It’s not often when observing the proceedings of Congress that one can say that the American people have truly won. However, the recent ouster of Kevin McCarthy as House Speaker, unprecedented in modern American history, is truly a win for the people.
In my January Blog (House Rules) I discussed the challenges Mr. McCarthy faced in being named speaker as well as the concessions and commitments he made in order to garner the necessary votes to assume this role. It’s instructive to review these commitments. Upon doing so one can easily cut through the nonsensical media reports about why this action was taken and decide for oneself whether this is justified.
In my view, not only is the jettison of Mr. McCarthy a just outcome but it will hopefully put other politicians on notice that you can’t continue to obfuscate, lie and mislead the American electorate and not ultimately be held accountable. The sad fact is that Kevin McCarthy is one of the few politicians who, in my lifetime, has actually been held accountable for his lies and misrepresentations and he has been dealt a dose of reality that impacts all people in the private sector who fail to bring value and live up to their commitments.
Certainly, there are many in the Republican party who will view vacating the speakership as catastrophic and a move that will only serve to aid Democrats in their continued quest to remake American into something unrecognizable. While I can understand this point of view, I have to ask what exactly Kevin McCarthy accomplished?
It was only ten short months ago that Mr. McCarthy made the following promises to his party and the American people:
To bring the House back to normal order and debate and vote on spending bills individually instead of funding the entire government through one piece of legislation
o Mr. McCarthy was derelict with respect to this promise never bringing his caucus together in advance of the end of the fiscal year to put such legislation together. Instead, he kept the House at recess for 6 weeks over the summer and when other Republicans began putting legislation together on their own, he sent his caucus home.
To conduct investigations into the Bidens, the weaponization of the Department of Justice, the lack of border enforcement etc.
o While committee’s have been put in place for such activities, it is clear from their operation that these committees are for show. By Kevin McCarthy’s direction, none of these committees have been empowered to truly get to the bottom of any of these issues, and Mr. McCarthy’s actions demonstrate he never had any intention of holding anybody accountable in a government that has become, in the view of many, tyrannical.
To cut spending and begin taking steps to bring the nation’s fiscal house in order
o Mr. McCarthy not only failed to take any meaningful action in this regard, but presided over negotiations with the Biden Administration allowing for uncapped spending with respect to the debt ceiling and most recently worked with Democrats to push through a Continuing Resolution to fund the government at its current spending levels. So much for all his lectures about spending beyond the credit card limit
To bring Congressional Term Limits to a vote on the House floor
o Mr. McCarthy literally took no action on this promise. Not that this should surprise anyone.
These are just a few of the most egregious misrepresentations the American people have been subjected to since Mr. McCarthy took the speaker’s gavel. The list is significantly longer, but you get the picture.
While Mr. McCarthy’s ouster is a win for the American people, the sad fact is that the vast majority of our elected officials are supporters of Kevin McCarthy and you can be assured that they will begin the process of trying to either put Mr. McCarthy right back in the speaker’s chair or replace him with someone of the same ilk.
With few exceptions, our elected officials have become completely insulated from the everyday challenges faced by the American people and completely beholden to lobbyists, big donors and other special interests (a group who along with politicians I call the American Aristocracy) who benefit from uncontrolled government spending, foreign wars, and open borders.
When you consider this perspective, it is then quite easy to understand why our elected officials aren’t serious about addressing a $33 trillion dollar debt – why they’re not serious about addressing annual budget deficits of $2-3 trillion – why they’re not serious about protecting America’s borders and why they’re maniacally focused on providing funding for a war in Ukraine that has no strategic relevance to the United States.
While Kevin McCarthy being sent to the sidelines is a small victory in what has been a long and consistent slate of losses for the American people, one can only hope that this victory is a harbinger of things to come and that it might awaken our elected officials and compel them to put their own interests aside and do what is right by the people.
Do you want to see more victories for the American people? If so, call your Congressman and Senators and pressure them to stop the lies and deception and to take the action necessary to get our nation back on solid footing. Call them now at 202-224-3121.
Tired of the Washington establishment? If so, in addition to voting incumbent politicians out of office there is a way to lessen the damage being caused by lifetime politicians. It’s called the Article V Convention of States and it’s a movement of citizens of all political parties who are tired of the status quo. Article V of the Constitution provides a mechanism for the States to amend the Constitution. How do amendments for Congressional Term Limits and a Balanced Budget sound? If they sound good to you click here to sign the Article V Convention of States petition and begin putting pressure on your State legislators to call for a Convention.