Kevin McCarthy wins the speakership after 15 rounds of voting

It was a long and winding road, but it was better than the lifeless party "unity" seen in the Democrats.

Babylon Bee couldn't wait: After 15 Grueling House Speaker Votes, America's Long National Nightmare Can Finally Begin   . . . "Finally, we will get down to the people's business of stealing all their money for our pet projects, making backroom deals, and holding meaningless investigations where we yell and point angrily at people to get some sweet sound bytes for our reelections," said McCarthy to the assembled warmongers, rapists, and half-dead geriatrics in the room. "Our long congressional nightmare is over, and the long national nightmare is finally here! Huzzah!"  "Those in the crowd who were still sober enough to stand then stood and cheered.". . .

Also from the BB: Elon Musk Named Honorary Congressman After Making $200 Billion Disappear

What comes next won't be pretty.

Image courtesy of Richard Terrell at TerrellAfterMath.

The Incomprehensible Election for House Speaker   "It is surprising to see the lineup of people who support Kevin McCarthy for House Speaker, given his poor performance as House Minority Leader.  What is far worse is the disingenuousness of some of the unhinged arguments McCarthy supporters are spewing.

"Kevin McCarthy does not have a stellar resume.  He served as House Majority Leader, the number two man in the House, during the checkered speakerships of John Boehner and Paul Ryan.  I don’t hold him responsible for anything he did during that time, but I do hold him liable for his failures as the House Minority Leader since.". . .

It is one thing to disagree on who should be Speaker.  But to trot out smear tactics and panic that define progressive methods of “argument” is a way to truly destroy the Republican Party.  Perhaps it should die, and quickly.  It seems too feckless to me to stop our nation’s downward spiral.

"My theory about the 50 year seal placed on the J6 material"

 Bookworm Room

This theory explains, not just Democrat vindictiveness and secretiveness, but also Republican silence.

. . ."When COVID came along, our political class fell apart. They ran away, locked the doors, and forced everyone else to do the same. Only a handful of Republicans said no. Everyone else…Democrat or Republican…immediately and with great relief greeted these edicts. Nancy Pelosi and Mitch McConnell had the excuse of advanced age, meaning they were at greater risk, but the others simply showed no courage in front of the American people. I quickly refused to wear a mask, even though I’m not a very courageous person; few of them did the same.

"In the same vein, I suspect that much of the January 6 footage shows politicians, Republicans and Democrats alike, cowering in terror when their own people sought redress. Not one of them had the courage to come out and speak to the crowd. AOC made a virtue of her fear. Things might have gone very differently had someone grabbed a bullhorn and spoken up.

"Those videos, I suspect, reveal their shame. Not just an unwillingness to act or hostility to the crowd (although I bet that Republicans, along with their Democrat colleagues, viewed the crowd with loathing), but a craven unwillingness to stand up for their country. None had the courage to speak out for “the People’s House.”

"Democrats realized immediately that the riot would benefit them politically (so immediately it was almost as if they knew it would happen) but Republicans have no excuse.

"In the old days, cowardice was seen as something shameful, especially among men. Now, AOC, proudly cowering in a locked room, is a role model.". . .

All Hail Hakeem Jeffries, DEM Election Denier

MediaWatch  . . ."Then came a parade of happy Democrat quotes. From Pete Aguilar, the new House Minority Whip: "A Latino is nominating for leader of this chamber a Black man for the first time in our history ... We are unified behind a speaker who is an unapologetic advocate for protecting and expanding our freedoms."

"The Democrats expand your freedoms?'. . .

. . ."Meanwhile, to represent the view NPR refuses to consider, Kyle Martinsen of the Republican Party's messaging team sent around a memo on how all 212 Democrats voted for Jeffries despite the small problem that his "record of election denialism is well documented — and thoroughly unhinged." Among the claims:

1. Jeffries declared the 2016 election was "rigged," and a "hoax," and a "cloud of illegitimacy" hangs over Trump.

2. Jeffries called to "investigate (Trump's) so-called victory." He insisted "history will never accept" Trump "as a legitimate President."

3. Jeffries said that "the more we learn about 2016 election the more ILLEGITIMATE it becomes."

4. Jeffries claimed Russia succeeded in "artificially placing" Trump in the White House.

5. Jeffries referred to Trump as a "fake president" at least 73 times.

"Martinsen summed up: "In total, Jeffries denied the legitimacy of the 2016 election at least 163 times."

"CNN host Jake Tapper proclaimed in 2021 that he wouldn't book any "election liars" on his shows. That didn't include election-denying Democrats, because this is CNN.". . .

Some notable accomplishments:. . ."In addition to legislation mentioned above, on April 11, 2013, Jeffries introduced the Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument Preservation Act (H.R. 1501; 113th Congress). The bill would direct the Secretary of the Interior to study the suitability and feasibility of designating the Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument in Fort Greene Park in Brooklyn as a unit of the National Park System (NPS).^[58] Jeffries said, "as one of America's largest revolutionary war burial sites and in tribute to the patriots that lost their lives fighting for our nation's independence, this monument deserves to be considered as a unit of the National Park Service."^[59] On April 28, 2014, the Prison Ship Martyrs's Monument Preservation Act was passed by the House.^[60]

On July 15, 2014, Jeffries, who in private practice addressed intellectual property issues, introduced the To establish the Law School Clinic Certification Program of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (H.R. 5108; 113th Congress), which would establish the Law School Clinic Certification Program of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to be available to accredited law schools for the ten-year period after enactment of the Act.^[61]

In 2015, Jeffries led the effort to pass The Slain Officer Family Support Act,^[62] which extended the tax deadline for people making donations to organizations supporting the families of deceased NYPD Detectives Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos. The families of the officers, who had been killed in their patrol car on December 20, 2014, in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Jeffries's district, had been the recipients of charitable fundraising.^[63] Before the law's enactment, people would have had to make those contributions by December 31, 2014, to qualify for a tax deduction in connection with taxes filed in 2015. With the change, contributions made until April 15, 2015, were deductible. President Obama signed the bill into law on April 1, 2015.^[64]

Today, McCarthy is the highest-ranking Republican in the nation and third in line for the presidency.

Rep.-Elect Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) revealed what they wanted.

The dissenters in the Freedom Caucus were attacked by colleagues.  Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) reacted to the Freedom Caucus voting against McCarthy by using Democrat talking points.  He called them dimwitted and inarticulate, before branding them as terrorists.

Great photo of the moment Mike Rogers lunged at Matt Gaetz by @andyharnik, feat. Richard Hudson holding Rogers back pic.twitter.com/ewoMxoREfQ

— Morgan Rimmer (@morgan_rimmer) January 7, 2023

https://twitter.com/i/status/1611694656449822720

 

Adam Kinzinger joins CNN days after leaving Congress, sparking viral mockery: 'Nobody saw this coming'

 CNN-Minus The most reputable name in news.

  FoxCritics long predicted Adam Kinzinger was aiming for a plum cable news gig following his term in office  "Kinzinger, one of the lawmakers on the House Jan. 6 Committee, was a frequent guest on CNN over the past two years, invited on-air to bash former President Trump and the majority of Republicans.Critics have long asserted that Kinzinger's anti-Trump commentary signaled his desire to join a liberal news network at the end of his term.". . .

What happened to the CNN move toward journalistic integrity?

Anti-Trump Republican Adam Kinzinger revealed in new role – as CNN political pundit (msn.com) 

Surprise: Adam Kinzinger is already a senior political commentator for CNN – twitchy.com Worked his way up all through his time in office.

The only thing that wasn’t certain was whether former Rep. Adam Kinzinger would wind up as a contributor for CNN or MSNBC — it had to be one or the other. We certainly didn’t think we’d have the answer this quickly, but CNN is the lucky winner of Kinzinger’s analysis and insight. Know that CNN will consider Kinzinger one of their “conservative” contributors, just like the Washington Post keeps on staff “conservative” columnists Jennifer Rubin and Max Boot.

 Critics Torch Adam Kinzinger After He Announces He Is Joining CNN (ijr.com)  Kinzinger reacted to a tweet posted by CNN, saying, “Join us in welcoming [Adam Kinzinger] to CNN as a Senior Political Commentator. Welcome to CNN, Adam!” (As always)

"The lawmaker replied, “Happy to join the team [CNN]!”

"One user fired back, “Does this surprise anyone? He was making up fake news while in congress what better place to go than LOLCNN!”

Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger to Become CNN Contributor (breitbart.com)

CNN announced on Wednesday that Kinzinger, the other Republican who served on the January 6th Committee alongside former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), would be joining the network as a senior political commentator. Unlike Cheney, who was defeated in a primary by Harriet Hageman, Kinzinger chose not to run for reelection after serving six terms representing his Illinois district.. . .

. . ."Kinzinger has heated up his anti-Trump and anti-Republican rhetoric in recent days, charging that the party will become a hotbed of extremists under former President Donald Trump’s leadership.

"Speaking with CNN on New Year’s Day, Kinzinger said that he fears for the country’s future if the former president does not get indicted.

“ 'If a president can incite an insurrection and not be held accountable, there’s no limit to what a president can or can’t do. Yeah, I do think ultimately, when we get to where we’re going to go, I think the Justice Department will do the right thing. I think he will be charged,” he said.

“ 'I frankly think he should be. Everything we’ve uncovered, from what he did with the Justice Department to everything leading up to January 6 to on January 6, sitting there for 180 minutes and watching this occur in the hope that maybe, just maybe, that last attempt to stay in power will work,” he continued.

"Kinzinger said in the same interview that the Republican Party is not the future of the country unless Americans correct it.". . .

What Centrist* GOP Lawmaker Gets Wrong About Freedom Caucus (dailysignal.com)

*Centrist? Really?  . . ."If you ask the members of the Freedom Caucus, they’ll tell you. They were simply trying to keep their promise to voters to repeal Obamcare. And the AHCA, contrary to Kinzinger’s claims, did not repeal Obamacare.

"It’s a sad day when trying to keep a promise to the people who elected you has become the most vilified act in Washington.

"Aside from improperly characterizing the AHCA as repeal, the rest of Kinzinger’s claims are simply baseless and petty—not to mention thoroughly unhelpful to a party that must work together to repeal Obamacare, or otherwise risk its hard-won majority.

" 'Specifically, Kinzinger takes issue with the negotiating tactics of the Freedom Caucus, comparing it to Lucy in the cartoon “Peanuts”—always holding the football out to be kicked, and at the last minute, yanking it back.

"Unfortunately, the facts don’t bear that out.". . .

Biden Admin: Jews Visiting Holy Site is “Unacceptable”

"That’s the State Department spokesman demanding that Jews be banned from their holy site because their visits are “provocative”. Muslim violence is not provocative." Joe is a better Muslim than he is a Catholic. TD

Frontpage.com

How do you make apartheid sound good? Just call it the "historic status quo".

"Under Muslim rule, the historic status quo by the invaders was to ban Jews from their own holiest site, the Temple Mount. When Jerusalem was liberated, there was a vocal insistence by the Muslims who had launched a war to destroy the Jewish State and by the “international community” that Jews continue to be barred from their own holy site in the name of the “historic status quo”. And if that sounds too unbelievable, here’s Ned Price, Biden’s State Department spokesman saying that Jews must continue to be banned.

So let me say broadly on the first question that the United States stands firmly for preservation of the historic status quo with respect to the holy sites in Jerusalem. We oppose any unilateral actions that undercut the historic status quo. They are unacceptable. The President has previously underscored the need to preserve that historic status quo at the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount, as has the Secretary. We have done so repeatedly with our Israeli partners; we have done so repeatedly with our Jordanian partners, whose special role as custodian of Muslim holy places in Jerusalem we deeply appreciate. That is a message we will continue to reinforce.

"Historic status quo sounds much better than apartheid, doesn’t it?

"Jews visiting the Temple Mount is “unacceptable” to the Biden administration.

"Ned Price then goes on to defend the Muslim terrorist heckler’s veto and to blame Israel for provoking the violence by… visiting a Jewish holy site.". . .

How can the silliest of Democrats seem to outsmart Republicans?

 McCarthy Holdouts Progress Towards Deal: ‘We’re in a Good Position’  "The House of Representatives will attempt to elect a speaker as House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) continues to try to find a deal with conservatives.

"McCarthy and House conservatives have been inching towards a deal that would elect a potential Speaker McCarthy.

"McCarthy offered conservatives more concessions, which include:

• One member motion to vacate, instead of five.*
• More House Freedom Caucus members on the House Rules Committee.
• Promises to hold votes on controversial term limit and border security bills.

"The conservative activist group Club for Growth and the Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF), a super PAC aligned with McCarthy, struck a deal to prevent CLF from weighing in on any open-seat primaries in safe Republican districts.". . .

*Concessions such as this one I fear will leave Republicans powerless and the Speaker afraid to act. TD

See what is happening now? Democrats Push for Pro-Amnesty ‘Moderate’ GOP Speaker

"Democrats are trying to sneak a pro-amnesty GOP legislator into the House Speaker’s seat."

“I would consider the right Republican, someone I could trust,” said Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Ca), a pro-migration Democrat close to California’s Silicon Valley. Khanna continued:

Brian Fitzpatrick, Mike Gallagher, who actually spoke eloquently on the floor. David Joyce. But there need to be two conditions. One, you can’t have debt ceiling — the debt ceiling debate or shutdown as something that takes the country hostage, and two, there would have to be some agreement on subpoena power. But I’m open to a Republican who could work to put the interests of the American people first.

Suggestion from a member of the party with neither affection for our nation nor her Constitution.TD

Gaetz: If Democrats Join Up with GOP to Elect a Moderate Republican House Speaker, I Will Resign  That would be a two-fer for Democrats, Matt. Win-win.

House Democrats Float ‘Unity Speaker’ Possibility amid GOP Speaker Debate  . . ."On MSNBC Tuesday evening, Ocasio-Cortez tried to drive a wedge between McCarthy and the 20 conservative holdouts.

“ 'I do not believe that Kevin McCarthy has the votes. I believe that a lot of the opposition to him is very personal. I believe his leadership style is incompatible with a lot of Republican members and certainly the Democratic Caucus,” she said.". . .It would seem that the great power behind this teeny bopper prom queen is using her to good effect. TD

Biden Administration Finally Admits How Disastrous Cancelling Keystone XL Was

 RedState

"Just how bad was Joe Biden’s decision upon taking office to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline? We now have an admission directly from Biden’s own administration.

"According to a newly-released report from the Department of Energy, which cited a variety of studies on the economic impact of the pipeline’s construction, the cancellation of Keystone XL cost somewhere between 16,149 and 59,000 jobs. Lost GDP from the project is also estimated to be between $3.4 billion and $9.6 billion.

"Even when you only consider the SEIS, which is the government’s environmental impact study, the numbers of jobs and money involved aren’t small potatoes.

The 2014 Final SEIS estimated that about 42,100 total jobs, or 21,050 jobs annually, would be created if construction were to take two years (direct, indirect, and induced), as well as $2.05 billion in earnings in the United States. About 3,900 of these jobs would be direct construction jobs in Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas. The project was expected to support 50 jobs during the operation. The SEIS estimated that the construction of the KXL pipeline would contribute $3.4 Billion (or 0.02 percent) to the United States Gross Domestic Product.

"The cop-out here still being pushed by the DOE is the idea that the pipeline would only have created 50 permanent jobs. That’s a farce for several reasons. For starters, I’ve never heard of a pipeline that’s 1200 miles long and only requires 50 people to maintain it, from those on the ground to those flying pipeline patrol from the air.". . .

Kevin McCarthy Drama Underscores Impotence of Republican Elite

 Even if McCarthy prevails — and that is highly questionable, as of this writing — he will only have done so by making unprecedented concessions to his foes within his own partisan caucus.

Those figures on the right who have aggressively pushed McCarthy look silly.   "After Republicans clinched their narrower-than-expected new House majority in November’s midterm elections, the only relevant questions for Congress-watchers seemed to pertain to what Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) impending House speakership would look like.

"To what extent, if any, would he return House rules to “regular order,” whereby bills are drafted and marked up in decentralized committees, rather than unilaterally imposed by the speaker’s office? To what extent would he stack committee chairmanships with like-minded allies, and to what extent would he be forced to offer some chairman gavels to skeptical conservatives? To what extent would he direct the new Republican majority to focus on passing substantive legislation, and to what extent would he focus on subpoenaing and investigating the Biden administration? Would the so-called “motion to vacate” the speaker’s chair be restored to the prerogative of a single House member, as was the case for two centuries?

"As of this writing, none of these questions can be answered because McCarthy is not the speaker of the House. Nor is anyone else, for that matter. Eleven ballots in, there is no winner. The race for speaker of the House has not taken this many ballots since 1859 — before the Civil War. A set of roughly 20 House conservatives, led by Reps. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Chip Roy (R-TX), Matt Gaetz (R-FL), and Scott Perry (R-PA), has repeatedly defied McCarthy on ballot after ballot. The California Republican has yielded numerous concessions to the holdouts, but there is still no resolution. It is unclear how the stalemate will end.

"But the mere fact that, even if McCarthy does prevail, he will necessarily have had to work harder for it than any new House speaker in over 160 years, comes replete with lessons. There are myriad cautionary lessons to be found here in the malodorous wreckage: for McCarthy himself, for McCarthy-endorsing former President Donald Trump, and for the legacy conservative pundits who have emerged as some of McCarthy’s most impassioned supporters."

"His political philosophy and guiding principles are to this day largely unknown, to the perhaps-dubious extent they exist at all. True, he is a well-known prolific fundraiser who knows how to work a room full of donors — but what exactly has that accomplished for either the GOP or the conservative cause, of late? McCarthy is best understood as an empty suit and a quintessential Swamp creature — someone who lives and breathes the D.C. game, who is cozy with K Street, and whose main lodestar is cutting deals and expending political capital in order to boost his own political fortunes.". . . Emphasis mine. TD

Tucker Carlson Rips Dan Crenshaw In McCarthy Fight; Crenshaw Returns Fire 

. . ."On Thursday, McCarthy lost a ninth consecutive vote for the speakership, picking up just 200 of the necessary 218 votes. Seventeen Republicans cast votes for Byron Donalds (R-FL) and three chose Kevin Hern (R-OK). The vote came after McCarthy met with the holdouts Wednesday night and made  several significant concessions designed to get him to the magic number.

"The concessions reportedly included allowing a motion from a sole member to force a vote on ousting the speaker, more key committee seats for Freedom Caucus members, a promise to hold votes on term limits and border security, and appropriations changes aimed at preventing another omnibus spending bill. McCarthy also reportedly agreed to keep his super PAC, Congressional Leadership Fund out of Republican primary races for open seats.". . .

How do Republicans hand victory to a party as contemptible as Democrats? Biased media and academia.

 

How Democrats can control Republican leadership  . . ."If nothing gives, will the 123rd session of the House of Representatives see a coalition government?  Can Steve Scalise or another candidate gallop in as a dark horse?  Or will the swamp be swampy and reach some other sort of compromise?  Your guess is as good as mine, but too much delay doesn't reflect well on the GOP's ability to govern.  Lead, follow, or get out of the way."

The bid for House Speaker is looking more and more like a soap opera   . . ."McCarthy's primary detractors were the Freedom Caucus, who think he is part of the problem, the swamp, and not of the solution.

"The group is led by Representative Andy Biggs of Arizona, who has put himself forward as an alternative.  Biggs received 10 votes in the first round, while nine Republicans backed other candidates.tative Andy Biggs of Arizona, who has put himself forward as an alternative.  Biggs received 10 votes in the first round, while nine Republicans backed other candidates."

Reality bites: We don't currently have a House of Representatives  . . ."No serious person that I’m aware of actually believes that this situation will go on indefinitely. But if it lasts too much longer some serious threats to the nation’s stability will begin to loom on the horizon. For one thing, as was pointed out by The Hill last night, if the current majority can’t even manage to name a Speaker, what will happen when they vote on the debt limit later this year? If they similarly deadlock on that, we will quickly hit the country’s spending limit. After that, America would begin to default on its debts and the entire economy would quickly collapse in response.". . . 

Media, Democrats Now Comparing Boring Speaker’s Race to Capitol Riot, January 6    . . ."I’d be willing to bet the farm that, unless you happened to come across a conservative who is dedicated to reading independent media (like The Political Insider!), you will be told by these random Americans that a mob killed several police officers that day. 

"That is patently false. 

"And yet, because “President” Biden, Democrats, and media outlets keep repeating a blatant falsehood, Americans believe it. They act and vote accordingly. 

"It matters." 

Bordering on nullity

 Power Line   

 Twenty thousand pounds of fentanyl. It’s a killer. It’s a flat killer.” It’s a killer, indeed, when you demonstrate that you don’t know what you’re talking about.

" President Biden let it be known first thing yesterday morning that he would visit El Paso this coming Sunday. The visit is notable for two reasons. First, it’s a rare weekend when Biden will not be on vacation. He has spent 40 percent of his term in office so far on vacation. At age 80, the guy needs his r & r.

"Second, for “El Paso” read “the border.” For the first time in his political life Biden will visit the border. This can mean only one thing. Biden is preparing to announce his candidacy for a second term in office.

"This raises the question whether he will be fit for a second term. We can answer that question definitively in the negative insofar as he is not fit for his present term. Moreover, his faculties are declining. He’s not getting shaper with age.

"On Biden’s first day in office as president he undid approximately everything President Trump had done to achieve control of our border. During his campaign for the Democratic nomination he made it clear that he would open the border and he has made good on his promise.

"Biden has dissolved our southern border. The official statistics reflect 4,000,000 illegal crossings in fiscal years 2021 and 2022. The first of those two years set a record that was broken by the second of the years. Nearly 5,000,000 illegal aliens have entered the United States since Biden took office.". . .

Cori Bush Gets Roasted on the House Floor for Her Vile, Racist Attack Against Byron Donalds

MSNBC's Joy Reid will find Bush a blessing, I'm sure. TD

 RedState   . . ."As RedState reported, after Rep. Byron Donalds was nominated for the position in place of Rep. Kevin McCarthy, Bush lashed out, essentially accusing Donalds of being an Uncle Tom who wants to perpetuate “white supremacy.” You know, because black guys are famous for their white supremacy.

"It’s just incredible what Democrats can get away with. Imagine if a Republican launched into that kind of vile, racist attack against a colleague, much less a colleague from a minority group. Don’t you think it might be major news and that it would lead to major consequences? That person would be stripped of their committees and censured in no time. But when Bush launches into a racist attack or Rep. Ilhan Omar dabbles in anti-Semitism, the leaders of the Democrat caucus just shrug. There’s zero accountability on that side of the aisle.". . .