House Changes Rules, Makes It Harder to Oust Johnson From Speakership
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The prior rules for tossing him were extremely generous.
I think Johnson plays the game better than some realize. People like Massie are not a problem for him. They are useful buffers and cudgels.
We need to realize that Johnson wasn't negotiating that mega-budget with a Republican Senate and President. He had to come up with something that Schumer and Biden would agree to. The Musk-led outcry during the voting process was just what the country needed to rapidly slam on the brakes, create something better with everyone's attention on it, and reverse-uno the emergency budget back onto the Senate and Biden.
With hindsight it was likely the plan all along, with Johnson low-key doing his part.
True. And never forget, when thinking of Congress and why they do such incomprehensible things, that there is a cynical thing at work called "the power of no" or alternately, "there is no power in yes."
It goes like this... if a congress-critter says yes to something on its first offering, there is no power in that. However, a "no" can get you all kinds of leveraging power, the chance to negotiate your vote for something of value, say a new library in your district with (gasp!) your name on it. So the "no" is traded now for a "yes" and a transaction has been made.
There is no power in "yes" but there's lots of power in "no"....at least to a limited degree. To the less principled critters, this is the cynical way Congress operates and has for a long time.
Sometimes true, but the counterpoint would be what happened between AOC and Gerry Connolly. Connolly was the consistent "yes" vote for however many decades. AOC opened her wings to fly and shout "no" to party leadership--which has value to the public--but had no value in the fetid halls of the swamp.
Connolly's dutiful yes votes allowed him to chair a committee in the later years of his filthy career in the swamp.
Well, the "power of no" is simply one tool in a toolbox of grift and mendacity, not to be used often or unadvisedly, but it can come in handy occasionally. I suspect that over the last 60 years, that little tool has been used more than anyone might suspect.
And Connolly is one of the filthiest of the filthy infesting the swamp.
Where’s that Ron Paul library?
I want to visit that one!!!
I don't like Johnson as I've stated quite a number of times, but I can't deny that he plays the game pretty well.
I also don't necessarily disagree with the rule change in spirit. It can be a major distraction from actually doing their job if there's just a constant looming removal over their head.
Not that Congress creatures do their job anyway but still.
Because Johnson was thrust into the Speakership, Trump and Musk aware of this, needed to prepare the Speaker for his valuable position as expertise in the Constitution. He was given a VERY rude 'awakening' that made him aware that Gaetz was waiting in Trump's 'Bullpen'. IMOP