As the Joker told Harvey Dent, chaos is fair. We’ve blown past 12 ballots for the House speakership, and Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) remains unable to clinch the votes needed to take possession of the gavel. There are 20 or so members who were in lockstep opposition to his bid, which is entirely the fault of the GOP leader. McCarthy is not liked or trusted among this rebel bloc, and the nation has endured four days of this circus.
Contrary to the rumblings of the Republican establishment, this isn’t embarrassing for the country. The debate these ‘Never Kevin’ rebels sparked is how this process should work. Sorry, if you don’t have the votes, maybe you shouldn’t fix bayonets and rush headlong into this melee.
McCarthy is notable for blowing vote counts as House whip, so this isn’t shocking. Also, this moment of gridlock happens when you have candidates in the leadership who are abjectly terrible. The pro-McCarthy Republicans have been seething for days, calling the anti-McCarthy bloc terrorists, bashing them for not falling in line, and pointing out rightly that this cadre had no plan. The slew of alternative candidates didn’t have the votes, but neither did McCarthy, which gave them leverage. The irony here is that McCarthy didn’t have a plan either.
Mr. McCarthy knew he didn’t have the votes on Tuesday but knew Democrats didn’t have the votes to get their guy—Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)—over the top, so it was a win-by-attrition strategy against those with deep-seated resentment towards the man. That’s not smart, which offers a huge red flag about how a McCarthy speakership would operate should he get the votes required today.
On the 12th ballot, there were at least 14 defections from the anti-McCarthy camp, as news of a deal between the GOP leader and Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) leaked. It wasn’t an official agreement per se, but fruitful negotiations appeared to have moved the needle. McCarthy was only three votes shy of clinching the required majority. Two members were absent, including Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO), who flew home for a medical appointment but is reportedly expected to be back in the capital tonight. While the anti-McCarthy bloc has been whittled down to several members, they’re also the least likely to flip. Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Lauren Boebert (R-CO) are now too far downstream to turn back from their opposition.
Did it have to be this way? No, but the McCarthy speakership fiasco should be a reminder that the base won’t tolerate nor reward failure. The days of not holding leaders accountable for losing should be numbered—it should have been that way years ago. If this were a responsible system, Ronna McDaniel, Kevin McCarthy, Rick Scott, and Mitch McConnell would be kicked off the pedestal for botching the 2022 midterms. The circus on the House floor is one we deserve, and I’m all for it. The top guy for the job didn’t have the votes from the get-go. Maybe that’s a sign, Republicans.
