Be careful what you wish for, Mr. Speaker
Our beloved “Candy Man” Kevin McCarthy got what he wanted and may forever be known as one of the worst and possibly the shortest-lived speakers ever, his story the longest-lived cautionary tale ever. He has shackled himself by his own suite of artifices giving him no freedom to move. He is now a puppet, a marionette, with his strings pulled by fewer than half a dozen Freedom Caucus members. He will be controlled by those who now own him. His soul has been sold, and now he must live with the bargain.
So, what’s in store for him?
■ He won’t be able to compromise.
■ Only one member can call for his ouster.
■ He’ll be tiptoeing on eggshells afraid of offending the shot-calling six.
■ He’ll be dragged to the far right by them.
■ He’ll be drawn away from moderate and centrist Republicans risking their support and their calling him to account.
■ He won’t be able to take principled centrist conservative stands that satisfy more moderate caucus members.
■ From now on, he’ll never again be able to promise one thing and do another, which, on its face is a good thing, but which may, depending on the promise, alienate more moderate and centrist House Republicans.
There are some things McCarthy hasn’t learned in the long winding road of his political travels: The pursuit of fame for its own sake leads to ruin. When your leadership goal lacks an honorable hill to climb and be willing to die on, you’re not leading, you’re chasing the wind. We also know about McCarthy that he makes sudden verbal gaffes that reveal the truth about his motives and conduct that he otherwise would prefer to conceal, like his comment about the Hillary/Benghazi incident that derailed his first charge to the speakership. Lincoln famously opined that “you can fool some of the people all the time, and all the people some of the time; but you can’t fool all the people all the time.” If you replace “fool” with “please” you’ve created “Kevin’s Corollary.” Both aphorisms should speak to McCarthy, but he’s not listening.
We’ve also been told by his former boss of 15 years, former House Ways and Means Committee Chair, Bill Thomas, in a TV interview with KGET’s Robert Price (Jan. 15, 2021), that McCarthy’s one of many House hypocrites. But his people already know that, which is why they pressed such a hard bargain for their votes, each getting a plum of their choosing. And they will hold his feet to the fire. Since any one of his plum-holding people can call for his removal (one of his gifted plums), each of them holds his future in their hands.
McCarthy’s now chained in a cage of his own making: break any of the promises he’s made to get to the speakership or displease any of his plum-holders on any issue, or any of his caucus, and he’s doomed. Sadly, when you make a promise of any kind to someone lacking judgment and mental stability, you risk being jerked into some very unhappy places. And McCarthy now has the entire Freedom Caucus able to yank his chain in any number of ways. McCarthy either didn’t understand or foresee the problem he was getting himself into, or, because he wanted the speakership so badly, he didn’t care. Neither speaks well of him.
McCarthy rose to fame on his ability to massively raise money for the party and for candidates who badly needed it. Money was his passport to party fame and influence. Unfortunately, money doesn’t buy political savvy once you’ve gotten where you’ve always dreamed of getting. His innate, irresistible charm helped. But money and charm only get you through the door; once you’re in the room, everything changes. In sidling up to the Freedom Caucus, he’s grabbed a tiger by the tail. Now the question is: can he tame it. If the Freedom Caucus’ (ie, Freedom Raucus) performance at Biden’s State of the Union address gives us preview of things to come, not likely.
Brik McDill, Ph.D. is a retired psychologist and author of “Dangerous Marriage”; “Parenting the Prodigal”; and “Raising Safety-Smart Kids.” His newest, “Instilling Ethical Excellence... A Roadmap for Instilling Ethical Excellence in our Children,” is in production with an international publisher.