One of the benefits of the drawn-out voting for the Speaker of the House, in addition to humiliating the hollow, ambitious Rep. Kevin "Qevin" McCarthy, was to expose serious cracks in the far right Republican House caucus. For much of the week, twenty or so dead-enders blocked McCarthy's lifelong quest while whittling away power from the Speakership and imposing noxious commitments on him, commitments that are likely to repel voters in 2024. Interestingly, the Washington Post reveals that one of the "advisors" to the gang of 20 was January 6 conspirator and subpoena-ducking schemer Mark Meadows, the Malignant Loser's former chief of staff and former Congressman and "Sedition Freedom Caucus" member. His adversary in the fight was none other than former colleague and sexual assault collaborator Rep. Jim "Gym" Jordan (Sedition-OH):
"As members of Congress, Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) and Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) formed a brutally powerful duo on Capitol Hill last decade, developing a niche specialty in blowing things up.
In 2015, Meadows delivered the blow that helped sink the incumbent House speaker, John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), and Jordan led the charge over the next two weeks to help defeat the establishment choice, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), for speaker.
But for the past week, the co-founders of the House Freedom Caucus have been on opposing sides of Washington’s biggest fight: McCarthy’s marathon attempt to become House speaker.
Jordan served as lead emissary to the many conservatives who don’t trust the veteran GOP leader. All week he darted around the House floor, buttonholed defectors, hustled to talk to top McCarthy advisers and then ducked into at least a dozen closed-door meetings.
Three blocks away, in a corner townhouse that is home to a conservative nonprofit, Meadows played host to daily meetings of up to 20 staunch McCarthy critics, turning this corner of Washington into the new nerve center of “Make America Great Again” Republicans in Congress." (our emphasis)
Perhaps Meadows was hanging around his radical right wing flock to plant the thought that he might be the consensus Speaker, since it doesn't require one to be a Member of Congress. He certainly has legal problems ahead, as a central character in the attempts to overturn the 2020 election, culminating in the January 6 Trumpist Capitol insurrection. While there will undoubtedly be public shows of comity between the factions, there's simmering resentment among those members, extending into the rest of the caucus which is trying to figure out how McCarthy's sell out will impact their careers. Stay tuned.
BONUS: Meanwhile, this gives you a look at the vile gutter snipes in the new Republican/ Sedition caucus --
I want you to see the indecency that makes up the @HouseGOP. This is from newly-elected @CoryMillsFL. He owes @SpeakerPelosi an apology. pic.twitter.com/1zNcKKwFn2
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) January 7, 2023
(photo: Meadows and Jordan. Composite by Salon/Getty Images)
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