Matt the Knife

Note: I wrote this post on Oct. 6 and forgot about it. I would usually delete a draft this old because it had become stale. However, the combination of the House GOP again failing to elect a SoH convinced me it is still relevant.

One of the things the Look What the Dems Did! doomcriers do not want to discuss is why it was so easy to knock McCarthy from his perch.

This Jan. 7 article provides a nice summary of what Legendary Kevin did to finally win the magic gavel, after a history-making 15 failed votes.

The Republican rules package released Friday includes those concessions. It will allow any one member to force a “motion to vacate” the speaker’s chair and overthrow McCarthy. It makes it harder for the House to raise spending, taxes and the debt limit. And Perry said the agreement includes “conservative representation” across the House, including by adding members of the right flank to key committees.

Surprisingly, I have yet to see any pundits, politicians or random jackasses blame Democrats for the deal McVacated made with his fellow Republigoons. But I haven’t been looking that hard.

Colbert described the deal, and its inevitable results, perfectly last night.

You handed a straight razor to the craziest most selfish nihilist in the entire MAGAmob and said ‘Just hold this to my neck. And if I say or do one thing you don’t like just slice away,’ and you’re blaming the Democrats?

In the same Jan. 7 article Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) had this to say.

“The reason these people want to be on the Rules Committee is they want to screw things up for McCarthy. They want to micromanage every single thing that he brings to the floor,” McGovern said. “He has given everything away, including his dignity, to try to become speaker. And if he becomes speaker, his nightmares just begin.”

“He thinks this is bad — what he’s going through right now? He ain’t seen nothing yet, based on what he’s giving away.”

I don’t think it is necessary or accurate to call that a prediction. It is an astute observation along the lines of noting that a person who gives something like Matt Gaetz a straight razor and bares their throat is unlikely to enjoy what Gaetz does with his shiny new toy. Unless the throat barer wants their throat slashed.

Or, to put it in narrative terms, we all saw Chekhov’s Motion hanging on the wall in the first quarter.

And maybe that will be the new narrative after right wing rejects recover from the horror of Democrats refusing to take the fall of the GOP’s fuck ups: The House Republicans have a cunning plan that involves staggering around stepping on every rake in D.C., infighting that stops just short of physical attacks and subjecting the vainest and dimmest of their members to levels of humiliation that would make Michael Haneke cringe. The plan is too cunning and complex for non-MotUs to understand, but Democrats have definitely fallen into the trap.

Because it is unpossible that a white cishet man could make a huge fucking mistake.

People who post off-topic comments get into the “12 items or less” lane at the grocery store and then spend 15 minutes yelling at the clerk, insisting that five tubes of lube, 25 cans of deviled ham and 10 dozen packages of turkey legs only count as three items.