Well, We Have a Speaker. He’s an Election Denier and an Extreme Christian Fundamentalist.

MicroWave@lemmy.world to politics @lemmy.world – 1300 points – Well, We Have a Speaker. He’s an Election Denier and an Extreme Christian Fundamentalist.
newrepublic.com

Republicans have at long last elected a House speaker: Representative Mike Johnson, a fundamentalist Christian who was also once called a key “architect” in Congress’s efforts to overthrow the 2020 election.

Johnson finally secured the speaker’s gavel after Republican infighting left the House without a speaker for 22 days. He secured 220 votes.

Johnson is a four-term congressman representing Louisiana. His win also represents the rise of the MAGA front in the Republican Party. Earlier Wednesday morning, Donald Trump endorsed Johnson as House speaker—after quickly killing Mike Emmer’s nomination the day before.

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This next election is going to be an absolute shitshow. I guarantee they'll refuse to certify the election, and they'll try to hijack the electoral college (again).

The 119th Congress will be seated on January 3rd 2025 and the presidential election certification will be January 6th. So if the Dems win the majority in 2024, they won't have the power to deny certificatation outright. Though, I'm sure a minority will still object to every swing state like they did in 2020, just to draw it out.

Fascism just keeps coming back and we gotta stave it off again

Weeds needs trimming. Or in this case punching, stomping, and and a good old dick twist

And even if the 119th Congress was exactly the same as this one, the House Republicans can only do so much.

First, they would need to object to Electoral Votes with a Senator. (Unfortunately, this wouldn't be hard for them to do.) Next, the House and Senate would separate to vote on each objection. Only if both chambers voted to set the Electoral Votes aside would they be set aside.

With a Democratic Senate, this won't happen.

So the House Republicans can slow things down, but they won't be able to overturn elections. This isn't to say that there aren't threats on the state and local level. There are. And if the Republicans gain control of the House and Senate, I could see them sustaining objections because "it must be fraud if Biden won," thus giving the election to Trump. That just shows why it's more important than ever to vote blue.

I'm betting on this guy not lasting until November 2024 (not sure what the over/under is on November 17, 2023).

How do you think he'll get removed? It took them this long to agree on someone to elect, it seems unlikely enough of them would agree to remove him. They could maybe get the Democrats along with a small subset of Republicans to vote him out like the last time, but I'm not sure the Democrats would be up for that. Maybe if they wait until right before the election, but I can't imagine the GOP being dumb enough to oust the speaker right before elections happen (although that does raise the question of who certifies the election if there's no speaker. I'm assuming the speaker pro tem?).

Yeah, this is the guy the MAGAs could support. The little rebellion is over, and they got what they wanted.

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They can oust any and every speaker at will, keeping Congress at a standstill and the government in chaos as long as they can get a simple GOP majority vote.

They don't need a GOP majority vote. They need a house majority vote. And unless dems have some compelling reason to keep the republican speaker (unlikely), it only takes a handful from the GOP to oust the speaker. I think McCarthy only lost 8 republican votes.

The only possible chance the democrats don't collectively vote him out, given the chance, is if the budget hasn't gone through yet. Otherwise, they will take any call to eject the speaker as an opportunity to oust him.

I tend to agree, but let's remember that Republicans ousted McCarthy, it only took one member requesting to call for a vote, and they had had a giant number of votes to get him in initially. Those maga Republicans are nutty, I wouldn't count on them not getting pissed off and trying to break all the toys again.

Bold of you to assume that they'll hang on to their majority. I don't see how they do.

Trump won't even be on the ballot in most states.

Hopefully, but I also doubt that will stop them trying to elect him anyway. Or if not him I'm sure they'll find someone worse. I doubt we're going to see another Democrat elected in the next few elections that doesn't result in them trying to refuse to certify the election and just in general whine and complain while throwing around baseless accusations. If we're lucky that's as far as it goes, but considering how many parallels to 1920s Germany we're seeing lately I'm very worried the MAGAts recent fascist dabblings are just a taste of things to come.

Outrageously false.

There is nothing that even comes close to settling that in any state at this point. Any speculation on the matter is as good as a handful of shit. Less, maybe.

Colorado has already blocked him from the ballot under the 14th Amendment Section three. Only a 2/3 vote in Congress will change that.

"Survives legal challenge" does not mean it's settled. There is a long fucking way to go here.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/21/politics/colorado-lawsuit-trump-ballot/index.html

"Can move forward" means "definitely still in process"

https://www.kktv.com/2023/10/23/lawsuit-aiming-block-former-president-donald-trump-colorado-ballot-can-move-forward-judge-rules/

"Could keep trump off the ballot" means "still eligible to be on the ballot"

https://www.businessinsider.com/colorado-case-reject-trump-president-candidacy-not-dismissed-14th-amendment-2023-10

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And for the record, the person you're responding to is flat out wrong. Colorado has ABSOLUTELY NOT made any sort of legal ruling to settle that suit

Colorado has been the tip of the spear for legislation nation wide for decades now. It's what we do.

As a Coloradan - Put the weed down and step away from the keyboard. I love this state as much as the next guy, but you are out of your mind if you think this state is the tip of the spear.

I wonder if that also makes write-ins invalid…

Like is he just removed from the ballot, or is he ineligible altogether?

Election law varies from state to state. But generally from what I gather, a write-in candidate is only valid if the candidate registers with the state in advance.

If there's a winning plurality for Mickey Mouse in your state for a statewide office, it won't matter. The state won't be forced to see if there's anyone there that has the name Mickey Mouse and then pick which (if more than one) was the individual meant by the voters. Someone has to register with the state saying that they're going to run a write-in campaign for office with name XYZ.

Note that these details are a bit of a side track. The above person was talking about Trump being excluded due to the 14th amendment. However that doesn't say "not on the ballot" — it invalidates people from office entirely. If applied to Trump, the not being on the ballot would be a consequence of being determined ineligible for office, not a method to make him unable to win. Also it's all moot: while I think on the face of it the correct action would be to apply the 14th amendment to Trump, the fact of the matter is that this will not happen. States are not going to be willing to risk the political backlash from going down that path, so they will not.

Colorado already did and it has stated it's Consitutional and allows a 2/3 vote in the U.S. Congress to overturn. We won't back down from that, the law is the law.

I AM a lawyer, and from what I can see, you're close but (perhaps unintentionally) misrepresenting the facts, unless you are referring to some other previous action. A judge this week decided to allow a case to proceed that will determine, amongst other things, whether the events of January 6 “constituted an insurrection” and whether Trump “engaged” in insurrection.

I'm referring to what our State Legislators are saying that they will ignore the Supreme Court if they don't follow the Consitution in favor or partisan politics. The law is the law and the Supreme Court cannot rewrite what the Consitution says.

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Wait really?

No. Not really. Not even a little bit.

There ARE legal challenges in some states, however. To date, none of those are even close to being settled

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“Breaking: Giant piece of shit selected by a bunch of other pieces of shit. Nation shocked”

"I'm shocked... SHOCKED... well, not really... not even a little." — Nation

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This mf is third in line for the US presidency?

Please tell me I'm wrong. I hope I'm fucking wrong. Wtf America

Please tell me I’m wrong. I hope I’m fucking wrong. Wtf America

Do you want the good news or the bad news first?

I'll start with the good news first

You're wrong. He's not third in line for the US presidency.

The bad news is

He's second. VP -> Speaker

Oh great, what's the real good news? Anything? Anything? /sadsack

I got into wine about a month ago and wish I had sooner. It really isn't as expensive as I thought it would be. I can buy a bottle of stuff I and my wife enjoy for about 20 bucks.

You might enjoy the app Vivino. It lets you scan wines with your phone and see ratings and notes about it.

It's made finding great wines less of a gamble when wanting to try something new.

Thanks! The guy at my local wine store suggested that one as well. I will definitely check it out.

I am not going to be like those guys spitting into buckets with bottles too expensive to open. I am going buy a bottle each week and me and my wife will enjoy it together. Then we will try something new the next week. Also I want to learn how to pair it with food and occasions.

It would require two people to either die or resign. Granted the President is like 130 and the Presidency ages you in dog years so the likelihood he dies in office is higher than most. But then there's a healthy Kamala Harris next up who gets to pick her own VP, who would then become first in line.

While I disagree with Kamala Harris on pretty much everything and don't think she would make a good President, she'd be a lot better than this wanker.

The down side is it does position him high in the Republican Party making him a presumptive front runner unless another option emerges.

He and the Republican conference look so ridiculous that it will diminish the Republicans' election chances in 2024. Voters don't want abortion to be banned and feel iffy about January 6th, so there's a strong chance that 2024 will be dismal for Republicans.

So all the Republicans would have to do is assassinate the President and they have their own puppet in the office to sabotage the nation?

No, second-in-line means there's one person before them: the Vice President

Funny how first in line and second in line sound sort of like the same spot to me

Hey it could be worse. You could be living in China or India.

The "it could always be worse" fallacy. I'll remember to ignore the chronic pain in my leg from a catastrophic injury because that guy over there is dead.

It always can be worse. Perspective is important.

I didn't expect to see such opinion outside of village Бухалово. This is why our countries are fucked. Keep saying "it could always be worse" each time new bottom is penetrated.

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Is this a surprise to anyone? It’s not like the pool of candidates had anyone worth a damn anyway.

Right? It was ALWAYS going to be someone like this because it was always going to be a Republican. This is what voting for Republican's means. You get whacko assholes in charge.

Pretty much. Author could have wrote this two weeks ago, and then tweaked a few details before sending it to the editor.

and the pool of potential candidates is even more shallow when considering that the insurrection caucus has enough votes to make a would-be speaker sink or swim

I'm pretty sure the problem with the others was that they weren't extreme enough.

Election liar*

"Denier" implies they actually believe this nonsense. But they know full well it is, as Bill Barr put it, "bullshit".

Why is it so far fetched that they might actually believe it

Because there's no evidence. Trump filled dozens of lawsuits and every single one was dismissed.

Or how about the fact that Trump declared the election that he won was stolen?

you think something having no evidence has made people not believe it before?

No, but there's no one to make them believe it. They are the pioneers of the deception.

I think you are wrong. I do believe that stupid people can believe stupid things. Internal narrative is a powerful force.

Some might, but most of them know it’s a tool. Remember how quickly they fell in line after Trump became the nominee in 2016? They have a personality cult that they can exploit. Some of them might also be able to justify it to themselves as it being “stolen” because the wrong types of people (read: black folks and women) were allowed to vote.

Trump was a tool that let them pack the courts and massively shift public discourse. Republicans in Congress probably all know he’s full of shit, but he also got Roe overturned.

Remember how quickly they fell in line after Trump became the nominee in 2016?

Republicans establishment hated trump during his 2016 run up and did whatever they could to not let him succeed. Not sure what you are on about.

During the run up. But once he became the nominee they all became team trump.

isn't that pretty par for the course? you support your own side? democrats became team biden too, even though they hated him during the primaries.

His opening statement as Speaker explicitly denigrates atheists.

Edit: So glad to see that the Speaker of the "People's House" as he so much likes to call it decided it would be a good idea to use his first speech as that Speaker to shit on some of those People.

Fucking fascists.

What did he say? I can't find it.

https://youtu.be/GCTScJ5twWI

~9:00 in he starts talking about the national motto, in opposition to Marxism and Communism, "which begins with the premise that there is no god."

I think that was way worse than denigrating atheism. Sounds like he's on the warpath to define the US as a Christian nation with Christian laws.

Perhaps I shouldn't have been so generous. I've been dying on a couple of stupid hills today, and I don't have the energy left to do it again, so I was choosing my words in order to be less likely to be challenged.

When I heard that, I thought, "Well, atheists are going to be the next boogeyman."

I'm sure he'll demonize anyone who doesn't worship "the right god." (The right god, of course, being the exact one he worships.) Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, etc will all be seen as second class citizens as well.

We could be. There really is no way to prove or disprove the claim. Much like the barbaric virgin and homosexual "tests" practiced in some places you get whatever results you want. Man X says he is a theist, the state says he is not, there is no way to tell if he is lying or not.

The enemy has to be everywhere. The enemy has to be weak and strong. The enemy has to win by deceit defeated by virtue and strength. The enemy has to prey on the innocent. The enemy must blend in so no one can be trusted, no one is above scrutiny, except of course the demagogue who is yelling about them as a threat.

The conspiracy is everywhere but the conspirators can only be found on occasion. No one thinks about sex as much as a Purtain who "sees" plots of it every where.

So new laws will be written. Freedom of religion means freedom from "forced conversion". Teachers will be silenced from mentioning anything that can even be construed as advocating for non-belief. Religious leaders will inform their congregation solemnly that 40% of them are atheists. The census will start asking about religious data and enforcing non-compliance. The FCC will be pushed to act on those "oppressing religion". The big Internet companies will be hit with suits for defamation for hosting atheist programs. Freedom of religion will be viewed by the courts as freedom to choose from options not freedom from the options.

There are no atheists countries there is not much of an atheist community. Much like the LGBT there will just be big government crushing individuals.

You, sir, are demonstrably wrong! Let me post a long response citing multiple sources to correct you!

...Nah, you're good. Ain't nobody got time for that (or so you'd think).

FFS I only saw the first part in notifications, and I was about to have a conniption.

conniption

Dear Diary. Today I learnt a new word. I will probably forget it in 5mins but what I know for sure is I will have many conniptions when I quit vaping nicotine and I'll probably wish I'd remembered the word so I could satisfyingly label them as such when I do.

Interestingly enough, you might remember it better. One of the effects of nicotine is enhanced memory.

I've run in largely Christian circles for most of my life, and that's how the conservative Christians I know have been talking about communism as long as I can remember, that its most important feature is that it's atheistic. I don't think it's actually indicative of any change or advancement of their position. Also, I'm pretty sure the GOP is technically less Christian now than it's ever been.

That's not what he's focused on imo. I think he emphasized the religiousness of the US.

That damn motto is so annoying, It just gives Christofascists something to point at and say, "See? This is a Christian nation!"

Funny how I manage to be a communist with more gods than him.

And you're a lezbian to boot.

Well these things are tied together. Their god didn’t want me the way I was made to be. I tried living his way and it was misery to me. I tried atheism and while there were no major objections I felt something was missing and when I found my gods that went away. My gods respect how I am. They see beauty in the variety of humanity.

This is America. Here my religion is just as good as anyone else’s or their lack of one. And if he doesn’t like it he can go to Iran and see how much he likes theocracy.

I'm glad you found a way to live with greater inner peace than you had before.

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Exactly. There’s a story I really like in which the gods Enki and Ninmah have a contest where one attempted to create a person too disabled to be useful to the gods and the other found a use. It wasn’t the same use that others got, but their own. We all carry our value, we all have something to contribute. You can’t make a mute person into a great orator, but give them a pen and they may amaze you with their words nonetheless.

And yeah I’ve always thought their attitude on the world burning while they wait for Jesus to come back is kinda stupid. Like beyond the “you’ve been stood up for quite a few centuries and he was supposed to only be a few years” aspect. If my house catches fire, I call the fire department, and manage to quench the flames before they arrive thanks to me and some neighbors going to town with extinguishers they’re not going to be mad at me. You can just stop global warming and bring about peace and if he shows up what’s he going to do chide you for making peace without its prince present, file a grievance?

Fuck that. I’m going to try to make a world we can live in happily.

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I caught that too, but I can't recall if it was before or after he talked about his absent wife on her knees (you know, because she was praying for her husband to receive a mandate from God so he could ascend to the speakership).

I heard him talking about his wife on her knees, "Really? You're going there, dude?"

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For those who are concerned, no, he's not going to be able to run a far-right agenda (but he might try! 🍿) Anything that he could get through the house is likely to die in the Senate, and even then Biden wouldn't sign it.

That said, there is some scary bi-partisan shit that might get passed. There are at least two keep internet porn from kids laws that are really about don't say "gay" on the internet But both parties really don't like the public being able to freely deliberate and opine about how our government officials conduct themselves.

What we can expect is more of the Greatest Show on Earth. Republican infighting and stupid shenanigans should continue unabated. Republican representatives will provide plenty of campaigning content for their Democratic rivals running against them in 2024.

that are really about don't say "gay" on the internet

I've seen claims that banning saying gay is what makes lgbt people happy. Like Putin.

I don't think the problem lies in the ability to push far right agendas. They are not smart enough anyway to have ideas. The problem is that tea party religious zealots are really good at breaking down the government from doing what's supposed to do. They will probably freeze any meaningful change till the next election, so that they can later cry that the public sector is inefficient and useless. And their base will drink it like coolaid

"Hey its not a good idea to let children have unfettered access to pornography on the internet" "YOU JUST DONT WANT KIDS TO BE GAY!"

Where are the parents? Or daddy state has to take care of your children also?

It's about control. Same with abortion, control. Same with banning books, control.

Why is censorship the answer? Can't parents and the educational system teach children to avoid it themselves and be responsible with their internet usage? That seems like a much more holistic answer to this problem.

are you anti censorship? seems people on this site are very happy censoring things they believe to be problematic.

and yes, telling kids about something that they will enjoy but telling them to stay away from it has worked many times before. There is way too much pornographic content on social media sites that children use, and its almost a guarantee they will encounter it. The web didn't used to be like that.

Maybe parents shouldn’t let their kids have unrestricted access to the internet? I’m not sure why so many folks think it’s alright to just hand a small child an iPad and never check what they’re doing.

you can't monitor your kids 24/7. and if you had parental trackers on the device people here will call you abusive.

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"Hey censorship isn't a good idea." "YOU'RE JUST TRYING TO MAKE MY KIDS GAY!" Two can play the strawman game. Parents should do anything with their children or just not have them.

Are you anti censorship? Seems a lot of people are okay censoring things they find problematic i.e. transphobia, racism, etc

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The Secret Service needs to keep President Biden and VP Harris far apart from each other. We can't afford to have this man become President.

Alternatively, if they must be together, bring the Speaker as well.

That is actually routine, especially when they're traveling or making public appearances.

But when McCarthy had the gavel, it was just as nightmarish imagining he could be POTUS.

I wonder if there's be conversations around that topic during the whole fiasco. Like, sure McCarthy wouldn't have been good either, but this is much more dangerous.

He's a fundamentalist is he? I'm sure there are no tenets of Christianity, not a one, that he violates.

Not remotely surprising the Republicans compromised on the lowest common denominator.

He said "Guns don't shoot people; teaching evolution shoots people."

While Hakeem Jeffries would refute that by saying "Teaching evolution doesn't shoot people, guns shoot people" and have you seeing that is much more accurate while wishing it was him who had gotten the 220 votes to become Speaker of the House.

Evangelicals are sleeping with the devil to do the lords work

Didn't Jesus specifically teach against the concept of being an evangelical?

Edited to make more sense

Pretty much.

Matthew 6:6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Or just spray it all over Facebook

I wonder, was that added because early christian "cultists" were persecuted pretty badly? Maybe similar to why there is stuff about pork, because of trichinosis

Disregard my last comment, I thought you were replying to a different comment

It is a Republican majority, it was never NOT going to be that. This is the person that that they are, even marginally reasonable humans are VASTLY in the minority of the GOP.

Let’s get this gummit shutdown underway.

Except it's threatening to delay my union vote at work. Our hospital corporation is deliberately stalling in hopes the government will shut down and the NLRB won't be available to oversee our vote. Our union is busy pushing NLRB to get it done already.

Yup. Dude is a crackpot that wants to defund everything.

When McCarthy was removed, I thought it was a mistake for Democrats not to support him. Now this new guy does seem worse. I guess we'll know soon enough, when it's time to avert a shutdown again.

Why would the Democrats support someone who went back on almost everything he told them he'd stand for? "But the new guy will be worse" when someone shows you who they are, Believe them.

The guy who was elected has shown us he's a dedicated election denier tho! It was never going to be someone more trustworthy in that shit show of a caucus.

Not only went back on, but went on media programs blaming Democrats for everything even when it was the Freedom Caucus doing it. Even if McCarthy made a deal with them, there was no way that the Democrats could trust that he'd uphold his end of the deal.

But it's not about the balance of the deal, it'd be helping the moderate Republicans from voting in, well, this guy.

Besides, I think it would have been politically embarrassing to be saved by the Democrats.

Who the fuck cares if it appeases his base while keeping whatever semblance of sanity is left in the house.

Democrats have every reason to let Republicans boil in their own vomit. They do need to do something about the coming government shut down and get Ukraine funding back. And let's face it, they want to fund Israel's military operations, too.

They could afford to wait a bit, though. They got a few weeks of news cycles that were nothing but Republican dysfunction. All they had to do was vote out McCarthy and pop open a beer.

The fact that McCarthy went back on promises to Democrats because of demands from the far right fringe made him too untrustworthy to Democrats, I don't see how they could vote for him.

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I’d expect no less from those that represent the coward half of our country.

"Half" makes it sound like 50% of the US population are cowards. I'm European, so I'll make fun all day for shits and giggles, but even I know there's not that many cowards in the US.

You would be surprised. The Gangs claim that 2/3 of people are in gangs, and gang members are gang members because they are cowards.

Lol what in the fuck are you even saying? "The gangs"? What gangs??

Gang members are a lot of things, but I'm not sure I would include "cowardly."

The psychology and sociology behind gangs, gang members, etc. is incredibly complex and reasons people join can vary wildly. Gangs don't exist in a vacuum, they're created by the terrible conditions that we allow (force) millions of people to live under.

Why you're even talking about gangs in the first place, I'm not really sure. But, that said, you clearly know very little about the subject, so maybe don't bring it up randomly? Just a suggestion.

The worst of the worst, exactly what the GOP were holding out for.

Republicans will always elect the worst possible candidate

I give him 26 Emmers before he drops out.

I'm pessimistic on this. Johnson isn't going to be removed from the Speakership, when Johnson is sucking on Trump's dick.

I hope that the Democrats hit every swing district saying that their Republican member voted for this shit bag and they lacked "patriotism" to stand up to Trump.

Are you saying this fella could very well open a multi-billion dollar conglomerate and operate under the name Johnson in Johnson?

when Johnson is sucking on Trump’s dick

idk, sounds a little too overtly gay for Republicans

I'm pretty sure that they will find some way to hand wave it away. I mean Republicans are great at being hypocrites.

Constantly… paging Lauren Hoebert to the white courtesy phone, paging Hoebert to the white courtesy phone…

There's sadly no dropping out, the deal is sealed and this guy is the next speaker. He can resign the post, but I don't think he intends to.

Yeah, he'll get trounced by someone in his own party though, like the last one did.

To butcher Trump quote - "When Louisiana sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”

May his faith in his abilities be soundly broken by Senate Dems sinking every piece of bullshit legislation he helps pass in the House.

The last several GOP speakers have been ripped to shreds by their own party. It very well could happen again.

We can hope… but if he’s smarter than Kevin McCarthy (which, granted, doesn’t take much) he likely didn’t agree to the same provisions that allowed Gaetz to call for a vote. So unfortunately he’s probably there until the next election unless a majority decides to motion for his removal, but I could be wrong.

The House rules haven't had a change... any amendments to the rules would need to be presented in a motion and voted on by the full House.

In principle he's susceptible to the same threats as McCarthy. However since he's loved by the Treason Causcus and the "moderates" fear making the party look inept with another speaker battle...

I meant the personal concessions that McCarthy made to get elected Speaker to begin with. I don’t think those concessions were adopted into the general House rules that would apply to the next Speaker, but again, I could be wrong.

He has just over 12 months to do anything with the demonstrably fractured house and he's not going to get anything big through the senate.

What were you expecting?

This is like finding out that the new pope is a Catholic.

Well, here's the problem: God is literally speaking to me, and he says this guy is evil as fuck and tepublicans are the problem with the U.S. There you go, I must be right. Prove me wrong. You can't, so I must be right.

Well then, that’s a very bad person. He has no business in congress at all

Democrats have some veto power don't they?

Dems can pretty much dismiss anything he/the House does in the Senate. Very little he does will make it to Biden's desk where Biden could veto if need be.

Who? Mike Joneson?

281 330 8004

I do know whose cellphone this is...it's Mike Jones'.

That's the number you can call me on.

When you call, ask for Mike Jones!

It would be a blast to see the memes if the speakers name was that. I was happy to see the ref. That was a long time ago and fairly localized. I don't even know what happened to that guy.

Those simple times of 9-layer paint and causing pain in the turning lane

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The fortunate thing is that the Senate is DEM controlled so the amount of damage he can do is limited.

It is a very slim majority but the House can still do a lot of shit. Also they can bring the government to a halt if they refuse to make their bills something the Senate can pass.