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Dave Conant - MO's avatar

Good one Jerry, especially pointing out that Mr. Jeffries won't likely be the Speaker until we have a Democratic majority. I'm calling my Congresswoman today because we need more than just the 8 to be able to govern effectively and there is a 'key log' somewhere in this jam.

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Kris Tillman's avatar

This gives me hope. Thank you, I’m glad the reasonable people are still working in the background.

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Mark De Lotto's avatar

Jerry - what is your opinion of Austin Scott? Seems like he is a conservative but not a looney.

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Jerry Weiss's avatar

I don't know much about him, but appreciate that he put his name up as someone to vote for instead of Jordan. Like you say, not a looney. That makes him a candidate to join with other not-loonies to make a truly bipartisan coalition that's more than just 5 R's joining all D's.

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Barbara Jo Krieger's avatar

Jerry, The chatter to find a cross-party mutually agreeable Republican candidate for House Speaker seems to be popping up in a number of places. Congratulations! I would note that for good measure, once again, I posted an appeal on HCR’s LFAA to make phone calls based on your list, and the posting has produced substantial traffic.

Postscript: I write to add, in my view, the poor show of support on Thursday for Jim Jordan could also be a devastating repudiation of Donald Trump, who endorsed Jordan, particularly if the House comes through with a consensus speaker.

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Jerry Weiss's avatar

Thank you, Barbar Jo. Your continued support, despite your skepticism, has been so very helpful to me over the last many months. And thanks for encouraging more phone calls to show the moderates that there's significant support for the proposal.

I always thought that if this were to happen, there'd first have to be repeated attempts to do something else. Definitive defeats of both Scalise and Jordan is definitely a big loss for the insurrectionists.

In the long run, it's probably best that the McCarthy's removal was done by the R's themselves rather than by the bipartisan coalition. Had it been the other way, the coalition would have been seen as instigators rather than the proverbial "right thing after trying everything else first."

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Barbara Jo Krieger's avatar

Jerry, Only in the past few days have I started to piece together the process that would have to ensue before a cross-party mutually agreeable consensus candidate could emerge. I only hope that traditional Republicans don’t once again break our hearts.

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Daniel Kunsman's avatar

I've been pestering my Ohio Rep., Dave Joyce, on an almost daily basis. So far, he won't respond directly regarding his running for Speaker, or endorsing Jerry's concept, but he hasn't said no, either. I've also told him that if we find out he voted for Jordan, he's out of a job come Nov. '24.

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Barbara Jo Krieger's avatar

Daniel, While I don’t believe Joyce represents a Biden-won district, I wish there were a way we could mobilize constituents represented by House Republicans from the 18 said districts. Imagine what we could accomplish were these constituents to convey their message just as you expressed it to Joyce.

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Jerry Weiss's avatar

Excellent idea, Barbara Jo. I'll include all those contact numbers in my next post. Thanks.

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Barbara Jo Krieger's avatar

Jerry, I had hoped, while replying to Daniel, that you, too, would see my post.

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Daniel Kunsman's avatar

Barbara, I live in what was once a solid-blue district. Since the Reagan years, it has slowly changed til now I'm but a tiny blue dot here, barely visible. But Mr. Joyce knows my name, and he knows I hold him to a certain set of standards. He does a decent job of upholding them, but I remind him constantly that "silence is complicity". I WON"T be silent.

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Barbara Jo Krieger's avatar

Daniel, Lately, I’ve thought about the impact former Rep Tim Ryan’s recently-created advocacy group “We the People” could have on local elections in 23 and on the General in 24. If you have insights, I’d love to hear them.

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Daniel Kunsman's avatar

I'm sorry to say I'm not familiar with this group - yet. I'm still shocked that my state would choose the likes of jd vance over someone like Tim Ryan, but that's a story for another day! Thank you for the advise to look into this; I will do my level best to let you know what I find out. Here, in '23, we have the 2 state-wide issues, and then local things like judges and school boards. My focus has been on those wanting to be on the school boards, and who's footing the bill for the judges. Lots here in Northeast Ohio to keep our eyes on. Have a great Sunday, Barbara Jo!!

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Jerry Weiss's avatar

As always, Daniel, your persistent effort is great. Don't worry that you're getting no direct response. Politicians, especially moderates, are notoriously reluctant to endorse anything before evaluating its breadth of support. That's why it's so important for people to make those calls. Thanks again.

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Daniel Kunsman's avatar

As Joyce Vance always reminds us, "We're in this together"!!

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