Kevin McCarthy gets squeezed

| 6:00 pm EST December 2, 2022
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The Democrats have picked their House leadership roles! They did it quickly, smoothly, and efficiently. That’s what a good, hardworking political party does. The Republicans, on the other hand, are in a state of chaos. And at the heart of it is the fly — Kevin McCarthy.

I call him a fly because of a poem. Some poems can be beautifully uplifting, and others can be eerie. One of my favorites from childhood is “The spider and the fly.” You have likely heard it. The first line goes: “Will you walk into my parlour?’ said the spider to the fly.”

And it never fails me make me think of Kevin McCarthy. Because, in a sense, he walked right into the spider’s web his party laid out for him. As of the time of this writing, Kevin still does not have the votes. Many reportedly don’t want him — and they’re serious.

Matt Gaetz said some in the House would “rather be waterboarded by Liz Cheney” than vote for Kevin McCarthy. Ah, Matt — he always did have a rather vulgar way with words. But the fact remains that Kevin is despised. And I want to point a few things out about this situation.

It shows the incompetence of the Republicans that they knew they might win the House and yet did not have an alternative candidate ready. Perhaps it’s mere incompetence. One would think they would have thought through the ramifications of such a decision. But this bunch does not appear to have done that.

Of course, Kevin may yet still win. There’s time. But several of Kevin’s critics, including Gaetz, appear serious. And it’s ripping the Republican spider’s web into pieces.

Conservative Host Mark Levin went crazy the other day and labeled Kevin’s critics “five boneheads.” Nice. Only there might well be more than five. I don’t know how many oppose McCarthy.

But one person who has been a bit quieter than usual is Donald Trump. Trump — Kevin’s hero. Kevin defended him on everything. And in the true spirit of non-friendship, Trump has been blissfully silent on Kevin’s nightmare struggle.

The silly little fly. Silly little Kevin. Believing that anyone gave a damn — believing he had it in the bag, that Trump would perhaps order the others to stand by him. Kevin McCarthy walked right into the web of the spider, and I must admit, it is fun watching him try to untangle himself.