Politics is power, which is fleeting. Those with power are wise to use it while it lasts. Democrats understand this and play accordingly. Republicans, by sharp contrast, volunteer to lose.

The GOP's self-destructive nature escalated Tuesday when eight of 221 Republicans joined Democrats to oust Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. The effort, led by Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz and assisted by Colorado Republican Rep. Ken Buck allowed Democrats to take down the highest-ranking Republican in the country — a man third in line for the presidency.

The difference between Monday and Tuesday is the difference between having one top-ranking Republican in Washington versus having none. Though Republicans control the House by eight seats, Democrats control the Senate and the White House — and now, it appears, the House again.

A member of The Gazette's editorial board spoke Monday with Buck and Gaetz as they prepared to dethrone McCarthy. Each spoke of a man they distrust.

"He's just not an honest person," Buck said of McCarthy. "Democrats don't like him because he makes them promises and doesn't keep them. He made promises during the speakers' race, that he would appropriate at a certain level. Then he promised he would appropriate at a higher level. Then he told moderates in the House another number. He has three different numbers out there, they are all promises he made, and now he's stopped trying to reconcile those differences."

Gaetz spoke about the pressure he has faced to work with McCarthy and other Republicans he considers too eager to compromise away the party's core principles — namely fiscal restraint.

"I've often heard calls for unity that come right before the worse decisions we make," Gaetz said, just as he went to work unseating McCarthy.

"There was great unity around the COVID lockdowns. There was total unity on the left and the right when we entered these Middle East wars. We aren't any safer because of either."

We appreciate Buck's independent streak. He has been among the first to warn fellow Republicans against campaigning on 2020 election conspiracy theories and myths about the Capitol riot of Jan. 6, 2020.

Nor does Gaetz feign party loyalty.

"We are on the eve of the real big distinction," Gaetz told The Gazette on Monday. "It isn't Republican versus Democrat going forward, it is change agents versus the status quo."

We get the sentiment, and it sounds pretty good. Gaetz, Buck and the other six believe in principle over party. It is hard to deny the nobility of this stand, especially over beers at Old Ebbitt Grill.

Just blocks away in Congress, politics doesn't work that way. It is a team sport — for better or worse — pitting one party against another. That's not going to change during the 118th Congress or anytime soon. It is the nature of the beast.

Precisely because politics demands teamwork, all 208 Democrats present Tuesday assisted in removing the GOP's only top leader in Washington.

For Democrats, Tuesday was cause for celebration. They left their Republican opponents rudderless, embattled and feverishly searching for leadership. The next speaker will quickly face reality, including the need to work with the party that controls the White House and Senate.

Buck, Gaetz and the other six made this mess knowing their side lacks time to waste.

"We have a serious border crisis, inflation, crime — issues we should be focused on to win elections," Buck told The Gazette on Monday.

Exactly.

Under McCarthy, Republicans made too little progress addressing our most pressing problems. He was far from ideal. Yet, House Republicans today have no time to move an agenda. They're too busy finding their next embattled leader.

The Gazette Editorial Board

REPRINTED FROM THE COLORADO SPRINGS GAZETTE

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