Requiem For My Kevin

In the run up before his bid for Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy made a pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago to show his support for former president Trump and schmooze with his allies.  Earlier this year Trump blessed his bid for House Speaker and bestowed-upon him the nickname My Kevin.  On the fifteenth ballot, with 216 votes, McCarthy became Speaker off the US House of Representatives.

Then this happened last week.

Predictably, Florida Representative Matt Gaetz filed a motion to vacate and it passed 216 to 210 with the unanimous support of house democrats and eight republican mutineers.  McCarthy became the first speaker removed from office.

And Donald Trump did not pull his bacon out of the fire.  

What gives? 

 

In the wake of McCarthy's ouster this photo has been making the rounds on the interweb.

It is the cover of Young Guns - a wonky 2010 dissertation authored by then House members Paul Ryan, Eric Cantor and Kevin McCarthy.  

My recollection was this was the splashy debut of the GOP's rising stars.  The standard-bearing triumvirate of the Grand Old Party.  A new generation of policy-focused conservative leaders representing the bright future of the party.

Ryan served as Speaker for four years, Cantor two years and McCarthy nine months.    

A short thirteen years later this reads like an obituary.

 

The GOP is now the party of Trump. 

The party of Reagan is dead.  Neo-conservatives on life support. There will be no more wonky treatises about extending the life of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.  No  serious policy discussions over trade.  Fiscal discipline?  Nope.  If there is a party platform it is a promise to advance election denialism, generalized grievance and a promise of retribution.

Earlier this year I predicted 2023 would have very few dull moments.

Stay-tuned.....

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There is a population of conservatives, Republicans, center-right individuals and independent-minded voters who place a high value on facts and the truth. Marginalized because they refuse to embrace baseless conspiracy theories nor demonstrate sufficient fealty and obeisance to the former guy - exile is their cross to bear.