Speakership Of The House Of Representatives

The House Speakership Continues Downhill Under Republican Control

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The Speaker of the House of Representatives is second in line of succession to the Presidency under the Presidential Succession Act of 1947.

Sadly, under Republican majority leadership periods, the Speakership has been going steadily downhill in competence, accomplishments, and even common decency.

In the past thirty years since the Republican “Revolution” in the midterm elections of 1994 under President Bill Clinton, we have had now six Republican Speakers, and only one Democratic Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, who was a true star and extremely accomplished leader from 2007-2011 and 2019-2023.

The rest of those years, we have had one disaster after another from the following chronological list of Republican Speakers:

Newt Gingrich 1995-1999
Dennis Hastert 1999-2007
John Boehner 2011-October 2015
Paul Ryan October 2015-2019
Kevin McCarthy January 2023-October 2023
Mike Johnson October 2023-Present

Each one was horrendous and divisive, but Mike Johnson seems to have lowered the reputation of the office ever further.

Hopefully, Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic House leader will ascend to the Speakership in January 2025!

New Threat Of Government Shutdown Under New Speaker Mike Johnson!

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A new threat of a government shutdown on Friday November 17, under the new Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, is pending.

Johnson has division within the House Republican Conference, and just as former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, he cannot afford to lose more than four votes if all Republicans are present and voting on any budget matter.

And one member could call for a vote to dislodge the new Speaker from his perch, and new chaos and anarchy could reign.

Mike Johnson, an unknown individual until he was elevated to the Speakership, clearly is in above his head, and his extremist views and those of his wife are an alarm bell in the night.

Johnson wants two separate dates for funding, and he proposes no aid for now to either Israel or Ukraine, so it seems like a no brainer, with five days to go to the budget deadline.

If the government shuts down this Friday, it will cause all kinds of grief in innumerable ways.

The Growing Threat Of White Christian Nationalism

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With the ascendancy of unknown Louisiana Congressman Mike Johnson to the position of Speaker of the House this week, the nation is now faced with the reality that white Christian nationalism is on the ascendancy into positions of power.

This nation was built on separation of church and state, and yet, theocracy is being promoted, including promotion of attacks on women’s rights, gay rights, and minority rights.

Mike Johnson might seem to be a noncontroversial personality, but the more we learn, the more we realize he is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, with an extremist right wing and hard line conservative Christian perspective.

Johnson has the right to have his own personal views, but not to impose his white Christian nationalism agenda on the nation at large.

Republicans Who Abandoned Their Principles And Supported Mike Johnson As Speaker Of The House!

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This author and blogger wanted to give slack to 18 House Republicans whose districts voted for Joe Biden in 2020, but now realizes he was naive!

Many of these 18 House Republicans are part of the so called “Problem Solvers Caucus”, and yet, they voted unanimously for a hardline extremist right wing Speaker, Mike Johnson of Louisiana, who is more extreme than Kevin McCarthy, and similar to Jim Jordan, but with a more amenable personality, which effectively hides his extremist views!

So it is time to stop believing that there are any Republicans in the House of Representatives who can be trusted on doing what is proper and mainstream, and Democrats must work to defeat as many of these Biden district Republicans as possible in the upcoming Congressional Elections of 2024!

However, this author and blogger is particularly angry at the following:

Don Bacon of Nebraska
Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania
Tom Kean Jr of New Jersey
Mike Lawler of New York
Marc Molinaro of New York
Anthony D’Esposito of New York
Nick LaLota of New York
Brandon Williams of New York
David Valadao of California
Mike Garcia of California
Michelle Steele of California
Young Kim of California
John Duarte of California

So these New York and California Republicans, in particular, are on notice that they are in danger due to their support of a MAGA Republican for the Speakership of the House of Representatives!

MAGA Republicans In Charge In House Of Representatives: Its Implications!

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Having “slept” on the elevation of Mike Johnson to the Speakership of the House of Representatives, this author and blogger has woken up to the horrors of this MAGA Republican, who seems to be a “nice” person on the surface, but has horrendous views on so many issues!

This man, now two heartbeats away from the Presidency, is a rabid social conservative who is vehemently opposed to abortion, gay rights and gay marriage, and has a hardline Christian view of marriage and family, more like the 1950s and earlier!

Johnson also led the Election Denier movement in support of Donald Trump, and has never backed away from refusing to accept that Joe Biden is President.

Also, he has spoken in favor of changing Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid.

Johnson is the Speaker with the least government experience since the 1880s.

He is also not a supporter of Ukraine in its war with Russia under Vladimir Putin, and is likely to have a difficult relationship with President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

So, while the whole fiasco of the Speakership battles is likely to harm the Republican Party in 2024, for the next year, and including through the lameduck session after the Presidential Election of 2024, there could be a massive crisis in acceptance of the election results with a Trump supporting MAGA Republican in charge in the House of Representatives!

New House Speaker Mike Johnson: An Election Denier! :(

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Finally, the Republican Party has united around Louisiana Representative Mike Johnson, age 51, as their new Speaker of the House.

There was an urgency to elect a Speaker to stop the paralysis of Congress, but it is disturbing that Mike Johnson was an Election Denier over the Presidential Election Of 2020.

But now, with Donald Trump having backed his elevation, his becoming two heartbeats away from the Presidency, when Johnson is hardly a known figure, hopefully, he will act responsibly.

A social conservative, there will be clashes with the Senate Democratic majority and the Democratic President and Vice President, but for the moment, one feels give Mike Johnson some slack and let us hope for the best!

Republicans In Total Breakdown In Speakership Struggle: Time For Bipartisanship!

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There is pure insanity in the Republican majority in the House of Representatives, as newly nominated Congressman Tom Emmer of Minnesota has withdrawn his candidacy for Speaker of the House of Representatives, as about 26 Republican hardliners refuse to support him.

It is time for a bipartisan agreement, with Democrats helping to elect Speaker Pro Tem Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, with the assistance of the more moderate Republicans, from the Problems Solvers Caucus, including those from Long Island, New York joining Don Bacon of Nebraska and Brian Fitzgerald of Pennsylvania and other rational Republicans, of which there are not many!

The Republican Party in the House of Representatives has been hijacked by seditionists and traitors who do not care if they cause damage to our country, and instead, only care about remaining loyal to Donald Trump!

We are now in the fourth week of paralysis in the lower house of Congress, and this cannot continue, without major disaster for the nation and the world!

Seven Of Nine Contenders For House Speakership Election Deniers!

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THe Republican Party has nine contenders to become Speaker, as I write this, and seven of them are election deniers, following the lead of MAGA Republican leader Donald Trump!

Only Tom Emmer of Minnesota and Austin Scott of Georgia supported the election results which made Joe Biden the 46th President.

About two thirds of Republicans in the House of Representatives refused to endorse the Electoral College results, a shocking statistic.

Emmer is the House Majority Whip and should be the next Speaker, but seems unlikely, due to the opposition of Donald Trump. Scott has served since 2011, and also did not challenge the election results in 2020.

With less than a month to November 17, and with two international crises in Ukraine and Israel, it is horrifying how the Congress is at a standstill, without much prospect of a solution anytime soon!

Jim Jordan Would Have Been A National Security Threat As Speaker Of The House Of Representatives!

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This author and blogger, unfortunately, was offline for three days due to computer issues, but glad to be back!

It has been a tortorous few days watching the potential Speakership of Jim Jordan, who would have been a national security risk, as an Insurrectionist on January 6, 2021, and still refusing to accept that Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump!

Thank goodness it looks as if finally he is done as a candidate for Speaker of the House, which is only two heartbeats away from the Presidency, due to the Presidential Succession Act of 1947!

But the Republican Party is still a total mess, leaving the House of Representatives unable to meet its responsibilities!

Support Of Israel And Ukraine Linked, Especially For American Jews!

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Military support for both Israel and Ukraine has become essential to promote and preserve democracy against Hamas and Russian authoritarianism.

Particularly for American Jews, and Jews around the world, there is an emotional commitment to preservation of both nations’ ability to survive against massive threats to their sovereignty.

Personally, this author and blogger, being Jewish and whose ancestry is from Ukraine, and with Israel being the national homeland of the Jewish people, feels a special affinity to continued support for both nations.

The vast majority of the Democratic Party is behind continued support of Israel and Ukraine, while many Senate Republicans and some House Republicans agree.

But the MAGA Republican element, as respresented by Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan’s bid to be Speaker, are a dire threat to Ukraine, and unreliable on their Israeli support, as they bow to the evil of Donald Trump, who now attacks Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for accepting Joe Biden’s victory in 2020, and praises Hezbollah, the threat to Israel from Lebanon. And Trump was impeached in 2019 for trying to force Ukraine to help him against Joe Biden, and is a known supporter of Vladimir Putin and the Russian Federation!