Ding! Ding! Ding! Right on, Mr. Astore! Nailed it on every point! People should just stop talking about the American "left"; there's no left left. And as for "progressives", every one of them is a fake, not least, the awesomely awful "squad". What a tragedy.
The kind of debate/dispute/horse trading that went on here is what often happens in a real democracy. Power struggles, compromises, multiple votes, are a sign of healthy democracy, not of dysfunction.
The Democrats are crowing about how they, by contrast, are totally unified. United. All the same. Yes -- that's exactly the problem. They are all corporate tools. All Manchins and Pelosis.
Now that we have a “functioning” House of Representatives, one can only wonder when the Impeachment of President Biden will kick off.
That should go very well with a resurgent COVID on top of RSV and Flu, food, fuel, and energy shortages, spiraling crime rates, a surging inflation, a deepening recession, and of course, Cold War II in Ukraine and beyond. About the only thing missing would be another 9/11 event; which i am sure could be arranged.
Thanks for this piece. Have any members of the "Squad" ever addressed the question of why they made no demands of Pelosi before voting for her to be Speaker in 2021?
Except....the GOP is as much behind the bloated military budget as the Dems are. Putting McCarthy in as Speaker won't change that. If I recall, the AUMF passed under the GOP, yes? They may say they'd cut that budget, but they won't. Same as their "fiscal accountability" mantra: cutting taxes on the wealthy is not fiscally responsible. That myth was exposed 40 years ago.
Happy New Year to you as well, sir. And likewise, best wishes for peace, health, and abundance for you and your family.
I do intend to shut down the WordPress account and start on Substack. Look for an update by month's end.
If you call "burn it all down" a conviction or principle, then yeah, I guess the hard-righters who are holding the Speakership to ransom have principles. Thus far their interest has lain in one-upmanships for grabbing the most headlines and doing the most damage. They've shown no desire whatsoever to govern or to make positive change. As in, not even putting up a pretense. It’s all about the next outrageous stunt; the refusal to support McCarthy merely being part of the latest Kabuki performance. For them, holding out for the most personal advantage is the motive. That motive is obviously not unique to them, but principle? Having strong, egalitarian, democratic, public service ideals? These people aren't on that planet, and imputing principle to them is like saying a thief has principles because he believes he has a right to anything he can steal.
And suppose this "principled" hard-right group gains control of the country? People so extreme, they think MAGA McCarthy is too far left for them. Do you want to live in that nightmare, Bill?
I can't argue at all about your criticisms of PINOs. But then maintaining that the right-wing lunatic fringe has legitimate principles is going WAAAAYYYYY too far in the opposite direction, says I.
Ding! Ding! Ding! Right on, Mr. Astore! Nailed it on every point! People should just stop talking about the American "left"; there's no left left. And as for "progressives", every one of them is a fake, not least, the awesomely awful "squad". What a tragedy.
This article by Chris Bray is worth reading: https://chrisbray.substack.com/p/upside-down
The kind of debate/dispute/horse trading that went on here is what often happens in a real democracy. Power struggles, compromises, multiple votes, are a sign of healthy democracy, not of dysfunction.
The Democrats are crowing about how they, by contrast, are totally unified. United. All the same. Yes -- that's exactly the problem. They are all corporate tools. All Manchins and Pelosis.
Now that we have a “functioning” House of Representatives, one can only wonder when the Impeachment of President Biden will kick off.
That should go very well with a resurgent COVID on top of RSV and Flu, food, fuel, and energy shortages, spiraling crime rates, a surging inflation, a deepening recession, and of course, Cold War II in Ukraine and beyond. About the only thing missing would be another 9/11 event; which i am sure could be arranged.
In sum, and as Cipher put it to Nero: “Buckle your seatbelt Dorothy, 'cause Kansas is going bye-bye!" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-JJuHpfN5g
Thanks for this piece. Have any members of the "Squad" ever addressed the question of why they made no demands of Pelosi before voting for her to be Speaker in 2021?
Not holding my breath over the military budget cut, Bill. I'll believe it if it happens.
But yes, the Squad et. al. did miss some excellent opportunities.
Except....the GOP is as much behind the bloated military budget as the Dems are. Putting McCarthy in as Speaker won't change that. If I recall, the AUMF passed under the GOP, yes? They may say they'd cut that budget, but they won't. Same as their "fiscal accountability" mantra: cutting taxes on the wealthy is not fiscally responsible. That myth was exposed 40 years ago.
Happy New Year to you as well, sir. And likewise, best wishes for peace, health, and abundance for you and your family.
I do intend to shut down the WordPress account and start on Substack. Look for an update by month's end.
If you call "burn it all down" a conviction or principle, then yeah, I guess the hard-righters who are holding the Speakership to ransom have principles. Thus far their interest has lain in one-upmanships for grabbing the most headlines and doing the most damage. They've shown no desire whatsoever to govern or to make positive change. As in, not even putting up a pretense. It’s all about the next outrageous stunt; the refusal to support McCarthy merely being part of the latest Kabuki performance. For them, holding out for the most personal advantage is the motive. That motive is obviously not unique to them, but principle? Having strong, egalitarian, democratic, public service ideals? These people aren't on that planet, and imputing principle to them is like saying a thief has principles because he believes he has a right to anything he can steal.
And suppose this "principled" hard-right group gains control of the country? People so extreme, they think MAGA McCarthy is too far left for them. Do you want to live in that nightmare, Bill?
I can't argue at all about your criticisms of PINOs. But then maintaining that the right-wing lunatic fringe has legitimate principles is going WAAAAYYYYY too far in the opposite direction, says I.