KEVIN MCCARTHY’S stunning decision to drop out of the race to be Speaker of the House of Representatives on October 8th has been hailed by his Republican colleagues as a selfless act. It was more obviously one of self-preservation.
The current House majority leader had been considered a shoo-in for the job. He was about to be confirmed as the nominee of his party, which has a big majority in the House, only moments before he withdrew; there is such little support for the other two contenders, Daniel Webster and Jason Chaffetz, that the contest was immediately postponed.
Mr McCarthy also wanted the job so badly that he was willing to trash the outgoing speaker, his friend and supporter John Boehner, in an effort to mollify the ultra-right-wing fringe who had forced him to resign last month. Asked to appraise Mr Boehner’s five-year tenure as Speaker, which has been sullied by endless rows with obstructive right-wing Republicans, for whom any form of compromise with President Barack Obama is ignominious, Mr McCarthy marked it an unimpressive B minus. Much good that act of betrayal did him.
Mr McCarthy, an amiable representative from California,...Continue reading
Source: United States http://ift.tt/1VHL6Zb
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