1/5/2023
Jan 5, 2023
My Dear Friend & POTUS, JRB,
I am wondering about leadership this AM as I read about “the messy game of political chicken” that is going on in the House right now. According to the CSM, “(McCarthy’s) decision to press forward with his speaker bid, despite lacking the needed votes to secure the gavel, has made the first 48 hours of the 118th Congress among the most chaotic in modern history…(the 20 holdouts have) a populist mindset that is ‘anti, anti, anti,’ but they aren’t for anything that they can articulate.… If the House wasn’t organized for a month, I’m not sure a lot of these rebels would care. And that’s why they have so much leverage right now. They can hold out longer.” The last bit comes from a Congress expert at Georgetown.
Rep. Matt Cartwright (PA-8) concludes, ““I can think of two scenarios, 1st, a charismatic natural leader emerges from the GOP conference and is able to attract [votes] by force of personality and goodwill. If that were to happen, that would be a very strong, capable, and effective speaker. The second possibility I’m thinking of is where one of the usual suspects makes all sorts of concessions to the left and the right and ends up quite hobbled. The last 2 GOP speakers, Boehner & Ryan, fell into the latter category. And they hated being a speaker. Both of them.”
Which kind of leader do you think you are? BOH was the 1st kind. You are more of the 2nd kind, but I don’t think you make concessions & I don’t think you hate your job. I think you keep right on keeping on when you face interference. Much like Mitch McConnell (AMM). I am not a fan of his, but that guy is a wizard! Somehow staying in the game despite affiliating with the last POTUS. DJT’s other buddy, LOG, has disappeared from view, but AMM is still front & center. (Go to next post)
Jan 5, 2023 (continued) NOTE - THE WH SITE (CONTACT ME) ONLY ALLOWS 1950 CHARACTERS - I DIDN’T HAVE TIME TO EDIT TODAY SO I SPLIT THE LETTER IN 2 PARTS AND POSTED THEM SEPARATELY
My Dear Friend & POTUS, JRB,
Speaking of AMM, I loved seeing the 2 of you being nice at the bridge event yesterday. As AMM said, it was a “miracle.” I liked your points that we should “drop our egos & focus on what is needed.”
I will try to keep that in mind as I try to lead the SOE in the next 6 months. I want to shake things up a bit to promote a community mindset. My latest idea is to use the language of “stewardship” & talk about assets instead of “managing the budget.” The fact is I don’t manage the budget. I approve expense reports. I also run meetings, manage the personnel review process & help out with problems. Sound familiar?
Writing that last ¶ has sparked so many ideas that I need to close. Before I do, I must remind you to tune into the Burma situation by reading AJ’s article, Myanmar’s military honours anti-Muslim monk, frees prisoners: Wirathu has long been known for his ultra-nationalist, anti-Muslim rhetoric, particularly against Myanmar’s Rohingya. It’s troubling to see a spiritual person sacrificing their principles for some power. Dang!
BYBS,
