Stakes For Kevin

I decided to take it a little easy this Sunday and not work as hard on a cartoon as I usually do. I have several ideas written out but I came back to this one. I already posted today’s cartoon for CNN which is also on Kevin McCarthy and the debt ceiling, but I decided to go ahead and post two cartoons today on the same subject, but with different points. I don’t normally do that but I wanted to go ahead and get this out while it’s still relevant. And the way I took it easy today is that I drew this cartoon about four days ago. All it needed was color.

I drew this last week and then thought of something I believed was meaner and more relevant. I actually thought this was a better cartoon and would probably get more reprints, but it wasn’t what I was feeling at the moment. I wanted to be mean to Republicans.

Another reason I think it’s OK to do two on Kevin on the same day is that he’s the worst speaker in the history of the House and it needs to be said again and again.

Kevin McCarthy started the crisis over the debt ceiling without any demands. He just wanted to hold it up. Then, he and Republicans made demands for cuts that said they would not budge on. And then Kevin budged and actually agreed to increase government spending. He got some work requirements for social programs and a ten percent cut off IRS funding in order to protect billionaires from being audited as much. The Goon (Freedom) Caucus is not happy. Kevin McCarthy is a terrible speaker, but the members of the Goon Caucus are even worst at being representatives.

McCarthy’s allies say his position as speaker isn’t in danger, but it’s always been in danger. For him to win the 15th vote to finally become speaker, he had to make a deal with the Goon Caucus that insured his position would always be in danger. One of those deals is that any single member of the House can call for a vote to replace him.

The thing is, kiddos, the Freedom Caucus is made up of goons who don’t care about this country. They don’t care about budgets or debt. They don’t care about democracy. They supported the Jan 6 insurrection and they’re all MAGAts. They’re the kind of people who will set the world on fire just to watch it burn. Fortunately for us, they’re all morons.

The goon caucus doesn’t publicly list its members because they’re opposed to open information and accountability. In fact, they don’t even meet in the Capitol, instead, they meet in a basement of a nearby pub. It’s believed there are at least 46 members that include Andy Biggs, Paul Gosar, Lauren Boebert, Jim Gym Jordan, Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Scott Perry, Ronny Jackson, and Chip Roy. As you can see, the caucus is full of fundamentalist wackadoodle fucknuts who are all idiots. Most of its members don’t even know how the debt ceiling works, but they got demands.

Kevin McCarthy made deals with the Goon Caucus to win the speakership, and many believed he gave them too much power. He did, but maybe his security lies in the caucus’s inability to function. They are the gang that can’t shoot straight. They failed to be influential in the debt ceiling negotiations. Now under House rules, they have the ability to call for a new vote on a speaker, but can they actually manage that task?

Goon Caucus member Ken Buck said, “This bill is a Democrat bill. It is a bill that not only avoided a default but also locked in the progressive gains that the president made in the last few years.” He is so stupid, he inadvertently gave the win to President Biden.

Michael Tomasky wrote for the New Republic, “The losers are the Freedom Caucus. Remember six months ago? Two months ago? They were going to kill this deal, submarine their own speaker, cost him his job, and send the country into default and the world into economic chaos. They held all the cards. They drew blood out of McCarthy’s flesh during the speakership vote and held the sword of Damocles over his head. The conventional wisdom, which I believed along with everybody else, was that the red-hot backbenchers were going to foment a coup against McCarthy if he dared to cut a deal with the enemy.”

The Freedom Caucus had the power to force a default and watch the nation burn. Did they become reasonable or are they just an empty threat that doesn’t have the backbone or understand how to carry out their threats? For the most part, the goons don’t know how to legislate. Quick, name one bill Jim Gym Jordan, the noisiest motherfucker in Congress, sponsored into law.

the Goon Caucus voted against raising the debt ceiling, and despite the GOP having the majority in the House and with more Democrats voting for the bill than Republicans, it still passed. The Goon Caucus failed.

Tomasky also wrote, “The Freedom Caucus is a bunch of bullies. And we’ve known since Beaver Cleaver finally stood up to Lumpy Rutherford that once you call a bully out, he backs down. The Biden White House should take note. These people can be rolled.”

If the Goon Caucus doesn’t force Kevin McCarthy out, then their reason for being doesn’t exist. They’re all a bunch of Lumpies.

Music note: I listened to the Foo Fighter’s new album and I feel all sorts of different ways about it.

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