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Byron Donalds a Diversity Candidate?
Even Joy Reid, a liberal black woman, practices one of the very things that makes affirmative action so insidious. She called Byron Donalds a diversity pick, saying that he was only selected as a speaker candidate because of his skin color. Every black person fears in his innermost being that he will be called out as an imposter someday because of affirmative action.
I have no idea whether Byron Donalds would have made a good speaker. On the one hand, he is a sophomore, so he doesn’t have a lot of experience in Congress. It takes time to gain the skills to fundraise, learn parliamentary procedure, and learn the peculiarities of each member of the caucus. So I rather doubt that he is ready to be a good speaker now.
On the other hand, he did have the courage and insight to vote against McCarthy, and that is a big positive. He is a member of the Freedom Caucus, so he shares the values of limited government and fiscal conservatism. He has responded calmly and articulately to all the attacks on him. And he had the courage to get off the Democratic plantation before he got into politics.
There is a lot to like about Byron Donalds. Perhaps he will be the next speaker after McCarthy. And may that day come soon.
Published in Domestic Policy
Donalds may be a reason for optimism. The ruckus over the Speakership introduced him to a wider audience. Let’s see how he does.
I started following him on Twitter. He says the right things for this cynical conservative. As for being Speaker, I think he would lead in the right direction and the procedural knowledge can be purchased with good staffing.
I’ve heard him interviewed a number of times, and I’m impressed. I don’t know what his background was before Congress, but that might have told us more about his ability to have taken the position. He was part of the Freedom Caucus, but I thought he supported McCarthy. . . just like Jim Jordan . . .
I figured the FC nominees were place holders and stalling tactics… not really serious nominees to beat McCarthy.
I watched Byron Donald’s recent interview with Joy Reid. I was impressed with him before the Speaker kerfuffle, but after watching him get assaulted by her in the interview, I am even more impressed. He kept his cool while she pummeled him with interruptions, accusations, and inane diatribes and refused to let him answer the “question/allegations” she was hurling at him in a rapid-fire manner. She had to read her questions and constantly had to refer to her notes, while Congressman Donald sat calmly with no notes, and tried to answer. She did not allow him to complete a sentence. Why anyone would agree to be interviewed by Joy Reid is a mystery.
An interview with Joy Reid is a health hazard for a conservative. You will run the risk of getting a hernia from trying to hold up both ends of that conversation.
I will say that his wife, Erika, is a “liberty lover” that promotes school choice. In my experience, a politician with a conservative wife acts like a conservative. Same as with Ron DeSantis.
FYI, Erika is white and she says the Leftists attack her family in viscous racist ways. I assume that hardens her resolve. Moms don’t like people attacking their kids.
He was a Democrat until he joined the Tea Party and became a Republican in 2010. He worked as a financial advisor for Wells Fargo, so he worked in banking but didn’t have a senior position. He was a Florida state rep 2016-2020 and chaired the state house banking and insurance committee.
He supported McCarthy in the first and second rounds but switched his vote to Jordan in the third.
I’m impressed with him. He doesn’t have a ton of experience in either business or politics, but he handled himself well when he was thrust into the spotlight. And he has the courage to stand for his convictions, first as a black Democrat in the Tea Party and now as a black member of the Freedom Caucus. I think we’ll see more of him.
I think so, too! And thanks for all the background information, Steve.
OK, Florida the race is on. Let’s see who can elect the most Byron Donalds and Chip Roys. Of course, it is -1 point for people like Dan “Eyepatch McCain” Crenshaw. I think currently, Florida is slightly ahead.
Well, there’s Michael Waltz, Brian Mast and Anna Paulina Luna (who is new but has great credentials). Check her out on Ballotopedia.
Edit: Don’t forget Jim Jordan.
Matt Gaetz is not a bad pick, either :p
Riiigggghhht! If you don’t mind playing with TNT!
Hey, he was part of this. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. It’s about utilizing the strengths where needed. No one is good at everything. If Gaetz thing is being strong in front of media while others are sober about goals and legislation, this works.
Technically you’re right: we should consider strengths and weaknesses. His weakness to me is I don’t like him. ;-)
Even Joy Reid?
Rep Donalds speaks for himself on an MSNBC interview:
He’ll make a great speaker, maybe even Gov of Florida…
Will he – and his family – withstand the cries of “Uncle Tom” etc from the media?
IIRC, Gaetz was a strong Trump supporter early. That’s when I got familiarized with his appearances. Then, all of the sudden, he was being accused of various criminal type activities usually associated with Democrats. Looks as if he plowed through those.
Always have to keep track of where criminal accusations are coming FROM. If they’re coming from Dimocrats, that’s just telling you what the Dimocrats are actually doing and you should be watching for.
But as a strength, he has F.U. money and acts that way.
According to a Wikipedia list, FL, TX & AZ each have 5 members of the Freedom Caucus.
He already has. Its his second term.
Where the flack is the thickest – is when you’re on target…
I meant if he runs for governor, and perhaps later for president. As with DeSantis, the media has not yet BEGUN to attack.
I am sure it matters to some people. I think it killed Rob Ford, for example.
But its been a gradual turning up the heat on him. The first time you see someone attack you in the paper or on TV, its probably shocking and disconcerting … But I think he’s already desensitized to it, as you see him push back at his interviewer here…He’s not going to take it, but he’s also not going give them an attack soundbite that they can take out of context to further substantiate their attacks on him.
To a large extent, his reaction doesn’t even matter. The masses that CNN et al preach to, will believe anything they say.
Yes, but thankfully their influence is waning.
Thankfully the Sweet Meteor of Death has been spotted – so this all maybe over soon. ;)
I didn’t know that Joy Reid was black. She doesn’t sound black on podcasts. From the audio clips I did hear of her, she sounded like a mean white Karen and poorly educated leftist who is very long on feelings and very short on facts. Now that I have learned that she is black I realize that not all Karens are white.
It’s an important lesson.
Now I’m not sure if she is black. According to Wikipedia, her father was from Congo and her mother from Guyana. Guyanese are Indians (with a dot), Indians (with a feather), and Africans; so she might be only half black. But she is at least as black as Obama and Kamala are.
Especially “Whoopi Goldberg” whose actual birth name is Karen – okay, fine, Caryn! – Johnson.
A fair point.