Democrats are sick of bailing the GOP out of their own messes, and boy, are Republicans whining about it
Anyone who has paid even the slightest attention to the events leading up to the historic ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., as speaker of the House knows exactly who is to blame here: McCarthy and his fellow Republicans. For years, they’ve rolled out the welcome mat to Donald Trump and his wrecking crew of MAGA camera hogs, foolishly believing that they could harness the chaotic villainy without getting burned in the process. They refused to listen to former Trump “fixer” Michael Cohen when he warned Republicans in 2019 that those who “follow Mr. Trump as I did, blindly, are going to suffer the same consequences that I’m suffering.”
Granted, McCarthy didn’t get hauled off to prison like Cohen. But he still faced a tasty comeuppance this week when the sadistic bullies he empowered in his caucus, led by Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, vacated his seat for no other reason than the sheer satisfaction of taking out their leader. Now shellshocked Republicans know who they want to blame for everything that has happened, and — surprise! — it’s not themselves. Oh no, they’re mad at Democrats for refusing to swoop in and save McCarthy from his fate.
Reading that summary just tells me that everything is for sale in congress. Votes. Elected officials. Bills. Citizens. Everyone is constantly trying to get leverage to get what they want, and the country is caught in between them.
I mean yeah, that’s kinda the whole point of how a representative democracy is supposed to work, minus outside lobbying.
The whole crusade folks went on against pork barrel legislation basically just trashed a full half of the tools politicians can use to negotiate a consensus. Probably not a coincidence that infrastructure integrity has taken a nosedive ever since it became taboo to ask for bridge repairs to sign on for a bill.
Really? They’re supposed to sell each other and/or us out to get wha they want?
The process I described is literally the complete opposite of that. It’s frustrating when it obstructs needed legislation but if it means the average rep and/or senator is more able to be negotiated into supporting a given measure then what the fuck ever!
I’d encourage you to check out some of the other content Jeff Jackson has put out. I originally followed him on reddit, but it looks like he also uploads to Youtube. He obviously has a progressive bias, but to hear him say it, most Congress reps (both sides) will wind up the media until the doors close, then their rhetoric tones down and they get to work. The far right are the exception in that they are NOT there to be productive, and the shouting and clickbait are as deep as they go.