Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy won the Republicans’ designation for House speaker today, but questions remain over his ability to lock up the spot on the floor in January. Fox reports that McCarthy, R-Calif., beat back a challenge by more conservative elements in the House Republican Conference represented by Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona. The final vote tally was 188-31.
Most of Biggs’ support came from members of the hard line House Freedom Caucus. Biggs had previously chaired the group, which counts more than two dozen House Republicans among its membership, between 2019 and 2022. McCarthy, meanwhile, was able to assemble a large cross-section of the House GOP conference behind his candidacy. That included conservative hardliners like Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and centrists like Rep. Brian FitzPatrick of Pennsylvania.
To become speaker in January, McCarthy will need at least 218 votes if the entire 435-member House is seated and voting. Currently, the potential Republican majority looks to be anywhere between 218 seats, the bare minimum needed to control the House, and 228 seats.
He’s okay. He did a good job. He even came to Monsey to support Lawler.
So this is how the media control the narrative and shift momentum.
They continue to spin the election gains- convincing the demographics new to the landscape or largely new to politics- as a defeat, intending to turn it into a pyhrric victory.
Could the Republicans have done better last Tuesday? Sure.
Should they have done better? Most probably.
Were the MAGA election Denier primary nominees bad choices? Almost undoubtedly.As was the carpetbagging libertarian Muslim for the Republican candidate for Senate.
Where they defeated? No
At the worst, the election was a draw.
The GOP now went a significant step further than the past couple years.
A short 2 years ago,by contrast, on election Day 2020 many Republicans were lamenting that the present party and agenda were irretrievably broken.
To their surprise, for the House they did better than expectations and better than Trump did.
They gained a dozen seats.
And last year, that was followed with real momentum going their way.
Did the Democrats managed to stymie some of that momentum? State tuned
It’s war of attrition.
Are there lessons? Naturally
Here is one you likely missed: the GOP strategy turning themselves into the standard bearer anti Vax anti Masking anti restrictions party( popular among our communities ) a manifest attempt for winning over the gen z voters- backfired or was insufficiently compelling as a vote getter
Not only did the pro-COVID policies backfire among those who care about life, it literally killed off a lot of Republican voters who listened to their leaders.
I hope you’re still wearing a disposable mask up to your eyes when you get into a cab.