Why Is There Chaos in the House?

 

I’m pretty tired of this issue already, but yesterday Liz Peek at Fox News put out the most clarifying explanation about why this is happening.  I don’t think the situation has changed much in the last 24 hours. She makes this point that I think we all agree with:

The midterm elections delivered an unmistakable message: voters are not buying what the GOP is selling.

Some say voters have no idea what Republicans stand for.

That would be me.

Peek goes on to list the demands of those voting against McCarthy, and those demands are not unreasonable.  In fact, McCarthy is unreasonable not to agree.  To his credit, he has made concessions.

McCarthy opponents cause House chaos but raise valuable objections – Republican Party needs a reboot

This is the best information I have seen.

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  1. Boney Cole Member
    Boney Cole
    @BoneyCole

    Great article with real news.  There is not much discussion of the actual issues.   

    • #1
  2. DrewInWisconsin, Oik Member
    DrewInWisconsin, Oik
    @DrewInWisconsin

    Mad Gerald:

    Some say voters have no idea what Republicans stand for.

    That would be me.

     

    Coincidentally, I’ve asked that very question in a couple recent threads. “What does the GOP stand for?”

    Nobody’s responded.

    Which means I’m being shadowbanned, or nobody has a good answer.

    • #2
  3. Modus Ponens Inactive
    Modus Ponens
    @ModusPonens

    Because there is chaos in the country.

    • #3
  4. Chris O Coolidge
    Chris O
    @ChrisO

    DrewInWisconsin, Oik (View Comment):

    Mad Gerald:

    Some say voters have no idea what Republicans stand for.

    That would be me.

     

    Coincidentally, I’ve asked that very question in a couple recent threads. “What does the GOP stand for?”

    Nobody’s responded.

    Which means I’m being shadowbanned, or nobody has a good answer.

    Pretty sure most of its members of Congress have said they’re for all the demands made in the article at one time or another. Maybe one of them didn’t, the one that leads the Senate. Think he’d be backed into a corner by a “balanced budget in ten years” pledge? Pshaw.

    • #4
  5. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Chris O (View Comment):

    DrewInWisconsin, Oik (View Comment):

    Mad Gerald:

    Some say voters have no idea what Republicans stand for.

    That would be me.

     

    Coincidentally, I’ve asked that very question in a couple recent threads. “What does the GOP stand for?”

    Nobody’s responded.

    Which means I’m being shadowbanned, or nobody has a good answer.

    Pretty sure most of its members of Congress have said they’re for all the demands made in the article at one time or another. Maybe one of them didn’t, the one that leads the Senate. Think he’d be backed into a corner by a “balanced budget in ten years” pledge? Pshaw.

    Even if McConnell is still above ground in ten years, I doubt he’d still be in the Senate then.

    • #5
  6. GlenEisenhardt Member
    GlenEisenhardt
    @

    Because the GOP doesn’t really represent its voters. 

    • #6
  7. Chris O Coolidge
    Chris O
    @ChrisO

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Chris O (View Comment):

    DrewInWisconsin, Oik (View Comment):

    Mad Gerald:

    Some say voters have no idea what Republicans stand for.

    That would be me.

     

    Coincidentally, I’ve asked that very question in a couple recent threads. “What does the GOP stand for?”

    Nobody’s responded.

    Which means I’m being shadowbanned, or nobody has a good answer.

    Pretty sure most of its members of Congress have said they’re for all the demands made in the article at one time or another. Maybe one of them didn’t, the one that leads the Senate. Think he’d be backed into a corner by a “balanced budget in ten years” pledge? Pshaw.

    Even if McConnell is still above ground in ten years, I doubt he’d still be in the Senate then.

    Dude, McConnell will have his ashes sent to the gavel manufacturer and put into every presiding instrument the august body will ever use. I’m sure he has something on the factory owner by now.

    • #7
  8. mildlyo Member
    mildlyo
    @mildlyo

    One vote for Trump on the eighth ballot. We are getting there.

    • #8
  9. DonG (CAGW is a Scam) Coolidge
    DonG (CAGW is a Scam)
    @DonG

    Mad Gerald: voters are not buying what the GOP is selling

    The leadership chose to run on nothing, which is not “selling” anything.  

    • #9
  10. Steve Fast Member
    Steve Fast
    @SteveFast

    This whole thing should have been resolved BEFORE they started voting. If Kevin McCarthy could count, he could have seen that he was short of 218 votes, so he either needed to compromise or withdraw. He had two months from the November election to get this figured out. He was the Chief Deputy Whip and Majority Whip for 6 years, so this should be in his wheelhouse.

    The 20 rebels have not budged in 8 votes. Does McCarthy think that they will finally cave on the 9th?

    So the guy running for speaker either can’t count votes or doesn’t have the sense to stop wasting everyone’s time.

    • #10
  11. mildlyo Member
    mildlyo
    @mildlyo

    Once the Trump votes pass 10 that will be the tipping point for McCarthy.

    Paging freedom caucus!

    • #11
  12. mildlyo Member
    mildlyo
    @mildlyo

    Steve Fast (View Comment):

    This whole thing should have been resolved BEFORE they started voting. 

    Sadly, no one smokes cigars anymore.

    • #12
  13. DonG (CAGW is a Scam) Coolidge
    DonG (CAGW is a Scam)
    @DonG

    Anybody remember this book from 2010?    The last 12 years of GOP leadership has been a disaster.  

    Young Guns

    • #13
  14. Steve Fast Member
    Steve Fast
    @SteveFast

    mildlyo (View Comment):

    Steve Fast (View Comment):

    This whole thing should have been resolved BEFORE they started voting.

    Sadly, no one smokes cigars anymore.

    Sadly true. However, the Democrats have apparently been drinking on the House floor, and they managed to unite behind one candidate. Maybe the Republicans should try drinking and see what happens.

    • #14
  15. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Steve Fast (View Comment):

    mildlyo (View Comment):

    Steve Fast (View Comment):

    This whole thing should have been resolved BEFORE they started voting.

    Sadly, no one smokes cigars anymore.

    Sadly true. However, the Democrats have apparently been drinking on the House floor, and they managed to unite behind one candidate. Maybe the Republicans should try drinking and see what happens.

    May not be a good idea, since they could unite behind the Democrat.

    • #15
  16. The Reticulator Member
    The Reticulator
    @TheReticulator

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Steve Fast (View Comment):

    mildlyo (View Comment):

    Steve Fast (View Comment):

    This whole thing should have been resolved BEFORE they started voting.

    Sadly, no one smokes cigars anymore.

    Sadly true. However, the Democrats have apparently been drinking on the House floor, and they managed to unite behind one candidate. Maybe the Republicans should try drinking and see what happens.

    May not be a good idea, since they could unite behind the Democrat.

    That’s why the Russians consider it impolite for you not to drink with them.  They want to know what you really think. 

    • #16
  17. Steve Fast Member
    Steve Fast
    @SteveFast

    Oh goody, now we’re going to vote #10.

    This could be the round that puts McCarthy over the top – just kidding.

    • #17
  18. Fritz Coolidge
    Fritz
    @Fritz

    Reports that McCarthy had given in and agreed to the demands of the conservative bloc have been refuted by other reports saying those claims have all come from McCarthy’s side, so I guess that latter, if true, indicates McCarthy has made no firm commitments nor put anything in writing.  Stalemate continues.

    • #18
  19. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Fritz (View Comment):

    Reports that McCarthy had given in and agreed to the demands of the conservative bloc have been refuted by other reports saying those claims have all come from McCarthy’s side, so I guess that latter, if true, indicates McCarthy has made no firm commitments nor put anything in writing. Stalemate continues.

    Even if in writing, he wouldn’t be bound to follow them.

    • #19
  20. Jim McConnell Member
    Jim McConnell
    @JimMcConnell

    DrewInWisconsin, Oik (View Comment):

    Mad Gerald:

    Some say voters have no idea what Republicans stand for.

    That would be me.

     

    Coincidentally, I’ve asked that very question in a couple recent threads. “What does the GOP stand for?”

    Nobody’s responded.

    Which means I’m being shadowbanned, or nobody has a good answer.

    It seems that our Republican members of Congress have little idea of what Republicans stand for. (You pedants, please excuse the dangling participle.)

    • #20
  21. Vance Richards Inactive
    Vance Richards
    @VanceRichards

    DonG (CAGW is a Scam) (View Comment):

    Anybody remember this book from 2010? The last 12 years of GOP leadership has been a disaster.

    Young Guns

    Too often we see promising conservatives morph into status quo swamp dwellers. Sad.

    • #21
  22. BDB Inactive
    BDB
    @BDB

    Steve Fast (View Comment):

    Oh goody, now we’re going to vote #10.

    This could be the round that puts McCarthy over the top – just kidding.

    • #22
  23. Fritz Coolidge
    Fritz
    @Fritz

    IIRC, the new House must, once they have a Speaker, convene to vote on the Rules that will apply to this Congress.  It takes a majority to approve the Rules.

    And there was a report that McCarthy had presented the list of Rules that he would present, many of which are on the desired list of the 20. But if he can’t whip up the votes needed to elect himself Speaker, who is to say that his list of Rules would not also get pared way back by TPTB and their donors if they might impede the go-along status-quo crowd?

    Regular order for appropriations bills? Where’s the pork opportunity in that?

    A minimum time to review a bill before voting? That’ so yesterday. Etc.

    Tucker yesterday said something like this intransigence for McCarthy is showing the bared fangs of the donor class and their chosen one, McCarthy. Sounds logical to me.

    • #23
  24. Instugator Thatcher
    Instugator
    @Instugator

    I am still trying to understand why it is considered chaotic. I think that pre-arranged outcomes are phony, unless they represent the fruits of good faith negotiation. 

    This isn’t that.

    It is a learning experience for me. Kevin is making the Hillary argument. Vote for him because it is his turn to be speaker. Nothing more. Kevin thinks that is good enough.

    Newt had a much better argument in his day. He had “The Contract for America”.

    Kevin has what? Investigation roulette? How about some consequences for the rogue government agencies trashing civil liberties? How about agreeing with the “Defund the Police” crowd (a little) and start with the Federal Bureau of Instigation (no relation).

    Seriously, Kevin? You don’t know that you can’t win? You didn’t game this out ahead of time? Just gonna squat in Nancy’s old abode and wait for Sean Hannity to browbeat the recalcitrant house members into voting for you?

    Truthfully, as a voter, I certainly do not have enough information about the deal on the table  to make an informed decision about how I would like the standouts to vote. 

    What I do like is seeing GOPe sweat. I like them being faced with uncertainty. Good for the House Freedom Caucus. Good for America.

    Come on Kevin! Lets see your deal making chops. Or show us your petulant side.

    Each vote they take proves more and more that Kevin is not worthy.

    Pick someone who is.

    Or pick Trump, either choice is good for me. 

    Truthfully, I’d prefer Trump – if that happened I would divest of all of my online entertainment just to watch that play out. Too bad there isn’t enough popcorn in Iowa.

    • #24
  25. DrewInWisconsin, Oik Member
    DrewInWisconsin, Oik
    @DrewInWisconsin

    Instugator (View Comment):
    Kevin has what? Investigation roulette? How about some consequences for the rogue government agencies trashing civil liberties? How about agreeing with the “Defund the Police” crowd (a little) and start with the Federal Bureau of Instigation (no relation).

    He could start by addressing the questions VDH asks here.

    Excerpt:

    How did we wake up one morning to new customs of impeaching a president over a phone call? Of the speaker of the House tearing up the State of the Union address on national television? Of barring congressional members from serving on their assigned congressional committees?

    When did we assume the FBI had the right to subvert the campaign of a candidate it disliked? Was it legal suddenly for one presidential candidate to hire a foreign ex-spy to subvert the campaign of her rival?

    Was some state or federal law passed that allowed biological males to compete in female sports? Did Congress enact such a law? Did the Supreme Court guarantee that biological male students could shower in gym locker rooms with biological women? Were women ever asked to redefine the very sports they had championed?

    When did the government pass a law depriving Americans of their freedom during a pandemic? In America can health officials simply cancel rental contracts or declare loan payments in suspension? How could it become illegal for mom-and-pop stores to sell flowers or shoes during a quarantine but not so for Walmart or Target?

    Since when did the people decide that 70 percent of voters would not cast their ballots on Election Day? Was this revolutionary change the subject of a national debate, a heated congressional session, or the votes of dozens of state legislatures?

    What happened to Election Night returns? Did the fact that Americans created more electronic ballots and computerized tallies make it take so much longer to tabulate the votes?

    When did the nation abruptly decide that theft is not a crime, assault not a felony? How can thieves walk out with bags of stolen goods, without the wrath of angry shoppers, much less fear of the law?

    Was there ever a national debate about the terrified flight from Afghanistan? Who planned it and why?

    What happened to the once trusted FBI? Why almost overnight did its directors decide to mislead Congress, to deceive judges with concocted tales from fake dossiers and with doctored writs? Did Congress pass a law that our federal leaders in the FBI or CIA could lie with impunity under oath?

    Who redefined our military and with whose consent? Who proclaimed that our chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff could call his Chinese Communist counterpart to warn him that America’s president was supposedly unstable? Was it always true that retired generals routinely libeled their commander-in-chief as a near Nazi, a Mussolini, an adherent of the tools of Auschwitz?

     

    • #25
  26. DrewInWisconsin, Oik Member
    DrewInWisconsin, Oik
    @DrewInWisconsin

    Instugator (View Comment):

    Come on Kevin! Lets see your deal making chops. Or show us your petulant side.

    Each vote they take proves more and more that Kevin is not worthy.

    Surely he’ll win with vote #11.

    ELEVEN!

    • #26
  27. HeavyWater Inactive
    HeavyWater
    @HeavyWater

    Ro Khanna, the Democrat representative of California’s 17th congressional district, said that he is open to supporting a moderate Republican for Speaker and then proceeded to name the names of 3 Republican members of Congress whom he could support for Speaker.  

    Khanna also said that while no other House Democrats have said what he has said publicly, he knows that many agree with him privately because they don’t want a House led by Kevin McCarthy while McCarthy is beholden to “the far right.”  

    Khanna said that, “Right now this is a Republican mess.  But pretty soon this will be a mess for the United States of America and we need to be ready to support a moderate Republican for Speaker.”  

    • #27
  28. BDB Inactive
    BDB
    @BDB

    HeavyWater (View Comment):

    Ro Khanna, the Democrat representative of California’s 17th congressional district, said that he is open to supporting a moderate Republican for Speaker and then proceeded to name the names of 3 Republican members of Congress whom he could support for Speaker.

    Khanna also said that while no other House Democrats have said what he has said publicly, he knows that many agree with him privately because they don’t want a House led by Kevin McCarthy while McCarthy is beholden to “the far right.”

    Khanna said that, “Right now this is a Republican mess. But pretty soon this will be a mess for the United States of America and we need to be ready to support a moderate Republican for Speaker.”

    This tells me the Democrats feel that McCarthy could be forced out and a MORE conservative option will emerge.

    • #28
  29. DrewInWisconsin, Oik Member
    DrewInWisconsin, Oik
    @DrewInWisconsin

    HeavyWater (View Comment):
    because they don’t want a House led by Kevin McCarthy while McCarthy is beholden to “the far right.”  

    Heh. As if.

    Now imagine Democrats voting to approve McCarthy, giving us a Speaker of the House who is beholden to the Democrats.

    Seems like a much worse place to be. (Seems like a place we’ve already been, also.)

    • #29
  30. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    DrewInWisconsin, Oik (View Comment):

    Instugator (View Comment):

    Come on Kevin! Lets see your deal making chops. Or show us your petulant side.

    Each vote they take proves more and more that Kevin is not worthy.

    Surely he’ll win with vote #11.

    ELEVEN!

    Or maybe he won’t.

    Either way, don’t call him Shirley!

    • #30
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