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Is it possible this has all been theater? [1]

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Date: 2023-01-06  

Ever since folks have been philosophizing whether or not Kevin McCarthy is only somewhat spineless or if he is fully an inveterate invertebrate.

Yet consider that when the GOP squeaked out their barest of victories for control of the House, it was always a question of how much McCarthy would cater to the MAGA caucus in his midst. He already apparently had worked out a power-sharing arrangement of sorts with Marjorie Taylor Greene, eking out a new leadership position for her. (That’s probably still on the table, by the way.)

But with all of the legal trouble that Trump, their party’s avatar, has garnered over the last six months, it’s rather toxic to be seen openly courting their votes. The way to make that palatable is to make it seem as though all of his concessions were extracted by force or coercion.

We’ve been gripped with the drama of the last several days. But odds are, the theatrics (if that is what they are) end tonight, because not only have the extortionists gotten what they wanted—by doing absolutely nothing but being immovable—but they and McCarthy each and all have established the running narrative for the next two(?) years: McCarthy will bend over backwards for the Freedom Caucasus Caucus because they have him over a barrel, not because he fully entered into an agreement with them to let them to orchestrate floor proceedings.

I’ve had this suspicion for a bit, but I sat on it, waiting to see if anything fireworks would happen on the floor today. (Yesterday, I admit, Matt Gaetz’ nomination of Trump threw me for a loop; maybe he really was just signaling fealty for the camera.) I don't know. But the “movement” of 14 votes from last night to this afternoon, and conveniently Byron Donalds himself voting for McCarthy first thing after being thrust into contention for the nomination by his caucus, signals to me that more than armtwisting may be going on.

One of the things I’d considered about Matt Gaetz’s move yesterday was that it might be a form of costly signaling. I’ve written about the term in another context:

‘Costly signaling’ is an anthropological term referring to ritual activities that require serious commitment of emotional, intellectual, and/or financial resources from members of that faith community. These costly displays identify a person as a member of a select community or group simultaneously signaling to those within and outside the group, the depth of the person’s commitment to the beliefs and/or causes of the community (Sosis 169-170). Costly signaling to faith communities means that people will engage in behaviors that are difficult, even dangerous, in order to publicly express faith. (“Self Control, Fatalism, and Health in Appalachia,” Journal of Appalachian Studies, Vol. 17, No. 1/2, p. 110, emphasis mine)

Xavier Marquez, a political theorist, also has discussed costly signaling in the context of what he terms “the mechanics of cult production.”*

What McCarthy went through, in an edge case, could be the worst form of hazing in order to provide that costly signal to the MAGA camp.

Just a suspicion. (Take this diary as a thought experiment!) I do firmly believe that the voting will end tonight, though, if for no other reason than it will symbolize McCarthy’s and the Chaos Caucus’ reign as beginning on the anniversary of one of the most notorious days in MAGA’s history. (Also, they’re beginning to get pelted with peanuts from their staunchest apologists, in the cheapest of seats.)

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/1/6/2145853/-Is-it-possible-this-has-all-been-theater

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