There goes Mr. Jordan

 American democracy -- best in the world!  We've had a glimpse into the way the Republican majority whip votes and it's astonishing more doesn't get done.  Jim Jordan has apparently decided not to invite a third humiliation and wants to keep Patrick McHenry as interim Speaker until January.  I don't know what he thinks will happen then.  Maybe Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) will forget she got "credible death threats" after switching her vote from Jordan to Kay Granger of Texas on the second ballot.  "One thing I cannot stomach or support is a bully," she wrote.  Granger chairs the Appropriations Committee and she really does not like Jordan.   (Could she become Speaker?  She is eighty, too old to be president according to the Republicans and most of the media.  This is intriguing.)  

 


What exactly is an interim Speaker?  Has there ever been one before?  What powers would he have, apart from convening and adjourning?  No doubt some historian will tell us.  I predict the majority will try to get C-SPAN barred from the chamber so no one can watch their dysfunction in real time.  They're already bringing their toys to work.

Release the kraken!  Sidney Powell has pleaded guilty to six counts of election interference in Fulton County, Georgia, in return for six years probation, fines and restitution, and an agreement to testify in the trial of her co-defendant.  That would be Trump.  Powell is the second domino to fall -- bail bondsman Scott Hall toppled a month ago.  Powell also has to write an apology letter to the citizens of Georgia.  I will cherish it.

Credit where it's due:  Joe and Mika reported another Trump howler this morning.  Outside the Manhattan courthouse yesterday he complained to the salivating media about how he can't campaign because he has to be present at the fraud trial.  A minute later someone asked if he would be there today.  "Probably not.  I have a very big professional golf tournament at Doral, so probably not."  Only he can operate the ball washer.

Meanwhile over in Brooklyn, Douglass Mackey was being sentenced to seven months for "conspiracy against rights" in the 2016 election.  Mackey, described as a "far-right influencer," texted thousands of voters, "Avoid the line.  Vote from home.  Text 'Hillary' to 59925."  In my opinion he should also have been indicted for using the name Ricky Vaughn, the Charlie Sheen character from Major League.  The Wild Thing didn't deserve that.

If you need another reason to get the vaccine/wear a mask, try this:  Pfizer plans to charge $1,390 for a five-day course of Paxlovid, up from $530.  It's still less than five days in the ICU, but that's not saying much.




 



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