thependulumswings

As former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy packs up his office belongings to move down the hall this AM, there is a lot to unpack about how and why he was sent on his not-so-merry way.

First and foremost, remember that it took the Republicans 17 different votes to give him the gavel to begin with. You can call that a lot of things, but “mandate” isn’t one of them.

McCarthy agreed to a single vote “motion to vacate” to ascend to the Speakership to begin with.  He got the carrot, but the handful of votes that came with it still carried the stick.  Yesterday they used it.

Why?  This is where it gets complicated.  The simple answer is that enough Republicans felt like he was acting like a uniparty swamp RINO even though he swore to be otherwise.

You can call them MAGA Republicans, ultra-conservatives, malcontents, or even ass@#%*$ as one of our more fervent readers did late last evening.

But, can you blame those further to the right if they truly believe what they are doing for the country is the right thing?

The Democrats agreed.   They voted unanimously to oust McCarthy.  Well, of course, they did.  This morning the words disarray, chaotic, and worse are hurled at the Republicans.  It’s always a great day to knock down a rook on the political chessboard.

They always vote unanimously.  But, they have their factions too.  Bernie is a socialist.  The Squad is, well, The Squad.  Sheila Jackson Lee and Maxine Waters are tubas in the wind section of the band Nancy and The Blowhards.

But, is always voting unanimously good for the country?  Or, is it always good for your party?  Or, is it always good for your political career?  Ah, yes.  Now we’re getting somewhere.  If you want that DNC or RNC money and support to help your reelection campaign, vote accordingly.

It wasn’t always this way.  A great example is back in 1991 when the full Senate voted 52–48 to confirm now Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.  In all, Thomas won with the support of 41 Republicans and 11 Democrats, while 46 Democrats and 2 Republicans voted to reject his nomination.

That’s when independent thinking was still in style, allowed, and even preferred.

Do you know that Matt Gaetz, the unflappable smug leader of the malcontents takes zero dollars in PAC money and less from lobbyists?  He sounds like an outsider that insiders would prefer stay outside of the Capitol.

You like sausage, but you want to pass on seeing how it’s made.  Yesterday, the meat grinder setting was on high.

If you want real change in DC you’re really up against it.  Ask Trump.

“We have no Speaker!” Egads!

One could argue that we have no minority leader in the Senate either.  Mitch McConnell, you say?  Please.

And, one could argue that we have no President.  Joe Biden, you say?  Ahem.

The House is in recess for a week.  We’ll get to another speaker.  And, the process might be as cantankerous as this last one was.

Sometimes real change is really hard.