The Debt Ceiling Bill passes House, what could be next

6/3/2023: Update on post of 6/1/23:

It looks like a fiasco for Chip Roy. Imagine, if you will, if Roy could have found just 5 Republicans, including himself, to refuse to vote for McCarthy as Speaker. The challenge to his leadership could have been made, and the only way McCarthy stays, is if a Democrat comes across to vote for him, or comes across the aisle to prevent his ouster.

A pitiful show, indeed. Not only for Roy, but also for the entire so-called Freedom Caucus and the GOP in general. Who really believes that such a cave in was really necessary, nor desirable? There is no emergency. It is yet another fear tactic being employed AGAINST the public. The Congress critters know better, but does the public? The public SHOULD know better, but may not.

A genuine effort could have employed to educate the public.  It isn't even going to be attempted.

Why make an agreement that has no teeth in it? It was a ridiculous effort. Looks like Failure Theater, and these acts are getting mighty stale.

 Original post of 6-1-23:

Over a considerable amount of opposition in his own party, Speaker McCarthy got the increase in the debt ceiling bill that he negotiated with the Democrats.

Those in the GOP who opposed the Debt Ceiling increase

The negotiated agreement ran afoul of some understandings given to the opponents to his leadership role back in January. McCarthy promised to hold the line on spending, but this falls short of his promise to hold it to 2022 levels. The new levels negotiated by McCarthy are at 2023 levels ( which were increased by the lame duck Congress after the 2022 election), plus an additional 1%.

Even with the opposition, the bill passed by approximately 2-1 margin in the GOP. It will have to get by the minority- -of-the-majority opposition, which could endanger his job.

Is Speaker McCarthy in trouble over Debt Ceiling deal?

McCarthy got the job as Speaker after a bit of negotiation in which he made concessions to his opponents. Amongst those concessions is a provision that the Speakers job could be challenged if he failed to live up to the terms of the deal. Now that he has violated this deal, the question is whether or not this will imperil his job. The GOP's majority hinges on the narrowest of majorities. Only 4 votes could be spared, possibly less, or McCarthy cannot gain a majority necessary to hold on to his job. This could usher in an entirely new contentious fight over the Speakership.

But what could happen to stop this bill now? That depends upon the opposition to it. Since the majority is so fragile, McCarthy may have to negotiate a new arrangement within his own caucus. If the opposition demands that this bill be killed, then McCarthy may have to back down. Then what? Without a deal, there could be another government shutdown. Shutdowns aren't new.

What would happen without bill before the deadline?

Basically, the big rush to pass a bill is to avoid such a confrontation. The only crisis in store is the crisis in leadership in the GOP. McCarthy got a bill through the House, but he didn't stick with his guns, and caved in to the Democrats. Was he really that afraid of another shutdown? He doesn't appear to be worried about his job. It could be a bluff, but the bluff could get called.

Failure theater, or is it for real?

 

Members of US House Rules Committee

It looks like a big defeat for the Chip Roy faction. The GOP voted 7-2 in favor of the deal, leaving only two members, including Roy, as opposed.

This is a big power test, as Roy could bring down McCarthy if he can keep enough GOP members together to force him out. If Roy folds, he loses big time, in my opinion. Likewise, if McCarthy loses, he loses big time. Which in the case of McCarthy, it could be a good deal for America.

It would be a good deal for this country because everything is fake. It is a fake deal to solve a real problem. The real problem is an out of control government. A fake deal does nothing to stop that. A good deal would stop feeding this beast, and thereby bringing it back under control.

If McCarthy is ousted, someone else has to replace him. If the GOP cannot come up with a Speaker, could the Dems take over? Well, if they do, that guy wouldn't have a majority behind him. He'd had to put up a coalition of some kind.

The GOP needs to stop messing around or there could be somebody worse than McCarthy. But my guess is that it doesn't have to be a bad thing. That's because whoever on the GOP side decides to join the Democrats, might as well be committing electoral suicide. In that scenario, with the Democrats calling the shots, there'd be a worse deal. If that happens, it would be McCarthy's fault, and his supporters for allowing it to happen. The results would be more turnover of these types, and have them replaced with others who could do better.

The GOP led House has already passed a bill. The Dem-controlled Senate won't take it up, so they're stuck. If McCarthy backs down, which he might if he is challenged hard enough, there won't be any deal at all. Which could be a good thing. The talk of default is fake. There have been shutdowns before, and there were no defaults. But even if there were defaults from those shutdowns, there was no doom. There won't be any doom this time either. Not only that, the longer the shutdowns persist, the better. It may bring some people to their senses. A better deal could be made, or even if not, the country's finances would IMPROVE.

The ball is in Chip Roy's side of the court now. If he fails, McCarthy looks stronger. That wouldn't be such a hot thing for the GOP or for the country. Hopefully, Chip Roy is the real deal, and he can bring down the House, so to speak.

The reason that Roy's gambit could work is because of the narrow majority. He is in a position of power even if he doesn't have that big of a faction. He only needs a few mavericks to bring down McCarthy. We'll see if they have the gonads to go through with it, or this could be just another scene in the perpetual kabuki theater.

Taking a break from the break

It's been said here many times before, politics is a drag. But it is necessary. Therefore, it is also necessary to pay attention to it. Consequently, this will be a break from the break from politics. Yep, back into the doo-doo.

It's been in the news for awhile, so it may not be "news" anymore that the Texas House has impeached the Attorney General. Those outside the state may not know that statewide offices in this state are elected offices. Attorney General Paxton got reelected last year, and now the House wants to nullify that. So much for the rule of the people, eh?

It also so happens that the ring leader for this impeachment is none other than the representative from this area. I would have expected that this "conservative" area would be the last place that would want to do away with Paxton. So much for this being a "conservative" area. Or the guy representing this area isn't in step with what the people in this district want. I'm inclined to believe the latter as opposed to the former.

It may have also been on the ballot in the last election to deny chairmanships to the Democrats. If that passed, then that means that the House has disregarded the will of the people in that area as well. I can believe that. These people like to talk about "democracy". But actually doing democracy isn't part of their schtick. The Democrats in this state are supposedly in the minority. You wouldn't know that by the Speaker of the House giving them chairmanships of committees. You'd think that this was a "red" state. But the Legislature seems to have other ideas. They like to pretend to be "red" like trannies like to pretend that they are something that they're not.

But let's move on the national scene. You've got some trouble in the paradise for Speaker McCarthy. There are some rumblings that there may be some opposition to his deal with Brandon. It seems in the election for Speaker, the "Freedom Caucus" got them to put their people on the Rules Committee. It has 11 members, and nothing can get enacted into law without support from that committee. If the bill can get stalled in the Committee, then it won't become law. Let's hope that the "Freedom Caucus" actually lives up to its name. Call me skeptical. I'll believe it when I see it.

This is trouble for McCarthy because he needs their support to continue being Speaker. If he crosses these Freedom Caucus guys, they could challenge him to the Speakership again. McCarthy cannot afford to cross them. But maybe he thinks he can get away with it. Let's see what happens on that one.

In my opinion, if the Freedom Caucus lived up to its name, it would not approve of any deal to raise the debt limit. Then that would force Brandon and the Democrats to live within our means. What a concept!

The government already raises trillions in taxes. There's plenty of money to spend. No need to continue this spending binge. Let's see if the Freedom Caucus actually lives up to their name. The government is out of control. The power of the purse could bring it back into line. That would be called "honoring the Constitution" and the rule of law. What a concept! You see, the Constitution grants the House the power of the purse. All spending must originate in the House.

An attempt to get around the Congress should get Brandon impeached, but I wouldn't count on that happening. Don't put it past the Democrats to try to rule by decree. Not such a good thing to run on if you think that Trump is somehow a threat to Democracy. This ruling by decree schtick somehow doesn't go with democratic rule. But we'll see if the Freedom Caucus hasn't gone tranny on us too.

For your edification

 

For your edification

Big Foot playing "Tequila" on Sax

If that's not enough, here's some real monkey business





Don't bring your belly aching around here unless you're prepared...

Artemis missions via the Lunar Starship, and a Moon base plan

Artemis missions via the Lunar Starship, and a Moon base plan

Lunar Starship video



 

Artemis  Moon base video

What else can you do?

 

Politics has taken a back seat for awhile on this blog. It seems that people may prefer that kind of discussion. But what good does politics really do?

There is some news that Speaker McCarthy came to a deal with Brandon. I'll bet that there's nothing really going to be done about the massive growth of government. Secondly, the fear was manufactured. They had to make a deal so that the fear can be utilized again in the future. The fear is the excuse for a lack of action. They are just kicking the can down the road. That kind of stuff is depressing to think about. It gets tiresome to repeat those things again and again.

So for awhile there, I tried to post about more positive developments. The Focus Fusion Wefunder campaign. That's still going on. They are close to the goal, but not there yet. It seems amazing that so few people would be interested in that deal, but that's the world we live in. How many chances do you get at such an amazing opportunity? People should be jumping all over that, but they're not.

SpaceX is making progress on their Starship. But there's some black clouds on the horizon. Imagine if these people manage to get the thing grounded. For what? To be doused by sand is not that big of a calamity. An important project like this could be halted because of a hole in the ground, and some sand falling down.

It's hard to stay positive. But that's the world we live in.

Maybe people prefer the bitching. But what good does that do? Are people entertained by that? That gives me an idea...



Are you not entertained????