i
t may not be popular to post this considering the wild political debate within the Republican Party at this time, but the vocal minority of 20 Congressman is in the right as they push to force Kevin McCarthy to stand down and allow someone else to take the helm in the House. Fox News host Sean Hannity is siding with McCarthy because that’s what he’s been instructed to do. He’s playing his role as RINO shepherd to lay guilt on anyone who doesn’t abide by the GOP Establishment’s wishes.
He turned his GOPe spokesperson talents against Congresswoman Lauren Boebert on his show tonight. He questioned why McCarthy should stand down when he has 203 (it’s actually 201 but who’s counting?) supporters on his side while his opposition only has 20. On the surface, it’s a fair question. But the reality is McCarthy has 201 Representatives who are WILLING to let him be Speaker of the House. He does NOT have 201 members who WANT him there.
The fallacy in Hannity’s argument is to assume that nobody could get 218 or more votes from among the 222 Republicans. This is unambiguously false. There are several members who would easily get 218 votes in the caucus and at least a few who would get all 222. McCarthy’s support is by default for many who are voting for him because he has positioned himself as the de facto Speaker. But if you ask his 201 “supporters” if they really want him there rather than simply having a willingness to accept him, you’d find the ranks of his “supporters” would drop dramatically.
I would guesstimate that fewer than a dozen Representatives PREFER McCarthy over all other viable candidates. The lukewarm supporters just haven’t been handed a consensus candidate; thus far none of the Representatives nominated by the band of 20 opposition voters have had universal appeal. This is by design.
