Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

There are a lot more evil idiots than evil geniuses.

Polls are now a reliable indicator of what corporate Republicans want us to think.

Quote tweet friends, screenshot enemies.

These days, even the boring Republicans are nuts.

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

Everything is totally normal and fine!!!

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

Well, whatever it is, it’s better than being a Republican.

“I was told there would be no fact checking.”

The low info voters probably won’t even notice or remember by their next lap around the goldfish bowl.

Every reporter and pundit should have to declare if they ever vacationed with a billionaire.

So many bastards, so little time.

In my day, never was longer.

When you’re a Republican, they let you do it.

People identifying as christian while ignoring christ and his teachings is a strange thing indeed.

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

Let the trolls come, and then ignore them. that’s the worst thing you can do to a troll.

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

A norm that restrains only one side really is not a norm – it’s a trap.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires.

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

You are here: Home / Economics / C.R.E.A.M. / Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Same Old, Same Old

Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Same Old, Same Old

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The only way to win is not to play!


 

Another noxious perennial — the GOP refusing to pay the country’s bills. Glass half full:

Congressional leaders have unveiled a stopgap spending bill that will keep the federal government funded through March 14 and provide more than $100 billion in emergency aid to help states and local communities recover from Hurricanes Helene and Milton and other natural disasters.

The measure would prevent a partial government shutdown set to begin after midnight Friday. It would kick final decisions on this budget year’s spending levels to a new Republican-led Congress and President-elect Donald Trump. The continuing resolution generally continues current spending levels for agencies.

Passage of the measure is one of the final actions that lawmakers will consider this week before adjourning for the holidays and making way for the next Congress. It’s the second short-term funding measure the lawmakers have taken up this fall as they struggled to pass the dozen annual appropriations bills before the new fiscal year began Oct. 1, as they typically do.

The bill will provide $100.4 billion in disaster relief, with an additional $10 billion in economic assistance for farmers struggling with low commodity prices and high input costs…

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the agreement was “free of cuts and poison pills,” and would provide money for Democratic priorities like child care, workforce training and job placement.

“With this agreement, we are now on our way to avoiding a government shutdown,” Schumer said…

President Joe Biden has sought about $114 billion in disaster aid, submitting a $99 billion request in November, telling lawmakers the funding was “urgently needed.” The administration subsequently updated its request to include funding to repair federal facilities damaged due to natural disasters.

The largest share of the money, about $29 billion, will go to the main disaster relief fund at the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The fund helps with debris removal, repairing public infrastructure and providing financial assistance to survivors. About $21 billion goes to help farmers who have experienced crop or livestock losses.

Another $8 billion will go to help rebuild and repair highways and bridges in more than 40 states and territories. And some $12 billion would go toward helping communities recover through block grants administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. About $2.2 billion would go to low-interest loans for businesses, nonprofits and homeowners trying to rebuild after a disaster.

“While this is not the legislation I would have written on my own, it is a strong, bipartisan package that provides the resources communities urgently need to recover,” said Sen. Patty Murray, the Democratic chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Congress is expected to pass the measure just before another shutdown deadline. House Republicans generally give lawmakers 72 hours to review text of the legislation, which would push a vote on final passage to Friday if they follow through on that rule. The Senate is not known for acting speedily, but many lawmakers are anxious to adjourn for the year and make way for the next Congress…

 
The GOP Tantrum Caucus, needless to say, has Big Feelings about this. Per the Hill, friend to all GOP tantrums, “House Republicans fume at Speaker Johnson over handling of CR: ‘A total dumpster fire’”

House Republicans are fuming at Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) handling of an end-of-year measure to extend government funding until March, saying it is more like a sprawling omnibus — which they abhor — than a simple temporary funding measure…

“It’s not a CR, which is a continuation of the budget. It’s turning into an omnibus,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said.

The final text of the measure has not yet been released, as congressional leaders work through the remaining hangups ahead of Friday’s funding deadline. But as the package begins to come into clear focus, Republicans of all stripes — including hard-line conservatives, committee chairs and moderates — are hammering away at Johnson for its contents, the process he followed to craft it, and how he plans to bring it to the floor for a vote.

“It’s a total dumpster fire. I think it’s garbage,” said Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.), a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus. “This is what Washington, D.C., has done. This is why I ran for Congress, to try to stop this. And sadly, this is happening again.”

“We get this negotiated crap, and we’re forced to eat this crap sandwich,” echoed Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), another Freedom Caucus member. “Why? Because freaking Christmas is right around the corner. It’s the same dang thing every year. Legislate by crisis, legislate by calendar. Not legislate because it’s the right thing to do.”…

The gripes are not just coming from hard-line conservatives. Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), who represents a district won by President Biden in 2020 and Vice President Harris last month, stood up during the GOP conference meeting and told Johnson the government funding process has not been member-driven, according to a source in the room.

“Lawler just went to the microphone and he said, ‘This is no way to due process. … This is bulls‑‑‑,’” the source said. “He’s like, ‘Look, why are you telling me, if I want something I need to go talk to [Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer], and [House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries] hasn’t blessed this.’”

“He literally said, ‘because I’m not a f‑‑‑ing Democrat,’” the source added. “He said, you know, I should be able to go move the concerns and priorities for my district without having to go talk to these guys. He said it hasn’t been a member-driven process.”…

The broad frustration with the end-of-year package from across the conference is putting Johnson in a precarious position as he aims to remain Speaker next year with an even slimmer House GOP majority than what he has now. A key indicator that his Speakership is on the ropes would be if a majority of House Republicans oppose the CR.

Asked what the CR means for Johnson’s future — an implicit nod to the looming Speaker vote — Burlison, a Freedom Caucus member, told reporters, “Personally, I’m disappointed.”

“I think that he can do better,” he added. “He can communicate better. The fact that we haven’t seen the language today and we’re supposed to vote on it this week is unacceptable.”…

Coda: Everybody put on their suprised face!

Reader Interactions

64Comments

  1. 1.

    Chief Oshkosh

    When was the last time a Republican Congress passed a normal budget, with normal planning, normal consensus-building, normal discussion, normal anything? Do any of them even remember that a Continuing Resolution is not normal?

    Of course, why would they remember? The press certainly has forgotten.

  2. 2.

    Another Scott

    Full federal funding for the FSKey Bridge replacement in Baltimore is in the bill, like Biden wanted.

    Good, good.

    The performative screaming about no time to read the bill, broken process promises, etc., etc., is performative and should be ignored.  Everyone needs to use their attention wisely.

    Thanks, AL.

    Hang in there, everyone.

    Best wishes,
    Scott.

  3. 3.

    John S.

    This SCOTUS is so lawless and corrupt that I wouldn’t put it past them to rule that the 22nd amendment implies that the presidential terms must be consecutive (allowing for a 3rd term).

    They seem to delight in imagining legal intent that doesn’t exist.

  6. 6.

    Ohio Mom

    @John S.: In that case, our best bet is that age and infirmity catch up with Trump before a third term can be considered. For certain values of “best” because then it’s President Vance.

    This is all so depressing, I need to sign off for a while, at least for this morning.

    Be well, everybody.

  8. 8.

    lowtechcyclist

    @John S.:

    This SCOTUS is so lawless and corrupt that I wouldn’t put it past them to rule that the 22nd amendment implies that the presidential terms must be consecutive (allowing for a 3rd term).

    They seem to delight in imagining legal intent that doesn’t exist.

    At this point, the Constitution effectively means whatever five members of the Bogus Scotus says it means.  If they say it means that Trump can unilaterally have his critics thrown in jail, then that’s what it means.

  9. 9.

    TBone

    Someone somewhere yesterday said that Mike Johnson always has an expression on his face like someone activated his electric butt plug by remote control.  Now I can’t unsee it.

  10. 10.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Geminid:

    Good thing Mike Johnson is a prayin’ man.

    I came across a collection of old buttons of mine yesterday.  One of them says, “Are we talking about the same God here? Because yours sounds like kind of a dick.”

    For some reason, Mike Johnson brought that to mind just now.

  11. 11.

    Soprano2

    I found this from Josh Marshall interesting. Should be a free link. It’s about establishing a fund to help people who TCFG targets for retribution from the government. An excerpt:

    As I noted above, a lot of the power and point of such an exercise is precisely the absurdity of it. It is meant to spur a chorus of “You can’t do that” and “How can he do that?” But he does do it. We have that same mixture of outrage, incomprehension, uncanny laughter, the upshot of which is an overwhelming and over-powering belief that the rules somehow don’t apply to this guy. That’s the power and that is the point. It is a performance art of power enabled by a shameless abuse of the legal system.

    This is where I would want such a group to jump in, immediately, caustically and tauntingly saying, “Nope that won’t fly. We’re ready with the best lawyers and a mountain of cash and you’re not only going to lose we’re going to embarrass you for even trying.” Beyond the importance of covering legal expenses and giving people the confidence they won’t be bankrupted by Trump, these are really pro-wrestling-derived public spectacles and performance art aimed at telegraphing power and demoralizing enemies. So much of our politics in the Trump era amounts to this. We’ve seen this. We know this if we’re paying attention. And Trump’s opponents need to learn to speak in that language. Otherwise it’s a professional wrestling grudge match, a taunt-fest with only one side taunting. The other side isn’t even on the playing field. It’s the same mix of outrage, incomprehension, powerlessness and finally exhaustion. I fear some folks simply don’t get this dimension of what’s going on. It’s not something you learn in law school and not in conventional, old-style politics either. Defending the targets is key. But that’s not the only point or even the main one. It’s about demonstrating the limits of Trump’s power and embarrassing him, President or not.

     

  12. 12.

    oldgold

    “About $21 billion goes to help farmers who have experienced crop or livestock losses.”

    And damn near every farmer I know, and I know plenty of them, is virulently against socialism.

    Plus, they stream to the voting booth to vote against illegal immigrants, leaving their hogs and dairy cows to be tended to by illegal immigrants.

    I could go on ….

  14. 14.

    lowtechcyclist

    @TBone:

    Someone somewhere yesterday said that Mike Johnson always has an expression on his face like someone activated his electric butt plug by remote control.  Now I can’t unsee it.

    Good thing I’m sitting in an armchair, otherwise I’d have been literally ROFL!

  17. 17.

    John S.

    @Ohio Mom:

    I honestly don’t believe Trump will make it through his second term — let alone a third term. But it’s amazing that his lackeys are emboldened enough to discuss it as a real possibility, and that the notion isn’t immediately laughed off.

    It is thoroughly embarrassing how ridiculous the court has become.

  18. 18.

    Butch

    The AP story about the budget included this quote from that weasel Johnson, and made me think I need to occupy myself elsewhere for the rest of the day:  “Congress is doing the best it can under difficult circumstances.”  That’s the best you can do?  Really?

  20. 20.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    Good to see they funded the Key Bridge rebuild.

    Latest on that is targeted completion date in late 28.

    The DoJ filed a $100m civil suit against the owner, Grace Ocean LtD and the operator, Synergy Marine group in Sep.  That’s actually something the incoming (mal)administration will continue pursuing since it’s something the Orange Fart Cloud knows how to do and he’s got taxpayer-paid-for legal staff to do it.

  21. 21.

    lowtechcyclist

    @oldgold:

    “About $21 billion goes to help farmers who have experienced crop or livestock losses.”

    And damn near every farmer I know, and I know plenty of them, is virulently against socialism.

    “Major Major’s father was an outspoken champion of economy in government, provided it did not interfere with the sacred duty of government to pay farmers as much as they could get for all the alfalfa they produced that no one else wanted or for not producing any alfalfa at all.”  – Catch-22

  23. 23.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    @oldgold:

    And damn near every farmer I know, and I know plenty of them, is virulently against socialism.

    Years ago, Bill Maher (I know, I know) on his now-ancient Comedy Central show once said “The biggest welfare queens wear overalls”.

    He’s not wrong.

  25. 25.

    Jackie

    Merry Christmas, Gaetz!

    CNN is reporting that the committee held a secret vote in which members supported releasing their report into Gaetz, who has faced allegations of drug use and paying a 17-year-old girl for sex.

    ‘The decision to release the report suggests that some Republicans ultimately decided to side with Democrats on the matter, and it is unclear if the committee will once again change course now that it has voted.”

  27. 27.

    Captain C

    @John S.:

    This SCOTUS is so lawless and corrupt that I wouldn’t put it past them to rule that the 22nd amendment implies that the presidential terms must be consecutive (allowing for a 3rd term).

    They seem to delight in imagining legal intent that doesn’t exist.

    “Since English kings have ruled for life since before the Magna Carta, clearly the 22nd is both unconstitutional and also means Dear Leader can rule as long as he wants.  I am the best legal scholar everywhere and deserve many statues (and expensive things).”  —  Scam Alito

    “Gimme another RV!  And a private plane with a pilot!”  — Clarence the Corrupt

  28. 28.

    Kay

    @Soprano2:

    I love that he keeps throwing ideas out there. We cannot keep doing what we’re doing. We lose a little more bedrock values every year.

    We’re losing. Something has to change or it will continue. TPM is worth every penny – they’re genuinely creative people.

  29. 29.

    Geminid

    @TBone: I always thought Mike Johnson looked like there’s a fidget spinner 12 inches in front of his eyes that nobody else can see.

  30. 30.

    Captain C

    @TBone:

    Someone somewhere yesterday said that Mike Johnson always has an expression on his face like someone activated his electric butt plug by remote control.  Now I can’t unsee it.

    Maybe thats what the ‘anti-porn app’ that he and his son share actually does.

  32. 32.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    @Starfish (she/her):

    From the article:

    “I’ve heard him say a lot of things that are absolutely right,” Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey said last week. “I have concerns, obviously, about people leading in our country who aren’t based in science and fact.” But, he continued, “when he speaks about the issues I was just speaking about, we’re talking out of the same playbook.”

    It’s crap like that that most likely depressed turnout.  JFC.

  34. 34.

    Kay

    @Starfish (she/her):

    He’s on TikTok – he’s popular. He does these short but substantive pieces on specific policy or politics and he sticks around in the comments and takes it so seriously his presence acts as a moderator – people sort of rise to his level. He’s classed up TikTok! Amazing.

  35. 35.

    suzanne

    @Soprano2:

    It’s the same mix of outrage, incomprehension, powerlessness and finally exhaustion. I fear some folks simply don’t get this dimension of what’s going on. 

    This is bang-on, and also deeply depressing.

    Our political life is entirely about image, vibes, dominance displays, feelings, etc etc etc. Thoroughly detached from fact, evidence, results. The field of play is not going to be won by demonstrating or proving anything.

    I worry that Democrats are just not really able to accept that reality.

  36. 36.

    matt

    It’s super funny that the Republicans are too big of assholes to be counted on, so leadership is forced to go to the Democrats, so the Republicans whine about that being unfair instead of modifying their behavior.

  41. 41.

    Kay

    Lost another one to far Right politics. My younger sister is now an antivaxxer along with a lawyer friend who has Parkinson’s but (now) denies it and says her tremors were caused by vaccination boosters. Her husband is frantic with worry now not just due to her disease but due to her mental health.

    She’s super smart and the best legal writer I personally know. She now denies Parkinson’s exists.

    Validating RFK Jr will cause casualties. It will kill people.

  42. 42.

    catclub

    @John S.:

    (allowing for a 3rd term).

    They seem to delight in imagining legal intent that doesn’t exist.

     

    Obama would be re-elected. so they will not do that one.

  43. 43.

    H.E.Wolf

    @Starfish (she/her): ​
     Glad you liked the Electoral-Vote.com piece! I hadn’t realized Rep. Cardin was retiring, either.

    With Electoral-Vote, I prefer Z, the historian who writes the Tues/Wed/Fri blog posts, and who co-writes the Saturday Q&A. V (Mon/Fri posts) is more pessimistic.

  44. 44.

    catclub

    @Miss Bianca: Haven’t any of these people watched The 100?

     

    I have not, but I can easily predict that the guys with guns hired to protect the bunker from all the riff raff who want in, will protect it for themselves.

  45. 45.

    oldgold

    I am not a world traveler. The only foreign country I know much about is Canada. I have visited it many times and mix with Canadians at my sandy shack in Florida.

    I very much like the country and its people.

    So, it pisses me off that the Short-Fingered Vulgarian has decided to gratuitously insult Canada. Calling Justin Trudeau “The Governor of the Great State of Canada.” Or yesterday, saying on Truth Social,  “The Great State of Canada is stunned as the Finance Minister resigns, or was fired by Governor Justin Trudeau.”

    Picking a fight with Canada? Really? Crazy and worse.

  46. 46.

    Shakti

    @Chief Oshkosh: I believe it was sometime during the Shrub administration.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_United_States_federal_budget

     

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_United_States_federal_budget

     

    The 2006 United States Federal Budget began as a proposal by President George W. Bush to fund government operations for October 1, 2005 – September 30, 2006. The requested budget was submitted to the 109th Congress on February 7, 2005.[1]

    The government was initially funded through a series of three temporary continuing resolutions. Final funding for the government was enacted as several appropriations bills enacted between August 2 and December 30, 2005.[7] As of 2018, this is the last fiscal year to be funded without the use of an omnibus spending bill or full-year continuing resolution.

  47. 47.

    Elizabelle

    @Kay:  My sympathies.  It is terrible to watch that.

    I think some of these idiot ideas are part of the person trying to assert control over the disease.

  48. 48.

    H.E.Wolf

    @Geminid: ​
    @H.E.Wolf: Subtitled, “The plot thickens…”
    Good thing Mike Johnson is a prayin’ man.

     

    *snort* Thank you for pointing out the funny side.

    I guarantee he’s a preyin’ man, too. Sanctimonious Christian Dominionists invariably are.

    We already know he’s a pryin’ man, what with porn surveillance apps on his son’s phone. I bet he tracks the menstrual cycles of as many women as he can. Ugh.

    Re: your later point, which also made me laugh: is he looking at a fidget spinner? Or an op-art whirligig meant to hypnotize? I’m thinking of the quack doctor in the 1988 film “Hairspray”. :)

  50. 50.

    John S.

    @catclub:

    Sure they would! They gave presidents total immunity without any exceptions even though theoretically Biden could have availed himself of those powers.

    They know Democrats won’t play by their rules, and if they try, they’ll just change the rules again.

  51. 51.

    Another Scott

    @Old Man Shadow: There have been bills to reform the process, but they haven’t really gone anywhere. e.g. 2017 bill to go to a 2 year budget cycle..

    The legislation requires the president to submit a two-year budget at the beginning of the first session of a Congress. Members of Congress would then need to adopt a two-year budget resolution and two-year appropriations bills during that first session. The second session of a Congress would then be devoted to the consideration of authorization bills and oversight of federal programs. This proposal has received strong bipartisan support in the past. In 2013, it passed by a 68-31 vote in the Senate as an amendment to that year’s budget resolution, which is a non-binding blueprint.

    It makes sense that the House doesn’t want to give up any control over budget matters, but the current system gives those who want to break the government too much power.

    FWIW.

    Best wishes,
    Scott.

  52. 52.

    John S.

    @oldgold:

    Unfortunately, Trudeau made himself Trump’s dignity wraith. Had he followed in President Sheinbaum’s footsteps, I don’t think he would be getting this sort of treatment.

    But he decided to kiss the ring.

  54. 54.

    John S.

    @Another Scott:

    Which quartile would you place this in the pantheon of things for Democrats to do when they are back in power?

    Frankly, this game has gotten so tiresome (and destructive) that I would place it in my 1st wave of things that need to change.

  55. 55.

    Soprano2

    @Kay: Oh good grief, I am so sorry. I think sometimes when people get diseases or conditions that there aren’t any good answers or treatments for, they go off the deep end of the “hippy dippy” stuff in a desperate search for a “cure”, or they go into denial. I get that, it’s scary stuff, but denial doesn’t help anything. Having chronic pain since I was 27 has made me understand why people would do seemingly crazy stuff. When the doctors don’t have any good answers or help for you, it seems reasonable to look elsewhere.

  58. 58.

    TBone

    @Kay: I’m sorry you have to go through this.  Cuss words go here.

    ___________________ there is not enough room for them all.

  59. 59.

    H.E.Wolf

    @Geminid: @H.E.Wolf: Ben Cardin’s replacement Angela Alsobrooks strikes me as a very capable woman, with a solid base of experience.

     I agree. Her Senate career may well exceed my high expectations!

    (I’m chagrined to have mis-identified Sen. Cardin as as House member, in my earlier comment to Starfish.)

  61. 61.

    UncleEbeneezer

    Samantha Hancox-Li with another great essay on masculinity, boys, and the Patriarchal Bargain etc.:

    We need new stories. We need a new archetype. You gotta be worth choosing, not because she needs you, but because she wants you. The trick of gender is the trick of the modern world: learning to live together as free and equal citizens. Which is to say: telling a story in which we can be free and equal together despite our differences. A story about how men are useless and don’t have worth and aren’t worth wanting isn’t really going to cut it, not as long as men remain half the human population.

    …

    What happens when the fundamental things no longer apply? What is a man to a girl who can buy herself flowers?

    The knight saves the princess from the orc. That’s a story about cool sword fights and glimmering dragons, but it’s also a story about men and women and what they are to each other. A good man is a knight and not an orc; a good woman is a princess and repulsed by the orc’s advances.

    But what happens when the girl picks up the sword and kills the orc herself? What happens when she goes ahead and rules the kingdom without a man at her side? The knight has spent his life training for that moment—waiting for the moment he might prove his worth in the act of killing an orc. A dream evaporates—and now what does his worth consist in? Can he find a way to be something worth wanting for his own sake—a man who is wanted even despite not being needed? Until we figure out how to tell that story, the crisis of gender relations will not abate.

  63. 63.

    Juju

    @Kay: Dementia can be a part of Parkinson’s.  If it’s a somewhat drastic sort of sudden personality change, that could be a reason. She might also start having hallucinations. That’s can also be part of Parkinson’s.

  64. 64.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    @Kay:

    RFK Jr is a deal breaker for me, as is Tulsi Gabbard.

    We don’t agree on practically anything…except those two.

    I’ve said it repeatedly, she’s a national security risk in that position.  The Cheneys will go into apoplexy should she get confirmed.

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