I think after reading the many emails here about being frightened and discouraged, that this might be a time for taking the "big picture" view of our politics that a few others suggested.
We might also recognize that some of this trauma may be due to post traumatic stress disorder from the years trump was president, that are being triggered by Kevin McCarthy's Circus settling in to what was Nancy's House.
We were all shocked when a dangerous, malignant narcissist blowhard with no qualifications to be president ended up in the White House. Those were really difficult and frightening years. Yet many people stood up and fought against him in many different ways from all over this country. And we managed to remove him and his flying monkeys from the White House, elect one of the greatest presidents America has seen and patch many of the holes trump made in the fabric of our country and in our relationships with our allies. We hoped for that, but I don't recall anyone predicting that it would definitely happen. There was a lot of fretting and nail biting. We should take strength from that success.
Now many of us have PTSD from the first act of Kevin's Circus, The Clown Show, that just ended in the House of Representatives. It is reminiscent of The trump Show. But we've been through this situation before and we know how to handle it. We need to stop inundating our nervous systems by listening to constant reporting about the same problems from different sources every day. We should try and remember the heroic job that patriotic Americans from all around the country did to protect our democracy from trump, from his immoral followers and from the shocking attack on our Capital. I would have felt a lot better during the four years of the "trump disintegration" if I'd known how successfully Americans would fight back at these unimaginable horrors and "right the ship of state." We have no guarantee, but we need to believe we can do it again instead of sinking into despair, which is easy to do.
I'm not minimizing what we are facing. We're all sick of having to fight the ugly underbelly of our country. But we don't need to tackle the next few years all at once. And we really have no idea what trememdous things we and our fellow defenders of democracy will be able to achieve to counter this current set of dangers. We need to take it one day at a time.
We also need to protect our nervous systems from the overwhelming barrage of dung that will be flung from the monkeys in Kevin's Circus. They will lie constantly. They always do. Expect it. They will accuse us of doing the bad things they are doing. They've done that for years. Expect it. They will smugly claim to be defending democracy. They're only fooling the MAGA crowd with that ridiculous line. Expect it. Don't let the Insurrectionist Circus, soon to be choreographed by the bellowing bully and expert liar who let student athletes in his charge be sexually molested and refused to help them, get under your skin with their stream of lies, gaslighting, lack of morals and lack of concern for their fellow citizens. Yes, it's disgusting how low the insurrectionists will go. But it's nothing new. Expect it.
We fought back against them once. We can do it again, step by step. Be kind to yourself and try to do things for at least a short while every day that will bring you joy.
Robert- I think your account has been hacked. I received the following comment linked to this newsletter:
I think Robert's account has been hacked - I received this message twice this morning. Idid not click the link or call the number. I went back to a news letter from January 7 and saw that other folks got the same message. It reads like this:
"Thank you for your remark! Always good catching up with you, Leave me a text I’ve got something beneficial to share with you
Yes, we need to be optimistic and know that the majority of the country, as shown in the last three elections are moving in the direction of sanity. I would add that not enough commentators are highlighting the fact that the Senate and the President will block/ignore whatever dangerous legislation these ignorant fools might pass. It will all be performative nonsense for their dwindling base. They cannot, on their own, cut Medicare or Social Security. If they hold the country hostage over the debt ceiling to try to do this, there are enough responsible Republicans in the House who would oppose this. So, yes, while we need to be aware, organized and active, we gain nothing by exhausting ourselves with worst case scenarios.
Thank you, CC. Many of us learned valuable lessons beginning in 2016. The hard lesson for me was paying too much attention before that election to every one of trump's ridiculous, horrid, perverse acts. The best lesson I learned was from Robert, which was to keep my eye on the ball, and that paid off in 2018. I am very impressed by the new Democratic leadership in the House, and how the entire caucus stayed focused and together. It's up to us as well to make certain that we call out every single thing the Republicans achieve, or even attempt. It will be important for their constituents to fully understand the consequences. We can do this!
Yes, this is what I was trying to hold onto. I think that many of us can do this, but not ALL of the time. It's okay to get frightened and say that. You are so right that the amount of "dung" we are processing on a daily basis is causing the PTSD to stick around. I think it is the same PTSD we've had for 6+ years now, which went into remission during some of the last 2 years. But we are not robots. And we are smart! There is trouble ahead; however, we are a strong group and we have a fearless, hopeful man writing brilliant analysis for us on a daily basis. God bless us everyone, as Tiny Tim said!
CC, this is such a great perspective. Thank you. In my mind, what has been missing is heroes who are Republican office holders. In my mind, the heroes have been the election workers, journalists, staffers, law enforcement, GOTV volunteers, some judges, etc. I am very hopeful that this will continue, and I think the "ship righters" will continue to grow in number. But, good grief, this is all so damning of entire political party leadership.
C C - Your post is exceptional. I would like to spread the message you offer far and wide. Do consider finding ways to share beyond Today’s Edition. Thank you very much.
Jan 7, 2023·edited Jan 7, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
Dear community, I wanted to ask for your prayers/thoughts/wishes/visionings, whatever you call the way we can connect with the non-physical energy of love that sustains us during tough times. I've joined my family in Manhattan for a time because my youngest sister is in the hospital with some pretty awful symptoms of the recurrence of cancer. I'm not quite able to get to sleep tonight so I'm grateful to be here. I've also suspended my daily sharing of Robert's newsletter for this time, though I hope to check in sometimes.
I've heard people say that social media communities are not as real as in person groups, but I have been quite comforted by being able to check in to my few communities . Thanks and blessings to you.
Thinking of you and your sister, Terry, and sending prayers and warm thoughts. As a two-time cancer survivor, I know the difficulties of those symptoms. I pray that she'll have relief soon and will recover fully.
Thank you Denise. I'm so grateful to hear of your experience. May you continue to enjoy full health. We're meeting with the oncology team on Monday to see what they think about prognosis. This feels so different from when we lost our parents.
Chaplain Terry, it may sound strange though earlier this evening I thought of you. In part having to do with today as the feast of the Epiphany, and something related to it. Also because I have noticed your comments in Robert's newsletter and in Jessica's too, and I am aware of their absence lately.
And do check in with us when you feel you have the energy, and if time and attention allow. We'll want to hear how you are doing. May love sustain you and yours at this difficult time. 💜
This IS a community. And while I don't do "Ts and Ps"...I feel your challenges and worries. Been there. Wishing you strength and..... thank you for all your contributions.
The circumstances that you and your sister currently face are certainly analogous to the circumstances we all face with McCarthy’s election as Speaker last night. (They are also analogous to circumstances all us personally have faced or are also currently facing or probably will face at some future time, hence most of us we can easily understand and empathize with you and your sister.)
I join others in offering understanding and empathy, not advice, for you and your sister as you confront fear and uncertainty while experiencing pain and anguish. I believe that God is with us in our suffering and offers two gifts to all of us for alleviating (if not eliminating) it: (1) recognizing that “realism” applies only to the present and past, not the future and (2) hope enables us to imagine or yearn for future circumstances - and thus work toward - the creation or restoration of circumstances that we recognize as “blessed.”
My own experience has taught me that heeding the countlessly-expressed Biblical command, “fear not,” - as difficult as that can be - results in a return to the hopefulness that enables me to get beyond the paralyzing despair or depression that can result from suffering (regardless of its cause, whether disease, grief, injustice, and even political craziness).
My continuing prayer is that you and your sister, and the rest of the Hubbell community, will acknowledge the reality of our current troubling or painful circumstances and hopefully think and act to create or restore the blessed circumstances we yearn for!
Sad for your sister, Chaplain, cancer is such a deadly thing. My own mother died of it when I was only 6. I am 90 now. But medicine has made such great advances since then. I do believe in prayer. We may not understand how it works but it is a form of sending healing energy and certainly good and positive thoughts around the person. And there are those who believe that we all pass on to a greater life ahead, and if true those who have gone before us hear our prayer too and as loved ones. they gather around the one who is sick.I have often wondered why some are taken so young and others live to a ripe old age. I don't know if there is an answer for that. It doesn't seem fair, but perhaps there is a very deep reason, that we are all here for a specific purpose and when that purpose has been served it is time to move on to a greater purpose.
How sad that you lost your mother at such a young age, Robert. And that you write with such wisdom all these years later, and without a mother along the way, from there to here. Perhaps she guided you without your knowing. Or maybe you sensed it along the way. I love the image of those who have gone before us, gathering around our sick loved ones. And I suppose we can only hope that those of us who remain can fulfill and serve a greater good and purpose.
During the Chanukah and Christmas season, my sister was in a life threatening situation. She lives in Israel. The miraculous updates we have been receiving over the past few days on Delmar Hamlin were very similar to hers. She is now doing great in rehab in Tel Aviv. I truly believe in the power of prayer and good thoughts and I am sending them both to your sister and you! xoxo
I'm sending you and your family prayers/thoughts/wishes and healing energy. I'm so sorry you are struggling with this right now. I hope you can find moments of joy even in the midst of this challenge. It's important to know you are not alone, and you are not. Though we've never met, I'm holding your heart...
Dear Chaplain Nicholetti. I wish you and your family peace, love and solace at this time and refuge in the Loving Divine Consciousness that is at our core and connects us all.
Blessings to you and your sister. I enjoy your posts and look forward to seeing them again when you are able. I've just finished episodes of radiation for a small cancer, caught early. I just want to say the treatment is all-consuming for the patient and loved ones. I was comforted by other survivors and wonderful staff. May it be that way for you.
The speaker debacle happened because no one in Congress or the Presidency has been held accountable. Gaetz, Boebert and trump should all be in jail by now. The Justice Dept can’t possibly need even more evidence.
What about challenging the seating of members of Congress based on the XIVth amendment proscription of individuals who « engaged in resurrection » against the United States? Why won’t that argument hold as members are seated and their delegations examined?
Nothing seems to hold anymore. The Republicans are being allowed to do whatever they want to destroy our great country. No one seems strong enough to be able stand up to them.
There will be another insurrection because certain politicians will lead their followers on. I pray for our country everyday.
Gaetz thinks he is making a name for himself. The name I have in mind for him I won't say on line.
Honestly I feel sick, similar to the way I did the night the worst president in our history was elected. The DOJ and legal proceedings have taken too long. Two years to the day from Jan. 6 these traitors gain the power to do grave damage to our country and the world. I hope some of Roberts readers can talk me down. 😢
Nauseated by this disgusting turn, just read moments ago. And on the Anniversary of 1/6/21 for cryin' out loud. Don't they have children/grandchildren/heck greatgrands????? How can they face
their kids. They're just determined to pulverize every bit of goodness. Please let this be the final straw for most Americans which in the Democracy I appreciate is what is needed to make change.
I'll be welcoming my first Grandchild (It's A Girl!!!) in March. I. can't. lose. HOPE.
Soooo grateful to the Hubbell Dynamic Duo who despite the most awful news some days, keep my spirits up. Some would consider a bizarro Lullaby but there can't be lights out 'til I've "Hubbelled" ;)
Lisa, I'm in nearby Centennial and welcomed a new grandson in October. Welcome to yours!!!
I, too, ask how 'they' can put themselves and their evil intentions before the wellbeing of their children. And then I say oh yeah, they're sociopaths. There is hope, though, in that their followers are more of the gullible and needy sort rather than a majority of sociopaths themselves.
Congratulations Wendy Eck and Lisa Young. Take heart. Hakeem Jeffries is a blessing, his address was eyo d gracious, magnificent, he had me in tears.
Also, myriads and myriads of Democratic grassroots leaders and volunteers are working the clock around for 2023 Special Elections as well as building infrastructure for 2024 for the Blue Wave needed to serve the American people.
President Biden promptly called the new Speaker after 1:00 AM to congratulate him.
I agree that the Dynamic Duo keep me from despair, especially today. Our survival may be threatened! That is no joke, and can't be accepted! I trust Biden and the Democrats from allowing this to happen. This kind of insanity just reinforces my feeling that we must re-elect Joe Biden! Talk about hope!
And it’s important to support Biden, especially when certain Democrats, who should know better, undermine his Administration by openly seeking another presidential candidate for 2024. Let Biden be President – as effective a President as possible – to restrain the Forces of Darkness.
Jan 7, 2023·edited Jan 7, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
I am over here sobbing. Politics has made me cry like this three times. When Trump was elected, on January 6, and when I read this newsletter. I’m 64 years old and it doesn’t look like I will ever be able to retire. I’ve been putting money in the Social Security system my whole working life, that is my money. They have no right to take it away. I’m devastated. Again.
Maybe you could point this out in one of your newsletters? All I read is that the Republicans want to kill Social Security, I really had to dig to learn that it doesn't mean Social Security will simply vanish into thin air and leave those that have it as their only source of money out in the cold. Thank you for writing your newsletter, it is a comfort like sitting and talking with a trusted relative or friend.
That's the mainstream media for ya: catastraphizing (sp?). But the rethugs want us shaking in our boots. They've learned nothing about millennials and GenZ's from the most recent election.
Something I've started telling my old friends from Red northeastern Ohio where I grew up: People are people. In fact, all people are our relatives. It is amazing to see and hear their very positive reactions to those statements.
I remember Richard Nixon’s Saturday Night Massacre. Where I was located, it really was a Dark and Stormy Night. I was scared – almost certain we were headed into dictatorship … but it was not to be (fortunately).
The US eventually survived Nixon. We’ve survived Trump and Trumpsters, so far. Nancy Pelosi is standing by Hakeem Jeffries, who probably needs little help. They may be able to split off a few House Republicans when really destructive actions loom (only a few votes will be needed).
This is far less than optimism, but it does temper pessimism. My mood: somewhat like shell-shocked, but capable of recovery.
I feel much the same, except their shenanigans have been exposed by some people of fearless integrity, including this newsletter. It was much worse in early days when we were gaslighted all the time. (I hate that!) Keep focusing on "the helpers" (and us.) Thank heavens for the good guys. Thank heavens for the company of like-minded, good-hearted people.
Hakeem Jeffries address had me in tears. Magnificent.
Have faith.
Leaders and volunteers of countless Democrat grassroots are tirelessly working the clock around for 2023 Special Elections, doing research, inviting candidates to speak, learning about rural and underserved communities, telephoning, texting, knocking on doors, and more to build the Blue Wave needed to protect our Democracy, while also preparing for the 2024 national elections and the crucial State Legislative and other elections.
Hakeem Jeffries is a blessing, he will bring Light to this dark time.
Please kindly forgive this rant from a novice postcard writer, and Vote Forward veteran letter writer.
Stunning tv tonight with Mike Rogers trying to hit Matt Gaetz but what is clear is Trump owns McCarthy who has such craven ambition that he has sold everything out to be speaker. My view is that the change in the rules makes it clear that sooner any one of the twenty dissidents can cause a repeat of this evening and it will only take four to remove McCarthy. And that’s assuming Santos is not extradited to Brazil (jk). But mire seriously Biggs Good Gaetz Rosendale Boebert etc have the real power over McCarthy. Excuse my language - but what a cluster
I keep wondering if someone scarier than trump owns McCarthy 🤔.
I've been hopeful, Robert, because I keep thinking the Senate and the White House can reject any rabid legislation the House may concoct.
What is WRONG with those people? I don't suppose they can literally be stupid. I've never known anyone so base, so mean, so short-sighted, and I taught middle school for 37 years🤯!
I think the evil emperor is going down. I really do. Not that he won't cause havoc and harm on the way out, but his clay feet are being exposed to the entire world.
I also keep wondering if someone scarier than trump owns McCarthy.
Did you know that the Unification Church cult fervently backs Donald Trump? Nixon and Reagan, George Bush, Mike Pence, Dick Cheney, and Trump have participated at church-affiliated events as recently as last summer.
The assassination last summer of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe unearthed long-suspected, little-talked-of links between him and a religious group that started in South Korea but has spread its influence around the world. Abe was known for his arch-conservative views on security and history issues and appeared in events organized by the Unification Church's affiliates, including one in September 2021.
After Japan, the second pillar of the Unification Church outside its home country has always been the United States. It fervently backs Donald Trump. What if the prevailing political wind in America were to investigate Koreagate? Full disclosure might finally spell the end of the cult in the United States.
At the height of the Watergate scandal in 1973, Moon organised ‘God Loves Richard Nixon’ rallies. Members of the Unification Church prayed and fasted in front of the Capitol, and in 1974 Nixon publicly thanked Moon for his support.
Ronald Reagan loved the Washington Times, the holding company of the Washington Times was Moon’s Unification Church. The paper was meant to be a conservative counterweight to the liberal Washington Post that had been instrumental in driving Nixon from office. Reagan read the Washington Times every day of his nine-year presidency. “The American people know the truth. You, my friends at the Washington Times, have told it to them,” he said in 1997.
In the United States, it remains to be seen whether the national media will finally focus on the Rev. Sun Myung Moon and his alliance with George Bush who has spoken at high-profile Moon events on three continents.
What the Moons seek to accomplish with their riches is chilling to consider. As Frederick Clarkson’s book Eternal Hostility (Common Courage Press, 1997) explains, Unification church operatives “have been close to neofascist movements all over the world.” In the mid-1980s, Moon, who told followers he is the Messiah, served more than a year in federal prison after he was convicted of tax fraud.
….
John Gorenfeld’s 2008 nonfiction book Bad Moon Rising: The Strange Untold Story of a Cult Leader, his Newspaper and the Right, is now available free in convenient PDF form. It’s about the ongoing romance between conservative politicians and the Unification Church, the 1970s “Moonies” cult. https://www.gorenfeld.net/badmoonrising/
The Dark Shadow Cast by Moon Sun Myung’s Unification Church and Abe Shinzo | The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus
I watched until late last night and one of the MSNBC commentators on the floor during this, Simone maybe?, said that when she asked Boebert about the need to get this passed and people sworn in, she said something to the effect, "Well, there's really no hurry and we're not spending any money at this point, so that's a good thing." Yes, they are that stupid and misinformed. And they are living in a bubble of like-minded gaslighting, lying individuals so they really don't know how to be part of a functioning government process. They haven't a clue. Everything they do has been focused on themselves and their power.
I don't think the MAGAT contingent will even consider the likely consequences of their threats to shut down the gov't if they don't get their way. That could likely result in the U.S. defaulting on our debts and could well very create another world wide Depression, possibly even worse than the 1929 one, since there's so much globalization of corporations that has been allowed to happen.
Excellent! Then I would guess he's not going to last more than a few minutes as Speaker. (I would also love to know what drove him to persist through FIFTEEN attempts to get what he wanted. Weird.)
Still don't get it - if it's all about ego, why didn't he retreat with his tail between his legs ( ;-) ) after getting defeated once or twice? It just doesn't make sense to me.
The crazies don't have the numbers to actually remove the Speaker either. It's just a performative play on their part and a tool for further disruption.
Not trying to be argumentative but they have 212 Dems who would vote for it and that’s 98% there. Any four of five republicans can vote to remove along with the Dems who would love it as it shows the craziness of today’s Republican Party. It is a straight up yay or nay vote mad my guess is that as all spending begins in the house that things could go wrong easily to KM
I expect Democrats in the House will be chary of trying to topple McCarthy from the Speakership. It would tar them with chaos-making, when Biden and they have tried to represent good sense and stability. They can let Republicans shoot holes in their own boat.
My comment is simple: to just briefly quote from your newsletter and say what a sad day for America and in particular senior citizens whose only income is Social Security and who will become homeless because they will be unable to pay their rent if this promise is followed through and kept by McCarthy and his other financially comfortable mean spirited cold blooded cohorts. ". . . McCarthy effectively agreed that the US will default on its debt and impose massive cuts on Medicare and Social Security. In other words, Kevin McCarthy sold out tens of millions of Americans and agreed to wreck the full faith and credit of the United States to become Speaker. There has never been a more corrupt bargain in the history of our nation. Much more about that bargain in the days to come . . . "
I hope I have overstated the case. I hope that Republicans will blink when they realize that they will punish senior citizens by using the debt ceiling as a cudgel.
The problem is that the House can hold the Senate hostage by refusing to increase the debt limit. Will the Senate stand by and allow the US credit rating to be trashed and people / agencies owned money by the federal government to be stiffed?
Very true. On the other hand, would all those who voted for McCarthy also refuse to increase the debt limit? Is there any chance that some of those might cross over?
They seem incapable of deep, constructive thought. Someone above likened them to hormonal middle schoolers. They are being driven by visceral forces, money, but not by intellect. In part, they disdain intellect and think they are so cute when acting out. Ugh, at least the teenagers grow out of it!
The scary part is the high percentage of older Americans who voted Republican knowing that this was a priority for some but not believing it could actually happen.
Not only senior citizens, but millions of invisible people with disabilities who cannot support themselves, which includes my 40 yr. old son with intellectual and physical disabilities.
In regards to your concerns about the safety for the 2 top members of the U.S. Gov't-let us not forget that many of that MAGAT cohort boast about their guns and their followers are pretty easily persuaded to use their guns as well.
I forgot to mention that there seems to be no consideration that we have paid into social security all our lives. What happens to that money? Also while cutting our income, will MCCarthy and the other GOP members who vote along with him cut their salaries too? I mean why pick on the poor and the elderly?
So Robert are you assuming that Republican congressmen will keep social security? What part of their retirement begs the need for social security? They will discard social security and call it the single biggest boon to the American economy since the eminent collapse of the New Deal. I’m sorry, Robert, but they are out to cut your throat and you are holding out hope that they will do so reasonably. Don’t shoot me, I’m just an old truck driver who has been to every loading dock in America and my view comes from blood on the docks not literary genius.
Jan 7, 2023·edited Jan 7, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
Ending Social Security and Medicare is like advertising that you're a heartless, self-absorbed jerk with no concern for the good of your country or its citizens. I don't think most low income or even middle class Republicans know how anxious Republican politicians have been to end those programs.
What seems short sighted is that Social Security and Medicare are not just paid to Democrats. Many Republican voters may not realize that their Social Security and Medicare are in jeopardy until the insurrectionist caucus votes to cut or obliterate those payments. The opposition to that will come from voters who are Democrats, Republicans and Independents.
I'll never forget when years ago, an older, white woman who seemed to be low income and not too educated was on TV at some political gathering. She was vehemently against Democrats and then said the government better keep its hands off of her Social Security (and/or Medicare.) She clearly had no idea that these payments were coming to her because of Democrats and that Republicans have always been eager to end them.
I'd be interested to see the faces of all those uninformed pro-trump Republican voters who depend on Social Security and Medicare when they learn that their beloved party is working to rip that money out of their hands. The question is, if they only listen to Fox etc., will they ever find out unless it becomes a done deal?
Please note, if it becomes a done deal it will be while we have a Democratic president. Thus it will be blamed on the Democrats as taking away their Social Security, and forever attached to their name. As we’ve seen many times lately with today’s press, the Democrats are always blamed repeatedly, while the Republican’s actions are ignored.
Thank you, Michael, for the reminder that we are still blessed with President Biden and the Senate. Hard not to get caught up in all the fears surrounding this House mess. Think I’ll put a post it on my mirror to remind me. 😊
True! Thank heavens Pres Biden knows that which is why he and Veep are touring and making public all their good deeds. I carry a little list of items that help us all just for those family diners and certain husbands of friends who are on the R train to peril.
He has agreed to rules that commit the GOP to refusing to increase the debt limit unless there are massive cuts. The only place those cuts can come is from Medicare, Social Security, and defense. But I hope that Republicans will blink because tens of millions of Americans will rise up to let them know they will never control Congress again if they cut Social Security and Medicare.
Yes, that's another thing, plenty of Republicans are elderly and on social security too and they voted for these guys, also as I mentioned earlier, do they plan to cut their own salaries proportionately? Not a chance!
At one time, I thought that this version of the GOP also cared what their constituents think. That Social Security and Medicare would be sacred. Now I believe that there are members of the House that are rabid - beyond reason. Filled with anger. Lost in a self created battle against the rest of us.
Ironically, I believe many of these lunatics should have been expelled from the House a long time ago - the day they voted against the people's vote.
And of course, there are the ones who welcomed the mob into the Capitol building.
I feel as if we are in a really bad unbelievable movie.
Unfortunately millions of Americans are (mis)informed by right wing media outlets and will only hear the lies crafted by far right. How many people believe still the Big Lie? And these folks will continue to vote for the same people even as they lose their retirement money and healthcare and blame Dems because Fox TV is their only source of information.
Yes Leslie, probably the sky is not falling. Republicans are really just joking around. Kidding you might say. I am laughing hysterically. Probably back to 20 hours a day in a big truck so people can have their toilet paper and orange juice. Ha ha ha ha. Totally hysterical!!!
But if they were to do this…it would not make it through the Senate and the President would never sign it…right?
Just the fact that 10 gerrymandered extreme representatives (and their dark money) think they can run (ruin) this country and the citizens who did not elect them will sit idol…I don’t think so. What chaos looms ahead?
I remain hopeful because it appears that Republicans finally have hit bottom, making it easier for Dems to win in 2024. Taking away the rights of women was a shocker that woke up and stirred young and female voters to unexpected wins in 2022. Cutting or even trying to cut Medicare would be another shocker that will likely wake up and stir older and rural voters to realize that Republicans really do not care about them.
I want to be hopeful. But once they take away something it could take years to get it back. We are angry and protesting and working to get votes after the horrifying dobbs ruling. But the right to privacy and bodily autonomy is almost lost and they are carving away at the remains. If they make a devastating attack on SS and Medicare it could be decades to repair, probably not in my lifetime anyway. I appreciate the hope. I know our side is on the side of what is good and righteous, but we will need to rebuild.
Well, to watch that play out for all the world to see was quite the Deja vu of Jan 6th 2021. Only this time it was INSIDE the House with all members present, not hiding in basements or under seats with gas masks on. I blame Merrick Garland for this fiasco and hope that Jack Smith can put it right before next Jan 6th. At least 6 of those fools will be indicted I hope.
As for the debt ceiling, Social Security and default, I really don’t think 200 Republicans in the House will go along with that, and certainly not the Senate, especially before the 2024 elections, unless they are truly lemmings jumping off a cliff together! The people in the midterms warned them not to fool around. The fact that these 20 holdouts are both deaf and dumb to that vote is to their peril, not the county’s. McCarthy is beyond contempt in his courting of the MAGA crowd. Didn’t he get the memo that Mr MAGA is now Mr Magoo??
I hope you are right about the House not following through on the debt limit. One scenario that might avoid a default is if the GOP Wall Street overlords tell them to knock it off.
I like to think a lot of GOP funders, and possibly ALEC, are already angrily calling their GOP electeds. If Boebert, Gaetz, MTG, and other yahoos are in charge, the US economy will tank. Goodby exorbitant CEO salaries, bonuses, and stock buy-backs.
Yes, I think the key to this avenue is that there may be more House GOP members in the pockets of Wall Street than the neo-lunatic fringe. We will have to sit through more rabid theater to know for sure. I hope they crumble.
There’s a lot of scholarship saying that the separate authorization of the debt limit ceiling is a constitutional fiction and that when a Congress passes a budget it is also thereby implicitly authorizing a debt ceiling increase. If Biden simply ignores the debt limit, there is much the treasury can do to get around the “debit ceiling.”
And on an optimistic note, HOW they knock it off is by forming a coalition with a portion of the Democratic caucus. I continue to believe that this may occur some time over the next two years. Either the Republican financial overlords will demand it, or the process of repeated motions to vacate and multiple speakers may lead us to it. The 21 are basically a radical coalition. One coalition tends to beget others—which could be to our relative advantage.
You say “One scenario that might avoid a default is if the GOP Wall Street overlords tell them to knock it off.” That would be obvious if House Republicans were the old-fashioned kind. However, many of them are anti-establishment (David Brooks calls them nihilists); such folks won’t care what Wall Street wants.
Let’s hope they are too few to rule Congress on the Debt Limit.
I can’t believe or understand how the GOP is getting away with their blatant plan to destroy our country! Has there ever been a more corrupt political party in the history of our nation? Isn’t there anything we can do? Why aren’t Trump and his cronies in prison? I read that the GOP has eliminated the requirement for metal detectors. Are they planning mass murder of the Democrats?
Very scared about the metal detectors. I want our representatives to be safe. And for our country to be safe. The congress and the Supreme Court are destructive forces.
The scariest thing to me is the voters who put some of these people back in office in the midterms and some of the people who still worship trump and the far right. We are here in this mess because of these people and what does that tell you? An extreme minority rule because many of the voters are either incredibly ignorant or just as like these people...mean, racist, anti immigrants, antisemitic, anti science, anti poor and on and on. Frightening to say the least.
Today I have very mixed feelings about the future of this country. The circus in the House is full of very bad portents. Yes, McCarthy's Faustian bargain with the crypto-fascist right will bring a tsunami of policy changes that the right has always wanted. They have a laundry list that has been in the making since they organized to remove FDR from office in a coup that did not happen. And McConnell's 6-3 SCOTUS will cement their "revolution". They will criminalize progressive change (laws against fossil fuel divestment for eg.) and will destroy the social safety net, and basically bring back the Confederacy. The 6-3 Court will make "state's rights" the beacon around the "interposition and nullification" that Martin Luther King decried. Indeed they might even remove the holiday, state by state. They are not far from calling for a Constitutional Convention they have dreamed of since Reagan.
My worst fear is that Americans are not up for a fight. Lost in their respective bubbles of social media and Instagram narcissism, they are oblivious to the peril we face. Even sadder is the hijacking of the Left by the pseudo-progressive project of the professional managerial class in higher education, big non-profits, and mid-level government. They will bicker over pronouns and identity and gender and even their version of race issues, fueling the culture war that animates the base of the new right and destroying the institutions that are there to organize a mass movement.
As I face retirement (I am years away at 68 for lack of pension money and insufficient social security) I will see my Medicare get gutted, social security privatized, skyrocketing housing costs, and the war on cities that the knuckle dragging conservatives want to wage. With luck I can retire in Mexico, where I grew up and watch the great unraveling from the edges.
(Just to be clear, I am an over-educated (PhD from Berkeley) underpaid community college adjunct professor. My average annual income over the last 20 years has been 62kUSD/yr. I have juggled three jobs in that period of time and I still rent (CA resident) and don't even own my car. I am a very out gay man with a mixed Latino background. I have been a "socialist" since I was 13. So, no, my criticism of what has happened to the Left comes from being inside it and not outside looking in.)
The biggest tragedy is the yawn that the climate crisis seems to have provoked in most Americans even as we see the impacts every day that also worsen. People's minds are hooked on gossip and celebrity and the dance of the billionaires. We have lost any cultural glue that allowed for consensus in the past. My students do not read newspapers or broadcast news (that is worth watching) and don't like reading books. My colleagues tell me with a straight face that this is not bad. They tell me TikTok is better to reach the younger generation (young people can never be wrong, right?) than having them read a book. Most American homes don't have books or good ones at least. We are reaping the harvest of a hypocritically Calvinist society with deep roots in anti-intellectualism and religion that is based on sensational experiences that take place in stadiums led by corrupt millionaires.
Americans are steeped in magical thinking and super-heroes. I am told that my "pessimism is not good for my mental health". Yes, Americans believe that optimism, no matter how unjustified, is itself a virtue that leads to "mindfulness and wellness". So self delusion is better than reality. "Visualize and Manifest" placards make me sick. If you are on the right, Jesus is coming. If you are on the Left, changing language is revolutionary. I could just scream but I am running out of gas for yet another round of go nowhere "debates".
I agree with your sentiments and disappointments. But the House of Representatives can create trouble by delay. They can't unilaterally change law.
There will be two years of ridiculous drama and maybe some financial chaos. But consider that the DOJ actually might be arresting some of these clowns. And that 4 vote majority may not last for long.
I hear your lament and I feel your distress. But I am working on having a good day.
I'm sorry, but it's far worse than that. The extremists who now control the House fully intend to allow a government shut down. They have zero interest in the consequences.
They will not compromise on the debt ceiling. They have zero interest in the consequences.
McCarthy has no ideology or principles... he won the Speakership...that was his only goal. He doesn't care if he looks weak...he has no policies he cares about passing. He wanted to win to check off a box and set himself up for a post-Congress 7-figure lobbying position. He's already named himself the 'Comeback Kid'...expect his 15-vote path to be whitewashed by the GOP and media alike, and expect Trump to claim victory for this win.
The Senate can block much legislation, but the House controls the purse strings.
Those who believe the corporate world will stop a default are kidding themselves. Corporations donated millions to the campaigns of these House members.
Those who believe that a 'saner faction' in the House will stop a government shutdown are likewise kidding themselves. There were 4 days for a group of these 'sane' members to walk across the aisle and broker a deal with Jeffries. Not only did they fail to do so, but they voted for every insane demand by MTG and Gaetz.
So no optimism in sight, just a 2nd insurrection in 2 years, and a glimpse of what we can expect from state legislators if we don't stop them at the state level in 2024.
Please take hope in all of the people of integrity who are working to counter all of this. It's the perennial struggle, but we can find refuge in each other.
George, please write more. You, writing from your experiences in California, might just impact a few readers. And since the readers here agree with you, you might impact someone who is influential to round out their arguments. You might even influence someone from Texas who has spent the last 20 or 30 years disparaging California.
I am fearful of the short-term consequences of Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House: debt default, dramatic funding cuts, fiscal irresponsibility that could roil the capital markets. However, the long-term effects may be disastrous for the Republican Party, with one proviso: the Democrats must remind voters over and over in 2024 that the Republicans tried to use chaos and disruption as tools of government in 2023. What I can’t understand is why responsible members of the Republican Party haven’t been able to isolate the “crazies”. Why can’t they form of “coalition government” with Democrats and put in place a structure that will effectively disempower the disrupters?
There are 5-6 months before the debt ceiling and other showdowns will occur. That’s an eternity in contemporary American politics. Let’s hope Democrats, Independents, and sane Republicans will begin to rein in the crazies before next June.
This business with Santos has got me thinking that the best use of the Democratic parties time and energy now would be to investigate every last Republican office holder and donor. My instincts tell me that his con is the tip of the iceberg.
AARP has 38 million members that aren’t going to play these gop games, if they think we’re going to just sit by and let what we’ve paid into with every paycheck of our lives be stolen, they’re really just fools.
Here’s a thought- if the government isn’t funded and functional, (that means paying debts incurred) then there’s no reason to pay federal taxes, including the pay and benefits of Congress. Economic hostage taking could backfire on them.
Please don’t get caught up in handwringing and panic. We have power, time to use it.
Well said! “...if they think we’re going to just sit by and let what we’ve paid into with every paycheck of our lives be stolen, they’re really just fools”. I am trying not to get caught up in the hand wringing. I am grateful that I have the good fortune of living in a state with a fair electoral map, Michigan. Even more grateful thanks to the new map I no longer live in a district represented by a worshipper of the “Orange Jesus”. I am now represented by the Honorable Dan Kildee. Thank God!
Given that these are not people of integrity, I suppose we can hope McCarthy will simply "forget" the craven promises he's made to the radical fringe in order to secure the speakership. (We can certainly bet Gaetz, Boebert, et al won't keep any "promises" they've made.)
I am struggling to contain my anger and mixed feelings. While they founder and concede, I worry about the implications for us as we go forward. There is so much unknown, and I hope the Democrats, in their unity, continue in order to give us hope and stability. The biggest question is what can I do as an individual to stride against these darker threats.
thank u Mary Alice..... yes anger and mixed feelings.... here's something:
His holiness the Dalai Lama reminds us that the anger that arises when we identify exploitation and social injustice can be useful. Most especially when we ourselves transform and use that anger to exercise small simple daily acts of compassion toward others.... regardless of their politics ....
May be good to remember that this is not the end of the story. These people will receive huge pressure from every side, including the Senate and high-rollers, not to do something(s) completely stupid and upend the country's economy. So, while it looks dire (I was naively holding out for a different speaker-solution involving the Dems...darn!) there is going to be a whole lot going on that's not apparent to the public right now. This is my prediction, although no crystal ball here. I'm finding for myself, important to keep slow-breathing and big view... because two years in a state of hand wringing (like we had with the previous prez) is to be avoided. (self-reminder!)
Thank you, Diane. You made a very important point! We need to do whatever will keep us from going over the cliff emotionally and/or physically. Slow deep breaths in (and out!), keeping the big picture in mind AND not taking in too much media about our politics is very important.
It's easy to become glued to programs and articles about the latest move by the fascist Republicans when they are in power. But too much negative news about such vicious, morally bankrupt people is overwhelming and can lead to mental and physical problems.
We need to make time--even if it's just 15 minutes--every day for things that help us relax and bring us joy, no matter what's going on in the rest of the world.
I think after reading the many emails here about being frightened and discouraged, that this might be a time for taking the "big picture" view of our politics that a few others suggested.
We might also recognize that some of this trauma may be due to post traumatic stress disorder from the years trump was president, that are being triggered by Kevin McCarthy's Circus settling in to what was Nancy's House.
We were all shocked when a dangerous, malignant narcissist blowhard with no qualifications to be president ended up in the White House. Those were really difficult and frightening years. Yet many people stood up and fought against him in many different ways from all over this country. And we managed to remove him and his flying monkeys from the White House, elect one of the greatest presidents America has seen and patch many of the holes trump made in the fabric of our country and in our relationships with our allies. We hoped for that, but I don't recall anyone predicting that it would definitely happen. There was a lot of fretting and nail biting. We should take strength from that success.
Now many of us have PTSD from the first act of Kevin's Circus, The Clown Show, that just ended in the House of Representatives. It is reminiscent of The trump Show. But we've been through this situation before and we know how to handle it. We need to stop inundating our nervous systems by listening to constant reporting about the same problems from different sources every day. We should try and remember the heroic job that patriotic Americans from all around the country did to protect our democracy from trump, from his immoral followers and from the shocking attack on our Capital. I would have felt a lot better during the four years of the "trump disintegration" if I'd known how successfully Americans would fight back at these unimaginable horrors and "right the ship of state." We have no guarantee, but we need to believe we can do it again instead of sinking into despair, which is easy to do.
I'm not minimizing what we are facing. We're all sick of having to fight the ugly underbelly of our country. But we don't need to tackle the next few years all at once. And we really have no idea what trememdous things we and our fellow defenders of democracy will be able to achieve to counter this current set of dangers. We need to take it one day at a time.
We also need to protect our nervous systems from the overwhelming barrage of dung that will be flung from the monkeys in Kevin's Circus. They will lie constantly. They always do. Expect it. They will accuse us of doing the bad things they are doing. They've done that for years. Expect it. They will smugly claim to be defending democracy. They're only fooling the MAGA crowd with that ridiculous line. Expect it. Don't let the Insurrectionist Circus, soon to be choreographed by the bellowing bully and expert liar who let student athletes in his charge be sexually molested and refused to help them, get under your skin with their stream of lies, gaslighting, lack of morals and lack of concern for their fellow citizens. Yes, it's disgusting how low the insurrectionists will go. But it's nothing new. Expect it.
We fought back against them once. We can do it again, step by step. Be kind to yourself and try to do things for at least a short while every day that will bring you joy.
Wishing you peace. Long live our democracy!
Very well said, CC. I am pinning to the top for other read. I will quote in the newsletter this evening.
Robert- I think your account has been hacked. I received the following comment linked to this newsletter:
I think Robert's account has been hacked - I received this message twice this morning. Idid not click the link or call the number. I went back to a news letter from January 7 and saw that other folks got the same message. It reads like this:
"Thank you for your remark! Always good catching up with you, Leave me a text I’ve got something beneficial to share with you
+15754590814"
I just got one also!
i got one about an hour ago.
Me too.
Ditto!!!
I received three of these in the last few minutes....
Thank you, Robert. That is a great compliment coming from you.
Yes, we need to be optimistic and know that the majority of the country, as shown in the last three elections are moving in the direction of sanity. I would add that not enough commentators are highlighting the fact that the Senate and the President will block/ignore whatever dangerous legislation these ignorant fools might pass. It will all be performative nonsense for their dwindling base. They cannot, on their own, cut Medicare or Social Security. If they hold the country hostage over the debt ceiling to try to do this, there are enough responsible Republicans in the House who would oppose this. So, yes, while we need to be aware, organized and active, we gain nothing by exhausting ourselves with worst case scenarios.
Thank you, CC. Many of us learned valuable lessons beginning in 2016. The hard lesson for me was paying too much attention before that election to every one of trump's ridiculous, horrid, perverse acts. The best lesson I learned was from Robert, which was to keep my eye on the ball, and that paid off in 2018. I am very impressed by the new Democratic leadership in the House, and how the entire caucus stayed focused and together. It's up to us as well to make certain that we call out every single thing the Republicans achieve, or even attempt. It will be important for their constituents to fully understand the consequences. We can do this!
We have to!!
Yes, this is what I was trying to hold onto. I think that many of us can do this, but not ALL of the time. It's okay to get frightened and say that. You are so right that the amount of "dung" we are processing on a daily basis is causing the PTSD to stick around. I think it is the same PTSD we've had for 6+ years now, which went into remission during some of the last 2 years. But we are not robots. And we are smart! There is trouble ahead; however, we are a strong group and we have a fearless, hopeful man writing brilliant analysis for us on a daily basis. God bless us everyone, as Tiny Tim said!
CC, this is such a great perspective. Thank you. In my mind, what has been missing is heroes who are Republican office holders. In my mind, the heroes have been the election workers, journalists, staffers, law enforcement, GOTV volunteers, some judges, etc. I am very hopeful that this will continue, and I think the "ship righters" will continue to grow in number. But, good grief, this is all so damning of entire political party leadership.
C C - Your post is exceptional. I would like to spread the message you offer far and wide. Do consider finding ways to share beyond Today’s Edition. Thank you very much.
C.C. I have read your post 3 times now. Each time, I have wanted to copy and post it to my FB page. Would you be ok with my doing so?
Hello John. Yes, it's fine if you post it to your FB page. I'm glad you like it. I would be happy if it helps even one person.
Take care. Have a good day!
Dear community, I wanted to ask for your prayers/thoughts/wishes/visionings, whatever you call the way we can connect with the non-physical energy of love that sustains us during tough times. I've joined my family in Manhattan for a time because my youngest sister is in the hospital with some pretty awful symptoms of the recurrence of cancer. I'm not quite able to get to sleep tonight so I'm grateful to be here. I've also suspended my daily sharing of Robert's newsletter for this time, though I hope to check in sometimes.
I've heard people say that social media communities are not as real as in person groups, but I have been quite comforted by being able to check in to my few communities . Thanks and blessings to you.
Sending healing prayers for you and your sister. May she be restored in body and spirit to full health.
Thank you Leslie.
Me, too.
Thinking of you and your sister, Terry, and sending prayers and warm thoughts. As a two-time cancer survivor, I know the difficulties of those symptoms. I pray that she'll have relief soon and will recover fully.
Thank you Denise. I'm so grateful to hear of your experience. May you continue to enjoy full health. We're meeting with the oncology team on Monday to see what they think about prognosis. This feels so different from when we lost our parents.
Because it is so, so different from that, Chaplain. So hard when it’s “us”.
Chaplain Terry,
You and your sister are held in my prayers. May your Faith guide and support you through this time.
Your sister must so much appreciate your loving care.
So sorry to hear this, Chaplain Terry. Thinking of you so much, and sending warmest prayers for your sister’s recovery. Sounds really, really hard.
Chaplain Terry, it may sound strange though earlier this evening I thought of you. In part having to do with today as the feast of the Epiphany, and something related to it. Also because I have noticed your comments in Robert's newsletter and in Jessica's too, and I am aware of their absence lately.
And do check in with us when you feel you have the energy, and if time and attention allow. We'll want to hear how you are doing. May love sustain you and yours at this difficult time. 💜
Hoping for your sister’s recovery and peace for you and your family.
Thank you Janice.
Chaplain, I hold you and your sister in my heart, and send my positive intentions to her.
Thank you Ally.
I do too, Chaplain Terry. Positive intentions/prayer are powerful. See Lynne Mctaggarts book Power of Eight.
Terry,
This IS a community. And while I don't do "Ts and Ps"...I feel your challenges and worries. Been there. Wishing you strength and..... thank you for all your contributions.
Perfectly said, Bill.
The circumstances that you and your sister currently face are certainly analogous to the circumstances we all face with McCarthy’s election as Speaker last night. (They are also analogous to circumstances all us personally have faced or are also currently facing or probably will face at some future time, hence most of us we can easily understand and empathize with you and your sister.)
I join others in offering understanding and empathy, not advice, for you and your sister as you confront fear and uncertainty while experiencing pain and anguish. I believe that God is with us in our suffering and offers two gifts to all of us for alleviating (if not eliminating) it: (1) recognizing that “realism” applies only to the present and past, not the future and (2) hope enables us to imagine or yearn for future circumstances - and thus work toward - the creation or restoration of circumstances that we recognize as “blessed.”
My own experience has taught me that heeding the countlessly-expressed Biblical command, “fear not,” - as difficult as that can be - results in a return to the hopefulness that enables me to get beyond the paralyzing despair or depression that can result from suffering (regardless of its cause, whether disease, grief, injustice, and even political craziness).
My continuing prayer is that you and your sister, and the rest of the Hubbell community, will acknowledge the reality of our current troubling or painful circumstances and hopefully think and act to create or restore the blessed circumstances we yearn for!
Sad for your sister, Chaplain, cancer is such a deadly thing. My own mother died of it when I was only 6. I am 90 now. But medicine has made such great advances since then. I do believe in prayer. We may not understand how it works but it is a form of sending healing energy and certainly good and positive thoughts around the person. And there are those who believe that we all pass on to a greater life ahead, and if true those who have gone before us hear our prayer too and as loved ones. they gather around the one who is sick.I have often wondered why some are taken so young and others live to a ripe old age. I don't know if there is an answer for that. It doesn't seem fair, but perhaps there is a very deep reason, that we are all here for a specific purpose and when that purpose has been served it is time to move on to a greater purpose.
How sad that you lost your mother at such a young age, Robert. And that you write with such wisdom all these years later, and without a mother along the way, from there to here. Perhaps she guided you without your knowing. Or maybe you sensed it along the way. I love the image of those who have gone before us, gathering around our sick loved ones. And I suppose we can only hope that those of us who remain can fulfill and serve a greater good and purpose.
During the Chanukah and Christmas season, my sister was in a life threatening situation. She lives in Israel. The miraculous updates we have been receiving over the past few days on Delmar Hamlin were very similar to hers. She is now doing great in rehab in Tel Aviv. I truly believe in the power of prayer and good thoughts and I am sending them both to your sister and you! xoxo
I'm sending you and your family prayers/thoughts/wishes and healing energy. I'm so sorry you are struggling with this right now. I hope you can find moments of joy even in the midst of this challenge. It's important to know you are not alone, and you are not. Though we've never met, I'm holding your heart...
Sending warm thoughts and prayers to you and your family during this tough time.
Thank you Bonnie.
Dear Chaplain Nicholetti. I wish you and your family peace, love and solace at this time and refuge in the Loving Divine Consciousness that is at our core and connects us all.
Sending prayers your way, Chaplain, for your sister, for you, for your entire family.
Chaplain Terry, I will keep you and your sister in my prayers. May you find strength in the love so many of us will be sending your way.
Blessings to you and your sister. I enjoy your posts and look forward to seeing them again when you are able. I've just finished episodes of radiation for a small cancer, caught early. I just want to say the treatment is all-consuming for the patient and loved ones. I was comforted by other survivors and wonderful staff. May it be that way for you.
Love and healing hugs to you and your family, Terry. As a 45 year cancer survivor, I understand your family’s pain. All my best to you and yours.
The speaker debacle happened because no one in Congress or the Presidency has been held accountable. Gaetz, Boebert and trump should all be in jail by now. The Justice Dept can’t possibly need even more evidence.
What about challenging the seating of members of Congress based on the XIVth amendment proscription of individuals who « engaged in resurrection » against the United States? Why won’t that argument hold as members are seated and their delegations examined?
Nothing seems to hold anymore. The Republicans are being allowed to do whatever they want to destroy our great country. No one seems strong enough to be able stand up to them.
There will be another insurrection because certain politicians will lead their followers on. I pray for our country everyday.
Gaetz thinks he is making a name for himself. The name I have in mind for him I won't say on line.
Challenge away! Yet, somehow we must persuade the voters who elected them that they deserve better elected leaders.
Sadly they won't listen.
It's coming. See the 2 new prosecutors hired by Jack Smith.
Yes, but that's what I thought when Mueller came on board in 2017. Nada!
Very different circumstances now! New Admin, new AG, etc.
Same old Teflon Don, though. I hope you are right!
I hope that you are correct.
Yes!!
Honestly I feel sick, similar to the way I did the night the worst president in our history was elected. The DOJ and legal proceedings have taken too long. Two years to the day from Jan. 6 these traitors gain the power to do grave damage to our country and the world. I hope some of Roberts readers can talk me down. 😢
Nauseated by this disgusting turn, just read moments ago. And on the Anniversary of 1/6/21 for cryin' out loud. Don't they have children/grandchildren/heck greatgrands????? How can they face
their kids. They're just determined to pulverize every bit of goodness. Please let this be the final straw for most Americans which in the Democracy I appreciate is what is needed to make change.
I'll be welcoming my first Grandchild (It's A Girl!!!) in March. I. can't. lose. HOPE.
Soooo grateful to the Hubbell Dynamic Duo who despite the most awful news some days, keep my spirits up. Some would consider a bizarro Lullaby but there can't be lights out 'til I've "Hubbelled" ;)
~ Lakewood, Colorado SuperFan
Lisa, I'm in nearby Centennial and welcomed a new grandson in October. Welcome to yours!!!
I, too, ask how 'they' can put themselves and their evil intentions before the wellbeing of their children. And then I say oh yeah, they're sociopaths. There is hope, though, in that their followers are more of the gullible and needy sort rather than a majority of sociopaths themselves.
I'm Lauren in Aurora. Let's have a [front range] Colorado get together of fans of Hubbell and like-minded concerned citizens.
Congratulations Wendy Eck and Lisa Young. Take heart. Hakeem Jeffries is a blessing, his address was eyo d gracious, magnificent, he had me in tears.
Also, myriads and myriads of Democratic grassroots leaders and volunteers are working the clock around for 2023 Special Elections as well as building infrastructure for 2024 for the Blue Wave needed to serve the American people.
President Biden promptly called the new Speaker after 1:00 AM to congratulate him.
There is much goodness in this world.
Thanks re our newborn grandson! And for your positivity. Every little bit helps.
Congrats on your first grandchild! We just have to continue to fight and teach the younger generations to carry the fight forward.
I'm Lauren in Aurora. Let's have a [front range] Colorado get together of like-minds.
I've also been thinking about getting together. Others, like Janet, live on the western slope and may want to join in via zoom. Lots of possibilities.
Email me? wendyeck@comcast.net
Love “Hubbelled” - I do the same every night!
I agree that the Dynamic Duo keep me from despair, especially today. Our survival may be threatened! That is no joke, and can't be accepted! I trust Biden and the Democrats from allowing this to happen. This kind of insanity just reinforces my feeling that we must re-elect Joe Biden! Talk about hope!
I am in Colorado, also. Central Park.
Let's have a Colorado [front range] get together. I'm Lauren in Aurora.
I was thinking the same thing! I am on Instagram at Coloradoleah so can be messaged there.
just got on IG, requested... I'm weinstocklauren [for an artist/writer, not a very imaginative "handle"].
Haha! It is fine! Accepted!
We still have Biden- worth remembering
And it’s important to support Biden, especially when certain Democrats, who should know better, undermine his Administration by openly seeking another presidential candidate for 2024. Let Biden be President – as effective a President as possible – to restrain the Forces of Darkness.
I am over here sobbing. Politics has made me cry like this three times. When Trump was elected, on January 6, and when I read this newsletter. I’m 64 years old and it doesn’t look like I will ever be able to retire. I’ve been putting money in the Social Security system my whole working life, that is my money. They have no right to take it away. I’m devastated. Again.
There is no plan to take it away entirely. They may try to raise retirement add or reduce benefits. I believe the American people will stop them.
Maybe you could point this out in one of your newsletters? All I read is that the Republicans want to kill Social Security, I really had to dig to learn that it doesn't mean Social Security will simply vanish into thin air and leave those that have it as their only source of money out in the cold. Thank you for writing your newsletter, it is a comfort like sitting and talking with a trusted relative or friend.
That's the mainstream media for ya: catastraphizing (sp?). But the rethugs want us shaking in our boots. They've learned nothing about millennials and GenZ's from the most recent election.
Something I've started telling my old friends from Red northeastern Ohio where I grew up: People are people. In fact, all people are our relatives. It is amazing to see and hear their very positive reactions to those statements.
Robert, am I right about it taking 2/3 of both houses of Congress to override a Presidential veto?
I remember Richard Nixon’s Saturday Night Massacre. Where I was located, it really was a Dark and Stormy Night. I was scared – almost certain we were headed into dictatorship … but it was not to be (fortunately).
The US eventually survived Nixon. We’ve survived Trump and Trumpsters, so far. Nancy Pelosi is standing by Hakeem Jeffries, who probably needs little help. They may be able to split off a few House Republicans when really destructive actions loom (only a few votes will be needed).
This is far less than optimism, but it does temper pessimism. My mood: somewhat like shell-shocked, but capable of recovery.
I feel much the same, except their shenanigans have been exposed by some people of fearless integrity, including this newsletter. It was much worse in early days when we were gaslighted all the time. (I hate that!) Keep focusing on "the helpers" (and us.) Thank heavens for the good guys. Thank heavens for the company of like-minded, good-hearted people.
Janice Radder,
Hakeem Jeffries address had me in tears. Magnificent.
Have faith.
Leaders and volunteers of countless Democrat grassroots are tirelessly working the clock around for 2023 Special Elections, doing research, inviting candidates to speak, learning about rural and underserved communities, telephoning, texting, knocking on doors, and more to build the Blue Wave needed to protect our Democracy, while also preparing for the 2024 national elections and the crucial State Legislative and other elections.
Hakeem Jeffries is a blessing, he will bring Light to this dark time.
Please kindly forgive this rant from a novice postcard writer, and Vote Forward veteran letter writer.
Thank you Nancy - that helps. I heard/watched his incredible speech. We are on the side of goodness and truth. That IS a lot!
Stunning tv tonight with Mike Rogers trying to hit Matt Gaetz but what is clear is Trump owns McCarthy who has such craven ambition that he has sold everything out to be speaker. My view is that the change in the rules makes it clear that sooner any one of the twenty dissidents can cause a repeat of this evening and it will only take four to remove McCarthy. And that’s assuming Santos is not extradited to Brazil (jk). But mire seriously Biggs Good Gaetz Rosendale Boebert etc have the real power over McCarthy. Excuse my language - but what a cluster
I keep wondering if someone scarier than trump owns McCarthy 🤔.
I've been hopeful, Robert, because I keep thinking the Senate and the White House can reject any rabid legislation the House may concoct.
What is WRONG with those people? I don't suppose they can literally be stupid. I've never known anyone so base, so mean, so short-sighted, and I taught middle school for 37 years🤯!
What if someone scarier than Trump owns Trump? Never forget Helsinki...
I think the evil emperor is going down. I really do. Not that he won't cause havoc and harm on the way out, but his clay feet are being exposed to the entire world.
Yup!
I also keep wondering if someone scarier than trump owns McCarthy.
Did you know that the Unification Church cult fervently backs Donald Trump? Nixon and Reagan, George Bush, Mike Pence, Dick Cheney, and Trump have participated at church-affiliated events as recently as last summer.
The assassination last summer of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe unearthed long-suspected, little-talked-of links between him and a religious group that started in South Korea but has spread its influence around the world. Abe was known for his arch-conservative views on security and history issues and appeared in events organized by the Unification Church's affiliates, including one in September 2021.
After Japan, the second pillar of the Unification Church outside its home country has always been the United States. It fervently backs Donald Trump. What if the prevailing political wind in America were to investigate Koreagate? Full disclosure might finally spell the end of the cult in the United States.
At the height of the Watergate scandal in 1973, Moon organised ‘God Loves Richard Nixon’ rallies. Members of the Unification Church prayed and fasted in front of the Capitol, and in 1974 Nixon publicly thanked Moon for his support.
Ronald Reagan loved the Washington Times, the holding company of the Washington Times was Moon’s Unification Church. The paper was meant to be a conservative counterweight to the liberal Washington Post that had been instrumental in driving Nixon from office. Reagan read the Washington Times every day of his nine-year presidency. “The American people know the truth. You, my friends at the Washington Times, have told it to them,” he said in 1997.
In the United States, it remains to be seen whether the national media will finally focus on the Rev. Sun Myung Moon and his alliance with George Bush who has spoken at high-profile Moon events on three continents.
What the Moons seek to accomplish with their riches is chilling to consider. As Frederick Clarkson’s book Eternal Hostility (Common Courage Press, 1997) explains, Unification church operatives “have been close to neofascist movements all over the world.” In the mid-1980s, Moon, who told followers he is the Messiah, served more than a year in federal prison after he was convicted of tax fraud.
….
John Gorenfeld’s 2008 nonfiction book Bad Moon Rising: The Strange Untold Story of a Cult Leader, his Newspaper and the Right, is now available free in convenient PDF form. It’s about the ongoing romance between conservative politicians and the Unification Church, the 1970s “Moonies” cult. https://www.gorenfeld.net/badmoonrising/
The Dark Shadow Cast by Moon Sun Myung’s Unification Church and Abe Shinzo | The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus
https://apjjf.org/2022/17/McGill.html
I watched until late last night and one of the MSNBC commentators on the floor during this, Simone maybe?, said that when she asked Boebert about the need to get this passed and people sworn in, she said something to the effect, "Well, there's really no hurry and we're not spending any money at this point, so that's a good thing." Yes, they are that stupid and misinformed. And they are living in a bubble of like-minded gaslighting, lying individuals so they really don't know how to be part of a functioning government process. They haven't a clue. Everything they do has been focused on themselves and their power.
I wonder if Boebert expected her paycheck, and her staff’s paychecks, to arrive while the House was in suspended animation.
I don't think the MAGAT contingent will even consider the likely consequences of their threats to shut down the gov't if they don't get their way. That could likely result in the U.S. defaulting on our debts and could well very create another world wide Depression, possibly even worse than the 1929 one, since there's so much globalization of corporations that has been allowed to happen.
You ask an excellent question: CAN a Democrat submit a "motion to vacate"? I would love to know that.
Yes.
Excellent! Then I would guess he's not going to last more than a few minutes as Speaker. (I would also love to know what drove him to persist through FIFTEEN attempts to get what he wanted. Weird.)
He’ll do his best to hang on to the job at least long enough to qualify for that Speaker portrait!
Ego.
Still don't get it - if it's all about ego, why didn't he retreat with his tail between his legs ( ;-) ) after getting defeated once or twice? It just doesn't make sense to me.
Glory be!
The Republicans who are staying quiet right now seem to be afraid. Maybe they feel they will be attacked. It's such a sad state of affairs.
I like the way you think!
Yes indeed but they won’t because they don’t have the numbers
That honor of you will belongs to the republican majority
The crazies don't have the numbers to actually remove the Speaker either. It's just a performative play on their part and a tool for further disruption.
Not trying to be argumentative but they have 212 Dems who would vote for it and that’s 98% there. Any four of five republicans can vote to remove along with the Dems who would love it as it shows the craziness of today’s Republican Party. It is a straight up yay or nay vote mad my guess is that as all spending begins in the house that things could go wrong easily to KM
I expect Democrats in the House will be chary of trying to topple McCarthy from the Speakership. It would tar them with chaos-making, when Biden and they have tried to represent good sense and stability. They can let Republicans shoot holes in their own boat.
My comment is simple: to just briefly quote from your newsletter and say what a sad day for America and in particular senior citizens whose only income is Social Security and who will become homeless because they will be unable to pay their rent if this promise is followed through and kept by McCarthy and his other financially comfortable mean spirited cold blooded cohorts. ". . . McCarthy effectively agreed that the US will default on its debt and impose massive cuts on Medicare and Social Security. In other words, Kevin McCarthy sold out tens of millions of Americans and agreed to wreck the full faith and credit of the United States to become Speaker. There has never been a more corrupt bargain in the history of our nation. Much more about that bargain in the days to come . . . "
I hope I have overstated the case. I hope that Republicans will blink when they realize that they will punish senior citizens by using the debt ceiling as a cudgel.
Is this something the House can accomplish on its own or can the Senate stop these mean spirited goals?
The problem is that the House can hold the Senate hostage by refusing to increase the debt limit. Will the Senate stand by and allow the US credit rating to be trashed and people / agencies owned money by the federal government to be stiffed?
Very true. On the other hand, would all those who voted for McCarthy also refuse to increase the debt limit? Is there any chance that some of those might cross over?
They seem incapable of deep, constructive thought. Someone above likened them to hormonal middle schoolers. They are being driven by visceral forces, money, but not by intellect. In part, they disdain intellect and think they are so cute when acting out. Ugh, at least the teenagers grow out of it!
The scary part is the high percentage of older Americans who voted Republican knowing that this was a priority for some but not believing it could actually happen.
Not only senior citizens, but millions of invisible people with disabilities who cannot support themselves, which includes my 40 yr. old son with intellectual and physical disabilities.
They are MONSTERS.
Will they not hear from their elderly constituents and their families about this? I hope they are capable of blinking!
And there’s ALOT of Republican senior citizens!
Could there be a move to take back the money WE have already put in the pot, i.e. truly STEAL our money?
Remember: it will take only a few House Republicans. Some would be ready to retire in due course, others may simply stick by principles.
However, they would have to be prepared to endure political excommunication and obloquy.
Yes, that thought has crossed my mind too.
In regards to your concerns about the safety for the 2 top members of the U.S. Gov't-let us not forget that many of that MAGAT cohort boast about their guns and their followers are pretty easily persuaded to use their guns as well.
I forgot to mention that there seems to be no consideration that we have paid into social security all our lives. What happens to that money? Also while cutting our income, will MCCarthy and the other GOP members who vote along with him cut their salaries too? I mean why pick on the poor and the elderly?
They will cut by raising the retirement age and limit increases compared to inflation.
So Robert are you assuming that Republican congressmen will keep social security? What part of their retirement begs the need for social security? They will discard social security and call it the single biggest boon to the American economy since the eminent collapse of the New Deal. I’m sorry, Robert, but they are out to cut your throat and you are holding out hope that they will do so reasonably. Don’t shoot me, I’m just an old truck driver who has been to every loading dock in America and my view comes from blood on the docks not literary genius.
Oh! Still bad news, but not the worst-case scenario. However, the worst-case scenario could be right around the corner from that!
Ending Social Security and Medicare is like advertising that you're a heartless, self-absorbed jerk with no concern for the good of your country or its citizens. I don't think most low income or even middle class Republicans know how anxious Republican politicians have been to end those programs.
What seems short sighted is that Social Security and Medicare are not just paid to Democrats. Many Republican voters may not realize that their Social Security and Medicare are in jeopardy until the insurrectionist caucus votes to cut or obliterate those payments. The opposition to that will come from voters who are Democrats, Republicans and Independents.
I'll never forget when years ago, an older, white woman who seemed to be low income and not too educated was on TV at some political gathering. She was vehemently against Democrats and then said the government better keep its hands off of her Social Security (and/or Medicare.) She clearly had no idea that these payments were coming to her because of Democrats and that Republicans have always been eager to end them.
I'd be interested to see the faces of all those uninformed pro-trump Republican voters who depend on Social Security and Medicare when they learn that their beloved party is working to rip that money out of their hands. The question is, if they only listen to Fox etc., will they ever find out unless it becomes a done deal?
Please note, if it becomes a done deal it will be while we have a Democratic president. Thus it will be blamed on the Democrats as taking away their Social Security, and forever attached to their name. As we’ve seen many times lately with today’s press, the Democrats are always blamed repeatedly, while the Republican’s actions are ignored.
Cathleen,
It can’t be a done deal without the Senate approving and President Biden signing the legislation. Zero chance of that!
However, the (Republican) House of Representatives has the power — and inclination — to block Social Security cost-of-living increases.
Thank you, Michael, for the reminder that we are still blessed with President Biden and the Senate. Hard not to get caught up in all the fears surrounding this House mess. Think I’ll put a post it on my mirror to remind me. 😊
True! Thank heavens Pres Biden knows that which is why he and Veep are touring and making public all their good deeds. I carry a little list of items that help us all just for those family diners and certain husbands of friends who are on the R train to peril.
What a great idea Hope! Think I’ll create one on my phone for just such events.
"Why pick on the poor and the elderly?" Because they can. The poor and elderly don't have lobbyists or PACs, and they're widely considered expendable.
Because they can.
Surely you jest! Your last sentence has to be sarcasm.
I am one of those seniors. I've been a bit out of touch - did McCarthy get the vote with these agreements?
He has agreed to rules that commit the GOP to refusing to increase the debt limit unless there are massive cuts. The only place those cuts can come is from Medicare, Social Security, and defense. But I hope that Republicans will blink because tens of millions of Americans will rise up to let them know they will never control Congress again if they cut Social Security and Medicare.
Yes, that's another thing, plenty of Republicans are elderly and on social security too and they voted for these guys, also as I mentioned earlier, do they plan to cut their own salaries proportionately? Not a chance!
At one time, I thought that this version of the GOP also cared what their constituents think. That Social Security and Medicare would be sacred. Now I believe that there are members of the House that are rabid - beyond reason. Filled with anger. Lost in a self created battle against the rest of us.
Ironically, I believe many of these lunatics should have been expelled from the House a long time ago - the day they voted against the people's vote.
And of course, there are the ones who welcomed the mob into the Capitol building.
I feel as if we are in a really bad unbelievable movie.
Unfortunately millions of Americans are (mis)informed by right wing media outlets and will only hear the lies crafted by far right. How many people believe still the Big Lie? And these folks will continue to vote for the same people even as they lose their retirement money and healthcare and blame Dems because Fox TV is their only source of information.
Thank you for offering your sensible comment. I find so many of the other’s comments understandable but made from hysteria.
Yes Leslie, probably the sky is not falling. Republicans are really just joking around. Kidding you might say. I am laughing hysterically. Probably back to 20 hours a day in a big truck so people can have their toilet paper and orange juice. Ha ha ha ha. Totally hysterical!!!
You rock!
But if they were to do this…it would not make it through the Senate and the President would never sign it…right?
Just the fact that 10 gerrymandered extreme representatives (and their dark money) think they can run (ruin) this country and the citizens who did not elect them will sit idol…I don’t think so. What chaos looms ahead?
Yes, that sounds most likely.
No, even with that, he was one vote short. What else is he going to have to offer up?
I remain hopeful because it appears that Republicans finally have hit bottom, making it easier for Dems to win in 2024. Taking away the rights of women was a shocker that woke up and stirred young and female voters to unexpected wins in 2022. Cutting or even trying to cut Medicare would be another shocker that will likely wake up and stir older and rural voters to realize that Republicans really do not care about them.
I hope you are correct. I know a lot of Republicans and they are still defending whatever their Repolitician politicians say. I am very scared.
I want to be hopeful. But once they take away something it could take years to get it back. We are angry and protesting and working to get votes after the horrifying dobbs ruling. But the right to privacy and bodily autonomy is almost lost and they are carving away at the remains. If they make a devastating attack on SS and Medicare it could be decades to repair, probably not in my lifetime anyway. I appreciate the hope. I know our side is on the side of what is good and righteous, but we will need to rebuild.
I am also trying very hard not to lose hope. We are on a slippery slope and sliding fast.
Well, to watch that play out for all the world to see was quite the Deja vu of Jan 6th 2021. Only this time it was INSIDE the House with all members present, not hiding in basements or under seats with gas masks on. I blame Merrick Garland for this fiasco and hope that Jack Smith can put it right before next Jan 6th. At least 6 of those fools will be indicted I hope.
As for the debt ceiling, Social Security and default, I really don’t think 200 Republicans in the House will go along with that, and certainly not the Senate, especially before the 2024 elections, unless they are truly lemmings jumping off a cliff together! The people in the midterms warned them not to fool around. The fact that these 20 holdouts are both deaf and dumb to that vote is to their peril, not the county’s. McCarthy is beyond contempt in his courting of the MAGA crowd. Didn’t he get the memo that Mr MAGA is now Mr Magoo??
I hope you are right about the House not following through on the debt limit. One scenario that might avoid a default is if the GOP Wall Street overlords tell them to knock it off.
I like to think a lot of GOP funders, and possibly ALEC, are already angrily calling their GOP electeds. If Boebert, Gaetz, MTG, and other yahoos are in charge, the US economy will tank. Goodby exorbitant CEO salaries, bonuses, and stock buy-backs.
Yes, I think the key to this avenue is that there may be more House GOP members in the pockets of Wall Street than the neo-lunatic fringe. We will have to sit through more rabid theater to know for sure. I hope they crumble.
There’s a lot of scholarship saying that the separate authorization of the debt limit ceiling is a constitutional fiction and that when a Congress passes a budget it is also thereby implicitly authorizing a debt ceiling increase. If Biden simply ignores the debt limit, there is much the treasury can do to get around the “debit ceiling.”
Hope so. The President can mint that "Trillion Dollar Coin"?
Thank you for your remark! Always good catching up with you, Leave me a text I’ve got something beneficial to share with you
+15754590814
Exactly what I was thinking.. the big money won't like that at all.
Yes. The Oligarchs who pull the strings of our shadow government are not going to watch their fortunes go down the chute.
And on an optimistic note, HOW they knock it off is by forming a coalition with a portion of the Democratic caucus. I continue to believe that this may occur some time over the next two years. Either the Republican financial overlords will demand it, or the process of repeated motions to vacate and multiple speakers may lead us to it. The 21 are basically a radical coalition. One coalition tends to beget others—which could be to our relative advantage.
Hope so!!
Robert,
You say “One scenario that might avoid a default is if the GOP Wall Street overlords tell them to knock it off.” That would be obvious if House Republicans were the old-fashioned kind. However, many of them are anti-establishment (David Brooks calls them nihilists); such folks won’t care what Wall Street wants.
Let’s hope they are too few to rule Congress on the Debt Limit.
I can’t believe or understand how the GOP is getting away with their blatant plan to destroy our country! Has there ever been a more corrupt political party in the history of our nation? Isn’t there anything we can do? Why aren’t Trump and his cronies in prison? I read that the GOP has eliminated the requirement for metal detectors. Are they planning mass murder of the Democrats?
Very scared about the metal detectors. I want our representatives to be safe. And for our country to be safe. The congress and the Supreme Court are destructive forces.
The scariest thing to me is the voters who put some of these people back in office in the midterms and some of the people who still worship trump and the far right. We are here in this mess because of these people and what does that tell you? An extreme minority rule because many of the voters are either incredibly ignorant or just as like these people...mean, racist, anti immigrants, antisemitic, anti science, anti poor and on and on. Frightening to say the least.
Today I have very mixed feelings about the future of this country. The circus in the House is full of very bad portents. Yes, McCarthy's Faustian bargain with the crypto-fascist right will bring a tsunami of policy changes that the right has always wanted. They have a laundry list that has been in the making since they organized to remove FDR from office in a coup that did not happen. And McConnell's 6-3 SCOTUS will cement their "revolution". They will criminalize progressive change (laws against fossil fuel divestment for eg.) and will destroy the social safety net, and basically bring back the Confederacy. The 6-3 Court will make "state's rights" the beacon around the "interposition and nullification" that Martin Luther King decried. Indeed they might even remove the holiday, state by state. They are not far from calling for a Constitutional Convention they have dreamed of since Reagan.
My worst fear is that Americans are not up for a fight. Lost in their respective bubbles of social media and Instagram narcissism, they are oblivious to the peril we face. Even sadder is the hijacking of the Left by the pseudo-progressive project of the professional managerial class in higher education, big non-profits, and mid-level government. They will bicker over pronouns and identity and gender and even their version of race issues, fueling the culture war that animates the base of the new right and destroying the institutions that are there to organize a mass movement.
As I face retirement (I am years away at 68 for lack of pension money and insufficient social security) I will see my Medicare get gutted, social security privatized, skyrocketing housing costs, and the war on cities that the knuckle dragging conservatives want to wage. With luck I can retire in Mexico, where I grew up and watch the great unraveling from the edges.
(Just to be clear, I am an over-educated (PhD from Berkeley) underpaid community college adjunct professor. My average annual income over the last 20 years has been 62kUSD/yr. I have juggled three jobs in that period of time and I still rent (CA resident) and don't even own my car. I am a very out gay man with a mixed Latino background. I have been a "socialist" since I was 13. So, no, my criticism of what has happened to the Left comes from being inside it and not outside looking in.)
The biggest tragedy is the yawn that the climate crisis seems to have provoked in most Americans even as we see the impacts every day that also worsen. People's minds are hooked on gossip and celebrity and the dance of the billionaires. We have lost any cultural glue that allowed for consensus in the past. My students do not read newspapers or broadcast news (that is worth watching) and don't like reading books. My colleagues tell me with a straight face that this is not bad. They tell me TikTok is better to reach the younger generation (young people can never be wrong, right?) than having them read a book. Most American homes don't have books or good ones at least. We are reaping the harvest of a hypocritically Calvinist society with deep roots in anti-intellectualism and religion that is based on sensational experiences that take place in stadiums led by corrupt millionaires.
Americans are steeped in magical thinking and super-heroes. I am told that my "pessimism is not good for my mental health". Yes, Americans believe that optimism, no matter how unjustified, is itself a virtue that leads to "mindfulness and wellness". So self delusion is better than reality. "Visualize and Manifest" placards make me sick. If you are on the right, Jesus is coming. If you are on the Left, changing language is revolutionary. I could just scream but I am running out of gas for yet another round of go nowhere "debates".
George Leddy
I agree with your sentiments and disappointments. But the House of Representatives can create trouble by delay. They can't unilaterally change law.
There will be two years of ridiculous drama and maybe some financial chaos. But consider that the DOJ actually might be arresting some of these clowns. And that 4 vote majority may not last for long.
I hear your lament and I feel your distress. But I am working on having a good day.
I'm sorry, but it's far worse than that. The extremists who now control the House fully intend to allow a government shut down. They have zero interest in the consequences.
They will not compromise on the debt ceiling. They have zero interest in the consequences.
McCarthy has no ideology or principles... he won the Speakership...that was his only goal. He doesn't care if he looks weak...he has no policies he cares about passing. He wanted to win to check off a box and set himself up for a post-Congress 7-figure lobbying position. He's already named himself the 'Comeback Kid'...expect his 15-vote path to be whitewashed by the GOP and media alike, and expect Trump to claim victory for this win.
The Senate can block much legislation, but the House controls the purse strings.
Those who believe the corporate world will stop a default are kidding themselves. Corporations donated millions to the campaigns of these House members.
Those who believe that a 'saner faction' in the House will stop a government shutdown are likewise kidding themselves. There were 4 days for a group of these 'sane' members to walk across the aisle and broker a deal with Jeffries. Not only did they fail to do so, but they voted for every insane demand by MTG and Gaetz.
So no optimism in sight, just a 2nd insurrection in 2 years, and a glimpse of what we can expect from state legislators if we don't stop them at the state level in 2024.
Like that thought. Hope!
Please take hope in all of the people of integrity who are working to counter all of this. It's the perennial struggle, but we can find refuge in each other.
George, please write more. You, writing from your experiences in California, might just impact a few readers. And since the readers here agree with you, you might impact someone who is influential to round out their arguments. You might even influence someone from Texas who has spent the last 20 or 30 years disparaging California.
Wow! Just wow! I hear you and feel your frustration and distress. Your post so clearly states what we are up against and it’s overwhelming.
This is an excellent comment. You have great insight and are spot on.
I am fearful of the short-term consequences of Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House: debt default, dramatic funding cuts, fiscal irresponsibility that could roil the capital markets. However, the long-term effects may be disastrous for the Republican Party, with one proviso: the Democrats must remind voters over and over in 2024 that the Republicans tried to use chaos and disruption as tools of government in 2023. What I can’t understand is why responsible members of the Republican Party haven’t been able to isolate the “crazies”. Why can’t they form of “coalition government” with Democrats and put in place a structure that will effectively disempower the disrupters?
Sadly I do not believe there are any responsible members of the other party. And IF any are they are meek and scared.
There are 5-6 months before the debt ceiling and other showdowns will occur. That’s an eternity in contemporary American politics. Let’s hope Democrats, Independents, and sane Republicans will begin to rein in the crazies before next June.
This business with Santos has got me thinking that the best use of the Democratic parties time and energy now would be to investigate every last Republican office holder and donor. My instincts tell me that his con is the tip of the iceberg.
AARP has 38 million members that aren’t going to play these gop games, if they think we’re going to just sit by and let what we’ve paid into with every paycheck of our lives be stolen, they’re really just fools.
Here’s a thought- if the government isn’t funded and functional, (that means paying debts incurred) then there’s no reason to pay federal taxes, including the pay and benefits of Congress. Economic hostage taking could backfire on them.
Please don’t get caught up in handwringing and panic. We have power, time to use it.
Well said! “...if they think we’re going to just sit by and let what we’ve paid into with every paycheck of our lives be stolen, they’re really just fools”. I am trying not to get caught up in the hand wringing. I am grateful that I have the good fortune of living in a state with a fair electoral map, Michigan. Even more grateful thanks to the new map I no longer live in a district represented by a worshipper of the “Orange Jesus”. I am now represented by the Honorable Dan Kildee. Thank God!
So grateful for Michigan's fair map!
The only way out of the sewer is up…. 🙏🏻
Given that these are not people of integrity, I suppose we can hope McCarthy will simply "forget" the craven promises he's made to the radical fringe in order to secure the speakership. (We can certainly bet Gaetz, Boebert, et al won't keep any "promises" they've made.)
Maybe he’ll beat the record of the last British Prime Minister, who lasted 6 weeks. But will whoever follows him be worse?
I am struggling to contain my anger and mixed feelings. While they founder and concede, I worry about the implications for us as we go forward. There is so much unknown, and I hope the Democrats, in their unity, continue in order to give us hope and stability. The biggest question is what can I do as an individual to stride against these darker threats.
thank u Mary Alice..... yes anger and mixed feelings.... here's something:
His holiness the Dalai Lama reminds us that the anger that arises when we identify exploitation and social injustice can be useful. Most especially when we ourselves transform and use that anger to exercise small simple daily acts of compassion toward others.... regardless of their politics ....
I'm working on it myself..
May be good to remember that this is not the end of the story. These people will receive huge pressure from every side, including the Senate and high-rollers, not to do something(s) completely stupid and upend the country's economy. So, while it looks dire (I was naively holding out for a different speaker-solution involving the Dems...darn!) there is going to be a whole lot going on that's not apparent to the public right now. This is my prediction, although no crystal ball here. I'm finding for myself, important to keep slow-breathing and big view... because two years in a state of hand wringing (like we had with the previous prez) is to be avoided. (self-reminder!)
Thank you, Diane. You made a very important point! We need to do whatever will keep us from going over the cliff emotionally and/or physically. Slow deep breaths in (and out!), keeping the big picture in mind AND not taking in too much media about our politics is very important.
It's easy to become glued to programs and articles about the latest move by the fascist Republicans when they are in power. But too much negative news about such vicious, morally bankrupt people is overwhelming and can lead to mental and physical problems.
We need to make time--even if it's just 15 minutes--every day for things that help us relax and bring us joy, no matter what's going on in the rest of the world.
Thank you. The House and its Clowns can't operate in a vacuum. The people who bought their elections, for example, don't want a belly up US of A.