How can you tell when conservatives (or anyone else, really) are really frightened? Whey they pretend that something that is a very big deal is not a very big deal. Ramesh Ponnuru illustrates this point beautifully when he “explains” that there are two things to keep in mind now that House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy has stunned every one of his colleagues by announcing that he isn’t going to seek election as House Speaker: “Republicans have a Speaker in Boehner and are likely to have him until they find someone who wants the job and can get 218 votes. Second is that while some Democrats are talking about the turmoil in the House spilling over into the presidential race, it would take much bigger developments to make many voters care about it.”
So what are you getting so worked up about? We have a Speaker, one who was made so miserable that he decided to quit in mid term and retire from Congress, who will (probably) stick around more or less indefinitely while Republicans search for someone who actually wants the job, which shouldn’t be too hard, despite the fact that first Boehner and then McCarthy have bailed, and Paul Ryan, everybody’s dream boy, says “No way, José” to everyone who asks him, and once we do find that person, well, it shouldn’t be too hard for him to get 218 votes, should it? At least, you can’t prove that it’s impossible! So what are you worried about?
I don’t know, Ramesh. What are you worried about? Because it sounds like you’re worried about something. Like maybe an all-out Republican Civil War that drives all the “sensible”—that is to say, rich—people into Hillary Clinton’s willing arms.
