Frazier Park, CA (Thursday, Oct. 8 at 9:45 a.m.)—Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield), the House Majority Leader and representative for the Mountain Communities, has dropped out of the race for John Boehner’s seat as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives this morning.

On Wednesday night it was reported that 40 “hard-line House conservatives” said their votes for House Speaker would  go to Representative Daniel Webster of Florida. McCarthy needed 218 votes to win the Speaker’s position. Loss of the far right section of his caucus made his easy election to Boehner’s position less certain. It also made it clear that McCarthy was likely to face the same adversarial tactics that Boehner had faced as Speaker.

Some pundits point to a boast made by McCarthy last week on Fox News as a grave error that lost him support in his run to be Speaker. The never-ending House Select Committee on Benghazi investigation was cited by McCarthy as an example of success because the investigation has lowered Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton’s standing in the polls.

For many, the admission that the resources of the U.S. government are being used for political purposes to cripple the Democratic opposition and strengthen the Republican agenda to retake the White House was refreshing. But veteran legislators considered the admission poor form, the mark of a politician not quite ready for the Speaker’s position.

Back home in California, McCarthy has become well-known for being congenial and likable in person, but often sounding “programmed” in his public comments, unwilling to ‘think on his feet’ or speak candidly. National critics last week said he sounds as if he is reciting political talking points from a teleprompter, rather than engaging issues with genuine, creative ideas.

Much of McCarthy’s political career so far has been a rise with virtually no opposition. His powerful mentor, former House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas (now retired), has provided guidance and political influence. Thomas helped his former intern establish the “inevitability factor” in his run for the California Assembly and then helped McCarthy take Bill Thomas’ own seat in the U.S. Congress.  McCarthy has had only one real opponent in California for his House seat so far, when Terry Phillips of Bakersfield ran against him and actively campaigned in 2012 as an Independent. McCarthy had one face to face debate with Phillips, but would not schedule any additional meetings.
—Patric Hedlund

This is part of the October 2, 2015 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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