The Power of the Mob

I learned from watching Chris Hayes’s news show last evening that one of the concessions Kevin McCarthy had to make to the extreme right-wing, pro-authoritarian Republican nihilists to get the votes he needed to become Speaker of the House was that he would appoint three of them to the House Rules Committee, apparently giving them the power to block any piece of legislation, presumably including legislation to raise the debt ceiling and prevent the Government from defaulting on its obligations. It looks like ugly times lie ahead.