Four percent toppled the 96 percent. But the four percent have no plan and the GOP is weaker.

Republicans Cut Off Their Own Heads

A motion to vacate succeeded for the first time in history. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is gone.

The Wall Street Journal editorial board comments, and I totally agree, Republicans Cut Off Their Own Heads

A band of eight Republicans succeeded in ousting Kevin McCarthy as House Speaker on Tuesday, and we trust they’re happy. They now have the chaos they wanted, though it isn’t clear what else they hope to achieve. Their clever plan seems to be to cut off their own heads.

Mr. McCarthy lost his job, but he rose in our esteem in recent days by the way he has handled this threatened coup. He put the country first on Saturday in refusing to let the plotters shut down the government for no good purpose. Then on Tuesday he refused to ask Democrats for a power-sharing deal in return for votes to rescue his Speakership. He put his party above his job, and his reward is that he is the first Speaker ousted in history. The vote was 216-210.

Reps. Matt Gaetz, Nancy Mace, Eli Crane, Andy Biggs, Matt Rosendale, Bob Good, Tim Burchett and Ken Buck united with Democrats to topple a Republican Speaker without a plan, a replacement, or even a policy goal in mind. Four percent of the Republican conference trumped the 96% who supported the Speaker.

The path forward for the House wasn’t clear. North Carolina Rep. Patrick McHenry becomes Speaker Pro Tem, per a list Mr. McCarthy had submitted to the House clerk. But the search for a permanent Speaker could be long and chaotic.

Meanwhile, the House is essentially frozen. The putative GOP majority is weaker, and its ability to gain any policy victories has been undermined. Oversight of the Biden Administration will slow or stop. Republicans in swing districts who are vulnerable in 2024 will be especially wary of trusting the Gaetz faction, and regaining any unity of purpose will be that much harder. The crazy left and right are cheering, but no one else is.

Written on the Wall

When McCarthy agreed to let a single GOP House member push a call to vacate the house he sealed his own fate.

The Journal cites McCarthy’s accomplishments including a debt-ceiling deal that put a cap on domestic discretionary spending and clawed back some unspent pandemic money. He also moved to restore some bipartisan comity to the Intelligence Committee after Adam Schiff’s partisan manipulation.

McCarthy could have accomplished more but the gang of eight would rather have had nothing rather than something. McCarthy even agreed to push for some things that were nearly guaranteed to fail in the Senate. That would have at least set the tone for negotiation.

Now what? Who wants to be Speaker if Matt Gaetz or any Republican can call for a motion to vacate?

Rules of the Game

The rules of the game are simple. You can only push for big changes when you have the Senate, House, and White House.

In this case, the GOP does not hold the Senate, does not hold the White House, and barely holds the House.

Trump had two full years to press for major changes and failed. Whose fault is that?

Adults in the Room

One of my readers commented that Gaetz is the adult in the room. What a hoot. No, dear reader, Gaetz is like the kid who threatens to take the bat and ball away unless he is pitcher.

Please note that we only see these childish ball games and demands to fix the budget when Democrats are in control, never when Republicans are in a position to do something.

Why was Gaetz in hiding when Trump was president?

I would rather have bigger budget cuts. I would also like to see the Republican hypocrites who want to balance the budget also cut military spending. And I certainly would not have voted for the preposterously named Inflation Reduction Act.

Shutting down the government only to capitulate when risk of default is imminent is crazy. Voters would blame the GOP and rightfully so.

Irony of the Day

The eight who pulled off the ouster of McCarthy are cheering along with all the Democrats!

OK guys, you have the ball and the bat, and sided with 100 percent of the Democrats in a historic vote. All 208 Democrats in attendance voted against McCarthy.

Now what are you going to do with the Democrats for an encore?

Neither Party Will Fix Anything

“Neither party will fix the deficits. Neither party will do anything about mounting debt. No one will do anything about anything because the political system is totally broken.” Mish

For discussion, please see Debt to GDP Alarm Bells Ring, Neither Party Will Solve This

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