Valued commenter Jim, Foolish Literalist shared a link in the thread downstairs to a Puck article about an outburst from normally buttoned-down GOP Rep. Vern Buchanan, who’s allegedly outraged at losing a Ways & Means committee chairmanship to a gross MAGA choad.
Just how angry was he? Well, a source on the House floor during the vote told me that while McCarthy was gaveling down the votes, Buchanan walked up to McCarthy and said, “You fucked me, I know it was you, you whipped against me.” He then proceeded to chew out McCarthy’s deputy chief of staff for floor operations, John Leganski. It was shocking to see such fury from Buchanan, who’s known for being mild mannered. Indeed, I heard that the tirade was so heated that the Speaker’s security detail stepped in with a light touch. (McCarthy’s spokesperson Matt Sparks disputed this detail saying, “at no point did anyone have to step in.” A spokesperson for Buchanan declined to comment.)
As expected, it looks like McCarthy was playing both sides of the fence to get his hands on the Speaker’s gavel, promising feral Freedom Caucus reps powerful committee positions while denying he was making such promises to reps like Buchanan, who are in Congress mostly to advance plutocratic tax and deregulation policy.
Meanwhile, White House officials see the paper cuts accumulating on McCarthy’s hide and are helpfully squeezing lemons over and pouring salt into the wounds. Politico:
The White House is escalating its fight with newly empowered congressional Republicans, with officials Tuesday calling on House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to “come clean” about secretive deals he made with hardline members that helped him eventually land the top job.
“An unprecedented tax hike on the middle class and a national abortion ban are just a glimpse of the secret, backroom deals Speaker McCarthy made with extreme MAGA members to end this month’s chaotic elections and claim the gavel,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates said in a statement shared first with POLITICO. “It is well past time for Speaker McCarthy and the ultra MAGA Republican House members to come out of the dark and tell the American people, in-full, what they decided in secret.”
McCarthy’s desperation was on full display as Congress opened. Being Speaker of the House was his lifelong ambition, and he would and did dance to any tune and jump through any number of flaming hoops set between himself and that gavel. After more than a dozen serial humiliations, he realized his ambition, but now we get to see the terms of that deal. Friends, it will be ugly.
Open thread!
trollhattan
Huh. Does this mean Kay Granger had to “cut a bitch” to chair Appropriations?
Roger Moore
None of this actually matters unless some of the people McCarthy screwed decide to depose him. Until that happens, it’s just more performative whining.
JoyceH
I’ve been calling the McCarthy story “Stupid MacBeth”. Protagonist does terrible things to attain long-held ambition and then the terrible things he did ensures that he can’t enjoy the position he obtained.
zhena gogolia
@JoyceH: Should the Dems stock up on tree branches?
SFAW
I think it would be interesting if the GOP were to revive (intra-party) dueling to determine who gets committee chairmanships.
Were that to happen, I might consider buying popcorn futures.
...now I try to be amused
As long as McCarthy is being secretive about his deal(s) with the FC devils, this is a golden opportunity for the White House to claim whatever they want, the more outrageous the better. (And probably accurate too.)
mrmoshpotato
Uglier than the Rethuglican party has been for 40+ years?
SFAW
@zhena gogolia:
And Dunsinane “marches” to meet the Done-insane. That wood be cool.
SFAW
@mrmoshpotato:
This time, the calls will be coming from inside the
Housecaucus. Or, put another way, the ugliness will be inner-directed a lot more than it has been.Honus
Somehow, this is all the democrats’ fault.
Or, as Ezra Klein posited in the NYT, the result of changes in fundraising and China not bringing enough of a threat. That’s why Boebert and Greene were screaming at each other in the House bathroom.
ETtheLibrarian
Playing both sides only works when both sides don’t know what is what when it comes to negotiations. One it comes out – and DC this shit always does – then the strategy may not be successful. But GOPers are good little get in line boys and girls, that I suspect that it is just going to be a lot of people making snipping comments and not on record morsels for the press.
hueyplong
@zhena gogolia: OMG I love it when someone makes me think of Throne of Blood.
rikyrah
Not our problem, but, yeah, Ways and Means is a big phucking deal, and he got screwed.
Oh well.
MattF
I think the way McCarthy survived 15 ballots and finally squeaked through is by telling contending sects in the R caucus different, irreconcilable things. Maybe that’s obvious, but now… he actually did it, and now he’s stuck.
Delk
I wouldn’t want to the enemy of the 6th wealthiest member of congress.
West of the Rockies
@zhena gogolia:
When Burn ’em Woods to Dunce/Inane comes…
Geminid
@mrmoshpotato: I think it will be uglier. The craziness seems to have hit critical mass in this caucus.
The more pragmatic members will try to keep the radicals from ruining their hopes of making their majority last past 2024, but I don’t think that will prove possible. Purple district members may as well start polishing up their resumes and planning their next careers.
Baud
It’s only in recent years that conservatives have united against liberals. Their natural state is conservative tribe against conservative tribe.
Anonymous At Work
I think under-discussed in this entire situation is how the Freedom Caucus WILL double-cross McCarthy eventually because they lack any fear or respect for him. McCarthy promised seats (now seated) and floor votes on a national sales tax (worst regressive tax idea ever) and other ideas. What happens afterwards? What do any Freedom Caucus members have to lose from a Motion to Vacate the Chair?
Secret deals require either both sides make a one-time deal or both sides lock into ongoing commitments. If one side gets a one-time deal but the other side requires an ongoing commitment, nothing holds the first side from reneging and/or going back for more and more.
kindness
Looking forward, look at all the nut cases McCarthy promoted to lead committees in his zeal to hold the gavel. Those nut cases don’t understand the actual process of governing. They only understand the performative nature of getting on right wing media and saying the most audacious things to keep getting on right wing media. That’s all they have. The work of committees going forward is going to be microscopic other than Gym Jordan & the attack Democrats committees. How our media portrays/relays this information to John Q Public will impact how the 2024 elections go.
One of our Founding Fathers most idiotic assumptions was that the Free Press would save the country.
CaseyL
@West of the Rockies:
Excellently done!
👍 👏
karen marie
So who is the new chair of the House Ways and Means?
This guy:
He and his mother have a dog breeding business.
He seems nice. 😖
phdesmond
@JoyceH:
according to theatrical tradition, shouldn’t we call it the Stupid Scottish Play? [to avert bad luck.]
SiubhanDuinne
@JoyceH:
Macbeth as written by O. Henry. “The Gift of the MAGA.”
CaseyL
@kindness:
The press they had back then was openly owned by rival factions.
They couldn’t have foreseen corporate ownership, where the only interest at all was money.
Mousebumples
@Roger Moore: Do we know how that would happen? It’s it Y/N McCarthy stays Speaker? Or does someone else need to win a majority?
JPL
@Geminid: Will they burn down the economy beforehand?
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@SFAW: I’d even be happy with a more symbolic, less lethal style of settling differences, like quarterstaffs over a mud pit.
Kent
Fuck them.
It’s not like a SINGLE ONE of these GOP-run House committees or subcommittees was planning to do any actual legislating during this session.
The few remaining sane GOPers need to find a new party or reform the one they are a part of.
JPL
@SiubhanDuinne: 🤣🤣
trollhattan
@karen marie: Seems like “puppy killer!” would be a not-good reputation to embrace for growing one’s political career. But, Missouri?
Anonymous At Work
@Mousebumples: Motion to Vacate is a Yes/No, needing a majority voting “Yes” to vacate the Speaker position. Once vacated, you get a new round of “Who Wants to be Speaker?”. Freedom Caucus could vote “Yes” against McCarthy and then make further demands of the further weakened McCarthy, or could make demands during the debate on the Motion. Gaetz’s “the terrorists are inside the caucus” tactics would lean to the former.
Mousebumples
Also – help elect more Democrats at the Postcard Writing thread/music thread tonight. I think WaterGirl is putting up the thread at 745pm eastern/645pm central time.
I’ll be doing postcards for Patricia Lawton, who is running for an open Pennsylvania State Senate seat. (link to local reporting) I believe the special election is in 2 weeks (31st), so a Election Returns thread could be fun then, too, maybe? 😊
Kent
No one made him vote for McCarthy. He could have voted for Jeffries or abstained.
Mousebumples
@Anonymous At Work: That seems cleaner than trying to vote in a replacement immediately/in the same vote. Thanks!
Roger Moore
@Anonymous At Work:
What do they have to gain, though? If McCarthy actually gave them the stuff they asked for, there isn’t much percentage in getting rid of him. They have a lot more to lose than to gain by ditching him. That doesn’t mean they won’t- queue the story of the scorpion and the frog- but it wouldn’t be smart.
Geminid
@JPL: I don’t think so. We won’t know for a few months, though.
RaflW
Seems to me GOP Rep. Vern Buchanan has the motive and opportunity to put the shiv in Squeaker Kevin post haste. But I bet he’ll wimp out.
Baud
@Mousebumples:
That’s the California way. It stinks.
MattF
@Kent:
There’s apparently a half-dozen R reps from Biden districts. I don’t get why they’ve been quiet— maybe they just don’t get into screaming matches in the Ladies Room and so don’t get coverage.
Brit in Chicago
Someone posted after I started writing, and my comment is redundant, so I’ve removed it.
Geminid
@Anonymous At Work: Another possibility is that someone like Don Bacon puts in a Motion to Vacate, and few more fed up Republicans join him. Then the Republican defectors join him in nominating some retired Republican like Tom Reed or Charlie Dent, and the Democratic minority reluctantly agrees to reorganize the House under new management so critical legislation can be passed.
I’m not saying this will happen or is likely. But when I game out the possibilities, this is one of them.
Baud
The MAGAs are suicide bombers within the Republican Party. Everyone knows you can stand up to them and expect the party to live. They’re only option is the same as our only option for dealing with Manchin and Sinema — try to make their votes irrelevant by electing more people.
Roger Moore
@Mousebumples:
As far as I know, a motion to vacate the chair (if it passes) would do just that: leave the Speaker’s chair vacant. That would basically return things to the situation we just escaped, with votes until they could agree on a new Speaker.
A key point, though, is that the voting pattern on the motion to vacate wouldn’t mirror that for the Speaker election. I don’t think the Democrats would support it unless they thought they had a decent chance of electing their own Speaker, or at least a less antagonistic Republican. There’s really no percentage for them in creating more chaos if the final result isn’t going to be substantially more favorable to them.
cmorenc
@CaseyL:
They also thought that the free writings of the likes of Thomas Paine and Alexander Hamilton (or Jefferson) would have predominate influence with the governing class over the factional screeds. But 200+ years later, we have the wisdom of Thomas Friedman and David Brooks and Wolf Blitzer to inform us over the din of Faux News, um….not quite the likes of what the founders hoped for.
brendancalling
@Roger Moore: Oh, I’m going to make a point of calling Buchanan’s office after work today, just to egg him and his staff on,.
RaflW
@trollhattan: We’re talking about the “no bare arms for women” state. So, yeah, I don’t think he’s that far out of step with the lunatic fringe that is still lunatic, but has front & center power in MO.
Geminid
@MattF: There are actually 15-18 Republicans representing districts Biden won. In a way, they are comparable to the Blue Dog Caucus on the Democratic side. Speaker Pelosi always looked out for the Blue Dogs and tried not to make them take tough votes. I don’t think the radicals will allow McCarthy to do the same for his purple district members.
brendancalling
@Honus: I forgot he works at FTNYFT. But that’s because I stopped reading that paper, and I’m much happier for it.
West of the Rockies
@CaseyL:
Thank you.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
Oh no, pleeeeease don’t let that happen. Heh heh.
“Nighmare after nightmare for Republicans”. It has a ring to it, doesn’t it? Almost sings.
schrodingers_cat
@rikyrah: These aren’t our clowns and this is not our circus but it has the potential to turn the next 2 years into a clown show.
MattF
@Roger Moore: … and what if the Motion to Vacate took place at the same time as the debt limit is being breached? Would Ds just watch that happen?
Baud
@MattF:
Of course.
Anonymous At Work
@Kent: The deal here is that he didn’t know that McCarthy secretly sold the chairmanship until after *this* election of Speaker was completed. These backroom deals, trading support from supporters for temporary favors to internal insurrectionists, increases the likelihood that there will be more elections for Speaker this Congress.
Cluttered Mind
@Anonymous At Work: I would find it particularly amusing if the Democrats all voted Yes every time this comes up. It would make it really easy for the motion to succeed. And what do they really have to lose? The House isn’t theirs, they have no control right now, so why not enable the Rs to self-immolate?
Old School
@Roger Moore:
My recommendation would be for the Democrats to vote present rather than for or against removing McCarthy
@Cluttered Mind:
The storyline would be that the Democrats caused the problem.
Cluttered Mind
@Roger Moore: Counterpoint: If the choices are a House running endless BS investigations into Hunter Biden’s junk or a House that is nonfunctional due to repeated embarrassing failed attempts to elect a Republican Speaker, I think the Democrats might prefer the latter. And while it goes on, the Senate keeps confirming Biden judges.
Roger Moore
@MattF:
That depends on whether McCarthy is caving and allowing a bipartisan vote on the debt ceiling. If he were, they would obviously vote no on the motion to vacate. That’s the point. They don’t want chaos.
Anonymous At Work
@Roger Moore: The FC members will have *more* things they’ll want McCarthy to do for them. Bills condemning FDR and LBJ and MLK as Satan-spawn that aren’t getting hearings or votes? McCarthy will deal. Resolutions to add back Confederate traitors onto West Point grounds? McCarthy will deal.
McCarthy hasn’t yet learned what it took Obama until 2010 to learn: The GOP will always betray and then ask for more.
Cluttered Mind
@Old School: No real reason to do that when Jeffries has no problems at all getting 100% of the Democrats to vote for him. Display Democratic unity and competence for all to see in stark contrast to the Republican circus. There’s no real downside. The storyline wasn’t that the Democrats caused the problem the first time around. It’s not exactly hard to deliver a quick sound bite as to why they are doing this. “They called a motion to vacate, and we agree that there should be a new Speaker. We believe Hakeem Jeffries could do a better job.” Media can spin all they want but it’s not hard to explain “Democrats vote for Democrat leader.”
apocalipstick
Said ‘MAGA choad’ is reported to be my representative, Jason Smith, and I take exception to your characterization. To describe him as ‘feral’ attributes far too much energy, cunning, and purpose to a man who is, by all observations, a lump of suet in a suit.
Spanky
Frankly, I’d be happier seeing a leaderless House as the debt limit is reached. Perfect reason for Biden to ignore it.
...now I try to be amused
@Anonymous At Work:
McCarthy could break the record for most times elected speaker — in a single term. :)
TaMara
Not to be grim, but I wonder if they are going to regret removing the metal detectors. There are some seriously deranged members of the GOP, and tensions are mounting.
AM in NC
@West of the Rockies: slow golf clap. Well Played.
Old School
@Cluttered Mind:
The Democrats didn’t cause the problem the first time around. If McCarthy is removed because 212 Democrats and 15 Republicans voted to do so, it is a tougher spin.
Uncle Cosmo
@JoyceH: The ten-word tl;dr version:
Uncle Cosmo
@SFAW: That’s pronounced “dunce – insane” in Thuglicanese…
…..aaand I see WotR snuck that one in afore me at #16. Aaaah, crap!
RaflW
I didn’t follow closely (just enough to point and laugh) during the Squeaker elections. But would Dems voting ‘present’ lower the margin of passage on a Motion to Vacate? Or is it 218 (assuming no further actual seat vacancies)?
CaseyL
As long as the Dems stay out of it (and I don’t see why they wouldn’t), I’m happy to see the GOP House Caucus internal warfare get as ugly as possible, up to and including them physically assaulting one another. In fact, I’d tune in to see that.
cain
The DC press is loving this – it’s gossip all the time now. Now that the GOP is splitting – access journalism is going to be lit as reporters report between the two factions. Finally, with all media blaming Democrats for all of it.
Old School
@RaflW:
I believe so. At least, that’s what happened to have McCarthy elected. The Republican reps that opposed Kevin voted present rather than for someone else.
rikyrah
@TaMara:
You are not being grim. You are being logical.
Geminid
@schrodingers_cat: The conflicts within the Republican House Caucus reflect the conflicts in the party generally. The House conflicts could exacerbate the larger ones, and vice versa.
I’m hoping they do, and generate a feedback effect that blows out their Speaker.
WaterGirl
@Geminid: Let’s hope there is a drip, drip, drip of special elections for the House as each Republican house member realizes they got totally screwed or decides that life is too short for all this bullshit.
eclare
@zhena gogolia: Hahaha…you win the internets today!
Scout211
Changing the subject to something much more positive, President Biden is coming to California Thursday to view and assess flood damage here, enabling federal disaster funds.
The executive branch is still working. Thank goodness.
eclare
@Cluttered Mind: Sounds good to me.
JPL
@Geminid: Special thanks goes to trump for that situation.
JPL
fyi In case you haven’t yet heard, a Walker campaign aide filed a lawsuit against Matt Schlapp. link
The AJC has covered the sexual harassment complaint but it’s good that now it is going to covered nationally. What a smarmy guy Schlapp is, and that is being nice.
eclare
@Cluttered Mind: Regarding Republicans in the House, the voice in my head, paraphrasing Obama, keeps saying, “please proceed McCarthy.”
Anyway
@Roger Moore:
This.
Andrew Abshier
Until redistricting, Vern Buchanan was my Congresscritter. (I have Greg Steube now–yay?) In the time I have known of him he has changed, and not for the better. He was always a bog-standard Republican on fiscal issues, but leavened it slightly with his advocacy for animal welfare. More recently, though, he has turned into a pandering hack, even though he won his last election by over 20 points! He’s always ducked town halls; the last one he had 4 years ago was in a 1,000 seat concert hall and it was…..interesting.
I’m not happy with a MAGA hack running Ways and Means, but I have to admit baleful amusement at Vern losing his dream, and especially this way. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.
BenCisco 🇺🇸🎖️🖥️♦️
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: Agreed (provided neither of them snuck in a buck-and-a-quarter quarterstaff.
Steeplejack
@zhena gogolia:
And arrows.
smedley the uncertain
@SFAW: First we gotta round up three witches. Oh, Wait we have them already and a couple of spares…
Tony G
@Roger Moore: Yup. It’s hard for me to have sympathy for Vern Buchanan. He should know what kind of snakes are in charge of the Republican Party. (If he doesn’t, he’s too dumb to be in office.) He can quit that corrupt party and become an independent. If he doesn’t, he’s part of the problem.
sdhays
This is excellent news. The more Republicans hate each other, the easier it will be to peel off 5 votes to raise the debt ceiling (via discharge petition) and fund the government.
It’s long been clear – Squeaker McCarthy will be mostly irrelevant to governing, just like he was when he was the Minority Leader. The most he can do is decide how much of an obstacle he’s going to try to be. He doesn’t bring anything to the table in a negotiation with the Senate – including Senate Republicans. The governing coalition is Biden, House and Senate Democrats, and House and Senate Republicans to overcome the filibuster and the discharge petition.
We know Senate Republicans can handle working like that. We just need 5 House Republicans willing to work like that, and the more everyone hates each other and McCarthy, the less those 5 have to lose.
JPL
@sdhays: My question is how to they bring it to the floor?
Pennsylvanian
So it’s NOT ok for McCarthy to be denied an elected into a position he “earned,” but he’s dumping powerful senior republicans to appoint bomb-throwing assholes in as committee chairs? Yeah, it’s gonna be a shitshow, and I expect the leaking on the backstabbing squeaker will be epic. People gonna be mad.
Think I’m going to buy a head of lettuce, but NFW is a picture of McCarthy entering my home. Fuck that guy! I hope he drowns in the coming onslaught of flicking spittle that awaits him from his own tribe.
If rooting for injuries is wrong, I don’t wanna be right!!
BenCisco 🇺🇸🎖️🖥️♦️
(insert “let them fight.gif” here)
sdhays
@JPL: That’s what the discharge petition is for. If a majority of members sign the petition, it has come to the floor for a vote. Typically, no one wants to cross their leadership or their party colleagues to do this, but these are the kind of circumstances where those kinds of concerns become less relevant.
Kent
Who gives a fuck? The House isn’t doing anything productive anyway. And undecided voters don’t pay attention to that sort of inside baseball anyway. The look at gas prices and other stupid shit.
Shalimar
@schrodingers_cat: Circus clowns aren’t violent. Clown show seems like the best case possible for the next 22 months.
schrodingers_cat
@Shalimar: I have always found clowns to be creepy and stuff of nightmares. YMMV
ETA: Rs in Congress are creepy and potentially violent.
JPL
@sdhays: Thank you and let us hope that is what happens.
JPL
@schrodingers_cat: Grand imp feels the same about Santa and I can’t imagine what he would do if a clown showed up. His parents have tried to show him the good side of Santa and after a train ride with the guy, he told me that he’s still a monster.
Miss Bianca
@JPL: Grand imp and I sound like two peas in a pod. We’ll be over *here* while clowns and Santa are over *there*…
schrodingers_cat
@JPL: Can’t blame him. Santa’s a creepy dude who keeps lists and want little kids to sit on his lap. Do not want.