Subject: Re: The Sky is falling
Yaah, what I need is a visual of that. I'm understand much better if there's series of charts I can reference. Otherwise it becomes a verbal abstract. Any tricks on remembering these things? :)

Here's a picture, illustrating the different coalitions in the House. It's from when McCarthy was Speaker, but the broad contours remain:

https://archive.ph/jMCnZ

In a nutshell, the GOP caucus contains members with different political philosophies. There's are some members who prioritize fiscal hardline positions above all others, and there are others who don't.

But you don't really need to keep track of it. Just remember that in a Congress where no one reaches across the aisle except when there's a must-pass bill coming along, the only way for an individual member to get their priorities adopted is to get it into a must-pass bill. So they're all incentivized to insist that their main objective has to be reflected in the must-pass before Leadership gets their vote. So the areas affected by hurricanes won't support a CR unless it also includes hurricane relief; the states devastated by China's agricultural reprisals to the Trump (then later Biden) tariffs insist on farm relief, etc. Meanwhile, the hardcore fiscal conservatives use the must-pass to insist that their priorities be reflected: no CR, no stopgap, but an actual budget that reduces the size of government expenditure.

With only three or four votes to play with, it can't be solved with just GOP votes. At least, not by Johnson. So Johnson has to go to Jefferies and cut a deal. Unless Trump is willing to whip Ralph Norman or Chip Roy to force them to swallow the repeal of the debt ceiling, or Glenn Thompson (Republican chair of the House Ag Committee) to drop his insistence that he'll vote against any CR that lacks ag relief, or any of a hundred other members and Senators to give up their priorities that were included in the CR package....well, it will be tough going.