What a tool!
Kevin McCarthy’s bid for speakership has become a joke. The Facebook memes are hilarious and watching him scramble is decidedly entertaining. After the seventh round of voting, Hakeem Jeffries maintained the 212 votes he had, McCarthy had 201, and Byron Donalds secured 19-oh, and “other” got 1 vote. The “other” in the race appears to be Donald Trump, as CNN reported that Matt Gaetz voted for him. What a tool. McCarthy, meanwhile, appears more desperate than ever to secure the speakership.
CNN reported, as Pete Sessions (R-TX) said yesterday, that the “no” votes appear to be gaining steam. Victoria Spartz (R-IN) voted “present” rather than vote for McCarthy. The number against McCarthy is now up to 21. Ken Buck (R-CO) suggested to CNN that Scalise should take the speakership. He believes that Scalise can speak to the issues that are keeping the “never-Kevin” group going. One of the issues, mentioned by Ralph Norman (R-SC) is that McCarthy seemed ready to shut down the government rather than support raising the debt ceiling. Our economy hasn’t yet tanked, but it is in a very precarious position. We cannot afford for the government to shut down right now. If Kevin McCarthy truly believes it better to shut down the government than to work with other members of Congress to keep it open, he is certainly not the type of leadership that anyone needs. As CNN reported, U.S. debt default would send the economy into a tailspin. Items such as groceries are already high, and most cannot afford to pay more.
According to some Republicans, the anti-McCarthy votes show that “the process works” and that it is “democracy in action.” They opine that if you believe the system is broken, you cannot stay with the parts that caused it to break. In that sense, they are correct. McCarthy is certainly part of what’s broken in Washington, but the vast majority of Republicans are also the reason it is broken. It’s not just McCarthy. Look at Byron Donalds, for example, who calls himself a Trump supporter. Why any Black person would support a racist defies logic, so he’s just as broken as the rest of the Republican party. Gaetz seems to have more of a personal vendetta against McCarthy, but we’re talking about Matt Gaetz. How he was ever elected and remains in Washington is yet another mystery. He accomplishes nothing but shit-stirring. Dan Bishop (R-NC) at least has something specific to say about McCarthy’s leadership skills (or lack thereof): “The fact is that you never see a specific agenda that you know Kevin McCarthy’s going to go to the mat for, as opposed to sort of pablum or poll-tested language, indicated the problem. And it’s been that way for all 14 years he’s been in leadership, with all due respect to him.” That explanation at least makes sense. After the eleventh vote, McCarthy has not only failed to secure the speakership, but he’s lost more votes. Hakeem Jeffries continues to have the most votes; they need to give it to him and keep it moving.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years