quote:

Originally posted by chellim1:
I used to blame the Democrats for deficit spending. But now I realize that the Republicans are complicit.

The American people are opposed to deficit spending... at least in the abstract. But they usually support the pork for their own district.
There really aren't many principled conservatives. If there were, we would have balanced budgets.

^^ THIS ^^

Look what happened in 2004, we gave the Republicans the White House, the Senate, and the House. What did they do? Spent money like drunken sailors and via Jack Abramoff got involved in a self-enrichment scandal of Democrat proportions.

I don't believe Republican Congressional Critters actually want to lead. Instead, they want to go be sent to Washington DC, hit the cocktail circuit, participate in the graft, etc. All the while, they're savvy enough to keep a few pithy talking points handy (e.g. the spending bill is full of woke line items) to stir up the base so they'll keep voting for them.

In other words, there are plenty of principled conservatives as voters, but we're been played like fiddles by the spineless frauds we send to Congress.

Mike Gallagher to leave House early in blow to Speaker Johnson’s GOP majority

https://www.washingtonexaminer...epublicans-majority/

Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) will retire from the House months before his term ends next year, setting up a scenario in which House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) could have a one-seat majority.

Gallagher will step down effective April 19, making him the latest in a string of Republicans who have announced they would leave the House early and further narrowing the party’s slim control in the lower chamber. Gallagher’s departure also deals a blow to GOP leadership because the Wisconsin Republican sits as the chairman of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.

Gallagher’s departure will bring a math problem for Johnson as the chamber seeks to fill a slew of other vacancies announced over the last few months. As of next week, there are four empty seats vacated by Reps. Kevin McCarthy, Bill Johnson, Brian Higgins, and Ken Buck, whose last day in office was Friday.

With Gallagher’s absence, that brings the Republicans’ majority to 217-213 as of April 19. That will be further narrowed for Republicans after the special election for Higgins, which is expected to favor Democrats, bringing their majority to just 217-214, meaning Republicans can only afford to lose one vote on any given measure to pass the lower chamber.

As I've said, one of the worst part of being a conservative is the Republican party and it's inane ability to fuck up a winning plan.

D wouldn't leave, hell they could get caught naked in a limo hot tub with Russian hookers, cocaine, and a trunk full of high security documents and the party wouldn't toss them out, and they follow in lockstep when it comes to protecting the party, it's agenda and winning.

If you cared about your party, even a little, why would any of these idiots leave before their term is over? All they have to do is hang around and collect a paycheck
It's hard to believe that this is all a coincidence.

quote:

It's hard to believe that this is all a coincidence.

Agree. If one doesn't want to do the job, don't apply. They aren't hurting the conference, they are abusing their constituents not to mention their donors.

Also “agree”.

From Treehouse -

CHECK THE DATE – Republican Mike Gallagher Quits Congress, Dropping GOP Majority to One Seat

As sundance often says, “Once you see the strings you cannot un-see them.”

quote:

Originally posted by Cookster:
Also “agree”.

From Treehouse -

CHECK THE DATE – Republican Mike Gallagher Quits Congress, Dropping GOP Majority to One Seat

As sundance often says, “Once you see the strings you cannot un-see them.”

More than likely just a coincidence. </sarcasm>

That April 2024 deadline on FISA sounds pretty nefarious.

I must be missing something. What is the significance of April 19th?

No interim election.

"I must be missing something. What is the significance of April 19th?"



A Nefarious Intent – FISA 702 Authorization Will Be Extended Through April 19th Inside Bipartisan NDAA Agreement

https://theconservativetreehou...isan-ndaa-agreement/

Ah. (x2)

1. There is no appetite in the House to oust Speaker Johnson at this time.

2. Nevertheless, this spending bill was approved by a minority of Republicans who went along with the Democrats. A leader is supposed to represent a majority of his own caucus.

We’re ‘failing’ on the promises made to Americans: Rep. Anna Paulina Luna

https://twitter.com/RepMattGae.../1771294371331149879



The Senate passed the bill also. The results are here:

https://www.senate.gov/legisla...vote_118_2_00114.htm

This message has been edited. Last edited by: wcb6092,

There is a severe lack of balls on the republican side. A good shutdown is the best thing that could happen to America.

Florida Sen. Rick Scott did not vote. I would have expected better from him. A closet liberal?

quote:

Originally posted by chellim1:
Nevertheless, this spending bill was approved by a minority of Republicans who went along with the Democrats. A leader is supposed to represent a majority of his own caucus.

Mike Johnson betrayed the Republicans. First, he broke the "Hastert Rule"- Speaker of the House will NOT advance a bill that does not have majority support of his party, and this bill had 101 voting yes, 112 voting no, including Chip Roy, Jim Jordan, Byron Daniels, Beth Van Duyne, etc.

Johnson also waived the "72 Hour" rule, instead giving house members only half the allotted time to examine the bill and the ability to block it on the floor. And BTW, Johnson did vote Yes.

quote:

"What is the significance of April 19th?"

Because there will be no interim (special) election, they can leave the seat empty until January for maximum damage... Speaker Jeffries?

Dan Bongino Show | The Saga Continues - Real RINO's Are Out To Get Trump!
In this video, I cover Mike Gallagher & Rep Ken Buck's plans to retire from congress. They did this on purpose, timed it perfectly, to give you the maximum middle finger.

House Dissatisfaction with Johnson Explodes over Foreign Aid ‘Insanity’ that Neglects Southern Border

https://www.breitbart.com/poli...cts-southern-border/

House Republicans’ dissatisfaction with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is rapidly growing as Reps. Scott Perry (R-PA) and Jim Banks (R-IN) are sharing their frustrations about what Banks called “insanity” in Johnson’s foreign aid framework, which includes over three times as much money for Ukraine as it does for Israel while neglecting the U.S. Southern border.

Perry took to X Tuesday to share an image of the framework, showing the bills allocate $48.83 billion to Ukraine, $14.1 billion for Israel, $2.4 billion for “Red Sea Operations,” $2.58 billion for “INDOPACOM,” and $3.3 billion for a “Submarine Industrial Base.”



“Notice anything missing?” wrote Perry. Speaker Johnson “failed to incorporate any border security into any of the FOUR of the bills he’s going to ram down our throats this week.”

“On more than half a dozen occasions in the last six months, he promised the American People this wouldn’t happen,” Perry added.

Sharing Perry’s tweet, Banks called the package “Insanity,” emphasizing the plan would send three times as much money to Ukraine as it does Israel while simultaneously neglecting the U.S. Southern border.

Perry and Banks’ criticism of the four bills comes as Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who filed a motion to vacate against Johnson ahead of Easter break, and Andy Biggs (R-AZ) signaled opposition to the multiple-impact reentry vehicles rule (MIRV) that Johnson seeks to merge the bills.

“Israel funding should not be held hostage by Ukraine funding. The American people deserve to know where their senators stand on each funding component,” Biggs wrote in a post on X

“MIRV—the process used to merge the bills—is about as ridiculous as ranked choice voting. The least popular option is the one that wins,” he added.

Greene declared she would vote against the rule, and with just a one-seat majority and growing Republican opposition, Johnson would need help from Democrats to get the rule passed to unlock votes for the aid.

Meanwhile, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) became a cosponsor of Greene’s motion to vacate the chair on Tuesday and urged the speaker to resign in the morning.

After Massie announced on X that he advised Johnson to resign and that he was behind Greene’s motion to vacate, American Tribune co-founder Jason Robertson asked Massie, “What was the straw that broke the Camel’s Back? FISA? Foreign War Funding? Spending more than Nancy Pelosi? All of the above?”

“All of the above,” Massie replied. “This camel has a pallet of bricks.”

However, a defiant Johnson declared he would not step down in the afternoon.

“I am not resigning, and it is, in my view, an absurd notion that someone would bring a vacate motion when we are simply here trying to do our jobs,” Johnson declared.

As Greene’s motion to vacate is not privileged, the House does not need to take it up immediately. Greene can make it privileged whenever she likes, which would force the House to consider it within two days.

I would say he sealed his fate.

Republicans may well have control of congress, but I can't tell much difference from when the Left is in control.

Why are they passing budgets, funding wars in other countries or even considering it when our borders are over-run with illegals?

If they had any balls whatsoever, they would leverage funding to get what they wanted in regard to border security and the deportation of illegals.

Where are their priorities?