House Republicans have added over 290 “poison pill” riders to the federal budget bill that would restrict government spending. These riders would roll back progress on issues like LGBTQ+ rights, immigration, and environmental protections. The new riders include blocking same-sex marriage equality funding, banning LGBTQ+ flags from federal buildings, restricting visas for foreign farmworkers, and limiting the EPA’s ability to regulate pollution. Advocacy groups are calling on lawmakers to remove all the riders from the budget bill and pass legislation without the controversial restrictions. The riders would damage agencies’ ability to do critical work and reverse gains in environmental justice, according to critics.
All just theatrics. Red meat for the base who will fall for it because they’re gullible and let their thirst for hate cloud their judgment. This is DOA in the Senate and McCarthy knows it but still has his caucus go through with this waste of time. Tells you exactly everything you need to know about his character and fitness for leadership. Both are, to put it mildly, lacking.
The populist GOP is as intellectually bankrupt as it is morally bankrupt. Because it has no animating principle beyond fear and greed, its leaders will never stop with this bullshit. They will dip into endless oceans of manufactured outrage to fuel one attack after another on vulnerable out groups. Ad infinitum, for ever and ever.
We will have peace only after they are driven out of government utterly and completely, and their leadership is ripped root and branch from public life. The only real question is whether that is going to be possible while (hopefully) avoiding bloodshed.
This is republicans in a nutshell. When people ask what are republicans doing for me, this is the answer… Fuck you!
i am jack’s complete lack of surprise
Can someone more knowledgeable about American politics please explain to me why the Republicans are allowed to do this and/or why the Democrats aren’t doing the same? This seems like such a blatant abuse of the system, I’m baffled that it keeps happening.
I think alot of people are baffled as to why the Democrats aren’t doing the same, or at least aren’t comming up with some way to stop it from happening.
The idea is that they take the high road. They don’t want to be seen stooping to the rude tactics that the Republicans are using. But, in the end, they just end up advancing the Republicans agenda even further, although at a slower pace.
It’s frustrating, and somewhat suspicious.
They’re all in on it. They aren’t looking out for you.
I think the point is that they shove so much unreasonable stuff into a single bill that if Democrats want to pass any of it, they must capitulate to some of the Republicans’ wants. So a long period of negotiation will begin where Democrats will successfully get some of these additions removed, and an agreement is eventually reached where some of these poison pills will remain.
Unfortunately, Republicans would never agree to pass a bill without some of their additions in it, and most Democrats are not willing to dig in their heels and resist.
