It’s a brand new 12 months with new resolutions, new alternatives, and countless potential. As most of us turned the web page to 2024 on the calendar, we gave ourselves the hope of a recent begin, a clear slate in order that we might make this 12 months higher than the final one (ugh, please). The issue is that US politics remains to be on its identical bullshit.
You see, our civic and political leaders didn’t precisely tie up their unfastened ends earlier than the tip of final 12 months, deferring some main selections with main penalties to the early days of this 12 months—like procrastination, however for a complete nation. A few of these points—like Trump’s entry to the poll below the 14ᵗʰ Modification—have been all the time going to essentially depend in 2024, however most of those political points ought to have been resolved months in the past. And now our recent, pristine 2024 is mired in distress earlier than we’ve even given up on our first decision.
For instance: do you know we’ve got a partial authorities shutdown occurring two weeks from now until the GOP Home and the Democratic Senate agree on a funds to ship to Biden’s desk? It’s not your fault; the blame belongs to Speaker Mike “Fourth Selection” Johnson, who resolved final 12 months’s weeks-long funds snafu and Home management disaster by making like Courageous Sir Robin and working away. Reasonably than really lead his caucus and both keep on with the phrases of the debt ceiling deal negotiated by his ousted predecessor or placing new phrases amenable to Democrats and his caucus, Johnson selected to kick the can into the early months of 2024, forcing January and February to be crammed with frantic negotiations as a substitute of snow, sizzling chocolate, and tedium, as God supposed.
In fact, Johnson couldn’t depart it there: By pushing the federal government shutdown into 2024—an election 12 months—he additionally imperiled his new and tenuous maintain on the speakership. Within the intervening months since he handed the buck by way of persevering with decision. Johnson has misplaced a number of members of his caucus to expulsion and retirement, leaving only a 2- vote margin for his majority. If he doesn’t fulfill the whackadoodles of the Home GOP with no matter deal he strikes, Johnson might set-off one other calamitous combat for the speakership, forcing Congressional employees to play yakety sax over the chamber sound system till a brand new Speaker is chosen.
However it’s not all Mike Johnson’s fault. Biden and Senate Republicans are additionally top-tier procrastinators, leaving a decision for Ukraine funding for 2024. Senate Republicans insist that they received’t assist the Ukrainian warfare for survival towards Russia until Biden commits to inhumane, depressing, and unlawful circumstances for asylum seekers and immigrants on the southern border. For his half, Biden appears alarmingly happy with racking up as many human rights abuses as he can, probably conceding to GOP calls for to desert US treaty obligations for asylum seekers and thru steady circumvention of Congress to assist Israel’s humanitarian catastrophe of a marketing campaign in Gaza. This, as his numbers with younger voters proceed to break down. All in all, no one appears good right here!
The one upside is, as soon as we will clear the deck on the festering stays of 2023, wemay give ourselves a pleasant lengthy breather. There’s nothing else to occupy us till…oh fuck, the Iowa Caucus is on the finish of this month. Tremendous Tuesday is in 10 weeks. The Supreme Courtroom goes to make some kind of resolution on the 14th Modification.
You realize what, neglect it. 2024 is already over. Right here’s to 2025, the 12 months politics is solved. Completely satisfied new 12 months!