As the overhead lights dimmed in the House of Representatives Wednesday night, signaling those present to begin returning to apartments scattered across DC, Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy Be brave and have a good conversation with your colleagues.
Those were two brutal days. After six votes and six speeches nominated by colleagues are forgotten and six speeches against McCarthy seem inappropriate in a Parks and Recreation town hall, McCarthy didn’t gain any movement against a bloc of far-right conservatives who seemed determined to put an end to their dream of becoming Speaker of the House.
The California Republican Party looks out of place like Donald Trump in a public library. I’m sure he thinks things shouldn’t be this way, but for the person we’re talking about, it’s inevitable. When it comes to leadership roles, Kevin McCarthy is always a résumé to look for reasons.
In 2010, McCarthy published the book, Young Guns: A New Generation of Conservative Leaders, along with co-authors Eric Cantor and Paul Ryan. Billed as the future of conservative politics, the trio take on specific roles that highlight their strengths: Cantor as captain, Ryan as thought leader and McCarthy as leader tactic.
Had it not been for the disappointment of a Tea Party candidate in a shocking primary in 2014, Cantor would have become the first Speaker of the Jewish House of Commons. Ryan will go on to win after President John Boehner retires and spends 4 harrowing years negotiating the rise of Trump, before fleeing after the outright assault his party launched on 2018.
Say what you want about Cantor and Ryan, but they’re not visionaries. They have specific policy goals, make them known and are not afraid to fight for their beliefs, even with members of their own party, even in principle, however it may be inconsistent.
Unlike his fellow Young Guns, Kevin McCarthy doesn’t seem to have any vision beyond his own quest for power. His current and former GOP colleagues seem to think so too.
In a written exchange with CNN contributor Alyssa Farah Griffin – a former Trump administration official – she had little sympathy for the struggling GOP leader: “I’m sorry but McCarthy has to take great responsibility for the current disaster. He has empowered the hardline Right, who are now blocking him, while he told his Conference they cannot support anyone other than him because that would empower Tough right wing.
Last month, Matt Gaetz published an op-ed in Daily caller “Every Republican in Congress knows that Kevin doesn’t really believe in anything. He has no ideology. Some conservatives are using this fact to convince themselves that he is the right leader at the moment, because McCarthy is so weak that he will promise anything to anyone.”
Gaetz also points to former GOP Representative Bill Thomas (R-CA), a former McCarthy adviser, who told a reporter last month: “Kevin is basically whatever you want him to be. He lies. He will change the lie if necessary. How can anyone believe his words?”
“They didn’t like him not because of any obvious difference in policy but because he was weak. And by ‘weak’ I mean he’s mentally weak. “
Many of the reporters who have covered him seem to agree, perhaps with a little more flair.
Last June, a blister op-ed from Politico’s Michael Schaffer summed up McCarthy in a rough description of journalists, with various comments on his lack of interest in policy and notably a 2018 article by Julie Hircshfield Davis described him as “a man’s golden retriever.”
Okay, maybe not so subtle.
Seriously, why would Kevin McCarthy want to be a speaker? Did anyone find that out? Has anyone asked him directly? I don’t think he knows beyond some half-hearted attempt at his legacy. He has made it clear there is no specific vision for the country. His colleagues don’t seem to trust him, and reporters who have followed his career are unimpressed with his knowledge of policy.
McCarthy has in recent weeks scrambled to appease his detractors in the caucus, making numerous concessions—this morning going as far as conceding a rule that allows any individual member to call vote of no confidence in his leadership, a shameful reversal that he previously vowed not to accept.
It’s strange to be as progressive as I am – in many ways, the antithesis of Kevin McCarthy – and understand that, in ways he doesn’t seem to be, that the more he gives in and bows to these people, the more he becomes. drive them away. They didn’t like him not because of any obvious difference in policy but because he was weak. And when I say “weak,” I mean that he is spiritually weak. What does Kevin McCarthy represent at the end of the day? What does he believe in? He doesn’t even have the good sense to believe in himself. Who wants to follow such a leader? I certainly don’t.
Even Democratic lawmakers who have opposed former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in previous leadership elections insist they respect her as a colleague, which is why she won. nine consecutive leadership elections and no more than one vote is required in any election.
I think even if McCarthy manages to pull a rabbit out of his hat and hit that magic majority threshold to vote, he’s going to be an ineffective speaker. His co-workers don’t respect him. They certainly weren’t afraid of him. He’s a paper tiger in a room full of matches.
He dreads his own caucus and craves their approval, and they know it.
