Leadership is easy when the stream of events contains nothing of an adverse nature. It’s only when hard decisions come tumbling down the river, and the river gets out of its banks and threatens to wash away all held dear, does good leadership really come to the fore.
I’d say the town is washing away as GOP leadership – a word to be put in quotes by those of us with a quaint disposition – has failed to look beyond its nose when it comes to new Rep George Santos (R-NY):
McCarthy told reporters on Thursday that Santos has “a long way to go to earn trust” and that concerns could be investigated by the House Ethics Committee, but emphasized that Santos is a part of the House GOP conference.
“The voters of his district have elected him. He is seated. He is part of the Republican conference,” he said at a news conference on Capitol Hill.
The controversy surrounding Santos is presenting an early test of McCarthy’s leadership as speaker and has created a major issue for the new GOP majority.
Majority Leader Steve Scalise, a Louisiana Republican, echoed McCarthy, saying, “Obviously, you know, we’re finding out more, but we also recognize that he was elected by his constituents.”
House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, a New York Republican who endorsed Santos in his race, would not call on the embattled freshman to resign on Thursday.
“It will play itself out,” she told CNN. “He’s a duly elected member of Congress. There have been members of Congress on the Democrat side who have faced investigations before.” [CNN/Politics]
Trying to focus on the facts about Rep Santos results in this.
These excuses are quite rank, easily disassembled by anyone willing to take a moment and think about them. This is not leadership. Leadership would recognize that Santos, a very bad apple whose depths may not yet be plumbed, should be expelled, and acted quickly to stanch the bleeding.
What are the consequences of ignoring the problem? McCarthy’s told every corrupt-politico wannabe that he’ll tolerate their presence in the House of Representatives’ GOP caucus. He’s told every voter who’ll pay attention that the GOP is loaded with scalawags and grasping power mongers, who are unworthy of any elective office.
He’s told his caucus that his leadership skills are non-existent.
And the caucus may be listening. At least eight GOP Reps (here and here) have expressed their dismay that Santos is in the House, and under the colors of the Republican Party. Most or all of them want him gone.
McCarthy & his leadership group are off to a very poor start. McCarthy was stripped and manhandled by the far-right extremists, and then here on his very first challenge, he’s refused to take decisive action.
That action would have been to move to expel Santos from the House. Yes, Santos managed to get himself elected by a GOP that failed to do its gatekeeper job, but McCarthy’s message would be We forthrightly cleaned up our mistake, and voters would have appreciated that.
Instead, he’ll be a festering, maggoty wound on the side of the Republican elephant, and when the special election does come around, chances are that the Democrats will easily take the seat. Indeed, this could be a problem for all swing-district Republicans, and those expressing disapproval may be trying to immunize their re-election efforts.
But McCarthy’s off to such a rocky start that I foresee withdrawing my labeling of Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) as the worst Speaker in the modern era, and moving that label to McCarthy.
