{"id":24861,"date":"2023-01-21T11:24:14","date_gmt":"2023-01-21T19:24:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=24861"},"modified":"2023-01-21T11:24:16","modified_gmt":"2023-01-21T19:24:16","slug":"the-gop-speaker-battle-may-have-been-a-dry-run-for-the-next-january-6th","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2023\/01\/21\/the-gop-speaker-battle-may-have-been-a-dry-run-for-the-next-january-6th\/","title":{"rendered":"THE GOP SPEAKER BATTLE MAY HAVE BEEN A DRY RUN FOR THE NEXT JANUARY 6TH"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

MON, 1\/16\/2023 – BY\u00a0CARL GIBSON<\/a> (Occupy.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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After 15 ballots<\/a>, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-California) was finally elected Speaker of the House last week after placating the extreme right-wing faction of an already extreme right-wing party. Some of the concessions McCarthy made to opponents\u2014like Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-Colorado) and alleged sexual predator<\/a> Matt Gaetz (R-Florida)\u2014included proposed rules changes<\/a>, assignments on high-profile committees, and various promises to the extreme right-wing House Freedom Caucus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to The New York Times, one of the more controversial rules changes is allowing a single member of Congress to motion to \u201cvacate the chair<\/a>,\u201d effectively triggering a vote of no confidence in the speaker, allowing for their quick ouster. Such a motion used to require a majority of members to trigger a snap vote, but now any single member can trigger a vote. And due to the slim majority Republicans hold in the House of Representatives, McCarthy can only afford to have 4 defections from his stable of supporters before losing the speaker\u2019s gavel. This could easily pave the way for McCarthy to cave to the most rancid elements of his party on virtually any issue so he can maintain his hold on the speakership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Liberals and the left enjoyed the schadenfreude experienced from watching the Republican Party battle with itself since January 3, but this trend of appeasing a toxic minority of representatives could prove dangerous not just for the business of governing, but for democracy itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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HOLDING THE GLOBAL ECONOMY HOSTAGE<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In the 118th Congress, Kevin McCarthy will have the unenviable job of convincing 218 of 222 House Republicans to back him on must-pass legislation. This includes raising the debt ceiling and major spending bills, if he wants to avoid things like the US defaulting on its debt or another crippling budgetary standoff like the 35-day government shutdown of 2018-2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities wrote in a detailed report<\/a> assessing the implications of a debt default, the possibility of the US defaulting on its debt obligations wouldn\u2019t just impact the US economy: Creditors would doubt the trustworthiness of the US as a debtor, the dollar\u2019s standing as a global reserve currency could be jeopardized or even replaced, the Treasury securities market could be seen as too volatile of an investment on the global market, and federal borrowing costs could climb. This would undoubtedly hike interest rates even further, making it even more difficult for working-class Americans to make large purchases like homes and vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the US government couldn\u2019t borrow, it would have to make steep spending cuts to social welfare programs, which could cost potentially millions of jobs and even trigger another recession, according to the CBPP:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some households, businesses, and nonprofits would be unable to pay their bills while they waited for payments the government legally owed them. Cuts in grants-in-aid would strain the budgets of state and local governments. Such a large drop in spending would plunge the nation into recession and drive up unemployment. The Treasury\u2019s inability to borrow would make it impossible for the federal government to use countercyclical fiscal policy to stimulate the economy or mitigate the hardship faced by those losing their jobs or benefits because of the sharp curtailing of government spending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are several ways to make raising the debt limit a more stable process further removed from partisan grandstanding. A 2015 report<\/a> by the Government Accountability Office suggested three potential options for Congress to explore:<\/p>\n\n\n\n