Well, mission accomplished, I guess--McCarthy is done (and I wouldn't be surprised at all if he elects not to run for his House seat in 2024, either). I am hearing/reading that the most likely replacements are Steve Scalise (just more of the same, IMHO), and Jim Jordan. Jordan is a dangerous, MAGA-loving, hyperpartisan politician who will make Kevin McCarthy look positively statesmanlike by comparison.
Just a word of caution about "most likely replacement" predictions. Factions within the House Republican conference have been at each others' throats ever since the debt ceiling agreement. There's little likelihood that moderate swing-district R's will vote for MAGA's, or that MAGA's will vote for McCarthy's allies. Anyone who predicts who'll be elected should be asked to identify exactly where the 217 votes will come from.
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.
Oct 6, 2023·edited Oct 6, 2023Liked by Jerry Weiss
This is kind of a "be careful what you wish for" moment.
Kevin McCoward is gone; Mission Accomplished!
Now what? Hyperbolic grandstanding MAGA-loving Jim Jordan?
What did John Kelly say? God Help Us.
And they do it all in the name of the American People, Conservative Values, Hardworking Taxpayers. Nah, they're in it for themselves. Period.
So, like others here have said, it's time for the Democrats to step up and get behind a sane Republican. Congrats to Jerry and his colleagues for not only leading the charge against McCarthy but for providing reasonable alternatives. That's the new game in town.
What are your thoughts on a consensus Speaker as suggested by Adam Kinzinger in his piece on Thursday, 10/05/2023? Not necessarily a current Rep of either side of the House? Jim Jordan is a definite NO WAY. And he is seeking the job if I’ve read correctly! That would be a worse case scenario than the last 269 days which have been terrifying!
Someone from outside the House being a consensus candidate would also be unprecedented. So as attractive as it sounds to us, that seems even less likely than the already difficult prospect of a bipartisan coalition agreeing to support one of their own.
I continue to see Don Bacon (R-NE) as the dark-horse potential candidate. He's consistently been clear-eyed about dynamics in the House over the last several months. This was in the Washington Post this afternoon:
"Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), who hails from a district won by Biden in 2020, expressed skepticism that any candidate could win 217 votes in the Republican conference alone, surmising that whoever wants to be speaker might have to reach across the aisle eventually.
'At some point, someone’s going to have to give and maybe we’re going into waters that have never been crossed before,' Bacon said, adding that he has attempted to soothe his fellow Republicans and convince them that Democrats are not the ones to be blamed for the current predicament."
Adam Kinzinger was R rep for 12 years, his ideas might be useful to you. I like the guy very much but GOP would not since he voted to impeach Trump and was on the 01/06 committee. Now works as commentator for CNN. Very sharp.
His newsletter was published late on 10/05/2023 under his name (newsletter overall has no name but topic was the new speaker) can be searched by his name I believe. Sorry cannot be more specific. Good luck in your work! We need you very much!
Just discovered your Substack and couldn't agree with you more. The Democrats need to embrace realpolitik or things are just going to get worse. And, we all need to embrace politicians that are willing to work across the aisle to fix what's broken with our federal government. Thanks for this effort.
Well, mission accomplished, I guess--McCarthy is done (and I wouldn't be surprised at all if he elects not to run for his House seat in 2024, either). I am hearing/reading that the most likely replacements are Steve Scalise (just more of the same, IMHO), and Jim Jordan. Jordan is a dangerous, MAGA-loving, hyperpartisan politician who will make Kevin McCarthy look positively statesmanlike by comparison.
Just a word of caution about "most likely replacement" predictions. Factions within the House Republican conference have been at each others' throats ever since the debt ceiling agreement. There's little likelihood that moderate swing-district R's will vote for MAGA's, or that MAGA's will vote for McCarthy's allies. Anyone who predicts who'll be elected should be asked to identify exactly where the 217 votes will come from.
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.
Thank you, Jenn. I absolutely agree.
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.
I guarantee we'll keep trying, Dave.
This is kind of a "be careful what you wish for" moment.
Kevin McCoward is gone; Mission Accomplished!
Now what? Hyperbolic grandstanding MAGA-loving Jim Jordan?
What did John Kelly say? God Help Us.
And they do it all in the name of the American People, Conservative Values, Hardworking Taxpayers. Nah, they're in it for themselves. Period.
So, like others here have said, it's time for the Democrats to step up and get behind a sane Republican. Congrats to Jerry and his colleagues for not only leading the charge against McCarthy but for providing reasonable alternatives. That's the new game in town.
Thanks, Roger. These are not ordinary times, so ordinary measures are not sufficient to meet the challenge.
What are your thoughts on a consensus Speaker as suggested by Adam Kinzinger in his piece on Thursday, 10/05/2023? Not necessarily a current Rep of either side of the House? Jim Jordan is a definite NO WAY. And he is seeking the job if I’ve read correctly! That would be a worse case scenario than the last 269 days which have been terrifying!
Welcome aboard, Judith!
I couldn't find Kinzinger's piece. Where was it?
Someone from outside the House being a consensus candidate would also be unprecedented. So as attractive as it sounds to us, that seems even less likely than the already difficult prospect of a bipartisan coalition agreeing to support one of their own.
I continue to see Don Bacon (R-NE) as the dark-horse potential candidate. He's consistently been clear-eyed about dynamics in the House over the last several months. This was in the Washington Post this afternoon:
"Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), who hails from a district won by Biden in 2020, expressed skepticism that any candidate could win 217 votes in the Republican conference alone, surmising that whoever wants to be speaker might have to reach across the aisle eventually.
'At some point, someone’s going to have to give and maybe we’re going into waters that have never been crossed before,' Bacon said, adding that he has attempted to soothe his fellow Republicans and convince them that Democrats are not the ones to be blamed for the current predicament."
Adam Kinzinger was R rep for 12 years, his ideas might be useful to you. I like the guy very much but GOP would not since he voted to impeach Trump and was on the 01/06 committee. Now works as commentator for CNN. Very sharp.
His newsletter was published late on 10/05/2023 under his name (newsletter overall has no name but topic was the new speaker) can be searched by his name I believe. Sorry cannot be more specific. Good luck in your work! We need you very much!
Just discovered your Substack and couldn't agree with you more. The Democrats need to embrace realpolitik or things are just going to get worse. And, we all need to embrace politicians that are willing to work across the aisle to fix what's broken with our federal government. Thanks for this effort.
Wellcome aboard, Mark! We'll keep at it as long as it takes.