I am not a Kevin McCarthy fan. I think he is both rudderless and unprincipled. He is an opportunist who has not sold anyone on a reason for him to be Speaker of the House of Representatives except that it is his time. We should not reward ladder climbers who, having gotten to the top rung, just expect to climb it. But, his lack of principles has now opened the door for the biggest conservative gains in Congress in decades and he should be Speaker of the House.
IMHO: a word on the pitched battle for the Speaker’s job in the 118th Congress.
The narrow Republican majority achieved something I didn’t expect to see in my lifetime - a renewed respect for the institution of the House of Representatives driven by a Tiananmen Square-like stand by principled conservatives less interested in who swung the gavel than in the rules that would restrain them.
The band of “holdouts” and their 15-round bout with a political Goliath bred in the John Boehner swamp now gives the larger GOP delegation a chance to transform itself from the top-down Democrat-lite go-along-to-get-along spending machine they have been into a functional political body that will respect the voice of a party that continually votes for change but never sees it when their elected representatives head to DC only to be subsumed by “The Political Machine.”
We now have a somewhat de-fanged Speakership (thank you Chip Roy), still powerful to be sure but no longer the sole authority within the House GOP. It’s not a job with the perks Kevin McCarthy wanted but it’s a job that will very quickly demonstrate whether he can become a true leader and not the ruler he wanted to be. If he tries to rule with an iron fist anyway, the good news is that his stalwart conservative opposition forced Mr. McCarthy to accept a rule that would allow him to be challenged quickly and with meaningful consequence - including removal.
Kevin McCarthy has won the job of his dreams. But he now faces the dawn of a new reality that demands he awaken from that dream to govern by principle rather than fiat and steer the House by a return to order the founders intended. Otherwise, his will be a short-lived tenure. I wish him well in the challenges he - and the Republic - will face ahead.
I understand McCarthy agreed to the formation of a "Church Committee" and that Thomas Massie will lead. Good. But I really really want to see what happens when subpoenas are ignored, or responses are mostly redacted.
Thanks Chip Roy. I'll be interested in hearing how any conservatives left in Washington respond when McCarthy first "forgets" his concessions. I suspect Washington will say something along the lines of, "Well, we can compromise on this one, but we'll enforce the rules next time." And Washington will serve Washington politicians, NOT we the people and certainly not The United States Constitution.
In 2015, I could not stomach the idea of Donald Trump being the nominee for the Republican Party. But, considering the alternative, I voted for him, and my worse fears were coming to fruition when the certainty of Russian Collusion was being thrust upon us by trusted institutions. Then I watched too many Republican political leaders, especially Senators, make claims of righteousness or outrage based on the prevailing news cycle. That is an unfortunate fact and persists to this very moment.
So, why do some of my political leaders vacillate on everything other than their careers? By contrast, I have become firm in my respect for Donald Trump's resilience to repeated personal attacks, most of which have been fabricated out of thin air!
Is he perfect? No. During the last seven years, are his policy achievements and personal growth superior to any of his major or minor critics? Absolutely.
Fast forward to January 7th, 2023.
Kevin McCarthy, a fellow Californian, was sworn in as Speaker of the House. I was not a fan of his, mainly because his political ambition overshadowed and betrayed him until the last few months.
Like Donald Trump, the media tried to convince me that Kevin McCarthy was unworthy of being Speaker. However, the patience that only comes from God demonstrates that people can change for the better. That fact was made with great clarity as we witnessed the speeches from Hakeem Jeffries and Kevin McCarthy.
Both men had prepared remarks, yet the contrast between their speeches could not have been more defined.
Mr. Jeffries would have you think that "The People" and the Creator had given him and the Democratic Party high marks for a job well done and a mandate to rule for a Millenium. And, he indeed appeared sincere as abortion, and God Bless rolled off his tongue with fluidity. His portrait of Nancy Pelosi as this masterful orchestrator of policy-making was repulsive. Hitler and Stalin also knew how to count votes and persuade.
What should have been a quick, graceful transition to the new Speaker became an Obamaesque silver-tongued oration that managed to offend God and any American who is not blind and deaf. By Sunday, we will see how many Democrats and Republicans suffer from self-imposed disabilities that deny the truth.
By contrast, Kevin McCarthy gave one of the most graceful presentations I have witnessed in my adult lifetime. His speech should have been received well by all Americans, including every Democrat in the Chamber. The internal Republican debate is constructive for America, as the opportunity for light is again brought into The People's House. Let's see if our representatives can use these tools with the skill and self-sacrifice our democracy demands.
I agree with you by and large. I was impressed with Jefferies oratorical skills. His speech was more rhetorically entertaining than substantial. McCarthy on the other hand gave a well delivered but more substantial speech, as he should have, he is the Speaker. I was pleasantly surprised.
But I'm sure I'll eventually be disappointed and will grow tired of his sure to arise duplicity.
I was watching C-SPAN and believe I saw the moment when Matt Gaetz changed his mind and told Kevin McCarthy he was changing his vote. Mr. Gaetz managed to get his name in the history books as the man who got Kevin McCarthy his Speakerhood. Congratulations Matt. What a surprise.
And now in real time CNN is reporting that Donald Trump called Matt Gaetz and Andy Biggs encouraging them to vote for McCarthy. So now, Mr. Trump and can take credit as well and on January 6. How poetic. I want to puke.
Jan-6 was nothing really in this time of Russiagate and Twittergate. And from the clown commission’s own report we see that Nancy orchestrated it. Continued spouting “Jan-6” or “insurrection” just demonstrates propaganda sickness.
Right. And if the political affiliation of everyone associated with the events of January 6, 2021 were magically reversed you would consider the “continued spouting” propaganda? I think not.
Bad, all very bad. But I would use the word tolerated instead of sanctioned. But let's go with sanctioned (aka permission). The date of January 6 was targeted by Donald Trump et al as the last stand in his attempt to stay in power. This was a coordinated albeit somewhat poorly organized effort to keep him in power. Only one president in our history has blemished our record peaceful transitions of power.
Say what you will about the violence of those Democrat constituencies, but all that violence collectively doesn't measure up to what the Republicans did on January 6.
I don't expect you to see the difference. We'll have to agree to disagree. Good day
Naw. Your perspective is indicative of MSM propaganda sickness. Those dozens of bearded construction workers inflamed by Ray Epps and enabled by Nancy Pelosi, had about as much potential to take over the US government and keep Trump in power as you or I have the capability to take over for Elon Musk. It was just an unorganized protest gone bad. Hotheads inflamed over an election that was clearly corrupted with cheating. And now we have the Twitter Files to prove that the Jan-6 protestors were justified in their protest if not their violence.
I agree Eric. I'm tired of all the votes. How many times do they have to vote for speaker? It's an ugly game and takes focus away from the business of this country. Tired of both Democrats and Republicans.
As much as I would like to see McCarthy lose the position, what has been gained makes it worth putting up with him. Now I hope there are enough of the holdouts willing to change to get it done.
Agree completely. The holdouts have won the inside game, which is the goal,in the long run and will give them the opportunity to accomplish many of their longer term goals Prolonging this further will cause the party to appeal,incapable of governing to many off the moderate and independent voters who do not play “inside politics” . The continued holdouts either don’t understand that governing politics when you are in the majority is the art of the possible or have selfishly put their own petty goals above the good of the party.
Agreed. It needs to end this evening. One thing we learned from the recent midterms is that voters want competency in their elected leaders. Conservatives must win over independents to win in two years. The holdouts that just disdain McCarthy need to vote for him or vote present or we’ll labeled as just crazy. McCarthy will constrained by the good work the reasonable holdouts have accomplished. McCarthy needs to become speaker tonight.
IMHO: a word on the pitched battle for the Speaker’s job in the 118th Congress.
The narrow Republican majority achieved something I didn’t expect to see in my lifetime - a renewed respect for the institution of the House of Representatives driven by a Tiananmen Square-like stand by principled conservatives less interested in who swung the gavel than in the rules that would restrain them.
The band of “holdouts” and their 15-round bout with a political Goliath bred in the John Boehner swamp now gives the larger GOP delegation a chance to transform itself from the top-down Democrat-lite go-along-to-get-along spending machine they have been into a functional political body that will respect the voice of a party that continually votes for change but never sees it when their elected representatives head to DC only to be subsumed by “The Political Machine.”
We now have a somewhat de-fanged Speakership (thank you Chip Roy), still powerful to be sure but no longer the sole authority within the House GOP. It’s not a job with the perks Kevin McCarthy wanted but it’s a job that will very quickly demonstrate whether he can become a true leader and not the ruler he wanted to be. If he tries to rule with an iron fist anyway, the good news is that his stalwart conservative opposition forced Mr. McCarthy to accept a rule that would allow him to be challenged quickly and with meaningful consequence - including removal.
Kevin McCarthy has won the job of his dreams. But he now faces the dawn of a new reality that demands he awaken from that dream to govern by principle rather than fiat and steer the House by a return to order the founders intended. Otherwise, his will be a short-lived tenure. I wish him well in the challenges he - and the Republic - will face ahead.
I understand McCarthy agreed to the formation of a "Church Committee" and that Thomas Massie will lead. Good. But I really really want to see what happens when subpoenas are ignored, or responses are mostly redacted.
I was so disappointed that the "Red Tsunami" didn't materialize in November; yet, if it had, we would not be celebrating these concessions today.
Thanks Chip Roy. I'll be interested in hearing how any conservatives left in Washington respond when McCarthy first "forgets" his concessions. I suspect Washington will say something along the lines of, "Well, we can compromise on this one, but we'll enforce the rules next time." And Washington will serve Washington politicians, NOT we the people and certainly not The United States Constitution.
Patience is a virtue.
In 2015, I could not stomach the idea of Donald Trump being the nominee for the Republican Party. But, considering the alternative, I voted for him, and my worse fears were coming to fruition when the certainty of Russian Collusion was being thrust upon us by trusted institutions. Then I watched too many Republican political leaders, especially Senators, make claims of righteousness or outrage based on the prevailing news cycle. That is an unfortunate fact and persists to this very moment.
So, why do some of my political leaders vacillate on everything other than their careers? By contrast, I have become firm in my respect for Donald Trump's resilience to repeated personal attacks, most of which have been fabricated out of thin air!
Is he perfect? No. During the last seven years, are his policy achievements and personal growth superior to any of his major or minor critics? Absolutely.
Fast forward to January 7th, 2023.
Kevin McCarthy, a fellow Californian, was sworn in as Speaker of the House. I was not a fan of his, mainly because his political ambition overshadowed and betrayed him until the last few months.
Like Donald Trump, the media tried to convince me that Kevin McCarthy was unworthy of being Speaker. However, the patience that only comes from God demonstrates that people can change for the better. That fact was made with great clarity as we witnessed the speeches from Hakeem Jeffries and Kevin McCarthy.
Both men had prepared remarks, yet the contrast between their speeches could not have been more defined.
Mr. Jeffries would have you think that "The People" and the Creator had given him and the Democratic Party high marks for a job well done and a mandate to rule for a Millenium. And, he indeed appeared sincere as abortion, and God Bless rolled off his tongue with fluidity. His portrait of Nancy Pelosi as this masterful orchestrator of policy-making was repulsive. Hitler and Stalin also knew how to count votes and persuade.
What should have been a quick, graceful transition to the new Speaker became an Obamaesque silver-tongued oration that managed to offend God and any American who is not blind and deaf. By Sunday, we will see how many Democrats and Republicans suffer from self-imposed disabilities that deny the truth.
By contrast, Kevin McCarthy gave one of the most graceful presentations I have witnessed in my adult lifetime. His speech should have been received well by all Americans, including every Democrat in the Chamber. The internal Republican debate is constructive for America, as the opportunity for light is again brought into The People's House. Let's see if our representatives can use these tools with the skill and self-sacrifice our democracy demands.
I agree with you by and large. I was impressed with Jefferies oratorical skills. His speech was more rhetorically entertaining than substantial. McCarthy on the other hand gave a well delivered but more substantial speech, as he should have, he is the Speaker. I was pleasantly surprised.
But I'm sure I'll eventually be disappointed and will grow tired of his sure to arise duplicity.
I was watching C-SPAN and believe I saw the moment when Matt Gaetz changed his mind and told Kevin McCarthy he was changing his vote. Mr. Gaetz managed to get his name in the history books as the man who got Kevin McCarthy his Speakerhood. Congratulations Matt. What a surprise.
And now in real time CNN is reporting that Donald Trump called Matt Gaetz and Andy Biggs encouraging them to vote for McCarthy. So now, Mr. Trump and can take credit as well and on January 6. How poetic. I want to puke.
Jan-6 was nothing really in this time of Russiagate and Twittergate. And from the clown commission’s own report we see that Nancy orchestrated it. Continued spouting “Jan-6” or “insurrection” just demonstrates propaganda sickness.
Right. And if the political affiliation of everyone associated with the events of January 6, 2021 were magically reversed you would consider the “continued spouting” propaganda? I think not.
The “we will resist” marches and the BLM and Anifa violence sanctioned by the Democrats?
Bad, all very bad. But I would use the word tolerated instead of sanctioned. But let's go with sanctioned (aka permission). The date of January 6 was targeted by Donald Trump et al as the last stand in his attempt to stay in power. This was a coordinated albeit somewhat poorly organized effort to keep him in power. Only one president in our history has blemished our record peaceful transitions of power.
Say what you will about the violence of those Democrat constituencies, but all that violence collectively doesn't measure up to what the Republicans did on January 6.
I don't expect you to see the difference. We'll have to agree to disagree. Good day
Naw. Your perspective is indicative of MSM propaganda sickness. Those dozens of bearded construction workers inflamed by Ray Epps and enabled by Nancy Pelosi, had about as much potential to take over the US government and keep Trump in power as you or I have the capability to take over for Elon Musk. It was just an unorganized protest gone bad. Hotheads inflamed over an election that was clearly corrupted with cheating. And now we have the Twitter Files to prove that the Jan-6 protestors were justified in their protest if not their violence.
And yours seems to be indicative of Tucker Carlson prapoganda sickness.
I see no point in continuing this conversation.
How will McCarthy be held accountable to the concessions he made on the road to speaker?
Your analysis and insite continues to amaze me. Thank you!
I agree Eric. I'm tired of all the votes. How many times do they have to vote for speaker? It's an ugly game and takes focus away from the business of this country. Tired of both Democrats and Republicans.
I wholeheartedly agree...let's move on!
As much as I would like to see McCarthy lose the position, what has been gained makes it worth putting up with him. Now I hope there are enough of the holdouts willing to change to get it done.
Thanks Erick for keeping us updated. It is now time to vote McCarthy in and get to work!
I get it but do they need a majority of the seats on committee?
This is just bad tasting medicine with a little sugar in it. Hopefully the medicine will work
Agree completely. The holdouts have won the inside game, which is the goal,in the long run and will give them the opportunity to accomplish many of their longer term goals Prolonging this further will cause the party to appeal,incapable of governing to many off the moderate and independent voters who do not play “inside politics” . The continued holdouts either don’t understand that governing politics when you are in the majority is the art of the possible or have selfishly put their own petty goals above the good of the party.
Agreed. It needs to end this evening. One thing we learned from the recent midterms is that voters want competency in their elected leaders. Conservatives must win over independents to win in two years. The holdouts that just disdain McCarthy need to vote for him or vote present or we’ll labeled as just crazy. McCarthy will constrained by the good work the reasonable holdouts have accomplished. McCarthy needs to become speaker tonight.