January 7
We tried once, we'll try again
“The possibility of forming a governing coalition is very real. It happens in other mature democracies all the time. Moving away from bitter, paralyzing partisanship requires nothing more than having the will to do it."
On December 5, I wrote to about 30 friends and acquaintances, suggesting that Democrats in the House of Representatives could stop Kevin McCarthy from becoming Speaker. The predicted red-wave had not materialized. And while Republicans did achieve a small majority in the House, voters consistently rejected their most extreme candidates. The tide was turning.
All Democrats had to do was break with the tradition of strict party-line votes. By joining with some moderate Republicans, a bipartisan majority could overwhelm, isolate and defeat the minority MAGA fringe that McCarthy was empowering in his effort to become Speaker. Surely with enough public support, the politicians would be as courageous as those voters who stood in long lines for hours to deliver their victories.
The idea seemed radical, but enticing. Some told me it was naive or improbable. But many more said that it was a welcome and hopeful proposal, and were eager to join the effort.
Over the next four weeks, we passed the word along to others, posted about it on social media. We wrote to traditional media personalities, and promoted the idea in the comment section of online publications. I started hearing from people all across the country, as more and more people applauded our work and offered to help. I even heard from a progressive activist in Canada who shared his experience and advice from working on what seemed like impossible campaigns.
And most importantly, we made phone calls (and phone calls, and more phone calls) to members of the House -- those who would be casting the votes that count on January 3. First we focused on Democratic leadership, asking that they consider reaching across the aisle to form a cross-party alliance. Then we started calling about a dozen Republicans with a history of working on bipartisan initiatives, or who represent swing districts. We implored them to support a candidate who would reject the losers dragging their party down.
As the voting began Tuesday, and McCarthy was consistently short by 20 votes, our proposal started being seriously considered by ever more serious people. While I have no first-hand inside information, one of my correspondents who claims to have a "reliable source", told me that as ballot after ballot was yielding the same results, Democratic leadership was quietly considering the plan, and even had a few names under consideration. This may in fact be from a totally unreliable source, for all I know. But somewhere around the 10th ballot, it seems we came tantalizingly close.
Congressman Ro Khanna, the highly influential representative of California's 17th district (Silicon Valley) appeared on Fox News Thursday afternoon and endorsed the proposal in a conversation with Neil Cavuto. Cavuto is one of the few respected news people still at that network. He even mentioned three names on our list as possible candidates. It's worth noting that Mr. Khana's endorsement was on Fox, not on MSNBC or CNN. This was no random choice.
But "reaching across the aisle" never happened. And we'll never know exactly why. No moderate Republican was willing to break ranks and defy party leadership. That was always the potential flaw in the plan.
Democrats had nothing to lose by embracing the cross-party alliance. But the risks for any Republican defector were substantial. No number of phone calls from highly motivated voters could convince any to be so bold. And to be honest, the Democratic members seemed quite proud of their "unity", despite imminent defeat.
In the end, around midnight Friday on the 15th ballot, Kevin McCarthy was elected Speaker of the House with 216 votes.
Six of the "never Kevin" members had changed their vote to "present", so they wouldn't be counted in the final tally. With the total number of votes reduced from 434 to 428 the winning number necessary for a majority was reduced from 218 to 215. Having extracted every conceivable concession, the extremists finally delivered the victory McCarthy was desperate to achieve.
So what did we accomplish? Was it worth it? More importantly, what's next?As disappointing as the result is, I'm inspired by what happened between December 5 and January 6. We all knew from the outset that this was a longshot, chances of success were slim. And yet the level of enthusiasm for the idea, the breadth of support and intensity of effort, and the satisfaction of seeing it endorsed at the highest level have once again renewed my faith in citizen activism.
In just a few short weeks, we formed an amorphous but highly committed group, willing to work against long odds with only the motivation of possibly making things better for our fellow citizens, and protecting the institution of the United States Congress. That is extraordinary.
When I began this effort to defeat McCarthy, I never imagined the scenario above. I never intended to found an organization, or establish an ongoing network of committed and motivated citizens. But here it is. And the best part is that, aside from the original 30 and a few who've contacted me directly, I have no idea who these citizens are, or even how many there are.
But we are still here, and we are still motivated to work for the betterment of our fellow citizens. And rather than wither, the network has now birthed this Substack publication: a meeting place for activists and those who support them.
The extremists will now be dominating the House agenda under Speaker McCarthy (or more accurately, over Speaker McCarthy). They will need to be confronted and challenged at every turn. Our Democratic representatives will need to be supported on every committee and on every issue. And the integrity of Congress will need to be protected and defended from those whose intention is to undermine it.
This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.