#congressional rules

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy has begged countless lawmakers — and offered extraordinary concessions, including allowing members to easily fire him at any time — to secure the votes for Speaker.

Why It Matters: Republicans will take control of the House as the 118th Congress opens Tuesday. But McCarthy still doesn't have the votes he needs for speaker, as a handful of GOP lawmakers remain publicly opposed.

• Top members of his team tell Axios they're optimistic about pulling it out. But they can't point to an exact route — always a bad sign.

• McCarthy unveiled a package of rules changes on Sunday for the incoming Congress in an attempt to win over Republican holdouts to his bid for Speaker of the House, Punchbowl News reported.

• The rule changes amount to concessions to conservatives, who previously demanded similar changes.

The changes include what was considered a "red line" for McCarthy — making it easier to force a vote on removing the Speaker.

• McCarthy's proposed rules hand a knife to skeptics, allowing any five GOP to call for a vote to boot him at any time. In a letter of response, several hardliners still refused to commit to backing him.

• "He's empowering every part of the conference," a top GOP aide told Axios.

The rules package also proposes ending the use of proxy voting and remote committee proceedings implemented because of the pandemic — as well as fines for not complying with mask mandates or security screenings before entering the House floor.

• It also proposes a vote to form a select subcommittee on "Weaponization of the Federal Government" under the House Judiciary Committee, as well as a select committee on "Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party."

Between The Lines: McCarthy has yielded to the right on ask after ask for weeks — ever since it was clear he was in trouble because the midterms gave him such a narrow majority.

• Yet even close allies privately say it's "hard to see a path" to the 218 votes McCarthy needs when the new Congress opens tomorrow, Punchbowl News reports.

By The Numbers: If the full House is voting, he can only lose four.

• Five conservatives have declared themselves "no" votes, and there's another five to 10 McCarthy has to worry about.

• The conservatives — Reps. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), Matt Rosendale (R-Mt.) and Bob Good (R-Va.) — have all vowed to vote for speaker as a bloc.

• But it's not clear that's a blood pact. Some of their individual concerns could be satisfied in the frantic private horse-trading that went on over the Christmas break and continues today.

The Bottom Line: The top GOP aide said 200+ members are firmly behind McCarthy. Dozens and dozens of them have declared themselves "only Kevin."

Read the proposed rules HERE.

#us politics #news #axios #2023 #us house of representatives #rep. kevin mccarthy #speaker of the house #118th congress #conservatives #republicans #gop #Punchbowl News #Weaponization of the Federal Government #Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party #rep. andy biggs #rep. matt gaetz #rep. ralph norman #rep. matt rosendale #Bob Good #congressional rules

[alwaysbewoke]

the fix is in!!

#Supreme Court corruption #judicial integrity #legal ethics #accountability #justice system reform #transparency #judicial independence #public trust #legal oversight #ethical standards #judicial misconduct #Supreme Court accountability #judicial power #political thuggery #institutional limits #checks and balances #public pressure #media coverage #judicial reform #democratic principles #constitutional interpretation #judicial impartiality #judicial appointments #separation of powers #government accountability #supreme court ruling #presidential immunity case #Trump legal arguments #congressional impeachment power #criminal charges

[gayarograce]

Man fuck SCOTUS. "Checks and balances" my ass! They barely have shit keeping them in check

#for context scotus just ruled that south carolina's congressional map wasnt racially gerrymandered #and clarence thomas (one of the justices) suggested that the courts no longer hear racial gerrymandering cases #in order to keep voting rights ''faithful to the constitution'' #yet another absolute banger (heavy sarcasm) of a decision from the highest court in the land #my post #🇺🇲 politics

[batboyblog]

Things Biden and the Democrats did, this week.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau put forward a new regulation to limit bank overdraft fees. The CFPB pointed out that the average overdraft fee is $35 even though majority of overdrafts are under $26 and paid back with-in 3 days. The new regulation will push overdraft fees down to as little as $3 and not more than $14, saving the American public collectively 3.5 billion dollars a year.

The Environmental Protection Agency put forward a regulation to fine oil and gas companies for emitting methane. Methane is the second most abundant greenhouse gas, after CO2 and is responsible for 30% of the rise of global temperatures. This represents the first time the federal government has taxed a greenhouse gas. The EPA believes this rule will help reduce methane emissions by 80%

The Energy Department has awarded $104 million in grants to support clean energy projects at federal buildings, including solar panels at the Pentagon. The federal government is the biggest consumer of energy in the nation. The project is part Biden's goal of reducing the federal government's greenhouse gas emissions by 65% by 2030. The Energy Department estimates it'll save taxpayers $29 million in the first year alone and will have the same impact on emissions as taking over 23,000 gas powered cars off the road.

The Education Department has cancelled 5 billion more dollars of student loan debt. This will effect 74,000 more borrowers, this brings the total number of people who've had their student loan debt forgiven under Biden through different programs to 3.7 Million

U.S. Agency for International Development has launched a program to combat lead exposure in developing countries like South Africa and India. Lead kills 1.6 million people every year, more than malaria and AIDS put together.

Congressional Democrats have reached a deal with their Republican counter parts to revive the expanded the Child Tax Credit. The bill will benefit 16 million children in its first year and is expected to lift 400,000 children out of poverty in its first year. The proposed deal also has a housing provision that could see 200,000 new affordable rental units

#good news #thanks Biden #Joe Biden #Democrats #climate change #student loans #poverty #housing

[sayruq]

A bill has been submitted to the United States congress calling for a full review of the country’s bilateral relationship with South Africa following the International Court of Justice ruling that found it plausible that Israel has committed acts of genocide against Gaza. The bipartisan bill which was introduced by US Republican congressman John James and Democratic Party congressman Jared Moskowitz this week could threaten South Africa’s prospects to benefit from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The bill will still need to be discussed and passed by congress. It states that not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, US President Joe Biden in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense, shall certify to the appropriate congressional committees and release publicly an unclassified determination explicitly stating whether South Africa has engaged in activities that undermine United States national security or foreign policy interests.

#yemen #jerusalem #tel aviv #current events #palestine #free palestine #gaza #free gaza #news on gaza #palestine news #news update #war news #war on gaza #south africa #icj ruling #genocide #gaza genocide

[filosofablogger]

The New Rules

Well, yesterday was the first actual day of business for the House of Representatives, after their week of game-playing and juvenile tactics.  I spent many years of my career in management positions and while I always tried to be fair, I didn’t put up with any b.s. and expected staff members to work as a team to get the job done, whatever it took.  Today, we are all in management positions in a…

View On WordPress

#Dick Gephardt #new Rules package #Office of Congressional Ethics #Speaker of the House #U.S. House of Representatives

[splendidemendax]

it's slightly exasperating for our local news station to have ads for their coverage of midterm elections with the capitol building in the background.

this is washington dc. i understand we have the building, but we don't actually get to vote on the people inside it. that's the thing we notably don't get to do.

#we do have eleanor holmes norton who i assume will be summarily reelected until the day she dies #but like. what. #you are a local news station for a locality that does not have congressional representation. #we do actually have home rule. our very own local government. #maybe focus on one of the positions we actually get to vote on #i'm being catty. the station also serves the greater metro area and the va and md ppl get congressional representation. #but tbh remembering that doesn't make me feel *less* catty #mea res

[wilwheaton]

The conservative justices had an opportunity to rally to the defense of democracy, to gird the system against further attack, to righteously defend the rule of law, and to protect its own prerogatives and powers against a wannabe tyrant who is counting on them to be his supplicants. They could have drawn a sharp line. They could have summoned indignation and outrage. They could have overlooked their partisan priors in favor of principle – or more cravenly in favor of self-preservation. With the possible and limited exception of Justice Amy Coney Barrett, they did none of that. They failed in the worst possible way at the most crucial time.

Rogue SCOTUS Abandons Democracy In Her Hour Of Greatest Need

Say this with me: This SCOTUS majority is not an impartial arbiter of law. This SCOTUS majority has no respect for precedent, the will of the people, or its fundamental role in government.

This SCOTUS majority is doing through force what the other members of their movement could not achieve through elections: change laws to take equality and freedoms away from as many people as possible, to completely remake America into something we don’t recognize.

Donald Trump and his cult are the greatest threat America has ever faced in its history, with this corrupt, venal, activist group of unelected liars (and at least two rapists) enabling him.

Democrats absolutely have to expand the court and begin an impeachment inquiry into Thomas and Kavanaugh the instant they have congressional majorities. 

I don’t think it’s too late, but it’s about five seconds away from being too late. If Congress doesn’t act hard and fast, these seven people will turn America over to corporations and megachurches.

We have to stop this, and the only way we have any chance at all is to turn out in massive numbers this November to overwhelmingly defeat the people who will put Project 2025 into action.

#uspol #scotus

[brainrockets]

Emily plotting with Zac to get Brennan to fuck himself over isn't quite pro bono rules lawyering. What would one call that? Non profit congressional lobbyist?

#dimension 20 #brennan lee mulligan #emily axford #zac oyama #fhjy spoilers #no that's too mean

[reality-detective]

President Trump is asking everyone to forward this message to a minimum of 20 people, and ask each of those to do likewise.

In three days, most people in the United States will have the message. This is an idea that should be passed around, regardless of political party.

The TRUMP Rules: Congressional Reform Act of 2017

1. No Tenure / No Pension. A Congressman/woman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they're out of office. And, no more perks go with them.

2. Congress (past, present, & future) participates in Social Security. All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.

3. Congress must purchase their own retirement plan, just as ALL Americans do.

4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.

5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.

6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people (i.e. NO MORE INSIDER TRADING!!!).

7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen/women are void. The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen/women. Congress made all these contracts by and for themselves.

Serving in Congress is an honor and privledge NOT a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators should serve their term(s), then go home and go back to work … not get all kinds of freebies.

NO WONDER THEY’RE FIGHTING EVERYTHING HE TRIES! 🤔

#pay attention #educate yourselves #educate yourself #knowledge is power #reeducate yourself #reeducate yourselves #think about it #think for yourselves #think for yourself #do your homework #do some research #do your own research #ask yourself questions #question everything #news #equal rights #donald trump #message from trump

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Rep. Jim McGovern, a leading anti-hunger lawmaker in the House, expressed anger Tuesday that the debt ceiling legislation negotiated by Republicans and the Biden administration targets food benefits for older adults while doing nothing to raise taxes on the wealthy or rein in military spending.

During a House Rules Committee hearing on the bill, McGovern (D-Mass.)—the panel's top Democrat—slammed his Republican colleagues for claiming to care about the deficit but refusing to look to the Department of Defense, a paragon of wasteful spending and fraud, for savings. The White House and Republicans ultimately agreed to increase military spending for the coming fiscal year.

Meanwhile, Republicans rejected White House proposals to close tax loopholes exploited by the rich.

Instead, McGovern said Tuesday, the GOP insists Congress has to "cut funding that helps the most vulnerable in this country."

"Give me a goddamn break," he added.

McGovern voiced particular alarm over the bill's expansion of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) work requirements to include adults between the ages of 50 and 54, a Republican demand. Analysts and campaigners say the change, which would sunset in 2030, could put hundreds of thousands of older adults at risk of losing food aid.

White House officials and President Joe Biden himself have defended the new requirements by pointing to the legislation's proposed expansion of SNAP benefits for veterans, kids leaving foster care, and people experiencing housing insecurity.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Biden brushed aside progressives' warnings that the bill could cause some people to go hungry, calling such concerns "ridiculous."

McGovern pushed back during Tuesday's hearing, saying that "improving benefits for some does not justify putting 700,000 older adults at risk of losing critical, lifesaving food benefits."

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) published an assessment late Tuesday that concludes the debt ceiling bill, titled the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, would lead to roughly 78,000 people gaining SNAP benefits "in an average month, on net (an increase of about 0.2% in the total number of people receiving SNAP benefits)."

But observers cautioned that the CBO's estimate hinges on ensuring that vulnerable people, particularly those who are homeless, are aware they are exempt from SNAP work requirements and able to navigate the program's bureaucracy.

"This is HIGHLY theoretical," The American Prospect's David Dayen wrote of the CBO analysis. "There's no funding to identify eligible people without benefits or to help them apply or find the necessary documentation. I obviously haven't seen the model but it seems like wishful thinking to me."

"How are we exactly a) informing homeless individuals that 1 of the 2 work requirements for SNAP [has] been lifted, b) helping them collect and submit the documents that prove they meet the income test, and so on?" Dayen asked.

After a nearly six-hour hearing, the Republican-controlled House Rules Committee voted Tuesday to send the debt ceiling legislation to the full House for a vote, which could come as soon as Wednesday evening.

McGovern and every other Democrat on the panel voted no.

Ahead of Tuesday's committee vote, McGovern called the latest standoff over the debt ceiling an "all-time high in recklessness and stupidity" and said Republicans "manufactured" a "crisis that risks the full faith and credit of the United States."

"Republicans are unfit to govern," said McGovern, one of the lawmakers who—to no avail—urged Biden to use his 14th Amendment authority to unilaterally avert a debt ceiling catastrophe.

"This bill could have been a lot more awful than it is," McGovern added. "I didn't come to Congress to hurt people. And when I listen to my Republican friends, what is clear to me is that we don't share the same values."

#us politics #news #House Rules Committee #common dreams #2023 #republicans #conservatives #us house of representatives #Democrats #president joe biden #biden administration #Rep. Jim McGovern #supplemental nutrition assistance program #work requirements #department of defense #defund the military #fiscal responsibility act #Congressional Budget Office #YouTube #videos

[justinspoliticalcorner]

David Badash at NCRM:

Republicans ground the House to a halt Wednesday afternoon after U.S. Rep. Erin Houchin (R-IN) objected to remarks made by Rules Committee Ranking Member Jim McGovern (D-MA), during which he delivered a short overview of the 88 criminal charges Donald Trump is facing, and civil court findings including one deeming him an adjudicated rapist. “Take down his words,” Congresswoman Houchin declared, interrupting Rep. McGovern. “I demand that his words be taken down.” For more than one hour, according to Fox News’ Chad Pergram, the people’s business stopped as Republicans, angered by the Democrat’s factual remarks, had them investigated by the House Parliamentarian. “Donald Trump might want to be a king, but he is not a king,” Congressman McGovern observed. “He is not a presumptive king. he’s not even the president – he’s a presumptive nominee.”

“At some point,” McGovern told his congressional colleagues, “it’s time for this body to recognize that there is no precedent for this situation. We have a presumptive nominee for President facing 88 felony counts, and we’re being prevented from even acknowledging it. These are not alternative facts. These are real facts. A candidate for President of the United States is on trial for sending a hush money payment to a porn star to avoid a sex scandal during his 2016 campaign, and then fraudulently disguising those payments in violation of the law. He’s also charged with conspiring to overturn the election. He’s also charged with stealing classified information and a jury has already found him liable for rape and a civil court. And yet, in this Republican controlled House, it’s okay to talk about the trial but you have to call it a sham.” The decision to strike McGovern’s “offensive” remarks appears to have come from U.S. Rep. Jerry Carl (R-AL), who was presiding over the chamber. He cited House Rule XVII, which Pergram reported “says House members are prohibited from impugning the motives of fellow House members, senators or the President. And in this case, the former President.”

Earlier, before Rep. Houchin demanded his remarks be stricken, McGovern also blasted Republicans for traveling to New York in their “cult uniforms,” to show support for Donald Trump at his criminal trial in Lower Manhattan. The Massachusetts Democrat told his colleagues, “my friends over the other side of the aisle have pandered to their most extreme members over and over and over again. They let the extremists kick out their own Speaker. They let the extremists dictate the agenda on the House floor. They let the extremists take down seven rule votes since January 2023 – a stunning indictment of their ability to get anything done. And speaking of indictments, Republicans are skipping their real jobs to take day trips up to New York to try to undermine Donald Trump’s criminal trial. No time to work with Democrats, but plenty of time to put on weird matching cult uniforms and stand behind President Trump with their bright red ties like pathetic props.”

Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA)’s speech on the House floor calling out criminal defendant Donald Trump was delivering truth bombs left and right, and it made Republicans upset, especially the part in which he said that Trump “might want to be a king, but he is not a king” and the fact that he was calling out his criminality.

Rep. Erin Houchin (R-IN) was the Republican who ordered a frivolous halt to McGovern’s speech by demanding “that his words be taken down.” Floor Presider Jerry Carl (R-AL) granted Houchin’s request, and McGovern was barred from speaking on the Floor for the rest of the day.

See Also:

NBC News: Democrat McGovern ruled 'out of order' after listing off Trump's legal woes on the House floor

Daily Kos: GOP brings House to a halt to debate whether facts are allowed

#Jim McGovern #Erin Houchin #Jerry Carl #118th Congress #US House of Representatives #Donald Trump Trial #Donald Trump #People of New York v. Trump #House Rules Committee

[intheholler]

On Appalachian and Southern Stereotypes

After seeing some people leap at the opportunity to insult and further harm us under my posts, even by obviously leftist accounts, I wanted to address some of the most popular stereotypes of our region.

Not as an excuse. There are many negative, violent and otherwise harmful features of the American South. We have a horrific history especially in terms of the violence we inflicted and continue to inflict upon the Black community that cannot be forgotten, and, as a culture, we do need to pay our dues.

But maybe this will help y’all apply some nuance to the situation and understand that we aren’t all your enemy.

Stereotype 1: Everyone is a Republican Racist

Absolute horse shit, my friends. There are people like me all over the south and in the hollers. We just get drowned out by the fascists, and it is all by design. 

In my home state of North Carolina alone, they are working tirelessly to make it impossible for young, often liberal (if not outright leftist) voices to be heard. They specifically target regions with heavy POC populations.

As recently as May of this year, the North Carolina Supreme Court overturned their own previous ruling which once made gerrymandering illegal. This allows Republicans free range to draw their congressional lines wherever benefits them most. 

Meanwhile, Roy Cooper, our Democratic governor, has been in office since 2017.

Gerrymandering is a real problem, and it reflects the worst of us. But it does not reflect all of us.

We are a working class, pro-union people.

We are coal miners and mill workers and farmers.

We took up arms against the government and fought for our labor rights during the Coal Wars as recently as the 1920s.

We bled for labor rights at the Battle of Blair Mountain.

It’s a myth that you keep perpetuating that we are all closed minded, bigoted regressionists. It diminishes the efforts of everyone from the coal miners to people like me while we try to make the region a better place.

It actually only worsens what you say that you wish you could “saw off into the ocean.” 

That's my home you're talking about.

Stereotype 2: Everyone is Obese

36.3% of the overall population of the Southeast is obese. This is true.

Have you considered why that may be? For starters, Southerners are more likely to be uninsured compared to individuals living in the rest of the country.

"Among the total nonelderly population, 15% of individuals in the South are uninsured compared to 10% of individuals in the rest of the country."

Partially because they didn't even expand the same Medicaid benefits to us. and partially because we are just so fucking poor. 

17% of the American South is below the poverty line, compared to 13% in the Midwest, 13% in the West, and 13% in the Northeast.

Percentages under 5% may not seem like much, but when you consider 1% of the total United States population is around 3,140,000 people, yeah, that adds up real quick.

How does this relate? Well...

Mississippi has 19.58% of its residents below the poverty line, and a 39.1% obesity rate.

West Virginia has 17.10% of its residents below the poverty line, and a 40.6 % obesity rate.

Kentucky has 16.61% of its residents below the poverty line, and a 40.4% obesity rate.

Are you seeing the trend?

We, generally speaking, are more likely to be unable to afford to feed ourselves wholesome foods, and we are less likely to be able to afford medical insurance--two things that are obviously important to maintaing good health and a "healthy" weight.

By the same token... 

Stereotype #3: We're All Uneducated 

The South and Appalachia are some of the lowest ranked in terms of educational funding and spending per pupil in the entire country. We don't even break the top 30 on the list, y'all.

49. Tennessee at $8,324 per pupil 47. Mississippi at $8,919 per pupil 45. Alabama at $9,636 per pupil 42. Kentucky at $10,010 per pupil 36. North Carolina at $10,613 per pupil 35. South Carolina at  $10,719 per pupil 33. Georgia at $10,893 per pupil 32. West Virginia at $10,984 per pupil

The top three best-funded states, by comparison, receive between $18k and $20k per pupil.

In terms of higher education, student loans are a death sentence for everyone but especially impoverished kids just looking for a way out. It just isn't feasible for most of us. And that's if we even tested well after going to shitty schools our whole lives. If we had better education, we'd have better literacy in all things, including critical thinking, allowing us to better see through the bullshit we are taught. But we don't. And you aren't helping the ones who are trying in spite of that.

Stereotype 4: Bad Teeth

Quickly going to touch on this one--when we consider a lack of access to affordable, healthy food, shitty medical insurance in general and our poverty rate, this one is kind of obvious. Even so:

“Dental coverage was significantly lower than the national average in the South Atlantic (45.6%), East South Central (45.6%), West South Central (45.9%), and Pacific (48.0%) regions.”

Every time you make a toothless hillbilly joke, ask if poverty is really the butt of the joke you want to be making.

These are just the most pervasive of them, imo. And they can all be underlined by extreme poverty which is absolutely by design.

It also contributes to why it isn’t so easy to “just leave” as we are so often dismissively told to do. Moving is expensive.

And why should we have to, anyway? Why should we have to flee our homes?

Why, for those who feel safe enough and/or have no other choice, should we not stay and fight to better the region?

And why can’t you other leftists get behind us and help us in our fight instead of perpetuating harmful stereotypes? We're your people, too.

Just some food for thought. And I hope some of y’all take a big ol bite.

#i am already exhausted #if you wanna discuss or for some reason argue any of these points my asks are open but i'm hopping off of here for now #appalachia #appalachian culture #appalachian mountains #southern usa #txt

[bottlehawk]

happy pride month! why each hs kid got kicked out of their local gsa group:

john: accidentally introduced kink at pride discourse on steven universe night. also used the wrong lesbian flag emote on discord

rose: introduced kink at pride discourse on steven universe night on purpose. called out the ruling poly sextuplet for only including one person of color in a 53% minority congressional district. tweeted that she sided with harry styles in the war against harry styles.

dave: made fun of the rgb autism pride flag without realizing it was a real flag. asked a he/him lesbian why he used he/him pronouns and then said it was okay for him to ask because his sister is also a lesbian. leaked facebook post from 2007 saying slurs when he was in middleschool and then apologized by saying he doesn't listen to eminem anymore.

jade: ran for vice president of the gsa while also being president of mathletes team and treasurer for art club. publicly apologized for the conflict of interest once she read in the official pledge that you can't be an elected official in more than two different clubs and then banned herself publicly at her inauguration. no one brought this up btw she just did this herself

jane: caught eating at chick-fil-a in someone's private story at 2 in the morning which also got her kicked out of theatre club for breaking the vegan pledge signed amongst the ensemble cast. is currently in shambles.

jake: called himself a "transexual" and then doubled down on it when corrected. recommended "some like it hot" for gsa movie night.

roxy: defended jake calling himself a "transexual" and walked out while taking half of the poly sextuplet with her. has now formed her own poly queer platonic quadruplet which has been getting the gsa discord mods nervous with the new competition in town.

dirk: also defended jake calling himself a "transexual" but did it too late to not look like a poser. genuinely tried to engage with rose's kink at pride discourse on steven universe night

#homestuck #john egbert #rose lalonde #jade harley #dave strider #dirk strider #roxy lalonde #jane crocker #jake english #bottlehawk text #happy pride

[gwydionmisha]

Democrats are trying to block funding to the propaganda clinics that try to trick pregnant people into entering to be barraged by misinformation in the guise of medicine.

Have something you want to tell your Congress Critters? If you can't safely contact them in person, here are some other options:

Call the Capitol Switchboard at [phone] and ask to be connected to the representative of your choice.

Here is one that will send your reps a fax: https://resist.bot/

#Republicans #Anti-abortion Centers #News

[wilwheaton]

The three justices from the court’s liberal wing strongly objected to this, and Justice Amy Coney Barrett objected less forcefully. Each of the four indicated that the court need not have gone that far. The concurrence from Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson is full-throated on this point. They agreed that allowing Colorado to disqualify Trump would lead to “chaos,” but they disagreed that congressional enforcement was “critical” to the 14th Amendment. And they suggested the court’s majority was insulating both Trump and other alleged insurrectionists. They said the five justices “decide novel constitutional questions to insulate this Court and petitioner” — Trump — “from future controversy.” “By resolving these and other questions, the majority attempts to insulate all alleged insurrectionists from future challenges to their holding federal office,” the three justices wrote.

Takeaways from Supreme Court's Trump-14th Amendment ruling

I struggle to accept that anyone who was involved in writing the 14th Amendment would look at Trump, January 6, and everything he has said and done around it, would conclude that he is not the kind of person they were thinking about when they drafted it.

It seems like everyone, from Moscow Mitch to the activist SCOTUS, refuses to use the powers granted to them by the constitution to protect and defend America from people like Trump. Whether that’s because they agree with his policies, or they are just feckless cowards who are so insulated from the consequences of their actions they don’t have to live with them, the result is the same.

Why won’t any of these people use the tools and the powers they have been granted — tools the vast majority of Americans *want* them to use — to wake us from this nightmare?