"Crime Dog" McGriff to Stand Alone on Hall Stage

“Crime Dog” McGriff To Stand Alone on Hall Stage
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
January 17, 2023

Hall of Famer Rogers Hornsby (1896-1963) said, “People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.” 

Hornsby, who entered the Hall in 1942, following a career that ran 1915-37, played 18 of his 23 seasons in St. Louis - 13 with the Cardinals and five with the Browns. So prolific a hitter, during the 10 year period 1920-29, Hornsby played in 1,430 games, batting .383 for the decade with 2,085 hits in 5,451 at bats.

While the players remained dormant, well, many worked off-season jobs working for actual workingman’s wages during the baseball season, the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) labored at determining who would be elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame. This year, the announcement from Cooperstown to determine the Class of 2023 will be made on Tuesday, January 24. The Hot Stove season has also been in full bloom while the ballparks enjoy the winter slumber.

Still at issue, those ballplayers tainted by substance allegations. The only way steroid/HGH-addled balloteers should be admitted to the Hall of Fame is with a paid ticket for admission to the museum.

“We hope the day never comes when known steroid users are voted into the Hall of Fame. They cheated. Steroid users don’t belong here,” wrote late Hall of Famer Joe Morgan in a November 2017 letter to the BBWAA, hoping to influence their Hall votes in 2018. Hopefully Morgan’s letter continues to resonate in 2023 as cheaters such as Manny Ramirez and Alex Rodriguez may inch closer to the magic number of 75 percent - the required minimum to grant one admission to the Hall.

The cloud of controversy has been dark and heavy, while initially eliminating some from Hall of Fame contention. In the cases of Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Sammy Sosa, the BBWAA voters rejected those candidacies, and after 10 years, their eligibility has expired. Votes for Ramirez moved slightly upward to 28.9 percent in 2022 from 28.2 percent in 2021 in his sixth year on the ballot, while Rodriguez checked in with 34.3 percent of the vote in 2022, his first year on the ballot. 

In previous years I have complained that the ballots of the voting members of the BBWAA are not released to the public. Now, the BBWAA has gone to the opposite extreme. Updates regarding the running percentage of votes received for the Hall candidates are disclosed periodically leading up to the vote deadline. This is a dangerous practice as those results could potentially influence the members of the BBWAA who have not yet cast their ballots - especially when personalities or personal bias is at play. Those votes should be announced for public consumption - after the Hall of Fame makes its official announcement of who has vaulted the 75 percent threshold. Let the BBWAA voters defend their votes as I defend mine, even if not as a member of the BBWAA. 

A prime example is Dan Shaughnessy with The Boston Globe. For three years in a row, Shaughnessy cast his lone vote for Jeff Kent, explaining that his vote is a protest against the steroid players. Members of the BBWAA are permitted to vote for up to 10 candidates, but many do not vote for 10. In my annual Hall of Fame column I have never supported 10 candidates in any given year. I remain a consistent and virulent opponent of the steroid players and will continue to do so for the next nine years as Alex Rodriguez (A-Roid) is on the ballot for the second year. The last thing to be said about A-Roid speaks volumes as to why he should never earn a plaque in Cooperstown. Admitting his use of steroids/banned substances, Rodriguez found himself suspended for 211 games from August 2013 through the entire 2014 season - a suspension well merited.

Ramirez, while expressing some sense of contrition during a 2019 interview with Boston 25 News, still should not be admitted to the Hall. On getting caught using steroids Ramirez said, “it was a good thing for me because it made me grow up. Maybe a lot of people didn’t get caught and they were doing maybe some crazy stuff and they’re not learning from it. So I think everything happens for a reason and everything is working for the good. I’m in a better place than I’ve ever been, even when I was playing, so I don’t regret it because it made me grow up.”

Players like Bonds, Clemens, Ramirez, Rodriguez, and Sosa, they more than likely would have been enshrined in Cooperstown sans steroids.

Rodriguez banged out 696 home runs, good for fifth all time, 2,086 RBI, fourth all time, 2,021 runs scored, good for eighth place, 3,115 hits, for 22nd place, seventh place in both total bases with 5,813 and extra base hits with 1,275. Rodriguez won three MVP awards, appeared on MVP ballots in 15 seasons, and made it on to 14 all star teams in a career spanning 1994-2016.

Ramirez, who played 1993-2011, hit 555 home runs - 15th all time, 1,122 extra base hits, good for 18th place all time, 1,831 RBI, 20th all time, a two-time World Series winner with the Red Sox, a 12 time all star, and 11 times batted over .300. He cracked 2,574 base hits for a .312 career batting average - impressive for a power hitter.

The National Baseball Hall of Fame has a so-called character clause. “Voting shall be based upon the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character and contribution to the team(s) on which the player played.” So-called because it has existed since 1945 and more than a fair share of miscreants have found their way to Cooperstown. (https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/bbwaa-rules-for-election)

With voting in mind, were I a privileged member of the BBWAA charged with the task of electing the Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2023, only four former major leaguers would earn my votes - three holdovers, and a charity vote for first timer R.A. Dickey. Of those four, it is doubtful any of them will be enshrined on Sunday July 23, or anyone else for that matter, save for Fred McGriff. McGriff, a.k.a. the “Crime Dog” secured his spot in the Hall via the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee this past December. Fourteen retirees are on the ballot for the first time with another 14 holdovers. Candidates who do not attain 75 percent of the vote must receive at least five percent of the vote or will be eliminated from future consideration. 

Omar Vizquel, was the quintessential shortstop of a generation, having won 11 Gold Glove awards during his 24 year career, second most at that position all time. Vizquel was also the oldest shortstop to win a Gold Glove, having done so at age 39 in 2006. After five years with the Seattle Mariners, Vizquel took his talents to Cleveland continuing to be the defensive gem that will vault him into Cooperstown.

Vizquel was three times an All Star, overshadowed by Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees, elected to Cooperstown in a near-unanimous vote in 2020. On the field, Vizquel led the league in Fielding Percentage six times as a shortstop and is the all time leader in Fielding Percentage at .985. Vizquel shares the season record with Cal Ripken, Jr. for committing the fewest errors by a shortstop playing in at least 150 games with a paltry three. Additionally, Vizquel is first all time in double plays turned by a shortstop, third all time in assists at shortstop, and 11th all time in putouts made by a shortstop.

At bat, Vizquel compares rather favorably to Hall of Fame shortstops Ozzie Smith, Luis Aparicio, and Luke Appling. Vizquel hit more home runs than Smith and Appling, trailing Aparicio by only three. Vizquel drove in more runs than Smith and Aparicio, stole more bases than Appling, hit for a higher batting average than Smith and Aparicio, while collecting more hits than all three. This is the sixth year on the ballot for Vizquel, having dropped from 41.1 percent of the vote in 2021 to 23.9 percent of the vote in 2022. Vizquel’s numbers may dip even further in 2023 due to allegations of a rather serious nature. Until they are adjudicated, I will not traffic in rumors and/or innuendo. Should Vizquel be found guilty, I will withdraw my support of his entry into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

In his fifth year on the ballot, Todd Helton has earned my support. The 17-year MLB veteran played his entire career with the Colorado Rockies (1997-2013) batting .316 in 2,247 games with 2,519 hits, 369 home runs, scoring 1,401 runs, and driving in 1,406 runs. The Knoxville native finished second in the 1998 Rookie of the Year balloting, earning five All Star game selections in consecutive years, from 2000 through 2004. Appearing on MVP ballots in six years, Helton’s breakout season was in 2000, leading the National League in hits with 216 and all of MLB with 59 doubles, 147 RBI and a .372 batting average, yet could only manage a fifth place finish in the MVP race that season. Earning 44.9 percent in 2021, Helton enjoyed a modest bump to 52 percent of the vote in 2022, but will more than likely not earn induction this summer.

Perhaps Shaughnessy is on to something regarding Jeff Kent. A friend asked me to revisit Kent, heretofore not on any of my “ballots” in the previous nine years. He’s no fan of Kent, so it seemed worth the time. Kent played for six teams throughout his 17 year MLB career, was five times an all star, earned votes for the MVP seven times, including winning that award in 2000. He hit 377 career home runs, 351 as a second baseman - the most in history at that position. He hit at least 20 homers and drove in at least 100 runs eight times - also most for a second baseman. In total Kent had 2,461 hits, 560 doubles, drove in 1,515 runs, while scoring 1,320, and batted .290. Solid numbers for a  middle infielder and one who played cleanly. Kent appeared on 32.7 percent of the BBWAA ballots in 2022, thus it is unlikely he will more than double that number and qualify for the Hall in his final year of eligibility. 

I’m throwing R.A. Dickey a vote when I doubt he will receive the requisite five percent to remain on the ballot. But, as a member of my New York Mets, Dickey won the Cy Young Award on the strength of a 20-6 record, 2.73 ERA, as well as making the all star team. Dickey led the league in complete games with five, three shutouts, and 239 strikeouts.

Neither those retired players earning my support nor those without, seem destined to reach the vaunted 75 percent on January 24. And, quite frankly, it’s a safe bet that the majority of the first timers will be a one and done, garnering less than five percent of the votes. Scott Rolen, Todd Helton, and Billy Wagner, the only holdovers garnering more than 50 percent of the votes in 2022 have the greatest chance of approaching paydirt this year.

While it is important to not sully the Baseball Hall of Fame with the likes of Ramirez and Rodriguez, the focus must be on the greats who may be enshrined this July 23 and how they will continue to be the true ambassadors to the game of baseball as so many before them have been. Sadly, this is an ever shrinking community as two Hall of Famers passed away in 2022, Gaylord Perry at age 84, and Bruce Sutter at age 69.

Gaylord Perry (09/15/1938 - 12/01/2022) entered the Hall of Fame in 1991 having pitched from 1962 through 1983. Infamously known to have doctored the ball with too many substances to mention, his election to the Hall in the first place should be considered dubious. Perry won 314 games while losing 265, completing an amazing 303 games out of the 777 in which he appeared for eight teams. Perry tossed 53 shutouts and 5,350 innings pitched with an ERA of 3.11. He won 20 or more games five times, earned votes for the Cy Young and MVP awards five times each, and appeared on five all star teams. Pitching for Seattle during his age 45 season in 1983, Perry could be considered the Ancient Mariner. He was the first pitcher to win the Cy Young Award in both leagues - for the Cleveland Indians in 1972 and the San Diego Padres in 1978.

Bruce Sutter (01/08/1953 - 10/13/2022) earned admission into the Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2006. Sutter pitched for three teams during his 12 year career from 1976 through 1988. The fourth reliever inducted into the Hall at the time, and the first inducted never having started a game, Sutter posted a record of 68 wins and 71 loses, a 2.83 ERA and 300 saves, the most in the National League at the time of his retirement. He pitched 1,042 innings in 661 games, leading the league in saves five times. Sutter won the Cy Young Award in 1979 with the Cubs, receiving votes for that award four additional times, earned votes for the MVP six times, and named to six all star teams. On September 8, 1977, in a two inning relief stint versus the Montreal Expos, Sutter, in the ninth inning, pitched an immaculate inning - nine pitches, nine strikes - fanning Ellis Valentine, future Hall of Famer Gary Carter, and Larry Parrish. In another two inning relief effort, Sutter slammed the door on the Milwaukee Brewers in the 1982 World Series for the Cardinals recording the final six outs of the series.

May their memories be for a Blessing, may 2023 be a better, healthier year for one and all, and may the baseball season continue to excite its fans while earning new fans to discover the greatness of America’s national pastime.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN. He has been a Patron-level member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame since 2007.

Speaker of the House: Two Heartbeats from the White House

Speaker of the House: Two Heartbeats from the White House
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
January 11, 2023

While the marathon vote for Speaker of the House of Representatives went 15 rounds, akin to a good prize fight, and was the first multi-ballot vote in a century, those 15 rounds merely constituted the fifth longest in American Congressional history. For more on the election of Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as Speaker of the 118th Congress, please check out the following: https://ordinary-times.com/2023/01/09/democracy-in-action-or-inaction/ 

Imagine if C-SPAN, FOX News, CNN, Newsmax, or even MSNBC existed prior to the War Between the States, when the four longest votes for Speaker occurred. Imagine how apoplectically the populace might have reacted, had the reporting from virtually all sides been as in the first week of January.

Having alluded to the last multi-ballot Speaker vote from a century ago, exactly 100 years ago, in 1923, entering the 68th Congress, nine ballots were required to reelect Frederick Huntington Gillett (R-MA) to his third term as Speaker. Born in Westfield, Massachusetts on October 16, 1851, having attended public schools, and Amherst College, Gillett served 16 terms in Congress, 1893-1925, the 53rd to the 68th Congresses, the last three terms as Speaker, 1919-25. Gillett won election to the Senate in 1924, served one term, 1925-31, and did not seek reelection. Gillett died July 31, 1935.

Of the four Speaker votes leaving 2023 in a cloud of dust, the fourth longest balloting occurred in November 1820, during the 16th Congress of 1819-21. John W. Taylor (NY), who twice served as Speaker, succeeded Henry Clay (KY-Democratic-Republican) in both instances. The first time, Taylor, a Republican, needed 22 ballots to become Speaker, where he served 13 months. Taylor, born in Charlton, New York on March 26, 1784, required but a single ballot to secure the Speakership entering the 19th Congress as an Adams Candidate (1825-27). Clay (1777-1852), a six term speaker, resigned from the House to become Secretary of State in the John Quincy Adams administration. Taylor, an abolitionist,  served 10 terms, 1813-33, the 13th to 22nd Congresses. He lost reelection in 1832, returned to his Ballston Spa, New York law practice, and died on September 18, 1854.

The Speaker upon the outset of the War Between the States, William Pennington (R-NJ), required 44 ballots to secure that post, the third longest in Congressional history. Pennington, born May 4, 1796 in Newark, New Jersey, and educated at Princeton University, won the election of 1858 to his one and only term in Congress, and elected Speaker February 1, 1860 for that same term, on the 44th ballot. Prior to that election, Pennington served as Governor of New Jersey, from 1837-43. Pennington declined appointment by President Millard Fillmore to serve as Territorial Governor of Minnesota. He also lost his bid for reelection in 1860. Pennington died on February 16, 1862.

Cobbs seem to have a history of finishing second. Howell Cobb (D-GA) required 63 ballots before he became Speaker - the second most needed to secure the post. (Distant relative, and Baseball Hall of Famer Ty Cobb is second on the all time list of base hits in Major League Baseball behind Pete Rose.) Cobb, born September 7, 1815 in Jefferson County, Georgia, served just one term as Speaker, elected December 22, 1849, in the 31st Congress, 1849-51. In total, Cobb served five terms in Congress. The first four - 1843-1851, the 28th through the 31st Congresses, and in the 34th Congress, 1855-57. In the interim, Cobb served as Georgia governor 1851-53. Following his fifth term in the House, Cobb served in the Cabinet as Secretary of Treasury in the James Buchanan administration. Cobb, a secessionist, resigned that post on December 10, 1860. On February 13, 1862 Cobb was named Brigadier General in the Confederate army, and promoted to Major General on September 9, 1863. Cobb died on October 9, 1868. Cobb’s speakership succeeded that of Robert Charles Winthrop.

Before revealing the highest number of ballots required for a Speaker candidate to secure that position, a note about Winthrop. Born May 12, 1809 in Boston, Winthrop won election to six terms in the House, the 26th to 31st Congresses, serving as Speaker during the 30th, 1847-49. Winthrop served six months as a United States Senator, July 30, 1850 - February 1, 1851, upon the resignation of Daniel Webster (1782-1852). Involved in literary, historical, and philanthropic pursuits, Winthrop is the namesake of Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Founded as a training school for women teachers in 1886, Winthrop University received $1,500 in seed money from the Peabody Education Board headed by Robert Charles Winthrop. Winthrop died on November 16, 1894.

More than double the number of ballots required to elect Cobb Speaker of the House, it took a whopping 133 ballots before Nathaniel Banks of Massachusetts could call himself House Speaker of the 34th Congress.  Serving but one term as Speaker, the voting commenced in December 1855 and finally concluded on February 2, 1856. Banks, born January 30, 1816 in Waltham, Massachusetts, won the speakership as a member of the American Party. Banks served 10 terms in Congress - the 33rd into the 35th - 1853 through 1857 when he resigned on December 24, 1857 to become Massachusetts governor, January 1858 to January 1861. Banks served in the Union Army as Major General of Volunteers from May 16, 1861 until honorably discharged on August 24, 1865. He returned to Congress for the 39th through 42nd terms from 1865 to 1873, again in the 44th and 45th Congresses, 1875-79, and finally, the 51st Congress, 1889-91 having served as a Democrat, an Independent, a Republican, and a member of the American Party. Banks died September 1, 1894.

A couple more speakers of interest. The first Speaker of the House also had a personal link to an institution of higher education. Frederick Augustus Conrad Muhlenberg was born on January 1, 1750 in Trappe, Pennsylvania and served as a minister in the Lutheran Church. Prior to serving in Congress, Muhlenberg served in the Continental Congress, the Pennsylvania State House, also as Speaker, a delegate to and president of the Pennsylvania State Constitutional Convention. Muhlenberg served in the first four Congresses, 1789-97, and as Speaker in the first and third Congresses. He also served as the first president of his namesake school Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA. Muhlenberg died June 4, 1801.

Prior to serving as Speaker in the third and fourth Congresses, Jonathan Dayton served in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, 1776-1783. Dayton, born October 16, 1760 in Elizabethtown, New Jersey, served four terms in Congress - the second through the fifth, 1791-99, and as Speaker 1795-99. Dayton served one term in the United States Senate, 1799-1805 as a Federalist. He is the namesake of my high school, Jonathan Dayton Regional High School in New Jersey, as well as the city of Dayton, Ohio.

The Speaker of the House is second in line to the presidency behind the Vice President. Two speakers rose to the vice presidency, Schuyler Colfax (R-IN) and John Nance Garner (D-TX), while only one speaker ascended to the White House, James Knox Polk (D-TN).

Garner, born on November 22, 1868 in Red River County, Texas, served 15 terms in the House, 1903-33, the 58th through 72nd Congresses, his final term as Speaker, 1931-33, the 72nd Congress. Nance won reelection in 1932 to a 16th term on November 8, 1932 - the same day he won the vice presidency on the Democrat’s ticket with Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The pair won reelection in 1936, but Garner was not on the ticket in 1940. He died on November 7, 1967.

Colfax, born in New York City on March 23, 1823, served seven terms in the 34th through the 40th Congresses, 1855-69, and Speaker the last three terms, the 38th through the 40th Congresses, 1863-69. In 1868 Colfax won the nomination for Vice President and did not seek reelection to Congress. With Ulysses Grant running for President, the Grant-Colfax GOP ticket won the White House. Inaugurated on March 4, 1869, Colfax served one term with Grant. Although Grant went on to win reelection in 1872, Colfax did not remain on the ticket due to his involvement with the Credit Mobilier of America scandal. Colfax died on January 13, 1885.

Polk, born on November 2, 1795 in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, and graduated from the University of North Carolina, served seven terms in Congress, the 19th through the 25th Congresses, 1825-1839, the last two as Speaker. Polk won election as a Jacksonian for the first six terms and as a Democrat the final term. He did not seek renomination in 1838 to Congress, but instead, ran for and won election as Governor of Tennessee, serving 1839-41. Polk won the presidency as a Democrat in 1844, serving March 4, 1845 through March 3, 1849 during which time he oversaw the winning of the Mexican-American War, 1846-48 following the annexation of Texas in 1845. Polk did not seek reelection for President in 1848 and died less than three and a half months after leaving the White House - the shortest tenure as a former president.

Kevin McCarthy is the 55th American to serve as Speaker of the House of Representatives. The 11 discussed above represent a mere 20 percent. Others have served longer, some served with more distinction, others with less, and some more colorful than others. Hopefully all 55 have served and will serve with the best interests of the United States of America at heart.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN. 

Democracy In Action or Inaction?

Democracy In Action or Inaction?
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
January 8, 2023

At 12:38, the morning of January 7, 2023 came the official pronouncement that California Republican Congressman-elect Kevin McCarthy would finally become Speaker of the House of Representatives. That this exercise took four days and 15 votes to get to McCarthy as Speaker-elect should not be a cause of consternation nor distress.

Yet, policy wonks, political pundits, talk radio commentators, and virtually anyone with a voice from both sides of the aisle described the longevity of the speaker election as a disgrace, an embarrassment, a failure of democracy, and/or something that should have been sorted out behind closed doors before the first vote for speaker was cast on January 3. Without a House Speaker, there effectively is no House of Representatives. Members-elect did not take the oath of office until well past 1 AM. Only at that time could any House business commence. 

Everybody asks if their individual member of Congress “brought home the bacon,” meaning what programs or appropriations will financially benefit their specific district. Yet, to intentionally mix the metaphors, nobody wants to see how the sausage is made. Yes, it can be messy, but the finished product is typically something people enjoy or appreciate. Quite frankly, I would like my representative to come home to the district and report no new appropriations. After all, appropriations are spending bills, and Congress can only spend the money we the people send them via our taxes - what I like to call legalized theft. If the Congress manages to somehow cut spending, more of that money can stay in our pockets where it belongs, as we the people know best how to spend our money. Always remember, there is no such thing as government money.

Twenty members-elect fought valiantly for we the people during the four day standoff. We the people should be grateful for them in spite of being called hardliners, MAGA Republicans, even traitors and terrorists by some from their own party as well as the other side of the aisle and the media from Fox News to MSNBC. Clearly, they weren’t paying attention, as they should have been. Congress went from the infamous “we have to pass the bill to find out what’s in it,” under former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), to concessions made by McCarthy to the 20 members on behalf of the American people that include having 72 hours to read a bill before it reaches the House floor (which still isn’t enough time considering the hundreds of pages many bills contain).

Some critics say the 72 hour rule will slow down House business. Sounds like a good thing on several levels. If it takes longer perhaps the members will be more thoughtful regarding the spending of the people’s money. Perhaps fewer bills will pass creating less regulation, fewer taxes. “I am open to whatever will give me the power to defend my constituents against this godforsaken city,” said Congressman Chip Roy (R-TX), one of the 20 who should be applauded for securing the concessions.

While several of the concessions made by McCarthy are “inside baseball,” such as eliminating remote committee work and proxy voting as should have been temporary during Covid, others include shrinking the power of the office of the Speaker, the ability of one member to call for the Speaker’s chair to be vacated, agreeing to allow floor votes on a border security bill (where the hell has this one been?), a reinstatement of a three-fifths supermajority required to approve any increase in tax rates. Another vital concession from McCarthy is the CUT-GO where every spending increase must be offset by an equal or greater cut in spending. As that needed to be a demand from the 20 holdouts, one should wonder what kind of Republican McCarthy really is.

“These past… days were worth it,” said US Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD). “Negotiating in good faith. Will it weaken the Speaker? In general, yes, but the Speaker, I think, has become a much too powerful position,” continued Harris.

Perhaps the most important concession is the requirement of appropriations bills to be voted upon as stand alones, as opposed to the behemoth $1.7 trillion omnibus bill passed in an 11th hour grab by the waning, outgoing Democrat Congress. There are 12 Congressional subcommittees each with its own set of appropriations https://appropriations.house.gov/legislation, each requiring its own deliberations, debates, and yea or nay votes. Having them presented as stand alone bills, more attention can be paid to them individually with more deliberate decisions to avoid spending $400 on a hammer.

The one downside coming from the concessions is allowing votes on earmarks inserted by individual House members; a practice both parties have relied upon in an effort to secure passage of legislation. This is an abominable practice. If a given member is unable to secure the necessary votes for passage of his or her bill sans earmarks, perhaps it is too weak, unnecessary, or too expensive in the first place and should die in committee. Every piece of legislation should stand or fall on its own merits.

By forcing multiple votes to determine the Speaker of the House, the 20 GOP outliers could ensure the American people got what these House members were fighting for by bringing it to the people via media - print, audio-visual, and social. This is perhaps one of the purest forms of democracy in action, and these 20 Republicans should be proud of what they accomplished. While any American above the age of majority could technically be elected Speaker of the House - they don’t even need to be a member of Congress - those opposing McCarthy should have settled upon one individual to counter him for the purposes of voting. During the entirety of the 15 ballots, the following were either nominated or voted for by the 20 anti-McCarthyites: Jim Banks (IN), Andy Biggs (AZ), Byron Donalds (FL), Kevin Hern (OK), Jim Jordan (OH) - my personal choice, former President Donald Trump (FL), and former House member Lee Zeldin (NY). Donalds and Jordan both received 20 votes for Speaker at least once. Jordan, a member of the more conservative House Freedom Caucus, never wavered in his support of McCarthy, voting for him on all 15 ballots.

“We need a leader who can stand up to a Democrat-controlled Senate and President Biden, and unfortunately, that isn’t Kevin McCarthy,” said US Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-MT). Rosendale never once voted for McCarthy, finally voting “present” on the 15th and final ballot.

“This is the great part. Because it took this long, now we learned how to govern. So now we’ll be able to get the job done,” said McCarthy between ballots 13 and 14, prematurely expecting 14 to be the last ballot, instead turning out to be the penultimate ballot. Slowly they turned - 13 of the 20 voted for McCarthy on ballot 12, 14 did so on ballot 13, and 16 voted for McCarthy on ballots 14 and 15 with six voting “present” on ballot 15 giving McCarthy the necessary, at that point, 216 votes. As each of the 20 voted for McCarthy for the first time, the rest of the GOP members broke into applause. With the 216th vote came chants of USA, USA, USA from the House gallery.

The 20 House, at the time, members-elect attempting to thwart McCarthy’s efforts to become the nation’s 55th different Speaker of the House are:

Andy Biggs (AZ-5)     Paul Gosar (AZ-9)

Dan Bishop (NC-8)     Andy Harris (MD-1)

Lauren Boebert (CO-3) Anna Paulina Luna (FL-13)

Josh Brecheen (OK-2) Mary Miller (IL-15)

Michael Cloud (TX-27) Ralph Norman (SC-5)

Andrew Clyde (GA-9) Andy Ogles (TN-5)

Eli Crane (AZ-2) Scott Perry (PA-10)

Byron Donalds (FL-19) Matt Rosendale (MT-2)

Matt Gaetz (FL-1) Chip Roy (TX-21)

Bob Good (VA-5) Keith Self (TX-3)

We the people owe them a debt of gratitude as they stood up for and by the American citizenry remembering that they, the members of the 118th Congress work for the American people and not the other way around. It is incumbent upon us to remind them of that not just every two years when they seek election or reelection, but every day. Call your House member and politely let them know where you stand on the various issues. The main number at the House of Representatives is 202-224-3121.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN.