Thank you Prof. Heather Cox Richardson. There should be no reasonable doubt to any thinking American that the work of the January 6th insurrectionists continues in the GOP-controlled House of Representatives. If Gaetz, Jordan, Biggs, Taylor-Greene, and Gosar were expelled from the House (as Menendez should be from the Senate) -along with…
Thank you Prof. Heather Cox Richardson. There should be no reasonable doubt to any thinking American that the work of the January 6th insurrectionists continues in the GOP-controlled House of Representatives. If Gaetz, Jordan, Biggs, Taylor-Greene, and Gosar were expelled from the House (as Menendez should be from the Senate) -along with the 13 GOP Senators who acted after the fact as election deniers, Congress would be able to perform meaningful work and make progress again.
There is only one way out of the fiasco that is so apparent in the Republican conference’s speakership choice. That is to accept that the conference is ungovernable. That is because the Republican party is actually three parties in an unstable coalition with very differing priorities and agendas. The analogy is the political scene in Italian that has a merry-go-round of shifting alliances that form rapidly morphing serial governments.
So, what are the three factions (parties)?
First up is the chaos caucus that is just out for click bites, believes the conspiracy theories, and just wants to burn it all down.
Second, the largest group and by far the most dangerous, are those supported by the morbidly rich billionaires who brought us Project REDMAP and the gerrymandering efforts in the States, the Federalist Society stacking the courts with Conservative judges, and now the Project 2025 manifesto to remove government regulation of business and to destroy the Executive branch by decimating the Civil service and putting in a layer of political hacks as overseers to insure political “alignment” with a President’s views. This last bit is popping up as the “unitary executive” theory. This is no secret conspiracy—it is all there in 900 black and white pages in Project 2025, available for free on the internet. The goal is to continue to increase the concentration of wealth in this country, which is most easily done in an authoritarian regime. The anti-immigration, anti-abortion, anti-welfare, pro-gun-rights policies are there to generate grievance issues in the electorate to secure majorities and obscure the real purpose of making the morbidly rich richer.
Third are the recently silent “moderates” who remember a time when people realized that in a two-party system, there has to be bipartisanship to get anything done. They are the old “small business” Republicans.
This is not the first time parties in America have fractured and morphed in America. The most recent example may be the split and migration of segregationist southern Democrats to the Republican Party during the 1960s and 1970s. But this is the first time since the Civil War that the threat to our democracy has risen to this level.
So what to do now? Democrats have to start pointing out WHY the Republican conference is dysfunctional. They have to name names in each of the factions and point out what the factions’ agendas are. And they have to make clear that we are now operating in an essentially 4-party system. Democrats have to be explicit in their invitation to seek a coalition with the “small business” group where there is the most overlap on the issues. After all, those “small business” supporters are being destroyed by huge monopolies like Amazon. Being explicit is necessary to explain to Democratic voters what is at stake and why a coalition is necessary, and it provides cover for the “small business” party to combat the “traitor” label that they will be smeared with by parties 1 and 2.
Why do I think this has a chance of working? Only 99 Republicans initially supported Jim Jordan, Trump’s choice for speaker. The cracks are starting to appear and this is the time to leverage them wider. Hakeem Jeffries just stared to widen that crack!!!
Very well thought out -and thank you. While hopeful, I'm not optimistic. One doesn't have to look beyond Liz Cheney as an example for any Congressional Republicans with an iota of country over party courage. While voters in the rust belt and elsewhere who have experienced what I characterize as generational economic despair harbor growing anger and frustration, Rupert Murdoch and others have been able to direct their collective anger to undermine any legislation or policy that could actually yield a better future.
I used to think people would need to experience pain and suffering in order to properly reflect on root cause and drive change. Now I believe that instead of reflection, angry mouth breathers like Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, and others will "do their thinking for them" and American society will continue to decline while wealth continues to concentrate into the hands of a few making any attempt at meaningful democracy impossible.
How many Republican geniuses are also Climate Change deniers, cheering on the Fossil Fuel sector? Are they our Taliban or Hamas? The potential death count? Loss of species, including Humans, or modern humans (Homo sapiens), the most common and widespread species of primate!
'The Evidence for Rapid Climate Change Is Compelling:
Global Temperature Is Rising'
'The planet's average surface temperature has risen about 2 degrees Fahrenheit (1 degrees Celsius) since the late 19th century, a change driven largely by increased carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere and other human activities.4 Most of the warming occurred in the past 40 years, with the seven most recent years being the warmest. The years 2016 and 2020 are tied for the warmest year on record.'
'The Ocean Is Getting Warmer'
'The ocean has absorbed much of this increased heat, with the top 100 meters (about 328 feet) of ocean showing warming of 0.67 degrees Fahrenheit (0.33 degrees Celsius) since 1969.6 Earth stores 90% of the extra energy in the ocean.'
'The Ice Sheets Are Shrinking'
'The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have decreased in mass. Data from NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment show Greenland lost an average of 279 billion tons of ice per year between 1993 and 2019, while Antarctica lost about 148 billion tons of ice per year.'
'Glaciers Are Retreating'
'Glaciers are retreating almost everywhere around the world — including in the Alps, Himalayas, Andes, Rockies, Alaska, and Africa.'
'Snow Cover Is Decreasing'
'Satellite observations reveal that the amount of spring snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere has decreased over the past five decades and the snow is melting earlier. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech'
'Sea Level Is Rising'
'Global sea level rose about 8 inches (20 centimeters) in the last century. The rate in the last two decades, however, is nearly double that of the last century and accelerating slightly every year.'
'Arctic Sea Ice Is Declining'
'Both the extent and thickness of Arctic sea ice has declined rapidly over the last several decades.'
'Extreme Events Are Increasing in Frequency'
'The number of record high temperature events in the United States has been increasing, while the number of record low temperature events has been decreasing, since 1950. The U.S. has also witnessed increasing numbers of intense rainfall events.'
'Ocean Acidification Is Increasing'
'Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the acidity of surface ocean waters has increased by about 30%. This increase is due to humans emitting more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and hence more being absorbed into the ocean. The ocean has absorbed between 20% and 30% of total anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions in recent decades (7.2 to 10.8 billion metric tons per year).'
The flow of oil (and gas and coal) is a massive and continuous flow of money. Every hour of obfuscation, denial, and delay represents millions of dollars into the hands of Big Oil. And a decent percentage flows back into media and political leadership who will constrain or altogether stop any meaningful climate action. And fighting in the courts will eventually lead to the Supremely corrupt court.
While there is plenty of willful ignorance in the voting population, it is driven by greed, corruption, and subversion of justice and the democracy. And Joe Manchin is proof it is not exclusive to a single party.
Shocking, is it NOT! That's old news: a fortune is reaped by BIG Oil. How much filters into Republican coffers?
PS 'Senator Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, told a local news station on Thursday that he “would think very seriously” about leaving the Democratic Party and becoming an independent.' (NYTimes, Updated Sept. 27, 2023)
“I’ve been thinking about that for quite some time”
'Sen. Joe Manchin leaves the door open to potential third-party presidential run in 2024
The West Virginia Democrat said running as an independent would help bring a divided nation together, not hand the election to former President Donald Trump.' (TexasTribune, SEPT. 23, 2023)
Another warning. Are voters alert enough as they complain about gas prices and the price of eggs (intimately related) to know it’s blue or death? Seriously.
Haha! Manchin independent of whom, for how much? The morbidly rich combination with armed fear control him as they do other anti-democratic isolationists.
Mathew Chilsom did a great investigative article recently , as well as other along this issue, most I’ve not read. But how to change this is TO ME just one person at a time and I’m doing and have since the 70s improved recycling, less footprint, more earth friendly ...voting for who will fight for this , do their best is the last effort and continuing . I insulated myself best possible long ago. Whether this helps in further destructive happenings is a TBDetermined.
There’s a lot we need to change, and the tax structure balance will be a hard fight. Cinching in my belt is possible but for the many in more dire straights not likely. Or they’ll revolt out of crisis needs.
That may well happen.
Blessings on all who strive to better, give encouragement ragement /ideas/observations.
I like to think this is the moment when things really change.. That the truth of the GOP Congress members inability to bring cohesiveness and critical thinking to their party will begin to become apparent! At least Trump is on the verge of being out of the picture. Financially broke and entangled with the Justice department and lawyers who keep shutting him down. As an intuitive, I have to say I'm sensing we're on the verge of positive change. That's what I'm focusing on.
And subsidizing it. A lot of our problems traces back to the refusal to tax the wealthy and large corporations, subsidizing the fossil fuel companies, refusing to raise the income limit on SS taxes, the states' refusal to support public education in poor districts with no tax bases and, of course, Citizens United. We'd be way further down the road to transitioning from fossil fuels if the politicians weren't bought and paid for by the industry. We might be able to educate more mental health providers and reduce medical costs if the politicians weren't bought and paid for by the pharmaceutical industry. And we might be bale to make better decisions about who to vote for if the media industry wasn't quite literally bought and paid for by the political class that bombards us night and day with inane, fact-free 30-second political ads.
I have been to Alaska and to Torres del Pine in Chile (30 years ago.) In both places, I observed retreating glaciers. They're melting. It's right there in front of our eyes.
The stark evidence is everywhere — and undeniable. And things will get unimaginably worse. Yes, there's been some progress to reduce emissions, but it amounts to a tiny bandage on a gaping, widening wound.
"Republican geniuses. " Perfect Fern. May there be six or seven merely smart ones who put country over party and "simply work with Democrats to elect a Speaker." We need to get moving. We're all in grave danger. Many ideas. No traction.
Fran, I have to agree. This is what is happening right now, yet we have the party of death unable even to elect a Speaker. I am 80 and I figured that I am old enough not to witness what I am seeing. As a longtime gardener, I saw the change happening, but slowly. Now we have continually weather events that aren't supposed to happen very often and the melting of glaciers and polar ice at astonishing speeds. We used to have a frost at least by October 31st here in the Willamette Valley, but the lowest temp I have seen so far is the the 47 this am. I remember going snow shoeing or cross country on Veteran's Day on about five feet of snow. We are now in a El Nino weather pattern, so i wonder how much snow we will get in the mountains and yes, there was a dusting of snow on Mt. Hood this week, but... Of course, now with the internet, everyone is an expert. Or they believe all of this is the work of God. Thank you for laying it out for us in stark terms.
Indeed. And I really enjoy and appreciate your lengthy posts. I tend to be terse, I'm afraid and I am usually just up when I post, so still drinking my am coffee.
Thank you, Fern McBride. It’s good to read a lengthy piece on climate change in this climate section. Climate change, like overpopulation are the elephants in the room during the nightmare of war and plague we are living and dying through.
YES! We are tightening the noose around our OWN necks…despite the fact we are also doing so to OUR whole beautiful planet. These Climate Deniers are not fooling the planet…like they are fooling themselves.
Does anyone think for one nano second that facts matter to those who need to remain stupid. I might have said ignorant, but ignorance is curable by providing information.
I was in Iceland, and our tour guide showed us several places where glaciers used to be. Major changes in the landscape: ponds disappeared, oceans extended themselves, etc.
If Liz were truly the hero, she would not have actively steered the committee away from exposing the complicity of these Republican Congressmen and women during the Jan. 6th Committee's hearings. Yes, she was anti Trump, but she still tried to stay in the Republican Party, and was always on the side of hollowed out government supported by big business monopolies. She was never a small business, Lincoln-type Republican.
I do agree Barbara. In fact, it's a bit challenging to say the name 'Cheney' and not throw up a little. It is very telling about the GOP that when anyone in the Republican party prioritizes the interests of justice and democracy (at least from their perspective) over party interests, it is notable. These days we expect the George Santos and the Lauren Boebert's, the Jim Jordan's and the Steve "I'm like a KKK leader without the baggage" Scalise.
The GOP bar is so low, it's probably fracking well under the surface.
That said, I can't believe anyone else could have led that committee as far as it went. I don't expect to learn a lot from Cassidy Hutchinson's book, but I'm going to buy it, because I think we need more courageous voices from within the Republican party.
George, it’s as though the people hurting are blindfolded because they’ve been told all their lives to revere rich people as having more intelligence and being more hard-working than the average person. In the book “Moral Politics”, George Lakoff verbalizes the idea that helping the downtrodden further weakens them by making them dependent on assistance. I well remember seeing children being told to refuse recovery supplies after a tornado because “we don’t take government handouts, we can survive without their help”. Far too often, the only thing that the poor white people were taught that they could be proud of were: 1) they weren’t “on the government dole” and 2) they weren’t black.
So true. And I suspect Dr. Lakoff would say it's the frame of the rugged individualist cowboy versus the thought of a community (or on a grander scale -a society).
It's why so many are conned by the incompetent narcissist (Musk and Trump both fit). They believe them to be icons of success when the reality is, they have just exploited other people throughout their time on earth. They are each textbook examples of the worst of American society.
George, my personal experience with a very “successful” businessperson was watching them pretend friendship with colleagues only to turn on them to advance in the organization while relishing sneaky, seemingly gratuitous attacks on their colleagues’ self worth.
Sad that the term "successful businessman" is used for tfg - you know the rich successful "businessman" who had how many bankruptcies? I believe it was 4 or 6? Now one I can understand - you learn from it, but as many as fingers on my hand causes me to believe that this guy "is no businessman" - successful or otherwise.
And then we come to the WH meeting with Russians where he handed over classified intelligence? Again with an Australian "billionaire"? How many little incidents like this are we to forgive? Plus the many that we likely are unaware of.
With great sadness and disappointment, I must agree. We have lost our respect for sharing ideas ...for respecting and appreciating one another even if we disagree or being willing to admit we could be wrong.
"Brainwashing" is real and suttle as well as boldly in our faces. Truth seems to matter less and less.
I'm always delighted when there's an opportunity for a respectful "competition of ideas" provided there is a fundamental embrace of facts, evidence, and science. It helps evolve my thinking. It has become all too rare.
The human brain is amazingly adaptive George. Those experiencing "pain and suffering" have mostly done just that. Chronic pain can become much like a bad smell, and poof, olfactory senses can deaden greatly. Spouses and partners just follow along with them per the hot mic event on Fox recently where the host stated that as so. Reportedly, Putin is in a state of perpetual orgasm as Western Civilization appears essentially on the ropes. Meanwhile, we whistle in the wind reminding Hamas about the 'rules of war'.
A cogent assessment. I often share your pessimism, although the last three national elections give me some hope. We'll see how well-placed that hope is in 13 months.
If lightning strikes next November, we'll have the margins needed to narrow the filibuster and deal with the Court. Somewhat more likely, the opportunity will come in '27.
I think of the psych term co-morbidity, relating to people with multiple psychological challenges such as personality disorder, narcissism, and oppositional disorder all rolled into one. I'm not making fun, but voters should be aware if they choose to elect one of these people.
Yea, being morbidly rich is one of those over consumption phrases. Progressives need to stop thinking that way. It's human nature like being morbidly obese. What we need to do is change the tax code to nudge people to use their wealth for the common good. A consumption tax with a pre-bate to cover the taxes on subsistence level consumption would work. We progressives would then thank those with morbid appetites for luxury or food or sex,... if they were paying the taxes. If they used their obsessions to deliver lower costs of living, jobs, peace, infrastructure,... then why not.
1. Regular Conservatives (many Conservative Democrats fit in here as well):
-want a limited government which lets businesses of any size operate with minimal restrictions, regulations, or oversight
-stand for traditional family values (which in reality have never really been traditional)
-maintaining of the traditional socioeconomic hierarchy of generationally wealthy White (Christian) MEN on top (women are included by extension of their father or husband - unless they significantly break the rules dictated by the men of that level) and poor black unwed women with children at the bottom. The hierarchy Conservative Republicans wish to maintain also includes the institutions which help maintain the socioeconomic structure by keeping people from moving up: Religion, which has had a symbiotic relationship with the elites at the top of the socioeconomic hierarchy since antiquity, Education and a system which determines who is allowed to learn what and the quality of instructors. It especially includes Ivy League colleges & universities. Banking/Financial Institutions who determine who get can get personal/business loans & mortgages and how much, decide people’s credit rating, etc., Justice System & Law Enforcement, Real Estate which determines where people can live and the quality of education, Mainstream Media & Social Media (can herd society to protect socioeconomic hierarchy & their institutions which keep people in place), Internet Search Engines (control what businesses come up first, cover up search topics, & let wealthy people & corporations hide or minimize sins - kind of like buying religious indulgences), and more.
This group ranges from moderate to extreme.
2. Christian Theocratic faction which is misogynistic, anti-gay/lesbian/trans, and is increasingly extremist.
3. Those who push for small government (so they can get rid of social security, disability, etc and get ride of regulatory agencies like FEC, FCC, FDA, OSHA, Labor Laws, Discrimination Laws, Consumer Protections/Rights, etc. Many of those who say they are “socially liberal but fiscally conservative” fit in this group.
4. Those who are foreign agents and/or who are just anti-democracy
The problem is that once Citizens United was decided and dark money became the driver those old alignments were replaced by allegiances to funding sources. The agendas morphed into the to do lists of the Kochs and company and the corrupt foreign agents.
Georgia, your posts today have been eloquent and spot on accurate. But this one about Citizens United is where it all generates from. The "morbidly rich" buying our democracy. That single decision is the lynch pin that began our spiral dive into banana republic status. Or actually, "Big Oil Republic". A direct line from CU to a worsening of an already horrific Climate Crisis.
Thank you for your excellent, well constructed comments.
(I agree, I think it might have been Thom Hartman who coined the phrase "morbidly rich" - but everyone should run with it :)
John Roberts (like J Kushner) has a cherubic face. But with his decisions in Citizens United and voting rights cases, just to name two examples, he’s a judicial grenade thrower and home wrecker. Don’t let those pleasant faces delude you into thinking there is a nice person inside.
There are always those factions because of Dark Money by SCOTUS Citizens United (and one other ruling, I think?), the Electoral College, and the SocioEconomic framework.
Jeffries is much too kind in his comment that "there are traditional Republicans who are good women and men who want to see government function." I realize he's trying to appeal to their better selves (I think that's the expression), but I'm not sure those "good women and men" still exist among the House Republicans.
Republicans have suspended their animosity toward Democrats while they fight with each other over which despicable choice for Speaker is less worse than the other
Animal Farm, Lord of the Flies?
“Journalist Brian Tyler Cohen, who hosts the podcast No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen, summed up the day when he wrote: “The fact that ALL Republicans would rather fight over Scalise (who attended a neo-Nazi event) or Jordan (who allegedly covered up rampant sexual abuse) rather than simply work with Democrats to elect a Speaker says it all.”
Speaking of Jordan, I read last night that the Washington Post newsroom is abuzz about a pending major investigative piece about the profile-in-cowardice ex-wrestler.
“ The cracks are starting to appear and this is the time to leverage them wider. Hakeem Jeffries just stared to widen that crack!!!”
The cracks begun some time ago. As I’ve written here before, the morning I found out that trump won I fervently prayed that the GOP would self implode. My prayers are being answered but for God’s sake, this is crucially the time for the Democrats to grow some cojones….
Project2025 can't be serious and must be stopped. The base rate of authoritarians and dictators is obviously not that good. We don't need a quick takeover of the government by the executive branch.. We need all 3 branches working together.
"The plan (Project 2025) would perform a quick takeover of the entire U.S. federal government under a maximalist version of the unitary executive theory – a theory proposing the president of the United States have absolute power of the executive branch – upon inauguration."
Aaron, thank you for the Wikipedia link. Particularly notable how many news sources are from the past six weeks or so -- TFG may be ranting on his stages in a stream of unconsciousness, but the image of this army of people who agree with him and fueled by this unitary executive theory is stunningly frightening.
Aaron, I was hair-on-fire after reading Project 2025 when it first dropped & sent info/link to friends and family to be aware & alarmed by what they are trying to pull off (more brazenly now than their decades-long behind the scenes efforts). The response I got? “Meh…..” Now THAT alarmed me as well! That said, most all of them vote blue and are left-of-center or political centrists so that is somewhat comforting at least. Knowing what to actively do to counter this *shakes fist at sky* leaves me feeling a bit helpless in countering the forces of power and big money.
Georgia, this is a brilliant expansion of my thoughts about the once-proud GOP (which, in truth, can no longer be nickname for Repubs.) I wish I could gather my thoughts with a fraction of your eloquence; indeed, I wish I could categorize these groups so neatly, as you've done. Brava! And let's hope 5 or more members of that party, whatever we shall call them, can announce a breakaway towards a functioning House, for the good of the country.
Thank you for positive feedback! We are in uncharted waters again because our institutional memory as a nation is so short. Crises are multiplying so fast--undoubtedly because of Putin and Hamas being at the very least opportunistic about our political paralysis, that we all have to think about how to get back to a House that performs its basic function as quickly as possible. That can only happen if Democrats shout out the reasons for the paralysis and push hard for the only solution that will provide a stable government through 2024.
I agree. Those members of the chaos group, as you call them, are not doing the job they were elected to do: represent the People and look out for our interest. This country isn't served well by their objection to good governance -- in fact, it endangers us. If they had an ounce of shame they would see that. Instead, this small cohort of obstructionists is able to tie the House in knots. They are a tiny minority of a bare majority. I'm speaking to the choir, I know, and will end my rant. Courage to us all in these trying days.
I appreciate your clear-eyed analysis. Thank you for the link to the Project 2025 manifesto. The comparison to the chaos that reigns in Italy is so apt and scary too as it has pushed the government ever further to the right. But it doesn't stop there. New Zealand is about to do a 180 away from the liberal-minded policies of Jacinda Ardern to the far right, complete with efforts to strip the Maoris of rights and privilege. Sickening doesn't begin to cover it.
I believe that it is becoming a global issue because the concentration of wealth is not just limited to the US but is itself global. Authoritarianism arises and is stoked by grievance politics. Grievance politics takes root when people believe that their children will be less well off than they are because of the "others" that are taking away their piece of the pie. The genius of those consolidating obscene wealth is that they find puppets like Trump who spread the lies about who is really stealing that piece of pie. In America we have made it incredibly easy by allowing dark money to dominate political fundraising.
Thanks you very much for the nose Count. George A: 6 House seditionists (G,J,B,T-G & G); 13 seditionist Senators + plus the Egypt Agent, Menendez, makes 14. There are others such as Santos if that is his surname.
Professor thank you for calling out the superior Congressional reporting by JAKE SHERMAN. We have an excellent Congressional Press Corps. Hat Tip to ALI VETALI at MSNBC & JACKIE ALEMANY at WAPO who is also gifted on-screen as a Communicator. Valid info is not the problem
217 remains the vital Total Tally number needed now. We all can do the math R's had 212 in their last vote (99+113) & the D's had 213. George A identified possible subtractions to those numbers; HCR has identified "voting present" & other House tactics. I am working on Reps in 4 CA House Districts. There are many possibilities. Have some "Good Trouble".
Thank you Prof. Heather Cox Richardson. There should be no reasonable doubt to any thinking American that the work of the January 6th insurrectionists continues in the GOP-controlled House of Representatives. If Gaetz, Jordan, Biggs, Taylor-Greene, and Gosar were expelled from the House (as Menendez should be from the Senate) -along with the 13 GOP Senators who acted after the fact as election deniers, Congress would be able to perform meaningful work and make progress again.
There is only one way out of the fiasco that is so apparent in the Republican conference’s speakership choice. That is to accept that the conference is ungovernable. That is because the Republican party is actually three parties in an unstable coalition with very differing priorities and agendas. The analogy is the political scene in Italian that has a merry-go-round of shifting alliances that form rapidly morphing serial governments.
So, what are the three factions (parties)?
First up is the chaos caucus that is just out for click bites, believes the conspiracy theories, and just wants to burn it all down.
Second, the largest group and by far the most dangerous, are those supported by the morbidly rich billionaires who brought us Project REDMAP and the gerrymandering efforts in the States, the Federalist Society stacking the courts with Conservative judges, and now the Project 2025 manifesto to remove government regulation of business and to destroy the Executive branch by decimating the Civil service and putting in a layer of political hacks as overseers to insure political “alignment” with a President’s views. This last bit is popping up as the “unitary executive” theory. This is no secret conspiracy—it is all there in 900 black and white pages in Project 2025, available for free on the internet. The goal is to continue to increase the concentration of wealth in this country, which is most easily done in an authoritarian regime. The anti-immigration, anti-abortion, anti-welfare, pro-gun-rights policies are there to generate grievance issues in the electorate to secure majorities and obscure the real purpose of making the morbidly rich richer.
Third are the recently silent “moderates” who remember a time when people realized that in a two-party system, there has to be bipartisanship to get anything done. They are the old “small business” Republicans.
This is not the first time parties in America have fractured and morphed in America. The most recent example may be the split and migration of segregationist southern Democrats to the Republican Party during the 1960s and 1970s. But this is the first time since the Civil War that the threat to our democracy has risen to this level.
So what to do now? Democrats have to start pointing out WHY the Republican conference is dysfunctional. They have to name names in each of the factions and point out what the factions’ agendas are. And they have to make clear that we are now operating in an essentially 4-party system. Democrats have to be explicit in their invitation to seek a coalition with the “small business” group where there is the most overlap on the issues. After all, those “small business” supporters are being destroyed by huge monopolies like Amazon. Being explicit is necessary to explain to Democratic voters what is at stake and why a coalition is necessary, and it provides cover for the “small business” party to combat the “traitor” label that they will be smeared with by parties 1 and 2.
Why do I think this has a chance of working? Only 99 Republicans initially supported Jim Jordan, Trump’s choice for speaker. The cracks are starting to appear and this is the time to leverage them wider. Hakeem Jeffries just stared to widen that crack!!!
https://www.project2025.org/policy/
Very well thought out -and thank you. While hopeful, I'm not optimistic. One doesn't have to look beyond Liz Cheney as an example for any Congressional Republicans with an iota of country over party courage. While voters in the rust belt and elsewhere who have experienced what I characterize as generational economic despair harbor growing anger and frustration, Rupert Murdoch and others have been able to direct their collective anger to undermine any legislation or policy that could actually yield a better future.
I used to think people would need to experience pain and suffering in order to properly reflect on root cause and drive change. Now I believe that instead of reflection, angry mouth breathers like Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, and others will "do their thinking for them" and American society will continue to decline while wealth continues to concentrate into the hands of a few making any attempt at meaningful democracy impossible.
How many Republican geniuses are also Climate Change deniers, cheering on the Fossil Fuel sector? Are they our Taliban or Hamas? The potential death count? Loss of species, including Humans, or modern humans (Homo sapiens), the most common and widespread species of primate!
'The Evidence for Rapid Climate Change Is Compelling:
Global Temperature Is Rising'
'The planet's average surface temperature has risen about 2 degrees Fahrenheit (1 degrees Celsius) since the late 19th century, a change driven largely by increased carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere and other human activities.4 Most of the warming occurred in the past 40 years, with the seven most recent years being the warmest. The years 2016 and 2020 are tied for the warmest year on record.'
'The Ocean Is Getting Warmer'
'The ocean has absorbed much of this increased heat, with the top 100 meters (about 328 feet) of ocean showing warming of 0.67 degrees Fahrenheit (0.33 degrees Celsius) since 1969.6 Earth stores 90% of the extra energy in the ocean.'
'The Ice Sheets Are Shrinking'
'The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have decreased in mass. Data from NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment show Greenland lost an average of 279 billion tons of ice per year between 1993 and 2019, while Antarctica lost about 148 billion tons of ice per year.'
'Glaciers Are Retreating'
'Glaciers are retreating almost everywhere around the world — including in the Alps, Himalayas, Andes, Rockies, Alaska, and Africa.'
'Snow Cover Is Decreasing'
'Satellite observations reveal that the amount of spring snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere has decreased over the past five decades and the snow is melting earlier. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech'
'Sea Level Is Rising'
'Global sea level rose about 8 inches (20 centimeters) in the last century. The rate in the last two decades, however, is nearly double that of the last century and accelerating slightly every year.'
'Arctic Sea Ice Is Declining'
'Both the extent and thickness of Arctic sea ice has declined rapidly over the last several decades.'
'Extreme Events Are Increasing in Frequency'
'The number of record high temperature events in the United States has been increasing, while the number of record low temperature events has been decreasing, since 1950. The U.S. has also witnessed increasing numbers of intense rainfall events.'
'Ocean Acidification Is Increasing'
'Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the acidity of surface ocean waters has increased by about 30%. This increase is due to humans emitting more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and hence more being absorbed into the ocean. The ocean has absorbed between 20% and 30% of total anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions in recent decades (7.2 to 10.8 billion metric tons per year).'
(GlobalChange, NASA)
The flow of oil (and gas and coal) is a massive and continuous flow of money. Every hour of obfuscation, denial, and delay represents millions of dollars into the hands of Big Oil. And a decent percentage flows back into media and political leadership who will constrain or altogether stop any meaningful climate action. And fighting in the courts will eventually lead to the Supremely corrupt court.
While there is plenty of willful ignorance in the voting population, it is driven by greed, corruption, and subversion of justice and the democracy. And Joe Manchin is proof it is not exclusive to a single party.
Shocking, is it NOT! That's old news: a fortune is reaped by BIG Oil. How much filters into Republican coffers?
PS 'Senator Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, told a local news station on Thursday that he “would think very seriously” about leaving the Democratic Party and becoming an independent.' (NYTimes, Updated Sept. 27, 2023)
“I’ve been thinking about that for quite some time”
'Sen. Joe Manchin leaves the door open to potential third-party presidential run in 2024
The West Virginia Democrat said running as an independent would help bring a divided nation together, not hand the election to former President Donald Trump.' (TexasTribune, SEPT. 23, 2023)
Another warning. Are voters alert enough as they complain about gas prices and the price of eggs (intimately related) to know it’s blue or death? Seriously.
Haha! Manchin independent of whom, for how much? The morbidly rich combination with armed fear control him as they do other anti-democratic isolationists.
Manchin has never been a true Dem. He's his own party.
I would love to see him leave the Dems. If you're familiar with WVa at all, you would know the man hasn't done much for his home state.
Mathew Chilsom did a great investigative article recently , as well as other along this issue, most I’ve not read. But how to change this is TO ME just one person at a time and I’m doing and have since the 70s improved recycling, less footprint, more earth friendly ...voting for who will fight for this , do their best is the last effort and continuing . I insulated myself best possible long ago. Whether this helps in further destructive happenings is a TBDetermined.
There’s a lot we need to change, and the tax structure balance will be a hard fight. Cinching in my belt is possible but for the many in more dire straights not likely. Or they’ll revolt out of crisis needs.
That may well happen.
Blessings on all who strive to better, give encouragement ragement /ideas/observations.
💙💙VOTE ALL THE COMPLICIT OUT💙💙
Manchin is a DINO!!
I like to think this is the moment when things really change.. That the truth of the GOP Congress members inability to bring cohesiveness and critical thinking to their party will begin to become apparent! At least Trump is on the verge of being out of the picture. Financially broke and entangled with the Justice department and lawyers who keep shutting him down. As an intuitive, I have to say I'm sensing we're on the verge of positive change. That's what I'm focusing on.
yes, he is. He's not your regular Dem. Never has been. Claiming he's a Dem is a travesty. Joe Manchin belongs to the party of Manchin
Big Oil isn't slowing down, nor is demand. We the people of the world are in essence sanctioning our demise.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/12/climate/fossil-fuels-arent-going-anywhere.html?unlocked_article_code=XGunZnj9S29F7zU-aoLRO8vc3XZaeMAaxgroqQQ4Q2BlEUuSYdvtqtxwaaMsSF-eMV7QhhNfs-44WB1f6bxUT0tqwRwjV9c2aClcT_47kmTlWVlVrMlkTbgwiW_UjJtWhNjaFpa0WXwv3F28sQsDseptcshumMRW8G1wkxspm1ALONZ1F6d9uYi9EZGmKwBO3cmPWThGhVhSIFxYKAI_lTiKtxb7Yzl-9xJyq9au_Xw3Ji1e8CCOenXXjiYjjE9pny3bdh4NAXpVN7WDMyjBqkIWfbQDdRVmsjTWWrMIdvgul2-9js562MKIGcLHmsll81gSZauis1zW638DUc6F_ekD9gAigsh_FG1T&smid=url-share
And subsidizing it. A lot of our problems traces back to the refusal to tax the wealthy and large corporations, subsidizing the fossil fuel companies, refusing to raise the income limit on SS taxes, the states' refusal to support public education in poor districts with no tax bases and, of course, Citizens United. We'd be way further down the road to transitioning from fossil fuels if the politicians weren't bought and paid for by the industry. We might be able to educate more mental health providers and reduce medical costs if the politicians weren't bought and paid for by the pharmaceutical industry. And we might be bale to make better decisions about who to vote for if the media industry wasn't quite literally bought and paid for by the political class that bombards us night and day with inane, fact-free 30-second political ads.
I have been to Alaska and to Torres del Pine in Chile (30 years ago.) In both places, I observed retreating glaciers. They're melting. It's right there in front of our eyes.
Same for glaciers in the Pacific Northwest.
The stark evidence is everywhere — and undeniable. And things will get unimaginably worse. Yes, there's been some progress to reduce emissions, but it amounts to a tiny bandage on a gaping, widening wound.
Iceland
"Republican geniuses. " Perfect Fern. May there be six or seven merely smart ones who put country over party and "simply work with Democrats to elect a Speaker." We need to get moving. We're all in grave danger. Many ideas. No traction.
Hello, Sander. I think they are harming everything, including their so-called 'Party', their own reputations...EVERYTHING!
I sort of feeling a fleeting guilt laughing at such cute sarcasm . Love it
If the dysfunctionals won't hand the gavel over, the responsibles need to bang the hammer down.
Fran, I have to agree. This is what is happening right now, yet we have the party of death unable even to elect a Speaker. I am 80 and I figured that I am old enough not to witness what I am seeing. As a longtime gardener, I saw the change happening, but slowly. Now we have continually weather events that aren't supposed to happen very often and the melting of glaciers and polar ice at astonishing speeds. We used to have a frost at least by October 31st here in the Willamette Valley, but the lowest temp I have seen so far is the the 47 this am. I remember going snow shoeing or cross country on Veteran's Day on about five feet of snow. We are now in a El Nino weather pattern, so i wonder how much snow we will get in the mountains and yes, there was a dusting of snow on Mt. Hood this week, but... Of course, now with the internet, everyone is an expert. Or they believe all of this is the work of God. Thank you for laying it out for us in stark terms.
Yes, Michele, and we have much in common,
Indeed. And I really enjoy and appreciate your lengthy posts. I tend to be terse, I'm afraid and I am usually just up when I post, so still drinking my am coffee.
Thank you, Fern McBride. It’s good to read a lengthy piece on climate change in this climate section. Climate change, like overpopulation are the elephants in the room during the nightmare of war and plague we are living and dying through.
YES! We are tightening the noose around our OWN necks…despite the fact we are also doing so to OUR whole beautiful planet. These Climate Deniers are not fooling the planet…like they are fooling themselves.
Not to worry. Crops are failing and fisheries crashing.
Have a nice day.
Does anyone think for one nano second that facts matter to those who need to remain stupid. I might have said ignorant, but ignorance is curable by providing information.
I was in Iceland, and our tour guide showed us several places where glaciers used to be. Major changes in the landscape: ponds disappeared, oceans extended themselves, etc.
If Liz were truly the hero, she would not have actively steered the committee away from exposing the complicity of these Republican Congressmen and women during the Jan. 6th Committee's hearings. Yes, she was anti Trump, but she still tried to stay in the Republican Party, and was always on the side of hollowed out government supported by big business monopolies. She was never a small business, Lincoln-type Republican.
I do agree Barbara. In fact, it's a bit challenging to say the name 'Cheney' and not throw up a little. It is very telling about the GOP that when anyone in the Republican party prioritizes the interests of justice and democracy (at least from their perspective) over party interests, it is notable. These days we expect the George Santos and the Lauren Boebert's, the Jim Jordan's and the Steve "I'm like a KKK leader without the baggage" Scalise.
The GOP bar is so low, it's probably fracking well under the surface.
That said, I can't believe anyone else could have led that committee as far as it went. I don't expect to learn a lot from Cassidy Hutchinson's book, but I'm going to buy it, because I think we need more courageous voices from within the Republican party.
George, it’s as though the people hurting are blindfolded because they’ve been told all their lives to revere rich people as having more intelligence and being more hard-working than the average person. In the book “Moral Politics”, George Lakoff verbalizes the idea that helping the downtrodden further weakens them by making them dependent on assistance. I well remember seeing children being told to refuse recovery supplies after a tornado because “we don’t take government handouts, we can survive without their help”. Far too often, the only thing that the poor white people were taught that they could be proud of were: 1) they weren’t “on the government dole” and 2) they weren’t black.
So true. And I suspect Dr. Lakoff would say it's the frame of the rugged individualist cowboy versus the thought of a community (or on a grander scale -a society).
It's why so many are conned by the incompetent narcissist (Musk and Trump both fit). They believe them to be icons of success when the reality is, they have just exploited other people throughout their time on earth. They are each textbook examples of the worst of American society.
George, my personal experience with a very “successful” businessperson was watching them pretend friendship with colleagues only to turn on them to advance in the organization while relishing sneaky, seemingly gratuitous attacks on their colleagues’ self worth.
Sad that the term "successful businessman" is used for tfg - you know the rich successful "businessman" who had how many bankruptcies? I believe it was 4 or 6? Now one I can understand - you learn from it, but as many as fingers on my hand causes me to believe that this guy "is no businessman" - successful or otherwise.
And then we come to the WH meeting with Russians where he handed over classified intelligence? Again with an Australian "billionaire"? How many little incidents like this are we to forgive? Plus the many that we likely are unaware of.
George,
With great sadness and disappointment, I must agree. We have lost our respect for sharing ideas ...for respecting and appreciating one another even if we disagree or being willing to admit we could be wrong.
"Brainwashing" is real and suttle as well as boldly in our faces. Truth seems to matter less and less.
I'm always delighted when there's an opportunity for a respectful "competition of ideas" provided there is a fundamental embrace of facts, evidence, and science. It helps evolve my thinking. It has become all too rare.
The human brain is amazingly adaptive George. Those experiencing "pain and suffering" have mostly done just that. Chronic pain can become much like a bad smell, and poof, olfactory senses can deaden greatly. Spouses and partners just follow along with them per the hot mic event on Fox recently where the host stated that as so. Reportedly, Putin is in a state of perpetual orgasm as Western Civilization appears essentially on the ropes. Meanwhile, we whistle in the wind reminding Hamas about the 'rules of war'.
But I would argue that arguing about the rules of war is the only way back to civilization.
A cogent assessment. I often share your pessimism, although the last three national elections give me some hope. We'll see how well-placed that hope is in 13 months.
If lightning strikes next November, we'll have the margins needed to narrow the filibuster and deal with the Court. Somewhat more likely, the opportunity will come in '27.
THE COUNTRY CAN'T WAIT THAT LONG. No time left. enough fiddling while the climate, the poor, the inevitable wars, and the forests and the oceans burn.
Yeah, I get it. But that's where we are short of a revolution, and that probably wouldn't go well for the environment either.
“Morbidly rich” - gonna steal that phrase.
I can't take the credit. Not the originator. Wish I could remember where I first read it--probably in Robert Reich's or Thom Hartmann's substacks.
Thom Hartmann on Raw Story:
https://www.rawstory.com/raw-investigates/why-trump-and-the-gop-are-burning-the-entire-system-down/
thanks but it is behind a pay wall
I think of the psych term co-morbidity, relating to people with multiple psychological challenges such as personality disorder, narcissism, and oppositional disorder all rolled into one. I'm not making fun, but voters should be aware if they choose to elect one of these people.
Sounds like Elon--
But the morbidity I was trying to invoke was Democracy's
Maybe pestilently or malignantly rich is better. What do you think?
Pathologically rich.
I think obesely rich also works.
Absolutely! Your use, Georgia, related to Democracy. I was just reminded of politician behavior.
Thom has been using that for decades. If you don’t listen to him, you’re missing a very insightful source of information .
Thanks! Thom is definitely on my substack inbox list!
Morbidly rich, like morbidly obese, is not a state of good health. Both conditions can lead to death.
Yea, being morbidly rich is one of those over consumption phrases. Progressives need to stop thinking that way. It's human nature like being morbidly obese. What we need to do is change the tax code to nudge people to use their wealth for the common good. A consumption tax with a pre-bate to cover the taxes on subsistence level consumption would work. We progressives would then thank those with morbid appetites for luxury or food or sex,... if they were paying the taxes. If they used their obsessions to deliver lower costs of living, jobs, peace, infrastructure,... then why not.
I’d pegged the R-factions as:
1. Regular Conservatives (many Conservative Democrats fit in here as well):
-want a limited government which lets businesses of any size operate with minimal restrictions, regulations, or oversight
-stand for traditional family values (which in reality have never really been traditional)
-maintaining of the traditional socioeconomic hierarchy of generationally wealthy White (Christian) MEN on top (women are included by extension of their father or husband - unless they significantly break the rules dictated by the men of that level) and poor black unwed women with children at the bottom. The hierarchy Conservative Republicans wish to maintain also includes the institutions which help maintain the socioeconomic structure by keeping people from moving up: Religion, which has had a symbiotic relationship with the elites at the top of the socioeconomic hierarchy since antiquity, Education and a system which determines who is allowed to learn what and the quality of instructors. It especially includes Ivy League colleges & universities. Banking/Financial Institutions who determine who get can get personal/business loans & mortgages and how much, decide people’s credit rating, etc., Justice System & Law Enforcement, Real Estate which determines where people can live and the quality of education, Mainstream Media & Social Media (can herd society to protect socioeconomic hierarchy & their institutions which keep people in place), Internet Search Engines (control what businesses come up first, cover up search topics, & let wealthy people & corporations hide or minimize sins - kind of like buying religious indulgences), and more.
This group ranges from moderate to extreme.
2. Christian Theocratic faction which is misogynistic, anti-gay/lesbian/trans, and is increasingly extremist.
3. Those who push for small government (so they can get rid of social security, disability, etc and get ride of regulatory agencies like FEC, FCC, FDA, OSHA, Labor Laws, Discrimination Laws, Consumer Protections/Rights, etc. Many of those who say they are “socially liberal but fiscally conservative” fit in this group.
4. Those who are foreign agents and/or who are just anti-democracy
The problem is that once Citizens United was decided and dark money became the driver those old alignments were replaced by allegiances to funding sources. The agendas morphed into the to do lists of the Kochs and company and the corrupt foreign agents.
Georgia, your posts today have been eloquent and spot on accurate. But this one about Citizens United is where it all generates from. The "morbidly rich" buying our democracy. That single decision is the lynch pin that began our spiral dive into banana republic status. Or actually, "Big Oil Republic". A direct line from CU to a worsening of an already horrific Climate Crisis.
Thank you for your excellent, well constructed comments.
(I agree, I think it might have been Thom Hartman who coined the phrase "morbidly rich" - but everyone should run with it :)
Thank you. I have stuck my toe in the water with writing my own substack. Not sure if it can stand alone but only time will tell on that.
See my comments - I subscribed :)
If you figure out how to write a post, let me know. I'm stymied.
I shared your comments and Substack link on facebook. All The Best!
Good luck! Just subscribed!
John Roberts (like J Kushner) has a cherubic face. But with his decisions in Citizens United and voting rights cases, just to name two examples, he’s a judicial grenade thrower and home wrecker. Don’t let those pleasant faces delude you into thinking there is a nice person inside.
Disagree. Jared Kushner looks like the weasel he is.
I agree with both of you. He was more cherubic looking before his vanity surgery and now weasley-looking.
😂
There are always those factions because of Dark Money by SCOTUS Citizens United (and one other ruling, I think?), the Electoral College, and the SocioEconomic framework.
Jeffries is much too kind in his comment that "there are traditional Republicans who are good women and men who want to see government function." I realize he's trying to appeal to their better selves (I think that's the expression), but I'm not sure those "good women and men" still exist among the House Republicans.
WOW! Georgia, I agree whole heartedly and I hope people will listen! Thank you.
Republicans have suspended their animosity toward Democrats while they fight with each other over which despicable choice for Speaker is less worse than the other
Animal Farm, Lord of the Flies?
“Journalist Brian Tyler Cohen, who hosts the podcast No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen, summed up the day when he wrote: “The fact that ALL Republicans would rather fight over Scalise (who attended a neo-Nazi event) or Jordan (who allegedly covered up rampant sexual abuse) rather than simply work with Democrats to elect a Speaker says it all.”
Speaking of Jordan, I read last night that the Washington Post newsroom is abuzz about a pending major investigative piece about the profile-in-cowardice ex-wrestler.
Cannot wait for his up comence
As usual, the closer is sublime.
Great comment, Georgia. Very insightful and offers a viable path forward.
What a starkly grim picture you paint.
“ The cracks are starting to appear and this is the time to leverage them wider. Hakeem Jeffries just stared to widen that crack!!!”
The cracks begun some time ago. As I’ve written here before, the morning I found out that trump won I fervently prayed that the GOP would self implode. My prayers are being answered but for God’s sake, this is crucially the time for the Democrats to grow some cojones….
Project2025 can't be serious and must be stopped. The base rate of authoritarians and dictators is obviously not that good. We don't need a quick takeover of the government by the executive branch.. We need all 3 branches working together.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_2025?wprov=sfti1
"The plan (Project 2025) would perform a quick takeover of the entire U.S. federal government under a maximalist version of the unitary executive theory – a theory proposing the president of the United States have absolute power of the executive branch – upon inauguration."
The unitary executive theory is exactly the opposite of what the founders intended.
Unitary executive is just another term for authoritarian rule. Orwell couldn't do better.
Aaron, thank you for the Wikipedia link. Particularly notable how many news sources are from the past six weeks or so -- TFG may be ranting on his stages in a stream of unconsciousness, but the image of this army of people who agree with him and fueled by this unitary executive theory is stunningly frightening.
Aaron, I was hair-on-fire after reading Project 2025 when it first dropped & sent info/link to friends and family to be aware & alarmed by what they are trying to pull off (more brazenly now than their decades-long behind the scenes efforts). The response I got? “Meh…..” Now THAT alarmed me as well! That said, most all of them vote blue and are left-of-center or political centrists so that is somewhat comforting at least. Knowing what to actively do to counter this *shakes fist at sky* leaves me feeling a bit helpless in countering the forces of power and big money.
Excellent assessment and analysis.
Project 25 is nothing less that an attempt to overthrow the government.
Georgia, this is a brilliant expansion of my thoughts about the once-proud GOP (which, in truth, can no longer be nickname for Repubs.) I wish I could gather my thoughts with a fraction of your eloquence; indeed, I wish I could categorize these groups so neatly, as you've done. Brava! And let's hope 5 or more members of that party, whatever we shall call them, can announce a breakaway towards a functioning House, for the good of the country.
Thank you for positive feedback! We are in uncharted waters again because our institutional memory as a nation is so short. Crises are multiplying so fast--undoubtedly because of Putin and Hamas being at the very least opportunistic about our political paralysis, that we all have to think about how to get back to a House that performs its basic function as quickly as possible. That can only happen if Democrats shout out the reasons for the paralysis and push hard for the only solution that will provide a stable government through 2024.
I agree. Those members of the chaos group, as you call them, are not doing the job they were elected to do: represent the People and look out for our interest. This country isn't served well by their objection to good governance -- in fact, it endangers us. If they had an ounce of shame they would see that. Instead, this small cohort of obstructionists is able to tie the House in knots. They are a tiny minority of a bare majority. I'm speaking to the choir, I know, and will end my rant. Courage to us all in these trying days.
I appreciate your clear-eyed analysis. Thank you for the link to the Project 2025 manifesto. The comparison to the chaos that reigns in Italy is so apt and scary too as it has pushed the government ever further to the right. But it doesn't stop there. New Zealand is about to do a 180 away from the liberal-minded policies of Jacinda Ardern to the far right, complete with efforts to strip the Maoris of rights and privilege. Sickening doesn't begin to cover it.
I believe that it is becoming a global issue because the concentration of wealth is not just limited to the US but is itself global. Authoritarianism arises and is stoked by grievance politics. Grievance politics takes root when people believe that their children will be less well off than they are because of the "others" that are taking away their piece of the pie. The genius of those consolidating obscene wealth is that they find puppets like Trump who spread the lies about who is really stealing that piece of pie. In America we have made it incredibly easy by allowing dark money to dominate political fundraising.
Georgia,
Thank you for more information ....will read "project2025"!
https://youtu.be/9k3UvaC5m7o?si=lq9nO49wqO55vnOh
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_2025?wprov=sfti1
This is excellent! Thanks🫶
Excellent Geogia. May I share? With yoir name?
Just saw this on your Substack site. Shared.
Thanks!
Thanks you very much for the nose Count. George A: 6 House seditionists (G,J,B,T-G & G); 13 seditionist Senators + plus the Egypt Agent, Menendez, makes 14. There are others such as Santos if that is his surname.
Professor thank you for calling out the superior Congressional reporting by JAKE SHERMAN. We have an excellent Congressional Press Corps. Hat Tip to ALI VETALI at MSNBC & JACKIE ALEMANY at WAPO who is also gifted on-screen as a Communicator. Valid info is not the problem
217 remains the vital Total Tally number needed now. We all can do the math R's had 212 in their last vote (99+113) & the D's had 213. George A identified possible subtractions to those numbers; HCR has identified "voting present" & other House tactics. I am working on Reps in 4 CA House Districts. There are many possibilities. Have some "Good Trouble".
Add liar Santos to your list.
1000% THIS 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Send Tuberville along with the rest of them !
Agree 100%.
Definitely