The 118th United States Congress

[pfife]

LOL at the Republic Party negotiating themselves out of border security and Ukraine funding and into just Ukraine funding.   Incredible use of leverage.

[RatkoVarda]

these things change quickly, but Marge might be getting the Madison Cawthorn treatment soon

[1984Echoes]

1 hour ago, pfife said:

LOL at the Republic Party negotiating themselves out of border security and Ukraine funding and into just Ukraine funding.   Incredible use of leverage.

👍

[chasfh]

Is this a shorthand way to determine who's with the Russians? A lot of the usual suspects ...

[romad1]

6 minutes ago, chasfh said:

Is this a shorthand way to determine who's with the Russians? A lot of the usual suspects ...

Tim Scott....craven fool. 

[chasfh]

Would that this would make any difference in November.

 

[gehringer_2]

It official. Dem leadership goes on record that they will turn back any motion to vacate from MTG. 

I wonder what they got from Johnson in return?

“At this moment, upon completion of our national security work, the time has come to turn the page on this chapter of Pro-Putin Republican obstruction,” the Democratic leaders said in a joint statement. “If she invokes the motion, it will not succeed.”

The statement was issued by Representatives Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the Democratic leader; Representative Katherine M. Clark of Massachusetts, the No. 2 Democrat; and Representative Pete Aguilar of California, the chairman of the Democratic caucus.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/30/us/politics/johnson-greene-jeffries-democrats.html

[Motown Bombers]

They got Ukraine aid. Johnson brought it the floor knowing he was safe. 

[gehringer_2]

10 minutes ago, Motown Bombers said:

They got Ukraine aid. Johnson brought it the floor knowing he was safe. 

But they don't need to save him now for Ukraine and they could have put this statement out before the vote but didn't, so I'd guess they negotiated something else they wanted out of him to make their support 'official'. Maybe something obscure or procedural in which case the odds are good we may never know what, if anything, it was.

Edited May 1, 2024 by gehringer_2

[chasfh]

10 hours ago, gehringer_2 said:

But they don't need to save him now for Ukraine and they could have put this statement out before the vote but didn't, so I'd guess they negotiated something else they wanted out of him to make their support 'official'. Maybe something obscure or procedural in which case the odds are good we may never know what, if anything, it was.

Probably this, but another thing might also be that they know MTG and her ilk will keep lipping off and creating chaos and keeping the issue in front of voters. Also, keeping Mike Johnson firmly in his seat gives Dems plenty to campaign on this coming Fall.

[chasfh]

40 minutes ago, chasfh said:

Probably this, but another thing might also be that they know MTG and her ilk will keep lipping off and creating chaos and keeping the issue in front of voters. Also, keeping Mike Johnson firmly in his seat gives Dems plenty to campaign on this coming Fall.

As I was saying ...

 

[pfife]

I'd like to know what the Democrats are getting in return for this.    Not knowing this aspect, I'm not sure saving Maga Mike is what the Democrats should do.  

[oblong]

Could also just be the case where they saw how important things were in the world and if the only way to get those passed is to help him stay Speaker, then so be it.

 

[pfife]

That could be true, I make my statement after the foreign aid bills passed but we can't predict what could be needed in the future.  They should still be extracting something for it.  

[pfife]

I'm not a professional political strategist but seeing them have a huge family squabble that is a complete and utter total ****show seems like political gold to me 

I wouldn't feel as ok with letting them do it had they not already passed the aid bills. 

[chasfh]

Also, keeping Mike Johnson firmly in his seat gives Dems plenty to campaign on this coming Fall.

[gehringer_2]

Yeah - there are soo many layers to this onion. Aside from all the points above, I think it is also true that while the Dems see Johnson as someone whose politics they oppose just as deeply as anyone else's, they believe he at least has the personal integrity that McCarthy lacked - so they can negotiate with him and have some confidence in his word. Given that the Freedom caucus will not support a true moderate and they haven't found any GOP House members to flip to actually take the House,  there is little chance of getting anyone better.

[pfife]

What will his personal integrity be leveraged to get between now and the election?  Is it "in case of emergency" legislation only? 

I don't see much legislating happening between now and then.   At least that's historically what happens in election years. 

[gehringer_2]

1 minute ago, pfife said:

What will his personal integrity be leveraged to get between now and the election?  Is it "in case of emergency" legislation only? 

I don't see much legislating happening between now and then.   At least that's historically what happens in election years. 

Jeffries is still prudent not to assume nothing important will arise. As has been noted, the rich part is that the public expression of support will just drive MTG and her wingnut caucus even more crazy, deepening the internal rifts in the GOP. It's pure bonus for the Dems when doing the right thing ends up being the politically winning thing, which it too rarely is.

[CMRivdogs]

Maybe just keeping Johnson on as Speaker is a better alternative than what ever Moscow Marge and her merry band of Putinists have in mind for the next SoH. Anything that keeps the Trump/Moscow Caucus in check, no matter how minimal is better than the alternative from the other side of the aisle. 

[oblong]

If the Dems are just being pragmatic and making the best of a bad situation.... good for them.  I'm glad Ukraine got what they needed.  

Of course we know damn well any Republic minority leader would not do the same to a Democratic Speaker who was in a similar position.

 

[chasfh]

I think all of the above applies, with the probable exception of Democrats' admiration of Mike Johnson's integrity.

[gehringer_2]

11 minutes ago, chasfh said:

I think all of the above applies, with the probable exception of Democrats' admiration of Mike Johnson's integrity.

well, don't over read it. It's the overall context. Johnson doesn't need to be any kind of saint to be a far more trustworthy opponent than McCarthy - who was a total scumbag, lying to and crossing friend and foe alike with the wind direction, or even worse a diaboli like Gym Jordan whose name would be sure to come up again as potential successor.

Edited May 1, 2024 by gehringer_2

[1984Echoes]

2 hours ago, gehringer_2 said:

... they believe he at least has the personal integrity that McCarthy lacked - so they can negotiate with him and have some confidence in his word. Given that the Freedom Caucus will not support a true moderate and ... there is little chance of getting anyone better.

I think this is the crux of the matter, right here.

[1984Echoes]

1 hour ago, gehringer_2 said:

... the rich part is that the public expression of support will just drive MTG and her wingnut caucus even more crazy, deepening the internal rifts in the GOP...

And this is even better...