LAWYERS, GUNS & MONEY

MCCARTHY WILL PROBABLY GRIND THIS OUT TO PRESIDE OVER EFFORTS TO TANK THE WORLD’S ECONOMY

 BY SCOTT LEMIEUX

 

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ON JANUARY 6, 2023

 

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McCarthy failed on the 13th vote, but at this point with the failure to even pretend to have an alternative candidate and things trending in his direction he’ll probably get the Speakership, although the 1/6 caucus may still carry him for another round or three:

Representative Kevin McCarthy of California won over a bloc of right-wing holdouts in his quest to become speaker on Friday, finally gaining momentum on 12th and 13th votes but still falling short of winning the post.

With 15 Republicans who had previously voted against him swinging their support following a broad series of concessions, the movement was what Mr. McCarthy had forecast and needed to deliver to show enough strength to remain in the race. The floor fight has dragged on for four humiliating days and more than a dozen defeats for Mr. McCarthy, putting Republican divisions on vivid display and foreshadowing how difficult it will be to govern with a narrow and unruly hard-right faction bent on slashing spending and disrupting business in Washington.

Given the (predictable) concessions McCarthy had to make, we should also be clear that while Republicans are the prime villains in the coming attempt to use blackmail to gut Social Security, Manchin, Sinema, and every other current or recent Democratic legislator who thought it was appropriate to leave the debt ceiling lying around like a loaded weapon for Republicans to use are accessories before the fact.