Nineteenth-century U.S. Sen. Henry Clay of Kentucky once said he’d “rather be right than [be] president.”
And the three-time Whig candidate, who wanted slavery ended but could not support the abolition movement, never was.
We see that attitude today in the likes of U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Florida, who said he wants to oust Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-California, from his leadership post because he worked with Democrats to avoid a government shutdown.
He believes the speaker breached his agreement on spending limits with the most conservative members of the Republican caucus from when he won his speakership in January.
Gaetz said Saturday he would file a motion to vacate [the speaker’s post] this week, a potentiality that McCarthy agreed to in a protracted battle to win his seat.