Truth Bombs

“If at least 218 House Republicans had managed to unite behind a continuing resolution, McCarthy would have had more leverage in this recently completed shutdown fight. Gaetz’s argument is circular; he and his allies refuse to cooperate with McCarthy, weakening the speaker in negotiations with the Senate and White House, and then they complain that McCarthy didn’t negotiate a better deal.” —Jim Geraghty

“The likes of Matt Gaetz believe that Republicans have a problem with the quality of their leadership when the quality of the followership is more the issue.” —Rich Lowry

“Gaetz himself has to look to Democrats to help him take the speaker’s gavel from McCarthy. Who’s the apostate now? Giving Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries ultimate say over the composition of the Republican leadership of the House is a funny way to show ideological or partisan purity.” —Rich Lowry

“Matt Gaetz has pulled off what is probably the greatest dog-that-caught-the-car moment in American political history. Now comes the time when the dog has to concede he has no idea what to do next.” —Byron York

“If you’re voting with every single Democrat in the House to oust a Republican Speaker, it’s not about winning for your constituents. It’s not about winning for conservatives. Based on all the fundraising emails we are seeing, it’s only about personal attention. There are people who fight for you, and people who fight for your attention. Big difference.” —Congressman Dan Crenshaw (R-TX)

“One of the least convincing claims by Gaetz’s defenders is that McCarthy was punished for ignoring the base. ‘The base,’ of course, is a popular euphemism for the most vociferous populist faction of the GOP. This faction enjoys blowing things up — mostly their own party’s prospects. In this case, the ‘base’ was represented by eight Republicans and the entire Democratic Party.” —David Harsanyi

He’s Got a Point

“You know what I think paralyzes us? Continuing to govern by continuing resolution and omnibus. You know what I think throws this institution into chaos? Marching toward the dollar not being the reserve currency anymore. You talk about chaos as if it’s me forcing a few votes and filing a few motions. Real chaos is when the American people have to go through the austerity that is coming if we continue to have $2 trillion annual deficits.” —Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL)

“I am the only Republican in the entire United States Congress who takes no lobbyist money and no PAC money.” —Matt Gaetz

The Bottom Line

“If we want to turn to reality, the real issue is what no one wants to talk about — the approximately 70% of the federal budget that is non-discretionary, which happens automatically.” —Star Parker

Political Futures

“Joe Biden is president — but who is his heir? The obvious candidate would be his vice president, but her fellow Democrats passed a damning judgment on her potential in the 2020 presidential primaries. She wasn’t viable then, in the year of racial reckoning. What would make her better now or in 2024?” —Daniel McCarthy

“When Trump cast his eyes on the 2015 Republican Party, he saw not a coherent whole that could resist a hostile takeover but a fragmented coalition that could be picked off piece by piece by a master of transactional politics. Newsom sees the same in today’s Democratic Party.” —Daniel McCarthy

For the Record

“Interviews with a number of voters across the political and economic spectrum find them frustrated by the administration not understanding that by the administration’s measure, the economy is doing well, but for them, it is not. They are even more incensed when an economist or a Hollywood figure scolds them for not feeling good about something that has not trickled down to them.” —Salena Zito

“Those who deny there is a problem and are fine with an open border likely have motives beyond compassion. These might include a visceral hatred of the U.S. and a desire to see our nation, in the words of Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, ‘fundamentally transformed.’” —Cal Thomas

Upright

“Ronald Reagan was a man who understood the importance of a vision — a quintessential optimist. Proverbs 29:18 says, ‘Without a vision, people perish.’ A revolution was born from Ronald Reagan’s vision that all things are possible for the city on the hill.” —Senator Tim Scott (R-SC)

And Last…

“Those who say that all cultures are equal never explain why the results of those cultures are so grossly unequal.” —Thomas Sowell