toad.social is one of the many independent Mastodon servers you can use to participate in the fediverse.
Mastodon server operated by David Troy, a tech pioneer and investigative journalist addressing threats to democracy. Thoughtful participation and discussion welcome.

Administered by:

Server stats:

206
active users

#RepublicanDisarray

0 posts0 participants0 posts today
Replied in thread

@douglerner @Annekin
Biden needs to run on his 21-22 record and call for a Dem Congress. He needs to call out #RepublicanDisarray

He doesn't need to jump through hoops the media set for him. Given the *days* of coverage over Hur's unprofessional comments, why should Biden pick any platform where they will give that narrative more air?

If I were advising, I'd have him go to a union plant on Monday and call for workers to get a better share of this booming economy.

Will Hutton writes that the Freedom Caucus, “the Taliban 20,” in the US and Brexit "Spartans" in the UK share common ideological roots:

"Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng’s radical libertarianism, which informed the disastrous tax-cutting mini-budget was borrowed directly from the US libertarian right and now reinforces the Truss camp’s crazed belief they have a legacy to protect."

(1 of 2)

theguardian.com/commentisfree/

The Guardian · America’s ‘Taliban 20’ Republicans have the same roots as our Brexit spartansBy Will Hutton

Greg Olear writes,

"This week, as we held the wake and the funeral for my father, news ground to a halt in the United States. The seditious conspiracy wing of the House GOP—led by an alleged sex trafficker of underage girls and a woman whose now husband was arrested at a bowling alley for exposing his tattooed penis to some underage girls—hijacked the election of Speaker. For five days there was no functioning House of Representatives."

gregolear.substack.com/p/sunda

PREVAIL by Greg OlearSunday Pages: "May 24, 1980"By Greg Olear

Molly Jong-Fest writes,

"Despite his best efforts, the leopards have finally come for Kevin McCarthy’s face. For those not extremely online, I’m referring to a 2015 tweet from YA novelist Adrian Bott: '‘I never thought leopards would eat MY face,’ sobs woman who voted for the Leopards Eating People’s Faces Party.'”

vanityfair.com/news/2023/01/ke

Vanity Fair · The Kevin McCarthy Mess Is Peak TrumpismBy Molly Jong-Fast

Jonathan Freedland writes,

"There has been a karmic pleasure in watching the Republicans who won control of the House of Representatives struggle to complete the most basic piece of business – the election of a speaker – but it’s also been instructive, and not only to Americans. For it has confirmed the dirty little secret of that strain of rightwing populist politics that revels in what it calls disruption:"

(1 of 2)

theguardian.com/commentisfree/

The GuardianAfter Brexit and Trump, rightwing populists cling to power – but the truth is they can’t governBy Jonathan Freedland

Lucian K. Truscott writes,

"What we have learned over the last few days is that right-wing Republican plan has outlived its usefulness, which was mostly as rhetoric anyway. This crowd wants to take the government apart, piece by piece, and kill it. They’ve been using and abusing the Constitution to do it. This time, they didn’t even have to employ a mob to shut themselves down, and they’re winning."

luciantruscott.substack.com/p/

Lucian Truscott NewsletterKevin McCarthy didn't win. The mob did.By Lucian K. Truscott IV

Jonathan V. Last writes,

"Congratulations to Kevin McCarthy! No matter what happens from here on in, he’ll get the bust and the official portrait and his name etched in history. No one can take that away from him. And all he had to do was humiliate himself, betray his principles, and agree to a bunch of dictated terms which are unlikely to be good for the country.

For a guy like My Kevin, that probably seems like a bargain."

thetriad.thebulwark.com/p/how-

Bulwark+How Biden's COVID Relief Helped Ron DeSantisBy Jonathan V. Last

Joyce Vance writes,

"Perception has a way of becoming reality, and the high-schoolish display in the House this week demonstrates just how fragile our institutions remain. Institutions are, in many ways, only as stable as the people who run them. There is little stability in today’s Republican Party, which is now in control, barely, of the House of Representatives."

(1 of 2)

joycevance.substack.com/p/for-

Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance For How Long?By Joyce Vance

Why should the Democrats not help the Republicans solve their mess as they tear at each other over selection of a Speaker? Jeet Heer explains:

"Democrats’ success in recent elections has hinged precisely on making it clear to voters that the GOP is an extremist party incapable of governing—an argument dramatically vindicated by the ongoing farce in the House."

thenation.com/article/politics

The NationIt’s Not the Job of Democrats to Save the GOPHelping Republicans pick a House speaker makes sense only if it intensifies the right-wing civil war.

Andy Campbell, author of We Are Proud Boys, tells Amy Goodman that the "same people who are holding Congress hostage now are the same people who helped foment the insurrection and who, after the fact, still cast doubt on the 2020 election."

He says,

"The very far-right, very racist, very loud and popular troll wing of the GOP has sort of been building this parallel power structure alongside the GOP for years under Trump."

(1 of 2)

democracynow.org/2023/1/6/janu

Democracy Now!Two Years After Jan. 6, Capitol Attack Casts Long Shadow Over <span class="caps">GOP</span> That Allows Extremism to FesterBy Democracy Now!

Jonathan V. Last writes,

"And here is the essential, foundational problem: This fight over the speaker’s gavel is exactly what every important vote in the House over the next two years is going to look like.

The speaker’s fight is the debt ceiling fight is the budget fight is the Ukraine aid fight.

Meaning: One half of the federal legislature will be mostly non-functional for the next two years."

thetriad.thebulwark.com/p/the-

Bulwark+The McCarthy Speakership Fight Is Only a PreviewBy Jonathan V. Last

Jay Kuo points out that if Lauren Boebert is an ill-educated enfant terrible now bedeviling her own party — and she is that— it's that very party that created her.

She can't do math. She has no idea how government really works. But she knows how to capture the media spotlight — and the Republican party has created and elevated all of this.

statuskuo.substack.com/p/the-g

The Status KuoThe GOP Created Lauren Boebert. Now They Can’t Control Her.By Jay Kuo
Continued thread

"Even if McCarthy wins, if this agreement goes forward, it will further cement the takeover of the GOP by a group dedicated to a vision of American as a white Christian nation rather than a pluralistic democracy, and a group that, by their own acknowledgment, is willing to do whatever it takes—including undermining fair elections and even supporting a violent insurrection—to win."

(4 of 4)

Continued thread

Jones writes,

"These groups function to connect wealthy conservative donors, Christian Right activists, Republican political operatives, and powerfully connected conservatives such as Ginni Thomas, wife of US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. They wield massive influence in far right circles and more recently have aligned with Trumpism and the MAGA movement."

(2 of 4)

Robert P. Jones notes that among the concessions Kevin McCarthy has made to try to get his extremist rebels to vote for him is one that makes concessions to and empowers the the Conservative Action Project, an affiliate of the Council for National Policy.

(1 of 4)

robertpjones.substack.com/p/wt

White Too Long by Robert P. JonesWTL Conversations S3E1 [video]: Understanding the Worldview of a Powerful Extremist Group Fueling the McCarthy Speakership ChaosBy Robert P. Jones