HOUSE SPEAKER HOPEFUL KEVIN MCCARTHY STUNS REPUBLICANS BY WITHDRAWING FROM RACE

- Breaking News -

HOUSE SPEAKER HOPEFUL KEVIN MCCARTHY STUNS REPUBLICANS BY WITHDRAWING FROM RACE, VOTE POSTPONED

REPUBLICANS

McCarthy withdraws from speaker race, vote postponed

Published October 08, 2015 FoxNews.com

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DEVELOPING ...
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, the front-runner to replace John Boehner, stunned his Republican colleagues on Thursday by withdrawing from the race -- a decision that will postpone the vote for speaker.

Fox News is told McCarthy simply said it was not his time. McCarthy faced opposition from some conservative members and groups, but was thought to have more than enough support to win the party's nomination in the vote initially set for Thursday.

It's unclear what specifically made McCarthy change his mind and drop out.

ORIGINAL STORY ...
House Republicans are huddling on Capitol Hill to nominate the next speaker, as Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy grapples with an 11th-hour challenge to his bid to succeed John Boehner -- after a conservative bloc threw their support elsewhere.

McCarthy, though, voiced confidence going into the vote, which will pit him against Reps. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, and Daniel Webster, R-Fla.

"It's going to go great," McCarthy said Thursday morning.
Webster has won favor with the conservative wing of the party. Wednesday evening, the House Freedom Caucus -- with its 30-40 members -- decided it would back Webster as a bloc.

The results are expected to be announced Thursday afternoon.

While McCarthy remains the favorite to win Thursday's nomination, the entire House -- including Democrats -- will cast the final vote for speaker set for Oct. 29.

And even if McCarthy wins the nomination comfortably on Thursday, he'll need to muster an absolute majority, of roughly 218 members, to win at the end of the month. If he -- or any candidate -- struggles to reach 218 votes before the end of the month, that potentially gives other factions leverage going into the vote.

McCarthy, meanwhile, is said to be trying to distance himself from Boehner, amid conservative concerns he'd represent a mere continuation of the sitting speaker's term.

The other candidates also are vowing a fresh start.
"I think McCarthy's pitch was `I'm not John Boehner, I'm going to run things differently, I'm my own man,"' Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Texas, said after the candidates made their pitches to members during a meeting Tuesday.

The speaker's race already has seen a few curveballs since Boehner suddenly announced his retirement at the end of the month and McCarthy swiftly positioned himself as the presumptive next in line.

Shortly after announcing his candidacy, McCarthy was seen to stumble in a Fox News interview where he appeared to link Hillary Clinton's dropping poll numbers to the congressional Benghazi committee. His comments fueled Democratic charges that the committee is merely political, which GOP leaders deny.

McCarthy himself has walked back the comments, and the leader of that committee, South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy, told MSNBC on Wednesday that "Kevin screwed up." He also noted McCarthy had "apologized" for the remark.

Amid the backlash over McCarthy's Benghazi remarks, Chaffetz entered the leadership race over the weekend.

Boehner also decided to postpone other leadership elections until after the Oct. 29 full House vote for speaker.

Whether McCarthy can rally the GOP caucus behind him is an open question.

Republicans have nearly 250 members in the House and on paper have the numbers to win against the Democrats' nominee, likely Nancy Pelosi. But if the winning Republican nominee on Thursday comes out with a tally short of 218, he'll have to spend the next several weeks trying to rally support to get to that number.

In a curious development, Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., also sent a letter to House Republican Conference Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., urging a full vetting of all leadership candidates to avoid a repeat of 1998, when the conference selected then-Rep. Bob Livingston in November to succeed outgoing House Speaker Newt Gingrich. It then emerged Livingston had been conducting an affair. Jones asked that any candidate who has committed "misdeeds" withdraw.

Asked by FoxNews.com to elaborate, Jones said he doesn't "know anything" specific about any of the candidates, but, "We need to be able to say without reservation that 'I have nothing in my background that six months from now could be exposed to the detriment of the House of Representatives.'" He said he wants to make sure the candidates have "no skeletons."

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015...-speaker-vote/

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Next Republican puppet!

Great news!

W

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Originally Posted by ALIPAC

Great news!

W

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Yeah it is, but the two new ones being mentioned, Webster and McMoriis-Rogers, are on the Cantor list. Be nice if Gowdy reconsidered. Why was Webster on the Cantor list? Can't find anything

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Originally Posted by realbsball

. . . Why was Webster on the Cantor list? Can't find anything

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Webster endorses immigration reform — with preconditions

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August 4, 2013|By Mark K. Matthews, Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — On the same day Congress adjourned for a five-week break, U.S. Rep. Dan Webster did something he's avoided for months: speak at length about immigration reform and declare his support for an approach that would give unauthorized immigrants a pathway to citizenship.

The surprise announcement, made Friday in an interview with the Orlando Sentinel, comes just as immigration-reform groups were preparing to pressure the Winter Garden lawmaker during the August recess, as Webster is considered one of the few "swing" House Republicans on the issue.

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His support for citizenship, however, comes with several preconditions, and how they are received by activists and other lawmakers could foretell whether immigration reform has a chance in this Congress.

"We're a nation of immigrants, there's no question about that. But we're also a nation of laws," said Webster in a 36-minute interview. "I think we have to honor both of those."

The first step is border security, he said.

Before U.S. authorities begin the process of legalizing the nation's 11 million unauthorized immigrants — including nearly 900,000 in Florida — security officials must stop at least 90 percent of those trying to enter the country illegally, Webster said. An independent watchdog, such as the Government Accountability Office, would be in charge of ensuring the benchmark had been reached.

Webster also wants all job applicants to be screened for immigration status through a system such as E-Verify.

Individuals who have waited years to immigrate legally also should be given priority, he said.

Variations of all three of these measures are included in the reform bill — co-sponsored by U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. — that passed the Senate in June.

But Webster's final suggestion could cause major heartburn for reform advocates. He wants to empower state and local authorities to help enforce the new immigration law — an issue that has been contentious in several states.

Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld an Arizona law that allows police to check immigration status — with certain conditions — while striking down efforts by other states to crack down on unauthorized immigrants.

When asked to explain the scope of his proposal, Webster provided few details, other than to say that more bodies were needed to ensure enforcement.

"I support them [local law enforcement] being part of the team that enforces whatever new laws dealing with immigration [that] we pass," he said.

However controversial, the suggestions outlined by Webster are critical to the future of the immigration bill, which has stalled in the House as opponents have denounced one of its central planks: a 13-year path to citizenship.

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To jump-start debate, supporters have looked to the August recess as a time to put pressure on House Republicans, including Webster, they think could support reform. The second-term congressman was identified weeks ago by top Democrats as one of 23 "persuadable" House Republicans.

Advocates are looking to pressure Webster at public meetings with constituents during the break — he has at least three planned, in Clermont, Bartow and Polk City — and one group, the Florida Immigrant Coalition, is launching a petition drive in his district, which includes western Orange, much of Lake and northeast Polk counties.

"We sincerely believe Congressman Webster wants — and will do — the moral, right and smart thing," said Maria Rodriguez, executive director for the Florida Immigrant Coalition.

Though she disagreed with some of Webster's conditions, especially the idea of using local enforcement to enforce immigration laws, she said she was glad to hear that he was open to the idea of a path to citizenship.

"We welcome it," she said.

Reaction was less enthusiastic in the "anti-amnesty" crowd.

"I don't know what's wrong with these politicians. I'm very discouraged," said Jack Oliver of the group Floridians for Immigration Enforcement.

Though he said he appreciated Webster's focus on enforcement, he warned that hasty efforts to provide a path to citizenship could have political consequences. As an example, he cited the criticism levied against Rubio by some conservatives for his role in passing immigration reform in the Senate.

"If Dan Webster wants to jump into the frying pan with [Rubio] and get burnt, then that's his decision," Oliver said.

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/...se-republicans

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Originally Posted by ALIPAC

Great news!

W

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I'll go look for some more REAL GREAT NEWS. :cool:

Didn't I read somewhere else on ALIPAC that Rep. King (R-Iowa) was supporting Webster? If so, why would he support someone who knowingly supports amnesty? King's got some explaining to do!

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Originally Posted by MW

Didn't I read somewhere else on ALIPAC that Rep. King (R-Iowa) was supporting Webster? If so, why would he support someone who knowingly supports amnesty? King's got some explaining to do!

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STEVE KING ENDORSES DANIEL WEBSTER FOR SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE

From Fox News--Breaking: John Boehner has agreed to stay on as Speaker

You don't want McMorris-Rodgers. She is basically an elitist twerp. Washington GOP'ers can't stand her---but she fools them every time, like McCain does.

Here is updated information on Daniel Webster from NumbersUSA. His grade is "A" at this time.

https://www.numbersusa.com/content/m...674/reportcard

The story referenced in an earlier post on this thread where he speaks about support for amnesty is something to pay attention to for sure.