Patterico's Pontifications

12/1/2022

Kevin McCarthy Works To Secure Republican Votes In Bid For Speaker

Filed under: General — Dana @ 11:03 am



[guest post by Dana]

Ah:

Representative Kevin McCarthy, the California Republican who is attempting to become the next House speaker, on Wednesday warned the special committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol that members of his party planned to launch an inquiry of their own into the panel’s work next year when Republicans assume control of the chamber.

In a letter sent to the committee’s chairman, Mr. McCarthy instructed the panel to preserve its records — an action already required under House rules — including any recorded transcripts of its more than 1,000 interviews. The missive was the first official indication that newly empowered House Republicans plan not only to end the inquiry at the start of the new Congress, but also to attempt to dismantle and discredit its findings — the latest piece of a broader effort the party has undertaken over the past two years to deny, downplay or shift blame for the deadly attack by a pro-Trump mob.

It comes as Mr. McCarthy toils to shore up his position with hard-right Republicans in his conference who have refused to support his bid for speaker, imperiling his chances of being elected in January.

Mr. McCarthy pledged in the letter that he would hold public hearings scrutinizing the security breakdowns that occurred during the assault, when a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol, disrupting Congress’s formal count of electoral votes to confirm Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s election as president.

Here are the hard-right Republicans who have said they are not voting for McCarthy (who needs their votes):

Rep. Andy Biggs (Arizona)
Rep. Matt Gaetz (Florida)
Rep. Ralph Norman (South Carolina)

Reps. Bob Good of Virginia and Matt Rosendale of Montana have expressed doubts about McCarthy becoming the next speaker as well.

Additionally:

One House Republican said they’re aware of a handful more members who are keeping their opposition private until just before the January vote. And while some of McCarthy’s fiercest public critics have openly claimed that there are about 20 hard nos in the conference, others believe the Californian will likely chip away at his opposition.

McCarthy certainly has his work cut out for him.

–Dana

NYC Mayor’s Directive: Involuntarily Hospitalize Mentally Ill Homeless People

Filed under: General — Dana @ 10:13 am



[guest post by Dana]

New York City Mayor Adams announced a new directive yesterday, and it’s a controversial one:

The move could allow non-medical professionals, such as police officers, to request such removals from streets and subways based on their judgment of a person’s inability to meet basic needs for health and safety, the mayor’s office said. This can happen whether or not the person poses an overt danger to themselves or others.

After removal and transportation to a city-run hospital, doctors can then decide if the person needs to be admitted.

Adams also proposed an 11-point series of reforms in state law to govern the care of mentally ill New Yorkers.

“For too long there has been a gray area where policy, law and accountability have not been clear,” Adams said during an address at City Hall. “And this has allowed people in need to slip through the cracks.”

Adams offered this as an illustration of the problem he is trying to address through his directive:

“The man standing on the street all day across from the building he was evicted from 25 years ago waiting to be let in. The shadow boxer on the street corner in midtown mumbling to himself as he jabs at an invisible adversary,” Adams said Tuesday. “The unresponsive man unable to get off the train at the end of the line without assistance from our mobile crisis team. These New Yorkers, and hundreds of others like them, are in urgent need of treatment, yet often refuse it when offered.”

“The very nature of their illnesses keeps them from realizing they need intervention and support,” the mayor added. “Without that intervention, they remain lost and isolated from society, tormented by delusions and disordered thinking. They cycle in and out of hospitals and jails. But New Yorkers rightly expect our city to help them.”

Clearly, there are potentials for abuse:

Deputy Mayor Anne Williams-Isom said ideally that this judgment would come from specialized teams composed of mental health professionals and first responders such as the police.

“We want the specialized teams to come to that site, and then do that work and wait for the EMS to come so that we can transport them to the hospital,” Williams-Isom said.

But the policy, as written, allows the police alone to call on EMS to make a removal, even if a mental health clinician isn’t present on the scene. The NYPD is not permitted to transport an individual.

Note: [T]he mayor’s directive acknowledges that “case law does not provide extensive guidance regarding removals for mental health evaluations based on short interactions in the field.”

Civil liberty advocates concerned about the new directive say that the police are not the answer.

Gov. Kathy Hochul has indicated that she will support the Mayor’s proposal.

–Dana


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