Gaetz vs McCarthy Showdown Is ON!

Grab a ring-side seat and hold onto your hats, folks. The Gaetz vs McCarthy Republican rumble is officially ON!

Politics :
GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida — who is a Donald Trump sycophant and prominent member of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus — gave ample warning to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The warning was clear: DO NOT make a bipartisan deal with Democrats to keep the US government open for business beyond the September 30th deadline and, DO allow the government to shut down if Democrats refuse to kowtow to the hardline Republican budget demands.

The threat left Speaker McCarthy in a volatile position. He could side with Gaetz and the so-called “freedom” caucus, shut down the government for Republicans not getting their way, and risk a huge political hit in the 2024 election. Or, he could make a deal with Democrats to keep the government operating, avoid an election hit in 2024, but risk the wrath of Gaetz and his MAGA caucus.

McCarthy chose the latter and now, all hell has broken loose. Or, in other words, the recent bipartisan avoidance of a government shutdown means the Gaetz vs McCarthy political rumble is a go.

On Monday night, Rep. Gaetz made good on his threat to make Speaker McCarthy pay for his 11th-hour bipartisan deal when he introduced a motion to remove McCarthy as Speaker of the House.

“Kevin McCarthy, at one point or another, has lied to all of us,” Gaetz said. “I have enough Republicans where at this point next week, 1 of 2 things will happen: Kevin McCarthy won’t be the speaker of the House — or he’ll be the speaker of the House working at the pleasure of the Democrats.”

“Bring it on,” a defiant McCarthy responded only moments later on social media.

“Just did,” Gaetz immediately fired back.

The Gaetz vs McCarthy squabble has since set off fireworks inside the GOP and prompted members to take sides. One example comes from former House Speaker Newt Gingrich who took to X (formerly Twitter) to rip Matt Gaetz to shreds.

“Is Gaetz secretly an agent for the Democratic Party? Gingrich asked rhetorically. “No one else is doing as much to undermine, weaken and cripple the House GOP.

“The effort to expel Matt Gaetz for being a destructive, irresponsible anti-Republican may be a step too far,” he continued. “However expelling him from the House Republican Conference and eliminating all his committee assignments and all resources other than those an individual member is entitled to would be a rational response to his suicidal efforts to cripple the House GOP.”

With the Gaetz vs McCarthy duel already well underway, McCarthy may wish to start boxing up his office and preparing to move back among the general population.

He only became the speaker after making impossible deals with hard-line conservatives that he has since realized he can’t keep. So, he can only remain an effective Republican leader if he succumbs to their agenda and agrees to do their bidding.

Interestingly, McCarthy has a “Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free” card that could bail him out, at least temporarily. He could seek help from the Democrats to retain him as speaker when the vote comes to the floor. However, they’d be able to hold it over his head and effectively force him to work for the Democrats. Additionally, he’d be branded as a RINO (Republican In Name Only) and would be signing the death warrant for his own political career as a Republican.

We will soon see how this all plays out as the House now has 2 days to respond to the Gaetz motion to remove Speaker McCarthy.

Has McCarthy painted himself into an inescapable corner? Will Democrats come to McCarthy’s rescue to save him from his own party’s piranhas circling to take him down? Or, will Gaetz vs McCarthy be the ultimate end of his political career?

OK WASSUP! discusses Politics:
The Gaetz vs McCarthy political battle is a go!