Noisy disruptors are tearing the Republican Party apart

You know the Republican Party is in deep trouble when its rivals literally bring bales of popcorn to enjoy as they watch the internecine squabble between its factions. “We are breaking the popcorn out in the Dem Caucus till the Republicans get their act together,” Ruben Gallego, an Arizona Democrat, wrote in a Tweet.

The Republican Party members held three rounds of unsuccessful voting over the next speaker of the House of Representatives. Ultimately, Kevin McCarthy failed to muster up enough votes from his own caucus to lead the chamber, and it remains unclear whether he will ever manage to do so. Republicans seized a majority of House seats during November’s midterm elections, but remain so internally divided that they have struggled to agree on a leader.

Those abroad watching the Republican Party cannibalise itself at a time when it should be triumphantly taking control of the third-most powerful office in Washington may be confused. At its heart, the split within the GOP pits ordinary right-wingers who make up the bulk of the party against ultra-extremists.

It has become painfully obvious that the battle inside the Republican Party is different than anything that preceded it. The split does not pivot on negotiable policy or ideology, such as the division within Democrats on single-payer healthcare, or within Republicans over isolationist vs interventionist foreign policy.

The rift in the Republican Party is about a clique of noisy disruptors angling to settle scores. They take to heart decades of Republican proselytising about the evils of government and the need to dismantle it. The 20 or so hardliners have little interest in the actual business of passing laws, but are there to throw political bombs – including by blocking McCarthy, a classic shapeshifting opportunist.

The extremists call themselves the “freedom caucus”. They have public reputations that are so awful they have little to lose by trashing the institution they were elected to serve in, just like those who stormed Congress two years ago.

Given the nearly comic absurdity of the players, the Democrats’ decision to kick back with some popcorn as they watch and snicker is exactly the right look.

Yours,

Borzou Daragahi

International correspondent