McCarthy Did What Was Right, But for Who?
By Norman Franklin
Norman Franklin
“No matter what the odds, or personal cost, we did the right thing.” Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s summary assessment of the job he has done, or the job he and his Republican colleagues have done, or the job he and Tucker Carlson have done, or he and Former President Trump have done for the country; it’s not clear who the ‘we’ are, it’s not clear what the ‘right thing’ is that was done.
The 118th Congress has been the least effective in decades. More infighting than legislative action. More power grab maneuvers than doing right things for the country. More acts of betrayal of their oath of office, oath to the Constitution than right things done ‘no matter the odds.’ It was more about personal gain, political power, and staying in the grace of the presumed 2024 presidential candidate and his base of supporters.
The January 6 insurrection revealed the character of our country and the integrity of Republican leaders. More than a few members of Congress were complicit in the failed coup. The Vice President considered not showing up to perform his Constitutional responsibilities. His son, a Marine, reminded him of his oath of office, the same oath he had sworn to as a Marine. Only then did the VP commit to doing what was right.
No matter the odds, and at personal cost, VP Pence fell out of grace with the Former President for performing the duties of his office.
“We did what was right.”
The J6 mob smashed windows, ransacked congressional offices, Speaker Pelosi and other members of Congress, Democrats and Republicans were forced to take shelter for their safety, their lives in the perils of death at the hands of the frenzied mob; Capitol Police officers were seriously injured, traumatized, killed; it was an attempt to disrupt the orderly transfer of power, an ordinary procedure when a new President is elected; democracy was on the precipice of collapsing. The nation watched it unfold in real time on live network news coverage; the outgoing President watched it on TVs in the White House.
“No matter the odds, or personal cost, we did the right thing.”
The words of the congressman from Georgia still reverberates throughout the digital universe. He was giving his assessment of the mob that breached the Capitol. What he saw was a group of tourists orderly strolling through the Capitol rotunda.
Kevin McCarthy, R-CA, ascribed culpability to President Trump in his conversation with Liz Cheney, R-WY, he subsequently did a 180 and decided to uphold the objections to certifying the electors.
McCarthy’s leadership has always been less than insightful, his integrity questionable, his character shallow.
The Democrats convened a committee to investigate whether then President Trump incited the mob with his inflammatory rhetoric, and who worked behind the scenes pulling strings for the puppet mob. The televised hearings revealed the undermining maneuvers of some members of congress.
The Republicans held that the committee hearing was a farce, a witch-hunt. At the close of one particularly revealing session, McCarthy stepped to the mic to discredit the day’s findings. His opening remark, “Gas prices are high.” The Democrats ought to be working on matters that benefit the American people was the inference. It fell short of a profound reveal and refuted nothing. The testimonies of Cabinet members and the Attorney General refuted the ‘big lie’ of a stolen election.
“No matter the odds, or personal cost, we did the right thing.”
In January of this year, McCarthy made his bid for the speaker’s gavel. He made history. He failed to garner the confidence of the party to get the required 216 votes in fourteen house votes. After four days, he succeeded on the fifteenth ballot with concessions at personal cost, to gain the support of the holdouts.
The personal cost: the scintilla of integrity and credibility of character he had left. To win the votes of the holdouts, he promised to handover the J6 Committee Hearing’s transcripts to Fox Network personality Tucker Carlson. Imagine that being the right thing to do.
“No matter the odds, or personal cost, we did the right thing,” McCarthy stated.
Goodbye, farewell, we won’t miss you; retiring was the right thing to do.