House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has been in campaign mode, scrambling to lock down the 218 votes he’ll need in House elections to secure his role as speaker. Given the tensions within the House Republican conference — between the McCarthy loyalists and the small but mighty MAGA-infused Freedom Caucus members opposing McCarthy’s speakership bid — his campaign has inevitably been structured around wooing his party’s furthest-right members. This has required him to dangle a few bizarre carrots.
First. Hmmm! Bring on the culture wars. Ending proxy voting probably would hurt him with that slim majority. He’s the one who’ll need 218 members present to vote.
All of these “carrots” should pretty much guarantee that McCarthy will lead a chaotic and dysfunctional Congress that gets nothing done, looks very bad to everyone and, somewhat paradoxically, helps the Democrats in 2024.
At some point during his maybe Speakership, he’s gonna need Democratic votes to pass must-pass legislation. Ask John Boehner about that. I ain’t gonna wish Qevin good luck with that. Fuck that guy!
It is shameful that Mr. McCarthy is building his future power base not on accretive good work for the benefit if his (and other American) constituents, but rather on congressional actions designed to waste time and money and gin up a specious platform for exorcising his hobgoblins.
Always remember and never forget: elections have consequences. The House Dems didn’t win in November. Doesn’t matter how honest we were or how much we reminded voters of this outcome. We have what we have now and for the next two years. The only question will be how much damage will the GQP do to the government and its finances in that amount of time.
Thune: “…see if we can’t pressure the Democrats into working with us on a few things.”
Like cuts to Social Security and Medicare in exchange for raising the debt ceiling?
At this point I’m wondering why Qevin isn’t saying screw it, he’s done chasing the Holy Grail of Speaker of the House. Bug Man had more power as Majority Leader when Denny Hastert was Speaker.
He wants the job because he needs to climb the greasy pole. Because it’s there! It would set his place in history and he would be the “Guy in Charge.”
However, it’s not because he has any kind of grand vision for leading his party through these times of transition or that he has any kind of goal for serving the American people. It’s the brass ring, and he must grab for it, no matter the price.
