While the battle for House Speaker appears to be about personality, it's really about ideology. It's about the future of "big government" and the American middle class.

While Kevin McCarthy's struggle to become Speaker of the House of Representatives appears to be about personality and struggles within the House Republican caucus, it's really about something much larger: the fate and future of American "big government" and the middle class it created.

Ever since the Reagan Revolution, the phrase "big government" has been on the lips of Republican politicians. They utter it like a curse at every opportunity.

It seems paradoxical: Republicans complain about "big government," but then go on to support more and more government money for expanding prisons and a bloated Pentagon budget. Once you understand their worldview, however, it all makes perfect sense.

Read more at HartmannReport.com.

-Thom

Thursday's Daily Stack

Article: "The Real Reason the Freedom Caucus Hates Kevin McCarthy Is Larger Than You Think" by Thom Hartmann.

Article: "Libertarian Party National Platform 1980".

Article: "Conservatives Call for New House Leadership" by CAP.

Article: "Federal Receipts as Percent of Gross Domestic Product" by Fred.

Article: "How a Child-Killer Set the Stage for Today's Republicans to Revel in Cruelty" by Thom Hartmann.

Article: "Kevin McCarthy Offering MASSIVE Compromises to Democrats In House Speaker Bid" by Troy Smith.

Article: "House GOP's Top Priority If They Ever Get a Speaker? Protect Wealthy Tax Dodgers" by Brett Wilkins.

Article: "Economic Report of the President - Transmitted to the Congress February 2000".

Article: "Supreme Court restricts the EPA's authority to mandate carbon emissions reductions" by Nina Totenberg.

Article: "The Tipping Point: Most Americans No Longer Are Middle Class" by Marilyn Geewax.

Article: "What is the House Freedom Caucus, and who's in it?" by Drew DeSilver.

Tweet: "News: McCarthy proposes key concessions:
--Will babysit for Gaetz's girlfriends one night a week
--Will personally teach Boebert how to read
--Will arrange for Gosar to be adopted by a family that doesn't actually hate him" by David Rothkopf.

Article: "The GOP's Poop Flinging Monkeys Continue To Fling Poop" by Bob Cesca.

Article: "The True History of Libertarianism in America: A Phony Ideology to Promote a Corporate Agenda" by Mark Ames.

Article: "Watch: Lauren Boebert refuses to say if she will bring a gun into the Capitol following removal of metal detectors" by Brandon Gage.

Article: "House GOP ditches metal detectors 3 days before Capitol riot anniversary" by Jacob Knutson.

Article: "Kevin McCarthy super PAC amasses $61 million war chest" by David M. Drucker.

Article: "Here is what Hakeem Jeffries should demand if approached by McCarthy for support" by RandySF.

Quote: "We're looking for a willing partner to solve problems for the American people, not save Republicans from their dysfunction." - Hakeem Jeffries.

Quote: "All we are asking is House Republicans to get along. With each other." - Hakeem Jeffries.

Article: "Speaker Live Updates: McCarthy Appears to Lose 9th Speaker Vote" (Day 3) by NY Times.

Article: "Byron Donalds" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Byron Donalds' past arrests could trigger ethics and FDLE investigations" by Javier Manjarres.

Article: "George Santos' swearing-in on hold amid House speaker chaos" by WABC.

Article: "Brazilian Authorities Will Revive Fraud Case Against George Santos" by Grace Ashford and André Spigariol.

Article: "Letters rogatory" by Wikipedia.

Tweet: "McCarthy doesn't have the votes. Scalise doesn't have the votes. Biggs doesn't have the votes. There's only one man who can truly unite the Repubican Party... Neurosurgeon, Nobel Prize winner, and WWII hero GEORGE SANTOS." [meme] by Thom Hartmann.

Quote: "We have met the enemy and he is us" - Pogo (Walt Kelly).

Article: "Florida's emergency chief asks lawmakers to make changes to the state's disaster response" by The News Service of Florida.

Article: "For Speaker of the House: David Joyce. Who?" by Robert Reich.

Article: "United States presidential line of succession" by Wikipedia.

Hour Two: Russia-Ukraine war latest updates: Putin orders 36-hour unilateral cease-fire
- Phil Ittner, Veteran War Correspondent in Kiev, Ukraine

Article: "Ukraine war: Deadly explosions hit Kyiv on New Year's Eve" by Hugo Bachega, Robert Greenall.

Article: "Ukraine war: Kyiv rejects Putin's 'trivial' Christmas truce" by Will Vernon, Samuel Horti.

Article: "Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation", 2014 by Wikipedia.

Article: "Russia suffers deadliest day of war so far after Ukraine strike ‘kills hundreds' during Putin's New Year's Eve speech" by Sarah Hooper.

Book: "The Hidden History of Neoliberalism: How Reaganism Gutted America and How to Restore Its Greatness" by Thom Hartmann.

Law: "Glass-Steagall Act", 1933.

Article: "Congressmembers Tried to Stop the SEC's Inquiry Into FTX" by David Dayen.

Article: "Stabenow, Boozman, Booker, and Thune Introduce Legislation to Regulate Digital Commodities" by U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

Article: "Gary Gensler" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Fresh Air with Terry Gross" by WHYY-FM.

Book: 13 Bankers: The Wall Street Takeover and the Next Financial Meltdown by Simon Johnson, James Kwak.

Podcast: "Congressional Dish" by Jennifer Briney.

Video: Jen Briney on her Podcast "Congressional Dish".

Article: "What happens if Republicans never pick a speaker? It'd be good news, actually" by David Nir.

Article: "14th Amendment section 4, July 9, 1868 "The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned."

Article: "Steve Scalise" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Elise Stefanik" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Kevin McCarthy" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Hannity clashes with Boebert on McCarthy: 'I asked you a simple question'" by Timothy Bella.

Article: "Timothy McVeigh" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Oklahoma City bombing" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Vindman Accuses 'Pro-Putin' Marjorie Taylor Greene of Supporting War in Ukraine" by Natalie Colarossi.

Hour Three: Photo-Journalist attacked by the J-6 mob while on assignment for Rolling Stone Magazine
- Nate Gowdy, Photojournalist, INSURRECTION / Project Lead, American Superhero Project, a Photo-Journalist who was attacked by the J-6 mob while on assignment for Rolling Stone Magazine

Book: Insurrection by Nate Gowdy.

Article: "Attack on the U.S. Capitol" by Nate Gowdy.

Article: "Independent photojournalist shoved off railing during Capitol riot" by U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.

Article: "Judge removes Griffin from office for engaging in the January 6 insurrection " by CREW.

Article: "This is no time for games. The Senate needs to amend its rules." by Russ Feingold.

Article: "Mitch McConnell cancels Senate's traditional August recess" by Judson Berger.

Article: "Blue slip" by Wikipedia.

Article: "‘Ho, Go Home!' Jan. 6 Organizer Has Misogynistic Meltdown on Marjorie Taylor Greene, Threatens to Release Dirt on ‘Whore'" by Ken Meyer.

Article: "Speaker election to enter 11th ballot, the most since before Civil War" by Caroline Linton.

Article: "plurality"(3c) by Merriam-Webster.

Article: "CNN Special Report Trumping Democracy: An American Coup" by Jake Tapper.

Video: CNN Special Report: Trumping Democracy.

Article: "Cambridge Analytica" by Wikipedia.

Book: The Hidden History of Big Brother in America: How the Death of Privacy and the Rise of Surveillance Threaten Us and Our Democracy by Thom Hartmann.

Article: "Rachel Maddow uncovers a WWII-era plot against America in 'Ultra'" by Terry Gross.

Article: "Rachel Maddow Presents: Ultra".

Article: "Who is DOJ Special Counsel Jack Smith?" by Dustin Jones.

Book: The Illustrious Dunderheads by Rex Stout.

Article: "Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment Developing Feature Based On Podcast ‘Rachel Maddow Presents: Ultra'; Tony Kushner And Danny Strong In Talks To Adapt" by Justin Kroll.

Article: "We the People Amendment" by Move to Amend.

Bill: "H.J.Res.48 - Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States providing that the rights extended by the Constitution are the rights of natural persons only" by Rep. Jayapal, Pramila [D-WA-7] (2021-2022).

Article: "American Legislative Exchange Council" (ALEC) by SourceWatch.

Site: Heritage Foundation.

Article: "Cato Institute" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Champ Clark" by Wikipedia.

Friday on The Thom Hartmann Program, 12-3pm ET

It's Anything Goes Friday!

Representative Mark Pocan (D-WI, 2nd District) will be calling in to talk about the issues of the day and take your calls (unless he's stuck on the floor!)

And, the best of the rest of the news along with your calls right here on...

The Thom Hartmann Program, Occupying The Media 3 hours a day 5 days a week for "we the people"

And don't forget...Democracy is NOT a spectator sport...it begins with you...

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