If Republicans Can't Elect a Speaker, What Else Can't They Do?

Kevin McCarthy's epic fail reveals Nancy Pelosi's legacy to the Democratic Party

Readers, I had another post for today, but it will have to wait. I woke up this morning with an idea and a sudden urge to go all bloggy on you. So strap on your seatbelts, my lovelies: it’s going to be a bumpy night. And if you have a mind to do so, please:

What could possibly go wrong when you go all lovey-dovey on an insurrectionist 30 days after an attempted coup? Photo credit: Office of GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy/Wikimedia Commons

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Like hundreds of thousands of Instagram users, I can easily be hypnotized by silly dog reels. One of my favorite genres is when a dog stretches into a swimming pool to get a tennis ball. A child-like voice in the background sings: “And nothing can go wrong” (dog falls into swimming pool) “OH NO! It went wrong!”

Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (CA-22) is all those dogs.

You know the emerging story: after nurturing the vipers of election denialism, conspiracism, and violence in the GOP after the Trump-led insurrection on January 6, 2020, McCarthy’s chickens have come home to roost. The midterms were a wash for the Republican Party, delivering a fragile majority that allowed a few right-wing crazies in his party to take him—and the whole Congress—hostage. No matter what McCarthy promised the 20 dissenters, it was never enough.

Why? They don’t trust him.

Can you honestly say that they are wrong? No, you can’t. And even the hardliners’ godhead, Donald J. Trump, could not persuade the 20 to vote yes—probably because they don’t trust him. And who detects a liar better than a pack of liars?

Meanwhile, Democrats got to go on television and say: Gee, all I want to do is go to work for the people. And: Gee! If they can’t elect a speaker, what else can’t they do? Hello, 2024! I feel so ready.

But that isn’t the point. Instead, I am interested in another aspect of what is essentially a constitutional crisis since Congress could not function until there was a Speaker. And that is: what did former Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi (CA-11) bequeath to Hakeem Jeffries (NY-8), now Minority Leader?