McCarthy and the Speakership
It has been 100 years since a Speaker of the House was not elected to the post on the first vote. We are so used to how procedural these are that some in the media seem surprised that Republicans are in disarray. Realize the last time a Congress had this close of a majority was the immediate previous Congress. Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi had no problem getting elected in the first round. It’s so standard that people watch for the pump and circumstance. It is so standard that foreign media do not have to have explainers of what the Speaker does. This time around, we do.
The beginning of the 108th congress has been all but normal. We are already on vote number nine, and McCarthy is nowhere close to what he needs to become Speaker. He has twenty members who are dead set on not letting McCarthy become Speaker. Why? This group sees McCarthy as a creature of the swamp. They see him as a pushover because he has rolled over every time to their demands. They are the chaos caucus; to be blunt
It’s important to understand how we got to this moment. It’s not an accident. It’s been a process that started with Newt Gingrich. This is utter dysfunction, with a minority of the party that does not believe in government. While the Democrats watch and remain unified, Republicans will go on for another election for the speaker. This will be the tenth attempt when this goes to print. I…