Chip Roy’s Call for Debate
He is proving the opposite of his argument.
Twice in the last two days, Representative Chip Roy (R-TX21) has risen on the floor to nominate someone other than Kevin McCarthy to be Speaker of the House (first it was Jim Jordan and then it was Byron Donalds). In both nomination speeches, he made a plea for the wonders of floor debate.
Both times, he pointed out that that chamber was full and present and that this was how it should function when dealing with all of its major business. He called what was going on yesterday “an actual debate” as opposed to the passage of other legislation he didn’t like.
Now, I get the impulse and it even sounds kind of correct: shouldn’t they all be out there debating? Isn’t that what we learned in middle school? Well, I would note that the notion that members of Congress do their basic work on the floor is pretty much a middle school level understanding, at best. Moreover, Roy’s own actions prove the point because the only way this matter is going to be resolved is via negotiations off the floor in advance of the vote.
First, note that while the entire House is assembled, we are hardly watching a debate. We are watching one speech per nominee and then a vote. This is not a debate in any useful sense of the term. And even if all the members present could speak, it would be less debate and more just individual speeches with the probability of minds being changed being quite low.
Second, there have been as I write this four votes with a fifth in process (how many total votes there will be remains to be seen, but I suspect more than five). Each vote has been roughly the same. The Democrats’ tally has not changed. The Republicans’ tally has varied only slightly over the process of voting (with McCarthy’s tally diminishing along the way). So, floor “debate” isn’t changing anything and proves the legislative truth that you assemble votes before floor action, not during it.
Third, if there are going to be changes to these vote totals, they will come about because of negotiations off the floor not because of the stirring words of nominating speeches. That is: floor debate isn’t how work is done in a legislative body and we are seeing this in action. The deals cut with McCarthy were cut before floor action (and those deals were insufficient). Whatever led to Jim Jordan no longer being nominated was probably based on some agreement made yesterday after the recess.
I will add that this situation, wherein McCarthy cut a bunch of deals but still doesn’t have the votes to win underscores that he is not well suited to being Speaker. The fact that he thinks continuing to repeat the vote will change the outcomes is not the stuff of leadership nor of political acumen.
The failure of the process to produce a viable outcome is an indictment of the inability of the majority causus to adqequately negotiation a deal off the floor.
It’s like some of these clowns prepped for their legislative lives by watching Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, one or two episodes of Schoolhouse Rock, and a Hallmark Christmas movie.
Honestly, this is all so strange and depressing. If these Republicans are really this dumb, we are in trouble.
As I mentioned on a different topic a few days ago: debate, particularly public debate, is not about changing minds, but rather demonstrating strength and certainty.
Which is what Chip Roy actually wants: the chance to demonstrate to his supporters how he will stubbornly refuse to compromise on anything and will keep going far after everyone else has become exhausted.
It has been already said but I’ll say it again. They don’t debate in Congress. They speechify in Congress. All any Congressman wants is a video clip or a sound bite. I guess by having the ability to speechify during the day saves them time so they don’t have to make a speech to an empty room.
As his constituent, I can say he doesn’t debate a campaign opponent, he doesn’t show up on local news, and he doesn’t have public town hall meetings. He’s a fraud through and through.
@Stormy Dragon: That’s a good insight
@MarkedMan:
Credit goes to The Alt-Right Playbook (I forget which episode specifically)
@Jen:
They should have watched Leverage. 🙂
@Jen:
Just without the integrity and patriotism of the titular character — nor the charm and talent of Jimmy Stewart, Jean Arthur, and Claude Rains.
A grown man still going by the name “Chip”. Pathetic. What else could we hope for from the guy.
@Not the IT Dept.:
I would prefer Connor Roy from Succession to this idiot.
@Stormy Dragon:
Calls to mind stuff I’ve read recently about the different ways of securing conformity: dominance, prestige, and/or propriety. We’re seeing this play out in the current political debacle. Scarcity abounds.
@Mu Yixiao: I went to the link you provided, and instead of the original show “Leverage,” it pointed me to “The Gimme a K Street Job.”
Here’s the description:
I am frequently astonished at what is filmed.
@Stormy Dragon:
This is a good point.