There is a saying in life, don’t let a group of whackos hijack the group you belong to. Well maybe not, but there ought to be. Anyway, I said it. Well, what happened this past week in the GOP House Caucus is exactly what that saying of mine is all about. The House Democrats and 8, yes 8, Republicans voted to vacate the Chair of the House, removing Kevin McCarthy as Speaker.
First some background and commentary.
I do not like Kevin McCarthy one bit. He is a snake and is an embodiment of all things wrong with the GOP. He loves to talk tough in person or with small groups, you know the sayings, quoting Reagan or at least claiming his legacy, saying no one is more conservative than he is, cut budget, reduce debt, etc. He votes the opposite. EVERY DAMN TIME. Then he goes on Hannity, Limbaugh (Rip), Levin, or any other GOP based show, and waxes poetic about how he made a great deal and how the GOP won the negotiations; when in fact, we lost. (can you say unilateral capitulation?) McCarthy has done this his entire political career; he is a former Assemblymen from CA. McCarthy, despite his faults, has some things going for him. He is telegenic and can give a good speech, but that’s about it for the positive side. He also has a documented history of chasing skirts, and to me a more disturbing one, his “hospitality suites” at state GOP conventions seemed geared toward very “young republicans” like as in high school age kids.
However, what happened to McCarthy ever since the GOP took over the House last election is not right. Kevin is a very big fundraiser and helps the party win and defend seats in every cycle. He helped chair “Young Guns” which was a recruitment device to recruit and help younger GOP types run and win races nationwide. He is/was very good at that. With his aid, we took back the House last cycle. Albeit only by about 8 seats. I do not blame that showing on him, I blame Donald J Trump. Then we had a vote-a-rama as I call it to elect a Speaker; keep in mind there was no actual competition for the speakership. I believe it lasted about 2 weeks, having an ungodly number of votes. McCarthy finally won. Matt Gaetz was leading this rebellion, more on him later.
So, we removed the Speaker, now what? Well, I really do not know. (Neither did they when they voted.) Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan have thrown their names in. Scalise is battling blood cancer so he may not be the best choice. Jordan is a good one, but I feel he is better used as an attack dog on committees. Think Paul Ryan, much better as budget committee chair than Speaker.
As far as Matt Gaetz? What the hell is wrong with you? I guess what you have going is you are from a very red district (I think DeSantis’ old seat) so he is basically furniture, he is going nowhere. I guess he and McCarthy had a rivalry, with McCarthy filing an ethics complaint against him. I guess Gaetz won the battle, McCarthy was removed, again by 8 GOP, and the entire Democrat caucus. Seems like a pyric victory, something the CAGOP loves. Gaetz for his part, I hear, really loves the college interns in the Capitol. So, he and McCarthy do share common ground, preying on young women. Frankly, if I were Gaetz, I would just call Boebert; she seems game to drop her panties at moment’s notice as witnessed with her “date.” While some will mention Gaetz is married, that has hardly stopped some in the past.
In closing I will say this. I do not like McCarthy. I feel he is a CAGOP guy to the core, a go along to get along Republican. He is more concerned with “owning an issue” than doing anything about it. Think Repeal and Replace of Obamacare. It’s better to fundraise off an issue than do anything about it. McCarthy was the wrong choice for Speaker, it happens. He is no leader, he is a go along to get along guy, the worst part about him is he will follow up a bad performance by going on Fox to try to brandish his credentials. Now we have a mess on our hands.
In short congress under McCarthy as Speaker looked like the CAGOP I have known my adult life.
The Chief