairy cattle farming in the region contributed more than 20 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent into the atmosphere. Almost 1 million tons was attributed to methane emissions with more than 98% of those due to enteric fermentation and less than 2% due to manure management.

    IOW, 98% of the CO2 equivalent emissions from diary farming is from cows burping, not from their poop. Better understanding their digestion, and changing their feed, can help fight climate change.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  101. 101.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @satby: I was today years old, as the yutes say, when I learned this:

    The literal definition of a caucus in American political usage is a defined group that collectively decides on actions by majority vote and then acts in unison in a parliamentary context.

    I know that Jeffries and before him Pelosi is routinely able to corral the Dems to vote unanimously. Didn’t realize that was the norm prior to the current bomb-throwing era.

  102. 102.

    Soprano2

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: I have a friend for whom this is true. Her mother is 91 and in memory care now, her father died 12 years ago. She told me she couldn’t believe they had to go through this twice. I hope you and she beat the odds.

  104. 104.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    @Soprano2:

    My thoughts are with you. Love hurts but it’s what drives us to do what we have to.

    Best wishes to your hubby and you.

  106. 106.

    eclare

    @Soprano2:

    Absolutely.  During the last redistricting, Nashville lost its D rep.  It is now split between three R reps.  Some group has filed a lawsuit, I hope it prevails.

  107. 107.

    Soprano2

    @OzarkHillbilly: I think my main problem is going to be that he will continue to insist that he’s OK to drive and that it’s all bullshit. I keep saying “You can’t drive, your license was revoked”, then he gets in the car and we go. I understand that it’s a pride thing, but it’s also a safety issue. His reaction time in the test on moving his foot from the gas to the brake at a stop light was over one second; the examiner said normal is between 0.4 and 0.7 seconds. It’s dangerous to him and others for him to drive now.

  108. 108.

    Soprano2

    @Ben Cisco: Yes, I was expecting him to fail the test. It only told me things I already know, like that he has problems with navigation. After one test the examiner said the result showed that within 3-6 months he would get lost driving. I wanted to tell him “That’s kind of already happening because he can remember where things are but he can’t remember how to get to them”.

  111. 111.

    MisterDancer

    @Soprano2: It’s such a sad thing for him to lose his independence like that, but safer for everyone.

    As someone also working thru a similar issue in my family, I do understand. I hope he can come around to some inner peace on this, and you can, as well.

  113. 113.

    evodevo

    @sab: Or just walking through the grass/brush…ticks hang out on the tips of the plants waiting for a warm-blooded host to walk by…then they grab the first hair that touches them and climb on.  I’ve watched them do it many times…(zoology major here…I am interested in any animal interaction)

  114. 114.

    Jackie

    @Soprano2: I’m sorry 😞 But, I hope this gives you some peace of mind with the confirmed knowledge your instincts were right.

    When my dad was told he had to pass a driving test before his license would be renewed he was furious. He was 95 and using a walker. I just told him he could take Senior Drivers Ed – instructed by police officers – and if he passed, he could get his license back. Knowing he “had the opportunity,” he always planned to do just that, but never did. I was his chauffeur 😊

    I know your circumstances are different, but for whatever the reason, surrendering one’s DL is a sad day.

  115. 115.

    Another Scott

    @Suzanne: @Soprano2: +1

    Nature tells us that monocultures are bad.  Predators are necessary for a healthy ecosystem.  And the prey gets smarter and stronger and more resilient when they can’t prance around  all day eating bonbons and making babies without consequences.

    It’s the same in the battle of ideas.

    Politicians need to be forced to fight for votes and be responsive to their constituents.

    And, humans don’t like change – even though life is change.  Everyone wants to stay in bed in the morning, but life demands that we get out of bed and do the work.  As long as there are no consequences, people will keep doing what they do.

    Consequences are finally coming for the GQP.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  116. 116.

    eclare

    @Soprano2:

    I am so sorry you’re going through this.  Luckily I never went through this with my parents.  My 93 yo aunt has said she will give up her keys once it’s her time, her husband did a few years ago.

  118. 118.

    Scout211

    @Soprano2: Eventually I’m going to tell him that he should tell everyone he has a chauffeur now. I hope for all of you that you never have to experience this with someone you love.

    The push for me to get my husband in to see a neurologist was one day when he called me in a panic because he was lost while driving. He had his phone with him but he couldn’t remember how to use the maps program.

    The loss of independence is heartbreaking for your husband, but also for you.  I am in your position and know that you are also losing your independence and that is not an easy adjustment either.  I am retired so I do have the time to be my husband’s  chauffeur but with all of his healthcare appointments, it is more like a part-time job.

    I feel for you and I hope you soon find a rhythm that works for the both of you.  There will be so many challenges and adjustments ahead for you and also for me.  I wish us both strength and good humor to weather the bumps ahead.

    Don’t forget to take care of yourself.

  119. 119.

    catclub

    @Geminid: Maybe those 31 Republicans will draw straws, and the 5 who draw the short straws will be the Designated Defectors. The other 26 might envy them.

     

    Was it you who suggested they don’t even need to vote for Jeffries? just enough voting present to give Jeffries a majority of those voting.

  120. 120.

    Ken

    @NotMax: The dark ugly side of my mind thinks a Wyoming representative showing up with a rope might have something to do with President Biden recently noting the death of Matthew Shepard. I hate to think that, but we’re talking about Republicans who think that sort of thing is clever.

  121. 121.

    Matt McIrvin

    …Concerning Presidential succession, it’s kind of amazing to me that the situation where someone further down the line becomes President has never actually happened, especially when you consider that before the 25th Amendment, there was no provision for replacing an absent Vice-President: Lyndon Johnson, for instance, had no Vice-President while he was serving out the remainder of Kennedy’s term.

    The closest it came to happening was probably during the Watergate crisis, before Gerald Ford was confirmed as Agnew’s replacement. I recall that the House Speaker of the time made some low-key preparations.

  122. 122.

    trnc

    @satby: ThEY’re still big mad that the Dems didn’t step up to save Qwevin the weasel.

    I hate to be the one to piss in the punchbowl, but don’t be surprised when the media gets bored with the circus and starts throwing out pitchbot articles about how dems are to blame for no speaker, no budget, etc, and don’t be surprised when low information voters accept that framing. We have a short window of fairly accurate media coverage for now, but it won’t last and it will absolutely change the second that repubs start talking publicly about maybe some concessions for dems even if they don’t actually offer to negotiate.

  123. 123.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Soprano2: ​I think my main problem is going to be that he will continue to insist that he’s OK to drive and that it’s all bullshit.

    No doubt, and it’s going to be hard for you to have to fight that battle time after time. I had other battles with Pop. Than one day I learned to just tell him whatever pretty little lie he wanted to hear at the moment, knowing that 5 mins later he would forget all about it anyway.

    It’s hard no matter what one does. Hopefully the lucid moments can give you enough joy to make all the difficult moments easier to bear. I am sorry you have to go thru this. Stay strong.

  124. 124.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @Jackie: I’ve said before that I live in an 0ver-55 condo building, so there are a number of people here who don’t drive. One plus about living here though is that they will drive you anywhere within a 5-mile radius. You have to make a reservation, and sometimes you have to take a regularly scheduled bus, but I once had them drive me to an eye doctor appointment that was going to leave me with my eyes so dilated, I knew I shouldn’t be driving.

  125. 125.

    Soprano2

    @Another Scott: I’ve always thought that decisions made by a group where everyone has had similar experiences and similar education are not as good as ones where the group is more diverse. It’s the same in politics.

  127. 127.

    Soprano2

    @Scout211: My husband doesn’t even have a cell phone; that’s why I put the GPS in his vehicle, because I was tired of being in a panic every time I came home and found his vehicle was gone. And yes, I’ve been thinking about that a lot because I have to take off work to take him to his doctor’s appointments; there were 3 in the past two weeks! They seem to come in bunches for some reason. I’m lucky that it’s easy for me to take off at work and I have plenty of leave time. I’m also fortunate that when I need to hire help I’ll be able to afford it; I know that will come eventually.  My husband isn’t a wanderer; my grandfather was, and that was a nightmare for my poor grandmother. He went missing more than once until we finally put him in a locked Alzheimer’s ward for his own safety.

    I do take care of myself, mainly because I know I have to stay healthy for him; I also have to stay sane for myself! I do Jazzercize and yoga, and am currently seeing a therapist once a week to get help with mapping out all the things I need to handle. Please don’t forget to take care of yourself too. I think we could form a BJ support group with all of us who are dealing with various permutations of this situation right now.

    ETA – as to the issue of independence, the neuro/psych doc told me that the more interaction he has with others the better, and to not stop doing things we did before, so that’s what I’m doing. We still go to the symphony and other things like that. I’m going to do that as long as we can, because I can tell a difference in him when he gets out and interacts with people.

  128. 128.

    Ben Cisco

    @Soprano2: My mom just turned 82 and is still driving. She is self-limiting in that area as she no longer drives after dark, but I hope and pray that when the time approaches, she will recognize it. Didn’t have to go through it with my dad as mini-strokes took the option off the table.

  129. 129.

    prostratedragon

    @Brit in Chicago:  My father said almost exactly those words. He kept driving into his late 80s when we realized how bad his peripheral vision had become, almost drifting into oncoming traffic on the Roosevelt viaduct with all of us in the car. Don’t think he drove any more after that day. My mother didn’t drive much, but younger friends of his gave him lifts.

  130. 130.

    What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?

    Am I the only one who sees the name Olivia Beavers and thinks porn star not political reporter?

    And then though, maybe she should have chosen porn over Politico as the more honorable profession?

  131. 131.

    Chris Johnson

    @NotMax: Because the Jordan people, behind closed doors, are telling the non-traitors that they are going to literally hang them, and because in the absence of being able to bring in AK-47s, nothing is stopping them from bringing in rope and saying ‘we are going to hang you with this rope’. So since they can’t bring in literal assault weapons and shoot their enemies they’re bringing in literal rope.

  132. 132.

    Ken

    @Baud: The Republicans’ current problem being that they have about 30 different caucuses in the House, many of them having one member.

  133. 133.

    mrmoshpotato

    Good morning everyone!  I was going to ask if the House has a new Speaker yet but who am I kidding?

  134. 134.

    WaterGirl

    @Ken:

    However yesterday electoral-vote reported that Cenk Uygur intends to run for President. He feels that the Constitution’s “natural born Citizen” really means “naturalized Citizen”. Following that logical path, perhaps the requirement to be 35 means Mercury years, and a sixth-grader could be President.

    I love this.

  137. 137.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Geminid:

    I’m just glad I don’t have to be at today’s meeting. Those people hate each other.

    Ditto.  I’d love to secretly film it, though.

    ETA:

    @Baud:

    For once, they show good judgment.

  140. 140.

    frosty

    @Soprano2: ​ That happened with my grandfather; he went to get gas and ended up 5 miles north of Branson in a farmer’s field! My poor grandmother was beside herself with worry. That was the day we took the car away.

    The same thing also happened with my mom. She was ready to quit driving and sell me her car, so I took the train to NC and a bus to within a mile or so of her assisted living center. She said “No, I’ll pick you up.” She never showed. I walked to her place, talked to the maintenance staff, and they tried to find her. She ended up in a ditch nowhere near the route to get me and a couple of passersby helped her. Unhurt, car was OK, but I kicked myself for not forcefully saying no, don’t drive, I’ll walk.​

  142. 142.

    trnc

    @Ken: However yesterday electoral-vote reported that Cenk Uygur intends to run for President. He feels that the Constitution’s “natural born Citizen” really means “naturalized Citizen”. Following that logical path, perhaps the requirement to be 35 means Mercury years, and a sixth-grader could be President.

    Yeah, I think the answer to that is that if the framers had intended “natural born” to be synonymous with “naturalized,” they would have just written the word citizen with no qualifiers.

  145. 145.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Baud:

    It’s too bad the Astros are tarred as cheaters. They’re a consistently good team. 

    Doesn’t that imply they’re wrongly seen as cheaters?

  146. 146.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Jeffg166:

    There are 31 republicans in the problem solving caucus. If they want to solve this problem they could vote for Jeffries

    Not exactly a challenge for them to either see or execute this solution.  So what’s the hangup?

    @satby:

    @Jeffg166: ThEY’re still big mad that the Dems didn’t step up to save Qwevin the weasel.

    Oh, right!  But that’s their problem!  They’re Problem Solvers, surely they could find a way to solve it.

    Like just getting over it (and themselves), for instance.

  149. 149.

    Ramalama

    @MattF: Thanks for the link. The article made me feel bad that I was missing out but also confused as to why I was missing out. I DON’T GET IT. I’ve listened to a few songs and … can’t get there. What era am I? Answer: #old.

  152. 152.

    Ramalama

    @Matt McIrvin:

    I like Taylor Swift’s booms to the local economies every time she plays a concert. I like that she’s gotten scores of young people to register to vote. I find it weird (ok weird) that I keep reminding myself that I need to watch her movement from the sidelines.

  153. 153.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Researchers use AI to read word on ancient scroll burned by Vesuvius

    The discovery was announced on Thursday by Prof Brent Seales, a computer scientist at the University of Kentucky, and others who launched the Vesuvius challenge in March to accelerate the reading of the texts. Backed by Silicon Valley investors, the challenge offers cash prizes to researchers who extract legible words from the carbonised scrolls.

    “This is the first recovered text from one of these rolled-up, intact scrolls,” said Stephen Parsons, a staff researcher on the digital restoration initiative at the university. Researchers have since uncovered more letters from the ancient scroll.

    To launch the Vesuvius challenge, Seales and his team released thousands of 3D X-ray images of two rolled-up scrolls and three papyrus fragments. They also released an artificial intelligence program they had trained to read letters in the scrolls based on subtle changes that the ancient ink made to the structure of the papyrus.

    The unopened scrolls belong to a collection held by the Institut de France in Paris and are among hundreds recovered from the library at the villa thought to be owned by a senior Roman statesman, possibly Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus, the father-in-law of Julius Caesar.

    Two computer science students, Luke Farritor in Nebraska and Youssef Nader in Berlin, who took up the Vesuvius challenge, improved the search process and independently hit on the same ancient Greek word in one of the scrolls: “πορφύραc”, meaning “purple”. Farritor, who was first to find the word, wins $40,000 with Nader winning $10,000.

    Today, one small word, tomorrow the whole scroll. Science is amazing.

  155. 155.

    Geminid

    @catclub: I don’t think it was me. I’m the one who keeps talking about 5 Republicans making a deal with Democratic leadeship to elect a retired Republican like Tom Reed or Charlie Dent to be a “caretaker” Speaker.

  158. 158.

    jonas

    @gene108: Not the media, but this is exactly what some Republican reps were saying about the 15-ballot shitshow that produced the McCarthy speakership. Claudia Tenney, an upstate NY rep told a local reporter at the time something like: “We’re not a bunch of lock-step, cult members who are showing up here every day like zombies to vote in unison for Hakeem Jeffries. We’re free!”

    I laughed out loud when I heard that, but then I realized she was being serious…

  160. 160.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Suzanne:

    There was an interesting piece in the Tiger Beat on the Potomac yesterday about how the rise of right-wing radio and Fox News has created an incentive structure for Republicans to behave in flagrant-asshole fashion. 

    Oh, so they’ve finally arrived at the 1990’s.  Good for them!  Bravo!

  161. 161.

    trnc

    @Matt McIrvin: While, morally, I feel that naturalized citizens should be eligible for the Presidency, I also think that the Constitution is pretty clear on the subject and that there’s no way that argument would fly in court. I recall the Congressional Research Service put out a pretty comprehensive document on the legal history of the subject around the time that birthers were trying to claim Obama was ineligible.

    You’re probably thinking of this:

    https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/R42097.pdf

    Today’s SCOTUS majority doesn’t feel bound by actual text, so all bets are off for anything less than that but I doubt they’re inclined to make Cenk their test case. Moot point, since he’ll never get anything close to the ballot access requirements.

  162. 162.

    jonas

    @Suzanne:There was an interesting piece in the Tiger Beat on the Potomac yesterday about how the rise of right-wing radio and Fox News has created an incentive structure for Republicans to behave in flagrant-asshole fashion.

    What was the dateline on that story? 1998?

    ETA, ok I see a couple of others were there before me. That this is “news” is pretty hilarious.

  169. 169.

    RAM

    The mess in D.C. is the logical conclusion of the GOP’s complete disdain for governing. They’ve managed over the years to distill their conference down to a gang uninterested and incapable of governing. I’m just glad they didn’t shut the government down a couple weeks ago because I didn’t see any avenue for getting it back up running again. The modern GOP’s uninterested in governing; they want to rule and reign but as the current mess shows, they aren’t any good at that either.

  171. 171.

    lowtechcyclist

    @MisterDancer:

    But “we” do know what’s starting to finally leak into the minds of the mainstream press — the GOP is broken.

    And about freakin’ time!

    And has been broken for decades.

    I have to disagree with this.  They’ve been the Party of Evil for decades, but fifteen years ago, they were still effective at being evil.

    I would argue that the key moment was the Tea Party wave of 2010.  At the Congressional level, it put a huge number of Republicans in the House who’d grown up politically on Rush Limbaugh and Fox News.  The true believers were no longer rubes out there who were easily manipulated, they were Congresspersons.

    And the same thing was not only happening at the state level, but the GOP wins in so many statehouses empowered all that serious gerrymandering at both the Congressional and state legislative level that perpetuated their hold on power and minimized their need to be responsive to their constituents.  That meant there was no penalty at any legislative level for being radical right nutcases.

    And that’s now the 2010 midterms broke the GOP.  Just not enough, yet, to turn Dems into a permanent majority.  We still have to go into every election cycle as if the survival of our democracy is riding on it, because it is.

  172. 172.

    BlueGuitarist

    @Geminid:

    Based on Norm Ornstein comments, i mentioned Hern and Emmer in the thread last night.

    McCongresssman Kevin Hern (owns 20+ McDonald’s Franchises) voted to overturn the 2020 election, chairs the ridiculous Republican Study Committee.

    Tom Emmer (MN) chairs the RNCC, raising $ for R congressional candidates, but is opposed by Trump because he voted to certify.

  173. 173.

    Miss Bianca

    @NotMax: Oh, I just rewatched the Bergman/Boyer one to prepare for my our Gaslight production. I’d like to see the earlier one, I hear that one’s good, too!

  175. 175.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Soprano2:

    So now the next step is to go to the DMV and exchange his driver’s license for a state of MO ID. It’s such a sad thing for him to lose his independence like that, but safer for everyone. Eventually I’m going to tell him that he should tell everyone he has a chauffeur now. I hope for all of you that you never have to experience this with someone you love.

    Having had to deal with it with both my wife’s grandmother and my own mother (both passed away now, thank goodness), I feel for you.

    Dementia sucks worse than just about any bodily affliction, AFAIAC, because you’re losing that person yet they’re still physically present, and going from being an independent person or an equal partner in one’s marriage to increasingly being a problem that must be dealt with, and a danger to themselves and possibly others who can’t be left alone anymore.

    This is a hard moment for you, but unfortunately there are harder moments still to come.  My prayers are with you.

  179. 179.

    Tony G

    My own half-baked opinion: A major component of the standard right-wing dogma in the United States since the glory days of Saint Reagan more than 40 years ago has been the notion that “the government” is a toxic force that does only harm, never good.  And, ever since then, the right-wing in the U.S. has done everything they can show that that idea is true.  The current debacle in the House is the latest manifestation of that.

  181. 181.

    Soprano2

    @lowtechcyclist: He’s still OK by himself at home now, but I know there will come a day when that’s not true anymore. I’m not looking forward to that. I’m extremely fortunate that he’s not a wanderer, those are the true nightmare people to try to take care of. My mother had a story in her family about a woman who was locked in a room in a house out in the country. My mother always thought that was just a fable until she talked to a woman in her 80’s who said it was true because she remembered it from when she was a child. I figure that was a “wanderer” who had to be locked up because in the late 1800’s/early 1900’s there were no nursing homes or other kind of facilities for someone like that, and the family probably couldn’t have afforded it even if there were. Can you imagine the problems that would have caused for the family, having someone who would have wandered away into the woods?

  182. 182.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Narya: Go Philthies!

    FTFY ;^D. With cousins and nephew in the City of Bastardly Love, now that our O’s are out of it**, I am adopting the Surekill River squad for the duration of the postseason.***

    ** They’re young & unaccustomed to long seasons and playoffs, they’ll learn and will only get better (so long as the baseball-ignorant ownership doesn’t sell off all the young talent, fire the experts that got them there so quickly, and pocket the $$$).

    *** Though Bryce Harper seems to be something of a 21st-century Ty Cobb wannabe, IOW a talented player but major-league prick.

  184. 184.

    Matt McIrvin

    @lowtechcyclist: Like I said further up, I think the experience of the early Bush era taught them to do 50%+1 party-line governing and to regard anything supported by a Democrat as anathema, even if they wanted it–if you got Democratic support, it meant you were leaving ideological purity on the table and you could do better than that. And they rammed a lot through in party-line votes that way,

    But it’s a model that requires unanimity, and to some extent a cowed opposition. And they don’t have either any more. So that rigidity is now killing them.

  185. 185.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Tony G: Convince people of that and you can actually be rewarded for sucking–I suck, I’m the government, I’m anti-government, vote for me to stick it to me! But it doesn’t work forever.

  186. 186.

    geg6

    @gene108: ​
     
    Not today, but tomorrow with my niece and sister. I’m no Swiftie, but I plan to enjoy every minute. The world sucks and I’m taking all the joy I can wherever I can get it.

  188. 188.

    geg6

    @Baud: ​
     
    Since I live in Pittsburgh and, well…Pirates…

    Does this mean the second most boring sport in the world in now done for the year? Please, please, please?

  189. 189.

    dirge

    @Geminid: 5 Republicans making a deal with Democratic leadeship to elect a retired Republican…

    Democrats are bringing 212 votes to the table.  If a republican can bring 213, they get a republican speaker and a favorable power sharing agreement.  If they bring 211, they get a democratic speaker and a favorable power sharing agreement.  If they bring 5, they get a democratic speaker, plus a Panera loyalty card with 7 stars already punched.  A few more, and maybe we can discuss a nice gift basket or highway funding or something.

  190. 190.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Tony G: ​P. J. O’Rourke (1947-2022), no friend to Democrats (or for that matter anyone to the left of Genghis Khan) once wrote:

    The Republicans are the party that says government doesn’t work and then they get elected and prove it.

  192. 192.

    Geminid

    @dirge: Jeffries might take a deal like I suggest because a 15-minth stint as a minority Speaker could be problematic. All House Democrats really need for now is the ability to move legislation with majority backing and get a floor vote on it.

    Jeffries will be Speaker anyway come January, 2025 and with a substantial majority too, I think. That’s a better way to start.

  193. 193.

    Geminid

    @dirge: Jeffries might take a deal like I suggest because a 15-minth stint as a minority Speaker could be problematic. All House Democrats really need for now is the ability to move legislation with majority backing and get a floor vote on it.

    Jeffries will be Speaker anyway come January, 2025 and with a substantial majority too, I think. That’s a better way to start.

  194. 194.

    Ruckus

    @Matt McIrvin:

    If one drinks at the well of stupid and asinine, one gets poisoned rather easily.

    If one owns and runs that well it’s way too late.

    Rethuglicans are the shareholders of the well and the poison and are only in it for the stupid that got them in there in the first place. They think ownership makes them a profit but really it just makes negative sense, if that’s possible, and I think it is with them currently.

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