Ed Kilgore neolibbing and Nat-Sec Nutsacking on Ukraine

In a largely vacuous piece about the national GOP reaching a tipping point on Ukraine, Kilgore can't be bothered one bit to engage with real, fact-based leftist (or Pope Francis) critique of NATO, the US, Ukraine itself or Zelenskyy.

Frankly, since the Fraud, aka the Squad, let alone the larger Pergressuve Caucus, can't see its way to cutting off Warmonger Joe, the single biggest plus of the GOP having the majority in the House is the chance — probably slim right not — that that happens.

And, my take on Kilgore is nothing new. When Kevin Drum was running Washington Monthly's blog, I thought Ed was more vacuous than him by several degrees.

Status Quo Joe ain't leaving Afghanistan and Liz Cheney ain't leaving the GOP

I hived this off from what was originally going to be the weekly Texas Progressives Roundup after there were no regular contributors of national news.

And, since Lizzie Cheney, after her 40 whacks with her axe failed to kill the head of Donald Trump, is now officially voted out as head of the House Republican Conference, it's good to separate it.

And, since I had originally written it in this order, am not a member of the duopoly at national political level and pretty much loathe BlueMAGA aka BlueAnon, it will stay in this order and you'll have to see new lying by Status Quo Joe Biden first.

Biden and Afghanistan

Since most of BlueMAGA doesn't regularly read Counterpunch, you can thank your stars that this member of the Texas Progressives Alliance does. And, that's the source of the header.

Turns out, per Noam Chomsky, that those 2,500 US troops Biden says he'll withdraw aren't all of them that Merika has there. There's an extra 1,000 floating around. Plus 16,000 contractors mercenaries. What happens when one of those 1,000 get killed? Are they flypaper? Or, what if actual left-of-center Congresscritters confront Status Quo Joe about those 1K and he removes them? And then, one of Erik Prince's Blackwater Xe Academi mercenaries gets killed? Flypaper?

Per Noam, human rights, if they're women's rights, will be abandoned, as will other things.

That said, Chomsky has long been a duopoly-fellating, anti-Green good Democrat, so he doesn't have a lot of room to talk.

More national-global? Status Quo Joe still hadn't abandoned Article 42, and other recent actions of his in re Ill Eagles are head fakes, gaslighting or whatever other term you prefer.

China's greenhouse gas emissions are more than the rest of the developed world combined. That said, Merika, remember that we exported a lot of that, along with other pollution.

Elizabeth Cheney and today's GOP

Although Cheney lost the vote battle, for her,  going back a full year or more, it's a battle for the future of the GOP. With her being booted, as that link makes clear, the battle's not over for her. She's still a neocon warmonger, so don't normalize her or any other Never Trumper. Within the House GOP, there's the added issue that she is not doing much in the way of fundraising for Ever Trumpers. And, more and more, Huckleberry J. Butchmeup, aka Lindsey Graham, as well as House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, is willing to fellate Trumpism. Don't laugh, #BlueMAGA; most of you will fellate neoliberalism, and speaking of neocons, fellate Bibi as well.

On Cheney's side, though, she sees fellating Trump as hurting the GOP in swing districts, and says McCarthy, the RNCC and RNC have suppressed or ignored polling that supports this fact.

Adding to this? Trump seems to be taking this personally. Adding to that, some claim that it's part of a larger blood feud against GOP dynasty families.

Does Cheney regret taking a pass on the Senate, not once, but twice?

 

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Now, per the top of the page, looking at the vote?

 

First, there's plenty of cowards in the House GOP. Despite requests by Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, the GOP caucus conducted a voice vote, not a roll call, and won't make it public.

 

Second, beyond the post talking about Trump yakking more, and starting his new blog and RSS feed (which it didn't mention) since Feb. 3, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has become even more a squish.

 

Third, as for Dems, as well as some Never Trumper Republicans, saying, this could be dangerous vis a vis losing youth, minorities, etc.? Demographic ain't destiny. Gilberto Hinojosa and his Texas Dem honchos have been claiming a demographic-based blue tide has been coming for 15 years or more. They remain wrong, even as they have misanalyzed those demographics. 

Third, part 2? Nothing will happen to the national GOP until Trump croaks. (His sons and sons-in-law are incompetent even by his standards and won't be able to pick up his flag. Ivanka doesn't want it.)

Fourth, no, Never Trumpers are not leaving the GOP. David Jolly and Jeff Greenfield both pick this one apart. (That said, Jolly ignores that most independents are really Rethugs or Doinks in drag trying to pretend to be what they're not.) Greenfield says we've heard this all before, and notes that many of the Never Trumpers are nonetheless vote-suppressors, etc.

GOP gets one right in DC

The House of Representatives' Natural Resources Committee will now have a newly formed subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs. More details here. And, yeah, Don Young won't be bad as a chairman.

How long for Preznit Kumbaya to be disillusioned of bipartianship?

Already the House GOP is fudging on deficit issues by wanting to extend tax cuts for the rich and kill medical savings in Obamacare. And, how can you be bipartisan with folks who break their own rules in their first 24 hours in power?

But, Obama will still find away to be illusioned.

Douthat has good analogy for tea partiers

Just like too much of the antiwar movement let itself get co-opted by President Obama, Ross Douthat says Tea Partiers could be co-opted by the House GOP's Pledge to America.

Fortunately, not all of us smoked Obama's ganja two years ago.