As everyone, I hope, remembers, Kevin McCarthy wanted to be Speaker of the House. He wanted it so badly that he had to wheel and deal to get the votes he needed from the Republican Caucus. Even though the Caucus had a slim majority, the most rightwing members withheld their votes, denying him victory. Ultimately, the so-called Freedom Caucus was able to deny him what he wanted until he made multiple concessions, like putting its members on important committees and agreeing that he could be ousted by a simple majority vote. To win the Speakership on the 15th round of balloting, he had to agree to their demands.
Now his hands are tied in the debt negotiations with President Biden because the Freedom Caucus wants deep budget cuts and no compromise. Basically, everything but defense, Social Security and Medicare would be slashed by some 22%, and Biden’s efforts to address climate change would be gutted.
The Freedom Caucus doesn’t care if the federal government defaults on its debts. The public doesn’t follow details closely, and it would likely blame Biden, because he is President.
Kevin McCarthy needs a way to escape the chokehold of the Freedom Caucus so he can negotiate a compromise.
Here’s a plan to free him. The number of Republicans who are aligned with the Freedom Caucus is between 20-50 (they don’t publicize their numbers). That’s how many votes McCarthy needs to hold on to his job.
Why don’t Democrats offer him enough votes so he doesn’t need the Freedom Caucus? Since the Democrats can never win the Speakership in this session, why shouldn’t they all vote for McCarthy in exchange for his agreement to negotiate to raise the debt ceiling? Why shouldn’t he win bipartisan support for doing the right thing?
The Democrats have it within their power to free McCarthy from the extremists in his party who have no qualms about crashing the world economy.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Maybe Biden should just tell him to “Take his job and shove it.” So pathetic it took 15 attempts to get McCarthy into the speaker position. It’s like a test, “Nope not A. Try B. Nope. Try C. Nope. Well there you go it’s D.” Duh! Here is a good article by Robert Reich. https://www.laprogressive.com/economic-equality/ignore-the-debt-ceiling
Something tells me the back channel discussions between Joe and Kevin are busy, really busy
Problem is that the Freedom Caucus wants him not to compromise anything.
We have to help him so he doesn’t need their votes.
I just don’t believe McCarthy is a competent politician. That’s why the “Freedom Caucus” loves him. The Republican House is inept.
I don’t remember what source/site, but I read a recent piece about some Democrats in Congress attempting to do just this.
Still, even if the Democrats got enough votes to pull this off would McCarthy agree. What I read said there was a downside for McCarthy if he makes a deal like that with the Democrats. The downside is the MAGA RINO zombie voters would think he was a traitor and he’d probably lose the primaries for his next election in 2024. to a MAGA zombie candidate, and end up out of politics.
The upside to that is it might be possible to take McCarthy’s seat away from the Republicans. MAGA candidates are not popular with the majority of voters that vote in general elections.
Just because a MAGA RINO wins a Republican primary, that doesn’t mean they will win a local or general election.
Beyond Traitor Trump’s minority of hard core, brain dead, MAGA zombie supporters, he’ll lose the next election by a larger margin of votes than he did in 2020.
My new phrase:
Well, that was pretty musked up.
Touche, Bob. The musky race is a breed apart.
Ron Ron. Experiencing some of that Musk-rat love.
Bob Translation for MAGA readers (itself, a contradiction in terms):
Bob’s “MUSKED UP” probably means “MESSED UP” but rhymes with “MUCKED UP.” Just trying to be helpful. CBK
A very intriguing idea, Diane.
‘Freedom Caucus’
Freedom for what might that be?
Let me guess.
Freedom for the responsibility to ensure the USA remains a nation ‘For And By The People’?
ALL the People, that is.
Freedom to defund the government, drown it in a bath tub.
That would sum up the aims quite accurately.
Always be very wary of an outfit that feels the need to add ‘Freedom’ or ‘Liberty’ to its flag post.
Sadly, the rightwing nuts have grabbed hold of those great words to brand their sedition.
This is why with all its faults and sometime dullness the middle of the road is the safest place for Democracy.
One of The legendary Jeff Danziger’s earliest syndicated cartoons is of Democrat donkeys trying to convince Uncle Sam there is a difference between their policies and those of the Republicans saying:
‘Look we say Possibly. They say Probably’
That was August 2000.
Happier Days?
Freedom to conduct completely unfettered crony capitalism, freedom for the Trump Universities and 40 percent APR interest rates. Freedom to take as much as possible for the very, very few.
There was a time when I would have looked across the Atlantic to my adopted Nation and thought ‘Oh surely not, there are check and balances to eventually restrain these excesses’.
These days I am not so sure.
I fear for my friends and the ordinary middle of the road folk in the USA.
It’s an extremely dangerous time. We are Germany in 1932.
My worry is a Northern Ireland style violence where violent protest of many stripes stalk the land, car bombs are common and para-militaries rise.
None of the current tranche of politicians are ready for that. Not even those folk who strut around in faux combat gears and play at patriots can comprehend what might come to pass.
this could very well happen
horrific
One of my. ‘I want to be proven wrong, wrong, wrong’ scenarios
I know THAT feeling well.
Oh to be able to look back and have the joy of saying to yourself…..’Boy, were you in a gloomy mood then,’
Haaaa!!!! YES, DeterminedDespite!!!
Here’s to those maybe days.
I hope we are not. I see some evidence of resistance. The key is if we have the endurance to persist. Germany was in dire straights economically in 1932. Although we are struggling with the inequality of the time, there is some degree of economic stability. Of course, we do have social media driven by sociopaths.
Yeah, our media are pretty musked and murdoched and trumped up.
Freedom to do coke off the rump of a 17-year-old prostitute while selling fake identities as a Repugnican appointee to a license bureau.
My response is a song by a British artist, a hit from the 1970s.
(Ironically the inspiration came from a US baseball scandal involving ‘Shoeless Joe Jackson’ 1919 – but Murray Head put it into context of the UK at the time)
Seems it to apply to current politics in general.
We have our own diluted versions over here in the UK.
Yikes. Well observed. Afraid this will run in my head for some time going forward. This and Leonard Cohen’s “Everybody Knows.”
It’s a keeper. Seen me through Brexit. Boris Johnson as Prime Minister. The incompetance of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of The Labour Party. The ghastly result of the 2019 General Election. Boris Johnson again, the Liz Truss Three Stooges Impresion…To name but a few.
HAAAAA!!!!
what a great song
Classic not played enough
McCarthy made a deal with the devil. Now he has to dance to the devil’s tune. Marjorie Taylor Greene and her extremist pals are pulling McCarthy’s chain.
We have to free him or those nuts will cause enormous damage.
QUESTION: What’s the difference between those involved in (1) the Tea Party of the 90’s+, (2) endless wealth; (3) the present Supreme Court; (4) the January 6th insurrection, and (4) saying NO to raising the debt ceiling?
ANSWER: Nothing. They all want to destroy democracy, either by intent or by ignorance. In sports, is tantamount to poor losers burning down the stadium and taking the ball home with their nose in the air . . . because they don’t realize what they/themselves are losing; and/or they have run out of ways to cheat; and whine as they will, they cannot win in a way that resembles anything honest and fair, and btw, they bribed or killed all of the legitimate referees.
As a whole, the public either doesn’t understand what Republicans are up to or, if they do understand, then (as Lloyd seems to be saying) Republicans will lose at the general voting booth while, again, whining that they have been “cheated again” despite the evidence to the contrary. CBK
Hello Diane I wrote a note but it disappeared (didn’t show up as in moderation either). I copy everything before sending, and so I tried again and I got the message: It looks like this is a duplicate. I’ll check back to see if it went to moderation anyway and then was “approved.” But somehow, I doubt it. Also, I have to sign in anew each time I post. I don’t know why that changed. CBK
CBK-A similar thing happened to me with a browser update. I ended up changing browsers in order to post, but maybe you’ll find a work around that gives you access.
Diane and All
QUESTION: What’s the difference between those involved in (1) the Tea Party of the 90’s+, (2) endless wealth; (3) the present Supreme Court; (4) the January 6th insurrection, and (4) saying NO to raising the debt ceiling?
ANSWER: Nothing. They all want to destroy democracy, either by intent or by ignorance. In sports, is tantamount to poor losers burning down the stadium and taking the ball home with their nose in the air . . . because they don’t realize what they/themselves are losing; and/or they have run out of ways to cheat; and whine as they will, they cannot win in a way that resembles anything honest and fair, and btw, they bribed or killed all of the legitimate referees.
As a whole, the public either doesn’t understand what Republicans are up to or, if they do understand, then (as Lloyd seems to be saying) Republicans will lose at the general voting booth while, again, whining that they have been “cheated again” despite the evidence to the contrary. CBK
Retired I’ll give it a little time . . . obviously, my shorter notes are showing up unfettered. The logic is that, if it says it’s a duplicate, it’s probably in the system under moderation. If it doesn’t show up, I’ll try again later. Thanks. CBK
Makes sense to me.
Ingenious, really.
I think you have that backwards. A mere 5 Republicans could vote to put the Nation ahead of Politics and vote with 213 democrats on discharge petition.
If there are not 5 non fascist members of the Republican party to vote for a discharge petition why would there be 5 Republicans to vote for a compromise bill.
Use the 14th Amendment don’t turn back and dare the Taliban 6 to tank the world economy. The response caving to hostage taking is always more hostage taking.
Yeah, let’s free Kevin!
A republican will read “free” as in gratis.
Well, he has shown that he is for sale. “Free” would be even better…but for whom?
I, personally, don’t trust McCarthy and feel uneasy about any alliance to defeat these monsters. I worry it would backfire. Although, if it did not, it could open a up a new era of political compromise that we so desperately need. But what we truly need is to reverse Citizens United which is another pipe dream.
There’s 215 Republicans in the House. Take away the 20-50 freedom boys and that leaves 165-195 regular-conservative republicans.
Where are they?
Is there not one who will stand up and say they have to get these talks moving and compromise?
Are there no corporate big wigs and civic leaders in red cities willing to speak up?
Seems like Disney is the only one to say “enough.”
The Republican Party is an anti-democratic organization that only serves wealthy special interests at the expense of a clueless electorate. Their go-to strategy promotes fear and identifying enemies to keep members in their camp. This has been a core part of Republican politics for decades. It is time we understand that the reason those Republicans unaffiliated with the “Freedom Caucus” stick together because they are merely cynics playing for their own wealth. It is about money that exploits ignorance. Republicans are fine doing a precarious dance with right wing culture war zealots because in the end it means that the leadership profits from corporate largesse that doesn’t want effective governance. We have to stop pretending that there are Republicans who believe otherwise. The evidence is overwhelming.
Paul Bonner Yes, but don’t forget the “bootstraps” thing and that, if poor and struggling people are, well . . . poor and struggling, . . . then they must be lazy. It can have nothing to do with biased systematics born of off-the-rails greedy capitalism. CBK
Sometimes I find myself going down the rabbit hole of trying to understand conservative logic. It seems to me that if the government focused on services for young families and the poor, we would decrease dependence on government services from our adult citizens thus making capitalism more productive. I guess I’m just delusional.
Paul To compare with the cliche’ of “Welfare Moms,” it’s a matter of convenience . . . generated from small-minds, low-horizons, big wallets, and even bigger egos . . . to broad-brush millions of “poor, struggling, under-educated, disadvantaged, etc.” citizens with an otherwise accurate description of a very few from that group. The governmental equivalent is “the Nanny State.” CBK
The rich will keep pushing their toy until it breaks. They have done this again and again.
There is no such thing. McCarthy is bought and paid for.
And not the brightest bulb in the socket. Republican’s love incompetence.
In other news, and this is IMPORTANT
The Extreme Court decisions that just wiped out much of the power of the EPA to regulate air pollution and water pollution in the United States are part of an overall effort, begun in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, to ERASE much of the authority of the United States federal government on the basis of a NOVEL reinterpretation of the Constitution that ELIMINATES THE ABILITY OF THE EXECUTIVE TO EXERCISE UNENUMERATED POWERS–powers not specifically given it by the Constitution. And Ron DeSantis just gave a speech in which he discussed precisely this–to what he referred to as the necessity of “Reconstitutionalizing” our government:
“There’s a lot that the executive branch can do, and all I will say when it comes to these agencies… [is] buckle up when I get in there because the status quo is not acceptable, and we are going to make sure that we reconstitutionalize this government, and these agencies are totally out of control. There’s no accountability, and we are going to bring that in a very big way.”
In connection with this envisioned vast overhaul of U.S. governance, DeSantis made this chilling promise:
“Even my worst critics in Florida will acknowledge when I tell people I’m going to do something, I don’t make promises or say I’m going to do something lightly.”
Here’s what I think is happening: Repugnican leaders have recognized that if Jabba the Trump wins the nomination, they will lose again. So, the current plan is to eliminate Trump by standing aside and letting the judicial process do that for them via the various cases now pending against the Orange Idiot. Then, DeSantis will assume the Orange mantle and carry forward, in the Executive branch, the agenda that the Trumpanzee cabal at the head of the Judicial branch has set for itself.
Don’t forget that Trump actually posted that the Constitution should go and that we are only five states short of a Constitutional convention that would wipe everything except the second amendment off the board while adding anti-abortion, anti-minority, and anti-LGBTQ statutes with a violent police enforcement mechanism. The Republican Party is an autocratic institution. Anyone who lives in the South can tell you how it works. The party itself has become a cancer on American Democracy.
This is new talk from Ron Ron. Did Leonard Leo give him a call and read him in?
Steve Schmidt of Lincoln Project fame believes Ron is simply all over the map to appease voters. I don’t think so. Desantis has been a consistent bigoted right winger his entire political career. There was significant evidence that he avowed white supremacy in his first run for Governor. He helped found the Freedom Caucus. I think he believes in his “anti-woke” ideology.
I don’t think so. I think that Ron knows very well exactly what he is doing. He is skillful and focused as Trump wasn’t. And the goals that he seeks to achieve are terrifying.
Paul,
I have been amazed by most mainstream media coverage. Shallow. Treats him as a garden variety conservative, which he is not.
Pardon me, but this is so important that I want to make sure that I say the whole properly. So, some repetition here:
The Extreme Court decisions that just wiped out much of the power of the EPA to regulate air pollution (West Virginia v. EPA) and water pollution (Sackett v. EPA) in the United States are PART of an overall effort, begun in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, to ERASE much of the authority of the United States federal government on the basis of a NOVEL reinterpretation of the Constitution that ELIMINATES THE ABILITY OF THE EXECUTIVE TO EXERCISE UNENUMERATED POWERS–powers not SPECIFICALLY given it by the Constitution. This would reduce the federal government to a SHADOW of its former reach. Ron DeSantis just gave a speech in which he discussed precisely this, which he described as the necessity of “Reconstitutionalizing” our government:
“There’s a lot that the executive branch can do, and all I will say when it comes to these agencies… [is] buckle up when I get in there because the status quo is not acceptable, and we are going to make sure that we reconstitutionalize this government, and these agencies are totally out of control. There’s no accountability, and we are going to bring that in a very big way.”
In connection with this envisioned vast overhaul of U.S. governance, DeSantis made this chilling promise:
“Even my worst critics in Florida will acknowledge when I tell people I’m going to do something, I don’t make promises or say I’m going to do something lightly.”
Here’s what I think is happening: Repugnican leaders have recognized that if Jabba the Trump wins the nomination, they will lose again. So, the current plan is to remove Trump by standing aside and letting the judicial process do that for them via the various cases now pending against the Orange Idiot. That way, they can take him out of the picture while not alienating the Trumpanzees from themselves–they can blame the fall of the Glorious Leader on some Deep State conspiracy led by Biden. Then, DeSantis will assume the Orange mantle and carry forward, in the Executive branch, the agenda that the Reich-wing cabal at the head of the Judicial branch has set for itself. (NB: the Orange Idiot Trump was extremely useful to The Federalist Society because he, knowing nothing himself, simply rubber stamped putting those people in place–the ones now reenvisioning U.S. government entirely).
It is worth remembering in this regard that the revolution in Germany that scuttled democratic government there and put the Fascists under Hitler in power took place BY LEGAL MEANS. And so the history we haven’t learned from repeats itself. Couple this legal implementation of the no unenumerated powers theory with the independent state legislature theory also being endorsed by the Extreme Court (a theory that holds that state legislatures, which are predominately Repugnican, can hold do-overs if they don’t like election results) and you get the recipe for the end of democracy and the onset of Fascist governance in the United States.
This is how these traitors overthrow democratic government. In the background, not via some sort of January 6th event.