The slings and arrows of outrageous misfortune put McCarthy in trouble… so we care, why?
If Matt Gaetz wants to take Kevin to the woodshed, is alright if we don’t give a damn? Indeed, “better the devil we know is better than the devil we don’t…” may be in order here- I get that. But in this case, the demons are all pretty well known to us, and a “different devil” at the head of the House Republican conference may actually work to the Democrats’ advantage. Whether it is what is best for the nation is a very different topic.
Assuming the Republicans caucus force a shutdown, and allow Matt Gaetz to remove Kevin McCarthy as speaker, his successor will likely be just as ineffective as Kevin- options range from weaker to crazy. Believe it or not, here are an unlimited number of GOP vertebrates with weaker spines available than the current Speaker- and crazy runs deep in the GOP House. Any new vote puts into play the same circumstances that made Kevin squirm for 15 rounds of voting, humiliating him before applying a short leash. The margins within the Republican House caucus are so very thin that it is unlikely that an obvious frontrunner will emerge that all can agree to support. Any “compromise candidate” (Steve Scalese?} will face the same demands within the wackier elements of the caucus to bend to their will. After watching Kevin crumple before their very eyes would there be any takers among the less radical representatives? Is Steve Scalese willing to be Gaetz’s next victim and kowtow to his extremist right-wing gang of ten? Probably not.
That leaves us with a few remaining alternatives. Who among that group would try to garner the speaker’s gavel knowing that they would be courting the votes of all the others who are about to go home and try to get themselves reelected next year? Gym Jordan comes to mind as a possible pretender to the throne with the potential of others, like Gaetz, thinking they might want the gig. How many rounds of voting do you think it would take for the rest of the caucus to realize, especially after the “impeachment inquiry” fiasco this week, that anyone who passes muster among the crazy caucus is sure to hand over leadership in the House to the Dems next year- and the seats that will be sacrificed in the process may very well be their own? Cue the less radical elements going all backdoor on their colleagues and looking for an out from across the aisle. A Democratic life preserver thrown their way would rescue Kevin and maybe some of the Republicans running in so-called Biden districts- a ploy so politically cynical that it would rival the annual Presidential pardon of the Thanksgiving turkey each year.
An arrangement to join forces with Dems would solve the short-term needs of the caucus to end a shutdown and outflank the party irregulars. It would also better meet their needs than the Gaetz putsch would. A combination of the looming government shutdown and an ugly floor fight among GOP House members would spark intense pressure from GOP Senators to avoid a fall shitshow. Now that the shutdown is imminent, there may not be enough time. As the Republican House members release their version of the Kraken, any scenario is likely to create a new Halloween market for Gaetz, MTG, Gym Jordan, etc. costumes, all with scary masks that look unremarkably like the real thing without the added monster-inspired head bolts or “Draculaean” fangs.
Into this little vignette enters Pramila Jayapal, leader of the Democratic progressive caucus, who has suggested that her group would only play ball with Republicans if a power-sharing agreement would place Hakeem Jeffries in a co-speakership role and give the Dems a voice in running the House:
“If there was any kind of a deal to be made, it would need to be written into the rules of the House,” she said Thursday afternoon. “We would need to codify power-sharing because that’s the only way we can trust him.”
“There are things we can do in codifying the rules of the House that would give Hakeem Jeffries, our leadership, real power over the floor, over committees, etc,”
- TPM, “Jayapal: Progressive Caucus Wants Power-Sharing Agreement For Jeffries If McCarthy Comes Knocking For Their Votes” by Kate Riga and Emine Yücel
Nice thought, but one that will likely scuttle any chance that plan has of getting Republican approval- far too reasonable. Beyond the good a bipartisan approach would bring to the nation, there is the matter of the former president whose hand is behind the Republican chaos and whose hellfire they fear more than their consciences.
Jayapal is wise to press the issue as a Democratic House member progressive member. Why the hell should Dems save GOP’s bacon without some reciprocal benefit? In terms of a chess move Jayapal’s call for reciprocation- and it coming from House progressives- is mate. Her play has helped paint Kevin into a corner he has been backing into since he made his deal with Gaetz and company last year. Now, he has to decide to make the choice to appeal for Democratic support to preserve his speakership and break the hold of the far-right cabal who would burn the House down in blind support of the party leader formerly from Trump Towers who is supporting the chaos for his own purposes and at their expense. McCarthy has to choose whose selfish interests should be sacrificed for the good of the country- Trump’s or his own. In a vote taken on Friday McCarthy proposed a temporary spending bill to forestall a shutdown. When the vote was taken the ten hardliners had grown from the original ten to twenty-one. Rep. Dusty Johnson a McCarthy loyalist from South Dakota made the point that the Republicans who wanted to avoid a shutdown were outnumbered by their own minority:
“Increasingly, members have been going to McCarthy to say we have to vote on it anyway,” Mr. Johnson said. “We need to show a good-faith effort to not shut down the government.”
But in doing so, Mr. McCarthy also showed his weakness. Twenty-one right-wing Republicans ultimately voted against the bill — a far bigger group than had signaled their opposition — in an extraordinary display of defiance that made it all but certain that Congress would miss a midnight deadline on Saturday to keep federal funding flowing. The size of the defection underscored the speaker’s feeble grip on his conference, and how willing his right flank is to go to war with him.
- NYTimes, “With a Shutdown in View, McCarthy Plays a Weak Hand”, by Annie Karni
McCarthy is in a corner with no way out. His one move may be to ensure that if the House burns down on Saturday night, it is he and not his disloyal conference who lights the fire- think Butch Cassidy and Sundance.
The chances that the GOP retains control of the House next year are less important than whether McCarthy’s next move helps save our democracy. It may be a small step, but it would be a welcomed one. Working with Democrats across the aisle may help reelect Biden, but more importantly, it will help defeat the MAGA stranglehold gripping the GOP and the nation. It is one and the same MAGA extremists Biden railed against in his Arizona speech this week honoring his friend, John McCain. At its core, the speech was a call for sacrifice that would be far less difficult than that which was made by John McCain. His words this week also suggest the sacrifice that he has made at an advanced age to take on this job of fighting for what he rightfully calls the soul of America. Biden is starring in his own Shakespearean drama in which “slings and arrows” are being thrust his way by the outrageous fortune of this time and place in American history. His words this week in Tempe, Arizona are both nostalgic and prophetic in their poignancy:
“And now, history has brought us to a new time of testing. Very few of us will ever be asked to endure what John McCain endured. But all of us are being asked right now: What will we do to maintain our democracy? Will we, as John wrote, never quit? Will we not hide from history, but make history? Will we put partisanship aside and put country first?…
As he was finishing his prepared remarks, the President was interrupted by a heckler. Biden, in his way, offered to meet with the purported climate advocate privately, but the interruption led Biden to venture off-script and this time it was more personal and closer to his heart. He invoked the name of the bone-spur-addled ex-president who he now openly identified as being behind the MAGA extremists. Biden’s voice cracked as he went rogue reminding the crowd Trump’s shameful call for death threats to the retiring General Mark Milley and his insulting words for those who serve in the military:
…Was John a sucker? Was my son, Beau, who lived next to a burn pit for a year, came home, and died — was he a sucker for volunteering to serve his country? The same guy who denigrates the heroism of John McCain. It’s not only wrong, it’s un-American. But it never changes. The MAGA extremists across the country have made it clear where they stand. So, the challenge for the rest of America — for the majority of Americans is to make clear where we stand.” — President Joseph Biden, September 28, 2023
Whether democracy wins or loses in this battle, history will be made. Who writes that history, Biden notes, will make the difference. And the ones who will try to hide from it, will, like Kevin McCarthy find themselves in a corner of their own making, pretending to make decisions that they hope will never matter.
Again, why should we care?
Far off in the distance, protected by his government-paid Secret Service detail, hides the cowardly former president- the devil we all know too well- who orchestrates the chaos and is counting on us. He hopes the rest of us are too busy, too lazy- or just too thoughtless to care.
That’s why.
Originally published at https://vincerizzo.substack.com.
