1.14.23 | The Kangaroo Court: A Look at the Speaker's First Week

This past week, Kevin McCarthy was elected Speaker of the House and officially began his tenure as the leader of the House of Representatives.

Before McCarthy was voted in, many were extremely vocal on Twitter, especially among the political pundit crowd, due to his perceived status as an “establishment” figurehead. Big-name voices and every-day conservative Twitter users were not shy to express their concern about his election. While I shared many of these concerns, I now believe that McCarthy is a strong choice for the betterment of the country.

The Freedom Caucus was able to obtain most of their legislative demands, which is fantastic and I agree with virtually all of them, but what does this mean for actual legislative action in our country?

In this article, I will discuss McCarthy's accomplishments during his first week in office, as well as what it might mean (or not mean) for the next two years of the 118th Congress.

Before we go any further, I think it is important to remind everyone of the process necessary to pass new legislation:

As you saw in this classic School House Rock video the first step in the legislative process is for the House to vote on a bill.

Then, for the bill to become law, the Senate must also vote on the same bill. This will be almost impossible to achieve, as the House is now controlled by the Republican Party but the Senate is still controlled by the Democrats. Additionally, the President has the power to veto any bill before signing it into law, leaving Joe Biden as the ultimate final decision maker. These checks on partisan power are both a positive and a negative, as they prevent one party from dominating the legislative process, but this can also lead to stalemates and a lack of any real progress.

No matter what your opinion is on the bills Kevin McCarthy will bring to the House floor early in his term, it is unlikely that they will pass through the Senate as Democrats are almost certainly going to vote against them (especially the bills drafted by the Freedom Caucus members). If Republicans and Democrats are unable to work together to reach a consensus, this 118th Congress will lack any meaningful progress and will ultimately be a “Kangaroo Court,” hence the title image…

In any case, here is the first bill that was passed by McCarthy’s House:

The Family and Small Business Taxpayer Protection Act “will repeal funding for 87,000 new IRS agents, because the government should be here to help you, not go after you,” McCarthy said.

The bill rescinds $72 billion in spending on 87,000 new IRS agents recently put in place by the Inflation Reduction Act, and stipulates that the IRS can only use the remaining money for customer service and IT improvements. Republicans claim this will protect middle and lower-income taxpayers from increased audit scrutiny, as the proposed funding would increase the amount of audits by 1.2 million and more than half of those would be on individuals making less than $75,000 annually.

Democrats and the IRS reject this theory, claiming the funding was already earmarked for mainly IT improvements, and the elimination of additional agents will prevent proper investigation into hyper-wealthy that may be cheating their taxes. Based on the contradicting stories from both sides, it is difficult to understand what may or may not be true. But here’s the catch: it actually doesn’t matter…

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Because of the highly partisan nature of this bill, it will not pass the Senate. Yet many Republicans are still celebrating it’s passing the House vote, acting as if it has already become law, and thereby reducing this action to nothing more than theatrics:

House Republicans plan to use the Democrat’s refusal to accept this bill, and others like it, as ammunition against them.

What’s further, Republicans have also suggested abolishing the IRS and income tax altogether. This is more of the same empty talking-point politics many were hoping to escape in the new year. In fact, the Fair Tax Act, which proposed a “consumption tax” rather than income tax and eliminated the IRS completely, was more favorable for the wealthy, effectively cutting their tax rates from 45%+ to 23% flat tax on properties and service. Meanwhile, low-income individuals would also be subject to the same 23% flat tax on properties and services, rendering these necessities completely unaffordable.

Yet again, the Kangaroo Court will vote on this, Republicans will pass it in the House, but it will ultimately be dead on arrival in the Senate.

Here is another bill that will be brought to a vote in the House, and likely to get support…

However, as you may have guessed, it will never become law. The Democrats in the Senate will be completely unwilling to pass it due to their staunch opposition to a wall along the southern border and their support for “Globalist” causes (under the guise of humanitarian efforts), such as the United Nations.

Before I get slammed as a RINO pessimist, I want to make it clear that I am in full support of the policies outlined in virtually all of these bills. If I were in the House (and a likely member of the Freedom Caucus) and these bills were to be voted on, I would vote in favor of every single one. I would also try to encourage my Republican colleagues to vote in favor of them, as well as attempting to persuade the Democrats to do the same, even though it is unlikely. I understand why they are voting yes.

Unfortunately however, because Democrats are so opposed to these policies, presenting and passing these bills is a fruitless endeavor and ultimately a massive waste of time.

What the heck is going on here? Where is the good news? 

Here is some good news: House Republicans will usurp the existing January 6th Committee, and they plan to release 100% of the information and footage.

If you followed the J6 hearings, your perception of their findings likely depends on your “Media Diet.” If you watch CNN or MSNBC every day, you probably have a strong grasp on the narrative Adam Schiff has spoon-fed you. On the other hand, if you have a more diverse stream of information, you may recognize that certain aspects of the story do not add up. It is known that thousands of hours of security footage, countless closed-door testimonies, and large amounts of internal congressional communication have been withheld. What’s more, the former committee chose to “seal” this evidence from the public for fifty years. If this does not indicate that something is being hidden, I don’t know what will.

I will not explore any conspiracy theories related to J6 here, even though I find many of them reasonable. This is because I believe that soon the authentic evidence will be revealed. Although legislation must pass through both the House and the Senate, establishing committees and subcommittees within the House does not require the Senate’s approval. Thus, the House has the power to do as they please within the revamped J6 Committee.

It is said that this was one of the main demands made by Matt Gaetz during his delay of his Speaker vote for McCarthy. He would not vote for McCarthy until this request was granted.

Another committee that will be formed is the “Weaponization of the Federal Government.”

This Subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee will investigate civil liberties violations by government agencies. The 13-member committee will be chaired by Jim Jordan, and will have a Republican majority. The committee will have access to classified documents as well as subpoena power, and will investigate possible infractions of the Biden administration, including the Justice Department, FBI, and intelligence communities, as well as private companies like Twitter.

The newly appointed members of this subcommittee have already cited the “Twitter files” as evidence of the need for this type of investigation. The committee will investigate possible violations of civil liberties and human rights, including the Federal Government’s violations of the First Amendment.

Here is my article from last week exposing some of the shadowy dealings of these three-letter agencies.

More good news: The House passed a resolution on a bipartisan basis to create a committee that will investigate China.

This is promising news in light of the tensions between China and Taiwan. The US is a signatory of the “One China Policy,” honoring China’s control over Taiwan. At the same time, the US has affirmed the “Taiwan Relations Act,” allowing us to provide military means to Taiwan, such as Patriot Missile Systems. This seemingly contradicts the One China Policy. As the war between Russia and Ukraine continues, the situation between China and Taiwan remains uncertain, and it is clear that tensions are rising. Having a Congressional Committee placing additional oversight on China is a wonderful idea, and it is not just for political theater — this is national security.

There are many more bills that McCarthy’s House will bring forth in the coming weeks that I have not covered here, so if you are curious, here is a list of the 7 items he has promised:

At the beginning of this article I said that I would make the case for the Speaker, and here is why:

I believe Kevin McCarthy has the potential to work across the aisle and promote legislation that will better the lives of American citizens. During his time in Congress, he has proven his ability to find common ground and compromise, which is why some have actually been opposed to him. They feel he is too bureaucratic and does not have the best interests of The People in mind, and those individuals would sooner make a deal with the Devil before they would make one with a Democrat. My honest belief is that he understands the legislative process, and has the intent to use it to further meaningful policy.

The Freedom Caucus' requests are admirable, and I wish they could be achieved, however, this is simply not the case. Thus, I suggest the Republican House members focus on issues that both Republicans and Democrats can agree on, instead of wasting time on theatrics.

Just as I correctly labeled the effort to stop McCarthy’s Speakership “theater,” I fear the same thing will happen over the next two years of Congress.

We do not need further theatrics, like the failed impeachments of Donald Trump. Democrats in the House rejoiced at the thought of Trump being impeached, only to be acquitted in the Republican-controlled Senate. This was nothing more than political theatre and the Republicans called them out for it. Republicans must stay true to our principles and avoid these meaningless partisan attempts at spinning the narrative.

We have also heard the phrase "Government Shutdown" many times in the last few years, yet have never seen the government actually shut down. All federal employees keep working and are paid in full, national security is still up and running, and you can still go to the DMV or the Post Office. The fear-mongering over a government shutdown is just another example of creative “misinformation” used as ammunition against the other side. We must put an end to the partisan politics.

When the proletariat hears about a “Government Shutdown”:

Our nation is at a critical impasse right now, more divided and partisan that ever.

I must admit that I often get carried away and should take more time to review both sides of an issue before coming to a conclusion. This is why I started The Orbit, to take a more comprehensive look at each week's news in a format easy to share with anyone interested.

We can only hope that Speaker McCarthy is able to find causes that both parties can unite behind; the China investigative committee being one example. Our population is still in desperate need of inflation control, fair housing prices, lower taxes, and much more. Since it is clear that the bills proposed so far will not accomplish these goals, it is essential that Republicans and Democrats find common ground.

The House Republicans must have “think before you speak” mindset (or in this case, “think before you propose new legislation!”) and not prematurely declare “These bills passed!” knowing full well that the bills won't pass the Senate and will never become law. Such declarations come off as propagandistic and petty because Americans are intelligent enough to understand the legislative process.

After all, School House Rock taught us how it works in the 5th grade…