As we consider a replacement for John Boehner as Speaker of the House, it’s really important to remember the A-B-McCs — Anybody But McCarthy! And while the odds are against us, the change we seek can begin with the House Freedom Caucus.
If not now, when? After all, if they can’t block John Boehner 2.0 (Kevin McCarthy) from ascending to the top job, they should just throw in the towel and quit.
As Daniel Horowitz tells us on Conservative Review, the problems with the Republican Party run far deeper than John Boehner, and they won’t be solved with this leadership election. The GOP base is demanding a change in course, and simply promoting another rung of repudiated leaders–the deputy arsonists of Boehner’s five-year inferno–up one notch on the totem pole will not satisfy those demands. An outcome that allows McCarthy and Scalise, baggage and all, to climb the ladder of leadership is unacceptable.
Since there are only a few dozen conservative members, and they lack the votes to elect one of their own, it’s important that Conservatives understand that this was never about electing one of their own. Instead, it’s about using their leverage to overrule the next-in-line and force a complete change in leadership. And with more than 30 members opposing McCarthy, the House Freedom Caucus can use its leverage to veto what would be a colossal mistake.
Since McCarthy will garner well over 124 votes in the conference election scheduled to take place today, he’s likely to secure a majority of the GOP conference in support of his election on the House floor. Given that all the Democrats will vote for Pelosi, if all of the Republicans who vote for Jason Chaffetz or Daniel Webster in conference commit to doing the same on the House floor, McCarthy will be denied the majority.
The bottom line is that Conservatives need to make it clear that the “next in line” approach is unacceptable, and the only way we will get the “anti-Boehner” we need for these times is to remember our A – B – McCs.
David Leach is the owner and publisher of The Strident Conservative where he is proudly politically-incorrect and always “right,” and he is also a frequent contributor at RedState.com.
His political commentaries can be heard daily on KLZ560 AM at 3pm MST and on other Crawford Broadcasting stations throughout the day.
