Today is Wednesday, January 4, 2023. Another day of chaos and confusion on the House floor as Minority Leader Kevin “Kiss the Ring” McCarthy was denied another go as Speaker of the House. Today marked six rounds of votes for the immensely unpopular McCarthy who lost again in his bid to become the speaker. When will this asshole just concede already and proclaim himself unelectable? Now it seems that McCarthy’s failure to lock down the votes needed to become speaker is casting new scrutiny on his awful decision to tie his abysmal fate to that of Donald Dumpf. An analysis by Stephen Collinson for CNN today entitled “McCarthy’s bet on Trump has yet to pay off as he scrambles for speaker’s gavel.”

Allison points out that this situation has devolved into this chaos because the ex-president’s use of the midterm elections as a stage for his voter fraud falsehoods alienated many voters and landed the Republican House leader with a tiny majority that has made his campaign for the top job such a squeaker. McCarthy himself endured scorn and ridicule when he rushed to Mar-a-Lago before FBI agents stormed it in August days after the U.S. Capitol insurrection two years ago to embrace the demagogue in Florida.

Here the Faustian pact was extremely clear – make up with the insurrectionist former commander-in-chief in exchange for Dumpf’s support of the speakership that McCarthy craved more than anything else. But this strategy is obviously not working currently. Even though a majority of House Republicans overwhelmingly want McCarthy as their leader, the holdouts stand between him and power.

So far, McCarthy is facing more humiliation as he tries to convince a handful of extreme conservatives to drop their opposition to his candidacy. Bombastic Dumpf himself is even unable to persuade the holdouts to support the weasel, people like Matt Gaetz of Florida and Andy Biggs of Arizona. It’s like the monster that Dumpf created has surpassed him in ferocity.

This is the second day then that the House has adjourned without electing a speaker. The House voted today to adjourn until 12 p.m. ET on Thursday as the party of Dumpf scrambles to find a path going forward. The situation has grown dire for McCarthy’s political future as Republican allies are beginning to fear that the House GOP leader may not be able to pull off his gamble for speaker if the fight goes much longer. It’s also not good for the country to witness this divisiveness play out in the House.

The only good thing from this protracted fight is the diminished influence of the former president shown in the lower chamber as a once-mighty supporter of the insurrectionist, Matt Gaetz, has dismissed Dumpf’s latest effort to help the California repugnican as “sad.” Long a staunch Dumpf ally, Gaetz’s refusal to bow to Dumpf’s desire for a McCarthy speakership raises new questions about the former president’s dwindling influence over Republicans in the midst of his third tepid presidential campaign. One current Dumpf ally said this about Gaetz’s reversal on being a loyal supporter of the insurrectionist, “If Matt Gaetz is ignoring you, that’s not a good sign.”

Turning to the other significant news story capturing the nation’s attention, I give you a blunt op-ed written in today’s New York Times by Tom Suozzi who is George Santos’s predecessor in the 3rd Congressional District that the Congressman-elect now represents if he is ever sworn in. The editorial is called “A Con Man Is Succeeding Me in Congress.” Suozzi ridicules the incoming Congressman-elect for his innumerable lies. The outgoing Democrat writes, “I’ve lost track of how many evasions and lies Mr. Santos has told about himself, his finances, and his history and relationship with our stretch of Long Island and northeastern Queens.” Suozzi states somberly, “When he is seated, it will diminish our Congress, our country and my constituents – soon his constituents.” Then he sadly reflects that he’s being succeeded by a con man, the liar known as George Santos.

Since there is nothing that can be done right now about Santos’s fate, Suozzi strongly recommends that Santos be ultimately held accountable for his myriad fabrications and his flagrant violation of the public trust. A very good line from his piece is this, “But now we know that no one voted for the real George Santos.” The real George Santos could be just a figment of his imagination, it seems. Suozzi concedes that Santos abused the public trust even before he got into office.

Suozzi offers solace to those who worry about such a faker assuming power in the lower chamber without suffering any consequences by saying that the system does work. He concludes with, “The system works – if not right away, then ultimately. It has worked throughout our history, and it will work now.” The former U.S. Representative is confident that pressure exerted by the press, law enforcement, and political pressure from the House will bring about real consequences for the newbie Congressman. Only time will tell.

Tomorrow Elliot is flying to California for several days. So I will be on my own until late Monday night. This will be the first time I will be without a feline companion, so let’s see what happens.

Ready for the continuing shit show in the House?

Stay safe and be well.