The Friday We Needed

Confusing U.S. House of Representatives News, A Taylor Swift Class at IU, Texas House Dems. plan, Bad Cop caught, and go support your local NPR station.

Confusing U.S. House of Representatives News, A Taylor Swift Class at IU, Texas House Democrats unveil their plan to fund schools, Lubbock Deputy Police Chief arrested, and go support your local NPR station. In the words of the Black Eyed Peas, let’s get it started.

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The average, everyday person does not pay attention to politics. Friends, as a pastor told me when I was a teen, I am not normal but unique (haha). Let’s roll with that. With that in mind, it does not take a keen eye to see what has happened in the U.S. House of Representatives and its selection of its chamber’s leader. The timeline is weird but the New York Times did a pretty good job of its coverage.

Synopsis, Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan really wants to be House Speaker. Almost as bad as Kevin McCarthy wanted to be Speaker but not quite there yet. He failed to reach a majority yesterday and he does not appear to be done yet. Then it appeared he was by some reports giving off the idea the Speaker pro-tempore Patrick McHenry from North Carolina could get more power to lead legislation until January. Then, yesterday, Jordan does an about face saying yesterday and this morning, he wants to be the Speaker.

Washington style drama at its worst. What is hilarious, is that former Speaker Kevin McCarthy blamed the Democrats for this! Say what?! I guess when one is desperate for answers, one grasps for straws!

He is not the only one. Vanity Fair has a piece showing House Republicans attempt to frame the narrative as the fault of Democrats. Oooookay!

As I wrote in a piece earlier, this would be a great opportunity for Democrats to capture this moment and use it in the roughly 44 swing House districts as a reason not to vote for Republicans. They probably will do that but it would also be a good time for a handful of Republicans to negotiate with Democrats to elect a Speaker, ala Texas House Speaker Joe Straus in 2009. That, unfortunately, is a pipe dream.