I am seriously sick of Johnson’s charades. Let’s discuss his latest scheme. 
Republicans Float Novel Plan to Avert Government Shutdown
The Wall Street Journal reports Republicans Float Novel Plan to Avert Government Shutdown
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) planned to huddle with rank-and-file GOP members on Friday to lay out a plan to avert a government shutdown at midnight, while reopening communications with Democrats still steaming after the collapse of a bipartisan deal.
Discussions in the GOP focused on holding separate votes on different portions of the package, rather than one catchall bill. Two people familiar with the party’s thinking said the votes would likely be divided into three sections: funding federal agencies for three months; providing disaster relief; and aiding farmers.
Under the approach, lawmakers would pledge to raise the debt ceiling and cut spending next year, but not vote on it now. President-elect Donald Trump has demanded that lawmakers vote to raise the borrowing cap before he takes office.
Pledge to Reduce Spending Later
What?!!
Yes, that will surely work, like all past such pledges worked.
And to get there we need to divide and conquer.
Mish Synopsis of Johnson’s Divide and Conquer Deficit Plan
- Take a deficit pie
- Cut the pie into three pieces
- Pretend the sum of the pieces will shrink the deficit at some magical point in the future on a pledge to eat the pie now and pay for it later.
The Correct Response
The correct response to this silliness is twofold.
- Remove Johnson as Speaker right now
- Go home for Christmas
There is no need to pick a new speaker today. And there is no pressing need to avoid a shutdown either.
Dear Congress, Please Shut Down
I repeat: Dear Congress, Please Shut Down, There’s No Need to Address the Budget this Year
The Government can survive until at least March and possibly May.
This is the first time in 6 years Republicans have had the chance to play hardball. So don’t F it up.
By the way, if this latest bit of asininity succeeds, blame Trump, no one else. Trump could stop this cold right now if he just would come out and say “Merry Christmas, Go Home.”
Many, many executives have learned over the years that disagreeing with Musk is a career-ending decision.
GOP members will learn to fear him. His bucket of money and huge social media reach is likely enough to cause them to lose their next election.
This is the world we live in for now. Hopefully he mostly chooses to be a for good.
End House product (Plan C) passed (with huge approval) and ended up where I thought it would with my earlier posts. Republican House did a CR (again!), BUT added to the deficit even more with disaster relief and farmer aid. That way, the ‘deficit-weary’ Republicans can get more for their constituents, but not technically vote to specifically increase the deficit since they weren’t separate packages.
Real change usually takes time, and this time was no different. When Trump and the Republicans take full control in one month, they won’t be able to do this any more and will have to make real decisions (and specifically cuts) OR face their constituents with shrugged shoulders and “at least Biden is out”
“A One-Word Synopsis of the Latest Plan to Avoid a Shutdown – Lie”
Only if their mouths are moving.
I think that Trump is not really sure what President Musk wants, and that is leaving Republicans in the house mixed up. You have freedom caucus guys voting no, and Trumpite reps like Johnson pushing forward. I think President Musk needs to communicate more clearly to them all with some more tweets.
Yes, the House is confused about who is actually going to be president.
Musk is paying Trump $1 billion/month to be allowed to play at President, since he is Constitutionally prohibited from running for the office.
Look, a new narrative.
“Trump could stop this cold right now if he just would come out and say…”
Right now, the process is more important than the end result. Reaffirming that people like Johnson have to go is best done sooner rather than later.
This is a super video with former Congressman Bob McEwen describing how we (again) came to be in yet another ‘up against the wall’ budget extension.
—–
The democrats and rinos would like us to believe that we’re up against a wall.
Or perhaps, dancing hard to portray self-contradiction, chaos, disorder, and government by sudden tweet as 5-D chess? What, Trump couldn’t have called Johnson in the first place and just talked? It had to be done like this? Even assuming I agree with the basic aims, this seems a pretty bizarre way to do business.
This is NOT the time to be trying to decide complex issues like how to reduce the deficit. That should have been done months and years ago. The focus now should be simply passing a budget to keep the government running for the next few months..
Once Trump gets into office, we can see if he can really deliver on his campaign promises to cut the deficit.
No, we need to shutdown
That will work just like it did all the other times, right?
On Jan 3 Congress changes and Senate goes to REP. House has 8 or so new members but just 219 members. Why make agreements that will not be enforceable unless a deal is signed within the next 2 days
Mish, Trump already posted this morning that the shutdown should happen on the Democrats’ last month, not on his time. So why would he go on record now (not that he’s really cared before about what he said in the past) that everyone should go home without doing their actual job of funding government? That would be an in-the-face ‘screw you’ to the citizens instead of a stab-them-in-the-back-while-they-are-not-looking move
Rep Massie is right.
“This isn’t complicated.
Separate the bills and vote on them individually.
one vote on the clean CR
one vote on the debt limit
one vote on disaster relief
one vote on farm bailouts
Radical right? Individual bills for each issue.”
Yes, I’m unsure why Mish is upset by this procedure. Yesterday, he posted the Republicans should put forth a bill that the Democrats could not support and be held responsible for the consequences (although I commented then the cuts he wanted the Republicans to propose to the Democrats would probably never happen).
Separate votes allow everyone to be seen and heard; so I agree with you.
I doubt it will happen this way because then even the Republicans would have to vote they are adding to the deficit to protect disaster victims and farmers (who could buy their own private insurance BTW). Or else they will be on the evening news – like Mish posted yesterday
This is how it is supposed to work. See my link to a video describing the budget process below.
Agree with everything except the CR. Shut ‘re down.
In their defense (a little), voters always seem to blame republicans for shutdowns. Like the saying goes, you get what you vote for.
GOP has power, why would they care about anything else, such as doing right by the USA and its citizenry?
Buzz. They aren’t the President yet
They seem to be presuming they are, based on this level of intervention, no?
Where’s Biden and why is the guy you voted for doing nothing?
This might be one reason not to shut down the DOE because people like you and Midnight did not learn some important information in school about how the Constitution spells out duties to different branches.
See the House starts spending bills, and then the Senate votes to confirm it, and then the President gets the chance to veto. So right now, that’s on the Republicans – as it has been for two years. Vote on it, and then let the Senate have its turn. The President is really a by-stander in this process until the end – unless you’re Trump and Johnson is your whipping boy.
There’s your free civics lesson for the day, and I won’t even charge the taxpayers for it.
I understand how it works. President has a lot of say about what he wants and is willing to sign and not veto….and he’s completely missing and demented. Zero leadership
I’m glad you had that education and did not have to drop out early; sometimes it’s hard to tell with people
But who cares about Biden’s leadership now; he’s a lame duck (plus again, he does not get to write up the bill). Trump is the one currently showing all his voters (and the rest of the US) how this leadership prowess is exacted. So just revel in it
The first bill was presumably what Biden wanted. OK, he is diminished, we all now that. But a bipartisan agreement was reached that it seemed he would sign. What is missing then?
Who?
If you mean the RINOs, you’re right. Else you’re wrong.
He governs best who governs least. Shut down the government and the world will be a better place.
Your implied claim that he is playing an elaborate game of chess to shut down the government is hogwash. This is obviously a display of utter incompetence.
Shut it down till Spring
Mike Johnson prints like the kid who’s trying to please everyone, but really only cares about ripping people off. He needs to go with 90% of Republicans and 100% of Democrats. Congress is in shambles, just as our financial house is. Enough already.
No hardball game on deck…
MAGA Republicans don’t know how to play with others…
just with themselves.
100% of their voters can just call you a commie and feel like they have owned you. GOP SOP
Generally you are commies
… said the clown
It’s not that they are communists, but they absolutely are rubes. To vote for Biden and then to vote for Headboard means they don’t learn from mistakes.