GOP ousts McCarthy as speaker
Kevin McCarthy struck a notorious Faustian bargain with MAGA Republicans to become House speaker. It required him to give them the power to gun him down. And that could happen on a whim. Yet McCarthy was all too willing to pay that price.
Everyone knew it was only a matter of time before a MAGA Republican pulled the trigger. The only surprise is that McCarthy managed to survive nine months before one of them pulled the trigger.
One of the most dramatic days in House history ended Tuesday in the ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who was removed from his position as speaker after a narrow vote spearheaded by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and a small group of breakaway, far-right Republicans. …
Members audibly gasped when McCarthy concluded the day by announcing in a news conference that he would not seek the speakership again.
(The Washington Post, October 4, 2023)
I am tempted to say this played out like a Shakespearean tragedy. But that bargain McCarthy struck affirmed his reputation as a political wimp. So, he never could be a tragic hero.
Still, he vindicated that famous Shakespeare warning: “Uneasy is the head that wears the crown.” Because, like no political leader in American history, McCarthy spent every hour on the stage fretting about a MAGA Republican calling for his head.
Black speaker? Too busy repeating history to make it
After 40 years, Republicans finally elected Newt Gingrich as speaker in 1995. But, just like him, internecine battles or political scandals forced each of the four pale, stale White men they’ve elected speaker since then to resign in disgrace.
Meanwhile, Democrats have been busy filling their trophy cabinets with historic firsts. A first female Speaker? Check. First Black president? Check. First Black female senator? Double-check – given that Laphonza Butler was sworn in only yesterday as the first openly LGBTQ Black female senator.
So, you’d think Republicans would finally seize this opportunity to make a bit of history themselves. Black Rep. Brian Donaldson of Florida would fit the bill. Never mind that Canada upstaged the US by electing Greg Fergus, its first Black speaker, just yesterday.
Instead, they’re repeating history by floating six pale, stale White men as contenders to replace McCarthy. Forget lofty allusions to Shakespeare; Republicans just seem hellbent on rebooting the “Mad Men” politics of the 1950s. Never mind what that portends for the diverse, multicultural nation America has become.
Compromise, a cardinal sin
Nothing is more oxymoronic than Republicans treating compromise as tantamount to treason. After all, compromise is the elixir in the kind of divided government that has defined politics in America since its founding. Without it, gridlock and dysfunction prevails.
Yet, McCarthy’s ouster makes one thing chillingly clear. For Republicans, the worst crime a leader can commit is to compromise with Democrats.
Republicans have been flirting with this perverse strain of autocracy for decades. Even when Democrats control both the Senate and the presidency, Republicans act as if only they represent the “will of the American people.” That’s why their idea of Democratic rule is Republican autocracy.
Sure enough, these same Republicans have no compunction about their national leader, Donald J. Trump, colluding with Russians. Indeed, Trump even has his rank-and-file members parroting Russian talking points. These talking points actively undermine American democracy.
Frankly, Republicans appear to have more camaraderie with Russians waging a genocidal campaign in Ukraine than Democrats trying to govern for the general welfare in America.
Meanwhile, lying, spineless, shameless, gaslighting McCarthy is blaming Democrats for his ouster. If he had any principles or scruples, he would have demanded punishment for Gaetz and fellow mutineers.
Instead, McCarthy conspired with his temporary replacement to strip former Democratic speaker Nancy Pelosi and former Democratic majority leader Steny Hoyer of their office privileges. That betrays what trifling, petty, and performative buffoons Republicans have become.
A house divided against itself
Abraham Lincoln famously warned Americans that “a house divided against itself cannot stand.” He was warning of civil war between North and South.
Yet it’s ominous enough that America is becoming a house divided against itself – between Blue states and Red states. But the Republican Party is also becoming a house divided against itself – between MAGA and Reagan Republicans.
McCarthy’s ouster shows that if you’re not with the MAGA Republicans, you’re against America. Nothing could be more treasonous or a greater cause for civil war.