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Republicans scrap spending bill, under pressure from Trump and Musk


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2024 Dec 19, 12:13pm   490 views  52 comments

by Patrick   ➕follow (60)   💰tip   ignore  

https://www.coffeeandcovid.com/p/killing-the-blob-thursday-december


Yesterday, the Washington Post wrote perhaps the most politically significant story in the modern era, headlined “Republicans scrap spending bill, under pressure from Trump and Musk.” The Bureaucratic Blob did everything it could to stop exactly what happened, but it happened anyway. In other words, they can’t stop it anymore. Let me explain.

“Democrats,” the Post began, “were outraged at the collapse of their deal.” (Well. Outrage is their defining characteristic, besides arrogance.) Outraged House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) darkly warned, “an agreement is an agreement.” He vowed that “House Republicans will now own any harm that is visited upon the American people.”

Their deal? You can probably already sense, if Democrats are this flummoxed, the outcome was something really good, and it was.

I wasn’t exaggerating when I described yesterday’s climactic battle as perhaps the most politically significant story in modern history. The timeline fits into a single workday. Wednesday began with an early-morning release of a 1,600-page proposed budget that had been kept secret until yesterday—the day of the vote. Except for party leaders and backroom participants, most lawmakers only saw it for the first time around 7am, with a vote scheduled for later that afternoon.

Initial reactions from Congress were furious. Representative Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) took a quick look and tweeted that there were nine (9) pages of continuing resolution —the part needed to keep the federal government running at current funding levels— followed by more than 1,550 pages of new spending over prior levels. Other lawmakers wondered how they were supposed to read and vote on a 1,600-page bill in less than one day without even advance notice.

For comparison, the previous continuing resolution passed by Congress only ran to 21 pages. Here’s Rep. Mace comparing the two bills:




Despite having frittered away months to get it done, Speaker Johnson scheduled the critical vote toward the end of the final week right before Christmas break and two days before federal government funding runs out on Friday afternoon. No pressure.

You might ask how in the name of Benjamin Franklin are hundreds of Representatives supposed to read 1,600 pages of dense statutory text in a few hours and then vote intelligently? What about informed consent? Why not give them at least a week?

Everyone knows: these mega-pork bills are deliberately released late, under pressure, with no time for reading, so that nobody can read it and tell the public what’s in it before it is too late.

In the clip linked above, yesterday morning, well before the bill died on the operating table, terrific Florida Representative Anna Paulina Luna complained about being forced to vote on a bill without understanding it: “I don’t know how else to say it. This is a sh— sandwich. We’re damned if we do, and damned if we don’t.”

Or as bionic-hipped Nancy Pelosi once quipped through slipping dentures, “we have to pass the bill to find out what’s in it.”

The bill itself was terrible. It was a dreamlike Festivus grab-bag stuffed with Democrats’ worst progessive ideas. You’ve probably seen the lists. Had it passed, hundreds of progressive fantasies would have been fulfilled, everything from replacing the word “criminal” in the Federal code with “justice-involved individual,” to funding “at least twelve” new secret biolabs for “pandemic prevention.” Uh huh. It had $70 billion more for Ukraine, funding for government censorship, and would have expanded government pandemic powers.

This Franken-pork bill offered everyone something to hate. Personally, I was outraged that the bill would have —at this late date— finally cut off many vaccine-related powers given to the HHS Secretary — right before Robert Kennedy, Jr.’s arrival. I’ve been reassuring you that Kennedy can fix the latest crazy covid declarations from HHS. But this bill would have “fixed” Kennedy, leaving the incoming HHS Secretary newly powerless to stop the covid state of emergency till after Trump’s term.

No. Thank. You.

In return for this progressive nuclear disaster, Republicans “negotiated” two priorities for conservatives. The bill included funding for disaster victims —who should have already been funded, by FEMA— and funding for farmers, who are amidst the latest farming emergency of some kind, which always seems to pop out of its disaster box every budget cycle and which helps many distressed Hollywood celebrities and progressive politicians smart enough to buy small farms to get in on the game.

It remains unclear why Republicans gave Democrats so much pork to get two items in return, since Republicans are in the majority and can pass a budget without Democrats.

By mid-morning, a war of words had exploded on X. It was the war the Frankenfunders hoped to avoid. Users started posting excerpts and summaries from the bill. Elon began reposting critical comments.

Trump, who’d kept silent till then, posted three unusually well-drafted comments on his Truth Social platform. The President-Elect wanted the House to do its job, and pass a continuing resolution without all the Festivus presents for Democrats. Most importantly, he wants Republicans to raise the debt ceiling so he won’t have to do it as soon as he gets into office.

They literally have more Republicans in the House now than they will have in 2025. Why not now?

By mid-afternoon, the continuing resolution was taking on water, but it was still afloat and remained viable for a vote. At 1:17pm, just hours after the 1,600-page monster first became available to read, Government Efficiency Czar Elon Musk tweeted a threat to GOP lawmakers: if they vote for the bill, he hinted there would be primary challenges against them in their next election cycle. That threat seems to have been what did it. As the WaPo reported, the bill, already on life support, coded and joined the Ghost of Christmas Past. Headline from the Hill:

Elon Musk: Anyone who votes for
spending deal should lose reelection
BY JULIA SHAPERO - 12/18/24

Elon didn’t say he would fund primary efforts against porky Republicans. But he did, after all, just shepherd the most successful political turnaround in history. So.

« First        Comments 41 - 52 of 52        Search these comments

42   WookieMan   2024 Dec 21, 10:51am  

Both piles of paper are too high. Pay the bills for the next 45 days that were already allocated. 1-2 sheets of paper. Not complicated.
44   Tenpoundbass   2024 Dec 21, 10:57am  

Ceffer says

Elon weaponized Gen X.


Our Dad's did! Elon might have lit a fire under the young know it all tender puss punks.

Elon bought the house PA and plugged in a good mic. He's now America's Emcee. That is what he's done. It's not one Generation, he's the Political DJ spinning the hits. And this GenX'er loves it!
46   Ceffer   2024 Dec 21, 11:08am  

Gollum is far more prettier and less scary. She looks like a subversive zombie reanimated with adrenochrome. She makes the wicked witch in the Wizard of Oz look attractive and reasonable.

https://t.me/davidavocadowolfe/149232
47   Maga_Chaos_Monkey   2024 Dec 21, 11:56am  

clambo says

Jamie Ruskin


Looks like he's wearing a toupee made out of pubic hair.
48   WookieMan   2024 Dec 21, 12:50pm  

Maga_Chaos_Monkey says

clambo says


Jamie Ruskin


Looks like he's wearing a toupee made out of pubic hair.

That dude is just odd. I don't even care about the politics. I mean Rand Paul looks like he gets electrocuted every morning, but Ruskin looks like he fried his head in oil after an egg wash and flower dip instead of a shower. He just looks greasy and slimy. In any hearing he's involved in slime is how I'd describe him. He plays the I'm dumb card better than most Dems.
49   REpro   2024 Dec 21, 1:59pm  

Today TV station "France 24" reported that US bil was passed by congress, after opposing from Trump and Musk, in almost unchanged form??? WTF. They did not mention 118 pages! Where is the truth?
50   DOGEWontAmountToShit   2024 Dec 21, 5:40pm  

REpro says

Today TV station "France 24" reported that US bil was passed by congress, after opposing from Trump and Musk, in almost unchanged form??? WTF. They did not mention 118 pages! Where is the truth?


Passed the House. But what did the Senate do?
51   HeadSet   2024 Dec 21, 7:03pm  

Maga_Chaos_Monkey says

clambo says


Jamie Ruskin


Looks like he's wearing a toupee made out of pubic hair.

From Rosa DeLauro

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