Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) announced he will not seek reelection this November. This will open the highest leadership position in Congress. It will be the rank-and-file members of Congress who will select Ryan's replacement as Speaker.
The selection of the next Speaker is crucial because, in order for America to be great again, strong legislation must be passed to restore our military strength and to "drain the swamp" of the bureaucracies that curtail our liberties. But over a year into the Trump administration, the necessary legislation is going nowhere in Congress – despite Republicans being in control. The reason is simple: establishment Republicans are in charge.
Urge Congress to elect a proven conservative for Speaker of the House.
Several names have surfaced as Ryan's replacement: Kevin McCarthy, Majority Leader (R-CA); Steve Scalise, Majority Whip (R-LA); and Jim Jordan, Freedom Caucus (R-OH). McCarthy and Scalise are Ryan's top lieutenants. They are establishment Republicans who will continue business as usual.
McCarthy is the presumed GOP establishment candidate for Speaker. Both Paul Ryan and Steve Scalise have publicly announced their support for McCarthy. If McCarthy drops out of the race, as he did in 2015, Scalise has indicated he may run for Speaker, but Scalise will have a significant disadvantage.
Scalise, who was once considered a conservative, has aligned himself with the establishment leadership and the political status quo. Scalise's support for McCarthy indicates he is comfortable with McCarthy's voting record and campaign contributions that conservatives would consider political misdeeds. More on McCarthy to follow.
Jim Jordan has indicated he may also run for Speaker. Jordan is a constitutionalist, a man of integrity, and a founder of the House Freedom Caucus - the band of members of Congress dedicated to fighting for liberty.
If Jordan or someone like him runs, he could also nationalize the race for Speaker. This would encourage voter turnout in the 2018 mid-term elections to elect more conservatives to Congress. Jordan could also lead the conservative argument for Congress to preserve and protect the Republic by launching a "Contract to Save America" campaign. Congress needs to bind themselves to the will of the people for the good of the Republic.
A Proven Conservative will rein in non-defense spending
What America doesn't need is another GOP establishment leader who will continue the status quo on spending. It's a matter of national security and I'll tell you why:
According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), in just five years (see chart below), the interest payments alone on our national debt will begin to surpass the cost of defending the United States of America. Can you imagine what the interest payments on the national debt will be as interest rates go up?
It's time to end establishment-style Republican leadership in the House. Their status quo leadership has resulted in the enslavement of the taxpayer to record high levels of debt. Their weak leadership and lack of fiscal restraint has done nothing to reverse an imminent threat to national security. Returning to the constitutional framework of governing based on conservative principles is of the highest order.
Voting Record: How McCarthy, Scalise, and Jordan Compare
Speaker Paul Ryan helped hatch the bloated 2018 Omnibus spending bill (2,000 pages). Most members of Congress didn't even know what was in it because of the lack of time to read the bill.
Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Majority Whip Steve Scalise, who are both considering the role of Speaker, voted for the bill. In their leadership roles, they also helped Speaker Ryan get other members to vote for the massive bill.
AFA Action's legislative score card shows both McCarthy and Scalise, as indicated below, scoring much lower than Jordan. The table below also indicates their composite scores from other social and fiscal conservative groups. Jordan’s composite score (99%) is significantly higher than both McCarthy (64%) and Scalise (70%).
Although McCarthy voted for both of these irresponsible bills, this only scratches the surface of the problems with this establishment Republican. Congressman McCarthy has also been a strong financial supporter of members of the Tuesday Group - the liberal Republicans in the House.
McCarthy's financial connection to liberal republicans.
The political action committee affiliated with Rep. McCarthy (Majority Committee PAC) has donated significant campaign funds to many Republican members who are also supported by the liberal Republican Tuesday Group PAC.
Tuesday Group PAC was established in 2007 to counter the agenda of conservative Republicans. Reports indicate it supports Republicans who work behind the scenes to kill conservative legislation "like strict restrictions on abortion" and help "liberal-leaning Republicans running for open congressional seats."
According to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) Rep. McCarthy's Majority Committee PAC donated $10,000 each in 2018 to 25 congressmen who also received campaign contributions from Tuesday Group PAC.
Twenty-two of the these congressmen have refused to co-sponsor current legislation to defund Planned Parenthood. Also, 12 of these congressmen helped kill a 2017 conservative amendment to ban transgenders from serving in the military. The amendment failed by a vote of 209-214. Yet, McCarthy's PAC chose to reward these same liberal Republicans who voted against the transgender ban with $10,000 each to their campaign fund.
Furthermore, during the 2016 election cycle Rep. McCarthy's PAC made an alarming number of campaign contributions to over 45 Republican members. These members also received campaign contributions from the liberal Tuesday Group PAC that also received campaign contributions (p. 182) from the anti-conservative, LGBT group Human Rights Campaign.
The connections are clear that Rep. McCarthy has deep and verifiable ties to anti-conservative members of Congress who are now popularly called RINOs, Republicans in name only. This is a disturbing pattern for someone who wants to be Speaker of the House. It is equally disturbing, if not more so, that any conservative member of Congress would support McCarthy for Speaker.
Urge Congress to elect a proven conservative for Speaker of the House.
The next Speaker of the House must be a great leader, not just a good leader. America's Congress needs a Speaker who has a proven track record with convictional vision of greatness to restore and defend the constitutional republic of the United States of America.
The next Speaker must not be beholden to a donor class of its own political party that favors a departure from constitutional conservatism in exchange for bigger government, crony corporatism, or globalism. The next Speaker must not surrender the Speaker's position of power during the legislative process. There must be a determination for the Speaker to put an end to Democratic and establishment Republican leaders who hold defense spending hostage to force spending for their social projects.
America has a legislative priority that supersedes the agenda and fundraising apparatus of the House Republican established order. It is time to fix congressional leadership and restore regular order. Congress needs to force the Senate to vote on House appropriation bills. Congress needs to refuse to settle for bloated continuing resolutions and omnibus bills that are negotiated behind closed doors by Democratic and Republican establishment leaders.
Congressional conservatives should not make behind the scenes deals with current leadership on who the next Speaker will be. Instead, there needs to be a public debate among House Republicans to select a proven conservative Speaker. Contact your congressman now.
