Question of the Day: Now what?
Now that Matt Goetz and a faction of hardline Republicans, combined with Democrats, voted to oust Speaker McCarthy and McCarthy has basically said “screw you”, who will step up to the table and throw their hat into the ring to become the new Speaker?
To paraphrase Groucho Marx. Anyone who wants the job as Speaker isn’t qualified for the position.
The right-wing extremist House Republicans continue to prove former Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner correct when he quoted in his book “On the House” that “Republicans are proving that they cannot govern.”
It is a shame, embarrassing, and discouraging to watch this happen. Let the circus begin again. The over and under is 16 votes to get a new speaker.
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Here are quotes from McCarthy during his press conference following his ouster. They are my Quotes of the Day:
“I don’t regret standing up for choosing governance over grievance. It is my responsibility. It is my job. I do not regret negotiating; our government is designed to find compromise.
Of the eight Republicans who voted to oust him, Mr. McCarthy said: “They don’t get to say they’re conservative because they’re angry and chaotic. They are not conservatives and they do not have the right to have the title.”
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I am not the only one who feels as I do. The following is an editorial from the Detroit News, the conservative leaning paper that has never endorsed a Democrat for president. It was written before McCarthy was ousted. Here are excerpts from the editorial, with my emphasis in bold.
A government shutdown was averted over the weekend in typical fashion, with a last-minute deal that allows spending to continue for a few more weeks, but without setting broader priorities for how taxpayer dollars should be used.
This time, Republicans were mostly negotiating with their own members. The conservative Freedom Caucus wanted deep cuts to the deficit and restraints on funding the war in Ukraine. Democrats were intent on borrowing more money to finance President Joe Biden’s priorities……..
Obviously, this is no way for Congress to fulfill its most basic responsibility of passing a budget, though it feels almost pointless to urge our senators and representatives to do better. Congress has not passed a spending plan without continuing resolutions since 1996……The continuing resolution process is also a poor format for making sound policy……
Florida’s ultra-right Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz is threatening to bring down House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R- California, for compromising on a funding deal. McCarthy did what his job requires him to do — give and take to hold Congress together. Gaetz should recognize now his narrow faction doesn’t have the votes to control the House.
The most important outcome of the weekend brinkmanship is that it gives Congress a little more time to engage in priority setting and consensus seeking. It would be out of character for them to do so, but it is what voters expect, and what they should remember when they go to the polls in 2024.
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During the chaos of the House negotiating a compromise agreement on the government shutdown, Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-New York, was captured on video pulling a Capitol fire alarm, something he says was an accident, but delayed the vote by an hour. The timing of his action is very suspect, considering Democrats were trying to bide time to caucus on whether to approve the compromise or not. I know one is assumed to be innocent until proven guilty, but I wonder what would happen to a fifth grader who was caught on video pulling the fire alarm while school was in session. I hope that Representative Bowman gets some type of punishment for his shenanigans. His actions are not something that we would ever allow our children to get away with without being held accountable for their action. He gets my Onion of the Day.
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Quote of the Day: See above from former Speaker Kevin McCarthy
Orchid of the Day: The weather in Petoskey today. Eighty-eight and not a cloud in the sky. Outstanding for October 3.
Onion of the Day: Representative Jamaal Brown, D-New York. See above story.
Question of the Day: See above.
Video/Image of the Day: Imagine by John Lennon