By: Diane Sori / The
Patriot Factor / Right Side Politics / Right Side Patriots Radio
The Op-ed posted here is my opinion alone, and does not necessarily
represent the views of blogspot.com
Last Tuesday night, no matter which
presidential candidate one supports, we witnessed one of the saddest
commentaries regarding today's Republican party as eight “supposedly”
conservative Republican* congresspersons voted with the Democrats to
remove House Speaker Kevin McCarthy from his position via a political
maneuver known as a “motion to vacate the chair.” And in
their doing so these eight individuals sadly sent a loud and clear
message that the infighting within the party will continue on while
not caring that with their votes the Democrats have again become the
defacto ruling party of the House of Representatives.
And while these eight
Republicans...whose plan was conceived and implemented by Florida
Rep. Matt Gaetz...had a specific and in a Gaetz's case a personal
reason for ousting McCarthy as Speaker...my presidential nominee of
choice, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, surprisingly to some, also
supported McCarthy's removal but not for the same reasons as did
Gaetz and crew. And yes, I mention DeSantis here because McCarthy's
removal does indeed have an effect on the presidential nomination
race.
Saying in an interview with Scripps
News following the vote, DeSantis, in his opinion, did not see
McCarthy losing the speakership just because of his willingness to
work with the Democrats per se, but because he was “too closely
tied to Donald Trump.” And
while his words do, on the surface, seem a bit odd especially
with Gaetz and crew being die-hard Trump supporters, DeSantis'
reasons do have validity. How so...as per DeSantis, McCarthy was
“someone that Donald Trump backed and put in that position,”
but before then DeSantis was a member of Congress (2013-2018)
representing Florida's 6th Congressional District, and was also a
founding member of the “House Freedom Caucus.” And
it was here wherethe
two menclashed on numerous occasions especially over
McCarthy's failure to “extract concessions” in exchange
for the caucus members support if he were ever to vie for the speakership. And that alone, in my opinion, is exactly what led to
McCarthy's downfall.
How so? Gaetz's drive to remove
McCarthy was indeed driven by hate coupled with an overt need for personal
“revenge”...“revenge” not only based upon his belief
that Kevin McCarthy does remain on the opposite side of the conservative
spectrum...including but not limited to McCarthy’s backing of the
Democrats “stopgap spending bill”...but
as “payback” for
McCarthy's failure to intervene on Gaetz's behalf during a House
inquiry looking into allegations of “sexual misconduct” and Gaetz's
misuse of political funds.
And
while “personal revenge” and
“payback” should have no
place in political decision making...it being childish “tit-for-tat”
nonsense at best...the fact is that on too many occasions said
nonsense does remain. But sometimes “revenge”
can be truly altruistic in nature, and such is the case with Gov. Ron
DeSantis' agreeing, in principal, with Matt Gaetz that McCarthy was
not ousted based upon one specific issue per se, but because key
promises he made over the years were broken. I liken this to the
promises made by Donald Trump when he was campaigning...promises made
that never came to fruition... one example being Trump's not draining
the “swamp” which
actually grew stronger when he was in office.
But
the key difference between DeSantis' reasoning and that of Matt Gates
is that DeSantis unlike Gaetz is not...I repeat not...opposed to
bipartisanship. And DeSantis has proven that bipartisanship can indeed work
via numerous bipartisan votes in both Florida's House and Senate that
together not only got the job done...for example Florida's having a
budget surplus and also having paid off a good portion of its
debt...unlike Gaetz's idol Donald Trump who when president worked
with McCarthy to add $7 trillion in debt in just a mere four years
time.
And
while I personally can accept Gov. DeSantis' reasoning even while not
agreeing with him one hundred percent, I did cut McCarthy a wee bit
of slack in his role as Speaker of the House because I am a
constitutional Republican with conservative leanings and not a far
right Matt Gaetz style “supposed”
conservative per se. However, I cannot abide the witch hunt style
tactics Matt Gaetz used to unseat Kevin McCarthy, including his
calling McCarthy “a creature of the swamp”...the devil
incarnate if you will.
Why so...simply because against Matt Gaetz's wishes
McCarthy dared to work out a compromise with the Democrats to keep
the government up and running for 45 more days. To Gaetz and crew
“compromise” is a dirty word as they ignore the fact that
the most successful deals made are when give and take happens from
both sides of the political aisle, and done so in the best interest
of “We the American People.” And
in this particular case Gaetz and his people forgot that the spending
bill in question was criticized by both some House Republican and
Democrat lawmakers, and that the 45-day extension might well have
resulted in an acceptable bipartisan decision.
Also forgotten...and this is
important...is that the Democrats not only tend to put party loyalty
first before the individual, but that they rally together in unison
when needed, which is a key factor in many of their successful
election wins. And sadly, too many of we Republicans still tend
to either herald or demonize individuals instead of not only uniting
behind the party and its platform, but in choosing who the best
candidates are during a specifically given time frame and race.
Now here I must state that I truly do
believe workable bipartisanship of the kind that Reagan saw during
his administration is what both parties should always be striving
for. A pipe dream perhaps for I know that will not happen as long as
nonsense like we witnessed last week reeks not of substance but
solely of “revenge politics.” And while Republicans do
need to grow a backbone and stand up to the Democrats on major issues
of contention, ousting the Speaker of the House...especially at this
most critical of times as we head into the 2024 election...was not
the right thing to do. Why so...because the theatrics of last week
actually played into what the Democrats wanted, as in the continuing
fracturing of the already fractured Republican party thanks to,
whether some like it or not, Donald Trump's entry into the 2024
presidential race. And again why so...because Trump is who the
Democrats want as the nominee because the mechanisms for his loss
have had four years to be put into place, something Gaetz and crew
failed to take into account.
And Matt Gaetz...a man who like Trump
craves and relishes in being the center of media attention...is not
as smart as he purports himself to be for someone with true political
savvy, whether knowingly or not, would not fall into the Democrats
trap set. And the irony in all this is that in Gaetz's wanting
McCarthy out because he strove for bipartisanship, Gaetz and this
newest deemed “Gang of Eight” actually did the very same
thing that they accused McCarthy of doing, because they not only
sided but voted with the Democrats against one of their own.
How so...with all the Democrats voting
to oust McCarthy they still were eight votes short of the majority
number needed, but when Matt Gaetz and crew added their eight votes for
removal, the 208 “yea” Democrat votes became 216 votes vs.
the Republican 200 “nay” votes, and thus McCarthy's fate
was now sealed. In other words, Kevin McCarthy was officially ousted as
Speaker of the House not by his fellow House Republicans, but by Matt Gaetz
and his people siding with the Democrats who actually sided with Gaetz
against McCarthy...talk about bipartisanship of the most convoluted,
devious, and ironic kind.
And don't think Matt Gaetz didn't know
this would be the final tally for he's more cunning than most suspect
for only a cunningly devious mind could conjure up a plan to oust a
man from office whose good deeds have far outweighed the bad.
Remember, there's a difference between
standing strong for ones convictions and abjectly refusing to work
with the other side of the aisle...Gov. DeSantis has proven just how
successfully bipartisanship can work. And while Matt Gaetz did have some
rightful bones to pick regarding the Democrats ongoing excessive
federal spending...he simply handled it the wrong way.
And as far as Gaetz is personally concerned, besides his being driven by
revenge against McCarty for his willing to work with the Democrats on
some key issues, the fact remains that Matt Gaetz in actuality is indeed a
cowardly sort who so loves to talk the talk but fails to take needed actions.
Case in point...while Gaetz did spearhead the removing of McCarthy he
still does not have the fortitude nor the courage to even try to take
McCarthy's place and correct what he believes is wrong...wrongs that
can be easily remedied if all “appropriation bills”...if
all government spending bills proposed...were “line
itemized” instead of being presented as an all or
nothing package
.
So now as we wait to see who the next
Speaker of the House will be...either Reps. Jim Jordan or Steven
Scalise are more than acceptable to me...the issue that must remain
in the forefront of this particular political discourse is that
somehow, someway, not only must all Republican infighting come to an
end, but acceptable bipartisanship must be something we all strive
for as no one side should dictate the entirety of the political
discourse. And that must come replete with compromise not
capitulation on the part of both parties involved, because if both
sides of the aisle...if both Republicans and Democrats...do not start
working together for the good of both “We the People” and
our country, than we can simply kiss our “republic”
goodbye and herald in the age of Obama's “transformation of
America” come to fruition. Case closed. ____________________________________________________
* These are the eight Republicans representatives who voted to oust Speaker McCarty: Matt Gawtz (FL); Ken Buck (CO); Andy Biggs (AZ), Tim Burchett (TN); Eli Crane (AZ); Bob Good (VA); Nancy Mace (SC); and Matt Rosendale (MT).
For more political commentary please visit myRIGHT SIDE PATRIOTSpartner Craig Andresen's blog The National Patriot to read his latest article, Where's The Fire?.
Tomorrow, Tuesday, October 10th,from 7-8:30pm EST, RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS
Craig Andresen and Diane Sori discuss 'Removing McCarthy...For Better Or Worse'; 'Where's The Fire?'; and Hamas' Iranian funded attack on the Jewish State of Israel. Hope you can tune in to RIGHT
SIDE PATRIOTSon
https://rspradio1.com Click 'LISTEN
LIVE' starting
at 6:50 pm EST with show beginning at 7pm EST.
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