Steve Scalise resigned as a candidate for the Speaker. The House Republicans clearly are light years away from choosing a Speaker. Congress is broken. MAGA broke it. This could go on for days.
I’ve read comments in several sources today saying that Bibi Netanyahu will not survive the crisis in Israel, politically. See, for example, Netanyahu Is Losing the War at Home: Incompetence against Hamas and indifference to Israeli suffering has the public boiling over, by Noga Tarnopolsky at New York magazine. At the New Republic, see A Majority of Israelis Think Netanyahu Should Resign by Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling.
See also Fred Kaplan, Trump Somehow Manages to Make the Israel-Hamas Conflict All About Him, at Slate. Trump flaps his lips and shows the world how ignorant he is, but his culties don’t see it because they are just as ignorant as he is.
Scalise threw in the towel. At least eight and perhaps as many as twenty Republicans refused to accept the nominee who won the majority. (Sound familiar?) After two days of meeting with the opponents of his Speakership, Scalise concluded there is no way forward.
Jordan will expect the House must accept him or no one. (I missed it before but a few days ago, Liz Cheney declared Jim Jordan was in the J6 insurrection up to his neck and must not become Speaker.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/08/opinions/jim-jordan-liz-cheney-house-speaker-race-obeidallah/?dicbo=v2-pzDuuTP&iid=ob_lockedrail_topeditorial
Where does that leave the nation? I see three options, First, the House GOP unifies behind what looks like their only option. Second, enough Republicans refuse Jordan to put the Speaker's chair in limbo. Third, the Democrats nominate Liz Cheney as Speaker in the hope they can peel off four Republicans who do not want the US House to become an extension of Mir-a-Lago.
Frankly, I view all three options as unlikely, bordering on impossible, and fantastic. But I don't see a fourth option.
The only way forward is to break the back of the MAGA extremists.
The solution is simple but difficult. Just because you have enough people to have a majority, does not mean you have a working majority. Putting an R by a name does not make a person a working member of the group. David Brooks is right (using the even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while principle) the Rs have acquired a minority of nihilists. Brooks is well educated enough to know enough philosophy to properly identify this group as having this philosophy. The problem is this word means nothing to most people. (pun intended) A wise but unfortunately deceased friend of mine often said, everyone has a philosophy (or parts of many) even if they don't know what it is called. That is why people with Rs by their name need to read and listen to Brooks. Needless to say, they don't. To most Rs he is a RINO. Hell, he even uses strange words like nihilist. Words like that mean nothing to the simple minded. (pun intended)
So back to the simple solution. Only by forming a majority with members that have a D by their name will the majority of Rs have any power at all. Why? Because the nihilists will control them if they do not. Yes, the nihilists will say they caved. That is because bifurcation and obstruction is what makes them nihilists. They know no other way. We do know some of the Rs are not so simple minded they know this is the only way. Unfortunately, many of these Rs. like Liz Cheney, have been bifurcated away and labeled as RINOs. I assume the nihilists are the only Rs that are presently empowered to make that call. And they say Ds need to get a spine. Meanwhile the tail wags the whole House of Representatives. Just get what you need and get it done. As my wise doctor says, "if this isn't working, we need to try something different".
The whole republican debacle is really amusing in a very sick sort of way. As I understand they tried to solve their dilemma using democracy. They would just vote. The group would follow the will of the majority. So, they did. Then the nihilists decided that they did not want the person their "fellow members" voted for and refused to back him. Oh, how familiar sounding is this? At least so far no one is saying the election was rigged. Yes, they have members that do not understand that in a democracy the majority gets their way. More precisely, the odd ducks must follow and get in a row. MTG doesn't even know what an odd duck she is. I won't even start on George who is going for more indictments than TFG.
Well, they are spoiled and used to getting their way. McCarthy has spoiled them for months before the nihilists threw him out for lying to them. Now that is funny in itself.
So too a minority seems to be at fault by an Israeli author. This guest author to an opinion piece in the NYT wrote about a different minority who enabled Israel into the mess they are in.
Nir Avishai Cohen
Mr. Cohen, a major in the reserves of the Israel Defense Forces, is author of the book “Love Israel, Support Palestine.”
We must learn from the mistakes of others. In a democracy the majority must maintain control. When the majority bends too much to minority wishes it fails. I wish the problems in the mid-east were a bit funny. Our problems may get that way if the nihilists continue to pull all the strings in our country too.
Most likely now we end up with Gym as speaker. I would wager most of the ten extremists what wouldn't vote for Scalise are magat's and will vote however Stump wants, the rest of the caucus understand they can't keep doing this forever and will vote for Gym. Getting endorsed by stump is like stepping in dog poop but if you you don't wipe it off once in a while it may end up smelling like roses!
But the mastermind of 1/6 already got beat and lost the vote. Sure he came in second but that's not how our system works. The minority have to get in line with the majority. Otherwise, you get an Israeli style mess.
The vote Gym lost was in the caucus not on the floor, only 10 or so magats refused to vote for Scalise, they will vote for Gym and the rest of Scalise's supporters will most likely get in line? Me thinks Gym will be speaker, I hope I'm wrong!
"This is another fine mess you've gotten us into!" Stan Laurel
Some of the 113 who voted for Scalise were voting AGAINST Jordan because Jordan will drag the GOP into electoral defeat with his scorched-earth tactics. A founding member of the Freedom Caucus, Jordan's allies demanded the concessions that set up McCarthy's removal. Part of that is the attempted impeachment of Biden which any shrewd politician can see will backfire unless there's proof of a crime.
IMO, there are more than four GOP members of the House who will deny Jordan the Speakership to deny the Freedom Caucus the reward for their tactics and to avert the consequences for the amplification of those tactics.
There's at least as much chance of a compromise choice (Not Jordan – but a GOP moderate) who some of the House Democrats will cross over for. The conclusion that the two choices were Scalise and Jordan ignores the rage some Republicans have for the Freedom Caucus for doing this.
So true. So funny. Even lifelong republicans are saying they don't understand how to govern.
Netanyahu needs to resign. He did not keep the country safe and was/is in bed with religious extremists, on both sides as he supported Hamas thinking he could control and mysteriously ignoring intelligence and warnings.
Like Trump. Tubervile yeah is pre-emptively trying to get a compliant military for Trump's next administration.
And we need an ambassador for Israel and one for egypt and oman etc. The senate is dysfuntional.
We need to not reelect Trump. Just look at Israel and Netanyahu, do we want a traitorous president if our country comes under attack.
Thank god for Gen Milley and all like him.