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Earlier this week, North Carolina Rep. Walter B. Jones wrote a letter to House Republican Conference Chair Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), demanding that all leadership candidates withdraw if they have any "misdeeds in their closet."
Rep. Jones asked McMorris Rodgers to pressure candidates to "come clean"---and he explained why.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy, (R-CA) seen by many as the next Speaker of the House shocked the press and many Republicans when he withdrew yesterday, just prior to the closed door vote.
The House is now back to square one on selecting a new Speaker.
America is deeply divided.
That division is seen in our US House of Representatives today---and it will also be seen today in Roseburg, Oregon, where thousands say they will protest President Obama's visit following his politicizing of the shooting that occurred on their community college campus---simply to advance his gun agenda.
President Obama is expected to be in Roseburg, Oregon today around noon. While the elected leaders---county and city, have said they will welcome him in spite of their deep political and policy differences, many are planning peaceful protests. Some say thousands may show up for the several protests that are planned.
Many say they plan to legally carry a firearm in their protest.
One Facebook page, "Defend Roseburg--Deny Barack Obama" outlines plans for a protest at 11AM this morning. As of last night, over 7,000 people had clicked on the "going" feature on the page.
America is deeply divided. Conservatives and Christians feel they are being pushed to the edge---the margin, by secular progressives intent on "remaking "America.
Now, conservatives and Christians are pushing back and standing up for their faith and their constitutional rights.
Whether in a small rural town in Oregon, or in the bowels of Washington DC, the response is similar. Whether it relates to a president who is trying to exploit a tragedy to advance his assault on the Second Amendment under the guise of compassion, or whether it's pretend conservatives trying to go along to get along in our House of Representatives---it isn't working like it once did.
Rep. Jones has been around awhile and says he's seen immoral issues crop up unexpectedly in the House during the past 20 years---naming former Speaker Newt Gingrich and Rep. Bob Livingston---he is saying it's time to change the way we do business in the House of Representatives.
"With all the voter distrust of Washington felt around the country," he said, "I'm asking that any candidate for Speaker of the House, Majority Leader, and Majority Whip withdraw himself from the leadership election if there are any misdeeds he has committed since joining Congress that will embarrass himself, the Republican Conference, and the House of Representatives if they become public."
And he is asking Rep. McMorris Rodgers, who is Chairwoman of the House Republican Conference, to lead in the vetting process.
Republicans were scheduled to meet yesterday at noon for a closed door vote for Speaker, which would have been followed by an open House floor vote.
The Hill is reporting that minutes before the vote was to be taken, McCarthy withdrew himself, stunning the entire room "to silence."
Rep. Tom Huelskamp, (R-Kan) has been a strong critic of both Speaker Boenher, and Boehner's choice for his successor, McCarthy.
Huelskamp says, "McCarthy's supporters all looked in shock to me."
Rep. Tom Rooney, (R-Fla.), a supporter of McCarthy, said people near him had "tears in their eyes."
He said, "It's the strangest thing I've seen in a long time."
Rep. Steve Israel, (D-NY) posted on Twitter that the Republican majority is a "#HouseofChaos."
Why the abrupt withdrawal?
Fox News reported, "In a curious development, Rep. Walter Jones sent a letter to House Republican Conference Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-WA, urging a full vetting of all leadership candidates to avoid a repeat of 1998, when Conference...."
Fox asked Jones if he knew anything about anyone running for Speaker or any other office within the Republican Party. Jones says he doesn't know anything specifically, but wants to be sure there are "no skeletons."
McCarthy says his sudden withdrawal is "not" related to Jones' letter.
He says there is too much division within the Party, and while he feels he could have gotten the vote yesterday to become the nominee, he wasn't convinced he could get the vote needed from the entire House of Representatives. And that he made his decision to step aside to allow a new face of leadership.
Heritage Foundation Tweeted, "McCarthy was forced to drop out because conservatives are fed up with establishment leadership."
They're right. The 3 leading GOP presidential candidates are all "outsiders" as they say---Trump, Carson and Fiorina.
Although in the Senate, not the House, Ted Cruz joined the chorus, Tweeting: "It's time to bring constitutional conservatism back to the White House."
This reflects, I believe, a wide and expanding belief.
Americans are "fed up" and are beginning to "wake up"---including sleepy Christians.
This is significant for true conservatives who honestly want to see things change in Washington DC, within the Republican Party, and in their communities.
It is significant for Christians, because we are called to stand for biblical principles and values in the culture.
Clearly McCarthy's decision was, at least in part, a result of the pressure from conservatives. While its noble that he wants the best for the GOP, he has felt all along "he" was the best for the GOP. That all changed yesterday.
The vote has been canceled, to be re-scheduled at a later time. Boehner, who stepped down due to pressure from conservatives, said yesterday afternoon he will stay beyond his resignation date---Oct 31, if necessary to facilitate electing a new Speaker of the House.
To their credit, conservatives in the House of Representatives are treating the office of Speaker as one of considerable importance---which it is.
The United States presidential line of succession defines who will act as President of the United States "upon the incapacity, death, resignation, or removal from office (by impeachment and subsequent conviction) of a sitting president or president-elect."
That line of succession is (1) "Vice President--(2) Speaker of the House--(3) President Pro Tempore of the Senate, and the Cabinet."
The Speaker also controls the agenda of the House.
It is written:
“At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken--that is, things that have been made---in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:26-29).
The shaking has already begun, and the coming "change" is beyond anything candidate Obama could have ever imagined.
Be Encouraged. Be Vigilant. Be Steadfast. Be Prayerful.