Today is Tuesday, November 14, 2023. Today good news has finally come out of Congress as the U.S. House of Representatives has passed a short-term funding bill in a bid to avert a government shutdown that looms on Friday, despite a Republican revolt. This news is reported in an online BBC News article entitled “US House Speaker passes bill to avert shutdown with Democratic support.”

This measure was approved by 336 votes to 95. It keeps federal agencies open at current spending until mid-January. The stopgap measure must be approved now by the Senate and President Joe Biden before it takes effect.

As of this writing, 93 Republicans opposed the measure. The bill faced criticism from the conservative House Freedom Caucus, in part because it does not include the steep spending cuts they had been advocating for.

Neither does the bill include President Biden’s request for more than $100 billion in aid, including for Ukraine, Israel, and U.S. border security.

This time, House Democrats sided with MAGA Mike, citing the need to keep the government functioning in light of a complete shutdown.

In a statement released before the vote, the Democratic leadership said it would support the resolution because it was “devoid of harmful cuts and free of extreme right-wing policy riders.” Which infuriated the extreme members of the right-wing caucus, no doubt.

Johnson’s continuing resolution is a so-called “clean” bill with no spending cuts, policy provisions, or other strings attached.

The measure, submitted by MAGA Mike, which overrided the right flank of his party to pass a funding bill with Democratic support, is exactly the way that his predecessor, Kevin “Kiss the Ring” McCarthy, was ousted in October after eight repugnicans voted for his removal. Therefore, MAGA Mike did not make any new friends with the passage of this bill, particularly Texas congressman Chip Roy, an influential conservative, who told reporters that the House Freedom Caucus was “trying to give the speaker a little grace,” but argued that “today’s a mistake, right out of the gate.”

There was some tension before the vote occurred today, when right-wing congressman Tim Burchett of Tennessee accused McCarthy (oh, is he still around?) of “elbowing” him in the back while he stood in the halls of Congress.

The incident led the congressman who looks like the Grinch without the green makeup, Matt Gaetz, to file an ethics complaint. What a ridiculous, ironic thing here: that Matt Gaetz who was initially implicated in a case in Florida involving having sex with underage women is the person who files an ethics complaint here.

Republican aggressiveness was on churlish display today as Senator Bernie Sanders had to step in and stop a possible fight between a repugnican senator by the name of Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma who got up from his chair to challenge the president of the Teamsters at a Senate hearing. This amazing contentious moment on Capitol Hill was played extensively on network news, as Sanders is heard saying to Mullin, “You’re a United States senator, sit down.” Sanders yelled while banging the gavel to restore order in the room. Sanders continued to bemoan the low esteem Americans have for Congress as a result of this childish behavior being displayed in the room between the two men, but he was cut off by more bellicose cross-talk between Mullin and O’Brien, the Teamsters leader.

The almost-brawl was covered in an online article for The Hill by Alexander Bolton entitled “GOP senator challenges Teamsters president to fight during hearing.”

The incident occurred in the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee room where Sean O’Brien was being interviewed by Mullin. The angry congressman challenged International Brotherhood of Teamsters General President O’Brien to a fight on the spot after the senator read aloud the other man’s tweets calling him out as a “clown” and a “fraud.”

What followed is a jaw-dropping exchange in which the bearded senator, a former mixed martial arts fighter, told O’Brien, “You want to do it now?” He added, “Stand your butt up then.”

Then O’Brien responded, “You stand your butt up.” This prompted the 46-year-old senator to stand up from his chair as if he was preparing to spring into the middle of the hearing room to trade blows with the Teamster leader.

At that point, Sanders intervened, trying to prevent a brawl from breaking out in the room with everyone at home and in the hearing room a witness to this foolishness.

The actual reason for the animosity between the two men centered on O’Brien calling Mullin, a former owner of a plumbing company, a “greedy CEO.” Mullin argued that he was attempting to expose O’Brien as a “thug” after the Teamsters leader tweeted him at him after a prior contentious Health, Education and Labor Committee hearing in March. When O’Brien called Mullin a “greedy thug,” Mullin told the union official to “shut his mouth.”

As of this writing, the Oklahoma senator has not backed down or apologized when later confronted with his conduct at the hearing.

Have you noticed with this latest blowup that all of them involve Republicans so far, with none involving Democrats. It’s the Orange Turd who has turned this party into a party of aggressive louts, many of whom who resort to intimidation, cursing, and bellicosity rather than engage in normal debate. They’ve learned so well from their master, Donald J. Chump.

In another online article, the writer of a Daily Kos piece called Republicans out for ushering in “Jerry Springer” levels of tawdriness and tackiness with their surly behavior. It’s quite shocking and appalling, and every American should be cognizant of how these thugs are behaving in the halls of Congress and decide whether they want these Neanderthals to continue to represent them in Washington.

Stay safe and be well.