Wondering on Wednesday 1/4/2023

 

Ready... Set... Wonder!

When Sally Field won her second Academy Award, she said, "Right now, you really like me!" I wonder what Rep. Kevin McCarthy would say, after losing six votes for House Speaker?  Perhaps it's, "Right now, I wished you really liked me?"  Or, maybe "Right now, I wonder if you ever liked me?" 

I also can't help wondering how many votes McCarthy will allow before he decides it's time to step aside for someone 16 0r 17 votes more palatable?  He's said he's in it to win it, and that he's "earned" the Speakership, but there may never be enough votes for him. 

Former president Donald Trump tried to exert whatever power and control he has over the party, urging the Rs to get behind McCarthy who, Trump said, "will do a good job, and maybe even a GREAT JOB - JUST WATCH!" That didn't work - Lauren Boebert even suggested that Trump should have told McCarthy to step aside - and now I'm wondering what other Rs might have the power to convince the GOP caucus to align. 

• Former Veep Mike Pence could offer a few hundred rambling words without ever really saying anything about anything, but it might confuse people enough that they accidentally vote for McCarthy...
• Florida Man Ron DeSantis could promise to cancel anyone who voted the wrong way, or - even worse - call them all 'woke' or something. That might get them in line...
• Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell could... nah, never mind.

Maybe there isn't a unifying Republican out there?

Sticking with the House, as Rep. George Santos (R- You Kidding Me?) cast his vote for McCarthy, someone allegedly yelled "mentiroso" - the word for 'liar' in Spanish and Portuguese. The shout came from the Democratic side of the chamber, which make sense, right? I mean, Santos was endorsed by McCarthy, and by Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-Trump), the GOP Conference chair. 

Georgia's Marjorie Taylor Greene has also chimed in, tweeting "I think we Republicans should give George Santos a chance and see how he legislates and how he votes, not treating him the same as the left is."  I know they've been busy the past couple of days, but I wonder how MTG feels now, knowing that Santos' website noted*, according to The New Republic, that he voted against the omnibus spending bill that passed, and was signed into law - in December. Does that mean he passed the test? 

Finally, I'm having lots of laughs over some of the McCarthy memes I've seen on Twitter. For example, there's Charlie Brown, Lucy, and the football; there's a speaker captcha; there's six stages of toast. There's a Groundhog's Day quip (too easy?) and even a Home Alone riff.  Truth be told, I'm having a hard time picking a favorite; I wonder if anyone else is having trouble, too? 

Oh - the House came back into session, then voted narrowly to adjourn. I think this means that McCarthy might have won a vote, finally.

What's on your wondering mind tonight? 

* When I checked his website, there was no mention of the spending bill.