The Wall Street Journal:
A band of eight Republicans succeeded in ousting Kevin McCarthy as House Speaker on Tuesday, and we trust they’re happy. They now have the chaos they wanted, though it isn’t clear what else they hope to achieve. Their clever plan seems to be to cut off their own heads.
Mr. McCarthy lost his job, but he rose in our esteem in recent days by the way he has handled this threatened coup. He put the country first on Saturday in refusing to let the plotters shut down the government for no good purpose. Then on Tuesday he refused to ask Democrats for a power-sharing deal in return for votes to rescue his Speakership. He put his party above his job, and his reward is that he is the first Speaker ousted in history. The vote was 216-210.
In retrospect the die may have been cast at the start of this Congress when Mr. McCarthy conceded to a rule that any single Member could offer a motion to vacate his chair. He may have had no choice to win the job, and he did so assuming at least some goodwill among his critics. The reality is that they were always lying in wait to strike.
We refer to Reps. Matt Gaetz, Nancy Mace, Eli Crane, Andy Biggs, Matt Rosendale, Bob Good, Tim Burchett and Ken Buck. They united with Democrats to topple a Republican Speaker without a plan, a replacement, or even a policy goal in mind. Four percent of the Republican conference trumped the 96% who supported the Speaker.
Mr. Biggs argued on the floor that the House hadn’t passed the 12 annual spending bills on time, but that’s because of demands from Members like him. He and Mr. Gaetz offered mainly a list of grievances and supposedly failed promises that had no chance of being realized this Congress. Their real motive looks to be spite, personal and political, and the result is to sow chaos in their own ranks.
Democrats decided not to assist Mr. McCarthy, and no doubt they are enjoying the Republican turmoil. Their decision may have been made when Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said on the weekend that she would vote to oust Mr. McCarthy. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries would have jeopardized his own leadership if he had bucked the Democratic left.
But Democrats may come to miss the former Speaker if the chaos lasts for some time and leads to government shutdowns or failure to pass aid to Ukraine. The next Speaker might be weaker than Mr. McCarthy and even less willing to say no to the rejectionists.
Mr. McCarthy accomplished more than he gets credit for during his short tenure as Speaker. He negotiated a debt-ceiling deal that put a cap on domestic discretionary spending and clawed back some unspent pandemic money. He created the special China committee that is building a bipartisan consensus on how to defend Taiwan and respond to the Communist Party’s ambitions. He also moved to restore some bipartisan comity to the Intelligence Committee after Adam Schiff’s partisan manipulation.
The ouster captures the degraded state of the Republican Party in this era of rage. Members in safe seats can fuel their own fund-raising and careers by claiming to “fight” against all and sundry without doing the hard work to accomplish what they claim to be fighting for. Mr. Gaetz is the prototype of this modern performance artist, as he raises money for a potential run for Florida Governor.
As we went to press, the path forward for the House wasn’t clear. North Carolina Rep. Patrick McHenry becomes Speaker Pro Tem, per a list Mr. McCarthy had submitted to the House clerk. But the search for a permanent Speaker could be long and chaotic.
Mr. McCarthy said Tuesday night in classy remarks that he won’t run again. Other names will surface, but who in the world would want the chair knowing it comes with the constant peril of being ousted? Anyone courted for the position should refuse to accept without a change in House rules so the support of at least 20 Members would be required to vacate the Speaker’s chair. The House majority can’t be held hostage to the Jacobins on either side of the aisle.
Meanwhile, the House is essentially frozen. The putative GOP majority is weaker, and its ability to gain any policy victories has been undermined. Oversight of the Biden Administration will slow or stop. Republicans in swing districts who are vulnerable in 2024 will be especially wary of trusting the Gaetz faction, and regaining any unity of purpose will be that much harder. The crazy left and right are cheering, but no one else is.
U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R–Prairie du Chien):
Eight allegedly conservative members of the Republican Party just voted with Adam Schiff, AOC, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, Pramila Jayapal, Eric Swalwell, and every other member of the Democrat Party to remove the Speaker of the House.
The result of today’s actions will move the House— the only body that stands in the way of the Biden Administration and Schumer’s Senate— to the left.
Effectively, their vote was a vote to defund our military, keep the southern border open, let China rise, and further increase our national debt, which currently sits at $33 trillion.
They did this for fundraising purposes. That is simply un-American.”
So… Matt Gaetz (R-FL1) got his wish to be the center of the political universe yesterday. The thing is, he sees himself as a pariah while the rest of us just see him as a petulant child.
Don’t get me wrong…there is nothing wrong with standing up for what you believe in. This entire Substack is full of my opinions and beliefs. However, you have to be a little strategic about it. Take a little advice from Kenny Rodgers…know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em.
As I have said in several of these rants, you can’t expect to agree with anyone 100% of the time. Sometimes you have to be the bigger person and realize that someone who is pulling in the same direction as you 60% of the time is much better than someone who pulls in your direction 0% of the time. This is the mistake that Gaetz is making.
Everyone has their own opinion of Kevin McCarthy (R-CA20) and that is your right. I remember that not too long ago he was considered one of the next great conservative leaders in the GOP. However, ideological purity and an Overton Window the size of a thimble has led to him (and quite a few others) becoming persona non grata by a certain segment of the GOP and their voters.
Sure, you can point to some GOP representatives in government and see some movement towards the left, but most (if not all) of them are still to the right of the political spectrum. It’s not ideal, but I’d rather have a bunch of moderates that I can occasionally agree with than a bunch of hard line liberals whom I will NEVER agree with.
The biggest rub about this whole temper tantrum? Best case scenario is some other GOP congressman he doesn’t like gets elected (McCarthy announced he won’t run again) to the office of Speaker. Gaetz and his crew of malcontents showed back in January that they didn’t have the support to get anyone else elected Speaker. They will have even less support now. That leaves some random GOP’er or…Hakeem Jefferies (D-NY8). Sure, having Jefferies as Speaker is not likely, but at this rate, if we want a new Speaker before the next election, it will take Democrats voting for a Republican. That will not come cheap. Hopefully they will just demand legislative concessions and not the Speakership.
I hope it was fun Representative Gaetz. With one little tantrum, you managed to give more power to the minority party. I hope somebody primaries you and wipes the floor with you.
The Monkeys Flinging Poo Caucus hit their target last night, taking out Kevin McCarthy, who declared he will not run again for Speaker of the House. America got splattered in the crossfire of monkeys flinging poo and dogs catching cars.
Now what?
There is no real plan to move forward at this time while the clock ticks on the continuing resolution. House Republicans, who oppose Ukraine funding, are about to choke on it. Why? The moderate Republicans sucked it up and put up with a deal that put House Freedom Caucus conservatives on the Rules Committee and Appropriations Committee. They went along with a House Freedom Caucus measure to cut the government by eight percent.
The House moderate Republicans have zero incentive to stick with the Freedom Caucus now on anything, the latter of which is divided anyway — in fact more divided that the moderates are on some big issues right now. The moderates want to fund Ukraine and have way more than 218 votes. Meanwhile, there is no Speaker to negotiate a spending package with the Senate, so the Senate hawks are in control of the process. McCarthy stripped Ukraine funding to satisfy Gaetz. Gaetz stripped McCarthy of power in return. Payback is going to be hell. But at least the House GOP could get border funding with it.
So, I expect to be very happy when it comes to funding Ukraine and the border. You guys who oppose the Ukraine funding are about to have it jammed down your throat thanks to Gaetz ousting McCarthy without a backup Speaker in the wings to challenge a pro-Ukraine Senate and House majority.
The House GOP moderates, who outnumber the eight who ended McCarthy, can, among other options, do a discharge petition with the Democrats to force through any funding on Ukraine they want now. They are off the chains.
They can also force the House GOP Conference to change the rules package McCarthy agreed to to get conservative votes. It was that package of rules that put House Freedom Caucus members on the Rules and Appropriations Committees.
Just think about this for one minute. Had Gaetz waited till the final continuing resolution to take shape in about thirty five days, he could have used the leverage to push for more. He could have been joined in a larger revolt of House conservatives with him. But now? At this time? He all but ensures the chaos plays against the conservative hand. McCarthy was always going to get the boot. But booting him now only helps the big spenders.
You guys who wanted to oust McCarthy because you felt he wasn’t keeping his end of the deal, will now watch a new deal be constructed and new deals grow government. That’s exactly what Gaetz has ensured. The moderate Republicans were willing to work with the conservatives in exchange for McCarthy as Speaker and reasonable concessions. The poo flingers just covered the Conference in feces, so it is game on for everyone else.
To put this more bluntly conservatives: bend over and get ready. Matt Gaetz just ensured a miserable next year for conservatives in the House. And yes, he, not McCarthy, did that.
As for McCarthy, his was also a retelling of the Damnation of Faust. He cut every deal, made every bargain, and sold his soul to get his power. He was always destined to end up tossed out. The timing, right now, is what sets back conservatives the hardest. It is tough to do anything but root for injuries in a fight between McCarthy and Gaetz. But I’m enough of a realist to know what it means to toss McCarthy with forty-two days to go before a government shutdown and no ready plan to replace him.
Yet again, a small band of Republicans decided to fire before aiming, sacrificing leverage for the big continuing resolution fight.
Meanwhile, in America, the cost of living is still up. Interest rates are through the roof. The 10 year bond yield is approaching five percent. The markets are starting to worry about the debt and government instability. Gas prices are soaring. Crime is destabilizing communities. House Republicans have gone home till next week. And the Speaker’s Chair is vacant.
Chaos is not leadership. It is also not a strategy.
The reality is the Speaker’s ouster matters little today to most Americans and affects them even less. But it will matter tremendously in just over thirty days when the nation’s bills come due, and funding must be approved to keep the lights on. And, truth be told, conservatives will most likely not get a better deal than they had already because they are outnumbered and, with the clock ticking on a shutdown, deals will be made to avoid a crisis most likely without a rule to vacate the chair that could be deployed in that fight. Those deals will make Matt Gaetz’s grievances look even more petty. As I was saying, bend over conservatives, and prepare for the worst. Matt Gaetz squandered conservatives’ leverage now, when a larger rebellion of more serious conservatives could have shaped the final spending package over the next month.
Hopefully, at least, we can get some border security in the fall out.
Steve Prestegard.com: The Presteblog 
Leave a comment