Democrats Blew a Huge Political Win By Not Saving Kevin McCarthy as House Speaker

 Matt Lewis, Daily Beast -  For the first time in United States history, a Speaker of the House of Representatives has been removed from his post. And while you can’t blame Democrats for the blow that right-wing bomb throwers landed on Kevin McCarthy, what you can say is that they failed to do the right thing on behalf of the American people. Let me explain. It would be understandable if Democrats decided to remain neutral on Tuesday (by voting “present”), reasoning that it is a Republican civil war. But they didn’t. Instead, by voting “no” on the procedural motion to table Rep. Matt Gaetz’s motion—and then voting “yes” on his Motion to Vacate the Office of Speaker—Democrats effectively voted for Gaetz. And a vote for Gaetz is a vote for chaos.

This same dynamic is reflected in the broader GOP civil war between responsible governance and dysfunction. And what’s worse is that sanity is losing. That’s the case in the GOP presidential primary race, where Donald Trump is running away with the nomination. And McCarthy’s ouster is yet another example from the legislative front. Instead of siding with sanity, Democrats have decided to side with Gaetz. It’s not a good look....

As Washington Monthly’s Bill Scher—who concedes “there’s plenty to dislike” about Kevin McCarthy—writes, the now-deposed speaker “has proven willing to take political risks so we keep the government open and pay our debt obligations. It may be the lowest bar. But he clears it. And Democrats need him to clear it.”

Most Democrats presumably want to help Ukraine fend off Russia’s invasion. If so, it’s hard to imagine a Gaetz-backed speaker helping fund Ukraine’s war efforts to the degree McCarthy has.