U.S. Politics January 2023: Kevin McCarthy's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Life

it's all dog-whistly shit

even "wire fraud" Gillum would have been better than this.

the legislation is bad enough, but people also have to worry about going out in public and being accosted by his amped up, armed followers. and they exist. it's nowhere near MAGA level, but I've seen multiple DeSantis hats out in the wild recently. including a dude at a bar who performatively stood and took off his hat during the national anthem that was playing *on television*.

dude is gonna leave this state in a scary place if/when he ever leaves

along the same lines, i thought this recent tpm reader email was troublesome:

If it’s not on your radar already I wanted to point you to the recent aggressive moves against higher ed by DeSantis in Florida.

Following a detailed request to all state colleges and universities to prepare a report on any use of state funds for diversity, equity, and inclusion measures including academic offerings (example information) and his language about ‘woke’ and ‘trendy’ ideologies in his inaugural address, on Jan 6 he announced what amounted to a take over of the Board of Trustees at New College of Florida, including the provocateur Christopher Rufo (who has fanned the ‘CRT” flames among other things @realchrisrufo).

First, I think this is an opening salvo is what is likely to be an aggressive move to control higher ed in the state of Florida. New College is a tiny (700 students) and easy target compared to something like University of Florida (where there are already a lot of eyebrows raised at the appointment of Ben Sasse as President among other things). In Florida the Board of Trustee structure (for each state college/university) and Board of Governors (for the state university system) gives tremendous authority to the Governor, who gets to appoint most of the positions. In the case of New College, many of the governor’s board of trustees seats had been vacant for an extended period – he waited until he could appoint a full slate all at once. Plus one additional seat from the Desantis appointed Board of Governors also opened at the same time. This gives DeSantis’s hand picked appointees control over the school.

New College will be the ‘testing ground” to see if these idealogues can re-make an institute of higher ed in their image. Many of the things that Rufo has been outspoken about are ridiculous on their face and unlikely to happen in a state school, BUT it so dramatically shifts the Overton Window that if even a fraction of these plans move forward will, it destroy the school as it is. Desantis and Rufo get to brag about how they created a ‘conservative’ college and open doors for maybe more? Just as likely, the school just dies (students will leave, or not enroll, faculty will leave) – but DeSantis doesn’t care and can just blame students, faculty, admin, alum for a failing school. He doesn’t care, he wins either way. But his actions in either case stokes legitimate fear at all public institutions in the state and academics slowly shift even at the big schools.

I also write because I am a graduate of New College and so I know quite a lot about the school that until last week very few people had heard of. One of the things that I find so galling in the statements that have come out from the governor’s office, such as “this institution has been completely captured by a political ideology that puts trendy, truth-relative concepts above learning,” is that they are fantasy and not grounded in reality at all. These along with statements from others that show that these people have no concept about this school (or perhaps more likely, they do but they don’t care because they have a bogeyman to build).

The central mission of New College has always been to foster critical and independent thinking and it focuses on true learning and mastery. There are no grades but every professor provides a written and detailed narrative evaluation for every student in each class (as a current professor I can appreciate the huge amount of time and effort that is required for this). Students are also expected to complete in-depth independent studies and complete a senior thesis (which is presented and defended publically much like a master’s thesis). I have also never been anywhere where the expectations for independent thought were so ingrained in the culture. Any statement whether in class or out was expected to be backed up with a compelling rationale and evidence – no one is given a free pass to say anything. But people will listen. And debate – boy do they debate. Which is why I find the statements about needing to ‘fix’ New College because it is too progressive and nothing but trendy ideology laughably wrong to anyone who knows this school. But again Desantis and crew don’t care. Even the media reports for the last week refer to it as a ‘progressive’ school … ?? .. the student body self-selects for that a bit, but there is nothing right or left about the curriculum, academics, or mission. But it ‘looks’ quirky, you have kids with barefeet and pink hair, and they are open to diversity so it’s an easy ‘woke college’ bogeyman for Desantis. It’s just not reality, at all.

The school is very small and has some legitimate issues to address but punches high above its weight. It produces more graduates (per capita) that go on to earn doctorates than any public college/university in the US (and ranks 11 over all and is the only public school in the top 25 of undergrad programs), as well as Fulbrights and Field Scholars. Its alumni ranks include President of the NY Fed Reserve, university presidents, and more.

I find this whole scenario breathtaking in how aggressive Desantis is attacking education both in Florida and beyond as he looks to a Presidential run. New College is a tiny school that is a blip for most people but this is a very real and very scary first step into something more. New College is just a perfect test run and no one cares if it’s a causality (except for those who know it well).

The assault by conservatives against the universities is perennial, it just becomes more or less intense depending on any number of factors, including location, the health of the conservative movement, and the economic outlook.

I say that and also say that the news about New College is frightening, and this recent Desantis move is frightening, too.

I’ve done so before but I highly recommend that everyone read Metzl’s “Dying of Whiteness.” The chapter on Kansas, and the way that low-tax ideologues destroyed one of the best states for public education in the US, is really devastating to read.

Mind detergent and soul rot.

the thing I loved about literature courses is you can do free-form metaphors, just throwing a veil on to a character as a concept in service of a point

but in the real world, is making Santos a metaphor useful? he’s the republicans? he’s America? he’s, in some terrible way, everything the republicans think a cross-dressing duplicitous gay-identifying man is? I don’t think he’s usefully boiled down as anything more than exploitative and opportunist.

I mean, it’s all fun and I like to think life has an entertaining meta-fiction to it but congress is, to some extent, real

I guess this goes back to my opinions on ilx about some literary figures that were lauded in some circles who wrote “interesting” fiction but in the end were opportunistic exploiters

that said, I am paradoxically rooting for Santos continuing doing whatever he is doing for a brief moment

I put off learning anything about George Santos for as long as possible because I can't stand to hear about any new motherfuckers but wow he may be the Republicans' strangest character yet. he's like something that would've been concocted in Arrested Development.

It’s possible that none of us have actually learned anything about George Santos yet

we should give george santos another chance

could it be he's just the human version of the "I identify as..." joke??

At some point we may just discover that Santos is inept enough that he is outed as the first contact and accidentally uncovers all of his sleeper alien colleagues alongside him.
Probably not but he does seem to have a deeply bizarre backstory that all seems to be covering up something deeper.
Or he is the son of a family of grifters who gaslit him from an early age so he isn't sure if up is down, left is right etc etc but that might just be overly sympathetic.

Or somebody traces him back far enough to discover that he doesn't exist and we all have to rid ourselves of a group hallucination folk devil.
Though maybe the right just view it as supremely owning the libs.

I guess this goes back to my opinions on ilx about some literary figures that were lauded in some circles who wrote “interesting” fiction but in the end were opportunistic exploiters

Yeah, it's too bad not enough people know who JT Leroy was to make this comparison a useful one for The Discourse.

Hellmouths open across the US. The right are beckoned within. As they go to their idea of a better place they slap themselves on their collective back for owning the libs.

i don't think republicans understand what teaching is, basically.

Well, it's something done by government employees. Often women. Often unionized.

Why would they want to understand something like that?

New College was my only choice as a senior but I wasn’t accepted. Woulda had an entirely different life with that road not taken methinks.

this happens so seldomly, it's worth noting: trump appears to be facing some sort of material consequence for his constantly lying

Here's the table of how much Trump and Alina Habba have to pay. I really think headline should be; BREAKING Trump to pay Fusion GPS $50 Grandhttps://t.co/Rei09w5Rh3 pic.twitter.com/aQJhc52ewF

— emptywheel (@emptywheel) January 20, 2023

a judge found that a RICO lawsuit he filed against clinton and a bunch of co-defendants frivolous, and for once, held him personally responsible

typos and grammar issues galore there, but, translated: trump lie bad man have to pay other assholes good

sorry for the dumb question but:

Is that, like, something that is literally going to happen in the actual physical world that we inhabit?

Or is it something more like a contractor's invoice that he will (unsurprisingly) ignore?

Or one of the approximately ten thousand subpoenas that he has (unsurprisingly) ignored?

Just so very tired of hearing about potential consequences for someone who has, as far as I can tell, experienced exactly no consequences for his many sins against morality, propriety, taste, the law, and humanity generally?

"pay him 5k and see if we get any follow up letters"

believe me, i'm pretty sure he will appeal it, that will take several years, and the whole time he'll somehow be writing off the payments on taxes as losses on some shell company which is only a small shell company within jared's saudi investments, which is a black hole that cannot be revealed until pending lawsuits bla bla bla bla bla, then trump finally dies

The actual dollar amount ($1M being peanuts for Trump) is less important here than the warning it sends to attorneys that these bullshit cases are not going to be tolerated. No one is going broke over this, but I think there may be less appetite to bring frivolous cases when judges start pushing back.

Also disbarment is mentioned— when all the people surrounding you are losers and sycophantic hacks who can’t even represent you in court, then it’s a sign that maybe the strategy isn’t working so well

$1M being peanuts for Trump

does he have this much cash on hand? Serious question.

Saw one mention saying that Clinton et al should make the lawyer pay it all because it'll cause her to press Trump on it for help and then things could get...amusing.

does he have this much cash on hand? Serious question.

Sure - this will surely be paid by leftover campaign donations or his NFT mad money

it’s a sign that maybe the strategy isn’t working so well

it only needs to work until he dies - may god grant it be soon.

us dumb-offs, eastern division championship: manchin vs chuck todd

lol Manchin sounds like he's flirting with a presidential run in 2024 pic.twitter.com/LKbU2z7pUe

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 22, 2023

We manifested this by calling him President Manchin all those times.

Repent, ilxorz, ye have unleashed the kraken

He and Sinema will run as independents in 24, which side will they siphon more votes out of?

depends on who the dems run I guess but I can't imagine either of them getting much support from anyone

which side will they siphon more votes out of?

don't know. can't say. but whatever siphoning is intended will be targeted mainly at wealthy donors and PACs.

"both sides"

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) has formally recommended that Reps. Adam B. Schiff and Eric Swalwell be reappointed to the House Intelligence Committee, escalating a clash with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who has vowed to deny spots on the panel to both California Democrats.

...
Republicans have been angling to deny spots on key panels to Democrats partly in retaliation for votes by the Democratic-led House in the last Congress to remove Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Paul A. Gosar (R-Ariz.) from committees. Some Republicans joined Democrats in voting to strip Greene and Gosar of their committee assignments.

lol

Correction: An earlier tweet misstated the nature of recent debt ceiling showdowns. Both parties are responsible for the debt, but only Republicans are using it as a political tool. We deleted the incorrect tweet.

— The New York Times (@nytimes) January 23, 2023

That story was almost as vile as yesterday's "waaaaah, my kid's trans, so I'm voting for Trump!" feature.

Both parties ordered dinner, but only one dashed out without paying and threw a brick through the restaurant window

... in retaliation for votes by the Democratic-led House in the last Congress to remove Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Paul A. Gosar (R-Ariz.) from committees. Some Republicans joined Democrats in voting to strip Greene and Gosar of their committee assignments.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/y3gedm/marjorie-taylor-greene-believes-in-frazzledrip-qanons-wildest-conspiracy-theory

old article but i just learned about the extent of her "flirting with the q anon fringe" or whatever euphemism is usually used. this is the most poisonous psycho shit she is involved in promoting.

welp, my day is now significantly worse and i wish i could unsee/unknow all of that.

Greene 100% still believes every bit of the Q shit and knows just knows she has to keep it quiet.

Terrible. Filming your frazzledrips is a total faux pas.

https://i.imgur.com/4WbDBET.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/OXbSfLJ.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/N1qveB9.png

So might going to happen?

what might happen?

https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sex-hand-sign-womens-hands-260nw-1356350333.jpg

what, like her pegging him? probably part of the deal yeah

i just think people need to understand precisely what kind of lunatic mccarthy secured as a "key ally."

she's maybe 10% more of a lunatic than McCarthy himself