Since the ousting of Kevin McCarthy, House Republicans have been searching for an appropriate replacement for House Speaker, but they haven’t had much luck in their prospects. As a result, this has brought on the ire of many in the both Democrat and Republican party…however, Matt Gaetz has yet to show an ounce of deterrence.
In fact, it appears that he may have earned some respect from both sides of the aisle in spite of it all.
Emily Mahoney, a political reporter with Tampa Bay Times wrote in an article published Tuesday, October 17, that “members from both political parties have ‘bitterness toward Rep. Matt Gaetz’” due to his part in the ouster of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy earlier this month.
However, upon further investigation into Gaetz’s time as a state house representative for Florida from 2010-2016, it was revealed that he had actually earned respect from some Democrats during this period due to his savvy political skills and debating ability.
BREAKING: Here are the 20 Republicans that just voted against @Jim_Jordan for Speaker on the first ballot:
Bacon (NE)
Buck (CO)
Chavez-Deremer (OR)
D'Esposito (NY)
Diaz-Balart (FL)
Ellzey (TX)
Garbarino (NY)
Gimenez (FL)
Gonzales (TX)
Granger (TX)
James (MI)
Kelly (PA)
Kiggans…— Greg Price (@greg_price11) October 17, 2023
Rick Kriseman commented that despite being a Democrat himself he enjoyed debating with him since Gaetz seemed to like those who argued with him most fiercely. Even more interesting was when Kriseman announced he would be leaving their overlap period, Gatz told him he would miss him.
When pressed about this comment Gatz confirmed via social media post saying “Mayor Kriseman has a good memory. I did tell him I would miss him…Strenuous debate makes our policies better for everyone in the long run.”
Perry Thurston, former Democratic House Minority Leader also agreed that Gatz’s time as house representative “sort of groomed him” for his current position within Congress now.
Rep. John Rutherford (R- FL) said he still supported Rep. McCarthy (R-CA) for the speakership, saying he had 96% of the conference's support: "I'm a no on allowing Matt Gaetz and the other seven to win by putting their individual in as speaker." pic.twitter.com/lDySGPzvoZ
— CSPAN (@cspan) October 13, 2023
It seems no matter how hard Emily Mahoney tried to make Matt Gaetz look bad in her story she couldn’t help but highlight what an incredible job he did while serving as state house representative and how well respected he is by even those on opposite sides politically than himself.
Tampa Bay Times wanted to write a piece where people who served with me in state government could say bad things about me.
My favorite quote is how the Dem leader at the time was ‘frustrated’ that Democrats voted with me and respected me:
“Thurston said he grew frustrated by…
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) October 17, 2023
