Regarding the agenda put forth by McCarthy’s House, I predict that the entire upcoming two years of “investigations” and obstruction of good sense will be a series of reruns of the Speaker selection circus - to be known in history as The UnGovernment.

The investigations will be so incompetent, disorganized, and generally chaotic that they will result in little more than a treasure trove of Dem campaign soundbites for 2024. The only downside is that we will see two years of missed opportunities for any actual national problem-solving.

Have you ever watched utube vids of Republicans asking questions in Congressional hearings? The only question ever asked has a presumption of some crime having been committed and are used solely as soundbites for the base. I don't know why the people testifying don't turn it around on these clowns and respond with an implication the questioner is the actual guilty person.

That is all they are intended to be. The GOP has devolved into a collection of YouTubers and Twitter Trolls. The most honest moment of the McCarthy fiasco was Mike Rogers going after Matt Gaetz (why did anyone restrain him!?).

The collective wisdom of the GOP couldn't fill a teacup.

I didn't actually see the 14th and 15th Speaker votes on C-SPAN, but I was live blogging it on Joe My God in real time. The other bloggers were giving a play by play of what they were seeing on C-SPAN.

Crazy, crazy evening.

I predicted several times here that the new Republican controlled house would be a political payback, revenge house. That sooner or later they’d impeach Biden for nothing more than the democrats impeached Trump twice. That McCarthy would payback Pelosi for denying the minority leader his choices to serve on the 1-6 committee by denying certain democrats any committee assignments. This is beginning to take place.

McCarthy expected to keep 3 Democrats off House committees

https://www.yahoo.com/gma/mccarthy-expected-keep-3-democrats-220300965.html

Also, more investigations into Hunter Biden and an investigation into the 1-6 committee itself. Along with an investigation into our southern border, which also has begun with impeachment motion being filed. I forget what else I predicted, but all involved political paybacks, revenge against the Democrats.

House Republican files articles of impeachment against DHS Secretary Mayorkas

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/co...t-filed-dhs-secretary-mayorkas-rcna65174

This is just the beginning. Setting precedence like Reid did with the nuclear option which McConnell escalated, Pelosi being the first speaker to deny the minority leader his choice of who he places on committees in our history, which McCarthy is escalating, etc. Simply means this Republican house is much more interested in political paybacks, revenge than governing. If the Democrats didn’t believe or think the GOP would retaliate and escalate, they were mighty dumb.

How all this revenge tactics plays out; we’ll have to wait and see.

Republiclowns "investigated" Benghazi NINE times. NINE!!! They're as useless as teats on a boar.

Of course, everybody knew that. The point of the OP is that their brash and bumbling incompetence is not going to favorably impress anyone who is not already deeply delusional, and it is likely that their infighting will increase. My prediction is that GOP power is scheduled to erode significantly, due to who and what they have become.

There is no comparison between what Trump was impeached for (either time), nor his criminality to what the Reeps threaten. The performance of the J6 committee was incredibly well researched and orchestrated. Did you notice that they used only right-wing testimony to make their case? The Reeps' performances are guaranteed to be s**tshows.

The idea that if a right action is taken against a wrongdoer is inadvisable, because the wingnuts will retaliate, is a capitulation to a spiral into social and political decay. Frankly, I find it encouraging that the Dems are not much willing to play the retaliation/escalation game.

While I agree with you logtroll, I’m always looking at how these actions will affect the next election. The infighting among Republicans probably will have more effect than denying a couple of democrats any committee assignment or even impeaching Biden if that happens which I predict will.

The question then becomes how many people will care if the exclusion of a couple of democrats from committee assignments is valid or if impeaching Biden is done for valid reasons or political revenge? I’ll take a SWAG and say probably more than half won’t care.

I don't think the appointment of Dems to committees will have much effect either. What I am talking about is the show. For whatever crazy reason, Trump could whip up and consolidate the base with his lies, blame, and posturing, I attribute that to a "charisma" effect that he has, which makes him a successful con man, in spite of all factual reality.

I don't see that in any of the horde of wackos that are now fighting for power and relevance in the GOP. They are fractured, frantic, wannabe bullies - there is no cohesive force among them. I predict the result to be two years of incoherent caterwauling.

Every time you mention Trump's two time impeachments, it sounds as if you don't think there was legitimate grounds for those proceedings. It must have been a "perfect" call and it must have been a "routine tourist group".

From above since it was nothing more than a tourist group, there can be no investigation into two Congressmen who participated in planning the group visit, therefore Rep Pelosi was wrong to keep them off the committee. She had no objection to anyone who was not being investigated .... it's a clue.

The polls indicate it's half and half, therefore I will conclude it must not have happened .... o my lying eyes.

You’re certainly going to have an ongoing fight between Trump’s MAGA Republicans and the non-Maga Republicans. Until the midterms those non-MAGA Republicans were scared to death of Trump and his base knowing the MAGA bunch had the power to primary them out of office. The results of the midterms changed that. The fear once there isn’t so much. Most of Trump’s chosen candidates lost in the general election which gave some non-MAGA Republicans some balls. How much remains to be seen. But Trump’s and his MAGA followers’ power is fading. Can 50 or so Trump MAGA House members fighting for power fracture the GOP into what you state? Certainly.

Now non-MAGA Republican finally outnumber MAGA Republicans 47-36 Question 92.

https://docs.cdn.yougov.com/by8wjw1hur/econTabReport.pdf

Definitely, those 36% of Trump MGA Republicans can make life miserable for the rest of the GOP. They can and probably will make the function of the house totally chaotic inoperable institution.

I am going to make two predictions, and am willing to take odds on them for a reasonable wager: First, George Santos will not be a Member of Congress for very long (probably the first to go), and certainly will not fill out his term; second, McCarthy will not finish the 118th Congress as Speaker, and may not remain a Member after his fall.

There will be a public and sustained outcry over the incapacitation of ethics investigations and the purpose and machinations of the "Committee to Obstruct Justice", especially if it is peopled with insurrectionists, as appears likely.

McCarthy will have no control over the Republican caucus, and that is going to be immediately fatal to his "Sqeakership". There has already been a complete fiasco regarding the House Rules.

On the other hand, don't expect moderate Republicans to exert any control, either. They talk a big game, but they elected McCarthy and voted for the House Rules. They will be easy to keep in line and silent.

I think you’re correct on Santos. But I doubt McCarthy will do anything, that it may come from a recall vote in his district or from lawsuits and ethics charges filed in his districts by both parties. McCarthy will probably be removed as soon as he crosses the MAGA faction. A speaker with a pair, McCarthy certainly is not.

I’m however not certain about the public outcry. It probably will come from just one section or faction on the political landscape. Most independents, the largest of these factions has for the most part ceased paying attention to the goings on in Washington until the next election nears.

Republican moderates or the non-MAGA faction within the Republican Party and in the House aren’t the vocal type. The non-MAGA types aren’t all one united faction either, but many factions. They’re not headline seekers like the MAGA’s are. You’re probably right, most of these non-MAGA types will go along just to get along. But if they see another losing election in 2024 like they had in 2018, 2020, 2022, they might just grow a pair. I’d say right now they are silently hoping the Democrats are successful in ditching Trump for them. They don’t want to get their hands dirty doing the job they should be doing or did a long time ago. The non-MAGA Republicans are basically leaderless and rudderless.

I agree.

hmmm ... not a poll but a personal opinion with which I agree.

I think this is a reverse statement to Trump leads the MAGA-heads. As long as Trump is the only voice heard by THE BASE, there will not be anyone having the integrity to oppose him. Rep Cheney was the only loud voice to stand against Trump and all the other Republicans see what happened to her. She is sitting at home checking the weather on her phone. All the other voices heard are simpering equivocations making it unclear if they are against Trump or against bad weather.

When someone writes the next charter of profiles in courage, there will not be mention of any current Republicans. And the answer to the question why Republicans are leaderless is a complete lack of character, integrity, and courage to stand against Trump.

As expected

McCarthy won't force Santos out, saying he'll 'answer to the voters.' Voters won't get a say for 2 years.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/mccarthy-wont-force-santos-saying-161502982.html

For lack of a better place to put this, this is novel, I hope this carries on, congress needs it.

Don't tell anyone, but Democrats and Republicans agree on fixing Congress and have even been working on it - It’s not just right-wing Republicans who think the House is broken — Democrats do too.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/dont-tel...e-even-been-working-on-it-100026086.html

I couldn't tell from the article - do they think the same things need fixing?

That was my understanding. Although I’d imagine there are a bunch where one party thinks needs fixing that the other doesn’t. But if they can come together and fix what both think needs fixing, that is a good start. Yeah, the article didn’t go into detail, just that both parties agree congress is broken.

The article did say this, “Members of both parties even have some of the same ideas about how to do this — and finding consensus took years and happened away from the spotlight.”

The bad news is in this paragraph, “Timmons and Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Wash., who chaired the committee, spoke to Yahoo News in a joint interview. The committee was created to last for two years, and was renewed for another two years, but is now defunct, with Republicans in control of the House.”

Perhaps it’s not the procedures and rules that need the most attention or fixing. Toning down the rhetoric, listening to what is said and proposed, talking to each other instead of shouting over one’s head. Stop putting on a show that brings you media attention, begin to work together more, go back to playing the old political game of give and take.

I think the broke problem began with the Hastert rule.

Like new congressman George Santos doesn't have enough red flags: Nobody has checked if he has been a US citizen for the last 7 years, one of the few constitutional requirements for representatives. Doesn't seem to be any birth certificate issued in New York, and he did tell a coworker he was born in Brazil. His immigration documents are probably as fictitious as the rest of his life. So nobody knows if he needs to be deported back to Brazil, where he faces fraud felony charges. That fact alone means either he lied on his immigration application, or nobody bothered to read it! Nobody even knows if that's his real name! Like most conmen, he has used several.

The one government entity not under Republican control that could do anything about all this is DOJ, and they are pretty busy at the moment.

Maybe he made himself a U.S. citizen in his mind, in the same way that Trump declassified all those documents?

Not sure but my sense of it is while they both agree it needs fixing, they do not agree on how to fix it.

But of course I think polls show people believe both parties are the problem, therefore there is no problem.

LOL, let me clarify, Democrats think the Republican Party is the problem. Republicans think the Democratic Party is the problem. It’s independents that think both parties are the problem. To the question 79. Approval of U.S. Congress
Overall, do you approve or disapprove of the way that the United States Congress is handling its job?
All adults, 19% approve of the job congress is doing, 35% of Democrats approve of the job congress is doing, 15% of Republicans and 8% of independents.

https://docs.cdn.yougov.com/6ig3yyjvb9/econTabReport.pdf

The problem with polls is they don't ask the right questions.

The right question is which party proposes reasonable laws for ALL citizens? Viewed form that perspective there is a reason liberals believe conservatives are the problem. Conservatives propose laws which only benefit their constituency i.e. abortion, gun rights, taxes, etc. The underlying problem is political paranoia. Conservatives believe liberals are coming to get them, lock them up, re-educate them, take their guns, cause them to change sex, etc. From this paranoia flows all proposals from the right i.e. they are trying to protect themselves from delusions.

In large part the right IS the problem. However, since the polls say each party blames the other, without the benefit of substance, I can only conclude there is no problem, and therefore independents are obviously delusional.

Delusional, perhaps? When one side sees the other side as delusional is normal. But with just one side or the other viewing them that way, how does that play out at the ballot box? I’m sure most Democrats view Republicans as delusional. You have 30% of the electorate, voters agreeing with you. Add independents who lean Democrats, you’ve upped your total to around 42%. Not enough to win elections though. Do your or the Democrats delusional perspective persuade Republicans, no. Persuade independents who lean Republican, no. How about true or pure independents with no leans? Probably not. These true or pure independents tend to vote candidates, not party or ideology of a party. You seen this last election. They would vote for R Kemp, but not for R Walker. They voted for R Sununu, but not R Bolduc.

Personally, I’d say as long as the Republican Party continues to view Trump as their messiah, they’re not living in the real world of national politics. Trump’s toast nationally, but still king within GOP circles. That’s waning. That’s probably delusional in a way, but more like living in a fantasy land.

I have to wonder if I am typing in a foreign language, that you fail to comprehend anything I type. I DON'T FRAKKING CARE WHAT THE POLLS SAY OR HOW IT TRANSLATE AT THE BALLOT BOX. Git it.

I am typing about a statement of fact, not belief, or what a poll says people believe, or how they will vote or may vote. Just the facts.

70% of Republicans BELIEVE the 2020 election was stolen. They believe it because Trump told them it was true and valid. If there was evidence of it, I would not have typed they are delusional, and yet I did. Why?

So let's review all the evidence they say, they believe proves it.

Dominion voting machines ... no one has been able to find a single flipped vote (o and Smartmatic wasn't even in the states they say prove it) .... stuffed ballot boxes ... investigated ad nauseum without finding stuffed boxes

Watermarks ... Bamboo ... Space lasers ... paper size ... Chinese made thermostats ... internet connections ... servers in Germany ... software written for Chavez .... yep non one has been able to find a singe shred of evidence any of those things took place or existed

Bayesian analysis used by multiple "experts" who say there were anomalies ... and yet none can produce a single vote which was miscounted (add to that mis-application of Bayesian analysis and it multiplies the egregiousness of the arrogance of the "experts")

and lastly, changing voting regulations instituted by local election boards, county courts/commissioners, state courts, but not state legislatures .... yep it turns out each change did not in any way disenfranchise anyone of any political party, and further it has been the practice of all these entities to do the same for many years as directed by state legislatures

In conclusion, without any evidence of a stolen election 70% of Republicans believe what was just proven to be not true nor valid. Therefore I can only conclude Republicans as a whole are delusional. It is a statement of fact.

My conclusion is not partisan as any objective person should have derived the same conclusion based on the facts .... not on the polls.

O and BTW .... this is only one of several characteristics of Republicans which can be used to demonstrate they are delusional and none of it is based on partisan politics. Facts are invariant in time and space.

There is a saying; "If you believe in something hard enough then it can be true!". If you google that one you would be surprised at how many replies were in agreement! I suspect that the Republican mind is simply not dealing well with the so-called reality based on touch, smell, etc. as 'this' (my mind) is much better than that!

I wonder, what if both individual sides sit in wired chairs that get all the physical stuff, blood pressure, heartbeat, breating, etc. Then each side has a screen overhead that reveals all. Neither one is forced to say anything! Should, I suspect, reveal ALL!

The sad part is that there is, as far as I can tell, any way to fix ........

Oh, I got a reply of 3 billion from google! Took only 66 seconds. On reflection ..................!!

Yes, I got it. You don’t give an owl’s hoot what all of America thinks, believes, wants, wishes for etc. Just what your 30% of this country think, believe, want and wishes for. You’re coming in loud and clear. So feel free to ignore any and all of my post as I’m interested in all of American, every American, not just of the democratic party or the liberal persuasion 30%.

Apparently when the facts or the truth hits you in the butt you have to confer with a poll to find out if it really happened.

My 30%!!!!! I represent one person who is only interested in the facts. You must be in the 70% (based on your numbers) who don't care about the facts. My argument was a fact based analysis of a purported stolen election. You apparently must believe the election was stolen, otherwise as an objective person you would have recognized a compelling and non-partisan nature argument.

Best I can figure is you don't care what the facts are, only what people believe. I take a different approach to understanding reality and it starts with knowing what the facts are. You apparently on the other hand need a poll to tell you what people believe reality is.

Look .... sometimes in life one has to tell it as it is. When the dealer turns an ace on the flop, you don't ask the table players for a poll .... you say well that's an ace.

When you say you're interested in what all Americans believe, it sounds as if all you're doing is finding a rationalization for avoiding facing the facts or truth. A "random" group of people completing a questionnaire does not determine the facts or the truth. Truth stands on a foundation of facts, not polls.

So was the 2020 election stolen from Trump? Surely you can accumulate and analyze the resulting facts without consulting a poll? Was there an insurrection on J6 2021? Surely you can accumulate and analyze the resulting facts without consulting a poll? The WHOLE nation is waiting in bated breathe to hear your answers.

"The very people who didn't comply with subpoenas of the House want to be the Speaker of the House and chair of the Judiciary Committee of the House and they want to enforce subpoenas that they wouldn't even answer themselves."

~Elaine Luria, former Democratic Representative, 2nd District, VA and member of
Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol

The current GOP clown show set precedence. ¯\_( : / )_/¯

Yeah but ... everyone knows Democrats hold hearings illegitimate hearings. and everyone knows Trump is above the law and when he is not above the law he is not committing crimes even if it looks like a crime because everyone knows only lying eyes see crimes committed by Trump. On the other hand Republicans hold legitimate hearings because they know all the polls have determined Trump did not commit any crimes nor did the 3000 people who stormed the Capitol. Therefore any hearing held regarding J6 is legitimate and will find those who have accused Trump of committing crimes are actually the ones who have committed crimes (against Trump).

I want Rep Jordan to investigate the stolen election. I want him to assemble every Kraken Lady, Pillow Guy, and Rudy, who has alleged fraud of any kind to present their evidence on open hearings .... and of course allow rebuttals by all people who have audited or investigated each of the claims. I want everyone to know about mathematical anomalies, 5th degree polynomials, and Bayesian Analysis ... I want to hear about bamboo and watermarks .... lasers and thermostats ... etc

Basically I want the world to know how delusional these folks are

Normal and decent folks already do.

People are saying that the House is planning to invoke a new rule to prevent dishonest frauds from holding office - the Santos Clause…

The roll call vote will be on the question, “Do you believe in the Santos Clause?”

George Santos - a chubby guy in red lipstick sneaking into the House bearing grifts for all…

Prediction:
They will impeach Pres. Biden because of the classified documents found at his locations.

How can they impeach someone who did something while in office a number of years ago, and no longer holds those positions? I think that is precisely the same argument Sen McConnell used to acquit Trump in 2nd impeachment trial i.e Trump no longer held the office.

If these clowns would impeach for reason Pres Biden is old, they will certainly impeach for something he did while holding a different office years ago.

Kaine – I’ve been saying ever since the Democrats first impeachment of Trump that the Republicans when they regain control of the house would impeach the next democratic president, in this case, Biden. I predicted that in this thread and many other threads. The Republican controlled house needs no valid reason for impeachment. It will be political payback for the Democrats impeaching Trump, twice. Oh, the GOP will come up with some official sounding reason for the impeachment, no doubt.

My SWAG was the reason would be the southern border with Biden and company not enforcing some current immigration laws. Then throw in any inane other reasons but make them sound official into the mix. You have your impeachment charges. The house determines what is and isn’t an impeachable offense. If the house says spitting on the sidewalk is impeachable, then it is. I highly doubt the impeachment will have anything to do with the classified documents.

I figured this might be the only thing they could even try to use to impeach Biden. But, I guess you're right Perotista, they can make up any misrepresentation to hang him on.

Roger that Kaine. The real reason behind any impeachment of Biden which I think is bound to happen within the next year is that it is only political payback for the Democrats impeaching Trump, twice. Political Revenge is the real reason. There doesn’t have to be a valid reason or even a good one. Just one that sounds official and presentable to the public at large. Dereliction of duty, Abuse of power, Obstruction of Congress can be used as catch all phrases or charges.

And just like that the Biden Documents Scandal dies...

Justin Rosario of The Banter

"One of these things is not like the others"

On a basic level, Trump lied and fought to keep the docs hidden, Biden and Pence did just the opposite.

A lot of people who lack the appreciation for nuance fail to understand these distinctions.

A simple question Rick, how many people do you think follow the daily grind of Washington’s politics let alone as you put it, the nuances of what is going on or what is happening? Pew Research says 71% of all Americans watch the news at least once a month. That falls to 48% who watch the news regularly. What is regularly, who knows?

And to this question = 93. Political Interest
Some people seem to follow what’s going on in government and public affairs most of the time, whether there’s an election going on or not. Others aren’t that interested. Would you say you follow what’s going on in government and public affairs ...

Most of the time 41%
Some of the time 20%
Only now and then 16%
Hardly at all or never 17%

https://docs.cdn.yougov.com/6ig3yyjvb9/econTabReport.pdf

I’d like to know what sometimes means, once a week, once a month or is that only now and then? One can interpret these numbers serval ways. But I think only around 41% pay attention to politics regularly, the rest don’t. Nuances, good luck.

Sounds like you don't think the phone records of a call for quid pro quo was not an abuse of office. I will point out that at least two Republicans, Rep McCarthy and Sen Graham, both called it quid pro quo before they had read the call record and then conveniently changed their mind after they read the record. And several news reports had Republicans (read that real Republicans not MAGA-heads) saying in private it was definitely quid pro quo. As a whole Senate Republicans could not bring themselves to convict the de facto head of the party and sole leader of THE BASE. Had it been a Democrat president I would have had no choice but to convict ... it was an abuse of office.

While the use of the word "Republican" is generic for anyone associated with the Republican Party. more to the point and more accurate would be the term "MAGA-head adherents" who guide current agendas. I suspect no real Republican would broach the subject of impeachment, especially based on policy differences. So in a general respect I agree. The MAGA-heads have to seek revenge for Trump and will for whatever reason they can imagine file articles of impeachment ... a dealers choice based on current whims of Trump and/or his loyalists congresspeople.

The border issues are complex and I can not imagine any of the MAGA-heads pragmatically understand them. For impeachment articles it would be a distillation of policy differences, but more importantly I see this as a failure of Congress to address the issue. The executive branch is forced to deal with a problem which it can not legally handle in any respect. It is forced to prioritize a variety of initiatives in an attempt to constrain an increasingly large number of illegals and asylum seekers into a manageable program. My conclusion based on evidence from the last 5 administrations is without a Congressional imprimatur every succeeding administration will be faced with the same problems and there will be no solutions. The wall is not a solution ... just a soundbite for the right. We need real solutions from serious people and the MAGA-heads are not serious. With them in charge of the House there will never be a solution.

I believe there are serious people willing to entertain real solutions, but I also believe none are willing to consider any comprehensive solutions as they would fall far outside the purview of the Rio Grande River. I suspect any attempt at real solutions would have to encompass inclusion of all of the Americas. If I have any hope of wearing sunglasses because the future will be bright, we will have to accept the proposition the peoples of this hemisphere are all in the same boat and we all need to man the oars.

This is simply going to be two years of "silly season" from the House. 99% of their bills will die in the Senate. Everybody will realize that the House means nothing and does nothing but keeps trying to burn the place down. They can investigate Hunter's dick pics and refer to the DOJ, but the DOJ's not going to act on BS. They can impeach Biden 700 times, and none of those will be taken up by the Senate. Which seriously diminishes the power and reputation of the House. I predict high turnover well before the two years are up, as DOJ indicts members. Many of whom are committee heads!

The last four year cycle damaged the power and reputation of the Senate, when there was real evidence of serious crimes and they refused to convict Trump strictly on partisan grounds. So much for people's approval of Congress.

Then there's the Judicial Branch's credibility problem, with Flasher Kavanaugh, all the new justices who perjured themselves before the Senate about stare decisis, Alito's Roe decision leak, Thomas' refusal to recuse in cases that involve his wife, Republicans filing suits in single MAGA judge districts who then issue country-wide court orders, etc.

Ponder, you might be correct on all the rest, but if the House impeaches Biden, then the senate must hold a trial. There’s no way around this as it’s a Constitutional requirement. I do agree that most of the bills passed by the Republican House will be tabled by Schumer never to see the light of day in the senate. Also, chaos will reign in the House. This is interesting and describes the Republicans problem.

Republicans confront bitter divide; no clear path forward

https://www.yahoo.com/news/republicans-confront-bitter-divide-no-051507906.html

Unless I missed something, I’m not sure on the reason the DOJ would indict a member of congress. You can’t indict or charge someone with a crime in how they voted in congress even it was not to certify an election. Now if they had ties with or participated with those who stormed the Capital, that would be different and cause for an indictment. How a congressman or senator votes, I don’t think so. Time may prove me wrong on this. Either that or I’m missing what these members did outside of their vote not to certify an election. Which is very possible.

I think that either you're confused or I am not reading this right, because there was no Senate trial of Donald Trump, and the House impeached him twice.

First impeachment trial of Donald Trump

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_impeachment_trial_of_Donald_Trump

Second impeachment trial of Donald Trump

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_impeachment_trial_of_Donald_Trump

You're correct on voting objections. For Republicans they see fraud under every lost election (for which they believe they should have won). For Democrats they see disenfranchisement under every lost election (for which they believe they could have won). No crime.

However, the Capitol cop who texted his insurrectionist buddy, the jury convicted him. Likewise I can see DoJ bringing charges against any Coongressperson who gave guided reconnaissance tours for insurrectionists or texted location of Rep Pelosi to insurrectionists in the moment. This is not to limit possibilities such as people like Rep Perry who were actually involved in the plot to overthrow the government.

My feeling is politics will "trump" any real investigation into congressional involvement in the insurrection i.e. politicians are above the law.

The House files articles of impeachment (like a charge sheet or criminal charge) against federal officeholder, and sends it to the Senate where defendant is tried.

Ironically, if you Google voter fraud - nearly every case has been committed by a Republican voter, but a GOP politico will say that it's the Dems that commit fraud.

can't sell victimhood without a victim and Republicans are obviously victims of biggly Democrat voter fraud

Unfortunately the Republicans, by definition, are ALWAYS victims. This was the rule set by their leader the past President Donald Trump. As far as I can tell he has never had any deal, or agreement, that was not taking unfair advantage of him AND the Republican party!

I suspect the real problem is that the vicious, and ignorant, Democrats have been having problems with that simple fact, thereby causing trouble between the two.

From David Rosner's "Soros Institute for Snarky Politics"

JUST IN: Matt Gaetz introduced an amendment in the House Judiciary Committee to recite the Pledge of Allegiance prior to each meeting.

Rep. David Cicilline countered with an amendment prohibiting “anyone who supported insurrection” from leading the pledge.

Makes perfect sense.

I’ve always had a problem with those who think saying the pledge of allegiance, wearing a flag lapel pin, flying the American Flag makes them more patriotic than others. In this case making it mandatory to say the pledge of allegiance is idiotic to me. These aren’t something that a true patriot would make others do.

Patriotism is shown by one’s actions and devotion to country which all the above doesn’t qualify. At least for me, it takes more than just reciting the pledge or wearing a flag lapel pin or even flying the American flag in one’s yard. A true patriot goes about his business and does what he can for his country without the need of symbolic gestures or symbols. That may sound weird, perhaps crazy, but this is what I believe. One doesn’t wear his patriotism on one’s sleeve or lapel for that matter. It’s all in his actions.

A test of patriotism also should not be based on who you hate.

This I totally agree with.

Agreed. You can love America and, at the same time, not be able to stand a Republican.

Latest debate is over whether elected officials to House can carry guns in Congress. Some may believe it is simply a statement of 2nd Amendment rights (and a bone for the MAGA-heads) but I think different. Remember when I alerted people to possibility Trump may try and remain n WH beyond his term in office? The world changed with that recognition, we are no longer in America, but in some 3rd rate movie written and directed by Trump and is cronies.

Here;s my take. On J6 when MAGA-hreads at the behest of Trump attacked the Capitol, they were eventually thwarted by law enforcement. Suppose 150 House MAGA-heads had been carrying guns. Would they defend Democracy or would they join the insurrection? My bet is the latter. In preparation for 2024, they are now armed (and dangerous). So when they lose the next election, just imagine 150 House MAGA-heads disarming Capitol police and joining the insurrection. Had they been armed on J6, we would be singing praises of the almighty Trump.

We are in dangerous times. Democracy remains on the precipice awaiting a weatherman to warn which way the wind will blow.

Great point rporter314

They are, in fact, planning the final phase of the insurrection in front of our very noses, very possibly beginning with an assassination, and we lack the stomach to force them out as any strong nation would seem to do.