Posted on 12/30/2024 9:40:02 AM PST by E. Pluribus Unum
President-elect Donald J. Trump endorsed Mike Johnson for another term as House speaker on Monday, roughly two weeks after Mr. Trump helped put Mr. Johnson’s chances in jeopardy by sinking a bipartisan spending bill that the speaker had negotiated to avert a government shutdown.
The announcement from Mr. Trump on his website, Truth Social, ended days of private discussions by the president-elect and his allies about whether to try to save Mr. Johnson or find another option, as some conservatives have been agitating for.
House Republicans are set to choose a speaker on Friday, just three days before Mr. Trump’s Electoral College victory is certified by a joint session of Congress. Failure to have a speaker in place by then could delay the certification process and focus attention on the deep divisions within the narrow House Republican majority as Mr. Trump is seeking to pursue an ambitious agenda.
“The American people need IMMEDIATE relief from all of the destructive policies of the last Administration. Speaker Mike Johnson is a good, hard working, religious man,” Mr. Trump wrote in a discursive post that praised himself and his campaign, attacked Democrats and mocked the Rev. Al Sharpton, with whom he has a long and contentious history.
Mr. Trump said Mr. Johnson would “do the right thing, and we will continue to WIN. Mike has my Complete & Total Endorsement. MAGA!!!”
A person close to Mr. Trump, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the fact that House Republicans bucked the president-elect on the debt limit demand helped Mr. Trump realize that some members of the House posed challenges, but that Mr. Johnson was not one of them.
Mr. Trump and Mr. Johnson have been talking by phone regularly, and the speaker has told associates that the conversations have been warm and supportive.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
“It’s politically expedient until Trump is firmly in office”
Agree. Get Trump in, and then make adjustments later if necessary. But get Trump in.
“Probably decided a fight was not going to be productive.”
Yes. It is better to have Trump in the White House with the least turblence from Republicans than a cannabalistic war over who is speaker. As Musk has said, those opposing the will of the people can be reminded of the threat of a primary competitor next election cycle.
It is not as if there is someone better who could win waiting in the wings.
Let's say the conversation goes like this:
POSTER 1: Mike Johnson is at best a compromise RINO squish, IMO.
POSTER 2: I disagree. Why do you say that? Can you clarify why you have that opinion?
POSTER 1: You are correct. It is my opinion. And as I said in my post, "...I assume Trump’s “embrace” of him is simply a recognition of a reality by Trump, that it given the outlines of conservatism in the house, it isn’t realistic to expect a MAGA speaker..." That may just be the reality of it, and Trump is making the best of it. I thought he was more aggressive in adding debt when the Democrats proposed that CR rather than opposing those things in it many conservatives find repulsive.
POSTER 2: Well, you are correct that with such a slim majority, that is what we should expect. But Mike Johnson doesn't have enough of a majority to marshal conservatives to attack those things you and others find repulsive. And he isn't as "squishy" as you think. He has a record of opposing things like homosexual marriage and supports 2nd Amendment rights. Even Gaetz, who is considered a fire-breather, thought he would be fine. You should reconsider.
POSTER 1: I admit it is true, I want something that is probably not feasible the way things are structured. I'll re-examine my take on Johnson.
I have had a lot of conversations like that here on FR, and it is what I value. It is why I come here. I know what I think about a subject, and I don't always come to the right conclusions because I am a flawed human being.
My views on John McCain are one good example.
I knew of McCain as a kid (we followed all the POWs and knew their names) and I served under him as an airman apprentice in the US Navy for a short period of time.
I grew up in a Navy family as the son of a career officer, and this is what I wrote at the time. I wrote this, because all of my experiences up to that point made me circle around the man because he had not only served, but was a POW and I had served under him. The whole "Naval Service" thing and all. So I was viewing him through a very different prism than most people. Here is what I wrote at the time, and I am not ashamed of it at all, I was just wrong:
...I dislike him as a candidate, I intensely dislike his policies, and am only going to vote for him because of the abysmal quality of the candidates available to vote for. I would have voted for Duncan Hunter, and may have voted for Fred Thompson.
But saying that, there is NO reason, none whatsoever to disparage McCain for his military service. He wasn't at the top of his class. He wasn't a great pilot, a good one, or perhaps even a well qualified one. He may have been a negligent or openly bad one. But that can be said of a great many men, not just him. Everyone who puts on a g-suit, helmet and parachute isn't a God. I speak from experience, there are good ones and bad ones. And after watching them, everyone gets to know what bucket each pilot falls into.
But he WAS serving his country. He DID take off from a carrier with ordinance to fight the enemy in a time of war. He WAS shot down. He WAS grievously wounded, and DID spend years of his life (some of them pretty close to death) being maltreated by an enemy who DID try to exploit his unique status as the son of well known and high ranking Naval Veterans. And he didn't disgrace himself, and he didn't let himself get sent home.
We can ALL decry him for McCain-Feingold, Immigration, and a host of other issues. As long as he doesn't start presenting himself as some kind of hero and allowing those around him to do it on his behalf a-la John F. Kerry, we should stick to the issues.
Just my opinion...
Now. You can imagine the furor that post could have provoked, and I could have had any number of Freepers jump in and make that person on this thread who replied to me look like the peak of civility.
But I had one Freeper who mailed me privately. And he explained to me, in civil terms, why I was wrong about McCain. And I listened to what he had to say.
And he was right. And all the things I didn't want to consider about McCain came to the fore and were proven true, even his part in the RussiaGate Scandal.
I don't remember now who that Freeper was. I cannot find any trace of that correspondence. But I doubt that if he had called me an ignorant rube, that I would have taken to heart what he said, and it would have been a far more difficult road for me to remove my blinders and see someone like McCain for what he was.
I am forever grateful to him, even if I cannot recall his name. But I recall his temperate patience in helping me to see what he saw as the truth, and change my mind.
I have come to believe that one of the hardest things is to get someone to change their mind, especially if they feel they have given a subject some thought. In light of that, I am doubly grateful to that Freeper. And others who approach discourse on this forum in that same fashion.
Seems like he already did that with his budget "deal".
GREAT post. I think you ‘get it’. Appreciate being able to call you a Freeper friend.
Well then get on that thread and state that, lest people who think that insults and cussing people make it seem like that is what people want!
Personally, I’m leaving them to mark the thread up any way they wish. I’m happy for them to prove my point! 😁
I believe this is Trump giving him a do over. It’s a “high road” attempt by Trump to give him a chance to see there is a new way to do business. Trump can always wait till 2nd or 3rd year to start playing hardball. Trump is a lame duck and can use that to his advantage. The midterms are super important so Trump is looking ahead also. Just my observations.
I am trying, FRiend...but I can still be somewhat cantankerous and obstreperous to varying degrees.
But I try. That is why I appreciated your thread this morning...and that little graphic you post always makes me grin...:)
Sarcasm in politics is great American tradition. I don’t think you understand politics Ms. Manners so forgive me for calling your plea for civility misguided and ignorant.
On Stephen Douglas’ policy on slavery: It “is as thin as the homeopathic soup that was made by boiling the shadow of a pigeon that had been starved to death.” ~ Abraham Lincoln
“Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a member of Congress; but I repeat myself.” ~ Mark Twain
“McKinley had no more backbone than a chocolate eclair.” ~ Teddy Roosevelt
On Gerald Ford: ‘Jerry Ford is so dumb that he can’t fart and chew gum at the same time.’ ~ Lyndon B. Johnson
On General Dwight D. Eisenhower: ‘The General doesn’t know any more about politics than a pig knows about Sunday.’ ~ Harry S. Truman
“I have wondered at times what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the US Congress.” ~ Ronald Reagan
“If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in 5 years there’d be a shortage of sand.” ~ Milton Friedman
“A politician is a fellow who will lay down your life for his country.” ~ Texas Guinan
“I don’t make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.” ~ Will Rogers
“Congress is furious at the Secret Service for consorting with hookers, which has traditionally been Congress’s role.” ~ Andy Borowitz
MTG violated one of the basic rules of politics: “you can’t beat something/somebody with nothing/nobody”
shrugs. could see that coming a mile away. Trump gonna keep on Trumpin.
“All I know is that Johnson is a failure and we need somebody else.”
We Do? Remember he has a ONE seat Majority. On Jan. 3 2025 he will have a 3(?) Seat Majority. Not All of those Republicans are “Conservative”. How Do You Get Anything Done?
Its Called Politics!
What would you have done?
I would have started the process sooner, and bring results back to the house at large for exposure.
I would not have gone into the back room with the democrats in the first place.
“I would have started the process sooner, and bring results back to the house at large for exposure.”
When Was That?
“I would not have gone into the back room with the democrats in the first place.”
You Really don’t understand politics do you?
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