KY congressional views on impasse split down party lines

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - What does it mean when 20 hard line conservative representatives derail vote after vote for a new Speaker of the House?

Bluegrass state GOP congressmen do not seem to be worried.

“What people are seeing in real time happens all the time behind the scenes,” Representative James Comer, (R) KY District 1 said. “It’s very tense debate, very tense negotiations. And in the end, you come together and pass legislation.”

After just two days, Republican Kevin McCarthy endured what some described as six humiliating defeats as he attempted to ascend to the powerful role of speaker.

And yet Wednesday night on CNN, Lexington area congressman Andy Barr promoted a more supportive point of view.

“Kevin McCarthy won the vote among Republicans over 200 members to 20, 6 times,” the republican congressman said. “And it doesn’t take a rocket scientist or mathematician to figure out that is a landslide victory within the Republican conference.”

But day three immediately brought McCarthy more defeats and bolstered claims of GOP disfunction.

UK voting behavior expert Stephen Voss sees potential for political fallout.

“Internal conflict at the national level floating down to state politics,” Voss said, “that could make Kentucky’s republican party have a more difficult path to holding their large majorities than they have suffered so far.”

Predictably, Kentucky’s only Democrat in Congress, Morgan McGarvey of Louisville, expressed deeper concern than his republican colleagues on Thursday.

“This shows honestly,” McGarvey said, “the inability to choose a speaker, you wonder how they’re going to be able to govern the session at all. Particularly, given all the concessions that McCarthy continues to make in order to try and get these votes.”

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