Whoever fears camp is dead should treat themselves and watch the "farewell speech" delivered by Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., on December 14. It is no exaggeration to say I guffawed my way through it. The term "stuffed shirt" was invented for a character such as McCarthy, who resigned his office after being ousted as speaker of the House earlier this year. It's unfathomably huge, the gulf between his self-conception as a noble statesman and the sniveling clown perceived by everyone else. It would be tragic if it weren't so hilarious, a conflict that is the ground from which camp takes root.
"I loved every single day," McCarthy started. It felt like hearing a man toast his wife at their 50th-anniversary party even though everyone knows he hasn't lived with her since the infamous "buying a boat without telling her" incident of 2003.
