Welcome to Mike Johnson's coalition government

While Speaker MIKE JOHNSON has relied on Democrats in the past, what happened in the Rules Committee late last night was different.

Rules is known as “the Speaker’s committee,” a powerful body usually made up of members hand-picked by leadership that serves as gatekeeper to the House floor. But Johnson inherited a Rules Committee stacked with hard-liners, a vestige of the wheeling and dealing it took for KEVIN McCARTHY to win the speakership last year.

Rep. TOM COLE (R-Okla.), the recently departed chairman of Rules, defended the arrangement during a long interview in his office yesterday for this week’s Deep Dive podcast. Placing the far-right troublemakers on the committee, the thinking goes, would allow them to be heard early in the process so that spats get worked out before rules ever reach the floor.

It hasn’t worked out that way: Seven rules have been defeated on the floor in this Congress after passing in committee. What was once the ultimate act of party betrayal in the House became routine in this GOP conference.

On aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, the obstacle was more formidable. Johnson couldn’t even pass the rule governing the package through committee. Last night, Reps. THOMAS MASSIE (R-Ky.), RALPH NORMAN (R-S.C.) and CHIP ROY (R-Texas) all followed through on their threats to vote against the rule. But it passed anyway, 9-3, when the panel’s four Democrats joined five Republicans to set up a Saturday vote on $95 billion in aid for the three countries just as Ukraine appears to be on the verge of defeat.

Johnson’s coalition with the Democrats will have to hold through three more tests.

One will come today when the rule is before the full House and will require bipartisan support.

The next will come on Saturday when the four component pieces of the aid package are scheduled for votes.

And then the final test of this experiment in bipartisanship will come at some point later when Democrats will be asked to help Johnson thwart a motion-to-vacate resolution.

By that point, Johnson will have relied on Democrats to pass all of the key spending legislation of his tenure, to help him regain control of the Rules Committee, to pass aid to Ukraine over the objections of many GOP members, and to remain in power as speaker.

” the few “

Heres the problem.

Other people exist. They probably dont agree with you 100%. But you and they need to get along and cooperate on matters you agree about. Politically, a purity campaign is almost always self defeating, as it makes nearly everyone your enemy. Robespierre himself, in the end, got the guillotine.

Trump is a very astute politician. He doesnt do purity campaigns.

Politics is the art of the possible

I get it about slim majorities and needing to bargain. But the idiot RINOs give it all away and get nothing for our side, when with a slim majority we should get slightly more of what we want in return for the other side getting slightly less of what they want. Anything less/more is the kind of bad deal RINOs have been negotiating for us forever. Of course I leave out the 10 percent "carrying charges."

This could be the final straw. Chuck Schumer demonstrated in the Senate this week via the Mayorkas impeachment trial that the Dem needs outweigh the Constitution. I have been saying that Matt Gaetz has put control of the House at risk by pushing his sham 'taking control' move to oust Kevin McCarthy at this perilous time. He promised Mike Johnson is the 'horse of a different color.'

I suppose things might have turned out the same with McCarthy but the Repubs of the House might have tried to unite to sustain control. Instead they kicked one Repub out of the House and more of them are now resigning mid term. Obviously the move is on to yield control of the House to Hakeem Jeffries.

What is the prize that makes it vital for Dems to take control of the House before the Nov election? The presidential election! With Donald Trump gaining masterfully in the polls, he stands to take the WH running away.

BUT, the presidential election has to be approved in the House - normally a Constitutional formality. Chuck Schumer demonstrated this week that the Dem Party needs override the Constitution. The GOP is quietly going along with Schumer's seizure of power; if the roles were reversed there is no doubt the Dems would actively fight in disruptive ways to restore 'normal order.'

Why is ALL OF THIS happening? Because the Swamp pro-war cabal is in fear of losing its grip on the American people; the public is refusing to jump on board with the Swamp's proxy war with Russia via Ukraine... a war fully intended to escalate to a full scale U.S. vs Russia (nuclear?) war.

The Voice of the People is the House of Representatives and all coup d'etats need an appearance of being 'normal' and legal.

The Republic is on the verge of collapsing. 😬

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