The intransigence of the MAGAnutz created the opportunity for a productive Grand Coalition between united Democrats and the 126 adults within the Republican caucus headed by Speaker McCarthy. The mutual dependency within the Grand Coalition means each side will have to respect the other and compromise to arrive at bipartisan solutions to legislative problems. Isn't that what it's all about?
While McCarthy has been sitting at the kiddies table heretofore, yesterday he behaved like an adult. Long may he continue so. His continued Speakership is essential to bring the non-MAGA representatives to the table in a Grand Coalition. It worked to pass the continuing resolution; it should work on other bipartisan legislation. Whereas McCarthy was beholden to MAGAnutz for his job, he now is beholden to Jeffries. Democrats now have the chance to legislate and Biden gets to fulfill his promise to be a “uniter.” Not bad for a night’s work.
Win-win for everybody except Donald Trump and the 90 MAGA screwballs intent on bringing down the Temple. This arrangement could mark the beginning of the end of the MAGA movement. Everything changed last night when McCarthy essentially told Gaetz and MTG to pound sand. They are now a spent force. The disenchantment among Evangelicals over Trump's recent concessions on abortion should add to MAGA's dismemberment and diminish Trump's chances of winning in 2024.
UPDATE 7-MONTHS LATER: May 23, 2024
While Kevin McCarthy did not survive to lead the Grand Coalition I envisioned, his successor, Ron Johnson did. House Republican hardliners engineered McCarthy’s ouster last October as punishment for his earlier support of a bipartisan short-term continuing resolution to fund the government. Six months later, in March, Johnson succeeded in passing a $1.2 trillion continuing resolution funding the government through the remainder of the current fiscal year, this time without punitive consequences. Then in April, in what CNN termed “the most consequential decision of his political career,” Johnson defied hardliners again, putting his job on the line by calling House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries to work out a bipartisan $95 billion foreign aid package. Passing the House with overwhelming Democratic and center-right Republican support, the bill promptly cleared the Senate (also with bipartisan support). On April 24th, President Biden signed the bill to provide $61 billion in aid to Ukraine, $26 billion for the Israel-Hamas conflict – including $15 billion in Israeli military aid, $9 billion in humanitarian aid for Gaza and $2.4 billion for regional US military operations – and $8 billion for the Indo-Pacific (Taiwan, Philippines and others)” CNN).
Marjorie Taylor Greene’s subsequent motion to unseat Johnson went down to a humiliating defeat, confirming the hardliners’ status as a spent force in the House and validating Biden’s aspirations for bipartisanship in what has become a Grand Coalition. (163 Democrats voting with 196 Republicans overwhelmed the remaining 71 members either opposed, not voting, or voting present.)