Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-CA. (Photo: kevinmccarthy.house.gov)
CA Rep. Tom McClintock Explains The Republicans’ Challenge
While John Boehner and Paul Ryan almost always pushed the conference to the left, McCarthy has usually tried to push the conference to the right
By Tom McClintock, January 5, 2023 4:10 pm
Two irresistible forces are converging over the election of a Speaker of the House. One is simple math; the other is the full weight of history.Republicans are only in the majority if they vote as a majority. In a House divided between 222 Republicans and 212 Democrats, any five Republican dissidents can forfeit that majority at any time and on any issue.The single most important issue is the election of the Speaker, which determines the agenda of the entire House. In November, House Republicans voted 188 to 31 to elect Kevin McCarthy as Speaker: an 85 percent blow-out. But under the new doctrine propounded by the dissidents, no Republican can be elected Speaker of the House without receiving 98 percent of the Republican vote. That is a practical impossibility.Ironically, the dissidents are conservatives. Yet out of 222 members, it would not be hard to find five of the most liberal Republicans who would be willing, for the reward of the Speakers office and all its prerogatives, to enter into a power-sharing arrangement with the Democrats. It happened in California in 1995 and is already being discussed openly right now.Churchill once said that “Democracy is the occasional necessity of deferring to the opinions of others.” Never has that been more necessary than for House Republicans in electing a Speaker.And that brings us to the weight of history that is bearing down on us. The fate of Rome warns that even the strongest civilizations cannot survive the debasement of their currency, the disintegration of their constitutional principles and the collapse of their borders. Like it or not, despite our imperfections and peccadillos, the 222 House Republicans are all that stand between America and a similar fate. The momentous question the dissenters must face is whether they are willing to forfeit the Republican majority and allow the rot to continue another two years.Is McCarthy conservative enough? A legislative leader is not a free agent. A legislative leader must represent the entire membership of their party. They can never be as conservative as conservatives would like or as liberal as liberals would like. There is a limit to how far a legislative leader can push his caucus. But while John Boehner and Paul Ryan almost always pushed the conference to the left – McCarthy has usually tried to push the conference to the right. While Paul Ryan worked to actively undermine the policies of the Trump Administration, Kevin McCarthy always backed them. And whatever you think about Trump personally, his policies worked.Within the Republican conference, House Republicans must heed Lincoln’s plea that “We are friends, not enemies. We must never be enemies.” We need to avoid harsh words and threats and recriminations among ourselves. That is an indulgence we cannot afford.And outside the Republican conference, we cannot succumb to the temptation of disunity. We should treat our deliberations with the same sobriety and seriousness as the American Founders did the Constitutional Convention. Once the passionate differences among the Founders were hashed out, Benjamin Franklin’s concluded their proceedings with these words, “I cannot help expressing a wish that every member of the Convention who may still have objections, would with me, doubt a little of his own infallibility and to make manifest our unanimity.”
This article, published with permission of Rep. Tom McClintock, was originally published in the Washington Times.
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Tom, you are wrong here McCarthy is of Paul Ryan ilk – McCarthy won’t stand up against the Democrats – We have seen that play before – he folds like a cheap suit and will stymie any border wall like idea because its a solution and DC don’t want solutions they want problems to continue. He will bend to democrats just like Ryan and Boehner we the people are TIRED of this type of GOP – If this where you stand then I regret voting for you and I hope Kevin Kiley wakes up too.
Kevin McCarthy is a spineless weasel! The Republican party does not care about governing it’s all about grievance. The modern Republican party is a joke. It truly is a clown show. You have so many members who only care about generating sound bites so they can get on Fox News. The Republican party does not care about the rule of law, the Constitution or democracy. When Donald Trump is the leader of your party that is a problem. He is the most corrupt, criminal, incompetent lying person to ever occupy the White House. Your party had a chance to purge him but instead you embolded him. Your party is becoming more fascist like everyday. You have many members of your party who have no problem using political violence to gain their way. I would like to know what went wrong?
You sir, are blind to democrat they want total CONTROL OVER THE PEOPLE, Trump if he was such the criminal after 6+ years of investigations with countless enemies he is by far cleanest person to hold office. Democrats act like Bolsheviks where they like stalin of the past go to no ends to silence opposition (see twitter files obvious communist tactics to censor), they continue attacks on any influencer from Conservative side, and have weaponized FBI, CIA, DOJ, and IRS against those that do not see their agenda — that is not America that is USSR-CCP type world — that is the DEMOCRATS GOAL.
a little Orwellianism – which party is changing words and erasing history —> Democrats
Meh, Tom McClintock is one of the reasons why we have the Biden regime in power today. He voted to certify the stolen 2020 presidential election and he refused to investigate any of the blatant voter fraud. He’s one of the deep-state establishment McRinos (Kevin McCarthy, Ronna McDaniel, Mitch McConnell) and he needs to retire. No doubt he’s amassed quite a fortune while being in office?
Tom McClintock asks whether Kevin McCarthy is conservative enough? Well, according to Liberty Score, powered by the Conservative Review, Kevin McCarthy gets an “F” on supporting conservative principles. In contrast, all of the GOP Representatives who have received 10 votes or more for Speaker are much higher ranked than McCarthy. There are too many RINOs in the Republican party like Kevin McCarthy who use conservative talking points while running for office to get elected and then become part of the Democrat/Republican uniparty swamp once they get into office. Traitorous RINOs like Kevin McCarthy are the reason that many have fled the Republican party to become independents?
Totally over the top defense of a swamp rat and member of the WEF. In case anyone is ignorant of the WEF’s agenda it is the destruction of the USA and the Human Race. Being a member of the WEF should automatically exclude McCarthy from being in Congress. Voting to further the WEF agenda is TREASON.
Once upon a time I thought McClintock was a patriot and conservative. At least now I know never to vote for him again. Why not promote AOC for speaker? At least you would be honest instead of masking selling out with high sounding words.
I don’t think any rep from CA should get the speaker position! Especially after what Pelosi, the other swamp majority speaker did to this country during her term. People are fleeing CA, CA is losing seats in Congress and you want to reward CA? No not again. We fled CA and I do not want another rep from CA. I think we need a rep from another border state, understands the broken border, or from a truly conservative state like Florida. The state I moved to is run by republicans but they are swampy. Time for McCarthy and rhino to go as rhinos helped destroy this country and CA in particular. Can we say Arnie?
Yea really, the GOP in CA is totally pathetic and beholden to financial interests and in return, we get nothing except hatred for voting for a losing team over and over. Maybe McCarthy is going to be the speaker but I do not care that this gets dragged out. McCarthy should know how disliked he is and how much the base will keep an eye on his RINO moves, those are coming. I consider this entire presidential term to be a total loss whose purpose only serves to activate more normies at the city, county, and State levels across the USA.
It was reported in the news today that Democrat Maxine Waters got into a shouting match with the 20 Republicans who have voted against Kevin McCarthy for House speaker. She got up and pointed her finger at them and demanded that they get their acts together and vote for him–or else. When a corrupt deep-state Democrat like Maxine Waters supports Kevin McCarthy, it shows how much of a deep-state swamp rat he is?