Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Everyone is in a bubble, but some bubbles model reality far better than others!

If you are still in the gop, you are either an extremist yourself, or in bed with those who are.

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

He imagines himself as The Big Bad, Who Is Universally Feared… instead of The Big Jagoff, Who Is Universally Mocked.

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

If you’re looking for someone who’s young and athletic, go watch a fucking movie.

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

DeSantis transforming Florida into 1930s Germany with gators and theme parks.

At some point, the ability to learn is a factor of character, not IQ.

Meanwhile over at truth Social, the former president is busy confessing to crimes.

There are no moderate republicans – only extremists and cowards.

“Let’s not pretend [Trump] wants to engage in high-minded discourse.”

Stop using mental illness to avoid talking about armed white supremacy.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

Nikki Haley, who can’t acknowledge ‘slavery’, is a pathetic shill.

The revolution will be supervised.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / House Session (and Speaker Vote Round 4)

Reader Interactions

235Comments

  4. 4.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    Part of me wants to believe that we’d have been better off with McCarthy, but I know it’s not true given his disregard for prior commitments/agreements he made with Dems

  5. 5.

    Sean

    No good outcome here. At least we have *another* posterchild for republican insanity on abortion given what a critical issue it is. A lot of scrutiny headed this guy’s way if he gets this done today.

  8. 8.

    hrprogressive

    So apparently, an open Fascist being Speaker of the House seems to be just a-okay with this congress.

    There’s a reason I can’t completely shake the feeling that we’re ultimately completely fucked here.

  9. 9.

    Sean

    “I just think Mike Johnson has been here since, what, 2017? So I mean, I didn’t go through his votes,” said Rep. Mark Amodei (R-Nev.). “It’s like, do I think you can keep the trains running on time? I may disagree with you on some stuff. But it doesn’t matter if we’re not in business.”

    Glad they’re taking this so seriously.

  10. 10.

    waspuppet

    I’m not a House vote-counting genius, but I have a pretty good feeling for when our six- and seven-figure political media stars collectively feel they’ve accurately quoted the words and described the thoughts and actions of Republicans long enough, and that continuing to do so would be “piling on” and “unfair.” I think a critical mass have reached that point, and they’re going into Drag Him Across the Line mode. I’m not sure how many “moderate” (lol) votes that gets him, but some for sure.

  11. 11.

    Geminid

    Meteor tip:

    If Bacon’s a Yea, then Johnson can play.

    But a Nay from Bacon means Johnson is shaken.

  12. 12.

    Dr. Jakyll and Miss Deride

    To add some much-needed levity, if Jeffries reaches 17 votes before the other guy he should just declare victory (“You said I only needed to get to 17, right?”).

  14. 14.

    smith

    @Sean: His inexperience makes it likely that Johnson won’t even be able to make the trains run on time. He also is not going to be able to fundraise the way McCarthy did.

  15. 15.

    hueyplong

    If/when Johnson wins, they’ll be choosing as the second level face of the party (Trump being first) the most radical choad they have on the single best issue (Dobbs) for Democrats.  In a proper world, Johnson will face questioning on a daily basis about the outrageous shit he’s said prior to stepping into the spotlight.

  16. 16.

    smith

    @Geminid: Bacon has already said it will be yea.

    ETA: Oops — correction, that was Buck.

    ETA2: Now Bacon is saying he’s OK with Johnson.

  19. 19.

    Sean

    @smith: I agree. Thinking on it this morning I figured the only way Johnson loses is if 1. There are members holding grudges, more potent than anything in this group or 2. His inexperience scares just enough votes off.

    No one is shouting about grudges and I think they’re in fuck-it mode on experience, because they’re tired of doing this. So…

  20. 20.

    hueyplong

    @BretH: Exactly.  They are who they are, and making people clearly see that is (1) Dems’ job leading up to 2024 and (2) easier now.

  21. 21.

    hrprogressive

    @Manyakitty:

     

    By kicking all the Fascists out of all elected office and SCOTUS?

    Seriously, as long as these people hold any levers of power at this point, I think we are in grave danger.

  22. 22.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Manyakitty:

     I realize that doom-think is a weapon we use on ourselves, but JFTDC, how do we get past this?

    I always try, nowadays, to focus on the positives. Dems have been doing very well in special elections and elections so far this year. To me, it’s amazing Dems did as well as they did in the 2022 midterms given high inflation and what history said should’ve happened. Dems have made significant inroads in key battleground states, like Michigan, Arizona, etc. Dems hold the Pennsylvania House currently, which they haven’t in awhile. Ohio voted no to Issue 1 in August, by 57%, preserving the right to amend the state constitution by citizens, and now control the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which will hopefully unwind the awful R gerrymandered maps

  23. 23.

    Alison Rose

    Christ, it’s these assholes again.

    If you want something much nicer to watch, this video of a golden retriever meeting his new baby (human) brother for the first time is adorable. He’s bringing toys to the carrier like “come on, we can play, right???” Super cute. (FB link, not sure if it’ll work if you’re not logged in?)

  25. 25.

    scav

    Could be the only way to convert (in their eyes at least) this prolonged clusterfuck of a public clown-show into a conservative triumph is to elect the most bat-shit in-your-face slap to Democrats they can wrassle up.  This might be the “yer not the boss of me” smearing of shit into their own eyes.  So, the smarter ones chose a disposable whose dumb enough to agree to stand.

  28. 28.

    NotMax

    Lost count of how many cherry-picked Bible references Stefanik sprinkled into her nominarting stew.

  30. 30.

    Sean

    Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) represents one of the poorest congressional districts in the nation. According to an analysis of U.S. census data by the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank, more than 160,000 people in Louisiana’s 4th Congressional District were living in poverty in 2022. That’s about 22 percent of all district residents.

  31. 31.

    Eolirin

    The real danger here is that he’s not going to be able to avoid a government shutdown or negotiate a solution to one. And he’s not going to be able to move funding for Israel or Ukraine. There’s no way to do either without cooperating with Democrats.

    While there’s a part of the Republican caucus that’s fine with that outcome, the majority of them in the House and the Senate are not. We’re going to have a series of votes where Republicans cannot pass anything even as the government and the world start burning down and even their colleagues will be blaming them for it.

    The big thing to look for is if they change the rules around motion to vacate.

  32. 32.

    trollhattan

    Next one of these I watch will be the first. Can we say never? Never works for me.

    If I want to see crazy people unfettered I just go for a bike ride.

  33. 33.

    Wapiti

    Le shrug.

    Eventually the Repubs were/are going to get to the point that their “moderates” cave. There is nothing we or the Congressional Democrats could/can do about that calculation.

    Just make this guy with his reactionary view the new face of the Republican Party. Throw it into the WaPo editorial board’s face.

  34. 34.

    Citizen Alan

    Interesting development about my former hell-state. Mississippi is the 12th state to allow a No Labels candidate on the Presidential ballot in 2024. If the demographics haven’t changed, a Democrat needs around 15% of the white vote to carry Mississippi. (Obama got 11% in 2008.)  I  have no idea how a prominent third party candidate would impact that, but I assume it would reduce the percentage of the white vote going to the GOP.

  35. 35.

    smith

    @Sean: I don’t think it’s all downside for us. The best case scenario is that moderates extracted a promise to bring a CR and Ukraine/Israel to the floor before agreeing to let him have the gavel. If not, the GQP owns the consequences of not passing those.

    Second, as I said before he’s got all the qualifications to be a thoroughly incompetent Speaker, so it’s unlikely much will get done on his watch.

    Third, he has enough history of both insurrectionism and extreme RW opinions to pin on him, and by extension the GQP, to be helpful in an election year in which the leading insurrectionists will likely be found guilty.

    Fourth, even if he can force batshit crazy legislation through, the Senate will block it, and it just adds to the record of extreme votes to use against the Rs in the election.

    The downside, of course, is the pain the rest of us will have to endure, but that was baked in from the time the GQP took the House. It’s just the culmination of what was probable from the results of the 2022 election.

  36. 36.

    Alison Rose

    LOL NYT liveblog getting a bit salty

    “Today is the day we get this done,” Stefanik declares. It’s been three weeks without a House speaker.

  37. 37.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    So, do the Republicans from purple, Biden districs just have no sense of self-preservation? Or are they so sick of this mess they just want it to end? Either way, so much for the “moderates” who don’t want somebody who voted against Biden’s 2020 certification in the Speaker chair

  38. 38.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Geminid:

    Looks like you were right with your prediction of a Speaker being elected around Oct. 24th. Pretty close, anyway

  39. 39.

    Eolirin

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): I think it’s become clear to them that only someone who denied the election can actually get to a majority, and the media attention on the failure of the house to elect a speaker has become a bigger problem for them than election denial.

  40. 40.

    Sean

    @smith: I don’t disagree, but I can’t help but feel anxiety and worry over the folks who get hurt if they can’t keep the government open and/or they can’t get Ukraine funding passed. Lots of people get harmed, regardless of the politics.

    This guy is a staunch no more Ukraine aid guy, so we’re going to see just how that plays out soon enough

    But no doubt, he is an election denying anti-abortion extremist. Dems will certainly have lots of ammo. Just read about how he was all in on the Dominion voting machine “stolen votes” conspiracy too. JFC.

  41. 41.

    Citizen Alan

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): There are no moderates in the GOP. None. It’s nothing but fascists and cowards who are afraid to stand up to fascists. If the current GOP had been in place in 1941, Hitler would have won WW2 because of GOP 5th columnists.

  43. 43.

    JoyceH

    The Post quickly outlined five things to know about Johnson – Anti-abortion, anti-LGBT, anti-Ukraine, election denying Trumpist.

  44. 44.

    OGLiberal

    Prosecutors need to come down on this asshole:

    Sidney Powell Pushes Posts Disputing Election Results, Attacking Prosecutors After Guilty Plea (businessinsider.com)

    Sick of these people making plea deals then going out and pretending that what they just plead guilty to didn’t happen and everything they believed before is still true.  Get some balls, prosecutors, and pull the fucking deal – or make damn sure she doesn’t pull this shit when she’s actually called to testify.

  46. 46.

    Ken Adler

    Long time lurker.  This guy will win as the GOP has come to realize that no one in the media is blaming the Democrats for this, while this story is starting to overshadow Gaza and Ukraine.

  51. 51.

    Sean

    @JPL: Yeah, for sure, I was saying on the off-chance so called “moderates” extracted some promise to bring it along with Israel aid. I am not optimistic.

  52. 52.

    Eolirin

    @JPL: Discharge petitions do exist, but otherwise yes.

    Given the dynamics that’s probably going to be the only way we manage to get out of shutdown, since there’s no way it’ll be through this lunatic cutting a deal with the Democrats, and that would give Democrats a lot of leverage to include aid to Ukraine and Israel. But we’d still need a few Republicans to vote with the Democrats. And they may not be willing to do that, even if we’re facing down a months long shutdown

    They can’t even pass their own appropriations bills.

  55. 55.

    Chris Johnson

    I’m wondering if the moderates know something which makes this guy a better choice for them. If they don’t give the appearance of caving to a Trump pick,  they deliver an enormous fuck-you to that whole wing of the party, which though I’d love to see it, seems like a big deal.

    If they think they can kick this can down the road maybe there’s a reason for it. Do they retain the ability to boot his butt out within minutes of him getting the gavel? Are those rules still in place, making it very easy to get rid of him knowing that Dems will en masse also vote against him? With that understanding, could he have cut some kind of deal with the moderates? They would have a great deal of pressure they could apply, if suddenly he’s the one on the thinnest of ice.

    Cost: handing Trump and the MAGAs an apparent win to crow about and have the media blare all over the place.

    Also: MAGAs ONLY want tweets and victory laps, and don’t care about actual governing, or want to shut the whole thing down. They would accept a publicity ‘win’ at any cost.

  56. 56.

    Tony Jay

    @Wapiti:

    Just make this guy with his reactionary view the new face of the Republican Party. Throw it into the WaPo editorial board’s face.

    And they’ll swallow it down in one long, languorous gulp. After all, didn’t they just troll their readership with a tortuous “Democrats are responsible for cleaning up Republican messes” piece?

    Dollars to dopiazas, the crazier the MAGAT choice the more it will all be Democrats’ fault for not ‘meeting the GOP halfway’ on a moderate compromise candidate, like… uhhhhh… fuckifiknow. Probably Qevin.

  59. 59.

    Chris Johnson

    @WaterGirl: With an insurrectionist third from the Presidency, it is impossible for the Ds not to play hardball. The R moderates must surely know this.

  61. 61.

    Eolirin

    @Chris Johnson: That doesn’t work. If he cuts a deal the Gaetz crew will turf him. If the “moderates” were threatening to do the same if he doesn’t cut a deal, he’s turfed period. And the “moderates” won’t want a return to the embarrassment of weeks of failed speaker votes, while the bomb throwers won’t care. If the motion to vacate rule isn’t changed this dynamic will stay in place.

    And I’m not sure there are the votes to change it. Johnson doesn’t seem like the kind to cut a deal with Democrats on the rules package to take that gun off the table and it takes only a few crazies to make sure it stays.

  63. 63.

    zhena gogolia

    @NotMax: I repeat, they’re counting on the fact that nobody knows this guy. Normies will just see glasses and a nice haircut (and a suit jacket).

  66. 66.

    Geminid

    @Eolirin: I suspect Democrats have some bills in the hopper that would be suitable for a discharge petition. Rep. Gallego talked about this tool back in January with reference to Ukraine aid.

    I gather rhat these bills get amended once they make to the floor. So a bill about cranberry subsidies can be turned into a Ukraine aid bill.

    Last May, Democrats had just started gathering signatures to discharge a bill that would have become a Debt Ceiling raise when McCarthy let a compromise Debt Ceiling bill get a floor vote.

  71. 71.

    Chris Johnson

    @NotMax: But what sort of fix is it? Easy to see what the insurrectionists get: a PR victory, regardless of how long it lasts or what it does.

    What did the not-insurrectionists get other than getting to be painted as insurrectionists after the biggest insurrectionists of all have already pleaded guilty with court proceedings already underway?

    I’d really like to know what they figure they’re going to do. They could have gone along with Jordan, so what’s so special about THIS guy?

  75. 75.

    TriassicSands

    It’s looking like exhaustion has set in and we’re going to get another “stellar” Republican Speaker.

  78. 78.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @raven: No, I didn’t think they would elect a moron this quickly.  No one in their caucus isn’t some kind of a moron.

  79. 79.

    Ken

    Well, I was feeling pretty good about the Democrats’ long-term chances, but after reading the comments here I see we’re doomed, doomed, doomed and there’s no point in ever voting again.

  80. 80.

    NotMax

    @Chris Johnson

    So long as their respective positions are filled and they otherwise meet all Constitutional requirements pertaining to the presidency, since 1947 the Senator pro tem is third from the presidency. Speaker is second.

  82. 82.

    M31

    lol one of the articles on cnn is that trump’s lawyers asked the court clerk to ‘stop rolling her eyes’

    I’d advise said clerk to agree, and start making the jerk-off motion instead

  86. 86.

    scav

    @Ken: Ah yes, the random venting of individuals on a blog over a specific event are all-powerful and determinative of Eternity!  Yer venting with the rest of us, only aiming at Democrats and allies.

  87. 87.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @zhena gogolia:

    I repeat, they’re counting on the fact that nobody knows this guy. Normies will just see glasses and a nice haircut (and a suit jacket).

    Given how much of a nutcase he is, I suspect people will see him for what he is not too long from now

  88. 88.

    lowtechcyclist

    @hilts:

    How many jackals here actually knew who the hell Mike Johnson was before today’s vote?

    I sure didn’t.  Sorry to have a reason to be aware of his existence.

    ETA: Looks like it’s a done deal.  More than 60% of the House has voted, and zero votes for anyone besides Johnson and Jeffries.

  89. 89.

    Eolirin

    @Omnes Omnibus: Everyone here is going to fucking vote. Most of us are going to be involved in working toward better electoral outcomes. People are allowed to express worry and concern and have feelings when bad things happen. It’s part of processing and isn’t the same as nihilism.

    Shove the bullshit toxic positivity. Give people a little time.

  90. 90.

    Captain C

    @Citizen Alan:

    If the current GOP had been in place in 1941, Hitler would have won WW2 because of GOP 5th columnists.

    This is also true if the then-GOP had been in a position to be as obstructionist and stupid as they are right now.

  93. 93.

    WaterGirl

    @Omnes Omnibus: This is fairly clearly a setback for multiple things the are very important, and can’t wait, that are crucial for democracy here and around the world.

    It’s perfectly reasonable to feel a HUGE sense of disappointment.   And fear about the future.  That does not mean people won’t pick themselves up in a day or a week or whatever and get back to work.

    edited

  94. 94.

    Mo MacArbie

    I don’t think we’re doomed, but I’ll cop to being torn. On the one hand, we need the House to return to some modicum of functionality by hook or by crook. On the other, if their shit is truly together now if just for a moment, then it feels like a GOP victory, and I hate those.

  100. 100.

    zhena gogolia

    @WaterGirl: I think people were fantasizing about some “sane” Repubs voting for Jeffries. I certainly fantasized about it, but never really thought it would happen.

  102. 102.

    Anonymous At Work

    Everyone in a bar looks more attractive at closing time.  I suspect that the “moderates” are as tired or more about the constant stories about “GOP in Disarray” and are voting “yes” out of desperation.  Hardliners face no pressure; they represent districts so safe, a rotten head of cabbage could win on the correct party ticket.

  103. 103.

    Chris Johnson

    I’m watching Beau of the Fifth Column talking about how he cannot confirm that Meadows has flipped on Trump, saying that the news is WAY too devastating to Trump for him to just immediately believe it. News that is too good. He’s not ready to believe it.

    We are talking about a Trumpworld insurrectionist being made Speaker of the House, after a previous one was passionately rejected. This one is, maybe, even more exposed?

    Is the twist here that they’re selecting a Speaker to appease Trump knowing (or believing) that Meadows did in fact flip on Trump and that the whole Jordan wing is in deep, deep trouble? Do they have reason to believe that this Johnson dude is in just as much trouble, ratted out by the flipping Meadows?

    Doesn’t matter as much if it’s true, it’s whether the House Republicans THINK it’s true. Are they electing a puppet Speaker, a guy who is blackmailable in a way that the crazy Jordan is not?

  105. 105.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Eolirin: Go blow a consenting goat.  If you get to be despairing, others get to be frustrated by it.  Also, what the fuck have I said here that is toxic positivity?  Did you think that this was ever going to end with anyone but a piece of shit being elected Speaker?  As opposed to the piece of shit who was Speaker a couple of weeks ago?

  106. 106.

    japa21

    Prior to this, the GOP basically looked like a bunch of idiots who couldn’t get their act together. Now they will look like a bunch of idiots who are seriously intent on doing great damage to this country and the people in it. They have just boosted the Dems’ chances in elections up and down the ballot next year.
    The key is what will happen in the meantime. That is up for conjecture but I think Biden and the rest of the administration have gamed this out. Look for very creative accounting if the House does not come up with more money for Ukraine. Look for the Senate to also be very creative.
    I think the VA elections will tell us a lot.

  107. 107.

    Chief Oshkosh

    As I asked on the other thread, is anyone aware of any legal actions being taken against House members who were insurrectionists? From what I’ve read, this guy was a prime mover in getting his colleagues to vote for the false electors or some such. Were no crimes committed?

  108. 108.

    japa21

    @Omnes Omnibus: ​
      Nothing about your positivity is toxic. Your are not Pollyannish. Some people prefer to drown in their misery. Yes, they will probably come out of it.

  109. 109.

    MazeDancer

    Can’t watch.

    A sick, racist, woman-hating, Putin-loving monster from Louisiana will be 2nd in line.

    Please may the Secret Service be doubled.

    OTOH, all those NY GOP Reps in Biden districts just wrote their own good-bye notes.

  110. 110.

    Alison Rose

    LOL argy-bargy!!

    Watson-Coleman said she was voting for Jeffries “as the only person who represents the integrity of this House” and some GOPer yelled back “That’s bull”.

  111. 111.

    Eolirin

    @Omnes Omnibus: Emmer or Scalise would have been better ffs. And tacticly approving of Ken’s absolute bullshit is playing into that dynamic, I’m not claiming your normal don’t panic keep focused on what you can control stuff is ever a problem. But no one is anywhere close to “doom, doom, doom, no point in voting” in this thread.

    If you’re frustrated by people responding in completely reasonable ways to one of the worst possible ways a bunch of bad outcomes could go, you have the option of not hanging out in threads covering that topic. The people processing those feelings don’t have another place to go.

  115. 115.

    Alison Rose

    I mean, whatever. We knew the person they finally ended up with was going to be trash. I’m angry but I can’t get that worked up about it at this point because I’m just fucking tired of this groundhog day bullshit.

  116. 116.

    Chris Johnson

    Brace for victory laps from indicted or soon to be indicted insurrectionists.

    They could have had Jordan. I’m convinced there’s more to this than appears on the surface. What the hell is going on over there.

  117. 117.

    japa21

    @Eolirin: How was he approving of Ken’s BS?  He was just pointing out that doom and gloom is frequently seen here.

    Yes Emmer or Scalise would have been better, but they never really were  up for a vote.

  118. 118.

    WaterGirl

    @Chris Johnson:

    I’m watching Beau of the Fifth Column talking about how he cannot confirm that Meadows has flipped on Trump.

    You don’t need to watch Beau to know that there’s a big difference between forced to testify – under immunity for your testimony – since you can’t claim the 5th if you are offered immunity for what you say in that testimony.

    So that doesn’t mean that Meadows turned on Trump, or is a cooperator.  It just means that Meadows answered the particular questions that he was forced to answer.

  119. 119.

    japa21

    @Alison Rose: ​
     

    Watson-Coleman said she was voting for Jeffries “as the only person who represents the integrity of this House” and some GOPer yelled back “That’s bull”.

    Well, in terms of nominated people, she is correct. In terms of all members of the House, the GOPer is correct. All the Dems represent the integrity of the House.

  120. 120.

    Leto

    @Alison Rose: ​ I think trash would be like, several steps up from where they’re going to land. But yeah, moving along. I hope it’s revelatory for the rest of the populace what his election means: just open faced misogyny, bigotry, and hatred. I know for a lot of the electorate that’s the feature they love, but hopefully it’s really starting to dawn on the sleepy fucks this is who they are.

  124. 124.

    Matt McIrvin

    I think the undercurrent of the angst here is: “is this somehow the Democrats’ fault?” Because you know a bunch of Never Trumpers and the Washington Post are going to say this was all the Democrats’ fault, for not capitulating to some wise Republican daddy instead of voting for their own guy.

    But beyond some point when people elect assholes there’s not a lot you can do. The Republican “moderates” could have cut a deal with Jeffries at any time. They didn’t, they just expected him to bend the knee.

  125. 125.

    Alison Rose

    @Chris Johnson: Yeah, they’re gonna preen and strut like “woohoo, we’re so great!!” when they barely dragged themselves over the finish line. There’s a reason why, when one side is down 6-0 in a soccer match and they finally score a goal in second-half stoppage time, they don’t jump around and celebrate, but rather just head back to the center circle.

  126. 126.

    Geminid

    @Chris Johnson: Johnson is a lot brighter than Jordan. He also was more polltic in his approach to other members.

    Also, Johnson seems to be more mentally stable than Jordan. People are calling Johnson a “nutjob” but I think the problem is that he is not. He’s a shrewd, calculating man with legal training that he knows how to use.. His policy program might seem nutty and maybe it is, but he’s not a nut.

  127. 127.

    trollhattan

    Wowzers, Campos at LGM has found a doozy of a detail on this dude.

    The new Speaker of the House is in a “covenant marriage.“

    This is a nifty innovation in Louisiana law — versions of it also exist in Arizona and Arkansas — that basically gets rid of no-fault divorce. If you’re in a covenant marriage, you can’t get divorced without proving to a tribunal’s satisfaction that your spouse has committed adultery, a felony (unclear if trying to overthrow the government counts), your spouse is a drug addict, and/or has physically abused you and/or your children, or you’ve lived apart for at least two years. (You may also be required by the court to go through marital counseling).

    In other words, this converts marriage into the legal nightmare it was prior to women getting access to birth control and checking accounts, i.e., the horrible things that happened in the 1960s that the Mike Johnsons of the world consider the root of all evil even today.

    ETA sounds a little like “homesteading” only the property ain’t real estate, but the little house-filly. Cripes.

  130. 130.

    Chris Johnson

    @Leto: So there must be a reason they went along with this dude who makes the case against them so obviously.

    I don’t believe it’s because they are executing a nefarious plan to enact a coup and suddenly are all in line with Jordan, otherwise why not Jordan?

    So what the hell are they up to and what got the holdouts to go along? We are NOT going to hear anything about that from the Village, because we’re gonna be blanketed with ‘thus enacting the true will of the people!’ rhetoric.

    It’s gonna be brutally thick layers of bullshit out there, in support of heavily indicted and guilty as fuck delusional demented insurrectionists on the brink of the fucking grave. It’s gonna be ‘this shows Trump’s true power, here’s why he will obliterate Biden’. 24/7. The Village is paid to do that, and this is the new narrative.

    What’s the reality? ‘cos that’s gonna get concealed.

  131. 131.

    jimmiraybob

    I just looked through a number of sources and it appears that he is avidly anti-abortion and would like to, and has worked to, make divorce harder (harder to step away from submission to the husband).  If there’s one thing that far-right Christians hate the most it’s women’s independence.  And, at the heart of independence and self-autonomy is financial independence.  I think that you see where I’m going with this.

    With all of my being I think that Mike Johnson (and fellow travelers) would prefer to model today’s America after 17th century Puritan/Pilgrim Plymouth Colony (pre-constitutional republic and all that Enlightenment “woke” nonsense about the natural rights of humans).  You know, when “America” was great*.

    *yes, I know that this was a British colony but today’s Christian nationalist extremists don’t make the distinction.

  132. 132.

    TriassicSands

    @Leto:

    They have to be paying attention for it to sink in. Tomorrow, go out and ask random adults who the Speaker of the House is. You’ll be doing well if someone answers “Pelosi.”

    The overwhelming political problem in this country is the quality of the electorate — especially on the Right. Stupid, ignorant, disengaged, misinformed, racist, sexist. How else would George W. Bush get re-elected (or even elected in the first place)? How else would TIFG get elected and be the frontrunner for the nomination?

  133. 133.

    WaterGirl

    @Chief Oshkosh: Jack Smith isn’t going to publicly go after the people in the House who supported the insurrection – not until Trump and the others have been tried.

    But the got a House member’s phone well over a year ago, maybe even closer to two years, I can’t recall for sure.  I think the wheels of justice are going to grind slowly for the traitors in the House.

    I think we’ll get there – assuming Dems win and we have a functioning Department of Justice after 2024.

  134. 134.

    Eolirin

    @Chris Johnson: I really think it’s as obvious as it looks; everyone was exhausted, Johnson isn’t an asshole to his caucus, and as an election denier and hard right lunatic he’s got the bomb throwers behind him. The objections by most of the holdouts on Jordan weren’t about policy, and I doubt most of his caucus even has the slightest idea what this Johnson guy’s baggage really is.

    He’s inoffensive to them, even if he’s crazy to us, and they need a Speaker. The more establishment options took themselves out of the running without even fighting for it.

  136. 136.

    Chris Johnson

    @Geminid: If Johnson is brighter and more politic and also an insurrectionist hearing that Meadows flipped (whether or not it’s true, lots of others have flipped bigtime), he could be in a perfect position to betray Trumpworld, and behind the scenes agree to do that.

    All he has to do is be celebrated in 1000 tweets and let Trump and crew THINK he is a win. He doesn’t actually have to do anything that will get him jail time. In fact he may have cut a deal where he’ll be protected in exchange for getting the Republicans out of this jam. He’s in a position to do so as he was still given Trump’s thumbs-up. As far as the MAGAs are concerned, he is a win. That doesn’t mean he will do what they want him to do: it might be far too late for that.

    Jordan absolutely would have done crazy shit and tried to become President in order to abdicate to Trump blah blah brain rot. He absolutely would have gone nuts up there. If Johnson is a lot less insane he might understand the special position he’s in…

  138. 138.

    eclare

    I got nothin’ to add, going to go watch Ina Garten and dream of having her fabulous kitchen.

  139. 139.

    Matt McIrvin

    @jimmiraybob: People often compare modern evangelicals to the Puritans, but the Puritans weren’t nearly as anti-intellectual or, in a way, as authoritarian as they are. The tradition is more that of Burned-Over District apocalyptic movements filtered through the antebellum slaver South.

    Meanwhile, the Puritans themselves gradually evolved into some of the most liberal churches in America (like the UCC), which I’ve always found amusing.

  140. 140.

    Brachiator

    @trollhattan:

    ETA sounds a little like “homesteading” only the property ain’t real estate, but the little house-filly. Cripes.

    If his wife voluntarily entered into this arrangement, it’s still creepy, but their business.

    But this sadly gives ominous signs about his legislative priorities.

  141. 141.

    Chris Johnson

    @Brachiator: At which point the question is, can he get Republican House members in Biden seats to enact it?

    Is he aware, as Jordan wasn’t, that he cannot?

    That even if they did, the Senate isn’t backing their play?

  142. 142.

    Eolirin

    @Brachiator: There’s lots of ways to coerce someone to do something that makes it seem like it’s voluntary, but really isn’t. I wouldn’t make any assumptions about the state of their relationship one way or the other

    But such things shouldn’t be legal specifically because of the room for abuse.

  143. 143.

    prostratedragon

    Matt McIrvin@139: It was those witch trials. When the fever broke, that shit was embarrassing.

  145. 145.

    narya

    @WaterGirl: They got Scott Perry’s phone, but they’re still fighting over whether DOJ gets the contents of the phone (getting the device and getting the contests are two separate things). I’ve pretty much put that on my mental back burner; I am less convinced it will go anywhere.

  147. 147.

    Geminid

    @Manyakitty: Johnson still has only the 4 or 5 vote majority McCarthy had, and the various parts of his caucus still have the same conflicting interests. He may be in a stronger position than McCarthy was but I don’t think he’ll do any better.

    And I still think Democrats will elect Jeffries as Speaker in January, 2025 and by a lot bigger margin.

  150. 150.

    stinger

    @NotMax: Speaker is second.

    I was curious about how many Americans voted for the person now second in line to the Presidency. The sitting Pres/VP got 81 million votes. Johnson being from Louisiana, which has six representatives, I figured his voters would number in the hundreds of thousands, perhaps. So I looked up the 2022 results from the Office of the Clerk, US House of Representatives. Steve Scalise, Johnson’s fellow rep from Louisiana, got 178,000 votes. A ballpark figure for Johnson, then?

    No.

    Mike Johnson ran unopposed for his most recent term. “According to Louisiana law, the names of those with no opposition are not printed on the ballot.”

    Mike Johnson got ZERO votes in 2022.  NONE.

    That’s who would become President of the United States if the unthinkable happened. A person NO ONE VOTED FOR.

  153. 153.

    TriassicSands

    @Eolirin:

    While the outcome was never going to be good, Johnson represents pretty much a worse case scenario. People have the right to be upset and disappointed.

    That was what made the WaPo Editorial Board’s column calling for Democrats to help the Republicans elect a Speaker. The likelihood that the GOP was going to nominate anyone remotely worthy of the job was zero. Helping to elect any of the people who were Speaker-designates was unthinkable.

    I think what is important, as you pointed out, was that no one here is likely to be so disgusted/disappointed/depressed by what the Republicans do that they will give up and not vote. There are many Americans who have already done that and they are a huge part of the problem. There was an idiotic statement the other day in the Post by Philip Bump:

     

    …people who are not paying any attention to the dysfunction in Congress,” a group to whom we must all grant some grudging admiration.

    Yes, what could be more admirable than not paying attention to the situation we’re in today?

  155. 155.

    cain

    @WaterGirl: I’m not sure what outcome people here are looking for. The speaker they are going to elect is always going to be an awful pick. The minority is ruling over them.

    I don’t see why need to panic. Johnson is going to have a tough time of it. He’s going to deserve every bit of headache he’s going to get trying to manage that hot mess.

  156. 156.

    Chief Oshkosh

    @WaterGirl: Hi WG, thanks for the response. I don’t know that this would be in Smith’s purview specifically. And I don’t see that it’s up to Congress at this point, and certainly won’t happen even if we take the House in 2024. Either DOJ is pursuing this or they are not.

  157. 157.

    Chris Johnson

    Also, an interesting thought: now, if Gaetz gets him kicked out for not doing what Trumpworld wants, he’s shivving ‘his own guy’.

    Jordan would have done exactly what Trumpworld wants, no matter what.

    This guy might be there to NOT shut down the government, etc, in such a way that Gaetz is neutered? He can’t go against Johnson now, otherwise he’s attacking ‘his own guy’ in a seemingly senseless act of chaos. No matter what Johnson does or doesn’t do, he is a PR victory for Trumpworld. Even if he betrays them they can’t possibly admit it. They’ve gotta keep him, to save face.

  158. 158.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Geminid: Nah. The moderates don’t actually care. They had their chance to get a speaker who’d fund a CR, Ukraine and threw it to a far-right magazine asshole. They fall in line every time, and the far right loves his retrograde ass.

    He’ll be awful and tthat’s what they want.

  160. 160.

    Brachiator

    @cain:

    I don’t see why need to panic. Johnson is going to have a tough time of it. He’s going to deserve every bit of headache he’s going to get trying to manage that hot mess.

    No panic. It’s going to be the usual Republican bullshit.

    We will see what happens as we get close to a potential government shutdown.

  161. 161.

    Chris Johnson

    @stinger: Holy shit. So to save face, Trumpworld has to keep, as Speaker of the House, a wingnut radical in a covenant marriage who NOBODY VOTED FOR.

    That’s who was acceptable to the Gaetz/Jordan wing.

  162. 162.

    Geminid

    @Chris Johnson: I think Gaetz is happy with this outcome. There was a picture of him and Bob Good walking away from last nights meeting, with Good clapping Gaetz on the back as if to say, “Mission Accomplished.”

  163. 163.

    Chris Johnson

    @MisterForkbeard: Hang on half a sec. They KIND of had a chance. Gaetz torpedoed it, and Jordan tried to seize control, and they were pretty upset about that, to the point that Jordan repeatedly lost.

    If he was what they wanted why would he have lost? Why would they go for such an unthinkably weak and vulnerable pick that the Gaetz people would settle for?

  164. 164.

    TriassicSands

    @Leto:

    Hope isn’t bad unless it stands in the way of action. And it has to be realistic. Since it’s all a numbers game and there is no way to know beforehand if anyone is waking up, hoping seems sensible. We just can’t be too disappointed if it doesn’t happen.

    This appeared in the Post the other day in a column by Philip Bump (also quoted in another comment above):

    …people who are not paying any attention to the dysfunction in Congress,” a group to whom we must all grant some grudging admiration.

    Yep, not paying attention, really admirable. I mean it’s not like it’s important.

  165. 165.

    Chris Johnson

    @Geminid: It will make for victorious tweets, and Trump will be very happy while he sits in court and/or jail. Understand that Gaetz and his ilk only care about the tweet.

    For seditionists, they really, really don’t conspire well.

    Absolutely yes Gaetz and that sort will be happy. They’re fucking stupid, and it’s all about the tweet, so far as they know.

  167. 167.

    Anyway

    @Matt McIrvin:

    I think the undercurrent of the angst here is: “is this somehow the Democrats’ fault?” Because you

    What?! No way – you couldn’t be more wrong. My angst is all about the Rethug leadership getting more and more extreme and that this selection emboldens Dump.

  168. 168.

    Geminid

    @MisterForkbeard: Don’t see why your “Nah-ing” me. Nothing I said is inconsistent with what you said. Maybe it’s just the spirit of one-upsmanship common to some on this site.

  169. 169.

    Manyakitty

    @cain: yes, they would only pick from literal human garbage. That is a given. I can only speak for myself, but gotdangit I wanted an incompetent. This guy might be a true believer.

    Nevertheless, we must carry on. Just gimme a minute to bitch and moan.

  170. 170.

    stinger

    @Manyakitty: @Chris Johnson:

    The Secretary of State, whom also no one would have voted for, is fourth in line. But that’s fourth. The first three are people whose names actually appeared on ballots. ETA: (In normal times.)

  171. 171.

    cain

    @Brachiator:

    Then we’re just sad that it is status quo. It was always going to be status quo  – the hardliners are never going to allow the kind of bills that Dems want.

    He’s not going to govern any better than McCarthy. I wish Johnson the worst experience in the world. I hope he’s miserable for the next 15 months.

  172. 172.

    Joseph Patrick Lurker

    The more I learn about Mike Johnson, the more disgusting this outcome is. Fuck this election denying scumbag.

  173. 173.

    Eolirin

    @MisterForkbeard: I don’t think it’s going to be any easier for them to move appropriation bills.

    And they’re definitely not going to be able to move bills that can get through the Senate, even the ones with Senate Republican support.

    Without cutting a deal with the Democrats almost nothing is going to move out of the House. That can either be at the level of the Speaker, which would have been more likely with someone like Emmer or Scalise, especially if a deal was cut to change the motion to vacate rule, or it can be via discharge petition. But the Senate Republicans being able to get a budget and foreign aid spending through their chamber will put a lot of pressure on the Republicans in the House.

    The media won’t be both sides-ing this because they’ll have plenty of Republicans calling it out. The only issue Dems need to actually hold on is not cleaving aid to Israel from aid to Ukraine, and it’s the only area where we can get beat up. It helps that McConnell is on the side of keeping them together though, as weird as it feels being grateful for anything McConnell might be doing.

  174. 174.

    TriassicSands

    @David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch:

    Hey, what about Bose? Too expensive?

    When there has been polling in the past asking people to identify various government office holders, some can’t even name the president. I doubt if anything close to a majority even knows what the Speaker of the House is, which makes your speculated response quite plausible.

  175. 175.

    cain

    @Manyakitty: It won’t matter how smart he is. The hardliners hold all the cards.

    We’re going to eat their lunch in the next few months. Hopefully, after Jack has put the TFG in jail we’ll go after members of congress and under line that any American who supported the insurrection is going to have the eye of mordor on them.

  176. 176.

    cain

    @Joseph Patrick Lurker:

    We should bed pretty mute about Johnson – I feel the more we grouse the more political power we are giving that asshole with his own caucus.

    If liberals hate him – he’ll probably gain some fame. Let’s not give it to him. Let’s make his job as hard as possible.

  177. 177.

    eversor

    @jimmiraybob:

    There’s nothing “far right” about controlling women in Christianity.  The Old Testament, New Testament, Church teachings, and Jesus himself all demand patriarchy, women must submit to men, gender roles are strict and binary.

    It’s a religion that at it’s core states women are beneath men, cannot talk back to men, must do as they are told, and men make all the decisions.  You cannot be a Christian or a follower of Jesus if you do not agree that men call all the shots, this is decided by your sex at birth, gender is iron clad, and women must do as they are told.  If you disagree with any of that you are going directly against the core of Christian and going against Jesus.

  179. 179.

    Chris Johnson

    @cain: If I was that Johnson I’d be grateful as hell to have a chance to quietly abandon my fellow insurrectionists and be a caretaker Speaker, like a Gerald Ford, kowtowing to what the moderates want under the arrangement of ‘protect me from getting swept up in the wave of indictments’.

    That would be a really good deal to make.

  180. 180.

    TriassicSands

    @cain: I feel the more we grouse the more political power we are giving that asshole with his own caucus.

    I don’t think we have to worry that any House Republicans are hanging out on BJ. However, now that he’s been elected, the MSM can direct their attention to normalizing his bigotry and chastising the Democrats for not helping to elect him. Maybe they’ll have something negative to say if he calls for executing trans people. They might even be mean enough to call it hyperbole. Zap! Take that Mike Johnson.

  181. 181.

    Citizen Alan

    @Mo MacArbie:  In the long run, we are all doomed because we share a nation with 80 or so million Christianist lunatic death cultists who will do whatever they can to prevent amelioration of climate change because they think Jeebus will Rapture them up into heaven any day now. And so long as that’s the case, every election will be a game of National Russian Roulette. The only thing we can do is keep organizing, keep organizing, and hope that the great mass of politically inactive voters wake up and decide they don’t want to live in Republican Jesusland.

  182. 182.

    Trivia Man

    Trump alert: judge orders him to take the stand RIGHT NOW and explain why he violated the gag order today.

     

    shit just got real.

  183. 183.

    Citizen Alan

    @zhena gogolia:  We’re not close enough to 11/15. If Speaker Johnson makes it clear that he’s going to let the government shut down, defections are still possible. I refuse to believe that all 220 of them are members of the cult, especially those in Biden districts.

  184. 184.

    Sister Golden Bear

    @jimmiraybob:

    With all of my being I think that Mike Johnson (and fellow travelers) would prefer to model today’s America after 17th century Puritan/Pilgrim Plymouth Colony (pre-constitutional republic and all that Enlightenment “woke” nonsense about the natural rights of humans).  You know, when “America” was great*.

    Johnson was a lawyer for the religious right-wing, Orwellian named, legal group Alliance Defending Freedom, which explicitly “seeks to recover the robust Christendomic theology of the third, fourth, and fifth centuries.” ADL is responsible for cases like:

    • 303 Creative — It’s OK for “creatives” to discriminate against The Gayz
    • Masterpiece Cakeshop — Similar to the above
    • The mifepristone case
    • Trinity Lutheran (state money for a children’s ministry)
    • Hobby Lobby companion case
    • Greece v Galloway — Allowing the invocation of prayer at a legislative session
  185. 185.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    For entertainment, check out Daily Kos’s live coverage of the fraud trial. During a break, Trump said the judge was biased and so was the person next to him. The judge took that to mean his clerk, whom he ordered Trump to stop insulting. Trump actually took the witness stand to declare he meant Michael Cohen. The judge found “the witness” (ie, Trump) not credible and fined him $10,000. In the next few hours, Trump will be lit.

  186. 186.

    Brachiator

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    The judge found “the witness” (ie, Trump) not credible and fined him $10,000. In the next few hours, Trump will be lit.

    Another fine?

    Oh, goodie!

    ETA.

    “I hereby fine you $10,000 — which is on the liberal side — to be paid within 30 days,” the judge ruled

    Ha!

  188. 188.

    TriassicSands

    @Alison Rose:

    I understand what you’re saying, and think you have a point, but so much depends on upbringing. Amy Phony Barrett is on the Supreme Court but joined a bizarre religious group that clearly makes men the “bosses” of women. Now, she comfortably sits on the bench and tells everyone else what they can and can’t do. I don’t know how to begin to understand that.

    We’ve had any number of prominent women — Schlafly, Ginni Thomas, Barrett — who assume positions of power and influence yet belong to a party and religion that openly subjugates women. I get dizzy thinking about them.

  192. 192.

    Alison Rose

    @TriassicSands: Indeed, there are women brought up in paternalistic cultures who find ways to power that are palatable to the men around them. But my basic point is that most women raised in those strict sexist environments aren’t entering into things like “covenant marriages” necessarily because they’re super jazzed about it. It’s because they have no other options and may not have the fortitude or the desire to break away from their families and circles.

    I don’t know if by “off to the hospital” you mean for you or for someone else, but…good luck either way?

  195. 195.

    The Truffle

    @cain: Don’t panic, but don’t ignore the guy. I still think his colleagues will have knives out for him. Hell, they have knives out for each other!

  196. 196.

    New Deal democrat

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: I think this was lust about exactly right.

    By callingTrump to the stand, the judge emphasized that he alone is in control of his courtroom.

    Finding Trump’s claim that he was not referring to the clerk not credible was also correct, imo.

    And while the fine was hardly crippling, I am sure it will get under Trump’s skin, and it serves notice that the penalty for future violations will only escalate, possibly up to and including spending the next night in jail.

  198. 198.

    Miss Bianca

    @Sister Golden Bear: Oh, great. You what those assholes – the ADF – are doing now? Stuff like this, defending the right of a Christian preschool to flout state anti-discrimination employment laws while still accepting state money for their programs. Disgusting sorry pieces of trash.

  202. 202.

    Trivia Man

    @Eolirin: And he has to sit there under oath and be a weasel for all to see. I am skeptical he can be under oath for any length of time without digging deeper. Even here – he insists he was NOT talking about the clerk.

  203. 203.

    cain

    @The Truffle: Yep – I’m not panic’d. They GOP will continue to undercut themselves. Even the media is having trouble covering  their bullshit. It’s really hard to both sides the stuff going on.

    That said, the media is pretty predictable on how they react. We should use that to our advantage.

  204. 204.

    cain

    @The Truffle: Yep – I’m not panic’d. They GOP will continue to undercut themselves. Even the media is having trouble covering  their bullshit. It’s really hard to both sides the stuff going on.

    That said, the media is pretty predictable on how they react. We should use that to our advantage.

  207. 207.

    The Thin Black Duke

    Johnson is an abhorrent human being but he’s not the Anti-Christ. He’s the face of the modern-day Republican Party. Sure, he’ll dial up the quiet parts at 11, but every Republican is on board with what he represents, so I think it really doesn’t make a difference whatever hateful dildo is holding the gavel. The good news is Biden and company are already airing videos of Johnson’s Greatest Hits, so this motherfucker won’t be able to hide under the radar anymore. You can’t Both Sides this. The GOP isn’t a normal political party anymore and even low-information voters are seeing how batshit crazy they are.

  208. 208.

    WaterGirl

    @cain: There is awful and there is a lot more awful.

    A lot more awful is opposing aid to Ukraine.  A lot more awful is someone who says this:

    Here is Mike Johnson railing against Roe v. Wade, arguing that if women were forced to give birth to more “able-bodied workers,” Republicans wouldn’t try to cut Social Security and Medicare.

    I could go on, but you get the point.

  210. 210.

    catclub

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: Trump lawyer Habba is still protesting, saying the clerk rolled her eyes at Habba.

     

    I really wish the judge would rule:  “I am allowing eyerolls in this court. They do not affect the facts of the proceedings.  You might want to concentrate on those.”

  213. 213.

    Geminid

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: I hope so too. But the commenter might be getting treatment for a very serious chronic malady they’ve talked about. Or not getting treatment, which is a problem also.

  215. 215.

    jimmiraybob

    @Matt McIrvin: “…modern evangelicals to the Puritans, but the Puritans weren’t nearly as anti-intellectual or, in a way, as authoritarian as they are.”

    They 17th century Puritans/Pilgrims, were strict Calvinist constructionists and were intellectual only within those constraints.  They were authoritarian and government was a tight partnership between the church and law making/enforcement.  They incorporated verbatim Old Testament law into the legal codes.  If you saw any other light than the official one you were branded a heretic and could be fined, jailed or banished from the colony into the wilderness.  Women had to conform to their Biblical role.  Chattel slavery was Biblically sanctioned and incorporated into practice and law under their watch.

    The “liberal” churches that you mention were a reaction and a breaking away from such strict doctrine and, again, branded heretical leading to a whole lot of old European style religious animosity and violence.  There has always been a literalist and fundamentalist strain within American Christianity and we’re seeing a resurgence in today’s Christian nationalism.

  218. 218.

    MomSense

    @Sean:

    That he said trains running on time does not quiet my fears.

    We are confronting fascism that has overtaken about 47% of our electorate, one of the two major parties which is also in control of 1/2 of one branch of government, and which is getting a big assist by the 4th estate, the billionaires, and the tech/social media owners.

  220. 220.

    jimmiraybob

    @eversor: ​
     

    There has always been a “right” literalist and fundamentalist strain within American Christianity and we’re seeing a resurgence in today’s Christian nationalism. There are also moderate and left/liberal strains. There is no singular “Christianity” in America. File under: one Bible and so many ways to interpret.

  221. 221.

    JaySinWA

    @prostratedragon: Well, Trump does seem to be innumerate, so probably not until the doubling got painful.

    ETA 20k, 40k, 80k, 160k, 320k, 640k,1.28m. Probably gives T too many bites of the apple before it bites back.

  224. 224.

    TriassicSands

    @Geminid: @Alison Rose: @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    I had to take a shower and get dressed, but I came back to shut things down and saw your kind comments.

    I go to hospital twice a week for fluid infusions due to severe dehydration, which results from anemia due to chronic intestinal bleeding. I can no longer get blood transfusions until I am barely strong enough to stand and get myself to the hospital. That is because doctor’s refuse to treat patients as individuals with individual needs and, instead, rely on one size fits all rules that make my life desperate and miserable.

    The bleeding is caused by severe, untreated Crohn’s disease which is causing me to waste away. I’ve been on seven major medications for Crohn’s (as well as a number of other immuno-suppressants ) and all have failed to help. I’m wasting away because I am on a liquid diet to prevent another intestinal blockage, which is utterly inadequate and not only has resulted in very significant (and completely unnecessary weight loss — I’m not and haven’t been overweight), but also contributes to very severe malnutrition (my intestines can’t absorb nutrients).  I was denied IV nutrition because my out-of-pocket cost (with insurance) would be $823.00 a week.

    My one goal now, because the health care system has failed me repeatedly, so help seems unlikely at best, is to survive long enough to make it to November 5, 2024 so I can vote for one last time. It is looking increasingly unlikely that I will make it. Ironically, my first vote was on my birthday, November 5,  and, if I’m lucky my last vote will also be on my birthday. My birthday present to myself will be voting against every Republican I can.

    Now, I really do have to leave.

  225. 225.

    Brachiator

    @WaterGirl:

    $10K IS NOTHING.

    Trump is a cheap bastard

    Trump has less money than his base believes

    Trump hates losing. He hates being held accountable. He hates being told that he can’t do something. He hates being punished.

    A $5 fine would get under his skin and set him off.

  227. 227.

    jimmiraybob

    @Sister Golden Bear: ​
     

    “…Alliance Defending Freedom, which explicitly ‘seeks to recover the robust Christendomic theology of the third, fourth, and fifth centuries.'”

    Ahhh, the foundational period to centuries of religious oppression, persecution, wars and massacres. Catholics killing Protestants, Protestants killing Catholics, and Catholics and Protestants killing Jews, Mohammedans, heretics and free-thinkers.

    Good times.

  228. 228.

    eclare

    @TriassicSands:

    I am so sorry that you are going this.  One of my best friends from grade school was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease as a teenager.  That was decades ago, and I can’t (well, I can) believe there aren’t better treatments.

  230. 230.

    prostratedragon

    @JaySinWA:  More seriously, there might be some limit on the size of fines that would cause the judge to be dragged kicking and screaming into ordering TFG to be dragged kicking and screaming to Riker’s* for a few days.

    * Or wherever.

  231. 231.

    cain

    @WaterGirl: Right, and I hear ya – but you know the freedom caucus is going to eliminate contenders that would give Dems what they want.

    This is the best they are going to give – and we’re going to turn it into an iron chain and hang it around their necks till they squeal.

  232. 232.

    cain

    @TriassicSands:

    That’s really sad to hear. Manifest. Let’s get you there. As for the health care system – fie on them. I’m not sure how we can fix it – but I’m hoping with teh advent of AI in healthcare we can start actually doing specific types of treatments in very specific ways.

  234. 234.

    Tony Jay

    @jimmiraybob:

    Mate, nah, the theology they’re promoting is 1000 years earlier than that. They’re talking about Christianity as the official and only religion of a militant imperial state where the divinely appointed Basileus rules Church and State alike with a rod of iron and everyone outside the imperial borders is a barbarian and/or a pagan.

    In other words, they’re nutters.

Comments are closed.