Kevin the neophyte

Created
Thu, 25/05/2023 - 05:00
Updated
Thu, 25/05/2023 - 05:00
The future of he world economy is in the hands of fools You’d think dealing with people this stupid would mean that the Democrats have the upper hand. But bargaining with neophytes and nihilists isn’t as easy as you might think. They don’t understand the ramifications of what they are doing: Kevin McCarthy is finally a leading player in a huge Washington drama with his gavel on the line. But as his team sits down with President Joe Biden’s, McCarthy is confronting a handicap that even his allies acknowledge is real: Four years in the minority have left him, and the entire GOP conference, with little practice at monumental bipartisan negotiations like the current debt fight. Before John Boehner became speaker, he worked across the aisle on a landmark education overhaul. Paul Ryan took over the House after helming a massive budget deal that even Democrats called a blueprint for future talks. McCarthy brings a far different profile to the table. As minority leader, he was largely sidelined during the type of high-stakes talks with Democrats that he’s now helming. And while Speaker McCarthy is keeping his often-fractious members in his corner more consistently than his predecessors, his newness to the glare of White House negotiations leaves Washington without a decoder ring for his public vows that — even as the two sides stay far apart on big issues — a deal is still possible by next week. “That’s been one of the things that is concerning at this point,” said…