In an unprecedented event, the Speaker of the House was ousted by members of his OWN PARTY! Let’s talk about it before this gets forgotten in the news cycle.
For the first time in U.S. History the Speaker of the House seat has been voted out of office. That was a couple of days ago.
On Tuesday, October 3, 2023 Republican Representative and Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy was voted out of his post. This is the first time in the history of the United States of America that a Speaker of the House has been essentially fired, and the majority vote included his own party no less. Yes, the fragmented Republican voted out his own leader.
Granted that this historical moment occurred on Tuesday, but the following Wednesday and Thursday have not been any less bizarre. In fact, I have been trying to start this article more than a few times since Tuesday. But just as I am starting to write something, there are other breaking news and additional news that add to the context. If you are familiar with my writing style, I will never sacrifice exactitude for the sake of brevity. Afterall, these articles are meant to be a chronical portrait – an instant in our American history. I will aways choose to add important [and relevant] data points to the discussion if it provides a better understanding.
So what is going on?
Today all these news will seem bizarre, and in years from now when we revisit this time frame – it will likely remain bizarre. Dare I say, exceedingly frustrating. I have to admit, it is actually frustrating even right now. Why? There are very important situations in the crux of our world history, and with America being front and center of all this massive paradigm. And when we see something that most pundits would characterize as political theater the whole situation is distracting. Most importantly it is a win for other regimes who do not particularly like America, and they point at our political discourse as a win for their own governing style.
And to be clear this situation with Kevin McCarthy being ousted has been telegraphed for a long time. How long might some would ask? Well, for some of us who saw the writing on the wall, pretty much from the time he ran for the position as Speaker of the House. McCarthy also made history back then when it took 15 ballots for him to be elected in January 2023. And that was only after a handful of Republicans voted “present” to lower the vote threshold. Not a promising start… a bit ominous, perhaps?
The votes were of course divided through party lines. Since the House of Representatives had a slim Republican Majority, all Democrats voted against McCarty and in favor of Representative (D) Hakeem Jeffries of NY, who was serving also as the Minority Leader. Representative (R) Kevin McCarthy of California who was the Majority Leader was still short even within his own party. There was also a group of so called MAGA Republicans, which includes Representative (R) Matt Gaetz of Florida. The latter is the Representative who started the process to outs McCarthy out of his post.
So just to recap, these are the six Republicans who were blocking McCarthy from being elected in the first place. Yes, you will see some familiar names in this article:
– Rep. (R) Andy Biggs – AZ
– Rep. (R) Lauren Boebert – CO
– Rep. (R) Eli Crane – AZ
– Rep. (R) Matt Gaetz – FL
– Rep. (R) Bob Good – VA
– Rep. (R) Matt Rosendale – MT
So, is this surprising? Not at all, in fact I wrote previous articles on how this rocky relationship unsustainability seemed not as a matter of if but when. Unsurprisingly, many Republicans are not happy with Gaetz at all because of this move. And the more I learn how this came to be, the more discombobulated this entire situation has been evolving, it is actually mind-bending. Many of Gaetz fellow Republicans had some very poignant words to describe him. These include but not limited to “pathetic, charlatan, creepy.” Hey, their words, not mine. It did not help that each time Gaetz would do a political stunt like this he would use it as a fund-raiser. And yes, he has been called out to his face on that – by other Republicans, no less. And yes, in the House floor.
So how did he get this much “love” from his cadre? Well, for instance Republican Representative Matt Gaetz put a Republican Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy in a precarious situation as Gaetz spearheaded a cadre of 21 Republicans who were pretty much onboard with shutting the government just a few days ago. To keep the government open, McCarthy had no choice but to team up with the Democrats in order to get enough votes in order to secure the decision for the Government not be shut down at the 11th hour. Gaetz complained in front of the entire world that McCarthy did wrong by teaming up with the Democrats; yet Gaetz will immediately move to push for a motion to vacate the Speaker of the house position, and was able to do so by getting the Democrats to vote to vacate the Republican Speaker of the House in addition to the eight Republicans who also voted against McCarthy.
Yes, that happened… it would be funny if it wasn’t so weird. Eight Republicans joined the Democrats to vote Republican Representative Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House. The final tally was 216 to 210. In the meantime Republican Representative Patrick McHenry of North Carolina is serving as the “Speaker in the Interim.”
In case you are wondering who are the Republicans who voted to take the seat away from McCarthy, these are the names (you’ll see some familiar names from the government shutdown vote):
– Rep. (R) Matt Gaetz – FL (no surprise there, he started all this)
– Rep. (R) Andy Biggs – AZ
– Rep. (R) Tim Burchett – TN
– Rep. (R) Eli Crane – AZ
– Rep. (R) Bob Good – VA
– Rep. (R) Nancy Mace – SC
– Rep. (R) Matt Rosendale – MT
And in case you were wondering if the majority of Republicans in the House of Representatives are upset at Matt Gaetz, then your assertions are spot on. McCarthy himself during his rather sad “farewell from the House Speaker” seat speech had a few choice words against Gaetz. Among other epithets, it seems that “charlatan” is one of those that fellow Republicans seem have it trending. There has been some chatter about trying to outs Gaetz as well. To be honest, I would not be surprised. Seeing the political discourse devolve from afar seems like a bizarre new normal. I have to admit I am looking forward to a time when the prestige of what the House of Representatives is supposed to be returns to that point of proper decorum.
McCarthy also had a few choice words against the other Republicans who ousted him, and of course he had no love for the Democrats. No surprise on the latter.
But back to the House of Representatives decorum, even if they disagree in policy, that is why debates in the House floor are part of the process. However, political theater is not conducive to address all the other important factors our country needs to resolve. And I say factors, because these issues are multipliers. However, this bizarre political theater, to include this civil-war among republicans in their own party remain very divisive. I am concerned that the reason why more people seem to be paying attention to politics is because it is resembling a reality show. That is not good news for the prestige of our country at a macro geopolitical stance. The good news is that another election is around the corner and hopefully this political theater will also serve to drive more positive change support to the polls.
What do I mean? You might or might not be surprised to learn that a lot of Americans decide to stay home instead of going to the polls and vote. And sadly, a pretty sizable group of people who actually goes to the polls and vote are misinformed about actual policies and the candidate’s platform and doctrines. It is not unusual for a lot of people to vote on political affiliation rather than actual grasp on policy. And by policy, I mean truly understanding their candidate of choice, and their opposition platforms (as in plural).
The intricacies of the political process are indeed complex, but that does not mean that we can all participate with knowledge in the process. I envision an opportunity for our country to stop this bizarre political theater in this sacred chamber that is meant to represent our country. The rest of the world is paying attention. They use these spectacles as exhibit “A” to try to frame the mighty U.S. of A. as a dysfunctional and failing governing system. Yes, our political discourse travels a lot farther than our domestic policy. The world pays attention to what the Leading nation in the world does – and how they conduct business. The good, the bad and the bizarre.
Do you know who is happy when we fight with political theater? Well, I said it already but it is worth repeating. The Regimes who do not want America to remain the leader of the world. The process is arduous, but it has been in motion for quite a while. And it started with eroding our trust in our government and institutions. If these are errored beyond repair, then any other dysfunctional type movement system will seem “justified” to act with impunity. In other words, a new normal will percolate. I’m oversimplifying for the sake of succinctness, but we have to understand that is the responsibilities we hold as the leading nation in the world stage.
What is next?
Who knows? Seriously, I think I will have to continue writing updates on this case. I was even seeing reports that there is a group of Republicans who want to nominate former President Donald Trump as a Speaker of the House. And guess what? Despite all the criminal and civil cases against Trump, that situation is not that far from possible. Yes, I am serious.
And by the way, Trump did have a bad day on his civil court for fraud in New York. I’ll write another article about that at some point, I am sure there will be plenty to dissect. But the trail is ongoing so you can look forward to that once we know how it will end. But the point is that McCarthy ousting even overshadowed the fact that the former President of these United States was sitting in civil court today and the fact he was issued a gag order by the judge. Yeah, that is pretty unique too. Regardless, Trump did state that he would be willing to assume the position of Speaker of the house if drafted.
But he (Trump) is not the only one eye-balling the Speaker of the House seat. Republican Representative Jim Jordan from Ohio is perhaps the most news-acquainted of all potential contenders. Which is interesting, because Jordan was asked if he would support Trump as the Speaker of the House. I have not been able to confirm this, but his answer was perhaps before he (Jordan) announced his bid to Speaker of the House. Jordan’s answer was a nervous laughter and defection saying something to the effect that he wants Trump to be President again. At the time I saw that I was no aware Jordan was a Speaker of the House hopeful. But in hindsight his response demeanor makes perfect sense.
I saw a few other names of people hoping to run for Speaker of the House. I am sure that the names will change – either add or decrease. An interesting up-side with McCarty being ousted, then the “implied succession” of who should or should not be Speaker of the House has evolved. In other words, it used to be a sort of a non-spoken rule that either the minority or majority Republican would be the candidate to compete for that coveted position. After all the Speaker of the House position is the third person in line to the U.S. Presidency.
But just in case you are wondering who is planning on running for Speaker of the House, already as a person in office, here is the list:
– REP. (R) Steven Scalise – from Louisiana and current House Majority Leader
– REP. (R) Jim Jordan – from Ohio
– REP. (R) Tom Emmer – from Minnesota and current House Majority Whip
– REP. (R) Kevin Hern – from Oklahoma
And by the way – as a reminder, if you feel so inclined to run for that position, our system of government allows an American Citizen person who is not already a sitting Representative to run for Speaker of the House. I do have a feeling that the most aggressive campaign will be pushed by Jim Jordan. In case you are unfamiliar with him, he’s normally the one politician in Congress who tends to wear a yellow tie, light blue shirt and no jacket. Oh, and he is a fast talker.
I am sure a lot of us will continue keeping our eyes peeled as these events continue to evolve; quite fast if I might add. In either case, it seems that the civil war inside the Republican-wing of Congress won’t end anytime soon. I am not naïve enough to ascertain that the political theater will end any time soon either. But I will say that while this is happening, the clock is ticking toward the possibility that the government will in-fact shut down coming November 2023. And I would like to think that is an issue that deserves a lot of immediate attention. HLC