The Petty Rivalries that Fester

What I warned you all would happen is now on the verge of happening.

House Conservatives rallied the whole of the House GOP Conference on a starting negotiating position with the Senate that would have cut government by 8%. They would not have gotten that at all, but they would have started their negotiations from an 8% cut and worked to a small cut, but still a cut.

Unfortunately, Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz led a half-dozen Republicans to scuttle the opening salvo because he wanted to undermine Kevin McCarthy to seek McCarthy’s ouster. Gaetz had the votes to obstruct cutting government but not to gut McCarthy’s leadership.

So now, House Republicans and Democrats have joined together to pass a measure to keep the government open for forty-five days, and the GOP has had to abandon its plan to seek government cuts.

One petty rivalry has ended any effort to cut government meaningfully. And, as I predicted, because Gaetz and the half-dozen could offer no alternative plan, Republicans and Democrats joined together to keep the government open.

I told you this would happen. “Shut it down” is great if there is an alternative plan. But there was nothing other than rejecting the various other proposals to oust McCarthy with no actual plan somehow.

Congratulations everyone. I told you so.