McCarthy Doesn’t Have the Votes

Live from the Liberty University Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, it's America's favorite cunt totem Bible-clinging deplorable American. That's right. I love this American ride. Don't starve. Oh yeah.

And hello. America, welcome to the Todd Sterns Radio Program. Very happy to have you with us. Happy New Year, America. And wow do we have a fight on our hands?

Right now, ladies and gentlemen, the House is getting ready to vote on the new Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy. From our indications, does not have the votes necessary to be the new speaker.

So, we're going to be broadcasting this live when it happens. We have our news partners at Newsmax, they are monitoring the developments on the floor of the House chamber, and we'll keep you updated when the voting commences. I want to thank our good friend Jeff Stein from radio station KXEL. Did a terrific job over the past week filling in as I was taking some time off and finishing up the new book project, and greatly appreciate that. We're going to be taking your calls today, and the question is very simple: Should Kevin McCarthy be the next Speaker of the House?

Should the House Freedom Caucus stand down? That's the question at this hour. There are many people, including. Fox News channel leading the charge, and they are calling these House Freedom Caucus members every name out of the book. Folks, I've never seen anything like this.

Now, we're going to get into who Kevin McCarthy really is. We've got about 10 no votes right now in the House of Representatives.

So, Kevin McCarthy is not going to win on the first ballot.

So, we want to know from you: 844-747-8868, should the House Freedom Caucus stand down and allow Kevin McCarthy to be the new Speaker? 844-747-8868. That is our toll-free telephone number. Again, 844-747-8868. We are expecting the House to vote for the new Speaker within the hour, and we're going to take that to you live on this program today.

By the way, Monica Crowley is going to drop by with her analysis of what happened today up on Capitol Hill. Also, our good friend Governor Mike Huckabee is going to be here, and Scott Perry, who is the chairman of the Chairman of the House Freedom Caucus will drop by as well. By the way, this coming in from Newsmax, they're saying that should this go to a second ballot, they do believe that McCarthy would win on a second ballot.

So we'll keep you updated. We'll keep you updated on that. But I'm telling you right now, folks, it is an ugly, ugly, ugly scene. And these House Freedom Caucus members They are coming under fire from everybody. They've been called idiots.

They've been called fools. Mark Levin's on the war path that says they're all a bunch of rhinos, and that's just a lie. And I don't know why Levin's out there doing this. Everybody knows that McCarthy, and here's the problem with Kevin McCarthy. And I just, this is the only way I can quantify this.

What Kevin McCarthy says in public is not the problem. It's what he does in private. That's the problem. Because Kevin McCarthy is out there trying to convince everybody that he's some sort of a rock-solid conservative. But the guy is not.

At best, he is an establishment Republican. But what makes McCarthy so dangerous? is that he has no principles. He only wants power, and he will do whatever it takes to gain power. He'll say whatever it takes to gain power.

Yeah. And then, once he gains power, he will turn his back. on the Conservatives. I want to go to the phones here. First, Moorhead City, North Carolina, Ernie on the line, listening to us on the talk station.

All right, Ernie, what do you think about McCarthy? Are you for or against? I made made made a similar call several times.

Okay. before a few. This guy is a weasel. He's going to be Mitch McConnell one hundred two. Or 2.0.

And by the way, 2.0, whichever grade he deserves. But. Like, I can't. There's nothing more I can say. You said it all.

He's all about himself, and he's going to be. a rhino. He always has been, he always will be. Here's my concern, Ernie. It's the attack.

Hold on, hold on, Ernie, hold on. Here's what concerns me, Ernie, and I'll let you have your say here. It's all the other people out there that are attacking people like Scott Perry and Ralph Norman from South Carolina and Matt Gates from Florida. Here you've got, what, 10 people who are principled conservatives, and they're not willing to sacrifice the core of their belief system to put Kevin McCarthy in that speaker chair, and now all of a sudden they're the bad guys. Yes, sir.

And the last thing I wanted to say was I'm about done with Fox because The previous post on the on the show, they're all in the tank for McCarthy. Oh, no doubt about it. They're all in the tank. And by the way, this is Paul Ryan's influence over at Fox News Channel. Paul Ryan, the former Rhino speaker, has had great influence on what we are seeing happen on Fox News Channel right now.

And that's all that smells of. Ernie, appreciate the call. Thank you for listening. 844-747-8868. And Brian Kilmead this morning talking about these people being idiots, talking about folks like Scott Perry and Andy Biggs and the others.

Here's and you people in Georgia need to help me figure this one out. Marjorie Taylor Greene. And I don't know what she and McCarthy have going, but he he must have promised her the world Or she's got photos because she is all in on McCarthy. This is Marjorie Taylor Greene on Steve Bannon's podcast. Take a listen, cut 10.

And I also found out that no one went in there and negotiated anything for me, but I haven't asked for anything for myself. You see, that's the difference, Steve. I'm not in there demanding Marjorie, Marjorie, Marjorie. I'm in there saying for the American people, for the American people, for the American people. And that pisses me off when we have other Republicans in there saying, trying to tell the base.

Let me remind you, Matt Gates. His first vote in Congress was for Paul Ryan as speaker. And then he went on and cheerleaded Paul Ryan while I was at home, pissed off at Paul Ryan because he was failing President Trump and failing our MAGA agenda. You know Chip Roy, who everybody's saying Chip Roy's conservative? Chip Roy did not object on January 6th to Joe Biden's Electoral College votes.

No, he voted for Joe Biden's Electoral College votes. And let me tell you something else. Chip Roy, you know what else? He set out the vote for the January 6th committee. He did not vote against it.

He set it out because he was for it. You want to know something else? There's plenty of people with voting records. Scott Perry, the chairman of our Freedom Caucus, before his general election, he would not vote against the gay marriage bill because he was scared how it was going to affect him in his general election. I'm sorry, that is not courage.

That is fear. And he was scared of election results and he didn't do the right thing. But when the bill came back around that he did not Know it was going to do. None of us knew it was coming back after his election. He voted.

General Chair. Hang on. Hang on. Hang on. Hang on.

We have a plan. I'm sorry, you can't trust everyone. You can't get a word in Edgewise. Come on, Marjorie. It's Steve Bannon Schaufer crying out loud.

But again, folks, I mean, what happened to MTG?

So now she is bowing down and worshiping at the feet of Kevin McCarthy. You folks in Georgia help me understand that one. Mark Levin accusing the conservative members of the Freedom Caucus of being closet rhinos, which is what MTG just did. This makes no sense. The five half Republican GOP bone hands have no real conservative candidates.

I'm sorry, I can't do the impression. You know Lovett. Anyway, he goes on to say they look like fools and says they're delaying the House GOP's investigative agenda. You know, look, um, I. Uh Look, I like Mark Levant.

He's the great one. Have great respect for Markle Van, but I didn't send people to Capitol Hill to be investigators. I sent them up there to get control of fiscal spending. But if we're going to spend the next two years as a Republican Party and that's the only thing we're going to do is investigate Joe Biden, okay, great. And you know what's going to happen?

Then we're going to be right back in the minority again. You got to govern, ladies and gentlemen, and that's what we sent the Republicans to Washington to do. And I will simply point out that the last time we gave the Republicans control of the Senate and the House, they got Diddley and Squat done. All right, let's go to the phones here: 844-747-8868. Murph, Germantown, Tennessee, listening to us on KWAM.

What's on your mind? Dr. Starnes, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year to you. Have a question, please, sir. Yes, sir.

Amid all this controversy about the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Have yet to see anyone ask the question. or entertain the idea of what Representative McCarthy of California has done To merit this position. He has been in office probably at least 10 to 12 years. Yeah, since 2007.

Okay, that's fifteen years.

Well, yeah, fifteen years. Your kids, my kids, our grandkids, The young man I just spoke to on the radio is eighty to ninety thousand dollars in debt. The country cannot survive like this. The numbers are unsustainable.

So, what has he done? Is he part of the problem or is he part of the solution? I can't figure out what he's done to merit this position. Thank you very much. Murph, I think the easy question here, he hasn't upset the apple cart.

He hasn't gone out there and put his neck on the line for anything. As a matter of fact, Murph, and this is what concerns me. We have the secret audio recordings of him saying that he was going to get Trump to resign. Then he went out in public and says he's a big Trump supporter. There's audio of McCarthy asking whether or not Twitter could ban conservative congressmen who are raising issues about the integrity of the 2020 presidential election.

That concerns me as well. But even more than that, most recently he campaigned against conservative candidates in very competitive Republican primaries. And all of that tells me he's not going to be a friend of the conservative wing of the Republican Party. Yeah. And the fact that he's from California, which would be Should raise an eyebrow or two anyway.

Uh I guess that, you know, some people must there must be some uh members of the United States House of Representatives that are obligated to him. And like Sandy Rio said this morning, Um If you vote against him, buddy boy, you're Cutting off your nose to spite your face. You are. It's very brutal out there. And I will say this: there's some rumblings that maybe Elise Tefanik might be.

The next choice, she's to the left of Kevin McCarthy. It's just unbelievable what the Republicans have done. Again, Murph, we have the leadership of the Republican Party to the left of the base of the party, and that's the problem. It sure certainly seems like it.

Well, you take care and all the best. All right, Merv. Happy New Year to you. And don't be a stranger. Give us a call back.

Folks, we've got to take a break. We've got Donovan in Georgia, James in Memphis. Lines open. What do you want the House Freedom Caucus to do here, folks? They hold all the cards.

Do you want them to stand their ground or do you want them to surrender and vote for Kevin McCarthy? 844-747-8868, toll-free telephone number. That's 844-747-8868. Great to be back. This is the Todd Stern Show.

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Again, mypello.com, promo code STARNS. All right, welcome back to the Todd Stearns Radio Show.

Okay. Man, I missed you guys. It was. That was a long, long break, but it is so good to be back with you. By the way, many of you asking about Grace Baker.

She and Mr. Producer moved to Illinois. They actually were on the road yesterday. They've made it safely to the land of Lincoln. And we'll be hearing from Grace sometime later this week.

All right. I want to weigh in on some comments coming in on our social media pages. Nicole says, Todd, this is embarrassing for America. Everybody has a burr in their saddle about everyone. Guess what?

Anyone is better than Pelosi. Get it together, politicians. John says you're right. It is embarrassing that a slime ball corrupt sellout like McCarthy could even get elected, much less become Speaker. Troy says if Kevin McCarthy is not making Speaker of the House, then twenty twenty four Democrats will win the House.

This is a warning to Republicans. All right, what say you, ladies and gentlemen? We are waiting for the House to take that first vote. This could be a very historic day in the world of politics because this hasn't happened in a very, very long time. All right, let's go to Georgia.

Gainesville, Donovan hanging out with us on WDUN. Donovan, what's on your mind?

Well, I just wanted to wish you a happy new year, buddy. You sound great.

Well, thank you, Donna. You know what? I feel great and really appreciate our good friend Jeff Steinfilling in over in Waterloo. But it was time to get back. I miss the place.

Yes, sir. He did a great job. I like listening to him. Not as good as you, O, but he did a great job.

Well, you're kind to say that. Thank you, sir.

Now I feel that Kevin would be a totals Screw ya. basically. Uh he would screw up America big time. Uh He would put us backwards, not forward. We need to move forward, sir.

We need to. Take ground. We we did a lot of good things in the last year and a half, but We can do even more. We need someone with a backbone, and I don't want anybody like him in there. I don't care who it is.

I just wanted you to know that.

Well, Donovan, I appreciate you calling, and I think a lot of people feel that way. I'm concerned about the slippage on the culture war issues within the Republican Party, and it's really not a slippage. It's like we're sliding down the slippery slope. And I'm concerned that if we keep going down that path, the Republicans are going to be in a world of hurt in 2024.

So we just need to get everybody on the same page here. Kevin McCarthy is not on the same page. And I got one more comment, and I'll be gone. And I just wanted to point out about that game last night. It was terrible what happened to that young man.

But one great thing happened. I feel, Todd, as a Christian, I know you're a Christian too. I mean, everybody kneeled down and praised God for him to come back. And he got a heartbeat, and I hope he makes it now. I just want to point that out.

Well, I do too, Donovan, and we're going to be talking about that story a little bit later on, but I'm with you. I thought one of the most beautiful moments was when everybody, I mean, you could hear a pin drop in that stadium, and I think everybody was doing the same thing, and they were praying for that young man, for his mom who was there in the stands. She was able to go with him by ambulance to the hospital. But we'll get into more of that in just a little while. Donovan, God bless you.

Happy New Year to you, and Happy New Year to all of our great listeners out there in the state of Georgia. Let's go. You know what? We're going to hang tight. James in Memphis, hang tight.

We've got James in Minnesota coming up, but we're coming up on a break. By the way, we are now accepting registration for our November trip to Israel. We're taking a listener trip to the Holy Land. We are going to stand with Israel, and I want you to be a part of this. And if you would like information, you can go to ToddSterns.com and you will see the click there.

The banner, or you can give us a call 844-747-8868. Again, that's 844-747-8868, and we will personally send you information because we want you, we want all of you guys to join us on this great trip. We'll be right back, America. He was the singularly most active, best fundraiser, biggest campaigner. I thought at least the House was going to be a sign of stability.

And these five guys decide to go out as kamikazes and see if they can't sink the whole Republican Party. And that's what they're doing. This is not about Kevin McCarthy. This is about the right of any five members to basically throw away the entire rest of the conference and tell the rest of the conference it doesn't matter between them and the conference. Newt, that makes absolutely no sense.

Why would they do it? I think it's a psychological problem. These guys can't count straight. They can't play tic-tac-toe. They can't accept victory.

I mean, this is a moment where the Freedom Caucus could claim victory and conservatives could claim victory. You're going to have, given what McConnell's been doing in the Senate, McCarthy is the only hope for conservatism in Washington right now. And to undermine him, I think, is to undermine conservatism, undermine the Republican Party, and frankly, undermine the country.

Well, listen, just in the There you go, ladies and gentlemen. Speaker Newt Gingrich. And again, the amount of vitriol and the you can just hear the anger, the seething in Speaker Newt's voice. Here's the man who led the whole Republican Revolution. Back in the 1990s.

And yet, now all of a sudden, Newt Gingrich has aligned himself with the establishment of the party. Welcome back, everybody. I'm Todd Starnes, back in the saddle, and it is very nice to be here with you. We're waiting for the first vote. And if McCarthy does not win and our at least our early Intel says he doesn't have the votes, it would go to a second ballot and that would happen immediately.

This has not happened since 1923. And it took him nine ballots and more than three days to elect. A Republican Speaker of the House.

So we're looking at history in the making here, and I'm glad that you guys have chosen to hang out with us because we will be bringing that to you live when it happens. But right now, I want to go to the phone lines, have a lot of folks wanting to weigh in on this. And the question is very simple here, folks. What do you want the House Freedom Caucus guys to do? I mean, they're taking arrows for conservatives right now, they're taking a beating.

For conservatives. The people over at Fox News ought to be ashamed of themselves. You know, they claim to be conservative, they claim to be that blowtorch for conservative values, and they're not. They're just, folks, I'm just telling you. Brian Killmead today called them idiots.

You got Mark Levin calling them all sorts of horrible names. Newt Gingrich, you just heard on Fox, said they have psychological issues. Lawrence Jones, who's some other host over there, attacking these conservatives as well. 844-747-8868 is our telephone number. Let's go back to Memphis, Tennessee.

James on KWAM KWAM. All right, James, what say you? How are you today? I'm well. Thank you for asking, James.

Some You know, I'm for a good fight. I could care less about the Republican Party nor the Democrats, but these Democrats are out of their mind. They all out their mind really. But but until Don until Donald Trump came on the thing that really ceased That's corruption from the Democrats, the Republicans, all the way through. He even called McConnell a political hat.

He don't really care nothing about Kevin McConnell. But for some reason, he thinks that this is gonna get some progress made so we can get some business done. And for me, Marjorie Taylor Greene, I love her to death. She's the most outspoken person, and I like outspokenness. And that's what the Republicans need.

Republicans are so passive. Donald Trump? is my political friend. If he said for them people to stand down. I'm with him.

Now what is is happening is the Republican Party individually are being exposed. These people are being exposed as hacks. Or Rhinos, or whatever you want to call them. But anytime you go along with the Democrats on anything, Something is wrong with you. A lot of them Republicans have done this.

Even Even my friend Miss Green, but for whatever reason, but this ain't no perfect world. We got to go along with progress. Progress is our most important progress. Yeah. If we ain't making no progress, The Republican Party sure ain't making no progress, so this is an opportunity to make some progress.

Get on board. with all this foolishness that has been taking place with back Donald Trump. These people got away with lying for four years about Donald Trump and so-called Russia and this. These people have lied. No accountability.

It's a good point. I'm a Vietnam veteran. And I understand that the foolishness of this country, that's why I could care less about Republican democracy. They're all in the same bad. Yeah.

I don't want to have a war. The Vietnam War was started on a lie. Americans blew up their own ship. In the Gulf of Trump and blaming on somebody else.

So, anything you can call the lives of all these men that fought on a war on a lot. Again, something is wrong with you. And Don Scumby is the only person I know that could come on board to expose some of the bureaucracy. The American people are in trouble. Just like a John Strong's rare.

They ain't coming after me. They're coming out to all of y'all that's got some kind of stuff. You know, James, I don't want to get too far into the too far off the trail here. I don't want to get involved in this. No, no, no.

No, no, but hold on. I want to pivot just slightly to an issue we're going to talk about later, but I want to get your take on this. It's a big story in Memphis, Tennessee. And across the nation, they've been debating this bail reform law. And word came out over the weekend they had a known gang member went out, shot, and killed somebody, got arrested.

He was charged with first-degree murder. And the judge lets him out on his own personal recognizance.

So he didn't have to post a single dollar bail.

Now the accused killer is out there, and somebody's been shooting up the victim's dead guy's house where his mother lives. James, this is insane. Again, we're not talking Republican-Democrat here. We're talking about right and wrong. Here's what Forget calm or sick, man.

I don't just fool. Not a deliberate report. Yeah. It is common. And that's That don't make no sense, but but but they want this chaos, man.

These people want chaos. And when chaos come, you'll you ain't think about the real thing, but this foolishness with these people thinking that you having somebody black. Just because you're letting them out of jail, they're a non-killer. You got some killers. I've been on kills all my life.

Whoever lived. That'll make me want to be a killer. But the point about it every year you You got black people that's been killing each other.

Now, I'm going to just say this. When I was growing up as a child, I don't even remember nobody dying in the neighborhood. But since this stuff has been going on now, it's foolishness. Black people have turned. against their own step.

Yes. And you know why, James? Because when you were growing up, when you were growing up and you served in Vietnam, so when you were growing up, there were moms and dads in the homes. And if mom and dad weren't there, there was a neighbor, there was a teacher, somebody was there to make sure that you, if you were caught misbehaving, that you were set straight pretty darn quickly. That happened to me a lot last year.

It happened to me in South Haven, Mississippi.

So, James, James, we got to run. We got to run. But, James, you give us a call back. Don't be waiting so long now. You got to give us a holler back one of these days, and we'll have a conversation.

844-747-8868. Before we go back to the phones here, I got to tell you this thing, this story over the weekend, honest to goodness, folks, and we've got it up on our website. They let a known killer and gang member out of jail with zero dollars in bond. Yeah. And the poor mother of the dead guy was on the local news.

She was in tears. She says they're afraid that the gang members are going to come after her and her grandkids, and the house has been shot up. It's unbelievable. But this is what happens. This is what happens, folks, when you elect or put woke people in charge.

That's what happens. All right, let's get back to the phones here. 844-747-8868. Let's go to James and Minnesota. James, I understand you've got a theory about MTG.

Yes. Did you ever notice, Todd, that he has been pictured frequently with McCarthy At different speeches and things that he's made. Did you ever notice that? I have noticed that, James. Go ahead, continue.

And I tell you what, I was a great admirer of her. But my my thinking of her now is Et two, Brutus? Meaning Dag, Margie, you too? a part of this game. You're playing this game too.

I I think that she and McCarthy may have a romantic relationship.

So, you don't mean like just a friendly, you know, brother-sister type, you know. No, no, no. I mean I'm I mean lovers. And didn't her husband just divorce her not long ago? That is true, actually.

And I believe the divorce has been finalized, so she's a single woman now.

So very interesting. Yeah. And what she has presented herself to the public is, in my mind, is completely incongruent. with her support of McCarthy. Mm.

James, that's an interesting theory. We'll see if that has legs. You're not the first person to notice those things. Yeah. Oh, well, darn.

I'll just throw it out there. But it's an interesting theory you have, though. I mean, I've heard that hinted about, and I don't know. I'd like to hear what your listeners have to say about that and see what their opinions are. All right, good stuff.

James, appreciate the call there in Minnesota. 844-747-8868. Interesting observation here from our good pal Dalton from Wichita, Kansas, sending in a text. Todd, it's interesting to note that a Republican from New York nominated a Republican from California for Speaker, and on the Democrat side, From a Democrat from California, nominated a Democrat from New York for Speaker. In other words, It's uh the coastal the coastal states versus the rest of us.

That is something to think about there. All right. Let's go to Alabama. Phil hanging out with us on our live stream. Hi, Phil.

So, what's your take on McCarthy? Hey, Todd. absolutely do not want McCarthy voted as Speaker of the House. Um And I agree with both of the James. You have two James, they're back to back.

We did have Jameses. No Johns, just James. James squared, I guess. But anyway, they they were both good and I agree with them. And and as far as uh Marjorie Taylor Greene, uh I can't believe you know, that she's turned on us.

Um I'm not for Kevin McCarthy. I just called my Congressman, Jerry Carl. And told him that I did not want to. You know, it's interesting. I want him to vote for Kevin McCarthy.

It's interesting, Todd.

Well I've I'm eighty years of age. What I keep calling the Congresspeople, they got these interns up there, and any time you call them, they'll say, I haven't talked to them or I don't know.

Well, what are they there for? Yeah. I understand. It's like I told her, how do I get through to my congressman other than through you? And how do I even know you're going to tell them what I told you?

Well, I'll tell you this much, Phil. Phil, your congressman, they listen. We have so many lawmakers that either they have someone on their staff that's assigned to listen to this program or they listen themselves or go back and listen to the podcast. And that's why we urge our listeners, the audience, to call in because we've got a huge audience and they know when they're straying. And by the way, it was one of your congressmen, Congressman Moore, who was the guy that McCarthy tried to get silenced on Twitter because he was raising issues about voter integrity.

Well I tell you, it's I just I'm praying right now, Kevin McCarthy. We need some shakeup. And here's the way I look at it, Todd. We've uh the way I look at it, we've got three branches of government. The executive branch is gone.

We have an illegitimate president. He was not legitimately elected. Congress after the past one hundred seventy billion dollar omnibus bills That put the nail in the congressional coffin in my mind. Anyone voted for that? I mean, so the Congress has lost.

I really appreciate Tad. The fact that you posted about the Brunson brothers uh Lawsuit? I think you referred to Mike Cockaby talking about it, but. That is january sixth. I've already sent two letters.

I sent a letter to the Runston brothers themselves. I also sent a brother to Scotus a letter to Scotus. And it's too late for anybody probably to send the letter now 'cause the hearing is Friday. But people need the prey. This is the greatest opportunity I feel.

to change because our government needs a major Jacob. And this would be one way we could do it peacefully, hopefully. Phil, I think it's a great idea. And again, we talk about revolution. That doesn't mean you have to storm the Capitol, but it can mean sending people to Capitol Hill that are going to do what we ask them to do.

And I just say, God bless these five lawmakers. I hope there are more. Because what that tells me, Phil, is, and the sad part here is they're being portrayed as bad guys. But in reality, what's really sad is out of all those members of the Republican caucus, only five actually have the courage to stand their ground and stand up for conservative principles. And that's unfortunate.

Phil, we got to run. I'm late for a break. Appreciate you calling in. Hang tight, everybody. 844-747-8868.

We've got a McCarthy supporter calling in. We're going to check in with Martin in Las Vegas. This is the Todd Stern Show. Start a journey, not a fab. Kick off your fitness journey with up to $500 off Peloton Bike, Bike Plus, or Tread Packages.

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Jeffrey. Burkina McCarthy. McCarthy. Fire. My game Jeffries.

Jeffries. Fice. All right. That's history, ladies and gentlemen. Here's how it goes: every single member of the House of Representatives has to vocally express who they're voting for.

And this process will go on. We're going to keep you updated. I want to go to the phones, though, because we have a naysayer, Martin, from the Nevada Radio Network, joins us. And, Martin, I understand you support McCarthy.

Well, I tell you why. Every time I try to get through to you with your monologue for the, what do you call it, the conservatives, that's ridiculous. I mean, uh let's face it, uh Starrens, you know, there will used to be moderation in the in the in Congress. And that's what got us through. Rayburn, you know, Reagan and so forth, they got us through these.

rough times. They had a drink together afterward. There's nothing wrong with that. The point is, you don't speak moderation. And tell you the truth, when McCarthy got into the uh on the House floor about a week and a half ago, he slammed the Democrats.

Big. And I thought to myself, This guy does have guts. But it's it's going to take moderation, not just conservative, liberal or whatever you talk about all the time. I think moderation is going to win the day for him. But it's not moderation.

Martin, it's not moderation, it's capitulation. No, no, no, come on, that's that's a that's a cop-off. You know, there's only guys that are going to vote against them. Who cares about them? They have their own agenda.

That's what I'm trying to tell you. Yes, they do. The agenda is for the Republican Party, and it's really shameful that more Republicans are not standing up on the values and the platform that we sent them to Washington, D.C. in the first place to defend and to put into place. Right, that's hindsight.

That's hindsight. We're talking about now. You heard Newton, Rich? He speaks from the heart. He's been there, he's done that, he knows.

And I I met his cousin here in Carson City years ago. Bought a car from him. His name's Dennis. And uh not his cousin, this is a good idea.

Well, it was a Chevy and I screwed it up and I brought it back. Dennis was not happy. He was not happy. Let's put it that way. All right.

So, Martin, we're running out of time here. They're going to cut us off.

So, I'm counting you as a McCarthy supporter. Is that correct? You better believe it. All right, Martin. You better believe it.

We got you down. You give us a call, and you can't go wrong with a Chevy. Good old pot. Sure. I don't know how he said he messed it up.

We should have asked. Gotta change Soyola, though. You gotta get taken out of the Jiffy Loop. All right, folks, we're watching the vote. Should the House Freedom Caucus surrender?

844-747-8868. That's your phone number. This is the Todd Sturge. Start a journey, not a fab. Kick off your fitness journey with up to $500 off Peloton Bike, Bike Plus, or Tread Packages.

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Live from the Liberty University Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, it's America's conservative blowtorch. That's right. I love this American ride. Ton of stars. Oh, yeah.

All right. Hello, America. Welcome to the Todd Starns radio program, the very first edition of the show. With yours truly back in the saddle again. Great to have you with us.

By the way, thank you to our good friend Jeff Stein, radio station KXEL did a terrific job anchoring while I was away finishing up the new book. Which I'm still finishing. We'll talk about that later. Anyway, 844-747-8868, our toll-free telephone number. Hang tight if you're on the lines.

We're going to get to your calls momentarily. This item just in from our good buddy Tom Fitton over at Judicial Watch. He says McCarthy has lost the first ballot for Speaker of the House because of GOP defection.

So we're going to keep you updated on that. Right now, though, I don't know how, I guess he's looking at the running tally here of votes needed. We'll keep you updated on that throughout this hour of the program. Right now, though, I want to go to the Patriot Mobile Newsmaker line, great American Patriot and a fantastic podcaster. She is the host of the Monica Crowley podcast, none other than Monica Crowley.

And Monica, Happy New Year to you. Hey, Todd, happy new year to you too. Thank you for having me back, as always. And I am thrilled to. To be one of your guests on your very first show of 2023.

You are the first guest on the show for 2023.

So there you go. There you go. Wow.

Well, I'm very, very honored to be that guest. Monica, before we get to Kevin McCarthy and this vote that's underway right now, I wanted to talk about an item you shared. You have coined at the Uniparty. Mitch McConnell inviting Joe Biden to Kentucky tomorrow to celebrate this outrageous economic plan of the president's. I mean, it's basically spitting in the face of the Republican Party and especially conservative voters.

Yes, and that's exactly why McConnell is going to do exactly that. He doesn't have to go to he doesn't have to host the President in his home state. He's doing it on purpose. This is a deliberate message to the American First Movement, to the Republican base, and any others who question McConnell and his leadership and where his loyalties lie, which is with the Uni Party. It's not with conservatives.

It's not with Republican voters. It's not even really with the country. It's with Mitch McConnell, period.

So hosting the President in his home state tomorrow, et cetera, this is a giant middle finger to the rest of us. And it's also a big power play, too. because he's seen what's going on in the house. He sees America firsters. are really challenging.

Kevin McCarthy, we'll have to see how this shakes out. But it's just a very defiant move on the part of McConnell because he just got reelected in the Senate, Senate leadership, without a fight. And he could care less. He is so compromised by the CCP. He and his family have gotten a ton of money, just like Joe Biden, from CCP-related enterprises.

He has enriched and empowered himself over all of these years in the Senate, and he could care less about the country, about the state of the GOP, and frankly, about the America First Agenda. And so this is just a giant signal. This is exactly what he's doing. It's appalling and it's outrageous. And Senate Republicans ought to be ashamed of themselves for reelecting him without a fight.

I'm with you on this, Monica, and it's concerning because this is going to signal what the Republicans in the Senate are going to be doing, which is bowing down or bending over to the Democrats on every important issue. And I think that's why there is such a struggle right now with some members of the House Freedom Caucus about Kevin McCarthy, because they're concerned.

Well, absolutely. And look, there are only two of the three races left for GOP leadership, where we as America firsters have. Have some sort of say. One is today's battle for the speakership, which is why you're seeing this ongoing fight. And the final remaining race, Todd, is the race for RNC chair.

Ronna McDaniel, three terms, a record of failure, particularly in this last go-around in the midterms. She's a lovely woman, a very nice person, but she has not earned her spot for re-election for RNC chair. That race is coming up later this month. We've got Hermit Dylan, Mike Lindell, running to challenge her, and we will see how it's going to go. But you know what?

Here's the thing. In politics, as in life, but certainly in politics, It's all about back scratching. And I'm not sitting here thinking in a naive way that this is not how the game is played. Of course, this is how it works. You scratch my back, I scratch yours.

You give me something I promise you and then deliver something else for you. This is how the game is played. But the American people, by and large, are really sick of this. And whether it's the RNC chair or whether it's the speakership, the incumbent players, Ronna McDaniel, Mitch McConnell on the Senate side, Kevin McCarthy on the House side, They have spent so long doling out favors. and money and committee assignments and whatever they have in their purview to give, they have spent years giving it away.

And in many cases, like at the RNC, where people donate a lot of money or even just a little bit of money to try to make an impact. and a change, you know, Rhonna McDaniel has been giving out so much of our money to these people to try to lock it in for herself. And that's what's going on here. And this is, you know, the game is played like this on all sides. But if you are a challenger, how are you supposed to mount a legit challenge against somebody who has spent years doling out favors?

It is very, very difficult.

So my hat is off to Harmeed, and I hope that she will pull it off. My hat is off to the Freedom Caucus for trying to extract whatever they can from Kevin McCarthy. But what I don't want to see, Todd, is an implosion in this process. I hope and pray. that the Republicans who are challenging McCarthy on this and have torpedoed the first round of balloting for him, that they have a second and third step plan in place.

so that the speakership does not fall to a never trumper or even, God forbid, a Democrat. It's a fair point. And Monica, let me jump in here real quick here. Fox News now confirming what we shared with folks earlier. McCarthy does not have enough speaker votes.

That's with 85 votes for McCarthy, 81 for Jeffries. Hakeem Jeffries, the Democrat, 11 right now, the number for others. Yes, right.

So I'm hoping and praying that they have a plan, which, you know, when you're talking about Republicans, it's entirely possible that they don't. You know, it's well known, John, right? I mean, they never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. And I understand and share the frustrations with Kevin McCarthy. I get it.

I'm right there with you. But at some point, you have to move in order to govern. And let's hope that they don't overplay their hand. And lose all of the concessions that they have extracted from McCarthy. Let's hope that it doesn't slide to a never Trump or, God forbid, even a Democrat.

I mean, look, the old line about how the Democrats are the evil party and the Republicans are the stupid party, that is true. And I'm hoping that our fellow America firsters who are on the hill orchestrating this challenge to McCarthy, I hope that they have a game plan. Because if they don't, they will be relegated to minority status for the rest of their lives and maybe the rest of ours. It's a gamble here, and they've decided to stand their ground.

Now they've got to stand their ground. And you're right, there has to be a Plan B on that second vote. Newsmax saying that McCarthy has enough votes secured on a second ballot. But Scott Perry coming in, and he posted this thing earlier this morning. He said, Look, we went in.

It was a last-minute thing. The speaker, you know, Kevin McCarthy invited us in. They asked for firm commitments on a fair tax act, a balanced budget, border plan, term limits, and he refused all of them.

So at that point, and Monica, I made this point earlier. It's not what Kevin McCarthy says in public that we've got to be worried about, it's what this guy does in private, because we're getting two different versions of McCarthy here.

Well, that's exactly right. And this is a source of tremendous frustration. All of us know that nothing changes if nothing changes. And how dumb are we to keep installing the same People over and over again. I get it.

I'm right there. I'm the biggest cheerleader. I do this every day on my podcast. I talk about the leadership and the failures of the leadership because they're all part of the uni party. But at some point, you got to deal in reality.

And you cannot allow the pursuit of perfection to be the enemy of the good. And I'm not saying that one way with regard to McCarthy. I'm just saying that if this slips away from our control and you get another Trumper in there who's made no concessions to anybody and is going to be a John Boehner or Paul Ryan type, then we're really sunk. Or, God forbid, Hakeem Jeffries gets it on a second or third ballot. I mean, look, there are worse case scenarios than McCarthy.

So, I'm not defending it here. I'm just saying that they better have a hand that they're ready to play. All right, Monica, real quick here. Podcast, you've got a new one coming out for the new year. What's happening on the Monica Crowley podcast?

Yes, well, we did our first show yesterday, Todd.

So, yesterday's show is great, the first one for 2023. We have the great John Solomon of Just the News on with the inside scoop of what was going to go down today. I will probably bring him back on tomorrow's show to deconstruct what exactly happened today with the speaker's raise. And then, I've got some really interesting people coming up on the COVID vaccine. I've got Dr.

Andrew Huff about what really happened in Wuhan from the EcoHealth Alliance perspective. You know, people are really starting to blow the whistle on what went down over the last three years, and there needs to be accountability. And I'm very proud that on my show. I've been leading the charge on that. All right.

Well, Monica, looking forward to great things from you this coming year. And I know the podcast is it's just it's exploding. It's going so great. And folks, we have a link to that on our website, ToddSterns.com. All right, Monica, we're watching history unfold right before our very eyes.

Indeed. Yes. Thank you so much, Todd. Always appreciate you. God bless.

All right. God bless you. Monica Crowley, everybody. And again, Monica says: hey, look, she gets it, but. The House Freedom Caucus better have a Plan B and possibly a Plan C.

But as it stands now, the breaking news, and we have the story up on our website, McCarthy appears to be losing the first speaker vote. This information just coming in from Fox News. Hang tight. We're going to get to your calls coming up: 844-747-8868. What do you want the Republicans to do?

Is McCarthy the guy or somebody else? Who do you want to be, Speaker of the House? This is the Todd Starn Show. Start a journey, not a fab. Kick off your fitness journey with up to $500 off Peloton Bike, Bike Plus, or Tread Packages.

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All right, folks, welcome back to the Todd Starnes Radio Program. By the way, if you'd like to watch us live, you can do that by going to our Rumble account. Just look for Todd Starnes and the green check mark over at Rumble. You can also watch us live on Getter as well. All right, here's the deal, folks.

We're looking at 12 people voting for someone other than Kevin McCarthy, and there's still lots of votes, lots of votes to count. This is going to be a pretty slow, methodical process, but for the first time since what, 1923, there will be a second vote. As promised, let's go to the phone lines. A lot of you folks wanting to weigh in here. 844-747-8868.

Do you think this is bad for the Republican Party? A lot of people are saying this is going to blow up the entire agenda. 844-747-8868. Let's go to TJ in Nevada, listening to us on the Nevada Talk Network. TJ, what say you?

I don't think McCarthy was the person to do his job. Why is that?

Well, I I did I did oil wells down in Taft, which is by Bakersfield. and I was born I was born and raised in the San Joaquin Valley. They're they're conservative, hardline conservative. And you know what? When you when you say what you're going to say, And you put your word out.

That's your word. I'm with you on that, TJ. And I don't know about you, but I have seen time and time again where McCarthy has either said one thing in public and another thing in private, or he just refuses to take a position. I'm sorry I'm sorry, that's just what I said. You give your word, your word's your word.

That's it. It's your bond. You know, it's that simple, isn't it, TJ? I mean, there used to be a time well, maybe there maybe there wasn't a time where you could at least take a politician at his word, but these days, not a chance.

Well, and that's the whole thing. I mean, even in my own personal experience. I I've always been a man of my word, and when I say what I say, that's the way it is. But now I'm blackballed because I stand up for what I say.

Well, TJ, you can't go wrong by being a man of your word. You know, when I was at Fox News, it used to freak them out because my handshake, you know, a man's handshake means something where I come from. And, you know, somebody that's it.

Somebody would make me a promise or a guarantee. As a matter of fact, my first contract at Fox, they said, do we need to get an attorney? I'm like, no need to. Your word is good with me. I shouldn't have done that the first go-around, but I learned my lesson.

No, I understand. I mean, I'm 60-year-old puss. Yeah. It's a contract. Your word's your word, your bond's your bond.

And when you say something, you say it because that's the way it is. It's right. TJ, I appreciate you calling in, and here's the reason why. It's really not about politics, it's about integrity, and it's about what you just said. A man tells you he's going to do something, You better do it.

And Kevin McCarthy hasn't done that. And that's a problem, especially if you want to be leader of the House of Representatives. Got to be a man of your word. TJ, God bless you, sir. And you give us a call back.

I like the way you think here. Let's go to Bob in Newburn, North Carolina. Wants to weigh in on the MTG conspiracy. All right, Bob, what's your take on this? Hello, Baba.

Bob, you're loving. Hello. Yes, first of all, I enjoy your show. Thank you. But I want to get right to the point.

MTG McCarthy. The romantic relationship? I I don't believe that. What I do believe is she's looking for committee chairmanship. Oh, big time.

Yeah, that's definitely going to happen. Yeah, I I I think that's I think that's What we're dealing with. There ain't no relationship between him two. She's hanging on to him because she wants committee chairmanship. There you go.

All right, Bob. Appreciate it. I appreciate it. Yes, sir. Take care now.

Happy New Year to you. Can I just ask you guys about something about Instagram? And we're sort of off topic here, but I've got an Instagram problem.

So I don't know why, but for a while, I was getting alligators eating hippopotamuses, all these videos. And then I was getting the anaconda steaks. And then it went from puppies. And now, for some reason, all I'm getting on my Instagram feed are family guy clips. And they're very hilarious and very funny.

I just can't figure out these algorithms. What in the world? I just don't get it. What's going on with my Instagram, America? No, I don't know if it's a conspiracy, but it's I I family guy, it's pretty funny stuff.

Yeah, I'm really surprised they let some of that stuff on national television, to be honest with you. Anyway, all right, gotta take a break here. 15 no votes. Wow.

It's not looking good for McCarthy. 844-747-8868. We have lines open. This is the Todd Stearns Radio Show. Stick around, America.

All right, so the vote 166 McCarthy, 173 Jeffries, 19 people voting for someone else. Jim Jordan, by the way, voted for Voted for Kevin McCarthy. We are the House Speaker vote moves to the second ballot. And so this process will go on until we have. We have a Speaker of the House.

Now, you know, interestingly enough, Monica Crowley brought up an important point here: is that the House Freedom Caucus guys have to have a plan. They can't just upend things. They've got to have a plan. And I hope they do have a plan. We're going to be talking to Congressman Scott Perry in the next hour, again, barring this vote situation, because once they're there, he can't step out.

So we will keep you updated on that, but we'll ask the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus a little bit later. All right, let's go to the phones here. Joe from Ella J. Happy New Year to our good buddy Joe. Todd, happy new year to you.

I think we ought to fire both McCarthy and McConnell. McConnell is going down with Biden to Kentucky. That's a point in the eye, a stick in the eye of every Republican. I think both McCarthy and McConnell both need to be fired. Neither one's conservative.

They've been in Washington forever. We've got to have new blood, Todd. I'm totally opposed to both McConnell and McCarthy. Joe, what do you make of all of? I mean, it's just hateful comments coming from Fox News, Nuke Gingrich, Mark Levin.

I mean, they're trying to destroy the House Freedom Caucus.

Well, I'm for the House Freedom Caucus, and I'm for the Conservatives, and I think most taxpayers are. I think Washington is out of touch. McConnell, I like Newt, but you know, Newt was voted out too, if you remember about five or six. at the end of his term.

So I think he I I he's another Washington insider. Anyway, we need to get rid of McCarthy and McConnell. And I think any incumbent who's been in Washington longer than 14 years, Todd, they need to go. But I want to wish you a happy new year. You have a great show.

And I think whatever happens, you're going to have a huge input in what happens in the Republican Party in the future. And it's going to be very good. Joe, I appreciate you saying that. We just throw balls and strikes here. That's what we call here, balls and strikes.

And we appreciate your great work and your great dedication and loyalty to the Todd Search radio program. God bless you. Let's go to Texas. Benjamin on the line. All right, Benjamin, what's your thoughts on McCarthy?

Hey, Todd. Hey, yeah, you kind of beat me to it, but I just wanted to say about. Jim Jordan throwing his support behind Kevin McCarthy. I heard it this morning on the Yeah. And so, anyways, wouldn't tell you that, but also Okay, well, let's not promote other shows on this show.

So we're all kind of, you know, so let's stay focused, Benjamin.

So.

So anyways, I wanted to say that, but also I would like to see uh President Trump the speaker for two years until twenty four. and then run for President. then and become president again. But that's who I would like to see. I think he would be a fighter.

It's interesting, Benjamin. I just got a text message from Howard listening to us on WRWH in Cleveland, Georgia, and he says he's still holding out hope for Donald Trump to be Speaker of the House if everything implodes here. And at least the first step of implosion has begun. Again, Jeffries now with 192, McCarthy 183, 19 people voting for others, and you need 218 to be speakers.

So McCarthy's not going to get there this go-around. Benjamin, appreciate the call, and thank you for listening. 844-747-8868. That's our toll-free telephone number. That's 844-747-8868.

Did you hear about this horrible story last night, a Monday night football game? You had the Bills were playing Cincinnati, and you had. Damar Hamlin go down. There was there was an incredible play. It looked like he got hit in the chest.

And well, here's some audio of what it of what it sounded like next. Cut number seven. Hmm. Yeah, that's uh Not what any of us want to see, and everybody's around him, and just hope that he's going to be okay.

So we'll take another break. Here in Cincinnati. And they did, and they came back. And again, ESPN just stayed on the air for, and they didn't know what to do. I mean, these are sports broadcasters.

They're not medical experts. They don't weigh into political commentary. They're just there for the game. And, of course, the game was put on hold. It was about a half an hour.

They worked on DeMar there on the ground, went into cardiac arrest. They had to use CPR. He is in the hospital right now in critical condition. They're not giving us much intel, but he apparently is on a, he's been intubated, which means he's on a respirator. And I can tell you, as someone who went through open heart surgery, that after you've been through a life-saving procedure, they put you on life support so that your body can heal, so that you can get strength, the strength you need to be able to breathe on your own.

And that's a process, and it takes time.

So, the fact that they were able to work on him quickly, the hospital, by the way, is only what, two miles away from the stadium, so they were able to get him there pretty quickly. But here's some more of the commentators talking about the ambulance, cut number six.

Well, you can see that the ambulance is out there on the field, and they are intensely working on DeMar Hamlin. There's just nothing to say right now. We'll take another break and come back. Folks, that was the audio, and I wanted you to hear the pause there, that long pause. That was the stadium.

You could hear a pin drop, tens of thousands of people in that stadium, and no one was moving. People were praying. You know what got me was ESPN, they were so afraid to provide any kind of audio of people praying. You know, they have the whole stadium as mic's, and they had all the players down there and the coaches and the trainers. Everybody was on, they were on bended knee, they were praying.

It was a horrible situation. You would have thought somebody would have been able to offer up a prayer on ESPN.

Now there's a bit of controversy and a couple of bits of controversy over what happened last night.

So the players are saying that they were told as soon as that ambulance left the field, the players were told they had five minutes to collect their thoughts and then get back out there and finish playing the game. Yeah. Now, the NFL Players Association is refuting all of this, and they're saying, no, that never happened, but I don't believe it. And the reason why I say I don't believe it is that they should have called that game immediately. They knew what happened.

They they were giving the guys CPR on the field. They knew what had happened, but the NFL was afraid to call that game, and it took them almost an hour, almost an hour. to finally decide to do the right thing and call the game. Can you imagine the heartbreak of those players going out there not knowing if their friend, if their colleague, if their teammate was still alive? It's unbelievable.

So I'm glad they finally came around and did the right thing.

Now the other part of this Is what caused all of this? Yeah. And there's a lot of debate right now on social media about the cause.

Now, I will say this right out of the gate. I'm not a doctor. I was not there. I have no earthly idea what caused this young man, a perfectly healthy twenty four year old, to drop to the ground. But I will say this, over the I don't know, the past couple of years since the vaccine came out, a lot of perfectly healthy young athletes have been dropping to the ground, having heart attacks, suffering myocarditis, in many cases losing their lives.

And now they're telling us that it's just a fluke thing, that just suddenly out of the blue, young people are just dropping dead. Yeah. Now, a lot of people. raised this issue last night. And you can debate whether or not it was too soon or not.

But a lot of people were asking: did this have something to do with the vaccine? Because the NFL. They don't mandate a vaccine, but they mandate a vaccine, if you know what I mean. And you know what I mean.

So some people started raising this question on social media.

Meanwhile, Thousands of other people, many of them doctors by the way, were going out there on the same social media platforms and saying, hey, wait a second, this has nothing to do with the vaccine. This has something to do with the impact that DeMar Hamlin suffered on his chest in that collision. And we all saw the collision. We've got the video up at ToddSterns.com. And so after the collision, he stands up, he's wobbly, and then he keels over.

Now the doctors are saying that there is There is a very rare condition, and it's a very rare scenario. This does not happen a lot. But a direct hit to the chest can result in immediate cardiac arrest, and the only way to bring you back is by shocking you. Shocking you back to life. They call it commotiocortis.

That's what they call it. And it's a real thing, and it primarily impacts younger athletes who have not matured. Their chest wall has not matured, and therefore they can't handle that blunt trauma. Here we're dealing with the 24-year-old man, and as a lot of people pointed out, the impact was significant, but it was not as bad as you would see out on a soccer field during a soccer match.

So here's this is the point I'm trying to get at here.

So I think there were more people actually trying to advance this idea of comotio cortis than there were people just asking a question about the vaccine. Yeah. As a matter of fact, Komoshio Cortis was trending on Twitter last night. You know what wasn't? The shot.

That was not trending.

So I'm just curious: why is it that the doctors were out there and allowed to speculate freely without condemnation?

Meanwhile, the people on the other side who were saying, hey, look, is it possible that this could be related to the China virus vaccine? All of a sudden, they're dismissed as whack jobs. I'm just curious. But again, we don't know anything. We don't know until the hospital comes and tells us.

It could very well be that this guy had some sort of an undiagnosed heart condition. And that's a possibility. Typically, when a young Healthy athlete drops like that, typically they have a heart valve problem that went undetected. That's what happened to me. No, I don't have the body of an athlete, but um I was healthy and then nearly keeled over because I had a bad heart foul that nobody caught.

Let's go to Bob, listening to us on WDUN, wants to weigh in on this. Hey, Bob, what you got for us? Uh, yeah, I was in Walmart early day and I seen the seventy six-year-old woman. She was talking about she was going to have to go down to Emory Hospital in Atlanta and tell her son to blind call summary. He was a male nurse, but the Yeah.

Sat there and caused his heart to have some sort of problems or something like that, and the doctors caught her and said she had to come tell him goodbye. What? Yeah. So because they got the venture at Emory Hospital down there, and she was 76 years old in a wheelchair, and I felt so sorry for her. And and so who died?

So did the did the person die? The son they they said that they couldn't save him, that she needs to come tell him goodbye.

Now, was he healthy before the vaccine? Yeah. Good lord. Yeah, and the doctor said it was from the something about the vaccine. She said it gave some big long word, and she stuck her hands way out about this long.

And that Well, you had to go tell him goodbye. Bob, I am so sorry to I'm sorry to hear this news, but I'm not surprised. And I will tell you. I just told her I'd keep her in my prayers. Absolutely.

And Bob, thank you for that. Thanks for the call. And I will say this. My cardiologist said called me up one day, Starnes, you got to get down there, you got to get that jab. And I wasn't too sure about it, but my cardiologist said gotta get it done.

So I went down there, got it done, and ended up in the intensive care unit at the hospital. Myocarditis. Just they said, poof, came out of the blue. We don't do th th do you take sweetener in your unsweet iced tea? Is that because that's what they're doing now, by the way.

They're telling us that now it's the sweetener that's causing everybody to drop dead. Yeah. 844-747-8868. Can we just pray for the guy? Can we just pray for the poor kid's mother who was there and watched all of this transpire?

Can we pray for the teammates? Yeah. It doesn't have to be political, but it certainly is interesting what you're allowed to speculate on, even in the Elon Musk world of Twitter. All right, polls keep showing a very tight race between Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis. Folks, this is shaping up to be the biggest political battle ever.

And Newsmax wants to know what you think. They're conducting a brand new 2023 urgent poll asking if President Trump should continue his run for the White House. Or do you like DeSantis? You can actually vote right now by texting the word skip to 39747. Skip to 39747.

Let your voice be heard. And again, be sure to vote on the Newsmax poll whether Donald Trump should run again. You can text the word skip to 39747. And folks, whatever you do, make the switch on cable news to Newsmax. It's news I can trust, and it's news you should trust.

We'll be right back, America. Okay. Ted, I'm calling about the football player. I'm praying for it. But it It's so hypocritical.

The NFL nation is asking for our prayers. They don't even accept Christ. They didn't accept the birth of Christ for Christmas. They don't want your nativity scenes up. They fired football coaches, high school football coaches, for taking me to pray.

And now they want our prayers?

Alright. All right, Theo, thank you. That's Theo from Newton, Iowa, sending us a shout-out. And you can do that, by the way, by going to our app at ToddStars.com. Real quick, let's go to Lakeland, Tennessee.

Jim listening to us on KWAM. Wants to weigh in on this football, this NFL story. Jim, what you got for us?

Well, Todd, thank you for taking the call. A couple of years ago here in Colliesville, Tennessee, there was a little league baseball game going on. and a kid got hit with a lion drive right in the chest. And it stopped his heart. And they happened to be a nurse in the crowd at that time, and she immediately started CPR on him and brought him back, and he's doing fine today.

Yes, it's interesting. This particular issue, it's so rare, but if you're there and you've got somebody doing CPR or they can shock you back, you d you just go on living your life as normal. It's just really a fluke thing, Jim.

Well, it was a sudden shock, is what they said on the thing. It was a sudden shock. It hit it. It stopped your heart. It's just like a.

Automatic defibrillator. If you happen to be touching the patient, when you shock him, it can stop your heart and start his and start his. It's pretty amazing how that works. And again, and we just don't know yet. Until the doctors come out and say, okay, here's what happened to the guy, we're just not going to know.

It's speculation. But again, now they're telling us it's okay for the doctors to speculate, but nobody else can speculate. I got a problem with that. But, Jim, appreciate that very relevant story to the issue, and I'm glad that young man on the baseball field is doing well. All right, hang tight, folks.

Hour three coming up. We have breaking news coming from the Capitol. We'll tell you what that's all about next. Live from the Liberty University Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, it's common sense conservative commentary from Todd Starnes. That's right.

I love this American ride. All right, everybody. Welcome to our three of the big show. Good to have you with us. Got a lot of moving parts.

This hour of the show, we are expecting Congressman Scott Perry. Chairman of the House Reading Caucus to come on the air, but. I will say this. He is still on the floor of the House chamber, gearing up for the second ballot.

So history's already been made. For the first time since 1923, there will be a second ballot for House Speaker. 19 people voted for someone other than Kevin McCarthy. And I want to give these. Yeah.

I want to give this update to you. We actually have a rundown of who voted for whom, if you will. This is the breakdown. First of all, for Andy Biggs, the following people voted for Andy Biggs: Dan Bishop, Andrew Clyde, Matt Gates, Bob Goode, Paul Gosar, Ralph Norman, Scott Perry, and. Drum roll, please.

Andy Biggs. Yeah, Andy Biggs voted for Andy Biggs. Uh these people voted for Jim Jordan, Lauren Boebert, Mike Cloud, Anna Paulina Luna, Mary Miller, and Andy Ogle, who is the new congressman from the Nashville area. Jim Banks voted for Josh Breeching and Lee and Lee Zelding, or rather, yeah, Lee Zelding got a vote.

So there you go. We'll keep you updated. By the way, Chip Roy voted for Byron Donald. Santos? Man, that guy.

What a piece of work he's turned out to be. But again, Santos, he's a liar. He's going to fit in well with the people on Capitol Hill. Santos voted for McCarthy, which is why, by the way, you haven't heard McCarthy speaking out or even criticizing. George Santos.

Jim Jordan is apparently getting ready to make some sort of a statement supporting McCarthy. I don't know if they're going to be able to I don't know if that's going to swing any votes.

So our question, and we've been asking this question all three hours of the program today, what do you want the Republicans to do? Or what do you want the House Freedom Caucus to do? Do you want them to wave the white flag now? Do you think they've made their point and now they should just let Kevin McCarthy be Speaker of the House? Or?

Should there be someone else? Should we go to a second, third, a fourth ballot? eight four four seven four seven eighty eight sixty eight is our toll free telephone number. That's eight four four seven four seven eighty eight sixty eight. Uh One of the people sworn in the other day, Maxwell Alejandro Frost.

He is a. 26-year-old, the first member of Generation Z to be elected to Congress. He's from Florida, representing the 10th Congressional District. He was on ABC News over the weekend. Very distraught, this young man.

Very distraught. Seems that he's having a very difficult time trying to f find a place to live. In um In Washington DC. Yeah. Telling ABC News that he's probably going to have to couch surf until he can find his own place.

Now, you may be wondering. What in the world is going on with mister Frost, this newly elected member of Congress from Generation Z, a 26-year-old grown man? You might be wondering, Why he could not find a place to live in Washington, D.C. Because. He's gonna have plenty of money.

Members of Congress make $174,000 a year, but Mr. Franz says that's not enough money to live on. in the nation's capital. mister Frost says he's got bad credit. And that's why he can't find a place to live.

Because you got to get if you got bad credit, well, they're going to make you come up with the first month's rent, the last month's rent. You got to probably got to put a deposit down. Anyway, Mr. Frost says working class people like himself are now at a disadvantage. Really, Mr.

Frost. Really? Do you think that's really what the problem here is? That working class people I believe he was an Uber driver. That was his profession before he got elected to Congress.

He was an Uber driver. But do you really think that's the problem that working class people are at a disadvantage?

Okay. Is it possible, just possible, that it's not so much working-class people, it's deadbeats who don't pay their bills? Maybe if mister Frost had bothered to pay his bills on time or worked out some sort of an arrangement, maybe, just maybe, Just maybe He might have a place to live. That and I want to talk about Generation Z, and I don't mean to paint with a broad brush here on this radio program. But I've seen this in other generations years.

And I just want to say something to the young people of America. Just listen up for just a moment. Turn the radio up just for a moment here. If you want to make sure you can have enough money in your bank account to pay your bills, if you want to make sure you have enough money in your bank account to pay your rent. Maybe Just maybe.

You ought to consider cutting back on the whole foods and the soy lattes. and the avocado toast brunches. I'm just saying. I'm not judging. I'm just offering a very simple: maybe this is a solution for you.

But I will say this about Maxwell Alejandro Frost, aged twenty six years old. He's going to fit in pretty darn well upon Capitol Hill because he's not the only person up there with bad credit who can't balance a check book. I'm just saying. 844-747-8868, our toll-free telephone number today. It is a toll-free telephone call.

That's 844-747-8868. I'm just curious, all of you Gen Zers out there. You know what? We'll throw in millennials. All of you millennials.

You know what? We're going to throw in my generation, all you Gen Xers out there. Do you think you could survive on $174,000 a year? Do you think that would be enough to get you by? Would you still be living paycheck to paycheck if you're making $174,000 a year?

Yeah. Quite frankly, Mr. Frost Frost, maybe he should just call up AOC. Maybe he's she's got a room to rent. Could be.

Okay. All right, let's go to the phones here. Gainesville, Georgia. Representative Emery Donahue. Is this a state representative?

Yes, sir, Todd, it is. How are you doing, sir? I'm doing well. Thank you very much. And we were honored that you called in.

list and I enjoy your show. but let me stop Step off what I'm going to talk about. Thank you. Telling people that if you would stop spending seven, eight dollars on a Starbucks, latte, whatever, you're spending. all the nonsense That money, people will come up and say, I'm broke, and I watch their habits of spending.

It's amazing. how much money they spend on junk, but then they pay for their groceries With a Wix.

Okay. Are they paying for it with government money? Um, and that's just a sidekick you were on, but you were talking earlier about Congress. What I think and I was up in Washington last month I'm a member of the Freedom Caucus that started in Georgia. With that, What I want to make sure of is that we have a contract stating that we're going to balance the budget.

We're going to try to make sure. That McCartney does something we haven't done in 40 years, that we're going to go in with a conservative view. take a stand and he's going to commit to certain values. And then if they vote him in for the speaker, good deal. But to hold him accountable instead of the Paul Ryan and the Boehner and all the ones that we've had Well, back before Newt Gingrich, really.

Um These are the things I would like to see. Because we have a little bit more control of making decisions if we'll stand up to the plate. It's play ball. Yeah, you know, I like what you just said there, Mr. Donahue, because so many times, you know, we just, it's all for the cameras, you know, right?

So, yeah, we're going to hold up and we're just going to stand our ground, but then we're going to cave. I don't think they can do that. I think the American, especially conservative voters, they're really wanting their lawmakers to facilitate change, and they just don't think Kevin McCarthy is going to be that guy. Right, and I agree. You know, Lindsey Gray, and all he does is tell you what he's going to do, and he never accomplishes anything.

He just runs, runs, runs his mouth.

Well, I will disagree with you there, sir.

Somehow he's able to get on Fox News channel every night. No, that's what I mean. He tells you what he's going to do every night on Fox News and soon. Send me money, elect me, and I promise I'll do it. And I'm just like, wow.

But no, I I really think even in Atlanta, we accomplish a lot of good here, and we balance the budget every year. I do not agree with all the spending in the budget. But there's called negotiation.

Sometimes we negotiate We pass the budget, we get things in that's really needed, and sometimes we Get things out. That's not needed. And I still don't like everything we pass in the budget, and I'm not one hundred percent for the budget when you're increasing money like we do, but we do have a balanced budget and a surplus. And In Washington, we just played the good old country club game way too much. Go on Fox News, tell everybody what I'm gonna do, and then go back to the party and say, guess what?

Hey, I got. We'll talk about something tomorrow night. And there's our problem. And I like what you guys are doing in Georgia, where you started a State Freedom Caucus network. There's one, I believe, that's launched in Mississippi.

We're trying to get one started in the volunteer state, which is my home state. And again, this goes back to changing things from the local level and then hopefully influencing what's going on in Washington, D.C. Yes, sir. I agree. All right, well state represent now what part of Georgia do you represent?

I actually Was flowery branch, oak wood. Gainesville and Beaufort. And to Gillsville.

Now, my new district, I'll be Hall County. From The saddest outside of Gainesville and Jacksonville. Fender grass, talmo, terrifying. Yeah. and Brazleton, along with parts of Hall County in the southern area.

The great metropolitan area.

Sounds like you got a lot of road to travel, Representative. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. All right. Well, God bless you.

Give us a call back one of these days. And we're following, as a matter of fact, Jim Jordan speaking at the rostrum right now. And we've got to take a break, but we'll see what he has to say. Folks, it's getting real up on Capitol Hill. 844-747-8868.

Voting on the second ballot is about to begin. What do you want your elected representatives to do here, folks? This is your opportunity. Their staffs are listening, 844-747-8868.

Now, you're hearing a lot of guests all this week on the Patriot Mobile newsmaker line. And, folks, I got to tell you, now is a great time to switch over to Patriot Mobile. First of all, let me tell you why. They've got a great product, they really do. They're just as good as the other guys, but here's why they're better: they're conservative and they're Christian, and they're fighting for causes that we care about.

As a matter of fact, Patriot Mobile has been bankrolling a number of these school board races all over America.

So, when you sign up for Patriot Mobile, you're not only getting a great wireless service. You're helping to fight for conservative causes in America.

So it's a big deal. And I want you to go to patriotmobile.com/slash Todd right now. That's patriotmobile.com/slash Todd. And when you go there, you're going to find all sorts of great information. They have plans to fit any budget.

It doesn't matter how big or how small. They're going to work with you. And if you're a veteran or a first responder, they're going to go and give you an additional discount. You can also give them a call, 972Patriot. That's 972 Patriot.

But when they ask for it, you've got to use my first name as a promo code, and they're going to give you a great discount, Todd. That's patriotmobile.com/slash Todd, 972Patriot. Use that promo code, Todd. Because he wouldn't fight us when we tried to get a term limits bill on the floor. Maybe Jim Jordan would be the right person.

All right, this is Congressman Matt Gates just throwing in the name Jim Jordan as a nominee for Speaker. Let's take a listen. Because he would endorse the plan that was built by the Texas delegation to finally secure our border. Mr. Jordan said in his nomination.

That There are certain bills That We have to pass to fix the problem. The challenge is the alternative has been someone voting for the very bills that have caused these problems. Mr. Jordan says that we cannot accept legislation like the omnibus, and I fully agree. And if Jim Jordan were Speaker of the House, if he were the leader of the Republican team, we wouldn't have.

That circumstance choking the economy of our country, increasing inflation, and diminishing the prospects of a better life for our fellow Americans. And finally, Mr. Jordan said we must engage in rigorous oversight. Every one of my Republican colleagues knows that the person who can lead that oversight effort, who works on it every day, who has the skill and the talent and the will, is Jim Jordan. I'm nominating him and I'm voting for him.

All right, there you go. That's Congressman Matt Gates there on the floor of the House of Representatives. This is real-time happening here, folks, and we're going to keep dipping in and out of coverage. Jim Jordan, just a few moments ago during the break, had endorsed. Kevin McCarthy.

So it is It's a wild day up on Capitol Hill. It looks like this is going to go on. For a while. And we're just going to keep you updated on this throughout the rest of this program. But this could be something that continues on, especially if they get past this second ballot.

Now, Newsmax TV had reported a little while ago that McCarthy had the votes, would have the votes on the second ballot. But I don't know about that. I mean, 19 people voted for someone other than Kevin McCarthy and Hakeem Jeffries.

Well, let's dip back in a little bit, if we could, to some of the coverage. Let's see what's happening. Hakila. Yeah. Jeffries.

Alfred. Yeah, that's Mm-hmm. McCarthy. Alan.

Okay. McCarthy. All right, there you go. So, what's happening now, it's and this is they did this earlier in the show, and they will do it again and again and again if they have to. But every single member of Congress will have to audibly announce who they are supporting.

Your choices, McCarthy. Jeffries, if you're a Democrat, others or present. And all you need, a majority is needed to confirm. 218. That is the magic number.

All right, look, before we go to break here and we're waiting for Governor Mike Huckabee, he is expected to join us. I want to give a huge shout out to my team for putting together this incredible journey to Israel. We are standing together with Israel, taking a seven-day journey to the Holy Land coming up in November. Folks, it is a first-class trip. Not only are you going to visit all of the Holy Land sites, but you're also going to get an exclusive tour and meetings at the Knesset.

Benjamin Netanyahu back as Prime Minister. It's an exciting time to be in Israel. And we're thrilled to be able to take 100 of our listeners to the Holy Land. If you would like information, give us a call right now, 844-747-8868. Again, that number, 844-747-8868.

You can also Also, go online, ToddSterns.com, and you will see the large Stand with Israel banner right there on the front page. All right, stick around, everybody. We've got voting underway on Capitol Hill. This is the Todd Stearns Show. All right, so it appears that the House Reading Caucus guys have come up with another move, another play in the second ballot, and the counting is underway right now.

It looks like everybody's voting for Jordan. Andy Biggs, first of all, Matt Gates nominated Jim Jordan. Biggs, Bishop, and Bobert so far all casting their support behind Jim Jordan. Right now, in the early voting, we're looking at McCarthy with 32 votes, Hakeem Jeffries with 36. Others would be four.

All right, let's go right now to the Patriot Mobile newsmaker line. One of the greatest American Patriots I know, a heck of a duck. Hunter, too. Got a great TV show on the weekends on TBN. I'm talking about our good friend Governor Mike Huckabee.

Governor, happy new year to you. Welcome back. Happy New Year. Yeah, I went to some duck hunting. In fact, I went this morning.

There's nothing better than an Arkansas duck hunt. Speaking of that, I'm trying to figure out I own about twenty acres right along the Mississippi River, and I'm trying to figure out if we can somehow turn that into something, flood it and get the duck hunters out there. Yeah. Yeah. Well, if you find a way to do it.

Please invite me, and I will be over there with my shotgun, and we'll be busting some mallards. I'll do it. You see, you can we can actually go up onto the tower site and you can it's a great location. Might be a little bit unfair to do that, and not sure that it would be legal.

Well, fair enough, fair enough.

Well, Governor, we're watching some history unfold right now. We're just starting up the second ballot. What's your take on what we're seeing today up on Capitol Hill?

Well I just can't understand the end game for this very small group of Republicans. who don't have the votes to change the world. They just don't. Complicated politics. Really, this isn't.

Politics is do you have enough votes to win? And they don't. All they have enough boats to do is to come up the works. Look, Kevin McCarthy, Nobody's perfect, but I like Kevin. He's worked hard.

He's earned this spot. give him a chance to be the speaker. And if he doesn't live up to the expectations, then you have a reason to go after him. But right now, you don't. And I just think these guys are being so short sighted They were not elected in the majority so that they could just see how long they can delay this vote.

They were elected to get after the business of holding some people accountable For the way they abused. Yeah. Everything from Joe Biden being the big guy getting commissions off Hunter's dirty deals with communist Chinese. uh business people to the FBI, the DOJ, calling half the country Domestic terrorists. We've got some real work to do.

Fix the southern border, for gosh sake. And instead, these guys are monkeying around with something they can't win. It makes no sense to me. I'm pretty ticked off, and a lot of these guys are my friends. I have supported them.

I have campaigned for them. And I just don't understand what it is they think they're going to accomplish. Have you had a chance to talk to any of them? And what's your takeaway here? Are they just doing I mean, it seems to me, and I'm friends with a lot of these guys too, and they seem to be pretty darn genuine, at least the ones I've talked to.

Well, I don't doubt their sincerity. Matt Gates was on my television show just a couple of weeks ago. And we talked very openly about this. But I said to him both publicly and privately, Um you know, if you don't have the votes You know, this is target on Superman's cape. Spitting in the wind and climbing the ladder that's leaning toward you, it doesn't end well.

And I'm just not sure what they hope to accomplish. Once again, other than creating a real mess in the Congress. and giving the Democrats an opportunity to to grab on to uh the mistakes of the Republicans right now. Governor, I look at what Mitch McConnell is doing, and we had Monica Crowley on the show earlier today, and McConnell going with the president back to Kentucky to celebrate the big economic plan. Monica Crowley says this is a thumb in the nose, specifically to conservative voters within the party.

I think when the average American out there see that happening, and they look at McCarthy, and the guy does have a track record of saying one thing in public, doing another in private. Do you understand the concerns that people have? I understand the concerns, but Kevin hadn't gotten on an airplane with Joe Biden and flown to California either. I just feel like that if you're an old s there's an old statement that If you're going to shoot the king, you make sure you kill him. And these are guys that are wounding.

the potential king of the house, if you will. Uh but they don't have the votes to kill him. And so if you don't have a huge number of people enough to say to Kevin McCarthy, You are never going to be Speaker. We've got 100 Republicans that won't vote for you. That's a different deal.

But on the second ballot, if you get fifteen or twenty, That's only enough to mess it up. It's not enough to win and it's only enough to lose.

So I don't understand what is the rationale here. There comes a point I want to say to them, guys, We understand. You've made your point. Thank you. Good to hear from you.

Sure everybody's going to listen to you. But it's time to put on your big boy pants, and you're going to have to just accept the fact That It's time to act like a majority party. And when you're the majority party, you have to lead and you have to govern. And you can't do that when you're having infighting going on like these guys are doing. And that's why I say it doesn't make sense.

because there isn't a way for them to end up winning So I don't know what they are proposing to achieve here. And that was a point Crowley made: okay, well, if you're going to go down this path, you have to have a plan. And nobody's seen the plan.

So that and it looks like, and just to update, folks, Governor, we're watching this in real time. McCarthy now at 60 votes. Jefferies, 59, seven are voting for others.

So all those who were no votes are still no votes in the second ballot. And we're also understanding there will be a recess. But, you know, if there goes, if there's a third ballot, they will take a recess. I mean, this thing could go on a while. What, in 1923, they went to nine ballots before they finally got their speaker.

And that's very possible that this could just drag on, and once again. Why? To what end? If in the end Kevin McCarthy is still speaker, or worse, He isn't, but the Republicans can't even get a speaker. And the Democrats find a way to manipulate the numbers so that they end up having Hakeem Jeffries as Speaker.

And Nancy Pelosi gets to set the early day agenda for the House. that the Republicans ought to be uh working on. then that really has become a humiliation. And that's why I want these guys, take your stand. You've done it.

We appreciate it. Good for you. We all know where you are. But now that you know that you don't have the votes to beat him, Graciously accept defeat. Because there's an old saying that I used to hear from Dr.

E. V. Hill, the great. Baptist pastor out in California. He said if you think that you're a leader, but you look around and nobody's following, you're not a leader, you're just out for a walk.

And I'm afraid some of these guys They think they have a huge following, but they got What, bim people? They're not leading. They're just goin' for a walk. Governor Mike Huckabee on the Patriot Mobile Newsmaker line. Before I let you go, Governor, I know you like to help the young kids of America.

And we've got a brand new member of Congress. His name is Maxwell Frost, 26 years old, the first Generation Z member of Congress. And over the weekend, he was bemoaning the fact on ABC News that he's going to have to couch surf because he's got bad credit, he can't find an apartment, and he's going to struggle to make ends meet on $174,000 a year, Governor. I know a lot of middle-class families that would happily trade salaries with him. And they would go to DC and then he can come.

And work two or three jobs like some of these middle-class families are doing. to pull all three jobs and make seventy thousand. Maybe that's what he ought to do. And he knew what the salary was when he ran.

So why would you take a job that you didn't think you could live off of? And why can't you live off $184,000? And then, one other question, Todd. If you've got horrible credit, Why on earth are you running for Congress? Because our country's got horrible credit.

Maybe he thinks he'll fit right in. He doesn't pay bills. Congress doesn't pay the bills of America either. Makes no sense. No.

And this is coming from a governor who made sure that when it came time to renovate the governor's mansion back in the day, you put a triple wide trailer on the front lawn to just save a few bucks. Why not? We didn't think we were above living like many people in our state. We loved living there, quite frankly. And it's saved the taxpayers a bunch of money.

Arkansas, like every other state with the exception of Vermont, has to balance its budget. I'm a big Of forcing Congress in the Constitution. to balance its budget as well. By the way, Governor, I got a call from a mutual friend of ours, Chip Saltzman, and he shared some news about your daughter, of course, over in Arkansas, the new governor. When is the inauguration coming up?

It's soon, I have told you. What week from today.

Next Tuesday, the 10th. He told me that you guys could end up being like a question on jeopardy because I believe you and your daughter are the first father-daughter duo to be elected governor. In the history of the country. Amazing. And two points of history: first female governor in Arkansas.

And she and Leslie Rutledge, who is the incoming lieutenant governor, this will be the first time in American history. where a governor and a lieutenant governor were both elected who were female. It's a lot of history being made across the river there in Arkansas.

So congratulations. I know you guys have to be incredibly proud, and that's going to be a great inauguration. We sure hope so. I'm excited and very proud of my daughter, and I think she's going to. Do a splendid job.

I tell people I think she will satisfy her supporters. and she will surprise her detractors. I love Governor. All right, real quick, what's coming up on the show this weekend?

Well, it's a mystery as of today, but I will have the tale Thursday, so call me back and I'll have it all figured out. I love it. We'll do it like what's for supper with Grandpa and Old Heehaw. All right, Governor, happy New Year to you. Thanks a lot, Todd.

Happy New Year. All right, Governor Mike Hockabee on the Patriot Mobile Newsmaker line. I usually don't do this, but I want to go to the phones real quick. John, Moorhead City, North Carolina, WTKF, our great affiliate there. And, John, I understand you may have a selection for Speaker of the House.

Yeah, since we can Thanks, Todd. Since we can have somebody that's not elected Congressman to be speaker, let's go ahead and put Mike Huckleby in there. He's got a good enough brain to. put those uh gentlemen and ladies in proper order and I think everybody likes them in the first place. I like him and he's not even close to my home state of North Carolina.

Yeah. And we do have ducks here too though, by the way. Du well, look, he's a he's a huge duck hunter. And speaking of that, someone on the Facebook page suggested Phil Robertson as Speaker of the House. That would be incredibly entertaining.

Yeah, well, I won't keep Phil here in North Carolina. He needs to straighten up the mess that. Cooper's done. All right, John, we're going to put that down and we'll open that up to the audience.

So, folks, what do you think? Mike Huckabee, Speaker of the House, 844-747-8868, toll-free telephone number. That's 844-747-8868. And as we go to break, it appears that Kevin McCarthy is on his way to losing the second speaker vote. We'll be right back, America.

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Offer ends January 8th, 2023. Excludes Tread Basics Package. See additional terms at onepeloton.com. No. All right, I just got a message back from Governor Huckabee.

One of our callers from North Carolina said, Hey, what about Huckabee? He'd be a good speaker of the House. Governor Huckabee said, Yeah, no, not going to do that. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. And I can't say I blame the governor.

At least he gets to hang out in a duck blind.

So, you can't argue with that. Welcome back to the Todd Stearns Radio Program. Here's where we're at, folks. And we're going to be following this throughout the day.

So, even after we get off the air here, we're going to be updating the website and sending out alerts so that you can just go about your business, and we're going to watch this thing for you. But right now, it looks as though McCarthy is going to lose the second speaker vote. He is losing, it looks like so far, 11 no votes. Eleven no votes. And the question now is: what happens?

Next.

So, if it's if both sides are entrenched here, we can vote till the cows come home, but sooner or later, somebody's going to have to blink. And the question is: who do you think that if it's not going to be McCarthy, if it's not going to be Jim Jordan, if it's not going to be Andy Pigs? Who do you support? Who do you like? Whose name do you think might move the needle?

among Republicans on both sides of the aisle. And it's really not both sides of the aisle. There are a lot of other Republicans that can't stand Kevin McCarthy, but they're terrified of the guy. They're terrified of the power he wields, and they don't want to, they don't want to. Suffer the wrath of McCarthy.

So there are plenty of people up on Capitol Hill on the Republican side of the aisle, and they know who Kevin McCarthy is. They know what he's really like. But they're going along to get along. Yeah. And just like MTG, you know she's been promised something.

There's no other way to explain the reversal. In her opinions of the establishment Republicans. No way whatsoever.

So, look, we'll see how this plays out, but sooner or later, somebody's going to have to blink. I mean, that's just the reality of it.

So, who do you think that person ought to be? Are we talking about a Lee Zeldin? Are we talking about a, you know, and again, Mike Huckabee, the more I think about it, Mike Huckabee would be a pretty darn good choice. For Speaker of the House. But who do you like?

844-747-8868. That's our toll-free telephone number. That's 844-747-8868. Yeah. Now Again, I want to remind you of our upcoming trip, and you're going to hear us talking a lot about this in the coming days, but I'm very excited about this unique opportunity for our listeners to go to the Holy Land and to make a stand for Israel.

And this is going to be a wonderful trip coming up in November of 2023, seven days. And this is a first-class, once-in-a-lifetime trip. You're going to stay in beautiful hotels. We have some incredible accommodations, including villas on the Sea of Galilee.

So you're going to be very comfortable because during the daytime, you're going to be doing a lot of walking. You're going to be doing a lot of touring of historic sites. And of course, we're also adding a geopolitical component to all of this. You say, Tom, what is that all about?

Well, with Benjamin Netanyahu coming back into power, there's a lot happening in Israel and the Middle East. And you're going to be getting some exclusive briefings from Israeli government leaders. We're also going to have an incredible contemporary Christian artist on the journey. We're not ready to announce who that person is just yet, but we'll be announcing that probably in the next couple of months or so. But may I just tell you?

It's really not about the celebrities going. One of the things that I experienced the first time I went to Israel was this idea that. You know, and we went with the Duck Dynasty guys, and I was a speaker.

So, we had, you know, we were, I was one of the invited guests, one of the so-called celebrities. And I realized right away, you know, it's really not about that anymore. You know, it's not about the celebrities. It's not about having duck dynasties. It's not even about Todd Starnes.

Because when you go to Israel, it really is about that relationship between you and God. And it really just comes to life right before your eyes as you're walking in the places where Christ walked. You are, you're seeing firsthand the places that you heard about in Sunday school and vacation Bible school and in the church sermons. And there's just something incredible about that.

So it really, it's not about the celebrity. It's about you and your relationship with God.

Now, I want you to go to. ToddSterns.com. You can click on. The banner at the top of the page, it'll take you to our website, and we provide all the information we have thus far. You're going to want to be a part of this.

Trust me on this, folks. It's going to be a beautiful, beautiful time in November. All right, look, it's going to be a long night on Capitol Hill. Stick with us, and we're going to get you through it. This is the Todd Stearns Radio Show.

Happy New Year, America. Yeah.