A certain kind of Krazy looms now that Agent Orange announced, for a third time, his pursuit of the presidency in order to stay out of jail, also includes the Freedom Caucus, poised to make life hell for Kevin McCarthy, the toady forced to walk the tight rope in trying to manage the razor thin majority the repugs will have in the house beginning in January 2023.
To whit ...
Votes are still being counted in several states, but it appears that Republicans will very likely win a majority of House seats, while falling short in the Senate. The midterms will come down to several outstanding House races in California and Colorado where the GOP candidates are currently ahead, plus the Senate runoff in Georgia. Should present trends hold, Republicans will have something like 220 House seats and 49 Senate seats.
While this would mean Democrats have lost their national trifecta, it’s not great for Republicans either. They were eagerly expecting a massive electoral sweep, with a comfortable 20- to 40-seat margin that would give them firm control of the House. Instead it’s going to be a razor-thin margin with a notably unruly caucus.
Meanwhile, conservative elites have widely attempted to blame Trump for the poor result, but he is not going away quietly. On the contrary, he announced his presidential campaign on Tuesday night, and is already launching savage attacks on expected challengers like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis—or “Ron DeSanctimonious,” as Trump recently called him. The next two years of internal GOP politics are going to be a reality TV catfight for the ages.
As proof ...
Moreover, several House seats that Republicans picked up are exceptionally vulnerable. In New York, they won several districts that went comfortably for Biden in 2020. Facing likely political extinction, some of those members might be induced to vote for a compromise nonpartisan Speaker, or even switch parties.
But the Freedom Caucus—about 50 of the craziest Republican House members, which is to say, about 50 of the craziest people in the entire country—is already making outlandish demands and plotting against McCarthy. They have presented “requests” that he essentially surrender his formal powers to the committee chairs, and are pondering running someone against him for Speaker. Reportedly, they haven’t settled on anyone yet, but one possibility is Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), last seen joking about Nancy Pelosi’s husband being assaulted with a hammer by a deranged conservative extremist.
A certain kind of Krazy indeed.
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