Kevin McCarthy prays for me, a mere journalist. Cool! Now, here are my questions | Opinion
Kevin McCarthy prays for me!
As I need all the prayer help I can get, I will certainly accept his well-wishes.
How do I know this? Because the speaker of the House of Representatives, one of America’s most powerful leaders, told me so.
Well, not me directly. Rather, he said it to the group of reporters who regularly cover him at the Capitol.
But I am sure he extends goodwill to me and all my colleagues at The Bee. Let’s go out on a limb and believe that the House speaker prays for all of us in the Fourth Estate.
In a social media posting made Thursday afternoon, the Republican from Bakersfield wrote this atop the video of him speaking to the reporters:
“I worry about the constant negativity of the media. But I keep them in my prayers, and I hope one day they’ll start rooting for America to succeed!”
You can be sure, Mr. Speaker, that I and my colleagues in the media do root for America, despite what conservative critics — many of them your own members — think and say about us.
Most American journalists realize that having the freedom to report without fear of consequences — like being hauled to jail — is truly amazing, humbling even.
Prayer for leaders
McCarthy might be surprised to learn that I pray for him. I do — for him, President Biden, Vice President Harris, House and Senate leaders. I pray for Democrats and Republicans. I also pray for our state and local leaders.
I am not alone. Lots of Americans of many faiths offer prayers, remembrances, and goodwill toward our elected leaders.
I would like to think the prayers of people across the nation are helping keep it together despite worrying attacks on democratic norms and systems that have sustained our democracy for nearly 250 years.
Speaker and the media
Earlier this year McCarthy was not praying for me, quite the opposite. He got mad at me at the end of a news conference, accusing me of not reaching out to his office for his comments when I wrote editorials about him and his leadership. He was mistaken. I do reach out to get his view.
If McCarthy would speak to me, I would tell him that it’s my job to ask him hard questions about the issues of the day. A free press is one of the pillars of democracy that distinguishes our nation from Russia or Iran.
To me, his tweet showed he’d like reporters to be more positive. Politicians have been wishing for that ever since reporters began covering them.
But journalism and marketing are two different things. Democracy depends on the accountability and transparency of its leaders. McCarthy and other powerful politicians already have staffs spinning public relations in his favor. That’s not my job and, truthfully, he and other politicians would be doing themselves a favor by speaking to journalists more than they do — not less.
Among the questions I have been mulling over for the last week that I would ask McCarthy if given the opportunity:
Why did you call the indictment against former President Trump a weaponizing of the government before you had even seen the charges? Is that fair to the prosecutors who believe they have a case?
I would tell him that when he casts such doubt on our longstanding process for justice, he enables those who seemingly want an authoritarian to be in charge, not the American people or their laws.
I agree that we in the press can get negative and only focus on what’s wrong. Lord knows there is no shortage of problems facing America.
“I am not going to give up on you, I promise,” McCarthy told the reporters. “I don’t give up on my members, I don’t give up on you.”
OK, Speaker McCarthy, I will do the same. I will keep praying that you are committed to truth and justice more than politics.
Can I get an Amen?
This story was originally published June 16, 2023 at 5:30 AM.
