The Morning Briefing: New and Improved Kevin McCarthy Passes First Test as Speaker

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Top O’ the Briefing

Happy Friday, dear Kruiser Morning Briefing friends. Sara Beth was convinced that mastering calligraphy would finally get one of her monthly fan letters noticed by Judge Judy.

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These weekly check-ins on the new Republican majority are becoming rather pleasant. I count myself among the many who were convinced that I’d be doubling my monthly whiskey budget to deal with Team McCarthy. Thankfully — especially in this economy — the whiskey budget remains unchanged.

McCarthy faced his first potential hiccup this week in his attempt to boot Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) off of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Matt wrote about how that worked out:

The notoriously anti-Semitic Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) was kicked off the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Thursday in a close 218-211 vote.

Omar has claimed, without evidence, that Republicans are discriminating against her because of her race, religion, and nationality.

As anyone who has been paying attention knows, that’s Omar’s response every time she’s taken to task for her raging anti-Semitic and anti-American ways. She’s a despicable human being whom the Dems have allowed to remain so without any consequences. She’s not going to be happy with a new sheriff in town.

There were a few Republicans threatening to buck McCarthy and vote to keep Omar on the committee. As late as Wednesday evening, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) was still saying that she was a firm “No” on ousting Omar, and it was thought that there might be enough others to screw things up for the new speaker.

When the vote finally came, it broke along party lines with, as Matt reported, Rep. Dave Joyce (R-Ohio) voting “Present.”

Mace told Axios that she was getting “called to the principal’s office quite a lot,” referring to McCarthy’s efforts to sway her. He put a lot of effort into winning over the holdouts. If this hadn’t gone his way, it would have been a quick and hideous end to the honeymoon.

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It would also have been a field day for the press.

Instead, we’re being treated to the spectacle of some of Omar’s Squad pals losing it over her removal, which Bonchie covered over at RedState. Squeaky Ocasio-Cortez’s meltdown was particularly unhinged and delicious. She’s jumping up and down like a scorpion got loose in her pants.

Again, I think that the rule changes under which McCarthy is operating will actually make him a stronger, more effective speaker than if he’d gotten the job under the old rules.

While this was a test for McCarthy, it will probably be one of the easier ones he faces. Omar is loathed by a lot of people, many of them Democrats. It’s not a herculean task to turn sentiment against her.

Still, it’s another good mark on McCarthy’s early speakership.

We’ve got to enjoy the wins while we can.

Please consider subscribing to the Morning Briefing here. It’s free and it helps keep me off the streets.

The Mailbag of Magnificence contributions can be sent to [email protected].

The Mailbag of Magnificence

And we’re back. Let’s kick things off with this from Jim:

Stephen,

Love the Morning Briefing. It’s one of my first reads of the day and it
goes well with coffee. Keep up the good work.

Please don’t use the phrase “mainstream media” as they obviously are not
mainstream. I use “corporate media”, “clickbait media”, or “DNC
stenographers” when referring to the flying monkeys.

I’m glad you’re enjoying the MB, Jim. I’ve been writing about liberal bias in the mainstream media for over 20 years. The term still applies. The fact that they’re mainstream is what makes them a problem. You know who’s corporate media? Me. And all of my Salem/Townhall Media colleagues, like Ed Morrissey, Katie Pavlich, and Kira Davis, to name a few. I’m not going to lump us in with the likes of Don Lemon or the Opinion loons at The New York Times. This would be a good time for all involved to defer to my expertise.

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Brice writes:

Thank you for the Kabana Tunes video reminding us there was a time when Linda Ronstadt was hot and before we knew she was a total loon.  I will still always be in awe of her singing.

Fun fact, Brice: Linda’s older sister was my dad’s high school sweetheart and lifelong friend. They died three months apart. I’ve known Linda a long time — she used to babysit me. She’s always been WAAAAY left. She came to a show of mine once and said, “I don’t agree with any of your politics, but damn, you’re funny.” I haven’t seen her in over 20 years. Everybody in that family can sing and play guitar, by the way.

This is from Jeffrey:

Dear Mr. Kruiser,

I have the perfect solution for the Dem’s VP problem.  Merely have Vice President Harris announce that she has to resign the position in order to spend family time with her husband, who has just become pregnant with their next child.

By the way, as for the Uno tournament:  It is my firm belief that if you want to shatter friendships or familial ties, and you don’t have enough time for a game of Monopoly, Uno is your answer.

All the best!

You’re a true problem solver, Jeffrey. And now I want to play Uno again.

Steven has some thoughts on Trump/DeSantis:

Mr. Kruiser,

Thanks for all you do on the Morning Briefing.

I “wish” there was someone close to Trump who would/could smack him upside the head before this gets out of control.

He should be courting Desantis as the VP.  This would give them 4 more years of Trump, with a follow-on 8 years worth of Desantis.   DeSantis could provide an effective balance, as well as, someone who could be tasked with actually “doing” things.

Hopefully, with almost 12 years of control we might have the slimmest possibility of making some meaningful change to the uniparty structure.

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I’ve got a nagging feeling that Trump’s biggest opponent for the 2024 nomination will be his ego. I don’t know if you saw it, but I wrote at the beginning of the week that his obsession with DeSantis is getting creepy and makes him look weak. What you laid out would be ideal. Unfortunately, Trump has decided that DeSantis is the monster under his bed.

We’ll finish with an excerpt from a long email from Susan, mostly because the subject line is “Oh Majestic Magnificent King Kruiser!!”

Responding to my recent column on movies, Susan tells a story about buying a farmhouse in which the previous owners left over 3,000 movies scattered across various forms of media. Here’s what she did with them:

I’ve never had a TV in my homes, preferring to read, or create things, (although I do watch some comedy on my tablet in my ‘spare’ time), so those movies were just taking up space I preferred to use for other things.  I gave them away, all or none kind of deal, to a guy that was hauling trash from around the area.  It didnt matter to me what he did with them.  

The previous owners also left all tools, mowers, tractors, furniture, huge supply of light bulbs, building supplies, owner manuals for EVERYTHING ever installed or purchased for the farm, etc.  Crazy or OCD, I’m not sure.  

Anyway, love all you do to improve our ‘mental’ health!!  You’re the very BESTEST ‘King’ I’ve never known!!!!

Thank you very much, Susan. I think my legacy will definitely be that I improved the mental health of America. Now I want to buy a farmhouse.

Thank you all for your emails. This was a fun mailbag. Looking forward to next Friday!

Everything Isn’t Awful

Yes. Sound on. I don’t know why, but I cracked up.

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Here’s a great song to kick start your weekend. I got to see him live once.

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