A classic oxymoron—emphasis on the last two syllables.
3 Likes
Oh please…he’s a member of the House Freedom Caucus. Do you think his choice would be any better?
2 Likes
Here’s the thing, there’s no such thing as a strong Republican Speaker. As long as the Hastert Rule is in place, and doing away with it would effectively end any Republican speakership, it’s impossible to legislate. This is what all that gerrymandering has wrought. They have the numbers, but they have a caucus with dozens of people who only ever have to worry about their right flank, who can say “no” to everything that doesn’t involve making life significantly harder for minorities, poor people, and women. And then they’ve got the Charlie Dents who do have to worry about their left flank even more than their right. It’s an untenable situation that isn’t really about the strength or the success of their leader. No matter who heads up their caucus, they’re doomed to fail.
10 Likes
Ryan wants to be President. With the image he has cultivated of a Serious Policy Wonk, he will be a leading contender unless that image, so beloved of the pundits, is destroyed. Let him stay in the House and fail and continue to be the butt of criticism. Remember that he got the job to begin with because no one else wanted it. He does not have the skills set to pull together a majority on the issues that the Occupant wants to win on. So let him twist in the wind and let us make him a symbol of the ridiculousness and cruelty of the Republican agenda.
5 Likes
Nah, he should stay there and be miserable, worn down by having to deal with a dysfunctional party with his incompetence on full display.
2 Likes
Amash is my Rep here in SW Michigan, and although I disagree with him on every political stance and issue, and although I will vote for the Democrat we will run against him in the upcoming mid-terms, this is one principle I can agree with him on. And he does represent the majority of his constituents, this is a heavily Republican part of Michigan. He is doing what he is supposed to do, representing (as in re-presenting) the majority views of those who elected him.
I may not like him, politically, but I cannot fault his willingness to at least listen (he held town halls all over his district at the last Congressional break), to suit up and show up and to stand firm on this point, in particular…“That’s not the way you’re supposed to represent a community”.
5 Likes
Re-posted from up thread… Amash is my Rep here in SW Michigan, and although I disagree with him on every political stance and issue, and although I will vote for the Democrat we will run against him in the upcoming mid-terms, this is one principle I can agree with him on. And he does represent the majority of his constituents, this is a heavily Republican part of Michigan. He is doing what he is supposed to do, representing (as in re-presenting) the majority views of those who elected him.
I may not like him, politically, but I cannot fault his willingness to at least listen (he held town halls all over his district at the last Congressional break), to suit up and show up and to stand firm on this point, in particular…“That’s not the way you’re supposed to represent a community”.
Another GOP dildo trying to warm up the crowd with loudmouthed announcements to see if anyone will go along.
There is no other direction: you’ve long crossed the event horizon and denying those tidal forces to pretend you can escape is just pathetic, dood.
1 Like
Just how much money extra money has he put in their pockets? Just how many promises has he fulfilled? Just how much better off are any of his constituents with all the wonderful things that he has brought home? Do they know if he wants to take away their healthcare, or privatize Social Security, scrap Medicare? What is the level of anti-science that he exists at? They want more?
You might be in a better position to know, but I’ll venture this: not much. But hey, that’s the GOP scam.
They say ‘here are your talking points,’" he said at the town hall, per CNN. “That’s not the way you’re supposed to represent a community.”
True. You’re supposed to express your opinion, rather than the one you’ve been ordered to have.
You are correct: not much.
And that IS the GOP scam. I happen to live in a Congressional District which is partly rural, partly small to medium sized cities filled with well-to-do Republicans. He seems to represent the interests of both these demographics quite well. Not mine, but I didn’t vote for him. The word “Democrat” is almost a cuss word down around here. I can surely disagree with his policies and still respect certain of his principles. This is not by means an endorsement of either.
3 Likes
‘My way or the highway’, eh, Justin? There are 435 members in the House and they do not need a Speaker that is the furthest to the Right. I know you are ‘entrenched’ but you should maybe take a civics class.
1 Like
The change in direction Amash wants is to make the US even more of a hellhole for the bottom 60%. But somehow he just can’t get a majority for that.
Meanwhile, moderate republicans could turn this around in a heartbeat by threatening to change allegiance. But they never will.
1 Like
Please understand that I was not “challenging” you or trying to sound vituperative with those questions, or directing them at you. This is the kind of thing that I keep hoping people with an advertising budget will ask, but alas…
"The word “Democrat” is almost a cuss word down around here.
I find this to be a supremely curious thing: the GOP is a party of racism. A party of destruction and loathing against everyone. It has, and offers, nothing. I suppose in a somewhat normal world, the word “Republican” should be a curse word as it is a synonym for incompetence, stupidity, corruption, racism and so much more. This is a party more akin to the behavior of the people of Sodom, and less the inhabitants of Nineveh who showed the aptitude for reflection and changed their ways to avoid disaster. This party just lurches from one catastrophe to the next.
2 Likes
Well, he’s correct. All of us do need a better Speaker, but I doubt his idea and ours would coincide.
2 Likes
This really isn’t true. He understands fine, just doesn’t think insurance is the right model for the funding of healthcare. You buy fire insurance because your house probably won’t burn down, but it might and that would suck. So everyone chips in and you get a payout in case you need it. That’s insurance. Ryan’s argument is that unlike a fire, everyone will need expensive healthcare, so everyone should just figure out how they’re going to afford it on their own instead of going through an extra layer of pooling and redistributing resources. It’s a perfectly coherent position for a Randian to take and does not involve lack of understanding of how insurance works.
My absolute loathing of the FC notwithstanding, I have to admit I enjoy watching Ryan wallowing in misery… 
3 Likes
Ryan is all they have and that alone portends disaster for them. They will keep picking away at him until there is nothing left. Ensures years of GOP infighting and dysfunction.
3 Likes
But a) his version of it involves pretending not to know how insurance works and
b) different people’s total volume of healthcare costs – like their total volume of automotive-damage or home-damage costs – varies pretty substantially. So it does make sense to spread that cost around.
And although on some planet it might make sense to have individuals responsible for the ongoing minor costs and just insure catastrophic costs, even a Randian should be able to see the perverse incentive there. (Although yeah, a Randian would respond to the perverse-incentive problem by just eliminating all coverage, except for Supermen.)
1 Like