While much of the nation’s attention is focused right now on the Kyle Rittenhouse fiasco, there are enough other acts of insanity to go around. Let’s take House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) for example.
For reasons known only to himself, he decided to engage in a rambling eight-hour speech that kept members of Congress up until 5:10 in the morning ET on Friday. If it were possible to liken a speech to a pinball machine then that would be McCarthy’s speech.
His massive diatribe of a speech ranged from Tiananmen Square and the Berlin Wall, Elon Musk and Covid booster shots with an extra special side trip into Donald Trump’s not winning the Nobel Prize, The Independent [1] reports. Quite obviously McCarthy was doing whatever he could to delay the Democrat’s ambitious social spending and climate package.
McCarthy was originally scheduled to present the GOP’s arguments against the $2 trillion package. The package will hopefully provide a much-needed overhaul of the country’s healthcare, education. climate, immigration, and tax laws. The House was supposed to vote on Thursday night but then McCarthy happened.
He pulled a little trick out of his hat called the “magic minute.” This allows the Speaker, the majority leader, and the minority leader to speak for unlimited time. Meaning of course, that this “minute” turned into an eight-hour filibuster.
Kind of makes you miss Ted Cruz’s goofy [2] “green eggs and ham” speech doesn’t it? Remember that gem?
McCarthy also touched on such bizarre things as:
- The Chinese general who told his “friend in the Senate” that “you’re weak, America, because you believe in God, and you take Fentanyl.”
- Telling his colleagues “I can’t even afford to test drive a Tesla and Elon (Musk) is one of my best friends.”
- He added in a little wishful thinking, telling members of Congress that there are some parts of history he wished he’d witnessed personally.
“I wish I could have been in Tiananmen Square, and I wish I could have been there knocking down the Berlin Wall,” he said.
Around midnight he claimed he “might have a little headache now” because he’d had a Covid booster that day. I’d heard of the side effects of the vaccinations but I’m wondering if McCarthy’s blither-blathering is a new symptom? Okay, I know, I know. It’s not. Just couldn’t resist the wisecrack.
Democrats, understandably, were not happy with McCarthy’s ridiculously long speech. But Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (R-NY), perhaps put it best, calling it “one of the worst, low-quality speeches,” she’s ever heard. “This man clearly will not stop talking but has nothing to say.” Our hearts are with you, AOC, especially since Paul Gosar [3] has been such a creep to you.
If I have to suffer through Kevin McCarthy’s speech so can you 🤣 pic.twitter.com/8c4g3iUb34 [4]
— Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@RepAOC) November 19, 2021 [5]
Now here comes the even funnier part: All of McCarthy’s speechify was for naught. House Democrats successfully passed their spending bill by a solid vote of 220 to 213, The Daily Beast [6] reports. The victory is good news for Democrats on a number of levels:
“The bill would provide $550 billion for climate change, $400 billion for childcare and for universal preschool, $150 billion each for affordable housing and Medicaid’s home-care program, expanded child tax credits, and expanded Medicare provisions and subsidies, among other priorities.”
Way to go, Democrats! McCarthy’s boring eight-hour “magic minute” can now be happily placed in the trash bin of political history where it can keep former President Donald Trump’s claims of “stolen election” company.
WATCH:
Kevin McCarthy complains that Trump hasn't won a Nobel Prize pic.twitter.com/3gybJSHBoI [7]
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 19, 2021 [8]