344 Comments

Dr. Reich. I’m glad you put the word moderate in quotation marks when describing non-MAGA Republicans. We must never lose sight of the fact that ALL REPUBLICANS, including the now beatified Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, are anti-democratic extremists. If the United States is ever going to go forward along the path most of us who identify as progressive endorse, both our major political parties have to be rebuilt. But of the two, the most sweeping reconstruction must be on the Republican side. Republican authoritarianism is not new and for that reason the party needs to be completely demolished and rebuilt from the ground up. There should be no longer be any discussions in this country regarding who is an American our which regions of the nation are more authentically American in nature. The only thing that should separate Republicans from Democrats are questions of whether it is more appropriate to rely on government or the private sector to address what ever challenges we are facing at any given moment or when planning for the future. Both parties should be dedicated to the integrity of our institutions, to fairness and equity, to the belief that every American is a first class citizen, and to ensuring that we undertake public policies that benefit the greatest number and that move the nation closer realizing the principles upon which it is based.

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I think that Democrats should try to get a few Republicans to join them in voting for Liz Cheney for speaker, and if that fails, then I agree that David Joyce is a much better choice than embattled Kevin McCarthy.

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Jan 2, 2023·edited Jan 2, 2023

Regarding the Jan. 3rd vote for House Speaker, I write to note that at subscriber Jerry Weiss’s urgings I have contacted, via phone and email, both outgoing and incoming Democratic leadership plus two Democratic members of the House’s bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus. After introducing myself and crediting Jerry for the text (which can be found in the Dec. 20th Comment Section), I wrote the following:

Dear ,

As someone anxiously watching and waiting while Freedom Caucus extremists are extracting concession after concession from Kevin McCarthy, as he desperately attempts to get enough votes to become speaker, I rightly fear that far-right extremists will be setting the agenda for the next two years. Hence, I write to prevail upon Democrats, under leadership’s auspices, to join with seemingly more moderate Republicans, who already have signaled a willingness to work with like-minded people across the aisle, to find a consensus Speaker, one though publicly unified with moderates in support of McCarthy for Speaker, has indicated concerns regarding concessions already extracted.

While some might contend that peeling off a half dozen potential moderate votes is good strategy, I would maintain it likely would be easier to get 40 votes than 5. I base this judgment on the premise that moderates by their very nature are, well, moderate and would be reluctant to act boldly. Thus, the best candidate would be one who comes with substantial support from a host of establishment colleagues.

I can’t emphasize enough how urgent the moment is. We need our Democratic representatives in the House to use their 213 votes in support of a moderate Republican for Speaker. Here, I would underscore that the very thing that makes a moderate Republican suitable for the Speakership is his or her respect for governance and a normally functioning, problem-solving legislature. And that is precisely what the MAGA extremists seek to subvert. Their agenda of investigations and recriminations is intended to disrupt normal order in Congress. Allowing them to hold the spotlight with a succession of ugly, hate-filled investigations through 2024 would be analogous to a slow-motion, non-violent version of January 6th.

Therefore, knowing that without some plan our Republic is in grave danger, I urge Democrats to give their votes to a mutually agreeable alternative, who, in return, will reject Kevin McCarthy’s bid for speaker and raise public awareness that a cross-party coalition is possible.

My sincere thanks to whoever receives this letter and a request that it promptly be passed to…

Cordially,

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Way to think outside the box! If McCarthy does win the job, it won't be for long. The Drama Queen Emeritus, a/k/a the Orange Blowhard, who is so addicted to provoking chaos, will wave his tiny finger to depose him soon just to show off his power.

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I hear your concern but the present Republican membership is locked in a party over country philosophy. They stand like duck pins waiting to be bowled over by a barrage of blind Trumpish lies still circulating through out our country. Robert, you have a plan which is more than I can say for the McCarthy camp. The Freedom Caucus seems to be holding poor Kevin in a rather precarious position. Without relenting to their demands this right wing group has Mr. McCarthy right where they want him, which isn't all together a bad thing knowing the make up of the man's political allegiance. Your background and experience carries enough weight to sway opinions looking for fundamental guidance. The Republican party with its control over the House will act like the Hoover Damn holding back the waters of a gentle woodland stream, President Biden's next two years are going to be a challenge at best. I stand with your thoughts about Joyce over McCarthy, looking at the alternative it makes good sense.

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Unfortunately, ithis is not the time to discuss what would be nice. We must discuss what is possible given the present reality and what is at stake. Robert's suggestion seems to me to have the best chance of success. I hope the Democrats and nonMAGA Republicans go along with it.

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Hemlock or Arsenic. These people are despicable. And we are an international laughing stock for this mess that is the Republican Party. They waste the public's time and money with these soap operas. I like the way they just did it in Brazil. The outgoing president, a crony of Trump's who burned down the Amazon in the name of selfishness refused to present the presidential sash in the traditional ceremony to incoming president Lula. And so, a 33 year old garbage collector named Aline Sousa, representing the Brazilian people, put the presidential sash on Lula. Now here is what is going to happen to the Republican Party. The investors in them - their donors - are about tired of their foolishness. They are a bad investment. Adios, azzles. We don't need you. Biden is generating plenty of new business, and foreign capital is fleeing China, Russia, Europe, Africa to the stablest game in the world, the US stock market.

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Professor Reich, what are you doing to promote this idea to House Dems directly, besides writing it in this newsletter? You have access….I hope you are using it!!

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Bring James Joyce, at least he will tell beautiful stories!

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Rebert, you gave Joyce the kiss of death. If he runs, next time he will be primariaried.

Members of the Joyce group include our three Batistiano members from Baghdad By the Sea: Mario Díaz-Balart, Carlos A. Giménez, and María Elvira Salazar, all who support the golpe (coup). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Governance_Group

Do ANY Republican House members reject the big lie? Will ANY refuse to sit with insurrectionists?

Joyce comes from a farm town adjacent to Tim Ryan's old district, where he was a law and order prosecuting attorney for 25 years. . His father was a coal salesman. Joyce is apparently not a member of the problem solvers' conference. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_Solvers_Caucus I bet a lot of his constituents work in Cleveland and the Mahoning Valley. Warren Buffett is one of his major contributors. https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/david-p-joyce/summary?cid=N00035007

It's good that Republicans are disorganized. Let the Republicans slit their own throats without any help from us.

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Does it really matter who is speaker, or who controls the Congress? Here's the case...

ASSERTION: There is no credible argument which can support the idea that humanity can maintain arsenals of thousands of nuclear weapons and those weapons will never be used. To make such an assumption is to completely ignore human history and human psychology, that is, to live in a very dangerous fantasy.

If you can accept that claim, then the next step should be to see which political party is doing the most to protect the nation from the ultimate calamity. Those citizens who are capable of being somewhat objective, somewhat honest, and at least trying to escape their preferred tribal bubble, should see this...

When it comes to saving America from an inevitable nuclear holocaust, BOTH parties are equally worthless. Completely worthless. There's not only no leadership, neither party really has much to say on the matter. This is true even in presidential campaigns when we are selecting a single human being to have sole authority over America's nuclear arsenal.

When it comes to all kinds of smaller issues there is a meaningful difference between the parties which is why I've been a Democrat longer than many of you have been alive. But when it comes to the survival of the nation, both parties are basically brain dead asleep at the wheel.

Here's who should be Speaker of the House. Anybody, literally anybody, who promises to speak about nothing but nuclear weapons for the duration of their term. A term which will be short, I agree. But even a few days of being an actual leader beats no days at all.

Guys and gals, political blogs all over the net talk about almost nothing beyond why "we are good and they are bad". I know this is fun, but I'm sorry, we just can't afford this hobby.

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I hadn’t heard of Rep. Joyce before, but this sounds like a reasonable solution that will avoid the chaotic MAGA circus we’ll be subject to otherwise.

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I think the Democrats should take your advice and hold their nose and vote as you suggested

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I don't have a vote - not from Melbourne, Australia. If I did, it would be for Joyce. It's a step back to sanity. The world needs America to move back to where it was BT - before Trump.

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This is too much in the weeds for me.

I still say, don't trust any Republican ... not one.

Hell ... we can barely trust Democrats to live up to their promises.

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Dr. Reich, do not get distracted! Focus should be be on "Why has the DOJ not yet acted to arrest T45?" It would resolve many issues that you try to address and would bring down the GOP (#GravediggersOfDemocracy) - not just MAGA - house of cards.

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