Kevin McCarthy is now, finally, the elected Speaker of the House of Representatives. Most observers would assume that the delay in his election was due to the Democrats, as McCarthy is a famously staunch Republican. They would be wrong.
It was actually a stalemate due to the Republicans halting his election as 20 Republican House members refused to vote for him. Republicans won the Chamber in the midterm elections, but Kevin McCarthy, who has served as the party’s House minority leader for four years, had 20 Republicans standing between him and the gavel – and they would not budge.
Matt Gaetz, one of those so-called “Never Kevins”, described Mr McCarthy as a “desperate guy” and said his request was simple: “For him to drop out of the race.” That’s right, in case you thought you had mis-read that or believed you had gone insane. A Republican party member did not want McCarthy to become Speaker of the House of Representatives.
And this stalemate continued for day after day after day.
Whilst this halt in democracy may seem one that is commonplace in American politics these days. This is not the case. For days, there was no speaker of the House of Representatives. What a disaster!
Finally, the stalemate has ended after an agonising wait and lots of negotiations. The Republicans are elated, the US house was filled with roars of “USA, USA,”. Are we at a football game? Or one of the Houses of the most powerful countries in the world. “USA, USA” – as if this wasn’t days of embarrassment. Kevin McCarthy is the new House speaker who has survived brutal brawls for power.
Yes, McCarthy now holds the famous gavel. But everyone knows how weak his position is. Republicans, Democrats, the Chinese Government, Putin, Britain, the EU. They all know and see what a joke this man is. How can he recover? He can’t. Resign. This has been one of the greatest farces in American Politics in over a century. And yes I am including the election of George Bush and yes I haven’t forgotten the election of Donald. This has been disastrous.
It took 15 rounds of voting and the last race to go this long was the 1859 contest. Those were the turbulent years before the infamous American Civil War. (I have previously written several articles about how the USA is inches away from another Civil War – are you starting to see it now?)
In the present day, the wrangling has left the Grand Old Party battered & the nation bruised. The unprecedented chaos in the four days of House voting brought the world’s oldest democracy to a grinding halt. It also gives a glimpse of the tumultuous times ahead.
The Republicans control the house, but most of McCarthy’s opposition is from his own party. That’s right, to anyone reading who likes the Republican party, this mess was not caused by the Democrats. You can try blaming them and I’m sure they will. But this was caused by 20 REPUBLICAN rebels.
They are ultra-conservative, hard-right lawmakers who boast themselves to be members of the House Freedom Caucus. About 30 Republican lawmakers of the caucus, are determined to drag the party further to the right, thereby deepening the chasm.
But for the man who is seizing the gavel and is second in line to the US presidency, the role could turn into a nightmare. And most of the heartburn is going to come from his own rank & file because the caucus strongly rejects his leadership.
Speaking to Wion, Jon-Christopher Bua, US political analyst & White House commentator says,”McCarthy has got a title but no power. He has succumbed to the very extreme right-wing who despise him. So, we are left with an unmanageable house.”
Esssentially, Bua is saying that McCarthy now has the title of Speaker but no real power. He is under the thumb of the hard right-wing of his own party. His own party is splitting. His own party hate him. And rightly so.
In the end, the 57-year-old Californian emerges as a weakened speaker, one with less authority on paper than those before him. Speaking to Wion, Stephen Golub, author and political analyst said, “The drama reflects that Kevin McCarthy is going to be one of the most, if not the weakest speakers in the US history because his margin is so small, that he had to sell his soul to the very far-right Republicans.”
This is dangerous. With the current global issues the USA faces in China, and Russia, this demonstrates the weakness within American Democracy. American democracy is a joke and this does nothing but exemplify this. This has been a farce. This has been a disaster. Whilst it has, thankfully, and finally, come to an end. It just the beginning of McCarthy’s problems.
McCarthy has shrugged off suggestions that the deal could weaken his power. But he was profuse in thanking one man, Donald Trump, who was sitting miles away from the scene of chaos but still managed to pull the strings. With his party having the majority, it should have been a low-hanging fruit. But his pleas for backing McCarthy seemingly fell on deaf ears. Trump’s hold is seemingly shrinking & his hopes of a re-run for the top job once again in 2024 look in complete disarray.
What will McCarthy do now? He will do as he is told. Unlike Speakers’ before him who have yielded this great power for good or evil (depending on your own personal political beliefs) – they have at least been able to conduct policies with the support of their own parties. McCarthy can’t do this. He’s a joke in the House and he is a joke across the world.
In the words of the greatest President of the United States:
“Elections belong to the people. It’s their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters,” said Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States.
Ignorantly Ignorant 