Trevor Noah Uncovers America's Real President, Steve "White Supremacist/Wife Beater" Bannon
Dear Tig,
During the latter part of the 20th century, it became clear that the Democrats won -- and won decisively -- the political contest between liberalism and conservatism.
And so, to survive, the Republicans had only two options.
One was to sow mendacious discord, and then, when the government-as-constituted collapsed, they could jockey for a new position in a new kind of government.
Trump - and particularly "chief White House strategist" Steve Bannon - were crystal clear about their intention to destroy prevailing governmental forms by "deconstructing" government.
You and I believe in the democratic experiment, and so we tend to assume that all other stakeholders will as well.
NOTHING could be farther from the truth.
Trump and his white Christian cultists are essentially destructive people, eager to destroy Democracy so they might "rise from the ashes" with oligarchic, plutocratic, neo-fascist advantages.
By and large Trump's cultists are too ignorant and/or dimwitted to realize the destructive thrust of their intent. They despise learning, and in their cerebral fog they mistake sedition and treachery for patriotism.
Even if you persuade them to read Pat Buchanan's verbatim words, they will not believe what he's saying: "To hell with principle!"
In Catholic theology there is a phenomenon called "Invincible Ignorance."
What a perfect expression!
Pat Buchanan, The Republican Presidential Candidate And Living American Who Has Served Longest As Senior White House Official, Says Republicans Are In It For "Power Only" And "To Hell With Principles"
Compendium Of Best "News From Barbaria" Posts Concerning Democracy - And The Indispensable Role Played By Education In The Survival And "Thrival" Of Democracy
Trolls... And The End Of Civilization As We Knew It
Love
Alan
"The Case For Liberalism: A Defense Of The Future Against The Past," By George McGovern
"Dirty Trickster Lee Atwater: The GOP SOB At The Heart Of Republican Barbarism (Hidden Mic)"
"Whom The Gods Would Destroy, They First Make Mad"
On Wed, Nov 16, 2022 at 11:18 AM NH wrote:
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From:
The New York Times <nytdirect@nytimes.com>Date: Wed, Nov 16, 2022 at 3:42 AM
Subject: The Morning: Divided government
To: NH
What a Republican-held House would mean.
Good morning. A split Congress could lead to government shutdowns and economic turmoil. |
 | | The CapitolAl Drago for The New York Times |
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Republicans are likely to secure a slim majority in the House. What does that mean for Congress? Most likely a return to the gridlock and brinkmanship that have defined a divided federal government in recent years. |
A split between a Republican-controlled House and a Democratic-run Senate almost certainly means neither party will have the votes to enact major legislation. Democrats will probably be forced to set aside remaining items on their agenda, such as abortion rights protections and an expansion of tax credits for families with children. |
Republicans are positioned to trot out an old strategy: When a Democrat has been in the White House over the past few decades, congressional Republicans have embraced calls for reducing government spending, arguing that the debt and deficits were out of control. In the 2010s, Republicans used these threats to block spending bills and make it harder for Barack Obama to carry out his presidential agenda — at times risking government shutdowns and economic calamity. |
It is a political play. When Donald Trump was in the White House, Republican lawmakers approved budgets and tax measures that raised the debt and deficits to new highs. |
But the approach is nonetheless poised for a comeback once House Republicans can use the threat of shutdowns and economic consequences to restrain President Biden. Trump, who announced his run for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination last night, has pushed the party’s lawmakers to use these tactics to get concessions from Democrats. |
Today’s newsletter will break down what could be one of the biggest impacts of a Republican-held House: the potential fights over government spending, and the crises they may bring. |
 | | Representative Kevin McCarthy, the minority leader.Al Drago for The New York Times |
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One of Congress’s main responsibilities is to allocate funding for the federal government’s services and programs, such as Social Security, the military and scientific research. Because the government usually spends more than it takes in, Congress also has to increase the cap set by lawmakers limiting the federal government’s ability to borrow money. |
Both chambers of Congress have to approve funding allocations and debt limit increases. Representative Kevin McCarthy, who won his party’s support yesterday to become the next House speaker, has suggested his caucus may be unwilling to do so: “We’ll provide you more money, but you got to change your current behavior,” he said. “We’re not just going to keep lifting your credit card limit, right?” |
If Congress doesn’t approve spending bills, it can force the government to shut down, as it did in 2013 and twice in 2018. During a shutdown, some parts of government stop working at full capacity, such as national parks and environmental or food inspections. (Others, like Medicare and the military, largely continue running.) A shutdown not only disrupts services that many Americans rely on but also means hundreds of thousands of government workers in the affected agencies go unpaid. |
But the bigger threat is if Republicans refuse to raise the debt limit, which the federal government could hit early next year. The details can get wonky quickly, but here’s a brief explanation: When the government borrows money, it issues U.S. Treasuries. Because the U.S. government always pays its debts, these Treasuries are purchased around the world with the expectation that they are essentially risk-free investments. They are seen as so risk-free, in fact, that much of the global financial system is built on them. |
But if the U.S. government hits its debt limit, it no longer has legal authorization to keep up with debt payments and could be forced to default. That would destroy the trust underpinning the value of Treasuries, causing the once risk-free investment to collapse and taking much of the financial system with it. |
Under Obama, Republican lawmakers repeatedly invoked the threat of the debt limit to push for government spending cuts. And they appear ready to do the same under Biden. |
Democrats might try to pre-empt these crises this year, before Republicans would take control of the House in January, by passing spending bills or increasing the debt limit. |
Even without Democratic action, another factor could constrain Republicans: their razor-thin majority. More moderate Republicans in swing districts, which the House majority relies on, might not want to take on risky fights that could shut down the government or cause economic chaos. |
At the same time, McCarthy might not have the support needed within his party to pass spending bills. The lack of votes could force him to rely on Democrats to get bills through the House. But that idea is unpopular with McCarthy’s most conservative members, who do not want to compromise with Democrats on many issues. |
How that dynamic plays out will decide whether Congress can function — or if a divided government will spawn more federal dysfunction and crises. |
 | | Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago last night.Saul Martinez for The New York Times |
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- Poland said a blast near its border with Ukraine killed two people. There was no “conclusive evidence” about who launched the missile, a Polish official said.
- Russia has denied involvement, and NATO members are meeting today to discuss the explosion.
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- An American who was trapped in Kherson for eight months evaded Russian troops partly by pretending to be Irish.
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- NASA’s Artemis rocket launched this morning on a journey that will take an astronaut-less capsule around the moon and back.
- The police said that the killings of four University of Idaho students appeared to be “a targeted attack” but that there was no suspect in custody.
- Because of an Adderall shortage, people with A.D.H.D. are facing withdrawal.
- The Latin Mass, an ancient form of Catholic worship that Pope Francis has tried to discourage, is experiencing a revival in the U.S.
- Beyoncé earned the most Grammy nominations, including for album of the year. Brandi Carlile, Lizzo and Harry Styles will also compete for the biggest awards.
- Ticketmaster crashed because of the number of Taylor Swift fans trying to buy pre-sale tickets for her first tour in five years, The Verge reports.
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 | | Franco Pepe, the owner of a pizzeria in Caiazzo, Italy.Roberto Salomone for The New York Times |
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Lives Lived: For 110 years, the top editor of Good Housekeeping magazine had always been a man — until Ellen Levine got the job. She died at 79. |
Thanksgiving without the stress. Try New York Times Cooking. |
Upgrade to a New York Times All Access subscription and find recipes you can prepare ahead, all curated by our editors. You’ll also get full access to News, Games, Wirecutter and The Athletic at a special rate. News subscribers can upgrade here. |
| SPORTS NEWS FROM THE ATHLETIC |
Top women’s basketball recruit: Judea “Juju” Watkins committed to Southern California, choosing the Trojans over Stanford and South Carolina. The move is a shocker considering USC has made one NCAA tournament in the last 16 seasons. |
A return to the Bronx: Anthony Rizzo and the Yankees agreed on a two-year, $40 million deal yesterday, a minor coup for New York as Rizzo was the hottest first baseman on the free-agent market. |
 | | Julie Taymor became the first woman to win a Tony Award for directing a musical.Kenneth Van Sickle |
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After almost 10,000 performances, more people have seen “The Lion King” than any other show on Broadway. But a quarter century ago, when it premiered, that success was far from guaranteed. |
After a tepid reaction to the strait-laced stage adaptation of “Beauty and the Beast,” Disney’s executives took a gamble and collaborated with the avant-garde artist Julie Taymor. “When they mentioned her name,” the puppet designer Michael Curry said, “the first thing that went through my mind was, ‘Are you ready for her?’” |
 | | David Malosh for The New York Times |
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| | Eight Days to Thanksgiving |
The pangrams from yesterday’s Spelling Bee were flooding, folding and fondling. Here is today’s puzzle. |
Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. — German |
Matthew Cullen, Lauren Hard, Lauren Jackson, Claire Moses, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Tom Wright-Piersanti and Ashley Wu contributed to The Morning. You can reach the team at themorning@nytimes.com. |
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