Clown Car Caucus

 It's difficult to see how Kevin McCarthy gets to 218 votes to become Speaker. The recalcitrant fools in the Clown Car Caucus (Chaos Caucus) are simply amped up versions of the broader GOP: they exist to feed their grievances; they have not legitimate or popular governing issues; they are simply in DC to preen for Rightist media.

There are three constituencies impacted by this chaos.

First, the GOP will spend the next two years reminding everyone how fucking nuts they are. They will be unable to do anything substantive, creating more chaos in a caucus with unrealistic ideas that somehow Hunter Biden's laptop will make Trump president again. They will impeach Biden, likely over Afghanistan, and it will be yet another shitshow upon shitshow. Sober minded members of the GOP - the few that remain - realize this for the act of self-immolation that it is.

Second, Democrats are going to eat this up. For all the reasons this will look chaotic and incompetent from the POV of the non-Fox poisoned American, Democrats will be in the firm "point and laugh" mode. GOP extremism will remain front and center in American minds leading into 2024.

Finally, there is the broader Republic. How will we survive the chaos of this House? Ideally, we would need to pass two budgets between now and 2024, but that is almost impossible to happen. Perhaps we can get enough continuing resolutions and debt ceiling stop gaps to prevent a complete meltdown, and perhaps the very weakness of McCarthy will enable about six Republicans to cross the aisle to keep the lights on.

Every GOP House since 1994 has been a suicide bomber in the heart of America's fiscal obligations. Maybe this time they blow it up, but more likely they blow themselves up.

UPDATE: At some point, will Democrats unify with a handful of Republicans to make someone like former Maryland governor Larry Hogan Speaker? The Speaker need not be a sitting member of the House. OTOH, Hogan would be basically a rump GOP/Democratic Speaker, with the idea being that basic bills will pass the House, but no more.