Few events in recent memory dominated the news, pushing all else aside, the way the vote for Speaker of the House did last week.  It was historic, being the first time since 1856 that the issue wasn’t decided on the first ballot. In the fifteenth round of voting this past Friday night, Kevin McCarthy finally squeaked out a win to become the 55^th Speaker of the House after important compromises were reached with twenty GOP holdouts.  Let’s call these holdouts the ‘Freedom Caucus Twenty.’

During this week-long process, we saw a long, tiresome parade of politicians, reporters and news commentators ranting away about the Freedom Caucus Twenty with the most ill-considered, intemperate language.  I know, Democrats do that all the time -- I’m talking about Republicans and ‘conservatives’ in this case.

We got a candid look at some of our representatives, seeing what really matters to them.  We also got a look at the character of people in the conservative movement we thought we could trust. It was ugly, but educational.  Ignored, or not understood, by these clueless yappers is what the Freedom Caucus Twenty means to normal, beleaguered American voters. There is a hand-made sign on Main St. in the town next to mine that plaintively asks, ‘Won’t someone please stand up and save our country?’  I get choked up every time I think of it.  It captures the sorrow, the loss of hope, and the utter helplessness felt by so many American voters. 

Does anyone paying attention in America not think that the House of Representatives has been broken for years, reaching rock bottom under wannabe mob boss Nancy Pelosi?  Does anyone not realize that Congress, the Executive Branch, and the Judiciary -- the whole rancid government -- is completely off the constitutional rails?  Isn’t it obvious by now that our government represents only itself and all things ‘Uniparty’? 

Our government isn’t simply failing to represent We the People.  Our government is abusing We the People, trampling our rights, stealing our wealth while enriching themselves, enthusiastically enabling the destruction of American culture, silencing all opposition, and working to eliminate our ability to vote them out.  The release by Elon Musk of the ‘Twitter Files’ has confirmed to Americans that what we’ve suspected about the corrupt government and media is true.  That truth, like a genie, can never be put back in the bottle.  Our government has nothing but contempt for us and is driving the country off a cliff, pedal to the metal. 

What are the real reasons behind the actions of the Freedom Caucus Twenty in preventing McCarthy from simply breezing into the speaker’s office on the first vote?  They are constantly being excoriated by Uniparty Republicans and stabbed in the back by supposedly conservative news pundits. Are they really just ‘terrorists’, as faux conservative and serial idiot Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Uniparty) recently said, or are they actually patriots?  Did you see Sean Hannity sell out in front of a stunned Republican audience on Fox News last Wednesday night?  He viciously blindsided and bullied Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), trying to shame her into voting for McCarthy before negotiations were close to completion.  I was initially shocked, but I guess I had almost forgotten what Fox News did to Republicans on election night in 2020.  I suddenly remembered what Fox News really is now, led by Rupert Murdoch’s sons, nothing but ‘controlled opposition.’ 

The truth is that most Republican voters did not want Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House.  In fact, a high percentage of Republican voters prefer both Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy gone altogether as Republican leaders.  Many Republican voters feel that McCarthy doesn’t really stand for anything, having no discernible core principles.  He’s been the quintessential RINO and swamp creature.  As House Minority Leader, McCarthy just went along, with nary a whimper, while the contemptible Pelosi regime was actively passing destructive legislation and running roughshod over the House minority. 

During the runup to the 2022 election, McCarthy released his ‘Commitment to America’ in an effort to position himself for speaker when the expected Republican majority was seated.  It was greeted with derision, containing no firm promises or real policy ideas that Republican voters desperately want.  I tried to link to the ‘Commitment to America’ so you could see it for yourself, but it’s been removed from McCarthy’s website and unavailable on the internet.

Add to McCarthy’s résumé that he is a known backstabber of true conservatives in his own party.  McCarthy used money donated to the Republican Party to primary Trump-endorsed candidates who were vying for otherwise safe Republican seats during the election.  He used your money to prevent the candidates you wanted from winning.  How about McCarthy’s conversation with Liz Cheney after January 6^th, when he said he would advise Trump to resign, three weeks before his term was even over?  Let’s not forget that, when Kevin discovered that certain conservatives were being banned from social media, he wanted to add a few more names to the list.  This is the guy the RINOs in the Uniparty and the frauds in the media wanted as speaker? 

As our elections have been increasingly stolen by the Uniparty over the last three election cycles, the almost fully disenfranchised voters used what they feared could be their last chance when they elected their current representatives.  The Freedom Caucus Twenty know why they were elected.  They fully understand the importance of their actions and they know how much the voters are counting on them.  They heard the voters crying, ‘Won’t someone please stand up and save our country?’ and have been taking the slings and arrows for trying to answer the call.  

The whole country is as quiet as Christmas Eve this weekend, with voters holding their collective breath, not quite daring to believe that there might be reason for hope under the tree.  We’re all waiting to see the written details of the compromises that were extracted from Kevin McCarthy in his desperation to be elected speaker.  Those compromises are substantial, by all accounts, and all aimed at trying to make the House of Representatives respect and follow the Constitution, so it will actually represent the people once again.  The voters will happily accept Kevin McCarthy as speaker, wearing his shiny new bit and bridle fashioned for him out of these compromises, if it means we might have a chance.  Thank you so much, Freedom Caucus Twenty, for trying to ‘stand up and save our country.’  You guys will always be heroes in my eyes.

Image: IowaPolitics.com