Illiberalism
Gilead
Speaker of the House of Representatives, 2023
Fig. 1. Photograph credited to Office of Congressman Kevin McCarthy, date inconsistent with title but given as November 9, 2022, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
It’s not even remotely surprising that Matt Gaetz will be putting forth a motion to vacate the Speaker’s chair.[1] And it’s pathetic that Republicans are still, all these years later, trying to find a candidate who can pry Donald Trump’s base loose.[2]
My guess is that both fail. But that’s not the really important point.
On one level, Trump has captured the Republican Party and pushes plans that cannot succeed. On another level, his supporters have captured the House of Representatives, but only until a few Democrats agree to work with Kevin McCarthy.[3] Neither care that they accomplish nothing; what matters here to them is that they look like Don Quixote, tilting at windmills, pushing stillborn policy proposals, and as a Politico newsletter points out, painting McCarthy as a ‘Democratic’ Speaker of the House.[4]
Lauren Fedor, Colby Smith, and James Politi, “US lawmakers pass short-term deal to avoid government shutdown,” Financial Times, September 30, 2023, https://www.ft.com/content/1723e6e8-495d-4e0c-bf18-6c91e106e71a
Sarah Ferris, Olivia Beavers, and Jordain Carney, “‘It is a surrender’: Why McCarthy reversed with his survival uncertain,” Politico, September 30, 2023, https://www.politico.com/news/2023/09/30/kevin-mccarthy-government-shutdown-deal-00119290
Erin B. Logan, “Kevin McCarthy may avoid a shutdown. But the fiasco shows he’s weaker than ever,” Los Angeles Times, September 30, 2023, https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2023-09-30/government-shutdown-shows-kevin-mccarthy-weaker-than-ever
Ryan Lizza, Rachael Bade, and Eugene Daniels to Playbook list, “Inside the chess match between McCarthy, Jeffries and Gaetz,” Politico, October 1, 2023, https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2023/10/01/inside-the-chess-match-between-mccarthy-jeffries-and-gaetz-00119335
Kristina Peterson and Lindsay Wise, “Matt Gaetz Plans Vote to Oust Kevin McCarthy After Speaker Avoids Shutdown,” Wall Street Journal, October 1, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/politics/kevin-mccarthy-matt-gaetz-government-shutdown-1e838cda
Donald Trump
Coup attempt
Fig. 1. Donald Trump booking photograph by Fulton County (Georgia) Sheriff’s Office, August 24, 2023, via New York, August 25, 2023,[5] public domain.
Jennifer Rubin, “Republicans (rightly) panic. Good luck finding a viable alternative,” Washington Post, October 1, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/10/01/trump-gop-alternative/
Imperialism
Azerbaijan
Nagorno-Karabakh
Anugrah Kumar, “‘Almost no Armenians left’ in Nagorno-Karabakh; suffering mounts after Azerbaijan’s takeover,” Christian Post, October 1, 2023, https://www.christianpost.com/news/almost-no-armenians-left-in-nagorno-karabakh.html
- [1]Kristina Peterson and Lindsay Wise, “Matt Gaetz Plans Vote to Oust Kevin McCarthy After Speaker Avoids Shutdown,” Wall Street Journal, October 1, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/politics/kevin-mccarthy-matt-gaetz-government-shutdown-1e838cda↩
- [2]Jennifer Rubin, “Republicans (rightly) panic. Good luck finding a viable alternative,” Washington Post, October 1, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/10/01/trump-gop-alternative/↩
- [3]Lauren Fedor, Colby Smith, and James Politi, “US lawmakers pass short-term deal to avoid government shutdown,” Financial Times, September 30, 2023, https://www.ft.com/content/1723e6e8-495d-4e0c-bf18-6c91e106e71a; Sarah Ferris, Olivia Beavers, and Jordain Carney, “‘It is a surrender’: Why McCarthy reversed with his survival uncertain,” Politico, September 30, 2023, https://www.politico.com/news/2023/09/30/kevin-mccarthy-government-shutdown-deal-00119290; Erin B. Logan, “Kevin McCarthy may avoid a shutdown. But the fiasco shows he’s weaker than ever,” Los Angeles Times, September 30, 2023, https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2023-09-30/government-shutdown-shows-kevin-mccarthy-weaker-than-ever; Kristina Peterson and Lindsay Wise, “Matt Gaetz Plans Vote to Oust Kevin McCarthy After Speaker Avoids Shutdown,” Wall Street Journal, October 1, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/politics/kevin-mccarthy-matt-gaetz-government-shutdown-1e838cda↩
- [4]Ryan Lizza, Rachael Bade, and Eugene Daniels to Playbook list, “Inside the chess match between McCarthy, Jeffries and Gaetz,” Politico, October 1, 2023, https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2023/10/01/inside-the-chess-match-between-mccarthy-jeffries-and-gaetz-00119335↩
- [5]Margaret Hartmann and Nia Prater, “All the Mug Shots of Donald Trump and His Alleged Co-Conspirators,” New York, August 25, 2023, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/trump-mug-shot-gallery.html↩