Final Call - Perseverance Furthers!
For the first time in living memory ordinary citizens can influence who becomes Speaker of the House.
This is it. it's unprecedented.
For the first time in living memory we, a few ordinary citizens, can directly influence who becomes Speaker of the House. The margin is so close that if we can produce even a single vote for Don Bacon (or someone else), it could derail Kevin McCarthy, marginalize the MAGA extremists in Congress, and alter the course of American history.
Are you up for it? I'm told there's a Chinese proverb: On a 100 mile march, 90 miles is the mid-point. We are now at mile 95, and are so tired of it all. But our goal is in sight, and to be successful the greatest effort is required at this moment.
I'm guessing that very few reading these words waited even 30 minutes to vote last November. So let's be inspired by those who waited in line for hours, with no guarantee that their single vote would make a difference.
It did make a difference. Their determination has sent the MAGA forces into retreat, and now it's our duty to keep them on the run.
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McCarthy is still struggling to get enough votes to be named Speaker on the first ballot. But it's extremely close. One of my correspondents is a top-tier analyst and vote-counter. She says Democratic leadership is already on-board with the concept of a cross-party alliance to elect a moderate Republican as Speaker. But by her count, McCarthy is only one-vote short of a first ballot victory.
Obviously, everything we've been working for hinges on his failure to get 218 votes on the first ballot. So we need to change a few Republican minds. We can't count on the MAGA holdouts to stand firm. We have to peel off a few moderate votes, persuade them to vote for someone other than McCarthy.
So once more I'm encouraging you to call one, call ten, call twenty Republican House members, however many you can.
(See names below.)
Somewhere among all the 200 or so who've said they'll vote for McCarthy there are those who have doubts, a few who worry about what the MAGA crowd might do. This is our opportunity to start building the alliance we say we want. But we must stay one step ahead.
Many moderate establishment Republicans abhor the extremists, but they want to be loyal to their party. That means we have to appeal to the two things that might tip the scales aganst blind loyalty to a weak leader:
(1) Respect for the institution of the House of Representatives
(2) Fear of future electoral losses
The first of those is exactly what makes a moderate Republican suitable for the Speakership. Loyalty to their country outranks loyalty to their party. Respect for governance and the conducting of an orderly, functional legislature is what they value. And that's precisely what the MAGA extremists seek to subvert. Their proposed investigations and recriminations have no real purpose other than to disrupt normal order in the institution. It will be a slow-motion, non-violent version of January 6.
Meanwhile, fear of future electoral losses is already baked in. The last election was a loud wake-up call. MAGA is dragging their party down.
So our best move now is to contact individual Republicans who say they support McCarthy, but privately harbor doubts about allowing extremists to hold their party hostage.
This is what to say (in your own words, or using these):
1) Hard core MAGA extremists are promising to undermine any effort by the 118th Congress to be productive. And Kevin McCarthy is catering to them at the expense of mainstream establishment Republicans who would otherwise be running committees and proposing legislation. To preserve the integrity of the institution, a different Republican must be chosen as Speaker. Please vote for someone like Don Bacon (NE) instead of McCarthy.
2) Recent election results demonstrate that the country is turning decisively away from Trump and MAGA. McCarthy is empowering the very members who are dragging the party down. If they are allowed to hold the spotlight with a succession of ugly hate-filled investigations through 2024, that will be the face of the Republican Party next time around. A blue wave will be inevitable. So to avoid massive losses in 2024, a different Republican must be chosen as Speaker in 2023. Please vote for someone like Don Bacon (NE) instead of McCarthy.
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You don't have to stand in line to honor those who did. You don't have to spend hours to protect the victories of those who did. All you have to do is pick up your phone and make a few calls.
It's up to us. It always has been.
Rarely is the path so clear, the moment so urgent, as it is today. Now's rhe time.
As ever, please pass this on to your contacts and ask them to pass it on to theirs.
Remember what 'Scoop' Nisker used to say:
"If you don't like the news, go out and make some of your own."
Here are names and numbers of Republicans who voted for the Respect For Marriage Act and were re-elected last month:
Don Bacon.... (202) 225-4156. Kelly Armstrong.....(202) 225-2611.
Ken Calvert.... (202) 225-1986. Kat Cammack.... (202) 225-5744.
Mike Carey.... (202) 225-2015. John Curtis.... (202) 225-7751.
Tom Emmer.... (202) 225-2331. Brian Fitzpatrick.... (202) 225-4276.
Mike Gallagher.... (202) 225-5665. Andrew Garbarino.... (202) 225-7896.
Mike Garcia.... (202) 225-1956. Carlos Giminez(202) 225-2778.
Tony Gonzales.... (202) 225-4511. Anthony Gonzalez.... (202) 225-3876.
Ashley Hinson.... (202) 225-2911. Darrell Issa.... (202) 225-5672.
Dave Joyce.... (202) 225-5731. Nancy Mace.... (202) 225-3176.
Nicole Maliotakis.... (202) 225-3371. Marionette Miller-Meeks.... (202) 225-6576.
Blake Moore.... (202) 225-0453. Dan Newhouse.... (202) 225-5816.
Jay Obernolte.... (202) 225-5861. Mike Simpson.... (202) 225-5531.
Brian Steil.... (202) 225-5031. Chris Stewart.... (202) 225-3031.
Michael Turner.... (202) 225-6465. David Valadao.... (202) 225-4695.
Ann Wagner.... (202) 225-1621. Mike Waltz.... (202) 225-2706.