It’s not often that we see a public figure receive a just reward for his misdeeds. But this is such a moment.
The seeds of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s ouster were sown on the day in January 2021 that he went to Mar-a-Lago to beg for Donald Trump’s support following the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol. We know from his first reaction to the event that he understood its terrible significance. But in pursuit of a path to power he chose to ignore it and ally himself with the worst elements in the Republican Party.
He could have helped his colleagues in Congress hold Trump responsible for inciting the attack, but instead he led the Republican attempt to make the country forget that it ever happened. In addition, he helped Trump’s MAGA allies in Congress reach leadership positions.
His dream of a Republican majority came true after the 2022 elections, but the combination of the lack of appeal of the Trump brand to independents and the abortion issue made that majority razor thin. So he was forced to humiliate himself before the most extreme elements of his party, whose aim is to destroy government rather than to govern responsibly, in order to win election as speaker.
Now those congressmen see themselves as ascendant, able to wield power over the institution. They hope to use their clout to find a new leader who shares their aims. But their numbers are small, and most Republicans want to be able to govern.
This puts an opportunity into the hands of Democratic leaders in the House. Here’s the question: Is there a Republican that 20 or 30 of them could vote for as speaker if he or she were willing to pay the right price for the votes?
And what would that price be? They might pledge to continue support for Ukraine in the future, to return to supporting the budget deal that McCarthy made with Biden last fall in order to raise the debt ceiling, to restore full funding to the IRS so that wealthy tax cheats can be properly audited. But that’s not enough.
Is there a House Republican who would be willing to go after Trump and his MAGA allies? They should be asked to remove extremists like Jim Jordan and Marjorie Taylor-Green from leadership. Even more, would one of them be willing to stand up and say that the Jan. 6 insurrection was a crime, that the long list of Republicans who testified as to its true nature should have been heeded, that Liz Cheney should not have been banished from the leadership and then the House?
And most important, would someone be willing to publicly ask: How it is possible that the Republican Party appears likely to nominate someone for president who is under indictment for trying to overthrow the government, who violated his oath to protect the Constitution?
Trump’s popularity with the Republican base has been so durable that Republican politicians have been afraid to oppose him, and with good reason: The few that have done so are no longer in Congress. But now the Democrats have an opportunity to offer power to someone who might summon up the courage to do the right thing. I don’t know if that would be enough to motivate someone now serving, but the idea is worth exploring.
Why should the Democrats help the Republicans? It’s because this country needs a responsible opposition party, one which is committed to democratic principles and governing through compromise, which will base its agenda on truth instead of lies, whose most extreme members are pushed to the side. It’s because we need to find a way to deflate the Trump phenomenon so we can move past him and his promise to bring further destruction and turmoil to our country.
Joseph Blumenthal lives in Northampton.