Posted on 12/06/2022 10:12:40 PM PST by RandFan
The opposition to Mr. McCarthy’s ascent to speaker is driven by a group of five Republican lawmakers. Despite the absence of a viable alternative, they are determined to use their leverage in a bare Republican majority to make it difficult, if not impossible, for Mr. McCarthy to win the 218 votes needed to secure the speaker’s gavel on the opening day of the 118th Congress.
Republicans are poised to govern with a five-seat majority, which means just a handful of rank-and-file lawmakers could thwart Mr. McCarthy’s election.
Rep. Andy Biggs, Arizona Republican, is leading the effort to depose Mr. McCarthy, 57, who has headed the Republican conference since 2019 and before that served five years as majority leader.
Mr. Biggs, a member of the conservative Freedom Caucus, told The Times that Republicans need “a change agent.” He is throwing his name into the mix as a candidate for speaker when Congress convenes on Jan. 3 despite losing overwhelmingly to Mr. McCarthy in a closed-door vote last month.
“Kevin doesn’t have the votes,” Mr. Biggs said in an interview. “I know he doesn’t have the votes. I know he knows he doesn’t have the votes. The reality is the pressure is on Kevin. It’s not on me.”
On Tuesday, Mr. McCarthy was not sweating about winning the 218.
“We’ll get to it,” he told The Times as he walked through a Capitol hallway.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
McCarthy needs to go/stand down or whatever.
He is done for, surely? Unless he wants to be the first leader to lose the Speaker vote in history...
There are way too many folks that think McCarthy is going to hold folks accountable and challenge Biden and Schumer. They will all be disappointed.
They’re already sparking the new fires that will distract the masses from Twitter, Hunter, Afghanistan, the border, fentanyl, etc etc etc.
All theater.
McCarthy??? Hard ball?????.....ROTFLMFAO!!!
The only “hard ball” this UniParty hack knows is....well....just use your imagination.
McCarthy is a “young gun” same old, same old.
He will want to carry on passing the CRs and omnibus spending bills.
I’m happy to see some GOP lawmakers have had enough of this.
Establishment RINOs are only allowed to go “hardball/nuclear” on Conservatives. Too bad they never do that against Demonrats, but, after all, they are in bed with them.
It’s now the other way around if 5 of them stay strong.
This will be interesting.
Call your representatives. Tell them not to vote for McCarthy.
And who wants to bet that in one of those CRs will be $500mil for the Dept Of Ed and its loan repayment program? I’m saying to will be. Warren will try to sneak it in there and there are easily enough RINOs to go along with it.
McCarthy could do what a dissident RINO in my state of TN did about a dozen or so years ago. When there was a slim majority, he voted for himself as House Speaker and had the entire Demonrat caucus vote for him and got elected. He kept the Demonrat caucus in charge and served as their puppet.
Gingrich or Trump.
Yeah.... and had lobster with Biden and gave medals to the DC Capitol police. Screw McCarthy.
The article says Dems have floated RINO Fred Upton of Michigan who is just retiring for this purpose.
But I cannot see it happening...
Tough guy McCarthy. Sure, he’ll play hardball with GOP rebels. He’ll turn around and play slow pitch baseball with traitors and other Democrats.
“There are way too many folks that think McCarthy is going to hold folks accountable and challenge Biden and Schumer. They will all be disappointed.”
Hell, he had a lobster dinner with Biden last week. That was a big clue. And then the clown today was prattling on about how the Capitol Police saved America from a coup on January 6.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy is a rino liar
Steve Scalise might have an outside chance but it is not clear he even wants the job.
There are three choices the Republicans have
1) Kevin McCarthy elected with full support of the small minority of Conservative House Republicans. In this case, the Conservatives and the Freedom Caucus are allies of McCarthy and have a seat at the table to push the Conservative agenda with McCarthy's support, such as it is.
2) Kevin McCarthy elected Speaker with the opposition of a very small minority of conservatives who are ignoring the political reality. In this case, McCarthy forms a coalition with Rinos and Democrats to get elected. In this case conservatives are enemies, banished to wander the political wilderness for a number of years and have no seat at the table. They will be ignored as McCarthy consults with Nancy Pelosi on the House Agenda going forward. The whole conservative agenda, not just MAGA, will be dead in the water and sinking
3) Someone else than McCarthy. This person will likely need the Democrat stamp of approval to get elected and will be Nancy Pelosi’s sock puppet. Unless it's Scalise, that person will be much worse than McCarthy could ever be and under the reality of the House make up, Scalise would not be much different than McCarthy.
That's the practical reality of our bitterly divided House and slim minority.
Conservatives are fighting over Chevies and Fords when they should just be happy with a domestic truck.
The man should be ashamed himself. I am not surprised there is opposition to him.
How would he be any different?!
A few investigations maybe, that’s about it
He wants to carry on the big spending, etc. Not much would change with him around.
He’s got to go.
McCarthy will win this and the rebels will pay. They can expect their staff to be cut, and their offices moved to the deepest recesses of the basement. Really.
Or McCarthy does the honorable thing and RESIGNS.
Unless he wants to be the first leader in history to lose the speaker vote should 5 stay strong.
Yes, A loser. Perhaps a fitting epitaph...
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