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Kevin McCarthy on Principles & Values

Republican

 


Overcame childhood speech defect via ten years' effort

McCarthy liked to emphasize his entrepreneurial past--that of a Bakersfield fireman's son who at the age of 12 was making money sorting bottles at the neighborhood convenience store, using the proceeds to pay for a vacation to Lake Tahoe for his entire family. (He tended to omit from his narrative that he had been born with a speech defect--that for the first 10 or so years of his life, he could not pronounce the first letter of the party he now helped lead.) McCarthy's brother Mark had been born with glaucoma, necessitating 2 dozen eye surgeries before he was 2 years old. McCarthy's father had quit a higher-paying job to become a fireman so as to be eligible for public-employee health insurance to pay for his children's difficulties--something else McCarthy did not volunteer.)
Source: Do Not Ask What Good We Do, by Robert Draper, p. 79 , Apr 24, 2012

Christened "Young Guns" in 2007 in "Weekly Standard" article

The new generation of pro-market, small government leaders filled such a need that in October 2007, Fred Barnes of The Weekly Standard profiled Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan, and Kevin McCarthy and christened them the "young guns."

Kevin approached Eri & Paul about the idea of traveling together, as "Young Guns", to visit Republican candidates interested in a new approach for the party.

What began as an informal way to support like-minded candidates became a more formal structure. Once we had studie the candidate and given him or her our support to become a Young Gun, we committed to providing financial support through our campaign committees.

We knew we weren't the only House Republicans eager to change our party, so we began approaching our colleagues with a simple pitch: Are we willing to help ourselves by being proactive and going on the offense to change this House? Dozens of our House Republican colleagues joined our Young Gun effort as one of the many signs that our party had shifted.

Source: Young Guns, by Reps. Ryan, Cantor & McCarthy, p.155-156 , Sep 14, 2010

Led 2010 effort for electable reformist Republicans

I met McCarthy in 2004 when he was the Republican leader in the California legislature. McCarthy is an expert on how to win House races. He dropped by my office several months after the Republican debacle in 2006. He'd just been elected to his first term He was already working on a strategy for political recovery. In 2010, he led the effort to recruit electable Republican House candidates. McCarthy's favorites? Candidates fresh to politics and bursting with enthusiasm about reforming Washington.
Source: Young Guns, by Reps. Ryan, Cantor & McCarthy, p. x , Sep 14, 2010

Strategist of the "Young Guns" conservative movement

McCarthy was elected in 2006. He had campaigned for many of his Republican colleagues and was familiar with most of the others. In 2008, Rep. Cantor tapped McCarthy as his chief deputy whip.

What prompted Cantor, Rep. Ryan and McCarthy to come together was a story in "The Weekly Standard" (with separate profiles on each of them). They appeared on the cover in a photo taken on a Capitol balcony overlooking the Mall. They knew each other as members of the embattled Republican caucus that had lost control of the House in the disastrous 2006 mid-term election. But they hadn't realized their individual skills were remarkably complimentary: Cantor the leader, Ryan the thinker, McCarthy the strategist. Some of us at "The Weekly Standard" had noticed this. Thus the cover story.

The party establishment was dedicated to protecting incumbents at all cost. Cantor, Ryan and McCarthy would like to fill the ranks of House Republicans with members like themselves. Young Guns is not for "me-too" Republicans.

Source: Young Guns, by Reps. Ryan, Cantor & McCarthy, p. vii-ix , Sep 14, 2010

2009: Tea Party roadtrip to recruit candidates

In 2009. the Tea Party protests and the health-care town hall meeting happened. I joined Rep. Lynn Westmoreland on a road trip across America to visit districts and recruit candidates.

There was one person who caught my eye when we were recruiting in Tennessee: Stephen Fincher. After we met, he decided to run for Congress in against Rep. John Tanner, an entrenched incumbent who hadn't faced serious opposition since 1994. [After Fincher gained momentum], Tanner announced he would not seek reelection!

Source: Young Guns, by Reps. Ryan, Cantor & McCarthy, p.172-174 , Sep 14, 2010

Member of the House Republican Young Guns.

McCarthy is a member House Republican Young Guns

The new generation of pro-market, small government leaders filled such a need that in October 2007, Fred Barnes of The Weekly Standard profiled Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan, and Kevin McCarthy and christened them the "young guns."

Kevin approached Eric & Paul about the idea of traveling together, as "Young Guns", to visit Republican candidates interested in a new approach for the party.

What began as an informal way to support like-minded candidates became a more formal structure. Once the three Representatives had studied the candidate and given their support to become a Young Gun, they committed to providing financial support through their campaign committees.

Existing House Republicans were approached with a simple pitch: Are we willing to help ourselves by being proactive and going on the offense to change this House? Dozens of our House Republican colleagues joined the Young Gun effort as one of the many signs that the Republican Party had shifted.

Source: Young Guns 10-HRYG on Sep 14, 2010

Overturn presidential election due to pandemic voting rules.

Justice McCarthy wrote the Court's decision on Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton: "TX v. PA, GA, MI & WI" on Dec 11, 2020:

Summary of lawsuit, Dec. 7:: The 2020 election suffered from significant and unconstitutional irregularities including:

Supreme Court Order, Dec. 11: The State of Texas's motion is denied for lack of standing under Article III of the Constitution. Texas has not demonstrated a judicially cognizable interest in the manner in which another State conducts its elections. All other pending motions are dismissed as moot.

Texas Tribune analysis, Dec. 11:: Trump--and Republicans across the country--had pinned their hopes on the Texas suit. In a series of tweets, Trump called it "the big one" and later added, "it is very strong, ALL CRITERIA MET." If the court had heard the case, Sen. Ted Cruz said he would have argued it, at the request of Trump.

Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas indicated they would have allowed Texas to bring the case but said they would "not grant other relief." In a series of tweets after the ruling, Trump raged against the decision, which he called "a disgraceful miscarriage of justice."

Source: Supreme Court case 20-SCOTUS argued on Dec 7, 2020

Endorsed Endorsed by Donald Trump/MAGA during presidency.

McCarthy is endorsed by Trump/MAGA endorsement list

Endorsements by Donald Trump, implying support of Trump's agenda and electoral style. The phrase "Make America Great Again" was popularized in Trump's 2015 book Time to Get Tough:Making America Great Again. It is the campaign slogan embroidered on the ubiquitous red caps seen at Trump rallies (which after Trump's presidency, became known as "MAGA rallies").

Source: Ballotpedia 2016-2022 endorsement list 2022-MAGA on Jan 1, 2022

Oppose certification of the 2020 Presidential election.

McCarthy voted YEA blocking certification of the Electoral vote

Explanation of 1/6/21 Electoral Certification, by Emily Brooks, Washington Examiner:Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Paul Gosar led an objection to counting Electoral College votes from the state of Arizona, the first formal objection to state results in a series of moves that will delay the certification of Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential election over President Trump. Cruz is advocating for an `emergency 10-day audit` of election returns in disputed states. The usually ceremonial joint session of Congress that convenes to count and accept Electoral College votes will be put on hold as the House and Senate separately debate the objection.