If the Republicans in the House of Representatives can’t get their you-know-what together come midnight on the 30th we’ll have a government shutdown. With early voting underway. While some in the GOP fantasize they can flip the blame on Democrats they’re wrong and the adults in the GOP know it. With things trending towards significant losses it could turn into a bloodbath for the Republican Party. House Speaker Moses Mikey Johnson has a problem. Ok, he’s got lots of problems but this is the one that’s making him feel like maybe God didn’t anoint him the proverbial ‘Chosen One’ after all.
Keep in mind that in the prior Congress then Speaker Nancy Pelosi had the same slim majority Republicans had when the current one convened in Jan. 2023. However Pelosi managed to deliver over and over again, somehow working things out between competing elements of her caucus. Things, big important things got done. I don’t need to remind you how little this GOP led House has accomplished. Well, I suppose if your entertainment preferences tend towards enjoying sh*t-shows you’ve been having a grand old time. Everyone else? Not so much. I won’t go into the long list of failures and cluster f**ks of the current crop of House GOPers. You know them already.
However a shutdown which is what a handful (enough to make it happen if Johnson has to rely on Republican votes only) want. There are believe it or not varying reasons but the main thing is the ‘poison pill’ of a provision for a new ‘Proof of Citizenship to Vote’ law. It doesn’t matter that it’s already illegal for non-citizens to vote and that the states have well-functioning systems to prevent it from happening. IMMIGRATION is the GOP’s big hope to salvage this election and this they believe is their ticket to victory.
The cold hard reality is that such a bill has no chance of becoming law. Senate Republicans won’t vote for it even. And President Biden certainly wouldn’t sign a deal that included what the crazies want. That’s where their ‘This time we can pin the blame on Democrats for a shut down’ come from. Except the public already knows the score on this. Still, Johnson has tried his little heart out to pass a House funding bill that included the proof of citizenship provision. He was forced to pull his bill from the floor last week. However he’s under a lot or pressure including from one Donald Trump to ‘git er done’ so this week as reported by The Hill he actually put the bill on the floor for a vote. And suffered an entirely predictable defeat:
Fourteen Republicans joined virtually every Democrat in voting against the spending plan — which paired a six-month stopgap bill with a measure that would require proof of citizenship to vote — bringing the final tally to 202-220, with two voting present. Three Democrats crossed the aisle to back the measure.
The Speaker faced a troika of GOP opposition, with hard-line conservatives criticizing the use of a continuing resolution; defense hawks voicing concern about the impact the long-term funding bill would have at the Pentagon; and moderates expressing worries about having a shutdown threat so close to the election.
Johnson knew he didn’t have the votes so why did he choose to go ahead and suffer yesterday’s public humiliation? Donald Trump wants, hell NEEDS immigration to be THE issue for the rest of the campaign. Of course, by now voters know all about the bi-partisan (with big majorities in both chambers) immigration reform bill that could have passed both chambers earlier this year. And President Biden made it clear he’d sign it. Republicans were downright giddy over what GOP Senator James Lankford got them in the negations. Democrats gritted their teeth but went along, figuring they could make some changes next year. It was a done deal until Trump’s fat orange ass waded in and demanded Republicans kill the thing. Everyone knows it. It’s been talked about for months and Harris again hammered Trump over the head with it at the debate. And Trump had no response.
That’s why sane Republicans in both the House and Senate know that, regardless of what the crazies in the House think, the GOP will take the blame for a shutdown if it’s over the whole proof of citizenship to vote provision. Voters see it, and more importantly many will vote over it because they see it for the STUNT that it is. Hence Johnson’s problem. Trump is demanding the House (and Senate too) pass this and to shut down the government if Democrats won’t go along. However, Johnson knows full well that between Democrats, his own members in swing districts and plenty of other old-school ‘don’t make waves’ types the votes are there for a ‘Clean Continuing Resolution’ to kick the can down the road three months. And, with the holidays coming up another CR to get us into the new Congress.
Unfortunately for Johnson he knows that will cost him the Speaker’s gavel even if the GOP retains control of the House. Even a defeated Trump will rally enough GOPers to oust him in a “Screw You Christmas” vote after the election. Add in the fact Johnson’s not a well-off financially guy. Sure, the perks of being Speaker are damned good but he really needed that extra salary that came with the job. Losing it would actually hurt. A lot. It’s safe to say he’s feeling like the old family jewels are in a vise and Trump in particular is cranking the thing tighter every single day.
Being as staunch an anti-abortion asshole as there is Johnson knows all about Plan B, the pill that is remarkably effective in preventing pregnancy if a woman has unprotected sex. Like most of his ilk Johnson wants to go way beyond abortion and outlaw all prescription birth control, calling them ‘Abortifacients.’ Basically, anything that might prevent a fertilized egg from tumbling down and implanting in the wall of a woman’s uterus and making her pregnant.
But you know what? I’ll bet this very minute as I write this Johnson is wishing someone could provide him a POLTICAL version of Plan B. Something that would prevent Trump from “impregnating” his ability to pass something, even a clean three months CR that would keep the govt. open and at least give the GOP a chance this fall. Sadly for Johnson he’s in a no-win situation. He’s gone as Speaker no matter what and as with his predecessor it’s just a matter of time. If he has the capacity for rational thought he should be making plans for life after being Speaker, or even a member of the House for that matter.
In the meantime Moses Mikey’s nuts are feeling the squeeze and the point is coming where he and the wife won’t need to worry about family planning anymore because those babies are going to pop under the pressure. With Trump’s laughter ringing in his ears. Not that I think there’s a chance in hell of it happening but from where I sit Johnson should strike pre-emptively. Put forth a clean CR and not for three months but for SIX after getting Jeffries’ assurance all Democrats would be on board if Johnson can get fifteen or so Republicans who can be trusted to privately commit to it. That shouldn’t be hard. Spring it on the House and ram that sucker through.
Then openly state that it was a mistake to allow Trump to kill the deal that was on the table earlier this year. Call Trump out for his meddling and damn the consequences. He’s screwed no matter what. If it were me I’d carve out my chunk of flesh from Trump while I still could.
As for the GOP they need more than a ‘Trump Plan B’ pill. They need a ‘Trump Abortion’ and to send the mess to directly into the incinerator.
Mr, Peepers should just take a big ol’ bite of the sh!t sammich and go with Denis’ plan B for 6 months. Trump be damned.
He’s not going to be Speaker after this year once the Majority Dem House is seated in January, regardless of what he does, and will probably get canned by his friends long before that. So why not do what’s right for the country and to Hell with The Lard-Ass and his hare brained schemes???
Denis, IMHO, the actual problem is what was always going to be Mikey’s problem. Lack of experience. The lack of experience, coupled with everyone out for themselves among Republicans, was a recipe for Johnson’s failure. Pelosi had a very strong Plan B when she was Speaker; she had Majority Whip Steny Hoyer. He knew how to count votes and “whip” votes and enforce the importance of sticking to votes! Before Hoyer, Pelosi was the Plan B/Whip and she knew how to do the job! Right now, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is experienced and his PlanB/Whip is Katherine Clark, who knows how to do her job. Mike Johnson didn’t know how to be Speaker and his colleagues kicked out the only people who could have helped him. Johnson’s Whip is the very worthless Tom Emmer…Emmer doesn’t count, whip, or enforce. In fact, yesterday Emmer led Johson to believe the votes were in place for both the funding bill AND its election rider!! Well, Emmer led the boss down the garden path to his humiliation! When no one in leadership knows how to lead, the traditional Plans A, B, C, etc. cannot help you. Liz Cheney coulda helped except for that whole destroy her career thing they did! 🤪🤣
Who works for there Govt?
The POSTAL WORKERS!!!
Mail In votes don’t get through if the MAIL STOPS!!!
All part of their plan?!?
Um, sorry, but the Postal Service is an INDEPENDENT agency. Even if there’s a government shutdown, the Postal Service will still be operating. It does *not* rely on taxpayer funding (well, not directly like the members of Congress or the Dept of Defense or the National Park Service; the USPS relies on CONSUMER funding, through the purchases of products and services–notably, stamps).
The only thing that can actually ever stop the mail is via natural disaster. A blizzard or an earthquake or a hurricane technically doesn’t actually stop the mail; the mail is just “disrupted” on a temporary basis (if an earthquake tears up a road or a hurricane causes roads to get flooded, the mail is held at a facility until the situation is cleared).
Thanks DENIS … but too too wordy.