Salazar Calls 'Messy' Speaker Debate a Part of Democracy

The battle for Speaker of the House continues as California Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R) has been denied the position for a sixth time. With the number of dissenters growing, supporters of McCarthy are now calling for Republicans to unify.

Florida Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R) shared her thoughts with Anderson Cooper this week, calling the debate a part of democracy.

Rep. Salazar, who supports McCarthy, warned that the debate on the House floor is troublesome because it could send the wrong message to the likes of China and Russia.

Furthermore,  Rep. Salazar expressed that "democracy is messy," and while she does welcome a debate, "we are sending the wrong message to our enemies."

“It’s the best democracy, and it’s democracy at its best,” she said, speaking of the debacle, but because the United States is "trying to be the beacon of hope and the democracy of the world... we have to behave accordingly."

She made a distinction between the United States and other countries, arguing that if the same thing were to happen in a communist country, dissenters would be killed by a firing squad. And, while she doesn't agree with the growing number of Republicans that oppose McCarthy as Speaker.

“I’d stay with what’s happening now versus what’s happening in Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, China, and North Korea, so why don’t we look at it from a positive angle," added Salazar.

Salazar shared that her support remains with McCarthy. Though McCarthy still has the support of the majority of Republicans, political pundits comment that this is a humiliating display for McCarthy, who was considered the front-runner for the position.

"I think we should look at the story from another angle,"  Salazar reiterated in her interview, explaining again that "It’s messy, it’s bad, it’s uncomfortable, we don’t like it, and obviously we want to get to business, but it’s a democracy, and sometimes it’s not perfect.”