I just watched Maria Bartiromo’s interview with Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy.  It’s pretty clear that McCarthy wants to avoid a shutdown at almost any cost.  At first, I thought, “Yeah, we need to get rid of him,” but with whom are we going to replace him?  Let’s face it, we’re stuck with McCarthy.

Below you’ll find a segment of the interview:

Politics is the art of compromise.  So, here’s my second, more rational proposal for Mr. McCarthy.

Give McCarthy a budget, any budget he wants, with three very specific caveats:

• Zero funding for the National Archives.  If they won’t give up Biden’s pseudonymous emails, they will get no funding.  Non-cooperation is not an option.

• Zero the budget for the Department of Energy.  Granholm can destroy the American economy on her own dime.

• Zero the budget for the Department of Justice.  If Garland wants to destroy all legal norms by prosecuting the leading opposition party candidate for president, he can do it pro bono.

Three very straightforward budget items that can be explained in a sound bite and even a fool can understand them.

This solution avoids a shutdown and allows McCarthy to say that he’s keeping the government funded.  It puts the Democrats on the defensive—they must defend those three simple talking points, and squishy Republicans can see that a fight can be won.  Speak softly simply and carry a big stick.

Image: YouTube video screen grab.