Now this is one for the ages. You are very unlikely to ever see this again. And like so much that’s happened in the Trump era, if you saw this in a screenplay, you would laugh and throw the script in the trash as being ridiculously improbable. Axios:
📅 Today marked an unusual alignment of the political calendar:
- President Biden has been in office for 1,000 days.
- Russia has been at war with Ukraine for 600 days.
- Government funding runs out in exactly one month.
- The Iowa caucuses are in 90 days.
I share this information, only. These dates, altogether on one day, are a curiosity. I have no insight into what this could mean. I’m certainly not going to advocate that we start applying numerology or even astrology to our musings here — although we can’t get any crazier than QAnon, right? — but you have to admit, this is a tad bit unusual. It’s like a political harmonic convergence. There are different definitions for the term “harmonic convergence” but it basically refers to an alignment of the planets which happens very rarely. For instance on March 28 of this year, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Uranus were aligned in an arc formed along with the moon after sunset constituting a rare astronomical event. And what the significance of such an event might be, is above my pay grade. I just mention it.
I think we can safely say that today marked a turning point. Just as President Biden begins the last leg of his first term in office (and hopefully the beginning of another 1,000 days as our president, so mote it be, as they say in Wiccan circles) and as the 2024 election officially kicks off in 90 days, and all the rest, let’s pause to hope that the House can get rolling towards electing a new Speaker.
It does not look promising. Another vote takes place at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow. Maybe the phone wires are burning up tonight.
Nancy Pelosi is right. Don’t get up there and start maneuvering unless you have the votes. It’s in everybody’s best interest if, in fact, there aren’t the votes to elect a new Speaker by mid-morning Wednesday, that the GOP conference work it out to where they can select a Speaker before they do anymore political theater.
Between the lines:Â Jordan isn’t working with an unlimited timetable like McCarthy was, with some Republicans speculating he may be bleeding support between ballots.
- “Let’s see what happens,” Rep. Maria Salazar (R-Fla.) told Axios of her plans on the second ballot after voting for Jordan. “No one really knows.”
- One House Republican who spoke on the condition of anonymity predicted Jordan will pick up “not more than 5-7” of his detractors on the second vote — which would still put him short of the gavel.
What we’re hearing: Bipartisan discussions about how to end the two-week speaker vacancy are growing in seriousness, given the very real concern no candidate can obtain 217 Republican votes, Axios’ Andrew Solender reports.
- Jeffries told reporters today there have been “informal conversations” he hopes “will accelerate this evening,” given the sizable bloc of opposition Jordan faced in his first public test today.
At some point, it’s going to be fish or cut bait — cut bait translating as put Jeffries or some interim speaker up there until the November, 2024 election. We cannot continue this way.
I’m surprised no one on the GOP side hasn’t considered voting for Jeffries (between 5 and 10 GOPers) just to make him the “fall guy” next November when absolutely no legislation gets through. I mean our illustrious media will simply parrot the Fox-led narrative of how “ineffectual” the “Democrat speaker” is in leading, especially after the usual 20 or so GOP Fox regulars make the rounds and absolutely zero Democrats will be able to push back since they won’t get on the Sunday morning news shows–MSNBC might do some of the pushback but that won’t get through to the 90% who watch any other news source.
Then again, I doubt there’s a GOPer with that much smarts to come up with such a scheme.
I think it’s hilarious that Harlem J. has more votes than Gym bag Moron.The Dam is closer numerically than the GOP Jerk.
I thought they were supposed to work this out off camera so that when they came to the floor they didn’t look like a bunch of morons. Well that’s a point in question. Anyway, they are supposed to figure all this out so they can have a clean and clear vote. Obviously they aren’t doing it or the never Jordan crowd is sitting on their hands in the committee room. They need to quit mucking around and give up on Jordan. It ain’t going to happen and we’ll maybe they should let it roll a couple more rounds. Catch Gymbag red handed strong arming house members for votes. That’s sorta illegal especially since they are using the phone to do it. There’s three or four charges per member and 20 members. Hell, he will be up their with Donnie on indictments. And you can’t be speaker with a charge that has more than two years. Awe gee, Donnie will have a cell mate. Then you can throw in his J6 gameplay and well it couldn’t happen to a worse individual