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A.B. STODDARD: As Crises Mount, Republicans Depart from Reality
THE REPUBLICANS WHO CONTROL the House of Representatives cannot respond to a new war waged against Israel. They have rejected new aid to support Ukraine in its defense against the Russian invasion. They have no plan to keep the government from shutting down on November 17 when funding next runs dry.
There is no path forward, as of now, to replace the House speaker they fired last week with a new one this week.
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JILL D. LAWRENCE: Israel, Ukraine, and the Need for American Leadership.
IT WAS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME before Josh Hawley threw Ukraine under Vladimir Putinâs bus. âIsrael is facing existential threat. Any funding for Ukraine should be redirected to Israel immediately,â the Republican senator from Missouri wrote Monday afternoon.
To think I fretted that Ukraineâfacing its own an existential threat from a nuclear-armed Russia and its dangerously deluded presidentâmight fall out of the headlines for a while when Hamas unleashed massive terrorist horrors on Israel, and Israel declared war. The idea of pulling back U.S. support never came to mind. Russia could not have imagined a more generous gift.
CATHY YOUNG: Blood on Bidenâs Hands?
BEYOND THE TERROR GROUP HAMAS and its state sponsor, Iran, who else is to blame for the horrifying attacks that have left more than a thousand people, most of them civilians, dead in Israel? Republican presidential candidate Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina thinks heâs found another culprit: President Biden. âJoe Biden has blood on his hands,â Scott flatly declared in a speech on Tuesday at Washingtonâs Hudson Institute. âHis weakness invited the attack. His cash giveaways to Iran helped fund terrorism.â
đšOVERTIMEđš
Happy Wednesday⊠We still donât have a Speaker and the chaos in the House GOP really is hitting new levels. Punchbowlâs Jake Sherman, a longtime reporter on the hill, observes:
I've never seen the House Republican Conference so discombobulated, rudderless and confused in my time covering Congress. They said they'd spend the fall passing bills using regular order, instead they've booted their speaker and are warring over the next one. They are rewriting the rules for the election the day of the election after criticizing states for doing that in 2020. They are taking the cell phones of elected officials when they go into meetings -- these are adults with staffs who are not able to bring their electronics into party meetings. This speaker election could go a while. Two weeks now on an internal party matter with govt funding expiring in a month and changeâŠ
Internally, on list servers of Legislative Directors for Republicans, Rep. Tom McClintockâs staff floated a proposal to kick out Republicans who voted against leadership positions from the GOP caucus. Do they want to be a permanent minority? If so, I donât know what theyâd be doing any differently.
âThis is fucked, yâallâŠâ Wonkette's editor boldly tells readers: âIf you donât think youâre being a raging antisemite right now, the chances are youâre probably wrong.â
Telling people what you really think can be risky, but in a lot of cases, itâs quite brave if your mortgage depends on it. Do me a favor and go read the whole thing. Iâve been a Wonkette reader since I was a bright-eyed young conservative hill staffer who often disagreed. I disagree less so these days, but if youâre not a reader, youâre missing out.
Never rub another manâs rhubarb1⊠Matt Gaetz came in and renamed Chip Royâs proposed amendment after himself. It helped get the measure tabled.
Zelensky to Israel⊠Ukraineâs president wants to visit Israel in a show of solidarity. Smart politics.
Israelâs new spy plane⊠Had to enter service early because of Hamasâs attack. Hereâs what the plane is capable of.
Trumpâs Overrated Peace Plan⊠Helped Enable the Horrors in Israel and Gaza, Nicholas Grossman convincingly argues at The Daily Beast.
Worldâs third richest man lays off 240⊠At The Washington Post. Which has me wondering what the point of a billionaire of owning it is⊠To offer buyouts?
Whatâs the Highest Number of Miles a âNewâ Car Can Have on the Odometer? Henry Cesari takes a deep dive on what qualifies as ânew.â
Meanwhile, in Alabama⊠A former state Rep. was sentenced to 60 days in jail for voter fraud.
âŠAnd in Saint Louis⊠Police and liberal prosecutors butted heads, and some cops dragged their feet on things while others actively hindered their work. Not a good recipe for governance!
âXâed out⊠Max Burns argues that Hamasâs attack puts Twitterâs dangerous disinformation machine in the crosshairs.
We donât talk about Leonard⊠ProPublica with âthe inside story of how Leonard Leo built a machine that remade the American legal system â and what he plans to do next.â
Tommy Tumbleville2⊠While he was concerned that President Biden was âgoing to fall down every time I turn on televisionâ on his trip to Europe, it turns out that in 2014, before he was a Senator, he had a tumble of his own. It has become a new nickname.
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