Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) fall as speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives has been especially sudden and dramatic but is only the latest example of intense, internal Republican Party warfare. McCarthy himself opened the door to ouster when he agreed in the long, grueling battle for the speakership in January to allow a rule change whereby only one member of his party could call a vote for his removal.
Right-wing attention-seeker Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) did just that on Oct. 2, filing a resolution to remove the speaker. The motion passed 216-210, with Democrats piling through the door a member of the other party had opened.
Arthur I. Cyr is Clausen Distinguished Professor at Carthage College and author of “After the Cold War” (NYU Press and Macmillan). Readers can write to him at acyr@carthage.edu.
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Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.