What Kevin McCarthy's tedious speaker fight says about GOP authoritarianism

The Republicans who aren't backing McCarthy are reflecting a broader, if halting, trend toward a more "democratized" party, Noah Rothman writes. [VIEW IN BROWSER]( MSNBC DAILY Understand today's news [VIEW IN BROWSER]( MSNBC DAILY Understand today's news Jan. 6, 2023 THE LATEST [Alternate text] [What Kevin McCarthy's tedious speaker fight says about GOP authoritarianism]( by Noah Rothman According to many of its critics, the Republican Party has become an authoritarian party. The GOP, they argue, has developed a distaste for the trappings of democracy, cultural heterogeneity and the unenumerated norms that make republican self-rule work. It is difficult to square this ubiquitous indictment with the successes some of the most populist House Republicans have enjoyed in their unrelenting campaign to deny Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., the speaker's gavel. They are compelling an aspirant to one of the Constitution's highest stations to disaggregate that office's authority — and reflecting a broader, if halting, trend toward a more "democratized" party. This is a preview of Noah Rothman's latest article. [Read their full column here.](     TOP STORIES [Alternate text] [LISA RUBIN]( [Why Trump's latest attack on Ruby Freeman could be costly]( His revival of baseless claims against the former Georgia election worker could signal legal news — and might hurt his wallet, too.Read more.]( [JA'HAN JONES]( [What a whopping fine for Meta means for the future of Facebook and Instagram]( Privacy rules are Meta's biggest obstacle to world domination. [Read more.]( [ANTHEA BUTLER]( [The most surprising legacy of 'God's Rottweiler']( Even if he's never made a saint, conservative Catholics will revere Benedict XVI. Read more.]( [ZEESHAN ALEEM]( [China is lying about its horrific Covid crisis]( The World Health Organization and independent analysts are calling out China for vastly underreporting Covid-related statistics.[Read more.]( TOP VIDEOS [Alternate text] [THE LAST WORD]( [Trump's legal woes grow with Jan. 6 wrongful death lawsuit]( [MORNING JOE]( [Biden to mark Jan. 6 anniversary by honoring election workers, officers]( [THE BEAT WITH ARI]( [How Kevin McCarthy's losses echo past GOP revolt against John Boehner]( [THE REIDOUT]( [Psaki: Border policy talks are 'all optics, politics' to Republicans](     MORE FROM MSNBC [Alternate text] This week on the "[Why Is This Happening?"]( podcast, Maurice Mitchell, national director of the Working Families Party, joins Chris Hayes to delve into the debate inside progressive politics. Mitchell is also an activist and co-founder of Blackbird, an organization that has provided infrastructure support for the Black Lives Matter movement and other groups around the country. The social movement strategist wrote an article for The Forge called "[Building Resilient Organizations](," in which he described and shared potential solutions for overcoming some of the biggest problems within progressive spaces. He joins WITHpod to discuss the piece, roots of the longstanding political and social tensions within movements on the left and strategies for resetting. [Listen now](.   This week on "Into America," Trymaine Lee revisits 2022’s "Reconstructed" series, beginning with episode number 1, "Birth of a Black Nation," where he is joined by the great-grandson of late Congressman Robert Smalls to discuss how Black people gained political power and liberated their people during the Reconstruction Era. [Listen now](, wherever you get your podcasts.     [Image] [Image] 30 Rockefeller Plaza New York, NY 10112 [PRIVACY]( | [CONTACT]( | [UNSUBSCRIBE](listvar=sub_daily) [PRIVACY]( | [CONTACT]( | [UNSUBSCRIBE](listvar=sub_daily)