TUCKER CARLSON: How badly does Kevin McCarthy want to be House speaker?

Happy first Tuesday in 2023. The fun never ends. We thought we would be able tonight to announce the Speaker of the House. We thought we knew who it would be, but the race to be Speaker of the House is still ongoing. Voting has been suspended until tomorrow. Tomorrow, voting will resume.

Now it’s being called embarrassing by many online – especially because this race is not settled yet. Yes, everyone is on board. That’s what they do.

If you prefer democracy over oligarchy, or if real debates on issues that actually matter, it is refreshing to see it. It’s chaotic, yes, but that’s what it is supposed to be. We’ll tell them more in a minute. But first, let’s give you a quick overview of the main points.

Kevin McCarthy of California was going to be speaker. He longs to be a speaker. He wants to be a speaker more than any other job in his life, and he was determined to get it. But then a group of 20 Republican members stopped him. They decided that Kevin McCarthy was not conservative enough to be a representative of a party that is just trying to take back the House from Nancy Pelosi. They are absolutely right about that.

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McCarthy is not especially conservative. He is actually an ideological agnostic. He’s flexible. His real constituency is Washington’s lobbying community. If you have sincere political beliefs, it is frustrating to watch. To be fair, McCarthy has strengths. It’s not easy being speaker when the House is this closely divided. Kevin McCarthy is in some ways perfectly suited to that.

He’s a skilled politician, and that’s not a small thing. Critically, McCarthy is willing spend the next two-years living in hotels, raising money for his party before a historic presidential election. Is there any other Republican in the House who would be willing to do this? As of tonight, we have verified that no one has come forward. The key question is, how badly does Kevin McCarthy want the job? 20 of his colleagues have just publicly disavowed him loudly and again and again.

McCarthy must give them something tangible, not just empty promises that he is known for. He will have to make them concessions. If Kevin McCarthy wants to be the speaker, he is going to have to do things he would never do otherwise.

Like what? There are at least two things we can think of. First, release the January 6 files. Not just some of the January6 files and video, but all of it. They are not hidden by a phony committee. Instead, they are made available online. Release them to the public directly so the rest of us can finally know what actually happened on January 6, 2021. It’s been almost two years. It’s been two years since it was due. It’s our right to know and McCarthy could help us.

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Second, Kevin McCarthy could put Thomas Massie of Kentucky in charge of a new Frank Church committee designed to discover what the FBI and the intel agencies have been doing to control domestic politics in this country. They’ve done a lot, but Washington doesn’t want to talk about it. This topic is off limits, and has been. In fact, no one’s talked about it for almost 50 years.

Because no one has stopped it or talked about it, it has spread and democracy is fading. It is obvious. The FBI is now more powerful than any single group of American voters in American elections.

This cannot continue. It is poison and Kevin McCarthy is uniquely placed to stop it. So, by striking a deal with his 20 colleagues, McCarthy could restore our system to health and at the very same time get the job he has always wanted. It’s not difficult. Let’s all hope he succeeds.

Tucker Carlson is currently the host of Tucker Carlson Tonight on FOX News Channel (weekdays 8PM ET). He joined the network in 2009 as a contributor.