Flotsam and Jetsam - Waiting on McCarthy

It's Tuesday morning, Jan. 3, and we still don't officially know who will succeed Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House, and third in line in the Presidential succession. Kevin McCarthy has the most support, but still apparently lacks a critical mass. Capt. Ed At Haut Hair VIP, McCarthy watch: Still coming up short with a day to go. Mark Moore at NYPo sees  McCarthy likely short of votes to become speaker as 14 GOPers raise issues. Deanna Fisher at Victory Girls, McCarthy Negotiates With GOP Holdouts. Jim Antle at WaEx hears RNC chair McDaniel says Kevin McCarthy 'on track' to become House speaker, not a point in his favor. At Mediaite, GOP Rep. Bob Good Vows to Fox & Friends That ‘Swamp Cartel’ Leader Kevin McCarthy’s Speaker Bid is Toast. From Fox, Newt Gingrich blasts Republicans who oppose Kevin McCarthy as speaker: 'It's him or chaos', "Gingrich says the handful of lawmakers don't have the 'moral right' to oppose McCarthy." Capt. Ed again, Justin Amash: Hey, make me House speaker!  "I’d love to take office as one of the most consequential officers in American federal governance without being at all accountable to voters. Imagine the fun I could have!" At Am Think Paul E. Scates thinks  The House Speaker Vote is an Embarrassment, Indeed. I disagree, I think conservatives are just negotiating hard for the best deal they can get. Nothing motivates politicians (or most people for that matter) like a hard deadline. At Am Great, the redoubtable Julie Kelly takes time off the J6 beat to ask Are They Ready? "GOP voters are rightfully wary that a Republican-led Congress will fail to fulfill campaign pledges and refuse to go to the mattresses on issues that matter most." Of course that will happen, but they're still better (marginally) than the Democrats.

To wit, 'Bonchie' at Red State hears Hakeem Jeffries Makes a Very Insurrection-Like Call to Retake the House 'Immediately'. At WaEx, Former teenage boyfriend of George Santos says incoming congressman lied to him, stole his phone. Still better than a Democrat. Also, Incoming House Dem plans to 'couch surf' for first months in Congress. Bad credit means he can't find a rental. But he can vote on US spending.

Across da pond Da Mail reports the Justice Department is concealing 400 pages of 'sensitive documents' laying bare payoffs and gifts to Hunter and Jim Biden from China, Russia and Ukraine - after acknowledging the records exist - lawyer claims in suit. At Summit News, Books Claims Biden Refuses to Speak Freely Around His Secret Service Agents Because They’re White Southerners, "Paranoid they’ll leak embarrassing information."

Hope Hicks

Bob Spencer at PJ Media says What The --?? Trump Moves Left, Attacks Pro-Lifers. Blames them for losing midterms. A germ of truth there. Althouse, "This made us all unemployable. Like untouchable. God I’m so f***ing mad."

"In one day [Trump] ended every future opportunity that doesn’t include speaking engagements at the local Proud Boys chapter. And all of us that didn’t have jobs lined up will be perpetually unemployed. I’m so mad and upset. We all look like domestic terrorists now."

Texted Hope Hicks to Ivanka Trump’s chief of staff Julie Radford, quoted in "'This made us all unemployable': Trump White House aides respond to January 6 in angry text exchange" (CNN).

She might have been overstating it. Dan Chaitin at Da Wire hears the  January 6 Panel Alerts White House About Anonymous Witnesses "Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) and Vice Chairwoman Liz Cheney (R-WY) wrote to Richard Sauber, special counsel to President Joe Biden, saying they “fully share” a “concern for the safety, security, and reputations” of its witnesses as the panel dissolves and Republicans take control of the House this week." Paybacks are hell. At WaEx a list of Five Biden administration investigations House Republicans plot to launch in 2023, no shockers there. 

At Politico, cited at Haut Hare a Study claims Early voting in key states didn't change partisan outcomes. Capt. Ed comments "Republicans will need to invest better in these strategies, even if they plan on ending them later. They can’t afford to cede that ground to Democrats any longer." Yep. 

As Kari Lake files petition to take appeal to the Arizona Supreme Court (Charlotte Hazard at JTN), Catherine Salgado at PJ Media reports Katie Hobbs Is Sworn in as Ariz. Governor Amidst Election Challenges and Scandals. Dan Chaitin at Da Wire, Hobbs Forbids Reporters When Sworn In As Arizona Governor. Not ready to answer questions? KT at Haut Hare recommends Three governors' races to watch in 2023. 

From Breitbart, California Becomes ‘Sanctuary State’ for ‘Transgender Kids’. They grow a lot of fruits and nuts. Meanwhile at JTN an Early transgender pioneer who transitioned back to male rejects today's gender ideology, "I haven't found one person that actually has gender dysphoria," Walt Heyer said. "I have found that they have generalized dysphoria."

PM, 'Fauci Files' to be released this week: Elon Musk. Matt Margolis at PJ Media, The 'Fauci Files': Musk Hints at What's to Come. At Twitchy, Dr. Robert Malone doesn’t pull a single PUNCH in thread pushing for Fauci et all to be prosecuted. Robert W Malone, MD@RWMaloneMD "“Gain-of-function” SARS-CoV virus manipulation caused the deaths of millions of people. Vast amounts of evidence suggest that Eco Health and NIAID caused those deaths. Anthony Fauci/Peter Daszak must be held accountable. An international tribunal must convene." Nick Arama at Red State thinks Elon Musk's Beautiful Dunk on a Leftist Shows Just How Hypocritical They Can Be. Matthew Peterson at Da Caller examines the Midwit Mire — The Lesson Conservatives Are Missing From The Twitter Files

The problem is that these are people who talk a good and seemingly reasonable game that studiously, rigorously obscures or avoids underlying issues of principle and purpose. They have been trained to move up the ladder in polite company by means of this kind of “thought” and action. When conflict arises, they do not start from first principles to discover what is right, but go through the motions of seeing “both sides.” They have been trained to “dialogue” as they implement procedures to find and achieve “shared goals.”

At HE,Thad McCotter  'Content Moderation' Is Radical Censorship and Hannah Nightingale, Majority of Content on Twitter Competitor Mastodon Is Child Porn, Report Finds. You might recall a lot of liberals developed a strong attachment for Mastodon in the wake of Musk's Twitter takeover.

The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Annalisa Greco and FMJRA 2.0: She’s Got A Face That Could Stop A Clock up at The Other McCain.