On Tuesday, a mutiny led by eight hardline conservatives toppled speaker Kevin McCarthy and plunged the House into chaos.
Rattled financial markets declined steeply and the prospects for a government shutdown six weeks from now rose dramatically.
The unforgivable sin that led Representative Matt Gaetz and a small band of Republican insurgents to move on McCarthy now?
Leaders who recognize the reality of compromise under divided government shouldn’t be ousted for working toward an accord.
It will only get worse until we change the rules and stop punishing what a functional democracy would reward.
In that Congress, the fairer one America deserves, forging consensus that Americans desire would be rewarded, not repudiated.
Matt Gaetz might be one of 435 members, but his caucus of eight wouldn’t hold power over the rest of us. »