From what I've read, Biden appears to have pulled out a tremendous win. And as I suspected, he did it while also throwing enough token wins McCarthy's way, so that he can - hopefully - get the necessary GOP votes AND maintain the speakership. Those results are not a given; McCarthy is going to have to do some groveling, but that's on him. In the meantime, Biden has delivered another win for the American people.
Thank you, Robert, for a wonderful piece today. HCR wrote movingly today of the anti-fascist pamphlet supplied to Americans during WWII. How prescient were the words written to US by OUR GOVERNMENT. Henry Wallace must have fashioned it and gotten it widely distributed. Just imagine, no internet back then!
As with all other Americans yesterday, we remembered those in the military who lost their lives in their service to our country. War is a terrible thing and rarely serves any higher purpose that couldn't be achieved another way. But as I thought about the American heroes and she-roes who died, I also thought of all of the Allied troops who died fighting for the same purpose. Many other countries have their own memorial days for their lost fighters too. But my mind also floated toward those against whom we fought. Those who died on the other side of the conflicts. The enemy. They too served at the behest of their elected officials and commanding officers. And they all felt the same fear of dying that our sons and daughters feel going into battle. They all left families and friends when they were killed. And so yesterday I remembered them too.
May all their souls/energy fly though heaven/the universe in love and joy, perhaps to come back another day to live a full life without war.
The fact that it is looking very likely that the debt ceiling will be raised and we won’t default should be seen as a massive boost to the Biden administration and his ability to negotiate. There was a lot of criticism from congressional Democrats and progressives that he was not being forceful enough.
As for the Freedom Caucus. It’s important to keep in mind that they are not interested in actually governing. What matters to them is getting attention in conservative media and grifting their base. They have been that way going back to the Boehner era.
May 30, 2023·edited May 30, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
It certainly appears that President Biden has deftly steered us away from the fiscal cliff that too many Republicans were only too anxious to drive us over. That he did it with little fanfare and bluster is both a testament to his skill as a leader and a sharp contrast with the top two Republican contenders for the presidency in 2024.
The duplicity of the Republicans regarding the debt should not be overlooked. Since the beginning of FDR's term, during which he was faced with economic recovery from the Great Depression followed by WWII, to present day, Republican presidents have been in the White House less than half of the time, but have been responsible for almost two thirds of the national debt incurred in that period on an annualized basis. Their playbook is to run up the debt while they're in power and then blame the Democrats for not cleaning up their messes.
But for now, closing the deal is the most important thing on the agenda. To do that, both sides need to be able to claim victory without vanquishing each other. In other words, they gotta play nice. Let's watch over the next few days as the House and Senate work to defuse the homemade time bomb set by McCarthy to appeal to the Raucous Caucus. Once the deal is done, we'll have two years to head off the next such action.
We must use those two years wisely, and make sure that we elect people who are truly representative of our interests and protective of our democracy. We need to live within our means, to be sure, but we need to share both the burden and the benefits equitably. And we must demand that our representatives play fair and act in good faith.
I'm SICK of the extremists who have taken over the GOP creating a crisis and pretending it's the Democrats' fault. They are arsonists who set a fire, then prevent the firefighters from coming in to put out the blaze.
There should never have been a question or an issue about paying the nation's debts.
Default would immediately torpedo the USA's status (with the U.S. dollar as the standard in the world economy) and plunge the nation and global economies into recession or worse.
I am for President Biden invoking the 14th Amendment and eliminating the debt ceiling altogether IF there is any more obstruction by McCarthy and his puppet masters.
Once again, Robert Hubbell quietly and succinctly summarizes the way the sane and responsible majority must deal with the unhinged flamethrowers in the GOP House. Given the narrow Republican control of the House and the further control of that slim majority by a half dozen truly certifiable far right members, compromise between carefully-devised and thoughtful policies with the truly Looney Tunes Congress members in the GOP caucus is an unfortunate necessity. Fortunately, the Biden administration’s skillful maneuvering (and the general nuttiness of our opponents) has tended to produce compromises that advance 90% Democratic goals, 10% the unhinged demands of the MAGA crowd. This is the absolute best we can hope for until, against all odds, in 2024 we add about a dozen Dems in the House and 3-4 more Democratic Senators. Despite flagrant gerrymandering, constant attempts to restrict access to the ballot and the continuing tsunami of scurrilous lies from the right-wing propaganda machine, we can do this. It may take 2-3 election cycles to achieve this, but demographics, the validity and reasonableness of our positions--and the polar opposite of theirs, and time are on our side--IF we remain eternally diligent. But it can--and I believe will--be done.
Those of us who are 'represented' by Republicans need to be on the phone to them strongly advocating their public support for the Fiscal Responsibility Act. The more of them that we can get on board in public, the harder it will be for the Nut Job Caucus to hold things up.
Paxton's impeachment is a positive sign, his conviction and permanent removal from office, however unlikely, will be an indication of the vulnerability of the Texas Death Star.
Excellent look at the implications of what’s happening in the Texas GQP. Tragically, DeSatan is taking the path of barreling down on the worst of the GQP’s agenda, and firmly believes that an autocrat is what America needs. His promise to “eliminate leftism and woke ideology to the trash heap of history” is exactly what your newsletter is talking about. He will so destroy voting if he were to win that the Democrats may never come back again. Imagine if he had taken his background and intelligence and wanted to be the Republican who introduced the new approach to the Party’s success……..alas. That is not who he is. He is all in on amassing as much power as possible by abusing the loopholes of the Constitution, and bullying those who are under his leadership to get what he wants. We must do everything possible to keep him away from any further power. I was secretly wishing that another Republican would have taken the lane of the future in running for president. That person will lose this time, but so will anyone trying to unseat Trump or even DeSatan. But perhaps it would have been the icebreaker to start normal Republicans (an oxymoron?) in thinking about how to prepare for the next election. They have all, instead, embraced hopes of winning any of the tiny Trump base and then picking up some others somehow. But the tiny Trump base is apparently very happy trashing democracy and the rights of others. I pray that DeSatan will not somehow make inroads with Republican voters who think he is the “normal” Trump. He is not! He believes he is the Victor Orban of America in a nice suit and with a trophy wife.
It is amazing sometimes to see how you and HCR dovetail on the same subject as has happened today. I try to be a realist at the same putting anger into action. In reading the extracts from the WWII pamphlet on the definition of fascism produced by the US Army I have to wonder if Florida and Texas are the red flags of our nation. Can such fascist strangleholds be broken I must ask? Here in Massachusetts we have been a one party state for decades. Yes, we have had Republican governors in this Democratic Party stronghold but they would not be recognized as such by our Southern friends and so we remain the most liberal state in the nation. We do so by the will of a highly educated citizenry who know Oprah Winfrey from Amanda Gorman. We joke that you can hold a Republican Convention in a corner booth at Schraff’s. The obverse appears true for Florida and Texas. What toehold can liberals ever hope to gain there where oppression has firmly taken root bolstered an apathetic and undereducated citizenry? I hope I am wrong and wish our valiant friends there good luck.
I keep saying: best president of my lifetime, which began in Eisenhower!
And very encouraging Today's. It's going out to my email list of 70-plus, plus on FB, on the timeline of a friend who's in France and has been very discouraged about the political situation in the US.
I don't get it. Why do we agree to call these people by their self-aggrandizing names. 'The Freedom Caucus'. Why not call them what they are: the anti-democracy caucus; the fascist caucus;
Language influences perception. Public language shapes debate. Do we have to be complicit?
Too many articles have been written suggesting that McCarthy needs all 218 GOP votes to push through a "compromise" on the debt ceiling. Why? The few idiot Republicans who will live in infamy by voting for Americans to default on its obligations - will be replaced by votes from Democrats.
Yes, some "progressive" Democrats will object to any form of negotiation - but I just read there are 98 Democrats already committed to voting yes. What am I missing here?
Thanks for this.?I have been ruminating off and on about how I am so over stupid. Why are we still being held hostage to these cranky, nefarious characters anyway?
If the MAGA bunch throws McCarthy out, what’s their option? They never got more than 20 votes for an alternative. They are full of sound and fury, signifying pretty much nothing. I think he’s calling their bluff right now.
From what I've read, Biden appears to have pulled out a tremendous win. And as I suspected, he did it while also throwing enough token wins McCarthy's way, so that he can - hopefully - get the necessary GOP votes AND maintain the speakership. Those results are not a given; McCarthy is going to have to do some groveling, but that's on him. In the meantime, Biden has delivered another win for the American people.
Thank you, Robert, for a wonderful piece today. HCR wrote movingly today of the anti-fascist pamphlet supplied to Americans during WWII. How prescient were the words written to US by OUR GOVERNMENT. Henry Wallace must have fashioned it and gotten it widely distributed. Just imagine, no internet back then!
As with all other Americans yesterday, we remembered those in the military who lost their lives in their service to our country. War is a terrible thing and rarely serves any higher purpose that couldn't be achieved another way. But as I thought about the American heroes and she-roes who died, I also thought of all of the Allied troops who died fighting for the same purpose. Many other countries have their own memorial days for their lost fighters too. But my mind also floated toward those against whom we fought. Those who died on the other side of the conflicts. The enemy. They too served at the behest of their elected officials and commanding officers. And they all felt the same fear of dying that our sons and daughters feel going into battle. They all left families and friends when they were killed. And so yesterday I remembered them too.
May all their souls/energy fly though heaven/the universe in love and joy, perhaps to come back another day to live a full life without war.
The fact that it is looking very likely that the debt ceiling will be raised and we won’t default should be seen as a massive boost to the Biden administration and his ability to negotiate. There was a lot of criticism from congressional Democrats and progressives that he was not being forceful enough.
As for the Freedom Caucus. It’s important to keep in mind that they are not interested in actually governing. What matters to them is getting attention in conservative media and grifting their base. They have been that way going back to the Boehner era.
It certainly appears that President Biden has deftly steered us away from the fiscal cliff that too many Republicans were only too anxious to drive us over. That he did it with little fanfare and bluster is both a testament to his skill as a leader and a sharp contrast with the top two Republican contenders for the presidency in 2024.
The duplicity of the Republicans regarding the debt should not be overlooked. Since the beginning of FDR's term, during which he was faced with economic recovery from the Great Depression followed by WWII, to present day, Republican presidents have been in the White House less than half of the time, but have been responsible for almost two thirds of the national debt incurred in that period on an annualized basis. Their playbook is to run up the debt while they're in power and then blame the Democrats for not cleaning up their messes.
But for now, closing the deal is the most important thing on the agenda. To do that, both sides need to be able to claim victory without vanquishing each other. In other words, they gotta play nice. Let's watch over the next few days as the House and Senate work to defuse the homemade time bomb set by McCarthy to appeal to the Raucous Caucus. Once the deal is done, we'll have two years to head off the next such action.
We must use those two years wisely, and make sure that we elect people who are truly representative of our interests and protective of our democracy. We need to live within our means, to be sure, but we need to share both the burden and the benefits equitably. And we must demand that our representatives play fair and act in good faith.
I'm SICK of the extremists who have taken over the GOP creating a crisis and pretending it's the Democrats' fault. They are arsonists who set a fire, then prevent the firefighters from coming in to put out the blaze.
There should never have been a question or an issue about paying the nation's debts.
Default would immediately torpedo the USA's status (with the U.S. dollar as the standard in the world economy) and plunge the nation and global economies into recession or worse.
I am for President Biden invoking the 14th Amendment and eliminating the debt ceiling altogether IF there is any more obstruction by McCarthy and his puppet masters.
Agree➡️ “This Biden guy … he’s good at politics.”
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/5/29/2172027/-The-many-levels-of-genius-in-Pres-Biden-s-negotiating-strategy
Once again, Robert Hubbell quietly and succinctly summarizes the way the sane and responsible majority must deal with the unhinged flamethrowers in the GOP House. Given the narrow Republican control of the House and the further control of that slim majority by a half dozen truly certifiable far right members, compromise between carefully-devised and thoughtful policies with the truly Looney Tunes Congress members in the GOP caucus is an unfortunate necessity. Fortunately, the Biden administration’s skillful maneuvering (and the general nuttiness of our opponents) has tended to produce compromises that advance 90% Democratic goals, 10% the unhinged demands of the MAGA crowd. This is the absolute best we can hope for until, against all odds, in 2024 we add about a dozen Dems in the House and 3-4 more Democratic Senators. Despite flagrant gerrymandering, constant attempts to restrict access to the ballot and the continuing tsunami of scurrilous lies from the right-wing propaganda machine, we can do this. It may take 2-3 election cycles to achieve this, but demographics, the validity and reasonableness of our positions--and the polar opposite of theirs, and time are on our side--IF we remain eternally diligent. But it can--and I believe will--be done.
Those of us who are 'represented' by Republicans need to be on the phone to them strongly advocating their public support for the Fiscal Responsibility Act. The more of them that we can get on board in public, the harder it will be for the Nut Job Caucus to hold things up.
Paxton's impeachment is a positive sign, his conviction and permanent removal from office, however unlikely, will be an indication of the vulnerability of the Texas Death Star.
Excellent look at the implications of what’s happening in the Texas GQP. Tragically, DeSatan is taking the path of barreling down on the worst of the GQP’s agenda, and firmly believes that an autocrat is what America needs. His promise to “eliminate leftism and woke ideology to the trash heap of history” is exactly what your newsletter is talking about. He will so destroy voting if he were to win that the Democrats may never come back again. Imagine if he had taken his background and intelligence and wanted to be the Republican who introduced the new approach to the Party’s success……..alas. That is not who he is. He is all in on amassing as much power as possible by abusing the loopholes of the Constitution, and bullying those who are under his leadership to get what he wants. We must do everything possible to keep him away from any further power. I was secretly wishing that another Republican would have taken the lane of the future in running for president. That person will lose this time, but so will anyone trying to unseat Trump or even DeSatan. But perhaps it would have been the icebreaker to start normal Republicans (an oxymoron?) in thinking about how to prepare for the next election. They have all, instead, embraced hopes of winning any of the tiny Trump base and then picking up some others somehow. But the tiny Trump base is apparently very happy trashing democracy and the rights of others. I pray that DeSatan will not somehow make inroads with Republican voters who think he is the “normal” Trump. He is not! He believes he is the Victor Orban of America in a nice suit and with a trophy wife.
It is amazing sometimes to see how you and HCR dovetail on the same subject as has happened today. I try to be a realist at the same putting anger into action. In reading the extracts from the WWII pamphlet on the definition of fascism produced by the US Army I have to wonder if Florida and Texas are the red flags of our nation. Can such fascist strangleholds be broken I must ask? Here in Massachusetts we have been a one party state for decades. Yes, we have had Republican governors in this Democratic Party stronghold but they would not be recognized as such by our Southern friends and so we remain the most liberal state in the nation. We do so by the will of a highly educated citizenry who know Oprah Winfrey from Amanda Gorman. We joke that you can hold a Republican Convention in a corner booth at Schraff’s. The obverse appears true for Florida and Texas. What toehold can liberals ever hope to gain there where oppression has firmly taken root bolstered an apathetic and undereducated citizenry? I hope I am wrong and wish our valiant friends there good luck.
I keep saying: best president of my lifetime, which began in Eisenhower!
And very encouraging Today's. It's going out to my email list of 70-plus, plus on FB, on the timeline of a friend who's in France and has been very discouraged about the political situation in the US.
I don't get it. Why do we agree to call these people by their self-aggrandizing names. 'The Freedom Caucus'. Why not call them what they are: the anti-democracy caucus; the fascist caucus;
Language influences perception. Public language shapes debate. Do we have to be complicit?
Too many articles have been written suggesting that McCarthy needs all 218 GOP votes to push through a "compromise" on the debt ceiling. Why? The few idiot Republicans who will live in infamy by voting for Americans to default on its obligations - will be replaced by votes from Democrats.
Yes, some "progressive" Democrats will object to any form of negotiation - but I just read there are 98 Democrats already committed to voting yes. What am I missing here?
Thanks for this.?I have been ruminating off and on about how I am so over stupid. Why are we still being held hostage to these cranky, nefarious characters anyway?
If the MAGA bunch throws McCarthy out, what’s their option? They never got more than 20 votes for an alternative. They are full of sound and fury, signifying pretty much nothing. I think he’s calling their bluff right now.