Right now, things seem to be moving along ok despite the hiccups. But, time will tell if they keep their word or if some Republicans really are who they appear to be. It's too early to judge since we're only a few days into 2023.

Not defending DJT, but historically, there were members within his own party that turned against him. Some through DJT's fault, others caused by uncontrollable circumstances. So why should I believe this new Congress will be any different? That's where I got the idea of "controlled-opposition."

Well, it is what it is. And I'll simply have to accept what we have. This is better than nothing, at least.

Anyways, you're right about taking a break from political madness. I don't need to make it any more harder on myself than I have to. I'll gladly entertain the idea of discussing topics outside of politics on my free time (I assumed this forum was about politics after all).

I won’t be posting too much, but rather focusing more on quality over quantity posts.

And that reminds me, when you mentioned coalition governments, I remembered the 2008-2009 Canadian Parliament dispute. Layton, Duceppe, and Dion tried forming a coalition government to kick PM Stephen Harper out. That didn't work of course. Coalition governments rarely work unless you are willing to compromise so much. That's partly why Harper couldn't get much done back then (until he won his majority in 2011).