The imbroglio within the Republican House caucus over the selection of a Speaker to replace the ousted McCarthy has generated a lot of disgust within and without over the fact he was deposed and concern about the operation of government in the mean time — regrettably more intense than generated by the operation of government under McCarthy. He was pretty much business as usual as far as our ongoing spending debacle. McCarthy made commitments to members whose support he needed. He reneged, slow walked, whatever and was called to task after due patience. If he had shown more commitment he would still be Speaker. The link below focused on the animosity within the Republican caucus engendered a lot of discussion at Townhall where it appeared. We partook as set forth below the link.
Will This Trick Help House Republicans Finally Pick a Speaker?
(comment submitted by yours truly)
The larger embarrassment for the Republican caucus is not the current indecision over the speaker (a potentially defining process for the good) it is the ongoing perfidy by so many to promises of fiscal sanity in favor of logrolling which has been protected by McCarthy.
Many of those chagrinned, nay, outraged over McCarthy being deposed (over promises not kept), do not keep a promise a New York minute past the election. They apparently cannot relate to the concept of keeping a public commitment perhaps risking their own private commitments to business as usual. Even promises to the caucus are for rubes, the game being to get on board with the powers that be and keep them and yourself in power with accompanying emoluments and sinecures of course.
Too many who claim the gang of eight engaged in an irresponsible stunt — never mind that the eight actually kept a promise in response to McCarthy obviating, obfuscating his commitments to them and the better angels of the caucus, — engage in the the actual irresponsible stunt of making promises they have no intention of keeping. Their stunt is the ongoing game of promises to the rubes while protecting the logrolling.
The real clown show is what so many promise back home but do not support in Washington. The greater disgrace is that the Republicans are the majority in the House but have been weakly lead (Schumer has just as dicy a majority) and have not effectively used their constitutional status to control spending, and consequent policy, even with key issues in their platform that ought to cause capitulation by Democrats: The invasion at the border at this time in particular, but parental rights, cultural deterioration and more.
The head weasel in the weasel circus calculated he could get away with promises to the 8 and then weasel around them once in power and be the weasel too big to actually challenge. It is a weasel trick that usually works, even with so many weasels part of the group a.k.a. a “sneak,” a “boogle,” a “bark”, a “confusion.” or most aptly a “congress”.
Now weasels are territorial and only suffer “leadership” as they perceive convenient, and as long as they can enjoy the limelight of their ring in the circus. Which means keep the government largess flowing.
Hopefully not this time but it is shaping up such that it may still work for the weasel system even if with a McCarthy understudy. (And to think I actually thought McCarthy might become a loyal pet).
The real rediculousnees is McCarthy actually expecting support from some Democrats (rival weasel gang) to protect his leadership (crumb distribution).
Sure the above is a harsh analogy but no less so than that visited on the gang of eight by many of those sincere congressman intent on doing the peoples business (as usual).
In that regard the personally directed sarcasm intended in the letter from the Honorable Mr. McClintock of California to the 7 is deserving of scorn in response.
McClintock “sarcs” the virtue of the seven who offered to remove themselves from the caucus organizing body if the body were to come together and support Jordan (a potentially effective principled Speaker). Now I happen to think it was magnaomous effort to remove personal animosity from the matter. But not McClintock who is a conservative but a prickly sort.
McClintock is a former member of the Freedom Caucus who called for special prosecutor Robert Mueller to investigate President Donald Trump. And, according to a Wikipedia entry with links, “McClintock was the sole House Republican to cosponsor the Ending Qualified Immunity Act, which was proposed in response to the murder (sic) of George Floyd and resultant widespread protests. The act was introduced by Justin Amash and Ayanna Pressley and cosponsored by 62 House Democrats in addition to McClintock.”
Observing in kind, it was a nice bouquet to the men in blue who battle in the streets.
As others have observed, we have put up with progressives and centrists long enough who are enabled by business as usual Speakers because they have been business as usual Speakers. McCarthy was essentially that making behind the scenes deals. And how sincere is a McClintock as to spending retraint when he is all for empowering business as usual manipulators that continue the funding of Obamacare and all that is wrapped up in omnibus bills that business as usual Speakers allow in violation of their promises to fellow House mambers? Where is the scencerity again?
To use the rhetoric of the detractors of the gang of 7 the real process crime is the continued ritual garroting of the country with debt and woeful policies by continuing resolutions, with Biden bringing out the piano wire and which McCarthy and McClintock do not stop if not facilitate.
