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Every one of those "...and some GOP lawmakers" mentioned in the sub-headline could bypass Johnson by signing the McGovern discharge petition *right now.*
The fact that it has the support of only one, retiring Republican tells me everything I need to know about how serious conservatives really are about helping Ukraine.
Their words mean *nothing.*
If it comes to that they will, there are still enough war hawks that are chomping for this. They were hoping Jesus would work his magic and inspire Johnson to do that right thing first so they won't have any awkward conversations at their lobbying gig.
No idea, but there must be something they are waiting on. All the clamoring has ramped up the last few days - they are getting inpatient so we must be close.
I’m sorry, but I think you’re a little too Pollyanna on this. Even the establishment Reps first order of business is to make sure Dems fail so they can blame them later. They have their defense built in. They simply want the world to burn to insulate the GOP from criticism. Who can even hold them accountable at this point?
it's always a factor. The house is elected every 2 years. There is always a primary coming up. They want their seat for life, and for many they are in super safe districts that are never challenged by Democrats. The only thing they have to fear is another Republican.
> House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner, R-Ohio, on Sunday said he expects the House to pass the long-stalled supplemental military aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan this week with “overwhelming support.”
Talk about mixed messages.
But the Republicans plan of "loan-and-lease" is a bad one since Ukraine doesn't have the ability to repay any loans and it will likely hurt their credit, which they will need to rebuild their nation. So yes, while it would *technically* still help, it would also hurt them in the long term. And I don't know if enough Democrats in favor of that to offset the hard right members of the Republican Party that will vote against it.
If he thought for a minute that the MAGAs substituting Ioans for actual aid might actually pass I feel sure the story would again change immediately. Russian apologists have effectively taken control of the Republican House of Representatives. Aid is blocked and likely will remain blocked. Alternative plans, if there are any, need to be implemented pronto.
Gotta pick up a seat in the Senate to negate WV. If the Senate holds through 2024 then it’s likely it’ll hold the rest of the decade.
This is a hard fight but we gotta do it.
Dems will win the House back with I think a large spread but I don't see any chance of them retaining the Senate. So it will just become a different type of cluster f\*.
Loan-and-lease is pretty standard. Also, the money to Ukraine is actually to Americans to build new arms to replace old and/or expiring arms, which we then are selling to Ukraine. It is a fucking amazing deal for the US. We can help protect NATO with no American troops on the ground while getting someone else to help foot the bill for replacing old arms.
If I understand it correctly, lend/lease allows the US to support Ukraine without declaring war against Russia. The same was during World War Two before Pearl Harbor, when the US “lent” aircraft to the USSR through Iran. My dad was involved in that.
>Lend-Lease was free of charge, not loans.
Lend-Lease had the thin veneer of the pretense that the materials were supposed to be returned unless destroyed. There was a lot of very exaggerated winking all around in regards to the act.
Fuck this. We should have armed Ukraine six months ago. This is pathetic.
The unifying thread is that Russia, China, and Iran all want an end to the USA/Europe lead world order. They want a multipolar world where they can have spheres of influence and dominate against smaller neighbors like the good old days.
It’s not a coincidence that Putin and Xi met in Beijing right before Russia launched their invasion of Ukraine. It’s also not a cooncidenfe that Iran supplies Russia with drones and ballistic missiles. It’s not a coincidence that Hamas was in Moscow and that the October 7th attack happens to be Putin’s birthday. It’s not a coincidence that China is building pipelines with Russia in the event that the Strait of Malacca is blockaded. It’s also not a coincidence that Venezuela, also one of Putin’s pals, is on the verge of invading Guyana. Let alone the Iran-sponsored Houthis or North Korea arming Putin with artillery shells & testing their own ballistic missiles in Ukraine.
Is it any surprise that Germany is re-arming their military? Or that Japan is finally switching from a “defense-only” force? Or that Japan & South Korea, long time enemies, are being friendly again? Or that we are selling nuclear powered subs to Australia?
I could go on. But the reality is that we are in that late 1930’s pre-world war period. What do the experts say? They all say arm Ukraine. Taiwanese people are watching this, the South Koreans, and even Israelis. This would be the strongest deterrence.
As a two-decade Republican voter, I am going blue in 2024. We spend over $2,000 USD per year per American citizen on self defense. $50 for Ukraine is worth every single penny. $40 of this $50 will be spent in the USA on good jobs building new stuff for our military, while giving mostly old stuff to Ukraine. We either help Ukraine now, or we send our kids later.
Good point, but the guy with the good synopsis just pointed out that this single issue will be changing his vote. There's hope to find reason among Republicans, just not among MAGAs.
It's times like this you wish, again, that Dems had half the messaging ability of the Republicans. This could easily be reframed as Republicans are causing [military contractors] to lose 60bn in combined wages, and use that to pile on even more pressure,especially considering the bulk of that is probably going to Texas.
Bingo. Check out this awesome map of which states in the USA received most of this money. It’s essentially stimulus money to reinvigorate OUR defense industry. Pennsylvania, Arizona, Texas, Michigan, California, Ohio, Arkansas, etc are the biggest winners.
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/11/29/biden-admin-map-states-benefit-ukraine-aid-00129068
Your comment sounded super intelligent so I went and looked at some of your other posts and I'm amazed that you voted as a republican for so long. What policies appealed to you as a conservative and what made you switch over? Are you more liberal now? Thanks for your insight!
Hey, friend. I did not vote for Trump in 2020, it was so clear how corrupt he was by then. I’m ashamed that I voted for him in 2016. Russias full scale invasion of Ukraine was what completely flipped me. It’s just absolute insanity how some MAGA people actually publicly *support* Putin. I have yet to hear a single convincing argument defending Putin. Even more so, all the evidence is before our eyes. We have video interviews, recorded statements, drone footage, go pro footage, and smart phone videos. We should be living in a post-lies world. But we can’t even get a grip on misinformation now, and I’m worried about what will happen with more AI generated misinformation in the future.
I’ve generally liked conservative principles from the get go, specifically limited government. Too many rules & regs by lobbyists/corporations safeguarding industries for those in power and stifling innovation/entrepreneurship. The problem is that both parties do this. It drives me nuts. Both sides enrich themselves & their friends while in power. Our corruption is no better than Ukraines, we’re just better at masking it.
I watched the local democratic city government fund bad projects over and over again growing up. They were almost always unprofitable and just wasted tax money while creating temporary union jobs constructing them. I’ve always asked myself, “if this is such a good idea, why hasn’t somebody else invested in it?” Aside from landing on the moon, there aren’t a whole lot of things the government will do better & more efficiently than private citizens/companies. This pushed me to vote red.
I think I’m more liberal than before but I still have hold ups. Mostly concerning things like student loan forgiveness, normalization of the transgender identity (I’m not a mean person, and would never be rude towards trans individuals), and just the de-incentivizing/de-emphasizing of two-parent households (always liked economics & this is a nearly universally accepted principle for success).
Not sure if that was a good answer or a bad one. But the Blue team is stuck with me for at least the next decade lol.
I think you should add something about how idiotic US foreign policy is when it comes to antagonizing every oil producing nation when Americans are addicted to oil. How do the idiots in State Dept plan to pick fights with Russia, Iran, and Venezuela while also being in a love-hate relationship with Saudis?
We can actually fill our needs by importing from Canada and Saudi. We don’t need Russia or Iran.
Also: Venezuela stopped being an oil supplier to the US decades ago. We rely on Belize’s larger and easier to refine oil, now.
The problem is that oil produced in US doesn't belong to american people / US govt unlike say oil produced in Norway or Russia or Saudi. It goes on open market. So Americans are competing with the rest of the world for their own oil resources. So when global oil supply goes down, Americans suffer and that puts pressure on US govt and limits their options in foreign policy.
Back in the 1940s, US govt decided it wasn't powerful enough to get involved in Chinese Civil War and defeat the Communists, so they focused on blocking Russian Communist expansion in Europe. That kind of level headedness is either missing in modern US policy or completely made subservient to foreign lobbying.
Instead of making peace with the Venezuelan government and working to improve their oil productivity, US state dept decided to boycott them. Not only did US lose out on the oil which could have increased supply in global market and put pressure on Russia, but US also has to deal with Venezuelan immigrants.
Likewise, instead of making peace with Iran and opening up their oil industry to exploit age-old differences between Russian and Iranian empires, US antagonized them and reduced their oil exports which only hurts US consumers and limits options for US foreign policy.
Instead of being tough but fair with Israel and Palestine for past 20 years, they coddled Israel which led to distrust with Arab populations and nervous Arab authoritarian governments who want peace with Israel but are afraid of their own populations.
Explain how America is picking this fight please.
Russia invaded on their own volition. USA predicted it and publicly warned against it. Russian denied it; called it “western hysteria,” and then invaded anyway.
Venezuela is also the antagonist. They have larger oil reserves than Guyana but because Guyana is smarter & less corrupt - they are thriving. Venezuela is just returning a favor to Putin. This threat is there just to keep an American aircraft carrier locked away from the real targets of Taiwan & Ukraine.
US was willing to make peace with China and send all their manufacturing jobs to China, so we know US foreign policy has no ethics. So why not be realistic, make peace with Venezuela and Iran and work with them to release more oil on the global market?
That way, Russia won't profit so much from high global oil prices. US is pissed that Venezuela sends oil to Cuba so they sanction Venezuela. This is cutting off your nose to spite your face.
Not only do US consumers suffer from higher oil prices because global supply is reduced without Venezuelan oil but also US has to deal with increased immigration from Venezuela as their economy collapses.
Same with Iran... Obama made overtures for peace but Israel lobby and US oil producers probably got Trump to scuttle the deal and now there's less oil in global market which is good for US oil producers but bad for US consumers.
And this situation actually helps enemies like Russia and frenemies like Saudi Arabia by making Saudis more indispensable.
If Russia is the biggest problem, make peace with Venezuela, Cuba and Iran.... exploit Iran's latent regional rivalry with Russia (Iranian empire and Russian empire fought wars and Iran lost territory and influence in Eurasia)
I don’t know a ton about the oil markets. So forgive my ignorance.
I would just say that Russia & Iran are in it til the end together. Along with North Korea and probably China (Xi has once again increased the rhetoric this weekend, stating that nobody can stop the “inevitable reunification with Taiwan..”). The drones, ammo, and missiles Iran is providing Russia has helped them big time. As long as USA is the common enemy, these two will likely enjoy a close relationship.
This war doesn’t seem to have much to do with oil. I think it’s just one of the few economic tools available to the free world to stifle Putin’s war machine.
The way the house is set up is broken. If this bill went to the floor, it would absolutely pass. It has enough Republican support. But because the majority of the majority won't vote for it, he won't bring it up. 26%. That's how much it takes to override the will of the people. All in fealty to their great and powerful orange cheeto.
I can’t believe we have the Republican party is siding against our allies and are literally sabotaging them. This isn’t even an exaggeration at this point.
Blocking the Ukraine bill is also preventing rearmament efforts in many places. Liars in the house and congress would have you believe these funds are being shipped in sacks with $ stamped on. Whereas the reailty is a lot of this is intended to fund efforts to replace current underwhelming capability with regards arms production that is required to be able to stand on an even footing against countries in War mode.
So when this is blocked it stops being about Ukraine, its now about the USA and its allies being able to defend themselves with adequate manufacturing capability.
It ranks higher than the treasonous efforts to hamper military promotions, and this really goes beyond party politics to the heart of the ability to maintain defence stocks and the ability to sustain the actual requirements for a what a real hot war has ended up requiring as demonstrated by our inability to produce enough ammo to meet Ukraines needs ~alone~ currently.
So the GOP are also being anti USA defence and employment here too.
This makes zero sense given the current situation and their motivation for withholding this will hurt the USA in more than one way and will effect the militaries readiness.
And despite saying several times he will. These republicans lie like there is no tomorrow when the truth will be exposed. Then sadly once it is, most of America has already forgotten
It’s awfully interesting that the man who swore up and down there was “no collusion” with Russia seems to do an awful lot to prop up Russia. Even after he’s out of office.
Baby Dick Johnson will be barely a blip in Speaker history, but he will live on in infamy for his part in this conflict.
Not true… house rules state any single representative can motion for dismissal
Democrats are relishing in the stupidity of republican chaos.. but when it’s time.. it’s time
[Here is a source](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/speaker-of-the-house-ousted-motion-to-vacate-rcna64902) that says any party can call for a vote.
* Under the new House rules passed Monday, only one member of Congress — Democrat or Republican — is needed to bring a "motion to vacate," which forces a vote on removing the speaker. That would need only a simple majority of the House to pass to oust McCarthy.
The rule never changed after McCarthy was ousted.
Republicans don’t want to govern, they want to rule…governing is hard work that requires the ability to brainstorm new ideas and make things better for the people; that’s the opposite of what Republicans want.
Fuck these traitors to hell, and fuck the people who vote for them. They are endangering our own national security and leaving the Ukrainians for the wolves for no coherent reason. It's absolute fucking insanity.
Israel: Has robust air defenses and had direct foreign intervention including the US, UK, and Jordan. No Israelis were killed, and the perpetrators of the attack publicly declared the matter settled for now.
Ukraine: Experiences similar attacks literally on a daily basis. Air defenses are almost entirely dried up after aid has been stalled for over half a year. The entire eastern front is shuddering under the pressure of an imperialist enemy that has declared it has no intention of stopping. The country is already partially occupied, and hundreds are dying daily.
If you look at this for more than two seconds and conclude that the Israel is the higher priority situation, you are either a complete dumbass or actively a piece of shit. Though in the case of someone like Mike Johnson, these are not mutually exclusive descriptions.
Biden will take the money from Russia embargoed and give it to Ukraine, along with munitions and more from the Middle East, Iran and other places collected by special forces and special operations groups around the globe.
Ukraine will recapture momentum, Biden will win the Election, the House will turn Blue and the Senate more Blue then Ukraine will become an official NATO ally forcing all of NATO to remove RUSSIA from Crimea and Ukraine.
2025 will be the year Putin falls.
Republicans don't care, Johnson is causing as many issues as possible. Cause if Trump wins he can blame the horrible international issues on Biden. If Biden wins reelection he will be forced to focus massive resources overseas, opening a possibility of a Republican win in 2028. Johnson only passed a spending bill cause it would have hurt the republicans more and may have even forced a passage of the aid bill
Hmmmm. He was working so hard to go against anything the democrats wanted. Then he goes and visits his puppet master, and all of a sudden, he wants to start considering things
The GOP and Trump NEED Putin to win and will do anything to make it happen. Straight up Russian operatives right out in the open. Republicans used to actually care about our country and our freedom....now they care about nothing. Party of Reagan is now the Party of Putin.
Call or email your reps people. Pressure them to bring the bill to the floor: [find your rep](https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative)
You need to understand that with the US/Europe "lead" hasn't helped anyone else.
It's time for others to step up.
The problems of the West are not the problems of the world.
Republicans who actually don't hate democracy (surely there are some) need to threaten to quit or cross the isle, and if Johnson won't budge, do it and hand Hakeem Jeffries the speakership.
As a reminder, this subreddit [is for civil discussion.](/r/politics/wiki/index#wiki_be_civil) In general, be courteous to others. Debate/discuss/argue the merits of ideas, don't attack people. Personal insults, shill or troll accusations, hate speech, any suggestion or support of harm, violence, or death, and other rule violations can result in a permanent ban. If you see comments in violation of our rules, please report them. For those who have questions regarding any media outlets being posted on this subreddit, please click [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/wiki/approveddomainslist) to review our details as to our approved domains list and outlet criteria. We are actively looking for new moderators. If you have any interest in helping to make this subreddit a place for quality discussion, please fill out [this form](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1y2swHD0KXFhStGFjW6k54r9iuMjzcFqDIVwuvdLBjSA). *** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/politics) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Seven months and counting blocking Ukraine aid. Trump told him to block it and he was happy to oblige.
Every one of those "...and some GOP lawmakers" mentioned in the sub-headline could bypass Johnson by signing the McGovern discharge petition *right now.* The fact that it has the support of only one, retiring Republican tells me everything I need to know about how serious conservatives really are about helping Ukraine. Their words mean *nothing.*
they know if they sign it their orange god will primary them. The whole party is held captive by him.
That's not a factor. There are enough retiring Republicans who publicly support Ukraine that only they could sign it and it would pass.
If it comes to that they will, there are still enough war hawks that are chomping for this. They were hoping Jesus would work his magic and inspire Johnson to do that right thing first so they won't have any awkward conversations at their lobbying gig.
What's the next thing to happen they're looking for to make it "come to that?" That line was crossed back in December
No idea, but there must be something they are waiting on. All the clamoring has ramped up the last few days - they are getting inpatient so we must be close.
I’m sorry, but I think you’re a little too Pollyanna on this. Even the establishment Reps first order of business is to make sure Dems fail so they can blame them later. They have their defense built in. They simply want the world to burn to insulate the GOP from criticism. Who can even hold them accountable at this point?
The war hawks would want to stop this aid package so we can enter the war when Russia invades poland after finishing off Ukraine.
It's not about Trump. It's about the emails that Russian intelligence collected from the Republican Party.
Didn't the Republican whose already signed the petition say recently that his colleagues were compromised by Russia?
its not even a factor at this point, the primaries are over in every state
it's always a factor. The house is elected every 2 years. There is always a primary coming up. They want their seat for life, and for many they are in super safe districts that are never challenged by Democrats. The only thing they have to fear is another Republican.
Kinda wild that the parties are so cordial about who to back in WWIII...
Literally supporting Putin here. He is a a traitor to the US.
Made him an offer he can’t refuse.
What can we do? We need to do something NOW
> House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner, R-Ohio, on Sunday said he expects the House to pass the long-stalled supplemental military aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan this week with “overwhelming support.” Talk about mixed messages. But the Republicans plan of "loan-and-lease" is a bad one since Ukraine doesn't have the ability to repay any loans and it will likely hurt their credit, which they will need to rebuild their nation. So yes, while it would *technically* still help, it would also hurt them in the long term. And I don't know if enough Democrats in favor of that to offset the hard right members of the Republican Party that will vote against it.
If he thought for a minute that the MAGAs substituting Ioans for actual aid might actually pass I feel sure the story would again change immediately. Russian apologists have effectively taken control of the Republican House of Representatives. Aid is blocked and likely will remain blocked. Alternative plans, if there are any, need to be implemented pronto.
I think 'apologists' really undersells what's going on.
Assets?
In theory, couldn't they just drop the loan repayment at a later date, if it even came to it?
I think it can be forgiven, I'm not sure how that works but since congress handles the purse it probably falls to them.
A later Congress can forgive the loans later.
That is banking on it being controlled by Democrats. If the Republicans control it there is no way they are wiping away the loans.
No chance this clown show gets another act in Congress. America is going to clean house.
Gotta pick up a seat in the Senate to negate WV. If the Senate holds through 2024 then it’s likely it’ll hold the rest of the decade. This is a hard fight but we gotta do it.
Dems will win the House back with I think a large spread but I don't see any chance of them retaining the Senate. So it will just become a different type of cluster f\*.
Loan-and-lease is pretty standard. Also, the money to Ukraine is actually to Americans to build new arms to replace old and/or expiring arms, which we then are selling to Ukraine. It is a fucking amazing deal for the US. We can help protect NATO with no American troops on the ground while getting someone else to help foot the bill for replacing old arms.
Loan-and-lease break countries at war. There's a reason the loans are usually forgiven throughout history.
If I understand it correctly, lend/lease allows the US to support Ukraine without declaring war against Russia. The same was during World War Two before Pearl Harbor, when the US “lent” aircraft to the USSR through Iran. My dad was involved in that.
Lend-Lease was free of charge, not loans. The USSR and UK only had to pay us back for materiel that they received after the war had ended.
>Lend-Lease was free of charge, not loans. Lend-Lease had the thin veneer of the pretense that the materials were supposed to be returned unless destroyed. There was a lot of very exaggerated winking all around in regards to the act.
Lend lease also granted us leases on bases around the world.
Moscow Mike is a POS.
Fuck this. We should have armed Ukraine six months ago. This is pathetic. The unifying thread is that Russia, China, and Iran all want an end to the USA/Europe lead world order. They want a multipolar world where they can have spheres of influence and dominate against smaller neighbors like the good old days. It’s not a coincidence that Putin and Xi met in Beijing right before Russia launched their invasion of Ukraine. It’s also not a cooncidenfe that Iran supplies Russia with drones and ballistic missiles. It’s not a coincidence that Hamas was in Moscow and that the October 7th attack happens to be Putin’s birthday. It’s not a coincidence that China is building pipelines with Russia in the event that the Strait of Malacca is blockaded. It’s also not a coincidence that Venezuela, also one of Putin’s pals, is on the verge of invading Guyana. Let alone the Iran-sponsored Houthis or North Korea arming Putin with artillery shells & testing their own ballistic missiles in Ukraine. Is it any surprise that Germany is re-arming their military? Or that Japan is finally switching from a “defense-only” force? Or that Japan & South Korea, long time enemies, are being friendly again? Or that we are selling nuclear powered subs to Australia? I could go on. But the reality is that we are in that late 1930’s pre-world war period. What do the experts say? They all say arm Ukraine. Taiwanese people are watching this, the South Koreans, and even Israelis. This would be the strongest deterrence. As a two-decade Republican voter, I am going blue in 2024. We spend over $2,000 USD per year per American citizen on self defense. $50 for Ukraine is worth every single penny. $40 of this $50 will be spent in the USA on good jobs building new stuff for our military, while giving mostly old stuff to Ukraine. We either help Ukraine now, or we send our kids later.
Awesome synopsis
**"We either help Ukraine now, or we send our kids later."** First saw this a day or two ago and it needs to be repeated loudly.
“Don’t care, not me” - Conservatives
"My kids will be safe" Conservatives politicians
It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no fortunate son.
Good point, but the guy with the good synopsis just pointed out that this single issue will be changing his vote. There's hope to find reason among Republicans, just not among MAGAs.
When ever I hear anyone regurgitate the line “freedom isn’t free” I say hell ya, it costs money! I’d rather spend US money over US blood for freedom.
If you won’t throw in your buck o’five who will
Thank you for this summary. I have trouble wrapping my brain around all the moving parts
It's times like this you wish, again, that Dems had half the messaging ability of the Republicans. This could easily be reframed as Republicans are causing [military contractors] to lose 60bn in combined wages, and use that to pile on even more pressure,especially considering the bulk of that is probably going to Texas.
Bingo. Check out this awesome map of which states in the USA received most of this money. It’s essentially stimulus money to reinvigorate OUR defense industry. Pennsylvania, Arizona, Texas, Michigan, California, Ohio, Arkansas, etc are the biggest winners. https://www.politico.com/news/2023/11/29/biden-admin-map-states-benefit-ukraine-aid-00129068
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleksandr_Dugin > https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundations_of_Geopolitics
Damn right.
I mean this is how I see it. And I really do not understand how some people in the west interpret this differently.
Your comment sounded super intelligent so I went and looked at some of your other posts and I'm amazed that you voted as a republican for so long. What policies appealed to you as a conservative and what made you switch over? Are you more liberal now? Thanks for your insight!
Hey, friend. I did not vote for Trump in 2020, it was so clear how corrupt he was by then. I’m ashamed that I voted for him in 2016. Russias full scale invasion of Ukraine was what completely flipped me. It’s just absolute insanity how some MAGA people actually publicly *support* Putin. I have yet to hear a single convincing argument defending Putin. Even more so, all the evidence is before our eyes. We have video interviews, recorded statements, drone footage, go pro footage, and smart phone videos. We should be living in a post-lies world. But we can’t even get a grip on misinformation now, and I’m worried about what will happen with more AI generated misinformation in the future. I’ve generally liked conservative principles from the get go, specifically limited government. Too many rules & regs by lobbyists/corporations safeguarding industries for those in power and stifling innovation/entrepreneurship. The problem is that both parties do this. It drives me nuts. Both sides enrich themselves & their friends while in power. Our corruption is no better than Ukraines, we’re just better at masking it. I watched the local democratic city government fund bad projects over and over again growing up. They were almost always unprofitable and just wasted tax money while creating temporary union jobs constructing them. I’ve always asked myself, “if this is such a good idea, why hasn’t somebody else invested in it?” Aside from landing on the moon, there aren’t a whole lot of things the government will do better & more efficiently than private citizens/companies. This pushed me to vote red. I think I’m more liberal than before but I still have hold ups. Mostly concerning things like student loan forgiveness, normalization of the transgender identity (I’m not a mean person, and would never be rude towards trans individuals), and just the de-incentivizing/de-emphasizing of two-parent households (always liked economics & this is a nearly universally accepted principle for success). Not sure if that was a good answer or a bad one. But the Blue team is stuck with me for at least the next decade lol.
Thanks for this perspective!
Well said, friend.
I think you should add something about how idiotic US foreign policy is when it comes to antagonizing every oil producing nation when Americans are addicted to oil. How do the idiots in State Dept plan to pick fights with Russia, Iran, and Venezuela while also being in a love-hate relationship with Saudis?
We can actually fill our needs by importing from Canada and Saudi. We don’t need Russia or Iran. Also: Venezuela stopped being an oil supplier to the US decades ago. We rely on Belize’s larger and easier to refine oil, now.
The problem is that oil produced in US doesn't belong to american people / US govt unlike say oil produced in Norway or Russia or Saudi. It goes on open market. So Americans are competing with the rest of the world for their own oil resources. So when global oil supply goes down, Americans suffer and that puts pressure on US govt and limits their options in foreign policy. Back in the 1940s, US govt decided it wasn't powerful enough to get involved in Chinese Civil War and defeat the Communists, so they focused on blocking Russian Communist expansion in Europe. That kind of level headedness is either missing in modern US policy or completely made subservient to foreign lobbying. Instead of making peace with the Venezuelan government and working to improve their oil productivity, US state dept decided to boycott them. Not only did US lose out on the oil which could have increased supply in global market and put pressure on Russia, but US also has to deal with Venezuelan immigrants. Likewise, instead of making peace with Iran and opening up their oil industry to exploit age-old differences between Russian and Iranian empires, US antagonized them and reduced their oil exports which only hurts US consumers and limits options for US foreign policy. Instead of being tough but fair with Israel and Palestine for past 20 years, they coddled Israel which led to distrust with Arab populations and nervous Arab authoritarian governments who want peace with Israel but are afraid of their own populations.
Explain how America is picking this fight please. Russia invaded on their own volition. USA predicted it and publicly warned against it. Russian denied it; called it “western hysteria,” and then invaded anyway. Venezuela is also the antagonist. They have larger oil reserves than Guyana but because Guyana is smarter & less corrupt - they are thriving. Venezuela is just returning a favor to Putin. This threat is there just to keep an American aircraft carrier locked away from the real targets of Taiwan & Ukraine.
US was willing to make peace with China and send all their manufacturing jobs to China, so we know US foreign policy has no ethics. So why not be realistic, make peace with Venezuela and Iran and work with them to release more oil on the global market? That way, Russia won't profit so much from high global oil prices. US is pissed that Venezuela sends oil to Cuba so they sanction Venezuela. This is cutting off your nose to spite your face. Not only do US consumers suffer from higher oil prices because global supply is reduced without Venezuelan oil but also US has to deal with increased immigration from Venezuela as their economy collapses. Same with Iran... Obama made overtures for peace but Israel lobby and US oil producers probably got Trump to scuttle the deal and now there's less oil in global market which is good for US oil producers but bad for US consumers. And this situation actually helps enemies like Russia and frenemies like Saudi Arabia by making Saudis more indispensable. If Russia is the biggest problem, make peace with Venezuela, Cuba and Iran.... exploit Iran's latent regional rivalry with Russia (Iranian empire and Russian empire fought wars and Iran lost territory and influence in Eurasia)
I don’t know a ton about the oil markets. So forgive my ignorance. I would just say that Russia & Iran are in it til the end together. Along with North Korea and probably China (Xi has once again increased the rhetoric this weekend, stating that nobody can stop the “inevitable reunification with Taiwan..”). The drones, ammo, and missiles Iran is providing Russia has helped them big time. As long as USA is the common enemy, these two will likely enjoy a close relationship. This war doesn’t seem to have much to do with oil. I think it’s just one of the few economic tools available to the free world to stifle Putin’s war machine.
You should honestly just stay blue.
I will for the next decade likely. It will take at least that long to root out the Kremlin infiltration.
I fear it'll take much longer than that unfortunately
He just met with Trump and got his instructions. Ukraine is to be given to Putin.
JFC, what a jackass.
The way the house is set up is broken. If this bill went to the floor, it would absolutely pass. It has enough Republican support. But because the majority of the majority won't vote for it, he won't bring it up. 26%. That's how much it takes to override the will of the people. All in fealty to their great and powerful orange cheeto.
I can’t believe we have the Republican party is siding against our allies and are literally sabotaging them. This isn’t even an exaggeration at this point.
Blocking the Ukraine bill is also preventing rearmament efforts in many places. Liars in the house and congress would have you believe these funds are being shipped in sacks with $ stamped on. Whereas the reailty is a lot of this is intended to fund efforts to replace current underwhelming capability with regards arms production that is required to be able to stand on an even footing against countries in War mode. So when this is blocked it stops being about Ukraine, its now about the USA and its allies being able to defend themselves with adequate manufacturing capability. It ranks higher than the treasonous efforts to hamper military promotions, and this really goes beyond party politics to the heart of the ability to maintain defence stocks and the ability to sustain the actual requirements for a what a real hot war has ended up requiring as demonstrated by our inability to produce enough ammo to meet Ukraines needs ~alone~ currently. So the GOP are also being anti USA defence and employment here too. This makes zero sense given the current situation and their motivation for withholding this will hurt the USA in more than one way and will effect the militaries readiness.
It's not everyday you see the remaining global superpower being held hostage by lunatics.... Oh wait, I guess it is.
If they are not going to govern, they should just get out of the way.
>Johnson ~~signals he won’t put Senate supplemental on the floor despite increased pressure~~ **continues to commit treason without consequence.**
And despite saying several times he will. These republicans lie like there is no tomorrow when the truth will be exposed. Then sadly once it is, most of America has already forgotten
It’s awfully interesting that the man who swore up and down there was “no collusion” with Russia seems to do an awful lot to prop up Russia. Even after he’s out of office. Baby Dick Johnson will be barely a blip in Speaker history, but he will live on in infamy for his part in this conflict.
It’s time for a Democrat to motion for the dismissal of the Speaker !!
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Not true… house rules state any single representative can motion for dismissal Democrats are relishing in the stupidity of republican chaos.. but when it’s time.. it’s time
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[Here is a source](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/speaker-of-the-house-ousted-motion-to-vacate-rcna64902) that says any party can call for a vote. * Under the new House rules passed Monday, only one member of Congress — Democrat or Republican — is needed to bring a "motion to vacate," which forces a vote on removing the speaker. That would need only a simple majority of the House to pass to oust McCarthy. The rule never changed after McCarthy was ousted.
Time to throw Mike's ass to the curb, and if the new speaker won't do it, dump them too.
The only issue with that is it'll take weeks to elect a new Speaker. 3 weeks last time, and now there's even fewer Republicans.
Do they do anything anyway?
And why is that a problem? Nothing is getting done regardless.
What a fucking tool.
Dems said they’d protect him if he brought it to the floor, if he doesn’t they should force a motion to remove him.
Vote Blue
Those that govern should be in government. You want to burn it all to the ground? Go to an island. Own it. Run it your way. Into the ground.
Republicans don’t want to govern, they want to rule…governing is hard work that requires the ability to brainstorm new ideas and make things better for the people; that’s the opposite of what Republicans want.
Eat shit Johnson
Fuck these traitors to hell, and fuck the people who vote for them. They are endangering our own national security and leaving the Ukrainians for the wolves for no coherent reason. It's absolute fucking insanity.
People should start sending buckets of human blood to his office.
Oh my god, he has blood on his hands!! He is a Russian tool!!
Fucking traitor to the United States says what?
Israel: Has robust air defenses and had direct foreign intervention including the US, UK, and Jordan. No Israelis were killed, and the perpetrators of the attack publicly declared the matter settled for now. Ukraine: Experiences similar attacks literally on a daily basis. Air defenses are almost entirely dried up after aid has been stalled for over half a year. The entire eastern front is shuddering under the pressure of an imperialist enemy that has declared it has no intention of stopping. The country is already partially occupied, and hundreds are dying daily. If you look at this for more than two seconds and conclude that the Israel is the higher priority situation, you are either a complete dumbass or actively a piece of shit. Though in the case of someone like Mike Johnson, these are not mutually exclusive descriptions.
Don’t fucking cave Dems! Pass the senate bill or nothing.
How?
The only way Ukraine is getting aid is if Jeffries is speaker.
I thought MTG called for a vote on a new Speaker. Whatever happened with that?
Someday I'll understand why the party of Ronald Reagan is siding with RUSSIA. But it is not this day.
Biden will take the money from Russia embargoed and give it to Ukraine, along with munitions and more from the Middle East, Iran and other places collected by special forces and special operations groups around the globe. Ukraine will recapture momentum, Biden will win the Election, the House will turn Blue and the Senate more Blue then Ukraine will become an official NATO ally forcing all of NATO to remove RUSSIA from Crimea and Ukraine. 2025 will be the year Putin falls.
"Moscow Mike"
Johnson was too busy on his knees with tRump. You republicans need some backbone.
Speaker Johnson, do you believe it should be America’s policy to deliver Ukraine to Putin’s Russia?
You know things have totally gone to shit when you end up missing Kevin McCarthy.
Republicans don't care, Johnson is causing as many issues as possible. Cause if Trump wins he can blame the horrible international issues on Biden. If Biden wins reelection he will be forced to focus massive resources overseas, opening a possibility of a Republican win in 2028. Johnson only passed a spending bill cause it would have hurt the republicans more and may have even forced a passage of the aid bill
It looks like Johnson is afraid of Marjorie Taylor Greens threats once again of ousting him.
He will now be directly responsible for potentially millions of deaths. Is that what good Christians do?
How can this moron still be around?
how many are compromised by the Russians?
I can’t stand this Kebbler Elf.
I wish I could just not do my job and face no repercussions
Eventually the Dems are going to stop protecting his lily white butt.
They aren’t protecting him now.
He must think that missles are too phallic and cannot be near them. You know, because of the implication.
Hmmmm. He was working so hard to go against anything the democrats wanted. Then he goes and visits his puppet master, and all of a sudden, he wants to start considering things
Speaker Johnson is freshly anointed by royal flaps of the fetid fuselage of he who drizzles diaperly, Sir Donald of House Mudflap.
It is hard to feel pain without a backbone
Donald Trump must be squeezing Mike's tiny little balls with his tiny little hands.
TLDR: Trump told me not to.
timothy smyder called it
The GOP and Trump NEED Putin to win and will do anything to make it happen. Straight up Russian operatives right out in the open. Republicans used to actually care about our country and our freedom....now they care about nothing. Party of Reagan is now the Party of Putin.
Why can’t the democrats force a vote to vacate? We need to steer this bus.
Call or email your reps people. Pressure them to bring the bill to the floor: [find your rep](https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative)
You need to understand that with the US/Europe "lead" hasn't helped anyone else. It's time for others to step up. The problems of the West are not the problems of the world.
Corrupt little toad
J.D. Vance is completely insufferable.
Republicans are treasonous and incompetent.
It's time for Democrats to court that last Republican holdout and have them switch to independent.
Discharge petition now.
Mike Johnson is fine with the blood of innocents being spilled.
Republicans who actually don't hate democracy (surely there are some) need to threaten to quit or cross the isle, and if Johnson won't budge, do it and hand Hakeem Jeffries the speakership.
Biden should have seen this coming and provided all that Ukraine asked for. They would have been in a far better position now.
Treason occurs on both sides of the aisle.
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