"File The Fucking Motion!" Says Kevin McCarthy
"File The Fucking Motion!" Says Kevin McCarthy
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We trying.
Note: This site can also be accessed by entering FeathersOfHope.net in your browser window
For new readers, here are links to some previous posts that will bring you up to date on what the Feathers of Hope network has been doing :
Wait, Exactly How Will We Do This? — (January 28)
Replacing McCarthy - A Progress Report — (February 16)
Moderate Republicans? Really? — (March 2)
You’ve Got To Be Kidding, Kevin! — (April 26)
Escape From MAGA World — (May 3)
Joe Biden Knows How To Negotiate And Win — (May 30)
Is There A Crack In The Wall? — (June 29)
More Sand In The Gears — (July 21)
How Long Is This Journey? — (August 22)
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.
Vandals Inside the House
On January 6, 2021, the MAGA extremists who broke through police lines and entered the Capitol accomplished two things:
They delayed the certification of Joe Biden's victory in the presidential election.
They vandalized the revered building wherein the heart of our representative democracy resides.
Their political accomplishment appeared to be short-lived, as the Senate met later that night to complete the counting of votes and officially certify the 2020 election results. But the vandalism was extensive, and remained in evidence long after the grounds were cleared.
The mob had broken windows, battered and broken wooden doors, cabinets and desks. Electronic equipment, including security cameras and computers, were destroyed. According to the Architect of the Capitol:
“Graffiti was prevalent throughout the complex while historic statues and busts, furniture, paintings, and murals also suffered damage. Two 19th-century bronze exterior light fixtures designed by Frederick Law Olmsted were ripped from the ground.”
Estimated costs stemming from that day's events will exceed $30 million.
So what was the point of this apparently mindless rampage?
How did all the destruction advance the political aims of the attackers?
It's worth considering this question in light of what's happening inside the House of Representatives this month. As predicted, House Republicans (who hold a majority in the chamber) continue to negotiate with themselves over passage of a Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the government beyond the end of September.
Ordinarily, passing a CR while Congress hammers out details of appropriation bills is a routine matter. The majority party simply brings to the floor a bill that continues current spending levels for a specified time so there's no disruption in government functions.
In my last post (Bring in the Clowns), I likened it to revising the expected arrival time of a delayed flight. The pilot doesn't stop flying the plane just because it's 4:37 pm. Likewise, the government need not shutdown just because it's October 1, the beginning of a new fiscal year.
This year, however, because of the presence of emboldened MAGA extremist Representatives in the House, the majority party is unable to routinely pass a CR. Having provided Kevin McCarthy with enough votes to elect him Speaker, the small MAGA faction is demanding that he ignore the $159 trillion spending level agreed to with President Biden last May, when the debt ceiling was raised (the Fiscal Responsibility Act). Not only are they insisting on a lower spending level, they also want extraneous policy conditions attached, including on immigration, Ukraine aid, defunding certain agencies and the like.
Hovering over the negotiations is MAGA's threat to file a motion stripping Mr. McCarthy of the Speakership. Last week, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) explicitly suggested that such a motion should be filed every day. Reportedly, Speaker McCarthy responded behind closed doors, "If you want to file a motion to vacate, then file the fucking motion!" Given the desperate circumstances he finds himself in, it's hard to determine whether this was a challenge or a plea.
The irony here is that while Republicans struggle to craft a CR that can attract 218 votes, everyone knows it will be dead on arrival in the Democratic Senate. The entire exercise is a colossal waste of time as the last days of September slip away.
What's going on here? Why is this happening?
The answer is chilling, but unavoidable.
Just as on January 6, MAGA extremists now working inside the House itself, intend to accomplish two things:
Hold the government hostage to their political demands.
Vandalize the institution of Congress.
It's crucial that we understand both of these intentions. The MAGA faction is not just another minority voting bloc like Libertarians or the Tea Party. They publicly support convicted January 6 conspirators, and openly welcome the prospect of civil war.
All the posturing about spending limits, immigration policy, Ukraine military aid, and so forth is not part of a serious legislative debate. What these radicals seek is chaos and disruption, targeted at the very heart of our democratic republic.
MAGA threatens the institution of Congress itself.
By demanding that Speaker McCarthy conduct negotiations within the Republican Party over a meaningless CR, they advance their effort to shutdown the government.
By refusing to abide by the norms and traditional procedures of governance within the House, they weaken and undermine its legitimacy.
Understanding this reality, it is inescapable that so long as Kevin McCarthy remains Speaker of the House, the threat to our democratic republic will persist and grow. That’s why we do not have the luxury of standing on the sidelines, passively watching to see what happens.
“History does not repeat, but it does instruct.”
—Timothy Snyder, On Tyranny
Reflecting on how fascist, communist and nazi authoritarians took power in 20th century Europe, Timothy Snyder has written a remarkably practical guide to preserving our freedoms. The twenty lessons referred to in the book’s subtitle appear as 20 chapters, each chapter heading worded as a specific instruction.
The first chapter, for example, is called “Do Not Obey in Advance”. It’s a lesson drawn from observing how quickly German citizens in the 1930’s and Czechoslovakian citizens in 1946 willingly compromised some value or another principle in an effort to adapt and conform.
Chapter two is called “Defend Institutions”. This lesson is the impetus behind our work here at Feathers of Hope:
“It is institutions that help us to preserve decency. They need our help as well. Do not speak of “our institutions” unless you make them yours by acting on their behalf. Instituttions do not protect themselves. They fall one after the other unless each is defended from the beginning. So choose an institution you care about — a court, a newspaper, a labor union — and take its side.”
This is why we are here, doing what we are doing.
There's only one reason why Feathers of Hope exists. It is to protect and defend the House of Representatives from MAGA extremism. At the top of every post our mission is clearly stated: to advocate for the passage of a "motion to vacate the chair", so that Kevin McCarthy is removed and replaced with a moderate Republican Speaker who owes nothing to the minority MAGA group.
It bears repeating: So long as Kevin McCarthy remains Speaker, the threat to our democratic republic will persist and grow. Just finding a way to get through the current funding crisis is insufficient to meet the challenge we face.
But merely talking about this among ourselves will not be enough. The point of being a part of this network is to Advocate. That means two things:
Urge political opinion writers and broadcast journalists to focus less on the antics of the perpetrators of chaos, and more on the potential response of problem solvers. Encourage them to write a column or host a TV segment about a potential cross-party alliance forming in the House for the purpose of both avoiding a government shutdown and combating MAGA extremists by replacing Speaker McCarthy with a moderate Republican.
Urge specific Representatives in the House to be courageous enough to take this bold step, reassuring them that voters in their home districts will support them for doing so.
We’ve compiled an extensive list of media and congressional contacts (see Updated Contact List). But for the last couple weeks we’ve focused on just six:
Two political journalists: Jennifer Rubin (jennifer.rubin@washpost.com) and Rachel Maddow (rachel@msnbc.com)
Two Republicans: Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) (202) 225-4276 D.C. or (215) 579-8102 District, and Don Bacon (R-NE) (202) 225-4155 D.C. or (402) 938-0300 District
Two Democrats: Ro Khanna: (202) 225-2631 D.C. or (408) 436-2720 District and Hakeem Jeffries: (202) 225-5936 D.C. or (718) 237-2211 District
You can find brief bios of the journalists here: A (Slightly) Different Approach, and of the Representatives here: Bring in the Clowns
The reason for narrowing our focus is first, to make it easier for our members to actually make those calls or write those emails, and second, to increase the number of calls or emails received by a single office, thereby increasing the likelihood of influencing the recipient.
Our network has grown from a couple dozen in January to 450 members today. Presumably the majority of you have joined us because you want to actively do something to protect our democracy. Imagine the effect of hundreds of calls or emails, all arriving within a few days.
Right now is the time for us to act. And now is the time for our Representatives to do what Kevin McCarthy has asked them to do:
“File the fucking motion!”
(Though we would use more respectful language.)
"File The Fucking Motion!" Says Kevin McCarthy
Is the Motion to Vacate like a Motion to Reconsider in that it must be made by someone who voted in the affirmative or could a pro-active Democrat, having secured sufficient support from both sides to ensure passage, file the Motion and proceed to remove and replace Mr. McCarthy?
It occurs to me that at least part of the problem is most of the House behaving as though this is 'business as usual' when, as you point out, it most certainly is not. Mr. Schumer finally moved past the Tuberville speed bump and it is to be hoped that he will continue along the same path. It's time for Mr. Jeffries and his team to do the same.