Day two of the House Speaker battle is scheduled to begin at noon, maybe.  Amid the chaos “GOP leaders and aides were still deciding how to proceed on the floor on Wednesday. Top Republicans are giving little indication of any future speaker votes, how long the battle will last, or even whether they’ll hold conference meetings. It’s possible that the House could reconvene on Wednesday only to vote to punt further speaker votes until Thursday.”

Kevin McCarthy is demanding the House Republicans give him his “precious,” an affectionate term for the speaker gavel that is in sight, but just out of reach.  Meanwhile, the conservative caucus is not flinching. “It may not happen on the day we want it, but it’s going to happen,” McCarthy said late Tuesday night.

As frustrated spectators CTH readers decry the visibility of the UniParty apparatus, yearning, thirsting for a bold contrast.  Well, finally 20 House Conservatives are delivering that battle, the big ugly, and I am happy to see this unfolding with all the brilliant and chaotic mess it deserves.  Fight on my friends, fight on.  WATCH: 

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Let Day Two of the Big Ugly commence forthwith.

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Apparently, California Representative Kevin McCarthy has already moved his personal effects and furniture into the House Speaker’s Office despite not winning enough votes to be considered Speaker of the House.

Republican House member Matt Gaetz, a strong opponent of Mr McCarthy, sends a letter of inquiry asking how is this possible?

Full letter below.

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The management and branding team behind Florida Governor Ron DeSantis continue to track a transparent path toward a 2024 nomination run.  Florida Governor DeSantis was sworn into office today at Noon eastern, complete with Jeb Bush as a special on-stage guest of honor.

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush is one of the primary organizers and influencers for DeSantis ’24 presidential bid.  Former governors Rick Scott (R) and Charlie Crist (R/D) did not participate in the ceremony.   Additionally, despite the early hour and not appearing to be coincidental, it appeared the political branding team decided to have Casey DeSantis take a page from First Lady Melania Trump’s wardrobe style. WATCH:

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They are going to recreate Camelot whether you want it or not.  However, once you see the strings on the marionettes, it’s impossible not to watch the performance and not see them.

Ron DeSantis is the counterfeit $100 bill on a fishing string being dragged through the MAGAhood by the professional political class and Bush family revenge operations.

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The House of Representatives failed to elect a House Speaker through three rounds of voting.   Approximately 20 members of the Republican conference will not vote for Kevin McCarthy, as a result there is a stalemate.   The Republican caucus requested adjournment until noon tomorrow, Wednesday January 4th.

Essentially Kevin McCarthy needs to: (1) step aside and accept he will not be Speaker, or (2) continue the House voting in futility, or (3) find a way to convince the Republican holdouts to support him.

“They’re just not into you Kevin”… 

This has happened before, just not in the modern political era.   The holdouts want Jim Jordan to accept the Speaker position.

Don’t get defrosted, worried or overly attached to any outcome.  This is simply the way our system was designed.

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The House of Representatives continues efforts to elect a Speaker of the House.  Republican candidate Kevin McCarthy failed in his first-round effort on the floor in dramatic fashion. A group of conservatives blocked his path amid one of the smallest GOP House majorities in history.  Democrat Hakeem Jeffries had the highest overall number of votes, but still not enough to become speaker.

As noted by Politico, “In a stunning moment of chaos on the first day of the new Congress, McCarthy and his allies will now attempt to quell the revolt, preparing members to take repeated votes as pressure mounts from their colleagues. It will mark only the second time since the Civil War that a party will need multiple attempts to choose its leader on the House floor — with all business in the chamber, even the swearing-in of members, halted until a speaker is chosen.”

Voting continues, video below. UPDATE After Three Failed Votes, the House is adjourned until noon tomorrow:

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Republican house member Matt Gaetz delivered a fiery speech in opposition to Republican candidate for Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy.

Florida Representative Matt Gaetz nominates Ohio Representative Jim Jordan, and then gives a blistering critique of California Representative Kevin McCarthy as a selfish, self-centered political sellout who will do anything to gain power and then undermine the Republican caucus he claims to represent.  WATCH:

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Ohio Representative Jim Jordan’s speech to the House of Representatives is below:

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The Republican battle for Speaker of the House of Representatives continues with multiple factions competing for influence.  The sausage making inside the GOPe conference is doing what that sausage makers in the GOPe conference always do.  There’s a lot of opposition to Kevin McCarthy and the vast majority of it is well deserved.

Yes, the swamp is doing swampy things, and yes, it’s a hot mess.  But that’s also what happens in a two-party congress within a constitutional republic where members from very different states end up arguing for position based on an ideology that varies wildly.   Notice that if you get rid of the two-party system, all of this stuff seemingly evaporates.  Funny how the people who construct the two-party system don’t want us to notice that.

In this video, Marjorie Taylor Greene, a representative who supports the MAGA agenda and Kevin McCarthy for speaker, calls out some of the well-known voices in the GOPe apparatus who are doing swampy things.   WATCH:

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I would suggest not getting emotionally invested in any of this internecine arguing.   If you have let your congressional representative know your expectation, the only thing we can do is watch it play out.

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It’s almost painful to go to the grocery store today, not just because the prices for everything are so high, but also because seeing the stress amid the working-class shopping is palpable.  Unfortunately, while we may have a momentary plateau on current pricing, there’s a strong possibility another wave of higher prices is yet to come.

At the core of the issue are energy prices which continue to rise.   The immediate cycle of energy price hikes, a direct consequence of political policy, has lessened somewhat and we are now in that slow tick upward as the pressure on oil, gas, heating and electricity prices continues.

Michael Burry, famous for his predictions in/around the U.S. housing market, is noticing the same thing as CTH.  “Inflation peaked. But it is not the last peak of this cycle,” he said. “We are likely to see CPI lower, possibly negative in 2H 2023, and the US in recession by any definition. Fed will cut and government will stimulate. And we will have another inflation spike. It’s not hard.”

Peak demand side inflation is long in the rearview mirror, but the peak of supply side inflation is questionable at best – I would say it’s a plateau, not a peak.

The price of goods, including industrialized and processed raw materials from China are going to increase again – and simultaneously become less consistent in availability.  This is going to make prices extremely volatile in 2023.

Essentially, everything around price is tenuous as the western economies absorb the full impact of this Build Back Better energy policy, and into this foray comes China with production and processing challenges as a result of COVID bubbles being removed.   We are seeing this problem right now in the pharmaceutical industry and with ordinary medicines becoming scarcer on store shelves.

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A rather remarkable poll from Rasmussen [Full Data Here] shows some remarkable public polling outcomes about the COVID-19 jab.

According to the survey of 1,000 Americans, 28% of the polled respondents know someone personally who died as a side-effect of the COVID-19 vaccination.  The results cut across all cultural and political boundaries as reflected in the data.  According to Rasmussen, “Twenty-eight percent (28%) of adults say they personally know someone whose death they think may have been caused by side effects of COVID-19 vaccines, while 61% don’t and another 10% are not sure.”

There have been very few surveys of Americans (or other country citizens) for their impression and knowledge of the vaccine side effects.  However, this random poll is likely to trigger additional, albeit perhaps defensive, inquiry.   If over one-in-four Americans believe they know someone who likely died as a result of the vaccination, that is an alarming outcome.

The Rasmussen survey aligns with a recent report that only “15% of people eligible for the Covid booster shot that targets the omicron variant have gotten it … according to a recent poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation” {link}, and would certainly explain why 85 out of every 100 people who took the initial jab have refused further vaccination efforts.

Forty-eight percent (48%) of Americans believe there are legitimate reasons to be concerned about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines, while 37% think people who worry about vaccine safety are spreading conspiracy theories. Another 15% are not sure. (more)

The head pollster for Rasmussen, Mark Mitchell, appeared with Steve Bannon to discuss the alarming survey result.

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After successfully settling a $105 million lawsuit against the estate of Jeffrey Epstein in early December, U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General Denise N. George then filed a lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase saying the “bank knowingly provided and pulled the levers through which recruiters and victims were paid.”   

Attorney General Denise N George has just been fired.

(US Virgin Islands) – Attorney General Denise George was terminated on Saturday after serving four years with the Bryan administration, the Consortium can confirm.

The decision by Governor Albert Bryan to fire the A.G. came just days after Bloomberg News revealed that Ms. George in her capacity as V.I. attorney general had filed a lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase — the largest bank in the United States and the world’s largest bank by market capitalization — without first informing Governor Bryan of such a major action, said a person with knowledge of the matter.

The lawsuit claims JPMorgan Chase facilitated convicted felon Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse of women and girls, alleging that the bank should have known about Epstein’s illegal activity and as part of its anti-money laundering procedures, should have reported their client to authorities.

George accused the bank of turning a blind eye to the sex trafficking operations that went on on Epstein’s private island in the USVI, Little St. James. (read more)

AG George is fired from her position as USVI AG after filing a lawsuit against JPMorgan.  Where did Joe Biden go on vacation?  The U.S. Virgin Islands.

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