October 23, 2023 - California Congressman Tom McClintock's letter to his wayward Republican colleagues:

October 21, 2023  

Hon. Andy Biggs                              Hon. Matt Gaetz
Hon. Ken Buck                                 Hon. Bob Good
Hon. Tim Burchett                            Hon. Nancy Mace
Hon. Eli Crane                                 Hon. Matt Rosendale

Dear Wayward Colleagues:

Your letter of October 20, in which you graciously offer to martyr yourselves as long as you can get your way, is perhaps the most selfless act in American history. I was certain that our Republican colleagues "who refuse to vote" with the Republican majority would have been inspired by your stirring example of party discipline and loyalty to "vote with the team," as you so eloquently phrased it.

I was frankly stunned when they did not. I do not understand why a handful of our fellow Republicans couldn't see the simple fairness of the principle to which you have been so unswerving in your devotion: "heads-I-win-tails-you-lose."

We should have been moved by your willingness to suffer "censure, suspension, or removal from the conference" to enforce your personal preferences on the overwhelming majority of your unenlightened colleagues. We should have appreciated how you (and 206 House Democrats) saved us from a Republican Speaker.

We truly don't deserve you.

But your sacrifice is not in vain. You have succeeded in replacing the outdated concept of majority rule with an exciting new standard that a Speaker must be elected by 98.2 percent of the Republican conference. Someday, a messiah will be born unto us who can achieve this miraculous threshold, and on that day your judgment will be vindicated and you will be hailed as the geniuses that you are.

I think we were all truly humbled to learn that your "fidelity to Republican virtues and principles remains unwavering." Who could not be moved to tears to read that you offer your self-sacrifice "sincerely and with the hope of unity with purpose?"

With this in mind, I modestly suggest that you plan your martyrdom in the only way that truly matters: to have the wisdom to see the damage you have done to our country and to have the courage to set things right before it is too late.

I enclose a proposed resolution that perhaps one of you can offer as we begin the fourth week of national paralysis and as the world bums around us.

Your secret admirer,
Tom McClintock

Cc: Republican Colleagues
Enc. Proposed Resolution of the House Republican Conference
Source: Congressman Tom McClintock
Note: No Proposed Resolution of the House Republican Conference posted.