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Republican Gravity
I am reminded of something my Physics professor Dr. Wolfe said in class one day, “Clearly, none of you has read the material.” But besides that, he also said, “Gravity always does positive work.” Scientists (or their adult supervision in mathematics) have established this as a convention to make all sorts of things come out right. So when you fire an artillery shell into the sky (lucky you!), or when you fly an airplane from sea level up to forty-thousand feet, or when you climb a set of stairs (let’s just go a single story m’kay), you are actually doing negative work. Gee, thanks, fellas.
With that in mind, both wings of the Republican Party are in free-fall right now, getting all KINDS of work done. Trump is melting down or drying up or something, and even the media, at long last have finally learned how to fight him. Chris Plante says that the most insidious power the media has is the power to ignore, and they finally figured out how to defeat their Trump reflex, which is hyperventilation, screeching, and screen time. I would likely support Trump in 2024 and would certainly appreciate him on the sidelines if he finds a way to be useful. Neither of these look likely right now.
The GOP or establishment, or RNC, or Mitch & the Gang, whatever you want to call the not-Trump but not-quite-Democrats, went to bed thinking that they had passed a budget and woke up to find they caught a bullet. The usual soothsayers are out and about telling us why it had to be this way — die quietly, you little people — with detailed explanations of how the budget process doesn’t ack-shually work, and how the filibuster isn’t ack-shually a thing, and how the Democrats would win a shutdown showdown, because, well Democrats always win! Gosh, it’s the darnedest thing. Somebody smart on Twitter summed up the GOP explanation for helping Democrats pass their awful budget as “But they forced us to vote right away without seeing it, so we just HAD to vote yes!” And people who were not angry at the business-as-usual class are getting angry now.
The vote for the thing was so transparently bad, and then the butt-covering defense of the bill (and therefore Republican votes for it) have struck almost nobody as reasonable. After all, Republicans just won a slim majority in the House, and by kicking this can down the road with a CR, the can would have been passed to a friendly GOP House majority for re-work the next session! A little patience, a little fortitude? But no, the Senate neutered the incoming House majority for a year. Gee, why?
A slim House majority is not so easily controlled as a fat majority. In a wide majority, the GOP can afford to let the base crazies go. Now, they need every Republican vote in order to get a Republican bill passed. Well, that should be simple, if the GOP Wizards of Smart (tm, Rush) can just negotiate within the caucus in order to present a unified front to the Democrat opposition. So even with disagreement in the ranks, it should still be possible — it just won’t be the Big Government dreams of the GOP establishment, which is where the real problem lies. Did you see what the GOP has done? They would rather negotiate with House Democrats to pass bills objectionable to the base than the other way ’round. As before, the GOP has no intention of being a “big tent” party if that tent is big enough to house the limited-government, smaller-budget (supposed) core of the Republican party. And suddenly a growing chunk of Republican voters are seeing it.
I actually wrote this over a week ago (28 Dec 2022), but wanted to pull it together with some commentary about how positive work was being done by gravity as the two sides of the party come crashing back to Earth. Looks like the House Freedom Caucus has written it for me.
Published in General
You’re grading on a curve.
Trying to be charitable here, you.
Great post, thanks, BDB.
I am not going to hang a Like on it because it would just to encourage you, but it really is good.
The serious part is mainly what I Liked. (Not that I Liked it. I’m just saying, as they say now. Or not saying, maybe would be the right way to say it, or to not-say it. That’s not a split infinitive, if you read carefully, BTW. It’s the infinitive, unsplit, of the verb “not-say”.)
But…your first sentence has to be the funniest first sentence I’ve read since that one day, the one when I read a very funny first sentence. I read it to Offspring Three, the one we call “the funny one”, and he chortled. He’s not an easy chortle.
Even Kate smiled broadly, and she usually doesn’t smile when I read anything to her from Ricochet when she’s sitting next to me folding laundry. I understand this feeling, but I perceive reading Ricochet as my duty, not just something I do to get out of doing my share of demeaning chores.
But I digress. Often.
These are the yes votes:
Here is a full list of Republican senators who voted in favor of the bill:
Most of these wimpish and worthless Republicans are expected to vote against our interests. But Inhoff, Moran, Shelby, and Tom Cotton…why am I a Republican?
Excellent post. I have nothing to add except this handshake.
No laurel?
I confess that I wish I had posted this last week.
It’s winter. They’re all dead.
Seeing as you’re Chairman of th’ Welcomin’ Committeh…
You have such a way with words.
Why, thank you!
And the words seem to like it.
To what end? Mr Biden is still POTUS.
The only useful functions of holding the House only are to submit teeny tiny budgets and to investigate the Dems.
You’ve just answered your own question then.
Investigate the Dems.
Yeah . . . :: snort ::
Let’s “hold hearings!” and then everyone can speechify and frown heavily and get some soundbites on Fox News, and then . . . nothing happens.
They must do at least that.
It would help if they had a reason, or goal, in holding hearings — something that would require legislation.
We didn’t get a “harrumph!” from those guys!