by Renee Parsons<\/p>\n
In what has been the\u00a0most dramatic election for Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives in a\u00a0hundred years, final culmination came on the fifteenth ballot with the election of Republican Minority Leader \u00a0Kevin McCarthy<\/a>.<\/p>\n The election however did not come without McCarthy\u2019s historic commitment\u00a0 to a heroic band of 20\u00a0opponents<\/a> who negotiated substantial policy initiatives as well as procedural rule changes that will transform the role of the Speaker from a dictatorial empire-builder, and with it, make the House of Representatives into a more self-governing<\/a> representative body.<\/p>\n In a series of ground-breaking agreements, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) who emerged as one of the final six still standing,\u00a0explained<\/a> that McCarthy opponents had \u201cdelivered a massive victory for the American people by fundamentally changing the way Congress will operate.\u201d <\/em>\u00a0Boebert cited the way bills will be passed, the way the government will be funded and the way committees will be formed\u201d – saying all will be dramatically changed while eliminating proxy voting<\/a>, securing votes on term limits, a fair tax, and the Texas Border Plan<\/a>.<\/p>\n Upon being sworn in, McCarthy announced that the first order of business for the 118th<\/sup> Session of Congress will be repeal of the 87,000 armed IRS agents who are on the trail of the American public, which was met with unanimous agreement within Republican ranks.<\/p>\n The first test<\/a> of McCarthy\u2019s commitments as Speaker will be adoption of an agreed-to Rules package<\/a> which adds three new Members to the influential Rules Committee, as well as\u00a0an essential Motion to Vacate<\/a>, which offers the necessary leverage to assure that commitments made will be commitments kept. \u00a0\u00a0<\/ins><\/p>\n The outstanding question yet to be answered is whether McCarthy will honor<\/a> his agreement with his 20\u00a0opponents who were shrewd enough to understand that with a motion-to-vacate, or\u00a0MtV, one Member could request a floor vote in what essentially would be a vote of (non)confidence.<\/p>\n Presumably, that vote would enable Members to vent their disagreements in public; thus undermining any autocratic Speaker making secret deals and arbitrary decisions.<\/p>\n While having the MtV available is useful, it’s hopefully\u00a0a superfluous tool if McCarthy keeps his commitments.<\/p>\n As President Ronald Reagan used to say: \u201cTrust but Verify<\/em><\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n The Rules Committee is one of the most powerful committees in the House and has normally been verboten<\/em> to any Member who is not in sync with the leadership\u2019s agenda.<\/p>\n New Rules will potentially open up legislation to amendment, allow Members 72 hours to review pending legislation before a vote, targeting and putting a stop\u00a0to those\u00a0Omnibus-type bills, loaded with massive funding for inconsequential perks hidden within thousands of pages that would be unlikely to pass on their own in standalone bills. That will ensure that bills\u00a0be separated into more manageable and easier-to-understand pieces of legislation with transparency about what is being voted on.<\/p>\n In addition, financial and budget items will be required to recognize\u00a0a ten-year balanced budget proposal, especially as an increase to the $32 trillion national debt is on the Congressional horizon in the near term.<\/p>\n And lastly, a \u201cChurch<\/a>\u201d-like investigation into the weaponization<\/a> of the FBI\/DOJ against the American people will be conducted before the House Judiciary Committee which presumably will clarify who initiated \u00a0the January 6\u00a0Capitol protest and planted pipe bombs at the RNC and DNC.\u00a0 It appears that some elements of investigating U.S. intelligence\u00a0have been\u00a0kept within a classified SCIF<\/a>\u00a0room which has\u00a0deprived the public of vital information.<\/p>\n There is of course the reality that the RINO establishment wing of the House Republicans, the old guard<\/a> who have controlled the party for decades, may feel an embittered resentment as if they and they alone have the right to decree who the Speaker should be.<\/p>\n Because of their seniority, they may believe that newcomers to Republican politics have no right to participate. One perfect example of\u00a0that is\u00a0Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL) who had earlier told the House caucus if they persisted in their opposition to McCarthy, they would be denied<\/a> committee seats. He\u00a0later attempted an attack<\/a> on Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) caught on CSPAN\u00a0cameras. It is such unhinged behavior that may create an untenable atmosphere within the Republican caucus that further jeopardizes the GOP\u2019s 2024 election.<\/p>\n The Dems and their mockingbird media allies continue to taunt the Republican Speaker campaign as disorganized and dysfunctional; yet the truth is that Democrats have lost sight that the true nature of politics is not that of a bunch of bobbing heads all nodding in the same direction with nary a dissenting voice as the Dems have evolved into, with a sort of\u00a0a Marxist mechanical unanimity of thought seen in communist regimes.<\/p>\n It is appalling that House Minority Leader Hakeem\u00a0Jeffries, a former grade school teacher, actually believes his own gibberish<\/a> that the Democrat\u00a0party has\u00a0achieved “progress for the American people over the last two years.\u201d \u00a0The intensity<\/a> of his fabricated assertions, and boldness in\u00a0monopolizing the microphone as McCarthy patiently stood nearby waiting his turn to speak, was clearly meant as a gauntlet<\/a>\u00a0thrown down to McCarthy.<\/p>\n Jeffries was providing a glimpse of how aggressive Dems expect to push back for control of the House floor as they \u2018owned\u2019 it with Pelosi \u2013 except that this time, they do not have the votes.<\/p>\n How will McCarthy handle Jeffries\u2019s intent to test the Republicans’ thin House majority?<\/p>\n The Founders of this country, many of whom were self-identified rebels and insurgents, knew quite well that all was\u00a0all not going to be smooth going as they became\u00a0legislators:\u00a0They argued out their differences and hung together when it mattered, and\u00a0they never lost sight of the real enemy.<\/p>\n The media thrives on\u00a0fanning\u00a0the flames of antagonism because news sales depend on a new controversial headline and a new storyline of animosity and conflict.<\/p>\n During the four days of balloting and bickering, the 20 holdouts\u00a0endured\u00a0threats<\/a>\u00a0including a loss of committee assignments, a loss of fund-raising support, and other nefarious intimidations, and\u00a0most if not all of them were members of the House Freedom Caucus<\/a>.<\/p>\n While at least five of the 20\u00a0were first-timers\u00a0newly elected to Congress, and\u00a0four others were in their second Congressional terms, the other Members of the Caucus were\u00a0more experienced, serving multiple terms in Congress.<\/p>\n It is unusual that McCarthy himself, elected to the U.S. House in 2006, has been the least-tenured Majority Leader in history, having served only seven years in Congress before his ascent to party leadership positions, a string of them.<\/p>\n