BryanJan 4, 2023
Judd Legum

One fascinating thing about the House Republican's self-immolation is how it is substanceless.

McCarthy's opponents have no specific complaints about McCarthy.

They just don't like him.

And McCarthy has no specific rationale for being Speaker.

He just wants power.

Jan 4, 2023 at 8:40pmWeb
Show threadAkhenatobi & Meritaten etc.Jan 4, 2023
@juddlegum he knows a lot about Jan6 and they want him to spill some crap (whether fabricated or not) about the FBI… “he’s not Republican enough” … all I could gather from Tucker Carlson article last night…
Show threadTappin LisaJan 4, 2023
@juddlegum
Even if he eventually gets the votes, he won't really have power...just the title.
Show threadJune CasagrandeJan 4, 2023
@juddlegum Ten, twenty, thirty years ago, Republicans had no choice but to pretend they gave af about democracy. No more.
Show threadMike MasinJan 4, 2023

@junecasagrande @juddlegum

Roe v. Wade brought evangelicals to the GOP, and it's been downhill since.

Show threadeuph_22Jan 5, 2023
@junecasagrande TBF they care about Democracy. They are just opposed to it.
Show threadExtra SuperJan 4, 2023
@juddlegum this sums it up. Maybe only thing you left out is that they want to tear things down, and they don’t care (maybe prefer?) that nothing is happening. #speakerofthehouse
Show threadCat Food CasseroleJan 4, 2023
@juddlegum
It's high school or middle school.
Show threadOne vote to make a differenceJan 4, 2023
@juddlegum these are the people who get to make laws and regulations for the entire country!! #GOP #goptraitors #GOPChaos #GOPLiesAboutEverything
Show threadkrautnapped™Jan 4, 2023

@juddlegum Oh, there's "substance." Their substance is "feelings," though.

They govern by how they feel at any given moment. Not how things are or what effect they may have.

Show threadBamaBlueDot(she/her)🔵Jan 4, 2023
@juddlegum that sums it up nicely 👍
Show threadmhuegJan 4, 2023
@juddlegum Doesn't seem like it will end anytime soon even if #McCarthy steps aside. The people not voting for him aren't even solidified behind one candidate (they're just shit-starters), and certainly anyone they are fully behind will not receive 95%+ of the caucuses votes. #Scalise might seem like a good compromise candidate, but the hardliners will see him as a McCarthy ally and fear retribution.
Show threadStan FletcherJan 4, 2023
@juddlegum And they have no legislative agenda. They're just a bunch of dunkers that are scratching and clawing each other for positioning to try to attain the most attention and power the can get for themselves.
Show threadMarcie MilletaryJan 5, 2023
@IrwinFletcher0 @juddlegum Agreed! And not just no agenda or interest in governing, but actively obstructing and shit stirring.
Show threadspheruliticJan 4, 2023
@juddlegum This is the crazy part -- there's literally nothing McCarthy can give up to satisfy his opponents. It's an old fashioned staring contest -- how long until McCarthy admits that less than 10% of his caucus have killed his dream of speakership
Show threadTripleUpThriceJan 4, 2023
@spherulitic @juddlegum The ironic part is his lack of leadership over the years empowered the Raucous 20 Republicans that are keeping him from being speaker. If he had supported the Republicans that voted to impeach Trump, such as Cheney and Kinzinger, they probably would have voted for him. Instead he decided to back chaos representatives, who only care about their own power.
Show threadBJan 4, 2023
@juddlegum Really shows off how Emotivist their entire moral-political framework is, dunnit?
Show threadThomas A. Fine Jan 4, 2023
@juddlegum It's almost like this is a party with no platform...
Show threadedgeoforever 🍎Jan 5, 2023
@thomasafine @juddlegum yeah, I remember myself chuckling when Manafort removed the part about supporting Ukraine from the platform. It was 2016 and I thought “GOP has a platform?😱 And those were the good old days. I seem to recall tfg officially doing away with it at the next convention.
Show threadEd SandersJan 4, 2023

@juddlegum
I don't want to say it because they're lunatics, but the anti-McCarthy faction at least has a coherent argument for their stance.

The man has no principles. He will turn his back on anyone, including himself, so he is completely untrustworthy.

What is the pro-McCarthy argument (unless it's the same one)?

Show threadJohn O'LaughlinJan 4, 2023
@juddlegum can anyone win a vote in this caucus? people keep saying they'll get a speaker eventually with a normal process, but isn't it a fairly likely outcome that they'll just have to change the rules so that they can get a speaker without a majority? like do a jeffries/mccarthy runoff? that would actually be wild to see if anyone crosses over out of spite, they'll probably count votes though
Show threadauthor_is_ShrikeTron🔠💉x5Jan 4, 2023
@juddlegum It's just a projection of how they're going to exactly run this House for the next two years.
Show threadPamWingedHorseJan 4, 2023
@juddlegum I think they do have a specific complaint: He's not willing to burn the place down.
Show threadGary HyslopJan 4, 2023
@juddlegum Pointless. Just like the party as a whole. They don’t have any interest in governance, so this behaviour is not only unsurprising but perhaps inevitable.
Show threadAviva GaryJan 4, 2023
@juddlegum Well... at least they are honest about it instead of lying and paying lip service and saying BS they don't mean...
Show threadNasty NanaJan 4, 2023
@juddlegum
Look at the opponents' faces. They are glowing over their childish success at bringing McCarthy down. They believe they have the muscle to take over the House. And it looks like they do.
Show threadTonyTrink1969 🏳️‍🌈Jan 4, 2023
@juddlegum And both of those positions are completely #OnBrand for the GOP.
Show threadPamela Barroway – Biz EditorJan 4, 2023
@juddlegum Gawd it’s middle school girls drama hour. Except it’s going to last for *days* or *weeks*.
Show threadKrazyKatJan 4, 2023
@juddlegum T. H. I. S.
Show threadGinalolajupiterJan 4, 2023

@juddlegum

Aside from McCarthy's general perfidy, they really don't like being pushed around by his henchman Jeff Miller.

Show threadNelson SVG JamesJan 5, 2023
@juddlegum
Show threadRadioFreeLanarkJan 5, 2023

@juddlegum

"He just wants power."

How specific do you want to get?

Show threadDevadas MoodleyJan 5, 2023
@juddlegum
As an outsider I am astonished that at least some of these politicians are not in prison for sedition and/or treason.
#USPolitics #6Jan
Show threadVardenJan 5, 2023

@juddlegum But they do have one thing in common which is the rationale for their being - hate. They hate members of the Democratic Party. They Adore Putin. Putin hates member of the Democratic Party so we are all on board with Putin. Whatever, Putin wants is fine with us.

Is this any way to be an American? Particularly a patriotic American?

Show threadAutisticMumTo3Jan 5, 2023
@juddlegum
Sounds about right for Republicans.
Show threadTengrainJan 5, 2023

@juddlegum

“Because it is MY TURN” is not really a good reason to be Speaker, especially when one is policy/content free.

Show threadbarryzeeJan 5, 2023
@juddlegum @MikeElgan The sad part as this goes on is that he is desperate and will cave to what the republican crazies that are holding out want in order to get the votes he needs.
Show threaddan tynanJan 5, 2023
@juddlegum it’s all about ritual humiliation. They want to drag them for a while before they let him go. Just to let him know where the real power lies. I expect they will cave tomorrow at some point, after having extracted every ounce of blood they could.
Show threadBarneyRCN🇨🇦⚓️🎓Jan 5, 2023
@juddlegum That is indeed the absolute conundrum!
Show threadTedJan 5, 2023
@juddlegum Cutthroats and brigands, every last one.
Show threadRuth Zakarin 🧶🪬😷Jan 5, 2023
@juddlegum
Power is McCarthy’s rationale, guiding star, and core value.
Show threadBelinda GreyJan 5, 2023
@juddlegum Weird how policies to help the average American don't even figure in the calculation.
Show thread🌊Ann Morris🐕🍀🌎🌊🌊Jan 5, 2023
@juddlegum He wants power to service trump better. Who knows what he has promised to destroy to protect trump.
Show threadWinston SmithJan 5, 2023

@juddlegum He embraced tRump after January 6... His downfall.

These 20 are #TalibanTakeover and just want to break things

Show threadeuph_22Jan 5, 2023

@juddlegum I have heard endlessly from GOPers how the speaker fight is important to the party, to them personally, to Trump/Desantis/other Presidential hopeful.

Never once how it's important to their constituents or the Country.

Show threadBruce SmithJan 5, 2023
@juddlegum And no one in the GOP seems to grasp why Rep. Santos fits right in.
Show threadSongs of BabylonJan 5, 2023
@juddlegum To give the the devil(s) their due, I don’t much like McCarthy either. Albeit for much different reasons than the Republican Party's growing fascist caucus.
Show threadJoshua HollandJan 5, 2023
@juddlegum that’s not true. They’re demanding an effective veto over whatever the rest of their caucus may agree to with the Senate.
Show threadJoshua HollandJan 5, 2023
@juddlegum And disproportionate power in committees so they can get on Fox and promote their personal brands/ grifts.
Show threadKH213Jan 5, 2023
@juddlegum And policy wise they disagree on nothing.
Show threadPari Moon-ForestJan 5, 2023
@juddlegum I think they are up to something for tomorrow.
Show threadTom DeCanioJan 5, 2023
@juddlegum Your point is so clear watching him after the 7th vote. He is clearly not a whip or a leader. He looked isolated and as if he was attending his own funeral.
Show threadLigma JohnsonJan 6, 2023

@juddlegum

> McCarthy has no specific rationale for being Speaker. He just wants power.

I feel like that’s a perfectly good enough reason not to like and/or vote for him.

Show threadmichelle.catJan 7, 2023
@juddlegum a fragmented slim majority can only be better for Democrats I know media is saying freedom caucus would have control of rules committee but they were also calling dystopian collapse from a red wave if you can’t control what’s get to the floor you can control what’s in it through the amendment process the Dems used this effectively to stop the ACA repeal and Ryan had unified control , also the 117 congress lost members through attrition and no reason to believe 118 won’t
Show threadPeggy StuartJan 7, 2023
@juddlegum To be fair, I don’t like him either.