Kevin McCarthy, Jim Jordan and Matt Gaetz All Exemplify Why Republicans Lose

Kevin McCarthy listens as Matt Gaetz nominates Jim Jordan for Speaker of the House. AP Photo/Alex Brandon.

Prior to the second vote to elect the next speaker of the United States House of Representatives held on Tuesday, Congressman Jim Jordan, a founder of the Freedom Caucus, rose to nominate Kevin McCarthy, the minority leader in the last Congress and consensus choice of the Republican conference, to succeed Nancy Pelosi. Moments later, Freedom Caucus member and Matt Gaetz nominated Jordan.

Shortly after that, the second ballot returned roughly identical results to the first. Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries finished in first place with the entirety of his party’s members supporting him. McCarthy finished in second. Jordan took the bronze with 19 Republican defectors, the same number that had cast their votes for various McCarthy alternatives during the first ballot before coalescing around Jordan. By the time the third vote was finished, the number of Republican defectors had risen to 20.

It’s impossible to say who will eventually prevail, or when he or she will, but what’s clear is that the existence of those three of the aforementioned Republicans — McCarthy, Jordan, and Gaetz — explains why the GOP persistently falls short at the ballot box and in the halls of power.

Start with McCarthy. His first chance at the speakership came in 2015, when he was first rejected by the House conservatives who pushed out Speaker John Boehner. He has spent the years since working toward the promotion he was previously denied. That meant serving as Paul Ryan’s deputy when Ryan emerged as the compromise candidate in 2015. It meant making constant excuses for Donald Trump from his leadership perch. It meant casting Liz Cheney out of her leadership role when she didn’t do the same. It meant cozying to Marjorie Taylor Greene and other unserious members of the conference.

Now it all might prove to have been for naught, because regardless of the pliability politicians are willing to afford their colleagues, especially those in leadership positions, no one wants to follow someone without core beliefs. And the only core belief anyone is sure Kevin McCarthy has is that he should wield the speaker’s gavel.

Next there’s Jordan, who has made a political career of telling Republican voters that they can trust no one but him, the Freedom Caucus, Trump, and other assorted bombthrowers. Boehner was at fault for not enacting conservative reforms over the objection of President Barack Obama and his veto power. RINOs were at fault for subverting Dear Leader Trump’s agenda. The 2020 election was stolen.

His reward? One of the biggest profiles in Congress, an ability to appear on cable news whenever he wants, and a promise that he’ll be able to chair the next House Judiciary Committee.

Is it any wonder, then, that Matt Gaetz and his ilk see value in following in his footsteps, even if it means making an extremely public mockery of the GOP’s freshly-earned majority and its ability to govern? This fight boosts Gaetz’s name recognition and reputation as a “fighter.” It has also, as National Review‘s Ramesh Ponnuru pointed out, turned him into a more powerful figure in the GOP conference.

Simple. Scalise will be someone who knows McCarthy got taken out, and by whom.

— Ramesh Ponnuru (@RameshPonnuru) January 3, 2023

A hard truth Republican voters will have to face is that opportunists on their own side are the primary obstacle to the achievement of conservative goals in government — both those preaching the Gospel of flexibility and those who see traitors in every nook and cranny of the conservative movement except where they should: the mirror.

A harder truth still is that the voters are the only ones who can bring an end to the madness. Because until the incentives inside of the Republican Party are realigned to benefit the workhorses instead of the showhorses, their secondhand embarrassment will only grow.

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.