Abby Livingston: “It hardly bears repeating, but Kevin McCarthy had many, many weaknesses as speaker. But he was also indisputably the most active political animal in this generation’s House G.O.P. conference. He was an active recruiter, strategist, mentor, and fundraiser, and nobody in the conference demonstrated his level of interest or work ethic when it came to electing House members. So what happens now that this force has been neutralized?”
“I’m wary of drawing sweeping conclusions about how this present chaos will impact the House races next year. (Most analysts say the fight for the majority is a pure tossup, if not slightly leaning toward Democrats.) Of course, when John Boehner resigned in 2015, Republicans were concerned that his exit would destabilize the N.R.C.C. and the G.O.P.-aligned super PAC Congressional Leadership Fund. But then Paul Ryan ascended to the speakership, and raised even more money than Boehner. The problem for the House G.O.P. is that they’ve burned through all of their Paul Ryans.”
