Lean And Hungry McCarthy

It was interesting to watch Kevin McCarthy's reaction to Volodymyr Zelinsky's address to Congress. Dana Milbank writes:

He stood at the floor leader’s desk, restlessly playing with the microphone. As Volodymyr Zelensky was about to enter the chamber, McCarthy checked his phone. As the adulation began, McCarthy clapped absently while chatting with Republican whip Steve Scalise (La.).

Zelensky told the rapt chamber that “your money is not charity” but “an investment in the global security and democracy that we handle in the most responsible way.” Lawmakers rose to applaud. McCarthy, who vows to probe Ukraine’s use of U.S. funds, froze in his chair before eventually lumbering to his feet.

Zelensky urged lawmakers to “ensure that America’s leadership remains solid, bicameral and bipartisan.” McCarthy again rose slowly, then quickly sat back down.

Zelensky called on Americans to “help us bring to justice everyone who started this unprovoked and criminal war.” McCarthy sat out the standing ovation, drumming his fingers.

“Let the world see that the United States are here,” Zelensky urged. McCarthy yawned.

Many in McCarthy's party are no friends of Zelinsky:

Most GOP lawmakers skipped the speech entirely, and a few in attendance — Lauren Boebert, Matt Gaetz, Tim Burchett — sat through it sulking. Other Republicans trashed Zelensky, calling him “the Ukrainian lobbyist” (Rep. Thomas Massie), “the shadow president” (Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene) and a “welfare queen” (Donald Trump Jr.).

McCarthy has a "lean and hungry" look about him. He has sold his soul to herd cats. As Shakespeare's Caesar warned, "such men are dangerous."

Image: Carolyn Kaster/AP

A Political Animal

Republican House Leader Kevin McCarthy is a political animal -- a totally political animal. Michelle Cottle writes:

Last week, he set heads shaking by announcing his opposition to the bill establishing a bipartisan commission to investigate the Jan. 6 sacking of the U.S. Capitol. The legislative negotiations had been led on the Republican side, reportedly at Mr. McCarthy’s explicit request, by Representative John Katko of New York. But Mr. McCarthy and his leadership team urged members to reject the deal, leaving Mr. Katko twisting in the wind. The plan passed on Wednesday. Thirty-five Republicans supported it, in what was viewed as a rebuke of Mr. McCarthy.

But one shouldn't be too quick to write McCarthy off:

What he really, really wants now is the speaker’s gavel, which hovers just a few precious seats beyond his grasp. If Mitch McConnell, the ruthless, calculating Senate Republican leader, is a shark, Mr. McCarthy is a jellyfish, carried spinelessly along by the political currents.

These days, such inchoate non-leadership is the best that House Republicans can hope for. In fact, that’s what they demand. In a conference increasingly dominated by Trumpian trolls (See: Marjorie Taylor Greene, Madison Cawthorn, Lauren Boebert, Louie Gohmert, Paul Gosar, Mo Brooks…), maintaining serious order is out of the question. Forestalling total anarchy requires a leader with an extraordinary gift for abject appeasement. It’s equal parts feeding the base the unhinged grievance it craves, while still keeping members from less Trumpy districts on board.

Mr. McCarthy has shown himself to be that leader, and he deserves recognition for rising — or rather sinking — to meet the moment.

Sometimes being a jellyfish will get you what you want.

Image: vanityfair.com