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Quick follow-up from my post on Sunday. As many of you know, three separate votes were held earlier today as the House of Representatives works to elect a new Republican Speaker. In all three votes, Rep. Kevin McCarthy failed to secure the needed majority of votes cast to be chosen. I was one of 19-20 who voted for other candidates.

Friends, we are deeply in debt and spending money like there’s no tomorrow. Sadly, many elected to serve in Congress, including many Republicans, have shown absoluly no fiscal restraint, no effort to reduce spending, no desire to balance the budget, and no concern for our crippling debt.

*** I cannot begin to tell you how alarming it is to serve with so many in Congress who don’t seem to care about hurling our nation off a financial cliff.

I believe the House Speaker has a critical role to play in restoring fiscal sanity to Washington. I continue to listen to all voices as the House works through this process to elect a Republican Speaker, but I simply cannot vote for any individual who, I believe, is not fully committed to addressing the seriousness of our financial problems.

I am certainly aware that when you stand up against the establishment and status quo, the proverbial knives come out for you. I’ve got fellow Republicans threatening me with primary opposition – that’s fine. Others threatening to keep me off committees – that’s fine too. Still, others are jumping in front of television cameras acting like the sky is falling because we’re not behaving like good little Republican soldiers. I find it interesting that many of these same people are the reason we’re heading for financial ruin.

Good governance begins with making sure the right leaders are in place. That’s not always an easy process, but I think it’s worth the debate and work to get it right. With that said, negotiations and votes for Speaker of the House are expected to continue on Wednesday. I’ll do my best to keep you all updated.