January 7, 2023

For Four Days, C-SPAN Was the Greatest TV Channel in the World

A Renaissance paintingBill Clark/CQ Roll Call/AP

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12:29 a.m. ET: The House finally voted confirm Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House. It’s been a wild ride.

As midnight approached on the fourth day of House speaker voting, things were buzzing on C-SPAN.

The freely accessible channel trained its briefly liberated cameras on Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as he appealed to holdout Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) to take us out of our misery and vote for him. The dialogue is inaudible, but people shout as McCarthy walks down the aisle. McCarthy hears something that grabs his attention, and he turns around defiantly.

Things got physical:

Portrait of a defeated man:

Members began chanting “one more time” when it became clear that the majority had voted against a motion to adjourn. Buckle up for round 15 of voting:

Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) says what we’re all thinking:

Here’s a link to the most riveting television on air.

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Democracy and journalism are in crisis mode—and have been for a while. So how about doing something different?

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A First $500,000 donation of $500, $50, or $5 would mean the world to us—a signal that you believe in the power of independent investigative reporting like we do. And whether you can pitch in or not, we have a free Strengthen Journalism sticker for you so you can help us spread the word and make the most of this huge moment.

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