Kevin McCarthy is predictably getting eaten alive by his own caucus
It’s hard to believe that once upon a time, Kevin McCarthy was seen as a conservative rising star and a smart strategist, but then again, so was his predecessor, Paul Ryan. Being House Speaker, which requires constant compromise in order to get anything accomplished in the House, is generally a job that highlights the worst form of incompetence that Republicans are so quick to get behind these days, when at least half the party refuses to give way on anything – even if it means causing a crisis by defaulting on the national debt.
While McCarthy and other Republican leaders are hoping that everything happening with the former guy in New York and Georgia can keep their voters distracted, he’s trying to avoid a crisis with the debt ceiling that Republicans will be blamed for by voters in the middle while also trying to avoid the heat of the party’s freedom caucus that sees any sort of compromise as betrayal.
The problem is every time McCarthy goes to the media, he risks upsetting somebody – and usually it’s both groups. He’s already leaked that he’s not getting along with Reps. Jodey Arrington or Steve Scalise, calling both of them incompetent, and they in turn have circulated rumors about kicking him out before the term is out. If anything, whatever they’re saying here is hardly helping him, as it only pushes further to the Biden administration that McCarthy really needs a win and putting more pressure on him to cave.
James Sullivan is the assistant editor of Brain World Magazine and an advocate of science-based policy making