United States | News & Politics

But can anyone ELI5 how you all ended up in this state

First off, the US government has always been full of absolute ghouls and clowns. That said, the well-being of the typical american has been on a downward trend for a while, and people are seeking radical change. This isn't really new, Obama ran on change in 2008 (and then governed like a Republican, alienating voters), and Trump obviously did the same, though in a more unhinged clownish way in 2016. Biden only won a (very narrow) victory in 2020 because Trump was so openly disgusting, helped by mishandling of COVID being an obvious giant talking point.

how you get back out?

The various alphabet agencies, national guard, and police forces have to be purged and reformed at all levels nationwide, then various actions (political arrests and blackmail, mostly) taken that effectively decapitate and dismantle the republican party while being subtle enough that they don't cause armed rebellion. This would require the dems to be ideologically opposed to fascism, which they aren't (see their support for Israel as one easy example).

What’s the impact of this individual being Speaker?

Nothing too special, the government probably gets shut down at some point when they try to hold funding hostage, but at the end of the day business as usual (which is, to be clear, very bad) continues apace.

Fortunately, not a whole lot.

If Democrats control the Senate.

And if he can be removed in 2024.

Our government was designed, probably not intentionally but it is possible, to not work.

Currently it's not working so we can't do anything unless the president orders it, which isn't how shit is supposed to work but now has precedent.

American exceptionalism strikes again

How we ended up here: Following Trump, an increasingly aggressive, authoritarian, what you might call fascist far right coalition has started causing problems in the house (ironically, they're called the Freedom Caucus). The Republicans are divided, but they technically have the majority along registered party lines. Because of this, the Freedom Caucus can choose to force them to do things because, without them, they can't do anything at all without crossing the aisle.

What effect it have: Mostly nothing. Democrats have a majority in the senate and hold the presidency. The house alone can't pass anything. They can vote on things and pass it on to the senate where it will die if it's bad, but that's it. They can also choose to not allow a vote on bills with bipartisan support that would pass if they didn't have control.

The largest effect will hopefully be in the elections. Hopefully people see this shit and choose to vote for something else. There's no way to know though. This could empower them potentially by allowing them to grandstand and maybe force the senate to vote against things that are poisoned to make then look bad.