Democrats Share the Blame for McCarthy’s Fall
The party’s leaders missed a golden opportunity to reach across the aisle and save Congress and the country from dysfunction.
What might have been.
Photographer: Jim Watson/AFP
Kevin McCarthy’s ejection from his seat as speaker of the US House of Representatives — an ignominy that hadn’t been attempted in more than a century — is a national embarrassment that deepens the Republican Party’s descent into dysfunction and extremism. But the fact is: The blame rests not just with the eight Republicans who voted to oust him, but also with both parties’ leaders — McCarthy and Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries — for failing to reach across the aisle to save the country from this mess.
Over the past several election cycles, I have strongly supported Democratic efforts to win the House, largely to save the country from the dysfunction and craziness of a party that has fallen captive to its extreme right wing. I disagree with McCarthy on virtually every issue, but in some critical moments this year, he showed that he was willing to stand up to his party’s right-wing extremists and take the heat.