The Democrats might be in the minority in the House but their leader, Hakeem Jeffries isn’t taking a back seat when it comes to what happens next to prevent a govt. shutdown in the new year. The new Speaker might have gotten Jeffries to go along with a CR to push the problem past the holidays but when lawmakers come back in January it will still be staring them in the face. Johnson has an angry caucus on his hands to be sure. However, they haven’t shown any signs of being able to govern all year long (look at how long it took them to elect both Speakers!) so while their desire to pass the eleven appropriations bills it takes to approve an actual budget is a nice goal, with this gang of demolition derby idiots it’s a fantasy.
Jeffries did Johnson and the GOP a favor by providing the votes needed to pass a CR. He didn’t get everything his own caucus wanted but he at least got a “clean CR” that didn’t include GOP poison pill amendments. Practically speaking, be provided a temporary lifeline to Johnson in the form of time. Not much when you consider the holidays and most of the folks in DC scattered to the four winds but some negotiations will take place, and of course things will get really intense and really fast after the first of the year.
In the meantime, as The Hill reports Jeffries has wasted no time defining terms for those negotiations:
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) is calling for an immediate launch to bipartisan talks on 2024 spending, but warned that Democrats will demand the funding levels adopted in the bipartisan debt ceiling bill earlier in the year.
Talking to reporters Jeffries called on other leaders to arrange for the top appropriators in each chamber which are Reps. Kay Granger (R-Texas) and Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), and Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) to start talks right away. Here’s the kicker though, the “marker” I referred to in the title of this article:
“That should happen, in our view, immediately, in a manner where the spending numbers are consistent with the bipartisan Fiscal Responsibility Act that everyone agreed to and is now a matter of law,” he said.
Take note of that last part. Republicans negotiated a deal. One of the reasons Democrats didn’t lift a finger to help McCarthy was Kraven Kevin reneged on it as the Sept. 30 deadline was approaching. In the end, McCarthy caved at the last minute and agreed to a clean 45 Day Continuing Resolution. However, his breaking his word and his bad-mouthing of Democrats meant when Bratty Matty Gaetz and a handful of other zealous (even by Freedom Caucus standards) called for McCarthy’s ouster. We all saw what that led to. A three week mess of the GOP inflicting what can reasonably be called ritual self-humiliation. Entertaining as some might have found all that several precious weeks were lost in dealing with a still looming shutdown.
The GOP found a way out by making a nobody Speaker. Mike Johnson was a backbencher in every sense of the word in the House Republican caucus. I have NO doubt that when his name came up in the “what the hell do we do now?” after Jordan gave up his bid more than a few of his fellow Republicans said “Who?” And therein lies a problem for for Johnson personally and for the GOP and not just in the House. Say what you will about him (there’s little that’s good anyway) but with McCarthy you had someone who never really possessed the gravitas for the role as Speaker BUT he’d spent years angling for the job. He served in leadership some and at least learned something about the job and how things got done.
In Johnson the GOP has someone who is WAY the hell out of his league. If he were a baseball player he’d have trouble getting signed to a minor league contract. And absent not being present when a big gathering of all the talent/players in a franchise being gathered for a spring break festival and the thing getting hit by a meteor he’d never walk onto the field as a major league player. Much less be a star.
Jeffries however is smarter, more savvy and actually spent time learning from true masters like Nancy Pelosi before being elevated to Minority Leader and after next year’s elections Speaker. Johnson has already had to go hat in hand to Jeffries for help. He’s going to have to do so again and Jeffries as I said has set the terms. Johnson didn’t even have the savvy to get out and try to define them first!
The current two deadlines to keep the government funded come up in late Jan. and early Feb. right as the primary season will be starting. A Presidential year. With the GOP already back on its heels due to abortion, and screwing around with aid to Israel and Ukraine. Those are both matters House Republicans in the 50-60 competitive districts are going to get hammered on. In addition to abortion! Add in history and how GOP attempts to foist blame for shutdowns THEY have caused didn’t work with voters and the last thing those particular Republicans will want is a shutdown, or even a protracted fight. They, and perhaps other Republicans too will want this govt. funding issue off the table as quickly as possible, in the hopes they can survive a primary challenge in the midst of all the other news going on. Trump will of course be on trial and sucking all the oxygen out of the news.
From where I sit Leader Jeffries just put Speaker Johnson into one of those magician’s sword boxes. And is poised to start sticking in real (political) swords! Johnson, by not getting out front on this and letting Jeffries define the debate with “Republicans should stick to their own deal they made and voted for” is screwed. Hell, we might have the spectacle of yet another Speaker selection demolition derby from House Republicans. During the freaking primary season.
I say let the GOP circular firing squad commence.
“…They, and perhaps other Republicans too will want this govt. funding issue off the table as quickly as possible, in the hopes they can survive a primary challenge in the midst of all the other news going on. Trump will of course be on trial and sucking all the oxygen out of the news. …”
This suggests logic and planning. And if they are stupid as we think they could be, this is most likely a good scenario.
But what if? What if ALL they want to do is create turbulence, to PROVE govt doesn’t work? How many voters understand how budgets and appropriations work? Too few. We joke around about how the Rs don’t, but what if they do? As the year goes by tRump keeps making noise and headlines, and govt shutdown after govt shutdown after govt shutdown comes and goes and GETS NORMALIZED so the sheeple think it’s, uhm, normal, and that it’s all the damn Democrats fault.
I’m NOT a conspiracy theorist. BUT, I do NOT trust those goobers one fucking inch. Think little mr. milquetoastwayne really just happened to forget to put his suit jacket on when O’Brien was testifying? He had the damn printout of the tweets that got him “so riled up.” I call BS – it was nothing but performative politics at its very worst.
Once they get chaos AS govt as NORMAL… Be very wary, my friends.
“One of the reasons Democrats didn’t lift a finger to help McCarthy was Kraven Kevin reneged on it as the Sept. 30 deadline was approaching. In the end, McCarthy caved at the last minute and agreed to a clean 45 Day Continuing Resolution. However, his breaking his word and his bad-mouthing of Democrats meant when Bratty Matty Gaetz and a handful of other zealous (even by Freedom Caucus standards) called for McCarthy’s ouster. We all saw what that led to.”
Yeah. We sure did. Media badmouthing of Democrats for not helping out McCarthy–not to mention certain GOPers also piling on as if the Democrats owed McCarthy a single thing. All these people need a little reminding of a key point in politics: The minority party does NOT owe a single thing to the majority party in terms of political assistance. (Of course, if the “liberal” media can’t blame the Democrats for all the GOP’s self-inflicted woes, then what’s their purpose?)