Kevin McCarthy Elected Speaker of the House

January 7, 2023 Hunter Wallace Conservatism, Politics, Populists, Progressives 28

My first prediction for 2023 has come true.

After a bit of drama, Kevin McCarthy was finally elected Speaker of the House last night.

Axios:

“House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy clinched the speakership shortly after midnight on Saturday, resolving a historic stalemate that embarrassed and frustrated the GOP this week.

Why it matters: The California Republican’s hard-won ascendancy follows a feud that saw a group of far-right conservatives repeatedly defy him — and could preview a new era of divided government. …”

In spite of the bellyaching on cable television, the new Congress is actually off to a good start. The deal struck between Kevin McCarthy and his opponents in the Freedom Caucus will transfer a massive amount of power away from the Speaker of the House and a handful of powerful committee chairmen who craft legislation in the dark. The Swamp is furious about this because it considers the $1.7 trillion Omnibus that it dropped on the eve of Christmas to be the ideal way to govern in Washington.

Dan Cringeshaw was so upset that he was calling Matt Gaetz a terrorist. Mike Rogers lunged at Gaetz on the House floor last night.

Real Clear Politics:

“The problem identified by the conservative upstarts is the bills coming out of Congress overlap very little with the priorities of most conservative voters. Besides the overall spending issues and the coming fiscal catastrophe that most Republicans want to pretend is not on the horizon, the recently passed spending bill will actually make the border crisis even worse. Reasonable people understand that some compromise is necessary with a divided government, but the spending bill did a lot for every entrenched Washington interest and did nothing for average American voters concerned about vitally important issues such as border security and fiscal discipline.

Under the current system, there is no mechanism for members of Congress to effectively raise these issues. Republicans following corporate America’s agenda cut deals with Democrats who have a similar worldview. Each side gets their top priorities covered. Beyond that, amendments are not allowed. There is no real debate on issues. There can’t be, because besides those in on the negotiations, nobody even knows what’s in the bills. The rules requiring time to read the bills are waived virtually every time there’s a big bill in question. Thousands of pages pop out after secret negotiations between leadership. The vote is then held within hours. This is a broken system. There’s nothing radical about trying to reform it. …”

Supposedly, House Republicans should have just fallen in line behind Kevin McCarthy and allowed the present system to continue in which the average member of Congress has virtually no power to legislate on behalf of their constituents or even know what they are voting on.

New York Times:

“Back in the summer, a group of conservatives put together a proposal with extensive changes to the rules and processes that govern how Republicans run the House of Representatives. For example, we wanted regular, rank-and-file members to have more power to amend bills on the House floor. We wanted at least three days to read and consider bills before we were asked to vote on them. And we wanted to limit the scope of bills to a single subject, so we wouldn’t be asked to vote on legislative “Christmas trees” passed on a tight deadline. We made those demands because the people we represent have told us time and again that Washington is broken, and we knew they wanted to see a change in the status quo. …

I understand the frustrations of Republicans eager to get to work in the majority. But choosing a strong, conservative speaker lays the groundwork needed for the rest of the Congress. Empowering rank and file members to better represent their constituents will only strengthen the work that we do on behalf of the American people, and will put the good of the country ahead of special interests in Washington. …”

This sounds like bad news for Zelensky.

National Review:

“To be clear, from the perspective of conservatives, a weakening of the speaker position could be a great development — especially in the long-term. The scandalous $1.7 trillion omnibus package was an example of what happens when the normal procedures are gutted, debate foreclosed, and committees bypassed, while congressional leadership slaps together a massive bill at the end of the year and demands members vote for it just before Christmas or risk all sorts of calamities. But even if there may be benefits to McCarthy being on a short leash, it’s worth pointing out how short of a leash it really is. He is a speaker in name only.  …

While some of the details are still coming out, he agreed to give Freedom Caucus members more power within the Rules Committee, which sets the parameters for passing legislation. He also acceded to a change to House rules that would allow any single member of Congress to call a vote to remove him from power. Even if it is never deployed, the fear of being ousted at any time will act as a check on him.  …”

Before the 2022 midterms, I was concerned that the Red Wave scenario would play out and Kevin McCarthy would be elected Speaker of the House with a large Republican majority. I was worried that the status quo would continue with committee chairman having all the power and Kevin McCarthy and the Ukraine hawks would have enough room to maneuver to get their way in the House.

28 Comments

  1. No change. At least Gaetz tried. The primaries are rigged, so any real change is unlikely, before the collapse.

    • Lots of change, Dear Rangewolf.

      Congresman Gaetz did not just try, he boldly succeeded in, oh, so many many ways.

      That said, a better house cannot rehabilitate a Federal Government Structure that is so rotten out, even the termites don’t eat there anymore.

  2. The contentious politics over the House Speaker vote this past week were nothing more than a rare American analogue to the politics of having to negotiate government formations in European multi-party political and electoral climates where any party getting an absolute majority of either the vote or the legislative body is rare.

    The last week in the U.S. House could be analogously and hypothetically compared to a situation here in Germany where the CDU and AfD would need to negotiate to form a federal or federal state governing coalition behind a CDU federal chancellor or federal state minister-president. Though here in the real world the CDU wants more to do with lepers than the AfD.

    This is why I like having a multi-country and multi-continental and anything but parochial outlook. It’s why I didn’t squirm like an excited puppy over the protracted votes from the House chamber this past week.

  3. Interesting concessions won by the rebels, indeed bad for Ukraine –

    – “COVID mandates will be ended as will all funding for them, including so-called ’emergency funding’.”

    – A committee like the famous CIA-investigating Frank Church Committee in the 1970s, will investigate abuses by the FBI and other federal agencies

    – Bills will have a single subject, Ukraine war or health care etc, not ‘omnibus’ bills blackmailing the voting members by putting unrelated matters together

    – Texas Border Plan, ‘complete physical border infrastructure’

    During the endgame Marj Greene with Trump on the phone LOL, you can see the ‘DT’ in the photo
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11608907/Marjorie-Taylor-Greene-hands-anti-McCarthy-Republican-phone-TRUMP-line.html

    • “– Bills will have a single subject, Ukraine war or health care etc, not ‘omnibus’ bills blackmailing the voting members by putting unrelated matters together”

      Utter insanity!!! You can’t do that!!! This is Amerika, by God!!!

  4. “This whole de facto civil war that’s blazing in Mexico right now is going to result in our own government throwing open the doors to Mexican “refugees” fleeing that war.

    And both Republicans and Democrats are both going to support it.”

    You are going to get to see more Roman Catholic political action from Biden, McCarthy and Scalise etc. etc.

  5. The underwear and hammers czarina will celebrate tonight and the laughter in Beijing/Pyongyang/Tehran/Moscow will be legendary as champagne bottles clink!
    A Long March fellow traveler of the Grand Old Politburo wing of the Uniparty is in place to sell out the FUSA.
    Forward! Yes we can.

  6. Though Congressman McCarthy is now the face we will associate with speaker, the real speakers of the house will be Jim Jordan, Matt Gaetz, and Donald Trump.

    When I saw Mr. McCarthy beaming at his victory, last night, I thought to myself – he really is a child, because he has nothing but the most pyrrhic win.

    Now that this is done, however, it will be a very interesting next 2 years – because we now have reasonable expectation to assume that they, the GOP-run house,. will both conduct oversight ( a lost function) and expose the hell out of the criminal doings of The Jew England Yankee United States’ Government.

    That, in turn, will affect an already wary populace about what is really what.

    Yep, what’s what the next 2 years will be – a constant crash course on this system, for the Average Normie Joe & Josie – they who have the most studied expertise in how not to see.

    Even so, President Biden will still win the election of 2024 though, because, as they say, he is the most popular president in history – bar none.

    As for me – I will continue to kiss my wife, play guitar, and tend to our garden, all while waiting patiently for what is next to come…

    • Maybe they’ll let Mcarthy rig up some way to bring Renee back to DC so he can resume shagging her.

          • Kinda puts me in a mind of a conversation my wife’s paternal grandmother had, back in the Perote Alabama of the1960s, when she confronted her grandson, my wife’s cousin, with rumours of his homosexual doings.

            His reply?

            I won’t deny it.’ Then, when my wife’s grandmother looked like she had the vapours, and sat mutely down, he added, ‘What, would you rather have me doin’ it with a colored woman?’

            ‘At least it would be with a woman!’ she replied.

  7. One thing I do want to say : though I support Congresslady Marjorie Taylor Greene, she really hurt my confidence in her.

    How?

    Because she wanted to be committee chair, as promised to her by McCarthy, she tried to break the balls of those, like Lorraine Boebert and Matt Gaetz, who were actually trying to do something far more important.

    Though I continue to think that Miss Marjorie has tremendous guts, sit has become clear that she has very questionable judgement and, as well, is compromised by her desire to be validated – either through adulterous and fornicative escapades with various men, or through a desire to get into more prominent positions.

    At this point I am wary that anything really good will come of her, but, I will pray that my take on her is wrong, and I will support her when she rails against the demons in control.

    • Mike Rogers, I’m willing to bet I know what it’s all about. He was on or promised a committee on the house armed services committee and he heard that the other guy wanted to be promised the same thing. Meaning he could be out AND I looked at his district and there’s a huge M1 tank refurbishing company in his district. They also were destroying chemical weapons there, and no telling what other contracts he wrestled that way. He’s afraid of losing them and his job.

    • It may work out better than you expect, Dear Terry, because, given that Speaker McCarthy has no real ideals, beyond his own advancement, and given that he wants to maintain his position, he will likely do an effective job leading a Right-oriented house in trying to bring some lawfulness to this country, OR, failing that, making people aware of what has actually been going on.

      I see nothing but upside for this country in having President Biden at the helm and a now Populists oriented leadership in the house.

      After the next year, no one will be under any illusions anymore.

  12. Boston talk show host Howie Carr offered this perspective on McCarthy: Speaker of the House is relatively unimportant. The Speaker’s main job is to raise money for the party, and McCarthy is a moneymaker. His devotion is to the House. So, while he’s a political hack, he’s in a position where he’ll do some good. Jim Jordan, a favored choice, didn’t want the job, and will be much more useful on the Judicial Committee where something will be done.
    It’s a pragmatic view, but perhaps, according to Howie, it’s the best we got, although he was glad to see Gaetz lead the attack, and the series of votes was good, but it’s time to move on.
    I do agree with Andrew Anglin who notices McCarthy wears a Ukraine flag but no U.S. flag on his lapel.
    Ivan: I’m 70, and mostly apathetic. It’s always “next election, we’ll…” like the Jews said “next year in Jerusalem.” It’s always next election, isn’t it? Ah, THEN, the people will WAKE UP, and…” And?
    Hitler called the Germans a nation of sleepwalkers. They had nothin’ compared to us.

  14. All of the blightwing grifters out there are portraying this as a victory of some sort. Cope sells. Gotta keep those pennies and nickels coming in.

  15. The Democrats seems more organized than the Republicans in 2023. Now obviously the Democrats and President Joe Biden have some problems because it was Antifa thugs and Black Lives Matter goons that launched race riots and violence all over America in 2020. Now magically it’s all mia in the fight now and Democrats are playing generic politics as usual. Seems like BLM did nothing in terms of pushing the Democrats in more of a Socialist direction. So now it’s the Republicans into it over who’s gonna be the fake leader of the House or the Senate or whatever. The Civil War going on in the Republican Party will keep going much worse when Trump vs the Jew looking guy from Florida square off for President along with other candidate. I have no use for the Freedom Caucus…libertarianism is a joke and the enemy of the White Race and Yahweh in general. Conservatives, Liberalism, and so on….all the enemy. Christians should stop caring about the 2 Kingdom junk way of thinking. Yahweh and his son Jesus rules everything. We need much bigger changes in how this country is run and a much greater focus on Christianity and Nationalism. The Bible should the only law of the land. Neither a Democrat or a Republican will ever embrace that and both are against the White Israelite Race. I’ll stick with my Nationalist views and Yahweh. Deo Vindice!

  16. You reckon, speaker mcCarthy has received, advanced “.Hammer training “, from ole Tool Time paul peloso himself…..it is a valid question, just saying…..

  18. Hey, Hunter: Mike Rogers lunged at Gaetz, almost repeating the tussle between Sumner and Butler in 1856. Rogers is from Alabama. Tell us what he’s like; is this typical for ‘Bama? is he YOUR representative?

      • Though I was not sure, I kind of figured there was something wrong with Rogers, when he lunges at a man who is doing his dead level best to attenuate the Dragon over all of us.

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