If you court arsonists and invite them into your home, you shouldn’t be surprised when you roast in a fire with a garland of marshmallows around your neck.
The GOP and its House Leader Kevin McCarthy currently learning this painful lesson through public humiliation and masochism. After ten voting rounds, up to 21 extremist members of an increasingly radicalized and violent GOP has decided to flex their power by blocking the nomination of Rep. McCarthy as the House of Representatives, and prevent the 118th Congress from being taken under oath.
Why does Kevin McCarthy even want to be speaker at this point?
Despite grant numerous concessions which undermines his own power, McCarthy has been unable to win over these MAGA zealots, most of whom belong to the House Freedom Caucus. Although 17 seventeen of them were approved by Trump, the golden MAGA king’s steadfast support for McCarthy has not been enough to influence these rebels without a cause. This includes gun enthusiast Lauren Boebert who publicly rebuked Trump’s call to support McCarthy. Even Sean Hannity, the tireless GOP propagandist and Trump consigliere, couldn’t sway Boebert during an awkward exchange on his Fox News show this week.
It’s clear that these Republican flamethrowers are committed to their extremism—even if it ends in self-immolation for their own party. The cruelty and chaos is the point.
With the voting process moving to Round 11 and beyond, these Republican intransigents have been branded “terrorists” to hold up the Congress. That comment didn’t come from Democrats, who have remained united and enjoying the GOP clown show, but was instead unleashed by Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) – a Trump-supporting dyed-in-the-wool right winger. – which echoes the frustration of many of his colleagues.
These Freedom Caucus Republicans are so committed to the mayhem that they have briefly made Rep. Marjorie Taylor to Greene who fears Jewish space lasers, look like a pragmatic politician. Greene, supporting McCarthy after brokering a deal for more power, accused the GOP defectors of playing “Russian roulette” with the nomination process. I think a Mexican standoff is a much more apt and exquisite analogy, but I digress.
Lauren Boebert delivers remarks in the House of Representatives during the third day of the election for Speaker of the House at the US Capitol Building on January 5, 2023 in Washington, DC.
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Lauren Boebert delivers remarks on the House floor during the third day of the election for Speaker of the House at the US Capitol Building on January 5, 2023 in Washington, DC.
Win McNamee/Getty
According to a recent New York Times analysis, many of these 21 Republicans want to limit the size and scope of the federal government, dismantle the IRS, get rid of the income tax, strengthen border security to stop the caravan of “invaders” (obviously), and make it easier to eliminate federal offices and four government workers.
Conservative anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist was famous in 2001, “I don’t want to abolish government. I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub.” Well, these new MAGA Republicans have taken the old Republican dream to a literal extreme. They’re fine with blowing up the bathtub, the bathroom, and the house—and to make sure, they even shoot anyone left with an AR-15. Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) Texas rationalized his obstruction on Wednesday when he said, “It’s about the ability — to give us the ability to stop the machine in this city from doing what it’s doing.”
Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy stands alone, eyes closed, in the back of the House of Representatives as he suffers a 10th straight defeat in the 10th round of voting for a new Speaker of the House on the third day of the 118th Congress. at the US Capitol in Washington, USA, January 5, 2023.
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House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy stands alone with his eyes closed at the back of the House of Representatives as he suffers a 10th straight defeat in the 10th round of voting for a new Speaker of the House on the third day of the 118th Congress at the US Capitol. in Washington, USA, 5 January 2023.
EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/Reuters
This is the inevitable end result of the GOP’s Faustian deal with the MAGA extremists, racists and conspiracy theorists they nurtured, supported, coddled and embraced for short-term political power.
The people’s tax dollars pay the six-figure salaries of GOP elected officials who want to abuse their power and privilege to destroy government and the democratic process, instead of using it to help their constituents. There is no plan or solution to reduce income inequality, lower the cost of prescription drugs, create jobs for the middle class, or help children access better education. Instead, their primary goal is to obstruct the government, “own the libs” and manufacture bogeymen to raise their base for donations, votes and media hits.
Holdouts Take Kevin McCarthy’s new offer and vote him to push it
Not surprisingly, most of these 21 Republican dissidents come from three states that are hotbeds of far-right activism: Florida, Texas, and Arizona. Instead of proposing solutions to combat climate change or prevent COVID-related deaths, Florida Republicans led by Governor Ron DeSantis have decided to court the MAGA base by aggressively attacking vaccines, teachers, homosexual peopleand teachers to be “hairdressers,” as well as Disney for being “woke”.
Over in Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott and Republicans are competing with their counterparts in Florida to advance the extremist MAGA agenda and bolster national street cred with conservatives ahead of the 2024 election. Abbott is more comfortable with people who have unauthorized weapons than heat, energy and water during national crises. Republicans in both states have no qualms about wasting taxpayer money kidnap and transport migrants to DC for theatrical outrage porn to satiate their base.
Matt Gaetz applauds in the House Chamber during the third day of the election for Speaker of the House at the US Capitol Building on January 5, 2023 in Washington, DC.
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