Matt Gaetz and the House Freedom Caucus — a far-right, untalented version of Diana Ross and the Supremes — are still refusing to let Republican leadership move forward with what passes for a domestic agenda because they are still big mad over Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s debt ceiling deal with President Joe Biden.
The MAGA goons blocked some pointless bills Tuesday that were supposed to protect patriotic gas stoves from the radical Left. That night on Steve Bannon’s podcast, Gaetz, with special guest villain Lauren Boebert, said he was going to “force” McCarthy into a “monogamous relationship” with either the Freedom Caucus or House Democrats.
“McCarthy has to decide who his coalition partner’s gonna be, Hakeem Jeffries or us?”
Yes, McCarthy must choose between the Black guy with a brain in his head or the two numbskulls who don’t have the slightest clue about (or interest in) governing.
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Bannon claimed McCarthy would rather work with Jeffries, which is demonstrably false, and after Butt-Head got a giggle from Beavis with his “monagamous relationship” line, Gaetz continued, “What we’re not gonna do is hang out with him for five months and then watch him go jump in the back seat with Hakeem Jeffries.”
This is a sitting member of Congress.
Jeffries did not initiate nor did he even want the deal McCarthy negotiated while holding a gun to the nation’s economy. He simply provided sufficient Democratic votes to extend the debt ceiling and prevent a catastrophic default. Gaetz, Boebert, and the rest are a bunch of spoiled brats, who’d set the world on fire if they can’t get everything they want.
Wednesday, Gaetz tweeted, “House Leadership couldn’t Hold the Line. Now we Hold the Floor,” and Boebert responded, “HOLD THE FLOOR” (in all-caps, like an addled grandmother).
Gaetz, still accompanied by Boebert who apparently has nothing better to do, told Bannon that he’ll continue blocking rules votes until a bill rolling back the ATF’s pistol brace rule is passed. Then he’ll demand a “new deal” with McCarthy.
“We want to see rescissions, more spending cuts,” he vented. “We think that McCarthy and his negotiators got rolled by Biden and the Democrats. And now House conservatives are flexing our muscle. We want to see a return to the normal budgeting process. We want to see review of individual bills come forward. And we’re very disappointed that we just underwrote $4 trillion in debt over the next two years.”
So, it seems like Gaetz will “hold the floor” until McCarthy magically delivers a veto-proof House MAGA majority and flips the Senate while he’s at it. This boneheaded silliness is what forced out John Boehner.
“But right now,” Gaetz said, “there’s a key decision that’s going to be a major signal in how this all unfolds. We’ve told the speaker that there will be no rules votes until the pistol brace bill passes. However, we believe that our committees should continue their work.”
That “work” is specifically the House Oversight Committee holding FBI Director Christopher Wray in contempt, “the contempt that he so richly deserves,” Gaetz said, because he’s a big dumb cheeseball. This is another pointless spectacle that will achieve nothing for the American people, who are pretty clear that they are done with this BS.
However, Republican leadership might just say “screw it” and send everyone home if Gaetz’s crew keeps showing their ass. Gaetz whined that leadership can’t just “punish” MAGA dummies as if there are consequences for their actions. He seems to forget who’s actually in charge, though that’s easy when Kevin McCarthy has the gavel.
An oddly chipper McCarthy assured reporters Wednesday morning that he believed Republican would get around to doing something close to work that day.
“We’re working through it, we can’t hold up the work for the American people,” McCarthy said, before delivering this gem: “I can’t believe someone would want to hold up not allowing people to pick their own oven or stove they’d like to have.”
Yes, what kind of monster would deny Americans their freedom to choose … a gas stove?
Anyway, McCarthy failed, as expected, and everyone went home for the week. The speaker in name only conceded last night that there’s a little “chaos”going on” but he’ll get everything on track. This is the same man who’s been repeatedly foiled by Matt Gaetz.
NBC News Sahil Kapur noted that “[Nancy] Pelosi just had the same narrow House majority and Dems never floated motion to vacate, never voted down a rule (squad Ds who voted no on infra bill passed the rule), never froze the floor in protest. Squad and HFC aren’t mirror images; the two parties aren’t the same.”
Damn right.
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