Watson Coleman: ‘Thank God they weren’t in the Majority on Jan. 6th’
As Kevin McCarthy flailed with 202 votes, and the U.S. House of Representatives prepared to head into the chamber for a fourth roll call on speaker, U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-12) said the GOP again has undertaken a strategy of bedlam at the Capitol.
“What I see is chaos in the absence of any workable plan,” Watson Coleman told InsiderNJ. “The Republicans [in the House] are interested in being vengeful, dismantling and chaotic.
“I listen to what McCarthy said, and even though I don’t consider him a person yoked to honesty and truth, he said he’s not going to step away. There are lots of reasons people are not supporting him; what more he could possibly promise?”
McCarthy has already made “many concessions to weaken the power of the speakership and empower the rank-and-file through a rules package that would change the way the House operates – a move to cater to the hardliners who have demanded more say in the new Congress,” according to CNN. “In one key concession, he has agreed to significantly lower the threshold to now allow a bloc of just five members to call for a vote seeking the ouster of a sitting speaker.”
McCarthy could not afford to lose four votes, and on the third ballot, Jim Jordan – his name put in nomination by a clutch of GOP lawmakers on the right – had received 20 votes.
U.S. Representatives planned to imminently head back to the floor.
“We start again with the speaker vote,” said Watson Coleman. “I understand the former president [Donald J. Trump] weighed in. I can’t imagine that will be helpful. I don’t understand them.”
McCarthy routinely sought to appease Trump, going down to meet with him at Mar-a-Lago, in what now appears to have been a fool’s errand, as the wing of the caucus that opposes him consists of Trump-backed congresspeople on the right wing of the GOP.
“I’ve only been an observer of him [McCarthy],” said Watson Coleman, “and what I have seen is someone who never wanted to work anything out, who has been obstructionist. What we’re seeing here is that government doesn’t work if they’re [Republicans] in charge.”
The Congresswoman said U.S. Rep. John Katco of New York would have made a good Republican speaker, “But he couldn’t take it anymore.”
Is there a play for Democrats, whose 212 votes remain fixed behind U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York?
Is there an opportunity for some kind of coalition government?
“We’re reasonable,” Watson Coleman said. “We believe in this institution. …We’re willing to look for a partner to work with us for the sensible, sensitive and honest governance the citizens deserve. If there is such a person, we’re willing [to negotiate].”
But sadly, the Congresswoman said, she sees no such individual on the other side of the aisle.
U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise’s (R-LA) name circulates an alternative to McCarthy.
Not for Watson Coleman.
“He has been a disappointment… refusing to have a serious discussion and to put together reasonable and rational gun legislation.”
Himself a victim of gun violence, if he can’t stand up to the gun lobby, “I question his capacity [to stand firm as a leader],” the Congresswoman said.
Two years after a mob incited by Donald Trump desecrated the United States Capitol and sought to short circuit the American transition of presidential power, Watson Coleman reflected on the fractured condition of the rival party.
“Thank God they weren’t in the majority on Jan 6th,” said the Congresswoman. “We have President Joe Biden in the White House. He is skillful and transparent, and he will continue to wisely use his tools of government. In the senate, thank God we have the majority, where Democratic leadership sees their responsibility of leadership.”
Of her own caucus’ choice for Speaker, Watson Coleman said of Jeffries, “He is an amazingly smart and knowledgeable young man, whose rise in his time here speaks of his intellect and his ability to reach out and make people comfortable.
“He is going to [eventually] make a great speaker,” the Congresswoman added. “In addition, it should not be lost on people that our leadership – Hakeen Jeffries, Pete Aguilar, and Katherine Clark – represent American diversity, and Catherine Clark, our whip, has assisted considerably in assuring that Democrats continue to stick together.”
Asked if she wished to add anything to InsiderNJ’s interview as she headed toward the floor, Watson Coleman only added, “Pray for us.”
Of course Watson Coleman would say that the Republicans that they were in disarray. That’s what the minority party, which happens to be Socialist at this time, would say. Anything to attack the opposition, while they are failures in their own right. Coleman is only projecting what her Socialist-Communist party was doing and continues to do to destroy this nation. It’s called gaslighting. Blame the other side for doing what you’re doing and make everyone crazy in the process. Coleman was a nightmare show for New Jersey with her support of Socialist programs, and she is a nightmare show in Congress with pushing more Socialist-Communist agendas.