For PBS NewsHour’s regular weekly recap on Friday with New York Times columnist David Brooks and Washington Post associate editor Jonathan Capehart, the news that the national debt surpassed $33 trillion was deemed so unimportant that it was not mentioned. What was considered important are the internal power dynamics within the Republican Party.
Host William Brangham asked Brooks about the possibility of a government shutdown, “Congress has left for the long weekend. I guess they think it's a good time to take a break. But we are awfully close to this government shutdown. How close do you think we really are?”
Brooks replied that the country is “quite close” to having that happen, “And the core cause is that there are a group of members of Congress who are not interested in practical governance. They're right that our deficits are too big on the far right of the Republican Party, but they have no strategy to get there. And so they're basically a bunch of nihilistic performance artists.”
The line about deficits being too high was the only reference to the nation’s finances in the entire segment. If Brooks, as the reportedly conservative half of Brooks and Capehart, sincerely believes that then he should have either endorsed a plan to address the debt or gone after Democrats for those huge deficits.
As it was, PBS was more interested in palace intrigue, with Brooks claiming “And so Speaker [Kevin] McCarthy has to decide what to do. And the core, simple truth should be, well, we don't allow performance artists to have power. And he's giving them a lot of power, because he's refusing to or is unable or unwilling to cut a deal with the Democrats and sort of freeze out the people on the right.”
Brooks also contended that if McCarthy is truly worried about his job, “he should take them on right now and try to cut some sort of deal, or stick to the deal he cut with Joe Biden, actually.”
Brangham then turned to Capehart to continue with the power politics angle, “I mean, David is describing the idea that McCarthy still has some agency in all of this. But it seems like, in the last few weeks and days, it seems like he's utterly lost control of his own caucus.”
Capehart naturally agreed, “I mean, that's assuming he had any control to begin with and let's not forget — and it's now a mantra — it took 15 ballots for him to get the speaker's gavel to begin with. But I agree with David. The Speaker needs to exert some control. He has a five-seat — five-seat majority. Get it. Totally understand it.”
Urging McCarthy to be more like Nancy Pelosi, Capehart continued, “Speaker Pelosi also had a similar majority, and she got a lot done. And why? Because she exercised the power of the office. Speaker McCarthy absolutely should tell this rump faction within his majority to ‘go stuff it. I have governing to do. We have governing to do. We can't allow the government to shut down.’”
Even less concerned about the debt then Brooks, Capehart concluded, “And this is the fork in the road that the Speaker is going to — is facing. Unfortunately, I have no confidence that the Speaker will choose — will — won't choose holding onto the gavel versus showing real governance, passing a CR, getting these budget bills passed. He's going to keep that Speaker's gavel at all costs, and we’ll pay for it.”
We’ll also pay for the debt sooner or later and if PBS doesn’t want “nihilistic performance artists” running the show, then they change their definition of responsible governance and demand Democrats address runaway spending after passing an unnecessary COVID stimulus package and a misnamed Inflation Reduction Act.
Here is a transcript for the September 22 show:
PBS NewsHour
9/22/2023
7:35 PM ET
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: David, Congress has left for the long weekend. I guess they think it's a good time to take a break. But we are awfully close to this government shutdown. How close do you think we really are?
DAVID BROOKS: Quite close. Well, in time terms, it's basically a week. In probability terms, there's a very high probability that the government will shut down, and we will be where we have been before. And the core cause is that there are a group of members of Congress who are not interested in practical governance. They're right that our deficits are too big on the far right of the Republican Party, but they have no strategy to get there. And so they're basically a bunch of nihilistic performance artists. And…
BRANGHAM: That looks great on a business card.
DAVID BROOKS: Yes, that was my nickname in high school, so I know. And so Speaker McCarthy has to decide what to do. And the core, simple truth should be, well, we don't allow performance artists to have power. And he's giving them a lot of power, because he's refusing to or is unable or unwilling to cut a deal with the Democrats and sort of freeze out the people on the right.
And, in my view, he should take them on right now, because his power will wane, and his fear is, he will lose his job as Speaker. But I think his — if he wants to keep the Speaker job, he will be weaker in two weeks. He will be weaker in three weeks, when everyone's upset about a government shutdown, than he is right now.
And so, in my view, he should take them on right now and try to cut some sort of deal, or stick to the deal he cut with Joe Biden, actually.
BRANGHAM: I mean, David is describing the idea that McCarthy still has some agency in all of this. But it seems like, in the last few weeks and days, it seems like he's utterly lost control of his own caucus.
CAPEHART: I mean, that's assuming he had any control to begin with and let's not forget — and it's now a mantra — it took 15 ballots for him to get the speaker's gavel to begin with. But I agree with David. The Speaker needs to exert some control. He has a five-seat — five-seat majority. Get it. Totally understand it.
Speaker Pelosi also had a similar majority, and she got a lot done. And why? Because she exercised the power of the office. Speaker McCarthy absolutely should tell this rump faction within his majority to “go stuff it. I have governing to do. We have governing to do. We can't allow the government to shut down."
And this is the fork in the road that the Speaker is going to — is facing. Unfortunately, I have no confidence that the Speaker will choose — will — won't choose holding onto the gavel versus showing real governance, passing a CR, getting these budget bills passed. He's going to keep that Speaker's gavel at all costs, and we’ll pay for it.
