Will House Democrats come to regret their decision to join a cabal of hard-right Republicans in driving Speaker Kevin McCarthy from power? The answer is likely yes.
McCarthy is a grasping and exasperating politician who has consistently tried to appease the worst elements in his party, starting with Donald Trump. And yet, at times he's shown flashes of responsibility.
When Congress had to raise the debt ceiling last May or severely tarnish America's economic reputation, McCarthy helped engineer a bipartisan deal that gathered 149 Republican votes. When the federal government was about to run out of money last month, the speaker swayed 126 GOPers to back a bill that kept the lights on -- and triggered the rebellion that deposed him.
"I don't regret standing up for choosing governance over grievance," McCarthy said after his ouster.
At least the word "governance" is in his vocabulary. At least he's occasionally willing to defy the wackos in his own party who have no interest at all in governing. At least he promised President Biden that he'd override the growing isolationism of Trump and his toadies and support a new aid package for Ukraine.
Politics is not about perfection. Often, it's about choosing between poor options. Whoever replaces McCarthy as speaker -- as of this writing, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana has the edge -- they are likely to be worse for the Democrats, less reasonable in the crunch, even more partisan and beholden to Trump and his MAGA minions.
Pragmatic Republicans pleaded with Democrats to help McCarthy stay in office by not voting -- a tactic that would have eliminated the leverage of the eight hardliners who caused the speaker's demise. But not one Democrat came to his aid, and to be sure, McCarthy could be his own worst enemy.
He consistently alienated potential allies by sucking up to Trump, breaking his word to Biden on a budget deal and starting impeachment proceedings against the president with no evidence of wrongdoing. Just before the crucial vote, McCarthy falsely accused Democrats of trying to undermine the compromise that kept the government open.
When Democrats who were tempted to support him saw the clip, his fate was sealed. "After I saw Kevin McCarthy's interview," Rep. Matt Cartwright, a Pennsylvania moderate, told Punchbowl News, "all magnanimity left my body."
Fair enough. But the bottom line is that the Democrats were co-conspirators, helping to kneecap the speaker and paralyze Congress. Those Democrats followed the advice of their relatively new and inexperienced leader, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries. If Nancy Pelosi, Jeffries' predecessor and a wily veteran of many such battles, had still been in charge, I bet she would have understood the value of protecting McCarthy, putting him in her debt and creating a template for future bipartisan cooperation.
Instead, Jeffries failed his first big test of leadership. He let short-term emotions overcome the need for long-term, strategic thinking. As former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg wrote: "Jeffries' decision to let McCarthy hang himself may have allowed Democrats to feel good in the moment, but Democrats now face the prospect of a speaker who will likely be to McCarthy's right, and who will likely draw from his political demise the worst possible lesson: that the extremists must be heeded."
Moreover, the moderate Republicans who begged for Democratic help are now angry, not grateful. Instead of making new friends, who the Democrats will need going forward, they created new enemies. "That's all we were asking for, was time," lamented Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a pragmatic Pennsylvania Republican. "That's why so many Republicans in our group are very, very upset -- and add me to that list."
So what happens now? For one thing, the House must change the process that allowed one member to call for a vote to decapitate the speaker. And it would help if reasonable members in both parties decided to show some guts and stand up to the extremists who have brought the House to its knees at the worst possible moment. Key votes lie just ahead -- on funding the government after mid-November and aiding both Ukraine and Israel. The sensible center has to take charge.
Democrats might revel in Republican fratricide, but don't forget that Biden is running next year. Voters are steadily losing confidence in his stewardship of the economy. And no matter how hard he tries to blame future disruptions on the Republicans, he is the president and he has to run on his record, a record that could be badly damaged if House Democrats continue to choose chaos over comity.
Steven Roberts teaches politics and journalism at George Washington University. He can be contacted by email at stevecokie@gmail.com.
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