Conservative hardliners are privately
strategizing who could replace Kevin McCarthy if there is an ouster
effort against the speaker.
But they’re hitting a familiar dead end: They can’t land on a feasible alternative.
[...] McCarthy has faced public threats to
his gavel for weeks as he navigates a looming government shutdown. Yet
the private discussions — including in closed-door House Freedom Caucus
meetings this week — about a potential successor indicate his detractors
have hit a more serious phase in their plans.
[,,,] Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), the former
Freedom Caucus chair, has privately raised Majority Whip Tom Emmer
(R-Minn.) as a potential choice, according to two Republicans familiar
with the discussions. Biggs, however, denied claims that he had
mentioned Emmer as untrue, while slamming any claims of the conservative
group coalescing around the whip as “completely false.”
Why not Sparkie the Dog, Marjorie Taylor Greene, or ChatGPT? Names as feasible as Emmer.
Some
members of the far-right faction of the party are coalescing around
nominating a member of McCarthy’s leadership team, Rep. Tom Emmer
(Minn.), to be the next speaker if they can successfully oust McCarthy,
according to those people. The members think Emmer is more attuned to
their concerns and will better deliver conservative results.
The
effort to replace McCarthy with one of his top deputies is the latest
example of the acrimony and chaos that has upended the Republican
conference this year and has Congress on the path to a government
shutdown. [...]
Emmer, according totwo
people who have spoken to him, has not indicated whether he would want
to pursue the speakership or support a measure to oust McCarthy.
“I
fully support Speaker McCarthy. He knows that and I know that,” Emmer
told The Washington Post in a statement. “I have zero interest in palace
intrigue. End of discussion.”
It’s
unclear if far-right members will move forward with the plan or if the
plotting is simply a warning to McCarthy about the seriousness of their
displeasure. But some members have emphasized that removing McCarthy is
“inevitable” and “imminent” and they are calculating the right time to
try to do it.
But - Emmer? Another what-you-see-is-what-you-get human being, foibles and all. With bluster seldom matched; never exceeded.
Crypto-man, a consistent platform belief maintained while serving on the House Financial Services Committee. An astute judge of people, who to jump on with spurs (9/27/23), who to praise beyond merit (12/8/21)?
Criticize as you might, ChatGPT, while only a robot computer program stringing words together probabilistically after trained on a massive word corpus, shows better judgment. And would make a better Speaker.
Ask ChatGPT who you should trust with your money, SEC Chair Gary Gensler, or SBF. See what it says.
___________UPDATE___________
In fairness, Emmer questions whether one with long standing ties to big banks can be a fair regulator; a question many ask; see Transcript, Emmer questions to Gensler. Asking complex questions and suggesting yes/no answers apply IS a rhetorical trick. But the underlying theme, with leading regulators, Secretaries of the Treasuery, etc. having banking backgrounds, can they be fair, and if having general backgrounds not so tied to the industry, can they regulate competently is of great importance, but not a yes/no thing without nuance.
Also, stablecoins present a separate Crypto situation, since by definition they are not profit-promising investment contracts.
Also, a skepticism over the potential privacy impact of CBDC, central bank digital currency, is widely held, and questioning in that direction is valid. Study after study has been posed on CBDC policy, while also there is much research on how a CBDC can best be implemented. We do not have it, yet, and if Emmer's beliefs prevail, we will never have a US CBDC.
Emmer's embrace of crypto is clearly a strongly held belief, but how to minimize the potential for fraud is a dimension Emmer seems to discredit; witness his willingness to take SBF as a credible and learned source of crypto market prudence and stability prior to the SBF shell breaking. SBF being a Humpty Dumpty figure if there ever has been one.
Seriously, Emmer as Speaker seems to vault him beyond his capacities; but the feeling at Crabgrass, where residence is in the district that elected Emmer; is that when looking at vaulting beyond capabilities, look to Emmer's predecessor in office, Michel Bachmann. Emmer remains an upgrade, however faint that is as praise.
