Former RNC official slams 'spineless' Kevin McCarthy in brutal op-ed

29 September 2022

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) may want to be seen as a fierce, unwavering leader but a new op-ed is offering a critical assessment of the top-ranking Republican lawmaker.

In a new piece published by The Bulwark, Tim Miller described the California lawmaker as a "spineless suckup."

"The truth about Kevin McCarthy is that he’s a toadying, spineless suckup," Miller wrote. "He’s a Scar who thinks he’s a Simba. A Saul Goodman who thinks he’s a Gus Fring. A gimp who thinks he’s a master."

Miller pointed to a recent Washington Post piece titled, “How Kevin McCarthy’s political machine worked to sway the GOP field," noting the piece provides insight on "how McCarthy and his allies stamped out the crazies in their party, wielding power like a dark-timeline LBJ."

Miller included an excerpt from the piece which reads:

"Behind-the-scenes effort by top GOP donors and senior strategists to purge the influence of Republican factions that seek disruption and grandstanding, often at the expense of their GOP colleagues. The political machine around McCarthy has spent millions of dollars this year in a sometimes secretive effort to systematically weed out GOP candidates who could either cause McCarthy trouble if he becomes House speaker or jeopardize GOP victories."

Miller highlighted the rise and fall of Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) as an example of McCarthy's power.

"The central piece of evidence for the McCarthy-as-strong-congressional-leader case," he explained, "is the defeat of Madison Cawthorn, an unimaginably immature, Führer-stanning college dropout who was swept into Congress despite myriad unresolved personal issues stemming at least in part from a tragic car accident."

"Yes, the campaign to oust Cawthorn was successful, but it bears mentioning that it was also disgustingly homophobic boob bait," Miller writes. "The Post story does not indicate if the reporters uncovered whether McCarthy operatives were the source behind the grainy video and other leaks that heavily implied Cawthorn might be gay, but that was the word on the street among former colleagues of mine last spring."

Miller also pointed to the damning political ads McCarthy is taking credit for.

"The 'Results for N.C.' ads McCarthy is now claiming credit for provide additional evidence," he noted. "These ads included the now infamous pictures of Cawthorn in a lacy shirt and another of him shirtless on a pool raft with another man laying his head on his chest, as an ominous voiceover declares the candidate 'an embarrassment.'"

"So I guess on this count, we should give Kevin credit where credit is due," Miller wrote. "He successfully deployed the oldest trick in Washington and got rid of one headache with a 'wink, wink, Madison’s a fag' campaign."

Despite what McCarthy thinks about his influence over the party, Miller argues that it will not be enough to diminish the presence of Trump. "Regardless of what McCarthy’s allies did in a handful of races, the big picture is unambiguous. The House Republican conference next year will be more Trumpy, more conspiracy addled, and have more avowed insurrectionists than the current Congress"

"Nearly everyone who stood up to Trump will be gone. Meanwhile, according to the FiveThirtyEight analysis, '118 election deniers and seven election doubters have at least a 95% chance of winning.'”

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