When we last checked in with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, he had issued a statement that failed to hold Donald Trump responsible for months of lies about the election, underhanded attempts to overturn it, and then the violence on the 6th.
McCarthy subsequently spoke on the House floor, in a call for unity, explained why he would oppose impeachment:
A vote to impeach will further divide the nation. A vote to impeach will further fan the flames of partisan division.
Most Americans want neither inaction nor retribution. They want durable, bipartisan justice. That path is still available, but it is not the path we are on today.
He continued by placing a measure of responsibility on Trump:
That doesn’t mean the President is free from fault. The President bears responsibility for Wednesday’s attack on Congress by mob rioters. He should have immediately denounced the mob when he saw what was unfolding.
These facts require immediate actions by President Trump: Accept his share of responsibility. Quell the brewing unrest. And ensure President-Elect Biden is able to successfully begin his term.
In the context of a months-long campaign before November 4 to undermine the election, repeated attempts to overthrow the results afterwards, and stirring up a mob to demand that the Vice President and Congress declare Trump, not Biden, the victor, this is pretty weak tea.
Nor is this circumscribed view of the President’s responsibility surprising considering Congressman McCarthy’s role in the subversion.
On November 5 on Fox News, McCarthy insisted:
We can unite together. And you don’t need to be a Republican. If you believe in every legal vote needs to count, if you believe in American process, join together and let’s stop this.
McCarthy — whom Trump affectionately calls, “My Kevin” — ingratiated himself with Trump with a lie, which he followed up with a call to action: “Let’s stop this.”
A month later, McCarthy was one of 126 GOP House members — well over half the caucus — to sign onto a meritless court challenge to Biden’s victory.
On January 6, he voted to reject Biden’s victory in Arizona. And then, hours after the violence in the Capitol, McCarthy cast a vote with 137 other House Republicans to reject the electoral votes of Pennsylvania.
McCarthy lied about the outcome of the election. He urged on others to act on this lie. He joined a suit in court to overturn the results. Then he voted to throw out Biden’s victories in two battleground states that Trump falsely claims he won.
McCarthy doesn’t offer a mea culpa or an apology or even an excuse for this string of “undemocratic, un-American, and criminal” actions (to borrow his words). He doesn’t acknowledge his bad behavior at all. Instead he appeals for unity.
In his spoken remarks that evening, McCarthy said, “this call for unity may ring hollow.” That’s for sure.
(Image: PBS.)