By Stephen Macaulay
In the center of the homepage for Kevin McCarthy (“Representing California’s 23rd District”) there is text reading “Constituent Services” and five hot-linked buttons below it. And the central button, arguably one of the most important positions on the page, underscores what the House Minority Leader is all about.
The other four are “Agency Help” (a laudable service that a Congress member should perform for his constituents, which he deftly deflects, “My staff is dedicated to helping you with matters relating to federal pensions, immigration problems, federal income taxes, military benefits, Social Security claims, Medicare, veterans benefits and other matters.” — yes, let the underlings do it); “Flag Services” (which bizarrely includes a photo of “Congressman McCarthy at the top of Mt. Whitney, 2013”; admittedly Mt. Whitney is the tallest peak in California, but it is a three-hour drive from Bakersfield, where McCarthy is ostensibly based. He is holding a flag in the photo.); “Veterans Services” (which should be one of the most important services as all for those who have served, but oddly there is a bulleted list of 10 items, five of which are links to the sites of the branches of the military, one a link to a news release on the IRS website, another a link to military.com, which is a site owned by Monster (yes, the job-search company)); and just three that are links to deeper pages in the McCarthy site; and “Contact Me” (“Regrettably, I am unable to reply to any email from constituents outside of the district.” Perhaps busy making calls to sad excuses for Republican House members).
The one in the middle: “Tours and Tickets.”
That’s right: looking for a little entertainment? McCarthy is your guy. He offers “tours of the U.S. Capitol, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the National Cathedral, Kennedy Center, Library of Congress, the Supreme Court, and the White House.
McCarthy is the kind of guy who he would seem to be against: Life-long pol. The graduate of California State University, Bakersfield (BS, marketing, 1989; MBA, 1994), McCarthy began his career as an aide to a congressman, from 1987 to 2002. In 2000 he was elected a trustee of the Kern Community College District. In 2002 he was elected to the California State Assembly. Then he was elected to the U.S. House in 2006.
He hasn’t looked back, since.
What he has done is apparently whatever it takes to advance his political standing, even if this means seeming not to believe in things like truth, honor, fidelity.
Bakersfield is the home of a genre of music that’s known as the “Bakersfield Sound,” a type of country music with raw authenticity.
Hard to imagine that Kevin McCarthy could come from there as he’s the opposite of authentic.