Mornin’ Politocadoes!
House Democrats are increasingly coming to the conclusion that they hold the fate of Speaker Mike Johnson in their hands. With recent retirements from the body, the Republican majority increasingly needs to rely on Democratic votes to pass legislation. This is an untenable scenario as much of the House Republicans strength comes from unity and…bending to the will of its intransigent House Freedom caucus.
These extreme right wing Republicans view any compromise with Democrats as a non-starter. They threw Kevin McCarthy out on his keister for even considering the idea. But of course, it swings both ways. McCarthy was only kicked out of the Speakership because Democrats voted with the Republicans to do so. And they only did that because McCarthy was trying to please the House Freedom Caucus by not bargaining with House Democrats.
With Representatives like Marjorie Taylor Greene (Q-GA) calling for Johnson’s ouster from the Speakership if any legislation is passed with funding for Ukraine, Democrats are watching warily. Some are saying they don’t want any more chaos from the Republican majority, and some know that they need someone they can actually work with to pass legislation, or god forbid, funding the government.
The House Majority is coming to terms with the sober reality that they cannot rule by fiat with the seats they have, but also aren’t willing to let leadership work with the other side of the chamber. So the Democrats find themselves toying with a man’s fate. It wasn’t too long ago that the Democrats were content to let McCarthy stay on as speaker until he buckled to the pressure of the more extreme wings of his party. Johnson’s only got so much time before the political goodwill he has falters and he starts feeling the pressure from both ends.
The House Majority has signaled to its members that all consequential bills, such as funding the government will be brought to the floor by suspension of the rules. The procedural move bypasses the House Rules Committee where conservatives can potentially throttle any piece of legislation, then requiring a 2/3 majority to pass. If that at all sounds familiar, it should. Kevin McCarthy used the same procedure to pass a 45-day stopgap measure back in September.
And so Democrats find themselves in a potential kingmaking or king-breaking, scenario going forward. Toying with whether they should let this man’s rise continue or let it all fall back into roiling chaos.
Welcome to Thursday! Please be excellent to each other in the comments. The Mayor McSquirrel Rule remains in effect. Something to keep in mind! Police are using digital data to prosecute abortion seekers, and Facebook and Google are helping them! Even if they are not legally required to do so, the tech giants will aid them in this since it’s technically *against the law*. Please be careful when looking for abortion providers or helping someone who is looking for that assistance.
The Covid-19 pandemic continues even if the emergencies end, continue to vaccinate using the latest version of the FDA approved vaccines by Phizer and Moderna. Even if you are vaccinated, please continue to maintain social distancing measures, wear masks in public areas in accordance with CDC guidelines in regard to your own vaccination status.
Also, according to recent polls approximately 50% of adults are not planning on getting their Covid-19 boosters. So please get them and older adults should also look to be vaccinated for RSV! It’s been difficult to get adults onboard with getting the RSV shots as it is. Remember that getting these shots could potentially keep thousands of Americans who do not have to be there out of the ICU this winter.