For ultraconservatives in McCarthy’s red California district, speaker drama in D.C. was welcome
HANFORD, Calif. — At an Elks Lodge in the Central Valley, Larry Faria stood before a grassroots conservative group called the 1776 Sons of Liberty and asked for a show of hands.
It was Monday night, a few hours after U.S. House Republicans passed a set of operating rules for the new Congress that included concessions Kevin McCarthy made to the hard right during the historic 15 rounds of voting it took for him to become speaker.
“Raise your hand if you think we stood our ground for valuable concessions,” Faria asked.
Hands shot up.
“Raise your hand if you think it should have been a status quo vote for McCarthy.”
None rose.
Sure, McCarthy is the hometown guy from Bakersfield, representing the rural, agricultural Central Valley.
But the divides that have rankled the national GOP, humiliating McCarthy and temporarily stalling his long bid for the speaker’s gavel, are palpable in his reliably red district, which became even more conservative after
