I've written to my Rep in the House, a Mr. Dave Joyce. He's not a Democrat, but he's not a MAGA, either. I think he would be a great replacement for McCarthy, due to his moderate approach, and true legal background. My only gripe with Mr. Joyce is he's yet to speak out publicly against tfg and MAGA.
Daniel, If memory serves, Dave Joyce was Robert Reich’s choice for Speaker. That aside, I would note, while I, too, was concerned that Joyce and every other so-called moderate remained silent as MAGA extremists extracted concession after concession from McCarthy as he desperately sought the Speakership, what currently interests me most is how they will vote on McCarthy’s Debt Ceiling package.
Barbara, I've written to Rep. Joyce a couple times now, asking him, 1) Move to vacate speaker chair, and 2) move to have himself considered for the position. I followed that with a request to Rep Hakeem Jeffries to gather a caucus of Dems to vote with moderate Repubs on replacing McCarthy with Joyce. Rep Joyce wrote back, thanking me for the "confidence of leadership", but wouldn't commit to anything. Haven't heard anything yet from Rep Jeffries. The thinking is if a moderate asssumed Speaker chair, Dems would vote with a caucus of moderate Repubs, and we might actually see things getting done!! As it is, I sadly believe we're headed to a disasterous default that will take years to undo the damage. Of course, just a year after I retired!!
Daniel, writing to Rep. Jeffries is crucially important. Thanks for doing that as well. Be sure to follow-up with Mr. Jeffries' office whether you get a reply or not.
I worry that it may be harder to persuade Dems to go along with removing and replacing McCarthy. Some seem convinced that McCarthy's weakness is somehow advantageous for Democrats because it makes the Republicans look bad.
They are right that it does make Republicans look bad, but it also empowers the neo-fascist extremists who are intent on destroying every remnant of our democracy. That's a much more important threat to both party and country than some vague electoral advantage. We have to continue emphasizing this to Democratic leadership.
Jerry, I've even written to Sen. Sherrod Brown about this, thinking perhaps he would have some sway with some House members. I'm also banging the drum re: McCarthy. Sure, he's a weak sideshow, but with him in the Chair, there is no way we can form a bipartisan coalition to negate the MAGAs. Thanks for the idea to keep poking Rep. Jeffries; I'll get right on that!
Daniel, If this situation doesn’t resolve, I would note that Section #4 of the 14th Amendment demands we pay our debts. Admittedly, were the President required to invoke the 14th, we’d still take a hit both at home and abroad, but the damage would not be catastrophic.
McCarthy is not going to default on the Debt. However maybe next time you decide who to vote into office I would suggest anyone younger than the eighty yr olds running for office, one step from the grave. McCarthy is doing a great job . I am a Texas Republican Conservative.
Hi Barbara. Thanks for continuing to spread the word about our effort. A couple new subscribers have mentioned your name as having referred us.
Dave Joyce (as well as Bacon and Fitzpatrick) voted today for the McCarthy debt ceiling bill, but I wouldn't read too much into that. They know as well as everyone else that HR 2811 will never become law, so voting for it is merely symbolic. Moderates will usually vote the party line even if they disagree with some provisions when it's a strictly partisan issue that has no real-world effect.
The debt limit vote that matters will be the one for a bill that can actuallly pass the Senate and be signed by the President. Of necessity, that one will include both Democrats and moderate Republicans. I'm expecting that all three (Joyce, Bacon and Fitzpatrick) will be on board for that one. And that's when we hope to persuade them to replace McCarthy.
Hi Jerry, Because I believe in your work, I will continue to spread the word. On another matter, I had understood if McCarthy got the bill passed, he’d be poised to demand a negotiation. I imagine we all would agree that permission to pay back money we’ve already borrowed is non-negotiable.
Very well put Barbara Jo -- permission to pay back money we borrowed -- excellent! What's more clear than ever after this vote, is that the Speaker does NOT have the support of his conference. The NYTimes reports:
"Beseeching his colleagues privately to back the bill, Mr. McCarthy repeatedly told them to ignore the substance of the measure, which would never become law, and instead focus on the symbolic victory of passing any legislation to show Mr. Biden they were serious about their demand for spending cuts."
So why would the President negotiate with a "leader" who won't be able to deliver on the substance of any compromise agreed to? Tonight we are one step closer to seeing McCarthy's Speakership fall. We just need to keep pushing.
I've written to my Rep in the House, a Mr. Dave Joyce. He's not a Democrat, but he's not a MAGA, either. I think he would be a great replacement for McCarthy, due to his moderate approach, and true legal background. My only gripe with Mr. Joyce is he's yet to speak out publicly against tfg and MAGA.
Daniel, If memory serves, Dave Joyce was Robert Reich’s choice for Speaker. That aside, I would note, while I, too, was concerned that Joyce and every other so-called moderate remained silent as MAGA extremists extracted concession after concession from McCarthy as he desperately sought the Speakership, what currently interests me most is how they will vote on McCarthy’s Debt Ceiling package.
Barbara, I've written to Rep. Joyce a couple times now, asking him, 1) Move to vacate speaker chair, and 2) move to have himself considered for the position. I followed that with a request to Rep Hakeem Jeffries to gather a caucus of Dems to vote with moderate Repubs on replacing McCarthy with Joyce. Rep Joyce wrote back, thanking me for the "confidence of leadership", but wouldn't commit to anything. Haven't heard anything yet from Rep Jeffries. The thinking is if a moderate asssumed Speaker chair, Dems would vote with a caucus of moderate Repubs, and we might actually see things getting done!! As it is, I sadly believe we're headed to a disasterous default that will take years to undo the damage. Of course, just a year after I retired!!
Daniel, writing to Rep. Jeffries is crucially important. Thanks for doing that as well. Be sure to follow-up with Mr. Jeffries' office whether you get a reply or not.
I worry that it may be harder to persuade Dems to go along with removing and replacing McCarthy. Some seem convinced that McCarthy's weakness is somehow advantageous for Democrats because it makes the Republicans look bad.
They are right that it does make Republicans look bad, but it also empowers the neo-fascist extremists who are intent on destroying every remnant of our democracy. That's a much more important threat to both party and country than some vague electoral advantage. We have to continue emphasizing this to Democratic leadership.
Jerry, I've even written to Sen. Sherrod Brown about this, thinking perhaps he would have some sway with some House members. I'm also banging the drum re: McCarthy. Sure, he's a weak sideshow, but with him in the Chair, there is no way we can form a bipartisan coalition to negate the MAGAs. Thanks for the idea to keep poking Rep. Jeffries; I'll get right on that!
No way in hell they are going to replace McCarthy.
Daniel, If this situation doesn’t resolve, I would note that Section #4 of the 14th Amendment demands we pay our debts. Admittedly, were the President required to invoke the 14th, we’d still take a hit both at home and abroad, but the damage would not be catastrophic.
McCarthy is not going to default on the Debt. However maybe next time you decide who to vote into office I would suggest anyone younger than the eighty yr olds running for office, one step from the grave. McCarthy is doing a great job . I am a Texas Republican Conservative.
And you probably voted for Cruz AND Abbott
Hi Barbara. Thanks for continuing to spread the word about our effort. A couple new subscribers have mentioned your name as having referred us.
Dave Joyce (as well as Bacon and Fitzpatrick) voted today for the McCarthy debt ceiling bill, but I wouldn't read too much into that. They know as well as everyone else that HR 2811 will never become law, so voting for it is merely symbolic. Moderates will usually vote the party line even if they disagree with some provisions when it's a strictly partisan issue that has no real-world effect.
The debt limit vote that matters will be the one for a bill that can actuallly pass the Senate and be signed by the President. Of necessity, that one will include both Democrats and moderate Republicans. I'm expecting that all three (Joyce, Bacon and Fitzpatrick) will be on board for that one. And that's when we hope to persuade them to replace McCarthy.
Hi Jerry, Because I believe in your work, I will continue to spread the word. On another matter, I had understood if McCarthy got the bill passed, he’d be poised to demand a negotiation. I imagine we all would agree that permission to pay back money we’ve already borrowed is non-negotiable.
Very well put Barbara Jo -- permission to pay back money we borrowed -- excellent! What's more clear than ever after this vote, is that the Speaker does NOT have the support of his conference. The NYTimes reports:
"Beseeching his colleagues privately to back the bill, Mr. McCarthy repeatedly told them to ignore the substance of the measure, which would never become law, and instead focus on the symbolic victory of passing any legislation to show Mr. Biden they were serious about their demand for spending cuts."
So why would the President negotiate with a "leader" who won't be able to deliver on the substance of any compromise agreed to? Tonight we are one step closer to seeing McCarthy's Speakership fall. We just need to keep pushing.
Thanks for your help, Daniel. Please keep up the good work, we'll be at this for a while yet.
Barbara is right, Dave Joyce was being promoted by Robert Reich back in January when the idea of a cross-party alliance was seriously being considered. You can find it here: https://robertreich.substack.com/p/david-joyce-for-speaker-of-the-house
Mr. Joyce is also one of my top three choices to replace Kevin McCarthy as Speaker. The other two are Don Bacon (R-NB) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA).
I'm with you 100%, Jerry! And I trust Barbara is too!
I like Kevin MCCARTHY and he sure is a thousand times better than the drunken Nancy Pelosi.