It may be a hard pill to swallow, but it could be worse
After 15 rounds, Kevin McCarthy finally got the votes he needed to become 3rd in line to the Presidency.
The 118th House of Representatives came into session on January 4th, 2023, and it took until the late hours of January 6th the early morning of January 7th for the Speaker of the House to be elected. Many people, including “conservatives,” criticized the 20 GOP “rebels” for interfering in the government’s business. Some went so far as to call them “terrorists.”
After 15 rounds of voting, Kevin McCarthy finally got the votes needed to become Speaker of the House, a position that is third in line for the presidency. Technically, he needed 218 votes, as this is the actual majority number for the House: 435 representatives / 2 = 417.5, round up to 218 (sorry, had to do the math for liberals). Because enough members voted “Present,” it lowered the threshold necessary to 216, and here we are now.
McCarthy had to agree, in writing, to support changes in the House rules that would prohibit the wasteful spending that has been the crux of Americans’ concerns for the future of the country. These rules have to be debated and voted on in the House before they can take effect. According to Just The News:
The new rules resemble those that House Speaker Newt Gingrich used to negotiate the first balanced budget in decades between a Republican-led Congress and the Clinton White House in the 1990s, something the renegade Republicans pressed for in negotiations.
Drama, anger and concession: Kevin McCarthy’s grueling path to House Speaker portends battles ahead – Just the News
While I had some hope that McCarthy and the swamp would get the message that We The People do not want them in charge anymore, and that they would humbly step aside and let a true patriot like Jim Jordan or Andy Biggs take the mantle, I knew it was only a fool’s hope. Jordan made it clear he was not interested in the position, and Biggs does not have enough political clout. I therefore choose to view the McCarthy speakership as a necessary step in the healing of America.
Having to accept the lesser of two evils, even when that lesser evil feels like pooping out a massive pine cone with the pointy ends sticking down, has been part and parcel of American politics since the birth of our country. The infamous “three fifths clause” in our Constitution was something that abolitionists, who wanted the scourge of slavery gone from American soil, had to swallow in order for the Southern delegations to agree to join the Union, thereby eliminating a possible threat of a hostile nation to the south, reducing the amount of influence the Southern states would have in the House, and ensuring that the the importation of new slaves from Africa would end on January 1, 1808. This was the first step to ending the evil of slavery. As detestable as it is to consider a human being less than one, without this provision, slavery may have endured for far longer than the “four score and 7 years” it did.
Side note: For those of you who are scratching your heads thinking that this country practiced slavery for hundreds of years, I will remind you that there was NO United States prior to the adoption of the Constitution on June 21, 1788, and the war for independence ended in 1783. Lincoln, however, began counting from 1776, when the Declaration was signed. Any slavery occurring on BRITISH colonial soil prior to that is the responsibility of the BRITISH, so take it up with them.
If our founders could swallow such a disgusting pill, then surely we can handle Kevin McCarthy being Speaker of the House. The concessions he has agreed to (no more omnibus bills, balancing the budget, securing our border, etc.), if implemented, will go a long way to healing our battered nation. If he fails, he can be removed by a “no confidence” vote (though I am not fooled into believing it will actually happen). Besides, the great and powerful Donald Trump endorsed McCarthy for the position, so why are you mad?
