Ken Grafton for BuzzFlash: The Far-Right Insurrectionist Group Captures Congress
Lauren Boebert of the House Freedom Caucus (Gage Skidmore)
January 8, 2023
By Ken Grafton
After making numerous controversial concessions to the far right, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Ca) was finally elected Speaker of the House January 7th on the 15th ballot, following days of fractious argument - and a narrowly averted brawl instigated by Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala) upon Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla) - with a group of 20 Republican members
When Congress adjourned at 2am Saturday, McCarthy had 216 votes, and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D) of New York 212 votes.
The 20 anti-McCarthy faction are described as being “hardline” and “ultraconservative” members of the so-called “House Freedom Caucus” - formed in 2015 by some “Tea Party” members, with the stated aim of pushing the GOP leadership further to the right – which is considered to be ideologically more conservative than most mainstream republicans.
Freedom Caucus members have opposed McCarthy in the past, resulting in his withdrawal from the 2015 contest to replace then speaker Rep. John Boehner of Ohio (who himself had been pressured by the same members).
Since McCarthy has a long history of supporting former president Donald Trump – leader of the right-wing Make America Great Again (MAGA) political movement which birthed the January 6th insurrection attack on the capital – one wonders how much further to the right McCarthy would have to be in order to get the nod from the GOP 20.
Is there a political position right of insurrection?
While McCarthy did initially condemn Trump for his involvement in the January 6th insurrection, he later backed-off his statement that Trump was responsible and “should have immediately denounced the mob when he saw what was unfolding” – voted against impeachment, and announced that he would not cooperate with the January 6th Committee.
At a fundraiser in May 2022, McCarthy praised Trump – referring to him as the Republican’s “secret weapon”, and suggesting that Trump could become president again.
Now, Trump endorsed McCarthy for speaker.
So, if Trump is MAGA, and MAGA is responsible for the January 6th insurrection, and Trump supports McCarthy - exactly how far to the right is the Freedom Caucus…if insurrection is too conciliatory?
History does provide some examples of extremist political ideologies run amok, of course…but none of them are good.
What were the GOP 20 looking for?
Some fiscal conservatives, like Rep. Chip Roy (R) of Texas, say they are concerned over the influence of power brokers and the military industrial complex that President Dwight Eisenhower warned of in 1961; some, like Rep. Scott Perry (R) of Pennsylvania want open debate and changes to the amendment process; while others, like Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida just don’t like McCarthy.
At a press briefing, members of the GOP 20 claimed high moral ground, stating “…this place is broken, and is operating on behalf of the status quo which serves this town, and not the American people…”
While they didn’t use Trump’s 2017 campaign slogan – “It’s time to drain the swamp in Washington!” – the message was identical.
Of course, many feel the “swamp” actually got a lot deeper during the Trump administration.
Whatever their reasons, it was a power-grab. A very small number of Republicans, and an even smaller percentage of elected representatives, held the 118th Congress hostage. Without a speaker, members of the house cannot be sworn in, and the legislative process of government is halted.
That is a lot of leverage for 20 individuals, some of whom were elected on slim majorities – such as Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Co) who won her seat, following a recount, by only 546 votes. The thought processes behind Boebert’s claims that not having Congress sworn-in was a good thing for taxpayers, because it couldn’t spend money, may bear examination by voters in Colorado.
The GOP 20 represent only 9 per cent of Republican members, and only 4.6 per cent of the total 435 members of the house…a small minority to wield such disruptive power over government.
They argue that their actions are healthy, simply the democratic process taking its course, as intended by the founding fathers.
That view is open interpretation, obviously.
Unlike the founding pure democracy of ancient Greece, where every citizen had a vote on every issue, modern democracies are representative in nature. In democracies, pragmatically, the majority rules.
From the start, McCarthy was the clear choice of an overwhelming majority of Republican members – winning 203 votes on the first ballot - a choice determined by democratic process.
Given that MAGA politics (and all that stands for) does not seem to be aligned far enough to the right for the GOP 20, it is hardly surprising that they were unwilling to set aside individual concerns and accept McCarthy as the democratic choice of the party – for the good of the party…and for the nation.
The Freedom Caucus has its own agenda.
While the extended deadlock in Congress may be viewed globally as further evidence of partisan divide in a foundering America, it actually speaks more to the divide within the Republican party, metastasizing since its devil’s embrace of candidate Trump in 2016.
With less than half of Freedom Caucus members involved in the GOP 20, even the extremists themselves are divided.
The concessions made by McCarthy are incorporated within the rules package for the 118th Congress. They allow any individual member to force a “motion to vacate” the speaker’s chair and overthrow McCarthy, and make it more difficult to raise spending, taxes and the debt limit. The agreement also includes “conservative representation” in the House by adding members of the Freedom Caucus to the House Rules Committee.
CNN might ask, “Good thing, or bad thing?”
Members from both sides of the House have criticized McCarthy’s concessions.
It was reported that some Republican members considered backing away from McCarthy if the GOP 20 demanded too many concessions. Asked whether there was anything that McCarthy could give up that would lose him support, Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah) said, “There actually is. And honestly, there's many of us who feel we're very, very close to that.”
On McCarthy’s reducing the number of members required for a motion to vacate as Speaker, Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said, “I think it’s a terrible decision…If one person can push a motion to vacate, we’ll do this again. How would you like to do this every week? I think that’s the future with a few of these individuals. … It weakens the Speaker, and it strengthens the smallest caucus of all the caucuses.” The Freedom Caucus now has increased power to influence McCarthy, who would otherwise face a motion to vacate on the whim of a single member. This could have an paralyzing effect upon government.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said that McCarthy had “surrendered to demands of a fringe element of the Republican party,” thereby enabling a “MAGA Republican controlled house” to cause a government shutdown or a government default “with devastating consequences to our country.”
Democracy in action, or another MAGA strategy to subvert the government?
The January 6th assault upon the capital may have failed…but the far right just won a landmark victory in Congress.