For the first time in United States history, a Speaker of the House of Representatives has been removed from his post. And while you can’t blame Democrats for the blow that right-wing bomb throwers landed on Kevin McCarthy, what you can say is that they failed to do the right thing on behalf of the American people.
Let me explain. It would be understandable if Democrats decided to remain neutral on Tuesday (by voting “present”), reasoning that it is a Republican civil war. But they didn’t. Instead, by voting “no” on the procedural motion to table Rep. Matt Gaetz’s motion—and then voting “yes” on his Motion to Vacate the Office of Speaker—Democrats effectively voted for Gaetz. And a vote for Gaetz is a vote for chaos.
This same dynamic is reflected in the broader GOP civil war between responsible governance and dysfunction. And what’s worse is that sanity is losing. That’s the case in the GOP presidential primary race, where Donald Trump is running away with the nomination. And McCarthy’s ouster is yet another example from the legislative front. Instead of siding with sanity, Democrats have decided to side with Gaetz. It’s not a good look.
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Look, I understand why Dems don’t like Kevin McCarthy. I really do. When Trump was on the ropes after Jan. 6, it was McCarthy who went to Mar-a-Lago and helped resuscitate him. Additionally, in order to become speaker in January, McCarthy agreed to a rules change that would allow just one member to bring a motion to vacate. This is to say, he knew what this was.
More recently, after Democrats went out of their way to help McCarthy prevent a government shutdown, he thanked them by going on CBS News’ Face The Nation and blaming them.
And once Gaetz started making noise about removing him, McCarthy refused to make any concessions to earn the support of Dems.
Oh yeah, did I mention that McCarthy just launched an impeachment probe aimed at Joe Biden?
This is all to say that McCarthy didn’t deserve (or even ask) for Democrats to bail him out. Just as McCarthy thought negotiating with Democrats was beneath him, Democrats prioritized partisanship and “tradition” over doing the right thing.
But as Washington Monthly’s Bill Scher—who concedes “there’s plenty to dislike” about Kevin McCarthy—writes, the now-deposed speaker “has proven willing to take political risks so we keep the government open and pay our debt obligations. It may be the lowest bar. But he clears it. And Democrats need him to clear it.”
Most Democrats presumably want to help Ukraine fend off Russia’s invasion. If so, it’s hard to imagine a Gaetz-backed speaker helping fund Ukraine’s war efforts to the degree McCarthy has.
Although Dems aren’t to blame for this chaos, they have a moral obligation to strive for the best outcome for America, and—based on the likely alternatives—Speaker McCarthy is probably as good as it gets.
Yes, this would mean they would have to go the extra mile and be the adults in a fraught situation. But isn’t it possible that Democrats would be rewarded for owning the adult brand?
Again, doing the right thing wouldn't have necessitated voting for McCarthy. Just skipping the vote or voting “present” would have been enough to lower the threshold and allow McCarthy to survive.
By refusing to do that (and therefore voting for Gaetz), Democrats appear to be putting politics before America’s best interests. Maybe they would prefer that Republicans air their dirty laundry in public to highlight the GOP’s dysfunction and inability to govern.
While it’s still possible that allowing this ugly process to play out could result in something positive for Democrats and America, it could also turn out to be disastrous. We have seen this movie before.
As the Washington Free Beacon editorialized on Tuesday, “Democrats cheered on Donald Trump as he crushed his GOP opponents, confident that he was the weakest general election candidate they could face. Since then, they have elevated a procession of unserious Republican candidates with millions of dollars in advertising, from Doug Mastriano in Pennsylvania to Darren Bailey in Illinois and John Gibbs in Michigan.”
Again, elevating the craziest Republican can sometimes work for Democrats, but it is a dangerous strategy when the stakes are this high.
There was a “W” waiting for the Dems—a “hanging curveball,” as they say. Had they done the right thing on Tuesday, then going forward, they would have been positioned to basically say, “We’re above culture war bullshit, and would not abide a coup by Matt Gaetz. Nobody asked us to rescue McCarthy, but we did. That’s what responsible leadership does. Remember that the next time the GOP says we’re the problem.” Now they can’t.
Democrats didn’t start this fire, but it sure as hell feels like they are fanning the flames instead of smothering it. Doesn’t America deserve at least one adult party?
