Rep.-elect Ben Zeno reveled in the chaos his new congressman helped unleash. Rep.-elect Keith Self (R-Tex.) flipped to Kevin McCarthy on Friday amid negotiations. Interviews with constituents of Self and another freshman lawmaker shed light on GOP’s internal strife. Self and Crane backed off after a cascade of concessions from McCarthy. “It has become clear to me that a couple of individuals are simply obstructionists,” Self said. Some fear stoking voters’ fears of the party’s far right after a midterm election in which Democrats cast the GOP as extreme.
