The House Will Hold a Third Vote for Jim Jordan as Speaker Nominee Tomorrow, Friday, at 10:00am ET


Posed originally on the CTH on October 19, 2023 | Sundance

After a lengthy and often combative GOP conference earlier today, Jim Jordan’s office has announced there will be a 3rd vote for House Speaker Friday at 10:00am.

“The House will vote Friday at 10 a.m. on a third speaker ballot, according to Jordan’s spokesman.” {link}

The UniParty Republicans had earlier floated an interim proposal to grant temporary House Speaker Patrick McHenry with additional authorities which would gain Democratic vote support.  The concept was to get the House through a round of funding for Israel and Ukraine aid and avoiding a shutdown, until January.  However, that effort fell short as the non UniParty Republicans would not agree to the plan.

Jordan spoke briefly about that issue following the conference meeting.  WATCH (46 secs):

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(Via Politico) – […] Republicans are split. Jordan, for now, isn’t ready to call it quits, and some of his backers are gearing up for trench warfare.

“I can tell you, nobody in our conference can get to 217 on two rounds, and three legislative days. So I think he deserves more time,” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), a Jordan ally, told reporters. “I’m in favor of trying. For Jordan, I would go at least another week.”

Yet his opponents insist there is no negotiation to be had that would result in him winning the gavel. They’ve already detailed death threats and intimidation efforts that they say have only hardened their anti-Jordan stance. (read more

The House GOP Speaker’s race is a system of conniving and positioning for a cushy committee assignment, indulgences from the lobbyist control apparatus, office locations and Machiavellian influence for the best junkets and largest leadership PAC deposits.  That’s the truth, the non-pretending truth about the system at work behind the GOPe House Speaker vote.

This internecine professionally Republican stuff has nothing to do with principle centered leadership, and everything to do with self-indulgences and personal affluence.

Here are the 22 professional Republicans who would prefer to see a Democrat House Speaker:

♦ Don Bacon: (202) 225-4155; @RepDonBacon (voted McCarthy) ♦ *Vern Buchanan: (202) 225-5015;@vern Buchanan (voted Donalds) ♦ Ken Buck: (202) 225-4676; @RepKenBuck  (voted for Emmer) ♦ Lori Chavez-DeRemer: (202) 225-5711; @RepLCD (voted McCarthy) ♦ Anthony D’Esposito: (202) 225-5516; @anthonydespo (voted Zeldin) ♦ Mario Díaz-Balart: (202) 225-4211; @MarioDB (voted Scalise) ♦ Jake Ellzey: (202) 225-2002; @JakeEllzey  (voted Garcia) ♦ *Drew Ferguson: (202) 225-5901; @RepDrewFerguson (voted Scalise) ♦ Andrew Garbarino: (202) 225-7896; @RepGarbarino (voted Zeldin) ♦ Carlos Giménez: (202) 225-2778; @RepCarlos (voted McCarthy) ♦ Tony Gonzales (TX): (202) 225-4511; @TonyGonzales4TX (voted Scalise) ♦ Kay Granger: (202) 225-5071; @RepKayGranger (voted Scalise) ♦ John James: (202) 225-4961; @repjames (voted for Moolenaar?) ♦ Mike Kelly (PA): (202) 225-5406; @MikeKellyPA (voted Bainer?) ♦ Jen Kiggans: (202) 225-4215; @JenKiggans (McCarthy) ♦ Nick LaLota: (202) 225-3826; @nicklalota (voted Zeldin) ♦ Mike Lawler: (202) 225-6506; @lawler4ny (voted McCarthy ) ♦ *Marianette Miller-Meeks: (202) 225-6576; @RepMMM (voted Grainger) ♦ John Rutherford: (202) 225-2501; @RepRutherfordFL (voted Scalise) ♦ Mike Simpson: (202) 225-5531; @CongMikeSimpson (voted Scalise) ♦ Steve Womack: (202) 225-4301; @rep_stevewomack (voted Scalise). 

Idaho Republican Rep Mike Simpson Views Constituent Contacts as “Intimidation and Threatening”


Posted originally on the CTH on October 18, 2023 | Sundance 

It is a good thing to see the masks dropping amid the professionally republican class who view themselves as something more than representatives of their constituents.

In public response to the requests of the voters, Idaho’s Second Congressional District Representative Mike Simpson reminds voters that their opinion means nothing.

[Source]

FYI, Steve Scalise is voting for Jim Jordan.

Who is paying for Mike Simpson?  Because apparently, he doesn’t think the voters matter much.

The UniParty is on Full Display as 22 Professional Republicans Work with Democrats to Block Jim Jordan – Here’s The List


Posted originally on the CTH on October 18, 2023 | Sundance

The second round of voting for House Speaker ended with two more “Republicans” vowing to support the goals of the UniParty in Washington DC and retain alignment with Democrats.  The mask dropping is quite remarkable, and perhaps the only good thing to come from this dynamic.

Here are the 22 professional Republicans who wish to see a Democrat House Speaker:

♦ Don Bacon: (202) 225-4155; @RepDonBacon (voted McCarthy) ♦ *Vern Buchanan: (202) 225-5015;@vern Buchanan (voted Donalds) ♦ Ken Buck: (202) 225-4676; @RepKenBuck  (voted for Emmer) ♦ Lori Chavez-DeRemer: (202) 225-5711; @RepLCD (voted McCarthy) ♦ Anthony D’Esposito: (202) 225-5516; @anthonydespo (voted Zeldin) ♦ Mario Díaz-Balart: (202) 225-4211; @MarioDB (voted Scalise) ♦ Jake Ellzey: (202) 225-2002; @JakeEllzey  (voted Garcia) ♦ *Drew Ferguson: (202) 225-5901; @RepDrewFerguson (voted Scalise) ♦ Andrew Garbarino: (202) 225-7896; @RepGarbarino (voted Zeldin) ♦ Carlos Giménez: (202) 225-2778; @RepCarlos (voted McCarthy) ♦ Tony Gonzales (TX): (202) 225-4511; @TonyGonzales4TX (voted Scalise) ♦ Kay Granger: (202) 225-5071; @RepKayGranger (voted Scalise) ♦ John James: (202) 225-4961; @repjames (voted for Moolenaar?) ♦ Mike Kelly (PA): (202) 225-5406; @MikeKellyPA (voted Bainer?) ♦ Jen Kiggans: (202) 225-4215; @JenKiggans (McCarthy) ♦ Nick LaLota: (202) 225-3826; @nicklalota (voted Zeldin) ♦ Mike Lawler: (202) 225-6506; @lawler4ny (voted McCarthy ) ♦ *Marianette Miller-Meeks: (202) 225-6576; @RepMMM (voted Grainger) ♦ John Rutherford: (202) 225-2501; @RepRutherfordFL (voted Scalise) ♦ Mike Simpson: (202) 225-5531; @CongMikeSimpson (voted Scalise) ♦ Steve Womack: (202) 225-4301; @rep_stevewomack (voted Scalise). 

There is remarkable overlap amid those Republicans who previously voted to support Nancy Pelosi in her impeachment effort against President Trump.  The UniParty is on display, and despite the frustration – Sunlight is the Best Disinfectant!

WASHINGTON DC – Opposition to Jim Jordan’s speakership bid is increasing, as the Ohio Republican again failed to get the 217 votes he needs to win the gavel.

After halting voting for nearly a day in hopes of securing more Republican votes, Jordan instead lost two more votes on the second ballot. The House then went into another recess, at Jordan’s request, before a possible third vote. The GOP is expected to hold a conference meeting Wednesday afternoon as it keeps searching for a way out of its speaker mess.

Jordan’s total number of Republican opponents reached 22 on the second round of voting. With the list of defectors growing, even after a significant delay, his chances at the gavel are looking virtually nonexistent.

Despite that outlook, Jordan spokesperson Russell Dye said in a statement after the vote: “We’re going to keep going.”

Jordan himself told reporters that he was unsure when a third ballot would take place but vowed that “we’ll keep talking to members, keep working on it.”

He flipped two prior opponents — Reps. Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.) and Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.)  — but still lost ground in the broader tally. GOP Reps. Vern Buchanan (Fla.), Drew Ferguson (Ga.), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (Iowa) and Pete Stauber (Minn.) all flipped against Jordan after previously backing him in the first ballot.

Several other Jordan opponents — Reps. Mike Kelly (Pa.) and John James (Mich.) — changed their votes to other alternative candidates. (read more)

After Jim Jordan Outlines Opposition to Indefinite Ukraine Funding, Indiana Republican Victoria Spartz Rescinds Support


posted originally on the CTH on October 14, 2023 | Sundance 

The Jim Jordan floor vote is going to end up being a public GOP exhibition in who supports unlimited Ukraine funding.  Jim Jordan has expressed opposition to more funding for Ukraine, and the professional Republican wing of neocons do not like that.

A great example surfaces today inside the change of position for one of the staunchest Ukraine advocates, Indiana representative Victoria Spartz.  However, what I find most interesting about her reversal is Spartz’s unwillingness to admit the reason.

[SOURCE]

Despite her political pretending, Representative Spartz primary allegiance is to her home country of Ukraine, not the United States.  It is disingenuous in the extreme how the media is reporting on her reversal without mentioning the one key element that drives her decision-making.

House Speaker Race – Scalise Drops Out, Jordan Receives Endorsement from McCarthy, Austin Scott Enters as Wildcard


Posted originally on the CTH on October 13, 2023 | Sundance 

The House GOP Speaker’s race is a system of conniving and positioning for a cushy committee assignment, indulgences from the lobbyist control apparatus, office locations and Machiavellian influence for the best junkets and largest leadership PAC deposits.  That’s the truth, the non-pretending truth about the system at work behind the GOPe blind vote.

This internecine professionally Republican stuff has nothing to do with principle centered leadership, and everything to do with self-indulgences and personal affluence.

Riddle me this…. Steve Scalise drops out leaving Jim Jordan as the last man standing that seemingly could unite the caucus.  Kevin McCarthy supports Jordan. Against this backdrop, Georgia Republican Austin Scott, the seven-term representative who  told CNN’s Manu Raju on Thursday that the GOP’s inability to elect a new speaker “makes us look like a bunch of idiots,” now enters the race.

If the caucus was likely to support Jordan, and if Scott was so concerned about them looking like idiots, then why would Scott enter the race to impede the consensus candidate?   That tells you what you need to know about Georgia’s Austin Scott.

Georgia?  What concerns have previously been identified within the Georgia Republican political circles?  Funny that.

VIA CNN: Austin Scott began his political career in the Georgia House of Representatives in 1997, where he served until being elected to Congress in 2011.  Scott, represents Georgia’s 8th Congressional District, serves on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the House Armed Services Committee and the House Agriculture Committee.

WASHINGTON DC – Jim Jordan is poised to take a step toward the speaker’s gavel on Friday — even as he faces a last-minute challenger.

Republicans are meeting Friday afternoon to hear directly from the Ohio conservative and Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.), who threw his hat into the ring just before the close-door meeting and added a new dimension to the topsy-turvy speaker’s race.

While there are enough Republicans opposed to — or wary of — a Jordan speakership to block him from getting the 217 necessary votes on the floor, he is projecting confidence that he will clear the much easier simple majority threshold for becoming the conference’s pick for speaker on Friday.

“I think I can unite the conference. I think I can go tell the country what we’re doing and why it matters,” he told reporters, adding that he feels “confident” heading into the secret ballot vote.

But whether Jordan can ultimately capture the speaker’s gavel remains far more uncertain, with a coalition of vulnerable front-liners and frustrated allies of Scalise and former Speaker Kevin McCarthy predicting that the Ohio Republican falls short.  (read more)

If Jordan doesn’t get the nod, possibly Representative Mike Johnson (R-La.) could.  However, regardless of who might take the gavel, the real issues within DC operate behind the Potemkin villages of Congress.

A Peaceful NY Protest with an End Goal


Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics Re-Posted Oct 8, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Maryland Resident Sworn in as Senator From California


Posted originally on the CTH on October 3, 2023 | Sundance 

In this short video below, Maryland resident and advocate for female, black, lesbian, abortion and union priorities, Ms. Laphonza Butler, is sworn in by Senate President Kamala Harris as the next progressive Senator from California.

Do not miss the very end of the video, where the entire Senate erupts in cheers, applause and a standing ovation.  WATCH:

The institutions have collapsed.

Broken Arrow!

Get comfortable being uncomfortable.

Republican Wall Street Donors Looking to Nikki Haley as DeSantis Shrinks


Posted originally on the CTH on September 27, 2023 | Sundance 

Long before the 2024 election was ever in the mindset of voters, CTH pointed out the specific moves the people who control Nikki Haley were taking in 2018 {GO DEEP}. It wasn’t difficult to predict, because Haley followed the Bush plan to an exacting measure.

The BUSH PLAN is the five-year roadmap that modern Republican consultants use to position their principal in the approved Republican lane. “This ‘Five Year Plan‘ was the same historic approach done for Ronald Reagan. With a candidate in the private sector, the professional donor-class make investments in the candidate while it is legal to do so. The investments are made in anticipation of future influence.  This is simply how money influences politics.”

It is not coincidental that it was also 2018, when DeSantis exited his congressional seat to establish the 2024 agenda. The U.N, as an institution, is also in alignment with the high-brow Prescott Bush clan. Ms. Nikki Haley is regarded by this clan as a very valuable commodity.  As I said in 2018, “If they can’t get Jeb, or another Bush (ie. DeSantis) over the finish line, they will be much better positioned with investments in Nikki Haley.”

To be sure, for the voters this is an impossible lift, but the RNC/RGA donor class do not regard the voters as part of the equation.  For too many years they have assembled the illusion of choice, and they are still stuck in that paradigm.  They did not feel threatened by the Tea Party, and they quite simply do not understand the larger MAGA movement.

The billionaires feel ‘above the fray‘ in their sheeple constructs; and remember, for them Newsom is just fine too.

Sept 27 (Reuters) – Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley appears to be one of the biggest beneficiaries of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ faltering campaign, with more donors saying they are looking more closely at her candidacy as an alternative to frontrunner Donald Trump.

Reuters spoke to four donors and one source close to a major donor who were impressed by the former South Carolina governor and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in the first Republican presidential debate in August and said they were keen to donate should she continue to strengthen as a candidate.

They will be watching to see how she does at the second debate in California on Wednesday night among those vying to win the party’s nomination to run for president in the 2024 election.

DeSantis, once seen as the most formidable challenger to former President Trump, has struggled to catch fire amid missteps and relentless Trump attacks on his candidacy. Despite his campaign’s struggles he has retained the support of some major donors.

Donors are crucial to keeping White House hopefuls afloat, and the willingness of some to now look beyond DeSantis underscores his struggle to convince donors that he is the best alternative to Trump. It also shows the despair of some Republican establishment donors looking for a viable candidate who is not Trump.

Of the five donors looking at Haley, three have so far broadly sat out the campaign while one has donated to DeSantis and another was supportive of him but did not donate. Reuters also spoke to a half dozen Haley donors, advisers to donors, and even supporters of other candidates who said more donors are looking at Haley. (read more)

For a deep dive into the financial construct Nikki Haley put together {Go Here}; reference the CTH archives from November 2019, when she registered the Stand For America SuperPAC.  For an overall summary of what she has been doing {GO HERE},  and see the internal citations assembled a few weeks ago.  Haley’s superpac donor files have been leaked, and the funding pattern is similar to Ron DeSantis, only Nikki Haley has more rich democrats. (GO DEEP)

{Research on Nikki Haley Here}

…”“I don’t think [Trump’s] going to be in the picture,” she said, matter-of-factly. “I don’t think he can. He’s fallen so far.” […] “We need to acknowledge he let us down,” she said. “He went down a path he shouldn’t have, and we shouldn’t have followed him, and we shouldn’t have listened to him. And we can’t let that ever happen again.”  (link)

FOX News Discounts Ad Prices for Second First Loser Debate


Posted originally on the CTH on September 27, 2023 | Sundance 

According to a review done by Semafor of ad rates for the second Republican debate, technically the second of the first loser debates, Fox News has massively discounted the price for a 30 second advertisement to run during the broadcast.

[…] Advertisers paid a premium for airtime during the first Republican presidential debate on Fox News, but it looks like they’ll be getting a major discount during round two on Wednesday night.

Semafor reviewed the rates the network shared with one prospective ad buyer for both the first and second GOP primary debates. For the first debate, the cost of a single 30-second spot topped $495,000.

But the same 30-second spot during Wednesday night’s contest would cost just over $200,000.

Another ad buyer did not share the rates for ads running during the first debate, but confirmed that Fox was charging $225,000 for 30-second ads during the broadcast immediately after the event, and $125,000 for 30-second spots during the broadcast before it. (link)

At this point in the contest, the Republican candidates who are not supporting Donald Trump are simply showcasing their own selfish connections to the business end of U.S. politics.  It really is that simple.  These are not patriots who care about our country. These are self-interested representatives of multinational corporations and business interests who are paying for them to oppose Donald Trump.

I saw the following brutal honesty shared via The Twitter which deserves some attention.

“Whenever you hear someone self-describe as a “principled conservative” to differentiate themselves from MAGA, Trump supporters, populists, and common-sense newcomers to the GOP, and urge for a return to the “golden years,” you can confidently laugh it off as blissful ignorance.

For decades, these so-called “principled conservatives” have overseen and actively participated in policymaking that has degraded the family unit, delivered losses on abortion, brought you a 10-yearlong “assault weapons ban,” and ceded greater authority over and involvement of the federal government in education.

Not satisfied with the piecemeal destruction of society that they now bitch about for clicks, these “principled conservatives” carry their feigned outrage and ideological purity to the economic realm, blindly devoting themselves to protecting the interests of global corporate giants while sacrificing American workers at the altar of “free markets.”

When faced with the consequences of their neoliberalism—the displaced workers and their families, once-great American small towns and cities in shambles, the industrial core of the country gutted, and all the social ills that emanate from these realities—the response from these upstanding moralists is to hawkishly scrutinize every dollar that could possibly go toward alleviating some of the pain and suffering they caused.

In other words, “f**k off! you aren’t my concern.”

The false devotion to “fiscal conservatism” wouldn’t be so offensive if it wasn’t so easily discarded when constructing a national security apparatus that violates your constitutional rights, launching failed trillion-dollar regime change wars, providing foreign aid to corrupt oligarchs and regimes in quid pro quo deals, and subsidizing the social welfare expenses of other countries.”  ~ JoMa

That’s a whole bunch of truth.

It’s the exact same thing we have been talking about on these pages since the 2012 fallacy of false choices.

Maria Bartiromo Attempts Cleanup Saying, “Democracy Is Messy” – Matt Gaetz Has Hit a Nerve


Posted originally on the CTH on September 25, 2023 | Sundance 

Yesterday, Maria Bartiromo was very visibly entrenched in her effort to defend House Speaker Kevin McCarthy from the criticism of Representative Matt Gaetz.  During the combative interview, Ms. Bartiromo showed a transparent agenda to support the professionally Republican GOPe perspective.

Today, following a considerable amount of backlash, and eyes-wide-open to the motives and intents of Bartiromo, she attempts cleanup by repeating the phrase, “democracy is messy” as a justification for her support of McCarthy Inc. The video of her effort today is below; however, before getting to that cleanup effort, let me just explain why Gaetz is majority correct on the bigger picture.

The House Government Weaponization Committee is a complete sham – a ruse, a sound stage of actors and political performers who have no intention on actually exposing the government weaponization.   Gaetz focused on the failures of the House Oversight Committee (chaff and countermeasures committee) and gave examples of how they never subpoenaed Hunter Biden as one clear indicator of their intent. I have written about this extensively {GO DEEP}, and the Oversight committee’s lack of action is not even close to a surprise, regardless of whether McCarthy and Bartiromo want to keep pretending.

The bigger let down is found in the lack of action by the Govt Weaponization Committee.  Let me explain how simple this is to see using an example I shared with former congressman Devin Nunes.   Sometimes litmus tests really are good for this purpose. The problem we have is accepting the reality of what they mean.

Back in February 2019, around the time when Bill Barr came into the picture, everyone was excited about the potential for accountability. An honest investigation that would reveal and expose the corrupt nature of the DC system, so that a public would be aware, accountability would be metered, and a total restructuring of the corrupt systems could take place.  I was not one of those people.

I accept the visibility of corruption through the prism of simple questions.  Everyone knew Robert Mueller was installed as a tool to cover up the preexisting corruption and simultaneously keep Trump under attack.  No one in Washington DC did not know this.  Everyone knew.  Despite that non-pretending admission and reality, not a single person ever said the Mueller probe was a farce.  Not a single congressional member ever dared say Robert Mueller was part of the corrupt system.

Instead, every single DC participant, politician and Trump appointee, said Robert Mueller was an “honorable man.”  He wasn’t, and they all knew that.

You cannot be an honorable man with the intent of delivering a corrupt and fraudulent outcome.  These two things are not compatible.  Yet, they all collectively pushed that bullshit opinion for two+ years, including Bill Barr.

Once you understand the dynamic inside that simple and honest Robert Mueller litmus test, a litmus test this is still very valid to this day, then you realize the scale of the corruption we are talking about.  It’s either active, passive or willfully blind corruption; but regardless of variety it’s all still corruption.

There seems to be a willful blindness on the part of the American people, a chosen refusal to acknowledge the implications of the unAmerican and unConstititional behaviors, actions and outcomes we are being served on a daily basis.

It can no longer be presumed to be a matter of, “I can’t see what’s happening”, because a whole lot of normal Americans really are clean and articulate.

I can’t see it”,  just doesn’t cut it.

NONSENSE!  Most people can see it.  Most are just choosing to reconcile the irreconcilable, because it is more comforting to ignore the truth of it.  Just be honest.  For many people avoidance has become a survival mechanism.

It’s more along the lines of, “I see what’s happening, but it’s scary and complicated and confusing, and if I admit that I see it, I will become responsible in a way that I am not if I keep pretending I can’t see it or hear it or maybe I don’t understand it.”

Kevin McCarthy’s Lucy has unlimited footballs.

Admit it or keep pretending.

The choices are ours.

Personally, I will not pretend.

If we all stop pretending, eventually the DC house of cards collapses.

So that sets the cornerstone.  Now, let’s move forward almost 4 years.  [DEEP BREATH]  Now we have the House Select Committee to Investigate the Weaponization of Government.  They’ve had some hearings on Twitter Files, they’ve had some hearings on other ancillary matters, but absolutely nothing has come from it.

Before outlining the simple ‘how do I know this is futile’, the nerve that Matt Gaetz touches so necessarily, let me first be brutally honest.

Jim Jordan is corrupt.

Jordan is corrupt; not in a way of lying, cheating or stealing, but rather corrupt in the same familiar manner that generates all of the frustration we feel. Corrupt in the sense of satiating the masses while being disingenuous in the extreme of creating ZERO accountability.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy uses Jim Jordan for exactly this institutional preservation purpose, and Jordan knows it…. and willingly goes along with it…. and willingly plays the role of “anger manager” on behalf of his leadership.

The “how” is simple.  If the Govt Weaponization Committee was not futile, or created simply to satiate a mass of angry conservative/MAGA voters, they would be taking simple actions to expose the issues.

SIMPLE ACTIONS – Like holding depositions and questioning people we know are Deep State actors who construct the weaponized processes.  Holding depositions to ask very simple and pragmatic questions of people like Mary McCord, John Carlin, ICIG Michael Atkinson, Andrew McCabe, Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, Tashina Guahar, or any member of the Robert Mueller special counsel like Andrew Weissmann, Brandon Van Grack, Aaron Zebly, Jeannie Rhee, etc.  Or Mark Elias, Glenn Simpson, Nellie Ohr, Bruce Ohr, or even former SSCI Security Director James Wolfe.

The House Govt Weaponization committee could issue subpoenas to anyone and everyone who was a participant in all of the previously known corrupt endeavors, questioned them with very specific questions about all of the known activity that stemmed from within those corrupt practices…. and then simply PUBLISH THE TRANSCRIPTS.

Imagine the newsworthy discussion, even if it was ignored by mainstream media, as a result of each deposition transcript being released every 48 hours providing a detailed and documented, under oath, attestation to the activity that took place and is still taking place.  Imagine the scale of sunlight that simple process would provide.  Imagine the tremors in DC as each participant showed up to deliver their statements under oath.

This is not a complicated process, but they want us to pretend it is.

When Matt Gaetz articulated the simple process of putting each appropriations bill on the floor for a funding vote, it too is not a complicated process.  However, the Kevin McCarthy’s, Jim Jordan’s and Maria Bartiromo’s would like us to pretend that it is.

I do not know if Matt Gaetz is the worthy Ty Cobb of Republican politics or not, but I do know he is currently one of the only people that is not pretending.  That elevates him in my view.   Oh sure, he’ll probably acquiesce to the pressures and sell out just like the rest of them, but right now – in his best form – Matt Gaetz has dropped the pretense, and that has sent the machinery of the DC Republican system into fits of apoplexy.  Good.

I’m at the point of frustration with this nonsense where apoplexy, anger and visible ‘losing their shit’ makes me smile.

Once you see the strings on the marionettes, you can never return to that moment in the performance when you did not see them.

Here’s Bartiromo trying to hide the strings…