Just Some More Politics Today
House politics today as most Repubs and Dems support the House funding bill. Democrat Jake Auchincloss of Massachusetts and Mike Quigley of Illinois voted against the passage of House Speaker’s Mike Johnson’s stopgap funding bill to avert a government shutdown. With the two Dems, Ninety-three Republicans voted against it also. The bill passed. A similar bill as what former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy supported.
The Democratic House leadership, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA), and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-CA) and Vice Chair Ted Lieu (D-CA), released a statement saying:
“From the very beginning of the Congress, House Democrats have made clear that we will always put people over politics and try to find common ground with our Republican colleagues wherever possible, while pushing back against Republican extremism whenever necessary.
That is the framework through which we will evaluate all issues before us this Congress. We have consistently made clear that a government shutdown would hurt the economy, our national security and everyday Americans during a very fragile time and must be avoided. To that end, House Democrats have repeatedly articulated that any continuing resolution must be set at the fiscal year 2023 spending level, be devoid of harmful cuts and free of extreme right-wing policy riders. The continuing resolution before the House today meets [those] criteria and we will support it.”
November 14, 2023, Letters from an American, Prof. Heather Cox Richardson
House passes stopgap bill to avert government shutdown, CNN Politics, Clare Foran and Haley Talbot
And they’ve gone home for a ten day holiday …
Maybe things are looking up in the House of Reps with the new Speaker that the Dems arranged for after not supporting the retention of the previous one.
They supported their own candidate, Hakeem Jefferies and if any of the “moderate” Republicans had voted for him we’d have a functioning House of Rep. But no, there are not even 5 “moderates.” Zero Democratic Reps “arranged” anything. It was all on the MAGAs who are still running the show. Johnson’s on borrowed time.
Indeed, if some of the ‘moderate’ GOP Reps would only have voted for Jeffries to be the Speaker, then we could have had a Dem Speaker for a GOP controlled House. (They also most got that accomplished when McCarthy was first installed back in January.)
Accomplished? Magas are doing this and they accomplished what they wanted. Democrats voted for the only candidate with the ability to not pander to all the Maga hysterics and unproductive antics that imperil government functions (which is the Maga goal: to shut it all down and drown it in a bathtub). More proof of this treasonous Maga behavior is on full display in the Senate as well with Republicans cowering to a football coach’s demands.
dd:
Very true . . .
G’da would’ve muttered something under his breath about ifs and wishes in one hand and spitting in the other to see which fills up first …
In politics, deals are never free. I’m very curious what Hakeem got for his Democratic bailout that has actually given Johnson some popular credibility for avoiding a shutdown. BUT, no critical funding for Ukraine, Israel, border and South China Sea. Chuck Schumer says Senate will address after Thanksgiving. We’ll see what the House does.
J.P.
Good to see you here on this particular commentary. Deals never come freely. Ukraine and the Philippines are urgent considerations and should not be abandoned to fend for themselves.
Personally, I think the Dem leadership was getting bad vibes after allowing Johnson to get in after dissing/dumping McCarthy, deciding to make the best of a bad deal. Now trying to suggest they really didn’t do that. (I’m ok with it, but I don’t care for the spin.)
Want to Know What’s Bedeviling Biden? TikTok Economics May Hold Clues.
NY Times – 3 hours ago