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Welcome to the commentary magazine daily podcast today is Wednesday, January 4th,

2023, I am John Funthoritz, the editor of commentary magazine with me as always,

executive editor, April Maldhye,

hi John, media commentary columnist and American Enterprise Institute fellow Christine

Rosen, hi Christine, associate editor and author of the rise of the new Puritans,

no arosment, hi Noah, hi John, and joining us today, Washington commentary columnist and American

Enterprise Institute fellow Matthew Contnetti, hi Matt, hi John. So Matt as our Washington

commentary columnist I thought we needed to have you on today to talk about the unprecedented

blank show that took place in Washington yesterday with I guess three votes for the speaker

ship of the house and Kevin McCarthy like Charlie Brown in the football appears to be on his way

to be denied the speaker ship again as he was in 2015 when John Boehner quit the house and

McCarthy was next in line to be speaker theoretically and much of the house Republican caucus

went to Paul Ryan and said please be speaker be speaker we don't want McCarthy please be speaker

and Ryan didn't want to be speaker but he eventually became speaker and here we are

seven and a half years later and McCarthy having spent the last several years at least since Ryan

quit in 2018 sucking up being nice offering people bike rides being personable and friendly

each vote yesterday three votes he got fewer and fewer votes and more anti votes

it's only 10% of the house Republican caucus but frankly I don't though I don't understand

what the end game is for the for the people who want him not to be speaker I don't understand

how he can ever be speaker maybe this is something that you know people can quote at me later after

I've said it because he'll end up being speaker today I don't know I mean this is a the

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