Republican Politics

Regardless, these guys are now toast, which leads way to another theory working its way around town—the notion that McCarthy is saying and doing the right things in case his old allies fall flat, everyone gets pissed at Matt Gaetz and the motion-to-vacate crowd, and asks for a mulligan, thereby welcoming him back as the only master zookeeper capable of the job. And, indeed, I’m hearing from all corners of the conference—except, of course, from the rebellious eight—that Republicans all want McCarthy back. Rep. Michael McCaul sort of put it out there on CNN on Tuesday, too: “maybe we ought to look at Kevin McCarthy again,” he said.

And McCarthy isn’t exactly rejecting it out of hand. Officially, he has said that he plans to run again for reelection in 2024. “If [McCarthy] is going to run again then a position helping the team is going to help him, but I don’t know why he would want to be Nancy Pelosi,” said former congressman Rodney Davis, a McCarthy supporter who is now on K Street. “McCarthy wants it back,” said another source close to the McCarthy apparatus. “The smile on his face. He’s keeping the dream alive, meeting with billionaire fundraisers or potential clients this week.” As this source put it, “McCarthy is orchestrating his revival.”…

If there’s one thing that is clear about McCarthy, it’s that he’s shameless—or, perhaps, shame-proof. And now he appears to be sitting back and watching as his successors struggle to even reach the votes that he managed to secure to become speaker. After surviving through much of the year without any wiggle room, he’s never had so much juice. No wonder the guy seems so happy.

McCarthy is such a hollow man. https://t.co/tUUavlx39H

— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) October 20, 2023

McCarthy’s nominating speech for Jordan reminds me of what Adlai Stevenson said : “ it’s like an opera; when someone is stabbed, they sing.”

— Jeff Greenfield (@greenfield64) October 20, 2023

This guy sat in the Speaker Chair longer than Jim Jordan did. pic.twitter.com/OJXOsidloQ

— Rick Lenzie (@RickLenzie) October 20, 2023

Stupid voting and stuff https://t.co/86Kq0oPOF1

— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) October 20, 2023

Gaetz ousted McCarthy because McCarthy wasn't advancing the Freedom Caucus agenda fast enough.

NOW, there's no Speaker. There's not going to BE a Speaker for the foreseeable future. And the MAGA agenda is dead in the water.

That's how he delivers for his district too. https://t.co/XTPpdfjgMO

— Stonekettle (@Stonekettle) October 19, 2023

I stand by my reporting https://t.co/aWqyDg3NPB

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 20, 2023

Republicans are telling CNN that the problem was caused by Democrats voting against McCarthy — while describing him as the greatest fundraiser the Republicans have and extolling his conservative bonafides. You cannot make this stuff up.

— digby (@digby56) October 20, 2023

Monica Hesse, at the Washington Post, “Check out these Republican uncles, fighting over a gavel”:

… Here was Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), whose trademark has always been pugnacious shirt sleeves, suddenly muscling his shoulders into a suit jacket and campaigning for the role on Tuesday afternoon. This move seemed the equivalent of Donald Trump vowing to act presidential as soon as he won the election — a successful, delusional strategy — but would it work for Jordan? It would not. Twenty Republicans refused to vote for him, in a contest in which he could only afford to lose four.

Jordan’s bid came after the futile, short-lived quest of Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), who told reporters “our support continues to grow” last week, and who then dropped out of the race less than a day later when it turned out he didn’t have the votes.

Scalise’s crusade came after the punch-drunk collapse of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) — who, upon hearing that a small faction of his colleagues wanted to oust him, tweeted “Bring it on,” only to stand flat-footed as it was summarily brought…

Who are these guys? These guys who think they can slither out of a snake pit and then lead the snakes. These card sharks forced into a game of Go Fish with their incorrigible nephews. These guys who keep trying to pull a gavel from a stone, except ain’t none of them Arthur.

McCarthy’s original pursuit to become House speaker, less than a year ago, was already a cringe-fest of Brobdingnagian proportions. In vote after vote, he was rejected — 15 votes over a span of four days. Members got more and more cantankerous, and McCarthy, who must have figured that his best shot at victory was to appear self-assured, ended up sweatily smiling through the whole thing. Have you ever seen 10-year-old boys play some variation of a game where they repeatedly twist the skin on each other’s arms and the goal is to laugh bravely and pretend it absolutely does not hurt? It was like that.

You want to tell them to cry “uncle,” but that is how we got into this mess to begin with. A parade of uncles decided they, alone, could fix this. Put them on the ballot, propel them to the dais…

“There has to be a better choice,” another caller harrumphed.

But no — ha-ha — that’s the whole point. There apparently is no better choice. And that is why we are where we are, scrolling through a roster of representatives to determine whether there’s anyone left who possesses the necessary qualities for speakership. At this point, the necessary qualities are not leadership and diplomacy as much as masochism and self-abasement. And even that might not do it…

Props to Rep. Frost!

.@RepMaxwellFrost with the perfect response to House Republican chaos: "We've been fighting to save food stamps, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, this entire year as Republicans have been working to take it away…I'm just letting them pull themselves up by their bootstraps." pic.twitter.com/w4AZQDjVCI

— CAP Action (@CAPAction) October 20, 2023