Speaking to MSNBC on Tuesday former GOP strategist Brendan Buck, who previously worked for Speakers Paul Ryan and John Boehner, blamed far-right GOP tantrums on the financial benefits and facetime they are rewarded with on conservative media.
He also explained that there is some truth to what the far-right has complained about – McCarthy made a deal with that caucus, and he hasn't kept up his part of the bargain.
One of the main problems is that McCarthy made a deal that anybody could call a vote to remove him at any time. That deal was put in place on the off chance that a Speaker became incapacitated or "senile," said Buck. It was not intended to be used to hold Congress hostage.
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Host Chris Jansing read a tweet from Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-MT) who complained, "Unfortunately, Kevin McCarthy violated his promise to the American people and the Republican Conference by working against them repeatedly and supporting ploys to aid the Left. This demonstration of failed leadership is exactly why I plan on supporting the motion to vacate this afternoon."
Buck said he's shocked Rosendale didn't end the tweet with "Vote for Me for Senate!" because he's running for U.S. Senate and is now in a primary race.
"That's what's going on here," Buck said of the fight in the GOP. "We have a lot of members in the House Republican conference who are just deeply selfish and for political reasons. They're doing what works for them.
"Matt Gaetz is giving himself a leg up to be the next governor of Florida. That's what a lot of this is about for some of these people. If you're McCarthy now, I think What you have to worry about is a jailbreak. Which is when the outcome looks certain and now members feel like it's a free vote. And for a lot of them, maybe it is good politics in their primary or for whatever their future plans are, to stand up to the establishment."
Buck said that he doesn't anticipate the anti-McCarthy vote would reach 20 among Republicans.
"It doesn't advance anything. It advances themselves," Buck continued. "That's why so many Republicans are frustrated. There's really no recourse. This is the system we've set up where they are rewarded for doing this. They get attention. They raise money. They don't need anything from leadership. They can sort of take it over and now they get to choose who the next Speaker of the House is. Nobody can become Speaker without their endorsement. That's what they want right now."
See his full comments in the video below or at the link here.
Gaetz tantrumyoutu.be
