mcc
The speaker circus is over and the Republicans' selection is, as documented by TPM here, a thought leader in 2020 election denial/conspiracy theories. We're used to extremist Republicans but the third person in Presidential succession has openly opposed electing the President democratically, which is a new line crossed.
Once again, what gets reported as "Republicans embarrassing themselves!" is the Republican far right being very very effective at achieving goals
mcc
Expect new horrors about Mike Johnson of this type to drop on your feeds at a steady pace for the next 2 to 120 months https://mastodon.lawprofs.org/@jvagle/111297449428097579
mcc
By throwing tantrums and acting in an apparently self destructive way, the far right was able to replace the speaker with a member from their faction. There is no sign there will be consequences for the far right for this, and there might not even be consequences for the Republican Party. (I'm sure the Biden Democrats think they'll cut wicked campaign ads from all this, but I dont remember the last time I saw a "campaign ad".)
What should the left learn from this incident?
mcc
Cuz like… the self destructive Republican behavior no longer seems self destructive to me at all. (Regular destructive, maybe.) It looks… effective, given the Republicans' specific goals.
My entire adult life I've been, as a leftist, told, and sometimes argued to others, that there's a particular way of gaining power & influence as a political faction. That way has never worked. What the evidence says is effective seems to be the opposite of how the center keeps telling the left to behave.
Paul Cantrell
@mcc
I’ve been listening to a fascinating podcast on the political history of the Big Dig in Boston, and one thing that comes through is that the LBJ-ish way of gaining power & influence I assume you’re referencing — coalition-building, compromise, calculation, horse trading — really •was• effective once upon a time. The show presents the Big Dig as a case study of the twilight of that political era, and the transition to our current one.
Paul Cantrell
@benjohn @mcc
One of many compelling points in that series was that earmarks, what Reagan derided as “pork barrel politics,” were a huge part of why that approach used to work. Maybe you have some big idea that not everyone cares about, but you can build support by bundling it with small things that are important to just a few holdouts. Legislative bundling acknowledges that people want many very different things, but we’re in it together.
Benjohn
@inthehands @mcc I would think a path back to that approach would be highly desirable? I suppose at least some people are working towards that?
Raven Onthill
@mcc That's what they said about Trump, even as he rose to the presidency. In the long term, sure, this is self-destructive, but it can take down whole nations. Places have outbursts of fanaticism, everything goes off the rails, and in a generation people are regretting it. Look at Brexit.
mcc
@ravenonthill People say things like this but it looks to me like the United States isn't going anywhere, it's just getting worse and worse. Same with Brexit, it was a catastrophe for the country but the right looks to have what looks like a permanent stranglehold on power even as their PMs have to resign one after the other. Maybe Brexit is a reason why the conservatives are unbeatable now, maybe a scared, insecure, poorer country is easier to govern with a politics of control
Raven Onthill
@inthehands @mcc That's what Biden is doing and it's pretty effective, but it can't stop fanatics. Those you have to fight.
mcc
@ravenonthill @inthehands It's not clear to me Biden's approach is especially effective at a goal other than re-electing Biden. If my core goal is undoing the damage of Trump then I find it very alarming how many of Trump's signature policies are continued under Biden
mcc
@guidojansen6 The thing about Republican liars is they're disposable. Anne Coulter or Bill O'Reilly or Donald Trump lie themselves into the trash, it doesn't matter cuz the Republicans have more to swap in. They farm them. They fund them. Trump's lawyers get jail or probation but Mike Johnson gets the Speakership, some individuals get fucked along the way but overall the movement succeeds.
If you're their opponent, knocking them out one by one doesn't *work* like it would against the left.
Guido Jansen
@mcc Read sth rather encouraging today about how trump’s previous lawyers plead guilty one after the other currently, and how it might bring a pyramid of liars to tumble down… one can hope
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