If Gaetz screws up his game and it results in a Democrat coalition Speaker, he should resign.
So should the rest of the 20
They almost would have to.
{paraphrasing Gaetz} “If McCarthy cuts a backroom deal with Dems to win the Speaker-ship, I’ll quit.”
McCarthy: “So if I cut a deal, I’m Speaker - AND I get rid of Gaetz? What was the downside again?”
Gaetz is an idiot. The Freedom Causus is not (yet) large enough to dictate terms to the GOP as a whole. Since the Tea Party days, conservatives have been chipping away and chipping away at the RINO’s. The RINOs are ever more marginalized in the GOP, but they still remain in large numbers.
The problem Gaetz has is that HE doesn’t have the numbers behind HIM. He is being impatient and overplaying his hand. His obstinance and insubordination are actually hurting the conservative and MAGA movements at the moment. And, regardless of outcome, he has also committed political suicide. There are now 202 fellow GOP congress-critters that won’t give him the time of day due to this stunt.
He would be well served to stand down, allow McCarthy as speaker with GOP votes, and continue to fight within the party for more conservative positions. The DEMS are the enemy, not his fellow Republicans. In other words, keep the family squabble within the family.