After The Fall
That was abrupt. Now what?
Feathers of Hope is a network of ordinary citizens committed to advocating for the removal and replacement of Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House, thereby diminishing the power and influence of MAGA extremists in the chamber.
We have been urging moderate Republicans and Democrats in the House of Representatives to form a temporary bipartisan majority voting bloc for the purpose of passing a motion to “vacate the chair” and elect a new Republican Speaker who owes nothing to the minority MAGA group.
Note: This site can also be accessed by entering FeathersOfHope.net in your browser window
How should we understand this moment?
As described at the top of regular posts on this site, Feathers of Hope is a network of citizens “committed to advocating for the removal and replacement of Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House, thereby diminishing the power of MAGA extremists in the chamber.”
Wednesday morning we awoke to a world where the removal of Speaker McCarthy had come to pass. And while that part of our effort has been realized, the other portion remains to be accomplished.
For the time being, the power of MAGA extremists is not diminished. To the contrary, it is enhanced.
Our mission had been to persuade moderate Republicans and Democrats to form a bipartisan voting block, so as to themselves remove Mr. McCarthy and re-claim their power from the far-right minority.
So are we half-way to our goal, or further away than before?
Among the progressive/liberal commentariat, there is an unmistakeable sense of triumph, or perhaps just schadenfreud, at the sight of Kevin McCarthy’s humiliation. Post-mortems accurately describe his spectacular fall as being inevitable, the predictable result of acceding to whatever pressure is strongest at any one moment. Having betrayed everyone at one point or another during his tenure as Speaker, he could not count on anyone when it mattered most.
Democrats are clearly united behind the leadership of Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY). It was a moment of justifiable pride for the party, watching every single Democrat vote “yay” on the motion to vacate. And yet today, there is a troubling lack of conviction about what should happen next.
Fears that MAGA will continue to hold a strangle-hold over the Republican party mix with expectations that the obvious inability of Republicans to govern will yield a Democratic electoral advantage next November. Consequently, there’s a growing sentiment to keep our distance from the coming contest for Speaker. The thinking seems to be that a brawl among Republicans is good for Democrats, and therefore it should be allowed to proceed without any intervention or offer of assistance.
That would be a serious mistake.
Democrats have to take responsibility, not just watch from a distance.
When Kevin McCarthy observed that MAGA extremists want to "burn the whole place down," he was right of course. But what he clearly misunderstood is that this is not a metaphor. What’s happening right now is not just a political dispute between factions.
It is an assault on the institution of the House of Representatives.
In effect, it's a continuation of the January 6 attack, only this time being mounted from inside the chamber. The MAGA-affiliated members responsible for the chaos proudly support convicted January 6 conspirators and openly advocate civil war. Bringing the work of the House of Representatives to a halt is precisely the point.
That means Democrats are being called upon to defend our essential institution of self-government on their own. This is no time to rely on the usual calculations of party advantage, if the result is 15 months of a grievously wounded and dysfunctional House.
Keep in mind too that the Speaker of the House is next, after Vice-President Harris, in the line of presidential succession. Should the worst happen, we could have a Trump-allied President of the United States, commander-in-chief of American military forces.
To be blunt, assassinations have been committed by lone gunmen with little training. A double assassination is by no means beyond the limits of a sophisticated and committed team, particularly if they are willing to die in the attempt.
We can not just keep crossing our fingers that no threat will emerge, no crisis will develop, and we’ll somehow get by without a functional House of Representatives. Those who argue that the spectacle of a floundering Republican party will improve Democratic electoral prospects a year from now are not wrong. But they overlook the consequences of allowing this MAGA attack to continue. A weak and helpless People's House is a threat to the viability of our democratic republic, and cannot be tolerated.
Democrats must lead, not wait to be asked for their help.
This is not a call for an attempted power-grab. That would only add to the chaos. It's a call for Democrats to proactively offer their support for a non-MAGA, non-McCarthy-allied, establishment Republican to seek the Speakership. That person would be able to conduct the affairs of the House with a strong bipartisan majority, marginalizing the extremists and returning normal order to the chamber.
This is consistent with our mission, and is what we should advocate as vigorously as we have been doing all along.
Contact political journalists, broadcast media personalities, writers, bloggers, influencers, particularly those on our Updated Contact List here
Post in the comment section of online publications, and on social media
Call or write directly to members of Congress, particularly these eight:
Don Bacon (R-NE): (202) 225-4155 D.C. or (402) 938-0300 District
Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA): (202) 225-4276 D.C. or (215) 579-8102 District
Mike Gallagher (R-WI): (202) 225-5665 D.C. or (920) 301-4500 District
David Joyce (R- OH): (202) 225-5731 D.C. or (440) 352-3939 District
Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY): (202) 225-5936 D.C. or (718) 237-2211 District
Ro Khanna (D-CA): (202) 225-2631 D.C. or (408) 436-2720 District
Katherine Clark (D-MA): (202) 225-2836 D.C. or (617) 354-0292 District
Pramila Jayapal (D-WA): (202) 225-3106 D.C. or (206) 674-0040 District
This is a network of ordinary citizens. In a democracy, we exercise our power by raising our voices. To be silent is to be powerless.
Per Beau of the Fifth Column: Rule 303--if you have the means to act, you have the responsibility to act. Democrats, are you listening? You cannot sit on your hands while the extremists try to burn the place down. That plays into the hands of dark money like Charles Koch.
I'll cut Mr. Jeffries some slack and allow for the possibility that he's waiting for his senior advisor to get back from San Francisco and recover from the burial of her longtime friend. After that, he'll have about 30 calendar days to get a Speaker elected, pass another CR, support for Ukraine, and finalize 12 realistic appropriations bills that closely match what the Senate has approved. There won't be a lot of support from this from either the political or the media establishments because they've both come to depend on an ongoing state of controversy for easy stories and plentiful fundraising opportunities. One hopes that our continuing to press the issue in growing numbers will result in some very outside the box activity.