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US Politics: #Musky DeSaster


DMC
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I have been hearing these reports, and it is really hard for me to believe that the Republicans are going to be so reasonable about achieving a small win and moving on.  That has been...not their MO this past decade.  I'm extremely skeptical that the Freedom Caucus is going to sign on to this.  And if McCarthy passes something like this with a mix of Republican and Democratic votes, then there's every reason to assume that the FC will vote him out. 

I think that it is much more likely that the Republicans are getting close to the deal, but it will get sabotaged one way or another before it actually passes.  Frankly I'll be a bit surprised if a deal is made before the economy feels at least some pain/shocks first. 

Hope I'm wrong.  I don't love this deal, but it's far from a poison pill.  Helluva lot better than an economic meltdown. 

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12 minutes ago, Maithanet said:

I'm extremely skeptical that the Freedom Caucus is going to sign on to this.

I don't think there's any chance the HFC signs on to this.  But, ya know, there are 177 other members of the House Republican Conference.  This deal clearly seems designed for the 290 members of the House that aren't aligned with either the HRC nor the CPC.  Even then, it's gonna be tough for McCarthy to get a majority of his conference to vote for a final bill that looks like this.

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Can someone explain to me what this debt ceiling thingy is all about. What is it supposed to achieve? And why Americans have to put up with this nonsense every single year. 

Edited by Spockydog
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3 minutes ago, Spockydog said:

Can someone explain to me what this debt ceiling is all about. What is it supposed to achieve? And why Americans have to put up with this nonsense every single year. 

The legislative history of the debt ceiling in the US begins in 1917 during WWI.  Before then, the US had no debt ceiling - like most industrialized democracies.  Even then, the debt ceiling for the most part was not used as a political football for a very long time.  In 1979, Dick Gephardt instituted the Gephardt Rule, which deemed the debt ceiling would automatically be raised every time a budget was passed. 

This stood until the 1995 debt ceiling crisis following the 1994 Republican takeover, wherein Gingrich tied the debt ceiling to funding the government and the 1995-6 government shutdown ensued.

Still, the debt ceiling did not reach this type of brinkmanship until 2011 and 2013 - when there was a Democratic president and a GOP House.  Since then, you can count on the radical GOP to weaponize the raising of the debt ceiling in an insane game of chicken -- when there's a Democratic president.  When there's a Republican president, they raise it without incidence.

To directly answer your question, it doesn't achieve anything other than the GOP putting US credit - and subsequently the world economy - at risk in exchange for spending concessions.

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13 minutes ago, Spockydog said:

Can someone explain to me what this debt ceiling thingy is all about. What is it supposed to achieve? And why Americans have to put up with this nonsense every single year. 

Basically, the annual budget is the US credit card.  In typical American fashion, we decided that instead of putting a credit limit block on that credit card, we instead put a limit on how much of the credit card bill we are willing to pay back.  As for why, it gives a first-born son to the political right to execute if they feel the center has overstepped (e.g. Democrat Administration = True).

As for the current situation, I hope the administration is doing its best to communicate the near-deal.  Having the HFC torpedo it should shift the blame game, as small a consolation as it is. 

ETA: ... and DMC beat me to it with actual history.

Edited by horangi
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So Ken Paxton's likely impeachment trial promises to be one of the weirdest ones in American history.  Particularly with this wrinkle:

Quote

One is his wife, Angela, a two-term state senator who could be in the awkward position of voting on her husband’s political future. It’s unclear whether she would or should participate in the Senate trial, where the 31 members make margins tight.

In a twist, Paxton’s impeachment deals with an extramarital affair he acknowledged to members of his staff years earlier. The impeachment charges include bribery for one of Paxton’s donors, Austin real estate developer Nate Paul, allegedly employing the woman with whom he had the affair in exchange for legal help.

 

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5 hours ago, Spockydog said:

Can someone explain to me what this debt ceiling thingy is all about. What is it supposed to achieve? And why Americans have to put up with this nonsense every single year. 

Don't listen to the fancy nerd talk. This is what the debt ceiling is:

 

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On 5/25/2023 at 4:51 PM, Mindwalker said:

Also, Musk is in an official campaign video. Which is so bad it's kind of hilarious. But anyway, you could almost think he was running for VP rather than being his sponsor/ donor/ daddy/ whatever.

ETA: It may not be an official video, but one made by sympathizers. Will check tomorrow, I'm tired.

Having watched it really seemed to me as he weirdly presenting Elon as a threat.

Like he kept getting shown when something bad was discussed just laughing.

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Are the Anti-Trump GOP Forces Starting to Implode?
A mission-control breakdown for DeSantis and smooth launch for Scott bode ill for those hoping to thwart the former president.

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/05/26/are-the-anti-trump-gop-forces-starting-to-implode-00098934

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Such potential is what will make Scott appealing to victory-hungry Republicans. They’re also the sort of party regulars DeSantis will ultimately need as part of any coalition he forms to stop Trump. If such voters migrate to Scott, that task gets harder.

While Thune’s appearance, along with the veritable battalion of former Bush and Romney strategists working for Scott, signaled establishment acceptability, Ellison demonstrated why coalescence could prove difficult against Trump.

 

 

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23 minutes ago, Martell Spy said:

Are the Anti-Trump GOP Forces Starting to Implode?

Well, the governor of ND has thrown his hat into the ring for the nomination.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/05/26/republican-presidential-primary-burgum-north-dakota/

Totally against everything that matters to me.  And yet, people used to inquire why I was so HOT to get the hell out of the hell that is North Dakota than and now.

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1 hour ago, Zorral said:

Well, the governor of ND has thrown his hat into the ring for the nomination.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/05/26/republican-presidential-primary-burgum-north-dakota/

Totally against everything that matters to me.  And yet, people used to inquire why I was so HOT to get the hell out of the hell that is North Dakota than and now.

Who now? Do people in North Dakota even know who their Governor is? Do Republican voters even know there is a North Dakota? Talk about starting from behind the eight ball...

Edited by Jaxom 1974
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2 hours ago, Zorral said:

TX votes to impeach Paxton - at least to hold a trial.  But in the meantime he's out of office.

https://apnews.com/article/texas-attorney-general-paxton-impeachment-d0fa9114868adca63d55a21a53765c45

 

I’m already seeing people screaming on Twitter that the Texas Republican Party has been infiltrated by “Democrats”… I sincerely hope that the Trumpanistas split and form their own party.  That will allow Democrats to gain control in many States while the Rump Republican Party goes on a “we didn’t mean all the Stupid crap we did” tour…

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22 minutes ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

I sincerely hope that the Trumpanistas split and form their own party.  That will allow Democrats to gain control in many States while the Rump Republican Party goes on a “we didn’t mean all the Stupid crap we did” tour…

....And next flowers will be everywhere and everything will taste like candy and we will all live in peace and prosperity like the Coke commercial that concluded Mad Men.

 

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