ARE WE REALLY AFRAID OF BATTLES?
Accountability is a good thing
I don’t know about you, but I believe in facts. I am more concerned about what people do, and the reasons for their actions than I am about what others say about them, even if those others are people that I greatly respect.
I have no desire to call out people for their beliefs, rather I’d prefer to think soberly, encouraging everyone I can to do the same.
You may be wondering what am pontificating about. Surely you are aware of the debate over who was to be the Speaker of the House of Representatives in the next Congress. Some have called those that had refused to vote for Kevin McCarthy horrible things, while others have done likewise to those that had already pledged their vote to McCarthy.
It truly has been a tumultuous debate, but the Bible says that we know a tree by its fruit. Regardless of accusations against any, and all parties to this debate, there are irrefutable elements. And they are there for anyone who is interested in seeing them.
There were roughly twenty “holdouts” to the coronation of McCarthy as Speaker. Were they sabotaging our government, as some have accused, or maybe they were exerting their limited power to affect a constitutional outcome?
The answer may differ, depending on which member of the “holdouts” we are referring to. I seek to honor all who are honorable and their honorable motives. I also hope to resist those with selfish motivations, regardless of their position, or prominence.
I find it illuminating that there was once a substitute host for the Mark Levin Show named Inga Barks. She has passed away, but while she lived, she lived in Bakersfield, CA, and her congressional representative was Kevin McCarthy. She sometimes spoke of her opinion of McCarthy while hosting Levin’s show. She spoke of him as outgoing, and affable, yet she was not inspired, or impressed with his actions as her representative, and even less as a member of the Republican leadership in Congress.
I realize that this is just another’s opinion and should be noted as such, but it is illustrative that someone with similar political concerns as mine was less than inspired by his behavior in his official leadership capacity.
Likewise, I remind you that Kevin McCarthy was a member of Republican leadership when the House voted over, and over to repeal Obamacare, (while Democrats held control of the Senate, and Barak Obama was President.) Once the Republican Party gained control of the Senate and Donald Trump was elected President this same Republican leadership never once brought it to a vote. I can’t help but wonder if McCarthy was fighting to persuade his fellow members of Republican leadership to bring this bill to a vote, or did he help to suppress it? I can’t be sure, but I am concerned.
Since the majority of Americans hate Obamacare, and nearly every Republican lawmaker had campaigned on repealing it, why would a bill to repeal it not be quickly passed in the Republican-led House, then the Republican-led Senate, and offered to President Trump for ratification? I find this a little suspicious.
It has also been suggested that many of the “twenty holdouts” are not all that conservative, and I have heard their Conservative Review, Liberty Scores called into question.
If we are to regard their Liberty Score as an important indicator, we might look into what they are, rather than just accepting someone’s accusations.
Some of these Representatives have also had their position on the issue of Article V, Convention of States criticized. Let me first say that I am a supporter of Article V, Convention of States, and I appreciate those in positions of political power who agree, but is it right to have this opinion serve as a litmus test of conservatism or constitutional integrity? Convention of States is indeed a constitutional provision, and it just may be the only solution as big as our country’s political problem, but there are concerns by some constitution-minded conservatives about its ability to protect our government’s original intent.
Either way, I prefer to rely on facts, rather than accusations when making my assessment. I will list the members of “the twenty,” and their Liberty Scores, You can make your own informed judgment.
House members that opposed McCarthy for speaker;
100 Liberty score_Paul Gosar, AZ-09
100 Liberty score_Andy Biggs, AZ-05
100 Liberty score_Chip Roy, TX-21
100 Liberty score_Dan Bishop, NC-08
100 Liberty score_Lauren Boebert, CO-03
100 Liberty score_Byron Donalds, FL-19
100 Liberty score_Bob Good, VA-05
100 Liberty score_Matt Rosendale, MT-02
95 Liberty Score_Mary Miller, IL-15
92 Liberty Score_Ralph Norman, SC-05
91 Liberty Score_Michael Cloud, TX-27
91 Liberty Score_Andrew Clyde, GA-09
86 Liberty Score_Scott Perry, PA-10
84 Liberty Score_Matt Gaetz, FL-01
84 Liberty Score_Andy Harris, MD-01
New Member_Anna Paulina Luna, FL-13
New member_Josh Brecheen, OK-02
New Member_Andy Ogles, TN-05
New Member_Eli Crane, AZ-02
New Member_Keith Self, TX-03
As a summary, we have conservatives with:
8-100 Liberty Score
1-95 Liberty Score
1-92 Liberty Score
2-91 Liberty Score
1-86 Liberty Score
2-84 Liberty Score
5-new members
House members that supported McCarthy for speaker;
100 Liberty score_Marjory Taylor Greene, GA-14 ( the only supporter for McCarthy with a 100 Liberty Score.)
96 Liberty Score_Ken Buck
96 Liberty Score_Louie Gohmert, TX-
96 Liberty Score_Thomas Massie, KY-
96 Liberty Score_Warren Davidson, OH-
96 Liberty Score_Tracey Mann, KS-
96 Liberty Score_Barry Moore, AL-
96 Liberty Score_Troy Nehls, TX-
96 Liberty Score_Thomas Tiffany, WI-
95 Liberty Score_Gregory Steube, FL-
95 Liberty Score_Tim Burchett, TN-
95 Liberty Score_Mary Miller, IL-
91 Liberty Score_Andrew Clyde, GA-
91 Liberty Score_Yvette Herrell, NM-
90 Liberty Score_Alex Mooney, WV-
88 Liberty Score_David Schweikert, AZ-
88 Liberty Score_Russ Fulcher, ID-
88 Liberty Score_Ben Cline, VA-
87 Liberty Score_Ron Wright, TX-
86 Liberty Score_Bill Posey, FL-
As a summary we have conservatives with:
1-100 Liberty Score
8-96 Liberty Score
3-95 Liberty Score
2-91 Liberty Score
1-90 Liberty Score
3-88 Liberty Score
1-87 Liberty Score
1-86 Liberty Score
It has also been said that Mark Meckler was behind this prolonged debate. Some believe his involvement to be less than helpful.
Who Is Mark Meckler? He is not only one of the architects of the effort to “vacate the chair,” causing John Boehner to resign his tyrannical reign as Speaker of the House, but he is also the President of, “Convention Of States.”
Some of the 20 are not supporters of Convention of States, but Meckler is the President.
On Monday, Jan. 9, Levin disclosed on his radio program that many of these conditions had been successfully negotiated before the voting began in the election of McCarthy. He even pointed out many of the “agreed-to” provisions on this same program.
My question is, why wasn’t it already disclosed publicly that these conditions had been already agreed to? Was it a secret, and if so why?
Lauren Boebert said on the Charlie Kirk show Friday that these conservative members had been in deliberation over these issues for months. If that is so, and they had reached agreements, why were they not made public?
If McCarthy had agreed to these conditions, but they had not been publicly disclosed, how could he be held accountable, and what affirmation was there that he would keep his word? Wouldn’t elevating him to the Speaker of the House simply give him enough clout to protect him from scrutiny?
Perhaps there are good answers to these questions, but why have they not been made public long before the first vote for Speaker of the House? Could it be that the reason for the long battle is that some doubted that McCarthy would be true to his promises? Could it be that as Chip Roy has suggested, there needed to be an accountability mechanism built into the rules, and they should be publicly disclosed to ensure the ability to hold the speaker accountable to conservative members of the House of Representatives, and the rules agreed to by Republican legislators?
Hammering this debate out in public gave these patriots the transparency, and clout to hold McCarthy’s feet to the fire.
I say bravo!
God bless you, Dave