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Today’s podcast considers the argument made by the House rebels that they are merely practicing “democracy” as it was meant to be practiced—when, in fact, they are a tiny minority using the powers of obstruction, not majority opinion, to try and get their way. Give a listen.
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I’m very disappointed in John Podhoretz’s broad-brush characterization of the hold-outs in the House as being crazy, psychotic, bad politicians, etc.. Some of them may be all these things, but the effect of what they’re doing is to force McCarthy to give up his ability to spend more and more money and to make deals with left-wing Democrats that he can present at the last minute as a take-it-or-leave it proposition. How can that be a bad thing?
I think the issue is that the people holding out are principled and would like to follow the rules based norms; but the progressives don’t play that game. Abe and gang seem be duped under the trance of a nice fluffy democratic Obama speech… Political rules and norms you speak of? That’s all the hold out wants in principle.
When you say squeeze things through, republicans try to, but then get mulled by the media and liberal AG’s and when democrats create the same exact policy and, usually worse, no one bats an eye. I don’t know what political savviness standard you are trying to hold republicans to, but it is clear there is no standard except “republican bad”.
Now we got ~20 reps that say enough is enough and Abe still can’t wrap his uniparty brane around why this is happening.
You guys need to stop being close minded democrats that hardly understand the arguments as to why this house fight is going on… You aren’t giving what you think to be those in the wrong a honest shake, as if they are the ones trying to trick you. As if they are the ones trying to make some Machiavellian plan to go against their word. If that’s what Abe would do if he was in Kevin’s place, I think he seriously lacks moral merit.
In 1954 Puerto Ricans shot up the House of Representatives chamber. Jimmy Carter commuted the sentences of most of them.