We can all recall the Democrat meltdowns in the months leading up to the House censuration of Adam Schiff (D, California) in June for the abuses of his power as the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.
Readers will recall that just months earlier, the newly elected House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, D-Calif., also targeted Schiff and his colleague Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., both of whom were effectively booted from the Intelligence Committee. McCarthy cited “integrity” in a major way.
“I can’t put partisanship ahead of national safety, nor can I use years of service to determine who is eligible to join this important committee,” McCarthy said at the time that integrity was more important and that he would not compromise on it. This angered Democrats, especially Swalwell.
Swalwell, since then, has waged a sort of revenge campaign against McCarthy for doing what any self-respecting Republican leader would do in the same situation involving a member of a powerful congressional committee who had been allegedly compromised by a Chinese honeypot.
Swalwell repeatedly criticized McCarthy’s leadership. He said in so many words, that McCarthy was there to serve the former president Donald Trump. Swalwell can believe what he wants, but things between Swalwell and McCarthy allegedly escalated on the day that Schiff was censured. The Daily Beast reported that two unnamed Democrat Members of Congress said Swalwell had called McCarthy a weak man on the House Floor:
While the show was going on, Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-CA, was standing near the podium of the House and hurled some harsh words at his fellow Californian.
Swalwell, McCarthy’s then-president of the House, allegedly said “This is pathetic.” “You’re weak.
Swalwell is seen pointing toward McCarthy at 3:49 in the clip below. He calls him “weak”.
Watch:
U.S. House censures Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA).
House Democrats chant “shame” and interrupt the pronouncement of censure. @SpeakerMcCarthy: “I have all night.” pic.twitter.com/VZTUVnkBBt
— CSPAN (@cspan) June 21, 2023
According to the story the next day, things heated up as McCarthy confronted Swalwell on his way to the bathroom. (language warning).
…Swalwell walked across the House floor to the restroom on the Republican side.
McCarthy first saw him at that time.
A member told The Daily Beast that McCarthy said: “If you say anything like that again to me, I will kick you out.”
A witness to the exchange added context by saying: “They were right in each other’s face.” It was a nose-to-nose situation. Swalwell asked, “Are we going to do this?”
McCarthy, with his chest, puffed up, challenged Swalwell to call him a p*ssy once more. “Call me that again and I will kick your *ss,” he allegedly said.
The two Democrat members who told the alleged story claimed that Swalwell had called McCarthy that name again after a brief stand-off between them and that McCarthy had glared at him for a couple of more minutes before returning to the House to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi who was in the room to address Congress.
According to the DB the Democrats who shared this story said that it was “indicative of McCarthy’s hollow threats and ultimate weaknesses.” However, we must remember that this is a retelling of what Democrats say happened. It’s likely to include a lot more embellishments of Swalwell’s performative boorishness and to portray him as a bigger bad a**.
Even if Swalwell did not repeat the taunt, McCarthy knows who has the power and, while he should not abuse it, he (and Swalwell), know that if an opportunity arises again, McCarthy will likely exert his full force over Swalwell.
He should.
I don’t consider myself a purist in terms of decorum, civility, and other things that are important to Congress. Swalwell, as I have written previously, is an actor who acts in bad faith and mimics the behavior of obnoxious, liars, and jerks. He wants to remove rights that are guaranteed by the Constitution. And he does this by smearing and sliming his political opponents in any way possible, be it on MSNBC, social media, or during a House of Representatives hearing.
I don’t mind Republicans being tough on people like Swalwell. His views would transform America into a country that it shouldn’t be. Republicans in the House shouldn’t hesitate to tear him apart in public opinion, even though he is practically begging them to.
In other words, when you act like a horse’s patootie, you shouldn’t be surprised when you get treated like one, you know?
