Remembering To Stay Focused
The circus is in town, and the show is about to start . . .
This week, Act One of the debt ceiling performance began when Speaker Kevin McCarthy met with President Biden in the oval office. Predictably, the media is all aflutter about "negotiations" and who may have said what to whom. President Biden remains adamantly opposed to any concessions and insists that there will be no negotiations about raising the debt ceiling. But no matter, speculation and the prospect of conflict is the life blood of modern media.
The important thing for us is to remain focused on our research so that we'll be prepared for Act Three in May or June. That's when the actual showdown will take place and Congress will have to act to prevent default.
The fact is, whatever Biden says or does this week, and however the press frames the debate, there is zero possibility of a U.S. default on its debt. Still, at the behest of his MAGA minority, Speaker McCarthy is heading full-speed straight into a wall. One has to wonder whether that is in fact the MAGA intention, hoping to replace a discredited McCarthy with one of their own number as Speaker.
Some Democrats have even taken to calling his threat of inaction on the debt ceiling a "suicide mission", citing the history of previous such threats. Those led to substantial Democratic electoral gains. Unfortunately, McCarthy's masters are indifferent to election results and openly embrace the prospect of chaos and destruction. Keep in mind, they represent the same people who attacked our capitol on January 6, 2021.
Sooner or later (hopefully sooner), sensible establishment Republicans will realize that the only solution is to unseat Kevin McCarthy before the wall is hit. Only by replacing him with a moderate Republican Speaker who owes nothing to the radical MAGA minority can this and future crises they intend to provoke be averted. That's where we come in.
By continuing to focus on our work throughout this period of performances and side shows, we'll be fully prepared, when the time comes, to act on the plan outlined in last week's post:
Remember, we are not acting alone here. Many forces are in play. But by making our voices heard -- by being focused, determined and persuasive -- we can urge reluctant moderates on both sides of the aisle to act boldly, knowing that they have public support for doing so. That is no small achievement, and it's what we are fully capable of accomplishing.
I know some of you are very supportive of our effort, but don’t want to write or make phone calls yourself. So I’m asking you to please volunteer for ONE of these specific tasks:
1. Research and help to compile a list of news/opinion outlets and/or personalities, both liberal and (not-crazy) conservative, for us to contact.
2. Research and help to compile a list of Republican moderates who understand the importance of raising the debt limit, and the seriousness of failing to do so. Also, research and help to identify a potential Republican candidate to succeed McCarthy as Speaker.
3. Research and help to compile a list of rank-and-file Democrats confident enough and bold enough to vote for a Republican for Speaker.
Please contact me directly - JerryWeiss@substack.com - to volunteer, or to ask about what doing so would entail. Thank you for being a part of this hopeful enterprise.
Jerry, Considering it’s after 5:30AM here on the East coast, I will be brief. I would suggest your project at this stage focus on persistent efforts to connect with the 18 House Republicans from Biden-won districts. In my view, however your initiative to seek a consensus candidate for Speaker evolves, part or virtually all of this select group is your best hope for getting started.
How about trying to convince a few moderate Republicans to vote for Jeffries? Or to just vote “ present” when the time comes? At this point I think the only Dens who would vote for a Republican are Manchin and Sinema.