But the math isn’t the culprit. Given the slim majority the House GOP possesses, such dealmaking is tricky but not impossible: You can lose five Republicans (depending on absences or abstentions, that number could be higher) and still become speaker. McCarthy’s nomination was held up for 15 ballots until he made a deal.
The McCarthy deal was instructive, however, in that it was more of a power-sharing agreement than anything else: In exchange for their support, McCarthy gave Gaetz and a band of likeminded yahoos a veto over the business of the House. When McCarthy went around them to do that business, they got mad and pressed the eject button, ending his speakership after just nine months. More than anything, McCarthy’s crime was attempting to do normal legislating, which requires some degree of communication and collaboration with Democrats—two things Republicans are increasingly against. McCarthy only did this twice in nine months but that was two times too many.
If House Republicans had any actual objectives beyond stymying the Biden administration and blocking liberal priorities, it’s likely that we would have a speaker right now. But without a set of tangible and material policy goals to unite this party, they are unraveling. This is, relatedly, what has empowered Donald Trump, a strongman who has been able to transform a party without a vision into a cult of personality using some simple carrots (nice tweets) and sticks (mean tweets).