October 25, 2023

Oh! They actually elected a Speaker of the House.

Hmm. Okay. Mike Johnson.

"Rep. Mike Johnson elected speaker, breaking weeks-long stalemate" (WaPo): "He is antiabortion, voted against Ukraine aid and supports LGBTQ restrictions.... Johnson received votes from all 220 Republicans present."

From the NYT: "Who Is Mike Johnson? One of the House’s Staunchest Conservatives. A lawyer and former chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee, he played a pivotal role in congressional efforts to overturn the 2020 election.": "Mr. Johnson’s hallmark in Congress has been combining his hard-line views with a gentle style. He emerged at a moment when members of the conference were worn down and ready to accept someone who they did not view as an obvious choice. Instead, he passed a lowered bar: They view him as someone sufficiently conservative and who they do not personally despise."

111 comments:

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Sounds like a safe seat republican then.

JAORE said...

Thank goodness we have the mind readers of the NYT to plumb the thinking of Republicans.

Gunner said...

Democrats will make fun of his name based on the fact that it can't be made fun of.

RideSpaceMountain said...

AOC called him an 'insurrectionist' and an 'extremist'...

Quite the endorsement.

Joe Smith said...

Joe Smith not available : )

Original Mike said...

"voted against Ukraine aid"

Good. That's what I was looking for.

Original Mike said...

"Instead, he passed a lowered bar:"

Kinda like our President.

Levi Starks said...

I’m in.

Patrick said...

Why would anyone want that job?

Rich said...

‘“… a conservative Christian ... and loyal ally of Donald Trump ...’”

Two concepts that under the laws of physics should not coexist without tearing apart the fabric of space-time.

From the frying pan and into the fire....

The Crack Emcee said...

"They view him as someone sufficiently conservative and who they do not personally despise."

Why don't people vote Republican? Because they're so despicable.

Dave Begley said...

"Mike spent nearly 20 years successfully litigating high profile constitutional law cases in district and appellate courts nationwide and is widely recognized as a leading defender of the right to life, religious liberty, free speech, the Second Amendment and free market principles. In his law practice, he drafted landmark legislation for many states and municipalities and provided legal counsel to members of Congress, governors, state legislatures, city councils, school boards, law enforcement agencies, ministries and non-profit organizations around the country."

LSU alum. I like him already.

Tom T. said...

So the office once held by Cannon and Boehner now goes to Johnson as the ranking member. Somewhere out there, somebody named Richard Wang may be contemplating a run for Congress.

Narayanan said...

Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.)

Louisiana also elected R governor without runoff last week.

Tom T. said...

You can call him Mike, or you can call him Speaker, but you doesn't have to call him Johnson.

RideSpaceMountain said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
RideSpaceMountain said...

"As an evangelical Christian, Johnson is the former chairman of the Republican Study Committee, and has sponsored legislation which effectively bars the discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity for those below the age of 10 at any school which receives federal funds." (zerohedge)

Well signed by Hades, sealed with rooster blood, and delivered through a hail of gunfire, why didn't they put him up for consideration earlier!

Sheridan said...

Was the Times article written by the same "expert" who reviewed the missile explosion and decided that the Israelis were actually at fault? Who knew that the Times has polymaths in the newsroom!!

Robert Cook said...

"He is antiabortion, voted against Ukraine aid and supports LGBTQ restrictions...."

Of course he is antiabortion and supports LGBTQ restrictions. He opposes Ukraine aid, which shows even an anti-freedom asshole can be right once in a while. (I'm not entirely convinced he wouldn't be in favor of Ukraine if the president were a Republican, given how rabidly pro-war/pro-military intervention the Republicans have been historically.)

YoungHegelian said...

While I really had nothing against McCarthy, he's from California! Whatever may be Rep Johnson's claim to fame, Louisiana is a lot closer to the population center of gravity for the present Republican Party than is California.

We fought a Civil war over regionalism and it's still a powerful force in American politics.

Limited blogger said...

Mike Johnson looks solid.

MSM will portray him as the most awful man that ever walked the earth.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Looks like Regular Order is back on the menu. Even the Stupid Party makes the right moves once in a blue moon.

hombre said...

Johnson stated that several election issues should be "litigated and investigated." Oh, the horror!!

Expect the leftmediaswine smear campaign to begin immediately.

n.n said...

"Hard-line conservative" is strictly Constitutional, American first. [Positive] progress.

Kai Akker said...

Looking forward to Speaker Johnson. It really wasn't the big whoop people seemed to think. Not sure why all the handwringing.

If you want to fight the Democratic machine, you have to have a little gumption. Goetz and others felt betrayed to the left by McCarthy. It was good to shake things up. Let's hope Johnson fights, as he has at times on his committees.

hombre said...

There is ample evidence that the election was rigged and most polls now reveal that a majority of Americans doubt the integrity of our elections and/or believe the 2020 election was "rigged."

Will the mediswine ever stop the "no evidence" BS? Probably not.

walter said...

Should be filed as Opinion piece.

".. played a pivotal role in congressional efforts to overturn the 2020 election."
AKA addressing concerns over election integrity, using tools Dems have attempted to employ previously.

"Last year, Mr. Johnson introduced a bill that prohibited the use of federal funds for providing sex education to children under 10 that included any L.G.B.T.Q. topics"
How dare he!

Meade said...

“one of the staunchest religious conservatives in the House,” “ultra-conservative,” “hard right-wing.”
Tomorrow’s NYT headline: “Speaker Johnson blows up Gaza hospital killing round number of people”

walter said...

I suppose I should give her credit for not using the phrase "The Big Lie". It was on her lips, I suspect.

MadisonMan said...

Thanks for the unbiased reported, NYTimes.

RideSpaceMountain said...

"Tomorrow’s NYT headline: “Speaker Johnson blows up Gaza hospital killing round number of people”

They'll have incontrovertible video evidence of a weather balloon and some sunlight reflecting off swamp gas at 37,000 ft, and their on-staff phase-of-the-moon prognosticator to back up such a claim, they assure us.

Owen said...

Meade: your proposed headline for tomorrow needs work. I'd propose "Speaker Johnson blows up Gaza hospital killing round number of people while laughing maniacally."

Fredrick said...

First bill up:
Secrure our border?
Impeach Biden/Myorkis/anybody?
Naw....
More money for yet another war.

Jupiter said...

Also from the NYT "up = down" "right = left" "white = black".

Look, we've got it. "All the lies that fit in print." "Newspaper of broken record". "Old Gray Whore".

Lying liars lie and lie. That's established, it requires no further evidence.

Yancey Ward said...

And you want to know what will be different tomorrow from yesterday in the House:

Nothing.

Michael said...


This is a huge win for Matt Gaetz and those MAGA rebels. Historical analogies are incomplete, but this reminds me of the insurgency Gingrich ran in the early 90s.

Will be interesting to see how it plays out. One thing for sure, if Johnson puts the quash on continuing resolutions and omnibus spending bills then the House is going to be filled with lively debates about national priorities.

walter said...

Also by Annie:
"Who Invited Ivanka?
Kim Kardashian hosted the shunned socialite to her birthday party, then posted the photos for her 364 million followers."
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/24/style/who-invited-ivanka.html

Joe Smith said...

'“one of the staunchest religious conservatives in the House,” “ultra-conservative,” “hard right-wing.”'

Just trying to usher in the Rapture®

: )

Ice Nine said...

Well, lookee here - after a couple weeks of fairly calm and fairly standard House of Reps horse-trading we've got a new Speaker of the House. And...he is exactly the type of guy that most true conservatives have long wished to be the Speaker. We're happy, aren't we? What possible reason would we not be happy about this process that went down and ended up giving us the excellent Mike Johnson as Speaker? And, that brought our nemesis, RINOs, to heel - that which we have been calling for for years.

There sure was a lot of energy and hysteria expended on parroting the MSM's constant instruction to us that we were in the midst of supposed "chaos" - Republican-caused chaos. Did anyone see the chaos? As I've said repeatedly over the last couple weeks, I've managed to somehow miss it. I saw some congressional sausage being made, like it is every day of the world - this sausage just elicited MSM/Dem publicity for propaganda purposes.

That the Dems and the MSM would try to whip up an hysteria over the fact that McCarthy was deposed didn't surprise me at all, though I ignored it because, while that was an impressive political coup, it didn't follow to me that it was any sort of calamity. What was amazing to me was that so many normals bought into it. Like, what, the Repubs in Congress didn't know that they needed to have a Speaker or that there wasn't a mechanism to get one? You remove one, you select another. Big deal. Was it the fact that it it wasn't a sure thing that the replacement would occur on the first vote? Or first ten? Or first fourteen, as with McCarthy's selection? Beats me.

And finally, here's kudos to Rep Matt Gaetz for, yes, making this happen. I've never much cared one way or the other about Gaetz but I'll certainly acknowledge his moxie and skill in maneuvering this thing, and his fervor as a true conservative and a patriotic Republican citizen, which have mightily impressed me recently. Those who won't acknowledge this elephant in the room - Gaetz' masterstroke - are, I'm sorry, simply compensating their hasty condemnation of him and their freakout over this (which still mystifies me).

n.n said...

Humanitarian, does not support the Slavic Spring, and opposes the principle of congruence ("="). The religious doth protest.

Gusty Winds said...

Mike Johnson also supported Texas vs PA... kick ass.

That was our best opportunity to deal with the 2020 election fraud. The Supreme Court got scared...and failed. I'm sure all nine justices know the 2020 election was rigged.

Awesome Mike Johnson has voted against funding the never ending war in Ukraine. No American dollars, no more war. Fuck Zelensky. Fuck the memory of John McCain. Fuck Lindsey Graham and their color revolution. Fuck dingbat Harris for publicly inviting Ukraine to join NATO. Completely unnecessary. A complete fuck up that started the war.

If the EU wants to finance a war to fight Putin, go right ahead. No more American Tax money for this bullshit. The United States Commander in Chief is moron, and our transgender military captains and colonels are wearing lipstick, skirts, and hair ties. I'd rather follow Colonel Sanders into battle.

I'm against any war these morons want to finance or get young Americans killed fighting.

This is a win for MAGA, the Freedom Caucus...and Matt Gaetz. Good job man.

retail lawyer said...

What is an LGBTQ restriction?

DINKY DAU 45 said...

Finally after 3 weeks of showing their ass to the world,Republicans finally got their guy,Mike Johnson,the guy who called for 750 billion to cuts in Social Security,2 TRILLION TO Medicare and the ACA.Wants a national abortion ban(no restrictions)national ban on Gay marriage ,voted as an all in for trump in trump impeachment and voted to overturn the 2020 election that the repubs called rigged (ask all the trump lawYers and administration and heads of the government who say poo poo "of course we lost" about the lies and fraud in that scenario)They finally got their perfect Republican guy.100% OF THE CONFERENCE NOW OWN ALL THE QUALIFICATIONS OF THIS FELLA.That abortion issue should be a great seller for the next presidential election for the Repubs.Lets go ,on with the show finally,lets see the next CR to fund the government and the $$$ for foreign wars. These are exciting times.1st MAGA speaker in History ,for the record books and also a religious zealot that's always interesting in the constitutional realm of all members Lets give him a shot c what he's got ,see if he gets past the vote of one to get rid of him first time he is disobedient to the tea party people.Now back to watching the former guy getting sent to the corner again for $10 g's because he has "loose lips that sink ships"Next time fee doubles! The greatest show on earth by the greatest ringmaster we have ever seen! On with the show

Jim at said...

Never heard of the guy before today. But judging by all the leftists losing their shit? He'll do.

Oh Yea said...

Soon to be declared worse than Hitler

Gusty Winds said...

The Tea Party / MAGA base has now successfully picked Trump over the Bush dynasty.

Now has successfully replaced McCarthy with MAGA Mike Johnson.

Democrat Bernie supporters who had Hillary and Slow Joe shoved down their throats should be jealous.

Bernie capitulated. Trump and Gaetz have not. Let's hope Mike Johnson has the same brass balls. Let's also hope he keeps his head, and that his staunch support for Israel doesn't assist Biden and our moron military getting us into a war with Iran.

Iman said...

Kick ‘em in their short n’ curlies, Johnson!

J Severs said...

"hard-line views" = "we don't like them".

Kate said...

So, the honeymoon is over ...

Mark said...

"Mr. Johnson’s hallmark in Congress has been combining his hard-line views with a gentle style....They view him as someone sufficiently conservative and who they do not personally despise."

In other words, he is WORSE THAN TRUMP, who is, of course, WORSE THAN HITLER!

R C Belaire said...

OK, fine, yeah. But what about regular-order budgeting? Is that ever going to be a "thing" again?

William50 said...

"One of the House's staunchest Conservatives."
That remains to be seen. If he tries to pass another CR he's just another Democrat ass kisser.
Don't pay any attention to what they say, it's what they do that counts.

hawkeyedjb said...

It's easy to be "hard right-wing" at the NYT, where the hard left-wing does not exist.

tastid212 said...

Meade's right on the money. The Dem oppo begins immediately.

ProPublica and Rolling Stone publish the initial stories that WaPo later develops into a scathing series that's a contender for a Pulitzer. "He's a total Trump sycophant" one unnamed Congressional intern declared; people who briefly attended the same college claim he "belonged to a mostly white fraternity that once hosted a drag show" in the 1930s; former neighbors allege they once heard "his elderly coonhound howl like he was being kicked".

Look at what Lee Atwater started!

Rusty said...

I'm sure this is compelling news to someone who cares.

Mason G said...

“one of the staunchest religious conservatives in the House,” “ultra-conservative,” “hard right-wing.”
Tomorrow’s NYT headline: “Speaker Johnson blows up Gaza hospital killing round number of people”


Yes, but are his tweets mean?

West TX Intermediate Crude said...

Yesterday at this time, all the received wisdom was that the R's were a bunch of clowns without purpose or form, dogs who had caught the car they are chasing and don't know what to do with it. Matt Gaetz was widely referred to as a bomb-throwing anarchist, who had ruined the R party and had nothing to show for it except embarrassment.
Today we have a shiny new Speaker, one who to my mind has the potential to be a big improvement over Kevin McC. I'm sure Gaetz is happy. Regular order is in sight.

The Godfather said...

"They view him as someone sufficiently conservative and who they do not personally despise." Change "sufficiently conservative" to "not Bernie Sanders" and you describe the reason the Democrats picked Joe Biden as their Presidential nominee in 2020. How's that working out for you?

Original Mike said...

[Mike Johnson] "supports LGBTQ restrictions" says WaPo.

Like what? Playing on the wrong sports team? Using the wrong bathroom? I don't consider those "restrictions".

madAsHell said...

They view him as someone sufficiently conservative and who they do not personally despise.

This is how sorority girls think.

Lawrence Person said...

Let me guess "LGBTQ restrictions" is code for "He only believes there are two sexes, male and female."

You know, the radical idea shared by the vast majority of American voters.

Kevin said...

Mike Johnson

Sounds made-up.

Let me guess, ultra right-wing white dude being played by FBI Agent Ray Epps.

Mary Beth said...

who they do not personally despise

Have you seen Congress? That's a high bar whether the NYT recognizes it as such or not.

(Do they not have any editors left?)

Big Mike said...

he played a pivotal role in congressional efforts to overturn the 2020 election

@Althouse, wouldn’t it be great if there were better safeguards and verifiability for our elections than “We’re Democrats — trust us!” ? Then there would be a bit less trouble and a bit more boring in this world. Aren’t you the one who says she’s for boring?

BTW, you seem to be ready today to accept the bullshit efforts of the Times to talk its way out of its uncritical acceptance of the Hamas propaganda about Israel attacking a hospital and now you seem to be uncritically accepting their assessment of Mike Johnson. That makes you zero for two in my book.

boatbuilder said...

So those crazy insane smug self-serving Gang of Eight reps who were going to lead us all to eternal doom and the end of the Republican Party somehow managed to secure the election of a Republican speaker who stands for things that the vast majority of Republican voters support.

Imagine that.

Politics ain't beanbag.

Mutaman said...

Congratulations to the Know Nothings: Only took several weeks, numerous votes, many threats to the wives and families of politicians, and they finally come up with a guy who says gay marriage will lead to: "There will be no legal basis to deny a bisexual the right to marry a partner of each sex, or a person to marry his pet." But hey, this choice will piss off the liberals and that's all that counts, right?

Congratulations. You have a right to pat yourselves on the back.

lonejustice said...

This is a good result. A solid conservative, but someone who doesn't shoot off his mouth or make enemies. Most people in Congress seem to like him, even if they disagree with him. Kind of like Ronald Reagan. I wish him well.

boatbuilder said...

Ice Nine--I posted before I read your comment. You said it better.

robother said...

"Hard right wing," "Ultra Conservative". Is it too much to hope that Johnson takes the Speaker's chair tomorrow in full buffalo headress and war paint?

RNB said...

Cookie wrote: "...given how rabidly pro-war/pro-military intervention the Republicans have been historically." Wilson. FD Roosevelt. Truman. Kennedy and Johnson. Republicans all!

Lars Porsena said...

Thank goodness!!Now everybody can get back to the business of spending more money than we have.

Gospace said...

There are few more right wing conservative extremist Christian characterizations I've seen on threadreaderapp, but the ones I see in the comments here cover most of them.

Seems to me he's hated by all the right people. More then enough reason to like him as far as I'm concerned.

walter said...

Blogger Kate said...
So, the honeymoon is over ...
--
Ha!
Dinky Dau pounces!

Michelle Dulak Thomson said...

Of course, the backlash is forming instantly. Ruth Marcus (WaPo) has already declared Johnson worse than Jim Jordan, b/c he's a soft-spoken guy in spectacles and, so, super-duper-deceptive!

Candide said...

"LGBTQ restrictions" are basic social norms accepted for thousands of years by people of all political persuasions

Readering said...

Beats a McCarthy/Jordan regime.
Will Maj Leader be from same state?

Dude1394 said...

Well, well. All of the kool kids told me Matt Gaetz was making a huge mistake. He is going to get a democrat elected. He was going to be drummed out of the party. Well done sir. eGOP, you are wrong about everything, go away. Would love to see an Israeli support bill and a seperate Ukraine bill. All of the democrats can prove what racist fascists they are. And the Ukraine bill will show how the democrats are now the war party.

Well done Mr Gaetz. MAGA forever.

Mutaman said...

hombre said...

"Johnson stated that several election issues should be "litigated and investigated."

How'd that litigation work out for you?

Mutaman said...

Meade said...


" Tomorrow’s NYT headline: “Speaker Johnson blows up Gaza hospital killing round number of people”

Meade taking a break from making threatening phone calls to the wives and kids of politicians he doesn't like.

Jim at said...

But hey, this choice will piss off the liberals and that's all that counts, right?

Nope. It's not all that counts. But it does put a nice flavor of icing on top.

farmgirl said...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DrVQTNpSwIk&pp=ygUnSm9yZGFuIFBldGVyc29uIGludGVydmlld3MgbWlrZSBqb2huc29u

Jordan Peterson interviews Mike Johnson.

Lloyd W. Robertson said...

Republicans, with a narrow majority and some reasons to disagree among themselves (like sane human beings):
1. Avoided giving the job to a Dem who wouldn't work for a Rep agenda
2. Avoided taking dictation from Orange Man.
3. Avoided both a conservative with many enemies (Jordan) and some moderate who was kind of Jeb milquetoast.

Take the W.

I don't know much about Johnson, but this looks promising. He worked on the Texas lawsuit, claiming that certification in four states should be delayed. The argument for which he's given credit, I think different from Eastman who now faces disbarment, was that the voting rule changes in response to Covid were unconstitutional. The right of individuals to vote if they qualify to do so does not necessarily override the requirement to ensure voting is free and fair. Ordinary, common sense precautions for chain of custody of ballots, ID, and one person one vote were abandoned.

TestTube said...

Robert Cook, you have abandoned your usual clear-sighted analytical viewpoint that I so admire!

As an example, what, exactly, does it mean to "support LGBTQ restrictions"? A uselessly vague description that could mean anything from wishing to keep kindergartners from viewing sexually explicit material to throwing gays off buildings.

Nor does anti-abortion necessarily mean anti-freedom. If the abortion issue was so clearly cut, there would not be so much friction about it!

Throw away your broad brush, Robert Cook! You are far to skilled with the fine brush and the reasoned argument!

Breezy said...

The new Speaker gave an excellent speech - all the right notes on regaining trust of the nation, back to regular order, fiscal restraint and hard choices, giving power and consent back to the reps, etc. A great speech, humble and strong. First bill will be about Israel. No mention of the other foreign $ asks by Biden.

John henry said...

Geez, dinky

I already liked the guy. You don't need to sell me on him.

John Henry

traditionalguy said...

A victory for the MAGA Americans. He seems to be a Jim Jordan fight to win type with a more pleasant and smooth lawyer’s personality.

traditionalguy said...

It seems they nominated Clark Kent to avoid having Superman as the speaker. He has the speaking tools of a winner.

Jamie said...

"There will be no legal basis to deny a bisexual the right to marry a partner of each sex, or a person to marry his pet."

So... now that we've opened the door to a new definition of marriage from any that existed in any culture before, what exactly would the legal basis be for denying either of these?

Hmmm?

I speak as someone who has accepted gay marriage as a done deal, if with resignation (and personally with a couple of much-loved aunts who had a commitment ceremony years prior to legal marriage). I've been wondering ever since then how we construct and enforce a line to prevent further incursions against the definition, such as polygamous marriages, that carry with them ever more complicated implications.

What's your answer?

If the answer is, "There is no defensible line," then it appears that your side was in fact lying all along, as my side claimed you were, and we have to start digging trenches to defend society against your side's coming for our children, as we've been saying.

glacial erratic said...

"Overturn".

Right.

glacial erratic said...

"Overturn".

Right.

Cameron said...

DINKY DAU 45 said...

Concerned troll is concerned.

Enigma said...

I watched his intro speech. He presents as an old-school "decent and respectful" Christian conservative. Innocent Boy Scout from before the sex scandals. Straight arrow. Couldn't lie if he tried, but would never ever lie. They formed half of the Republican party up through the G.H.W. Bush administration, and then faded into obscurity with the Promise Keepers and the self-exiled 1990s term limits fans who voluntarily left congress.

He's the embodiment of what the 1960s-1970s left reacted against with hippies, sex, drugs, rock-n-roll, and the Playboy generation. He's why the very non-traditional, not-actually-conservative Trump threw the left and DC establishment for a loop. He'll either (1) draw people in through fair dealing and sincerity, or (2) be eaten by a room of predatory wolves.

Tina Trent said...

Also, shouldn't that be "whom," not "who"?

Rich said...

“I don’t believe there are any coincidences in a matter like this. I believe that scripture, the Bible, is very clear, that God is the one that raises up those in authority,” he told colleagues. “God has ordained and allowed each one of us to be brought here for this specific moment, in this time.”

Reminds me of what Bertrand Russell said:

“The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts.”

Rich said...

House Republicans elect a speaker out of touch with mainstream and left of center voters, with no donor network to help his caucus win next year and tied to a former president facing ruin and oblivion. Democrats will take that anytime.

The problem will be managing to get things done until the Democrats re-take the House in January 2025.

Amadeus 48 said...

Now they need to do the pivotal role played by Hakeem Jeffries in various attempts to overthrow election results where the winner was Republican.

By the way, why would anyone give credence to political reporting done by WaPoo and NYT? They are propaganda sheets. NYT pulled its own pants down and mooned its readers with the epic journey it made reporting on the Palestinian rocket that hit the hospital parking lot in Gaza. In the early going, without evidence (their phrase, not mine) they took the Palestinian (their word, not mine) broadside as the truth. The only real mistake you can make is taking what they offer at face value.

Heartless Aztec said...

Would love to have a thumbs up/down on the comments posted.

iowan2 said...

"There will be no legal basis to deny a bisexual the right to marry a partner of each sex, or a person to marry his pet."

Turley put up a post yesterday, looking into the AP redefining terrorists, that excludes Hamas actions on Oct. 7.
In short, standard leftist swill, of defining words to shutdown discussion.

The gay marriage has to be understood as to exactly why its a debate. The Constitution NEVER address marriage. For the simple fact, marriage and the federal govt NEVER intersected....until SCOTUS started allowing the federal govt to delve into areas they lacked enumerated power.

The feds hi-jacked marriage to bribe the people with their own money. Suddenly the feds took your money, then promised to give it back to you if you acted a certain way. Married? you get perks, Not married? no perks.
Gay marriage blew up because a lesbian couple discovered inheritance taxes. Married couples get the perk of keeping their own money. Couples that just live together have to give a huge chuck of their net worth to the government.

Now the govt has reasons for the special treatment (read; bribes with their own money). Women stayed home and reared children and ran the household. They did not have the opportunity to amass their own wealth. So the govt let them share the family wealth.
The lesbian couple cried foul. But they each had the ability to earn their own wealth, so like any single person, their wealth is eligible for tax confiscation.

Marriage never needed fixed, Confiscating wealth needs fixed.

Dude1394 said...

Certainly taking ANYTHING the NYT reports about something political as anything but propaganda spin is not wise.

michaele said...

Mike Johnson was my early pie in the sky choice because he always impressed me when it was his turn to ask questions in committee hearings. He didn't waste time with self aggrandizing bullshit. His questions were on point and delivered in a reasonable matter of fact way. He never acted like he was a puppet of his staff. I'm hopeful he will find a way to get the house back to voting on bills one at a time...none of this omnibus crap or continuing resolution stuff.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Rich - It's not republicans job to make leftists like you happy. Stick with your miserable crooks, Rich(D).

Narayanan said...

Reminds me of what Bertrand Russell said:
...
and wiser people so full of doubts.”
==========
Reminds me of what Bertrand Russell said: [ without doubt ] Better Red than Dead

Mark said...

'what exactly would the legal basis be for denying either of these?'

Well, pets cannot sign legal contracts so that seems a pretty obvious basis for denying people marrying their pets.

The fact that you didn't bother to question your own claims with a curious eye and find such simple solutions ... wow.

Drago said...

LLR-democratical Rich/C****: "House Republicans elect a speaker out of touch with mainstream and left of center voters,..."

LOL!

"...mainstream and left of center voters..."

Too funny. The gaslighting from Rich/C**** appears hopelessly degraded.

Difficult times indeed.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

The idea that radical leftist corruption is mainstream - is an idea we get from Joy Behar.

Mason G said...

"...mainstream and left of center voters..."

Since conservatives have been redefined as "far-right", those mainstream and left of center voters are the ones supporting Democrat politicians who enable/encourage children to mutilate themselves and call it "gender affirming care".

So there's that.

mikee said...

Johnson has been elevated to 2nd in line to the US presidency, right after VP Harris. Pelosi was ridiculous to imagine as succeeding Trump and Pence in a SMOD event removing the POTUS and VP. Johnson is so terrifying to Democrats that I doubt Biden and Harris will ever be seen in the same city, let alone the same building or room, ever again.

rcocean said...

THe problem is the secret ballot. The purpose of the "Secret Ballot" for speaker is to make sure the Republican voters don't know who is voting against their interests.

The Big Donors and the GOP establishment know who are their friends, and who their enemies. They know who voted for who. There's no "secret ballot" where they are concerned. They have spies. And they have their congressmen telling them who voted for who.

The only people in the dark, are us, the voters. Johnson could be the typical GOPe Trickster. The unknown to the voters, votes the right way Congressmen, who actually is a total creature of GOPe.

Did anyone think Ryan or McCarthy would behave the way they did before they took the Speakership/Minority leadership? IRC, they were both touted as "hardcore conservatives" and attacked by the Press as "rightwing extemists".

The true underlying problem is no one reports who the Big Donors are, what influence they have, which congressmen are controlled by them, and how are they influencing the process. Its all hidden from us, the average voter.

But I suppose Johnson cant be any worse than McCarthy. Why McCarthy promised to do a lot of things, and never did them, is puzzling. He'd be Speaker right now if he had kept his word. But that's GOPe in a nutshell. They'd rather Lose or leave office than do anything the average Republican wants. All they give us is broken promises and campaign rhetoric. Maybe we're not bribing them with enough money.

stlcdr said...

The Crack Emcee said...
"They view him as someone sufficiently conservative and who they do not personally despise."

Why don't people vote Republican? Because they're so despicable.

10/25/23, 1:45 PM


I agree! Those non-republican-voting people - lets call them democrats - are very despicable.

Mason G said...

"Well, pets cannot sign legal contracts..."

Neither can children. Can you say "gender affirming care"? Sure you can.

Tina Trent said...

Donald Trump supported gay marriage long before the Clintons and the lightbringer did.

House speakers are either bullies or candy shop owners. Johnson's demeanor is strongly the latter. You won't see him degrading the post the ways Pelosi did.