Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz’s preoccupation with unseating House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was reckless and selfish.
Is Matt Gaetz a hero or a villain?
The camera-loving Republican from Florida who threatened to shut down the government and who masterminded the ousting of Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday has made more than a few enemies in Congress.
He doesn’t care; he represents a district in Florida that hasn’t gone Democrat in decades and that went for former President Trump in 2020 by 68% to 29%. That means that in 2018, for instance, election gurus gave him 99% odds of being reelected, even though his approval rating was a dismal 20% — worse than Joe Biden.
Consequently, Gaetz has little sympathy for centrist colleagues in toss-up districts who must win over independent voters who are likely appalled by the chaos in the GOP caucus. He apparently has little commitment to his party or to maintaining the Republican majority in the House. To those of us who view Joe Biden’s agenda as dangerous for our country, Gaetz’ unseating of Speaker McCarthy, which will stoke the Democrat narrative that the GOP is incapable of governing and give more power to Hakeem Jeffries and his colleagues, is reckless and selfish. It is said his attention-getting antics are fed by his desire to be a TV host; if the shoe fits…
What is McCarthy’s crime in the view of Gaetz and his fellow GOP bomb-throwers? Gathering Democrat votes to pass a bill keeping the federal government open. The irony, of course, is that Gaetz himself relied on Democrats to help him topple McCarthy.
Gaetz’ most enduring offense, however, is to tag fiscal conservatism as the purview of people President Joe Biden would happily call “MAGA extremists.” He and a few House colleagues have attacked Congress’ enthusiasm for kicking the fiscal can down the road, and have made our excessive federal spending the focal point of their insurrection. Those complaints are justified; squabbling over our deficits is not crazy.
