Forget 2024, the Real Clash is in Congress Now
The extremist MAGA minority cannot be allowed to score another win.
For new readers, here are links to a few previous posts that will bring you up to date on what the Feathers of Hope network has been doing :
Here’s one link: Wait, Exactly How Will We Do This? (January 28)
Here’s another: Replacing McCarthy - A Progress Report (February 16)
Here’s a third:: Moderate Republicans? Really? (March 2)
If there were any doubts before about how important it is to replace Kevin McCarthy as Speaker, they've been thoroughly dispelled by two events this past week.
First was the Conservative Political Action Conference; and second was Tucker Carlson's broadcast of clips from security camera footage inside the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
For most readers of Feathers of Hope, no summaries of those two events are necessary. Both the CPAC and Carlson stories have been widely reported elsewhere. What’s important to keep in mind is this:
Individual people, ideas and arguments may be ludicrous and nonsensical. But that does not mean they pose no threat. If nothing else, we should have learned that lesson by now.
While widely mocked by progressive/liberal news media, the CPAC meeting featured an array of Republicans who wield real political power in the House of Representatives. The Chairman of the House Judiciary Committe was present, as were other House Members who are part of the radical far-right MAGA minority faction. This was no meeting of principled conservatives, nor did it pretend to be one. It was a pep rally for the most extreme authoritarian, xenophobic, Christian-Nationalist elements of our body politic.
Together with Carlson's clumsy attempt at revising the January 6 narrative, CPAC proceedings serve to justify for hard-core MAGA supporters both their assault on the Capitol, and their ongoing attempts to undermine free and fair democratic elections. The ultimate effect is to further entrench the extreme right radicalism that threatens our Republic. We don’t have the luxury of letting this pass with nothing more than wise-cracks and eye-rolls.
The longer the MAGA minority is allowed to dominate the House of Representatives through their control of the Speaker, the stronger they become. They need to be confronted, isolated and marginalized before they score another victory with the debt ceiling deadline.
Feathers of Hope, unlike most other Substack publications, is not intended to be a showplace for one writer's work. Nor is it meant to be a newsletter, or a forum for debating issues. This site is "a meeting place for activists and their supporters". It's purpose is to facilitate doing something about an issue rather than just talking about it. Currently that issue is the Speakership of Kevin McCarthy empowering radical MAGA extremists.
We already know what’s coming. McCarthy long ago committed to oppose raising the debt ceiling. It was part of his bargain with the MAGA faction that allowed him to become Speaker. But no one else was part of that bargain. The majority of House Members never agreed to hold the national economy hostage in exchange for unattainable concessions from the Executive branch. And whatever drama may precede it, a cross-party alliance will inevitably be the means by which this “crisis” ends.
Or it could be ended before it begins. A cross-party alliance can remove the Speaker with a “motion to vacate the chair” at any time, and elect a moderate Republican Speaker who owes nothing to the MAGA radicals. Sooner or later, this will have to be done anyway. It’s the only way to end the dominance of the MAGA minority in the House, and the only way to restore a normal functioning legislature.
We are continuing to research and refine our lists of moderate Republicans, as well as print and broadcast media personalities who may be supportive of our efforts. In coming posts we’ll be publishing more names, contact and biographical info, along with some suggested themes to use when writing.