Mike Johnson 'blindsided' by abrupt departure that could end Lauren Boebert's career

DevCat@lemmy.world to politics @lemmy.world – 340 points – Mike Johnson 'blindsided' by abrupt departure that could end Lauren Boebert's career
rawstory.com

Boebert had switched districts after Buck announced his impending retirement to avoid a stiff challenge from Democrat Adam Frisch in the 3rd district, but Buck's immediate departure will set up a special election in which the state Republican and Democratic parties will choose a nominee – and there's no guarantee they'll pick the controversial Boebert.

Further complicating matters, Boebert would have to resign her seat in the 3rd district to run in that special election because Colorado law prohibits a candidate from running for more than one office at a time, and her resignation would set up yet another U.S. House special election before the end of the year.

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Ken Buck is my congressman and I have disagreed with him on almost everything during his entire term. With that being said, him going out in a way specifically to fuck over Boebert and the rest of the GOP brings a smile to my face. He's still a massive piece of shit, but he did good here.

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Yeah it seems like he's doing it to screw over Boebert specifically, but he's hoping his party will pick a nominee that he likes

hope you get someone actually interested in representing their own constituents

Unfortunately, the district is extremely right wing. We're R+13, which is why Boebert wants to run here, because whoever wins the Republican primary is pretty much a given to win the seat.

With that being said, Colorado recently redrew its district line by an independent, non-partisan group. I have no idea how my district managed to remain so lopsided throughout that process.

But he’s not. He could have easily worked with dems to make policy.

I see she's practicing her next outing at the cinema in that picture

Why does she look like a hooting gibbon in every photo?

Because she is a goblin and she never shuts the fuck up?

If Buck leaves and boebert resigns and runs, that brings the Republican majority to a measley 1 seat, yes?

Sounds like the guy who was retiring wanted to go out in a way that screwed over Bobo the worst.

It’s just my speculation but I think it was the shit show from the GOP at the SOTU. He had already announced his retirement in November but suddenly changed it to next week after the event. He then made statements about the party having no decorum. I believe he was already done but that was the last straw.

Fucking mind boggling that there is any possible last straw after so many years of Donald.

Because it was never about decorum or dignity or honorable governance, not really.

It was about gambling that Trump would give them the power they wanted.

He didn't, they lost that gamble, and the longer they hang on to it, the worse it gets for them. Ken Buck isn't quitting because things finally crossed a line of dignity, he's quitting because it's become clear to him that no amount of effort can save this shit show. Might as well do something else.

My guess would be MGT all in red and acting trashy.

I think one of the funniest lines in that SNL sketch this weekend was when Biden says "thanks for dressing up tonight".

I sure wish the real Biden had said that to her when that harpy was screeching at him.

I highly doubt he put (or was capable of putting) that much thought into it.

I choose to see it as "sometimes the universe has a funny way of working things out"

He might have been forced out to encourage a "rising star" to proceed.

That was how wannabe dictator Stephen Harper and his Reform party were done in in 2015 in Canada. They tried to run the old, sane conservatives out of their strongholds in the Maritimes.

Her career is already over. She just hasn’t accepted it yet.

The past 10 years have taught me not to get up hope that you're right.

She's just going to pivot back into her more honest profession, sex work.

Let's be real here. She is in the process of divorcing he rich husband, in a scenario that appears he is to blame. So she isn't going to be hurting for money.

I'm just saying Republicans aren't known for thinking "Yes, this is enough money" and OnlyFans still exists.

She's also made millions during her tenure, several times more than her salary.

Edit: Nvm, that was apparently desinformation, please disregard.

The irony. Ken Buck leaves because he is fed up with his party's juvenile antics. Potentially replaced by one of the worst offenders.

This is why everyone is calling him a coward for quitting without actually trying to solve the problem he has become outspoken against.

What’s he gonna do with this GOP? Nothing gets done.

Organize a counter MAGA caucus. Even if it's just a few members, if they got enough to change a majority if they went with Dems, that'd give them the same power as the MAGA caucus.

MAGA caucus wants to hold the budget hostage? OK, guess we're going to vote with Dems because you're too busy with theatrics.

MAGA caucus wants to bomb the bipartisan immigration reform bill? Nope, going through.

MAGA caucus wants to play games with the speaker of the house position? Well if you don't get your shit together, we're going to have a Dem speaker.

That's some heavy fuck you power with just a few votes. The MAGA caucus has destroyed the party from the perspective of any republican that believes in governing.

It would only take a few. Dems have shown repeatedly (and to the dismay of Dem voters) that they are quick to work across the isle if there's any chance of good faith negotiations. With the divide so close, a few Republicans have a golden opportunity to play both sides and actually force the Republicans to focus on getting things done with the stick being "if you don't, we will give the Dems everything they want".

But of course, they'd rather just drop out and let the cards fall how they will. Because they're afraid of the backlash from their domestic terrorist base.

The dude has a more conservative voting record than the average house republican according to the heritage foundation. That voting record suggests he's a believer in conservative governing even if he thinks his party is dysfunctional as shit. I couldn't see Bernie Sanders voting with Republicans just to try to get democrats to get their shit together.

I have no fucking clue how there aren't three or four of them who are tired of the puerile corruption. There isn't even one. They are all white supremacist fascists colluding to destroy the country for profit.

Yep, there were a couple in the Jan 6th committee that fell on their swords, but they never tried to actually start a counter movement to take the party back.

Could end her career a few months earlier than expected.

She's not going to win her primary in the 3rd district, and wouldn't win the special election. Maybe someone out there thinks she can climb in the polls between now and the voting, but I don't.

Yeah she already came in 5th in a straw poll after a debate in January and 3rd in one a few days ago. Those aren't the most scientific polls, but the response to her changing districts wasn't positive, and she's not getting much positive coverage locally. I can't imagine her being the eventual candidate, regardless of what Ken Buck does.

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You could crash an entire Boeing 737 in her mouth and it still wouldn't shut her up...

You're giving a lot of credit to an air craft that may or may not fall apart before it even makes it to her mouth.

Clickbait. The 'end her career' part mentioned here would be an intentional choice on her part.

This is incorrect. If the Republicans choose to run someone other than her in the 4th district, she has no office to exist in, and she will no longer be a US politician, and this is not her intentional choice. If she instead chooses to participate in the special election in the 3rd district, she will probably lose, and that's also not her intentional choice.

It remains to be seen whether she would stop seeking office, but I think that's a fair reason to say it "could end [her] career".

Not if she unhinges her jaw any further. There's a hole in many a fence across the nation that MAGAt males'd line up to "vote" in.

Don't chance the splinters, just take her to a family musical.

Since she's moving to the 4th district, can she just move back to the 3rd district? I don't understand how that works. Hopefully she can't just shop around.

For example, if she resigns from 3rd district to run in 4th, can she go back?

My understanding is that she would have to resign to run in the special election. So she does that, giving up her seat now or she waits and runs in the election in November. If she waits she will be facing whoever wins the special election and that would probably hurt her already slim chance of winning anyway. She is doomed no matter what in my opinion. It’s just a mater of her leaving congress now vs January.

No I think she's pretty hosed. I'm in the district she currently represents, she's got no shot of retaining her seat regardless of what she does. Not only is she a shit person, she's an idiot that completely botched her own meal ticket.

You don’t have to live in the district you’re running for in CO, or at least so I read elsewhere.

Firstly - photo editors around the world: back up off the pipe. These photos y'all are running with stories are koo koo bananapants. I mean - funny, yeah, but

Secondly: the Tea Party republican is retiring because republiQans went too far.

That’s like the devil saying you’re too evil

I think this latest shift to being almost explicitly pro-Russia is going to give pause to a small but noticeable number of of young boomer and Gen X republicans. Fighting Russian hegemony was literally the main foreign policy goal of all US administrations from 1946 to 1990, and it was always a huge talking point that Reagan "beat the Soviets."

Then, domestically, there's a move to no longer try to "win" debates in congress and get concessions from the other side, but to simply obstruct. The latest, frankly draconian, immigration bill should have been a huge win for Republicans, successfully locking in some extremely xenophobic policies, and all mostly to release Ukraine and Israel funds that proper Israel-loving Cold Warriors should want anyway! The fact that THIS bill got killed shows there's no longer an attempt to win "normal" American politics, but to play some other, even scarier game.