While nobody knows the exact provenance of the phrase "Luck of the Irish", it has been a popular catchphrase for both dumb luck and lack of luck since the 19th century. The most common explanation for its origins is as a pejorative reference to the ability of the Irish to strike gold during the Gold Rush and other mining bonanzas. The reference to the "luck" of the Irish was meant to imply that it was luck, not hard work or intelligence, that brought their success in those and other endeavors. The origins of that adage have also been traced to the opposite meaning, i.e. the Bad luck of the Irish, for being under the boot of British Protestant rule for 400 years, poverty, the Potato Famine, etc.
Regardless of which version(s) are accurate, Kevin McCarthy and Conservatives now know that they can't rely on the “Luck of the Irish” for political success. I'm guessing that McCarthy, based on his surname, has at least some Irish heritage, so his Irish roots may give special meaning to this analysis.
Whether the "Luck of the Irish" reflects either good or bad luck, Democrats learned long ago that they could never rely on luck to reach their goals. Democratic success since the 1930s has always been a result of their playing the long game. Since the days of FDR, they have steered America towards a leftist, collectivist, and intellectually statist nation. In simple terms, they have labored long and hard to make sure that every function of government and society has become centralized, controlled, and federalized. Of course, FDR started with the vast expansion of the Federal Government, the addition of despotic Federal agencies answerable to nobody, which has evolved into the "Deep State", and the methodical destruction of local control of American life at every level.
Democratic success, in that regard, is to be admired for its perseverance and keeping the long view of its mission, which is the mission of the Left. The Left and their political apparatus have their philosophical guiding lights of Marxism, "Socialism," Wokeism, and all of the other "isms" that rip the authority away from the individual and the family for the purpose of delivering them to the state.
However, the one quality that makes them so effective is that they stick together. Democrats in political office, at least at the Federal level, almost never jump ship… In Congress, they stand united to keep their power and use their power effectively to further their goals.
The same cannot be said for Republicans or Conservatives.
Unlike the Dems and the Democrat Industrial Complex, Conservatives and Republicans have no vision and, since the days of Nelson Rockefeller, have had no coherent philosophy. The so-called "Rockefeller Republicans" are the earliest identifiable "Liberal Republicans" who have evolved into the RINOs of today.
Rhetorically, "Liberal Republicans" generally claim to be "fiscally conservative and socially liberal." That mindset has become hackneyed and false. Congressional Republicans and the President, for that matter, are "fiscally conservative and socially liberal." They have proven themselves to be every bit as spendthrift as the Dems but without purpose or mission. They have also proven themselves to be just as witlessly insouciant on social issues that matter to the average American.
Now, to the point… Nancy Pelosi was a brilliantly effective Speaker. Naturally, from a conservative perspective, it is easy to despise almost everything that she got signed into law as Speaker, but the fact is that she was a leader. She even made the sissified former Republican Speaker cry in his silly and humiliating honorific speech about her. Boehner was a man of no accomplishment as Speaker. While Paul Ryan didn't do the sissy thing as far as I know, he also accomplished nothing that could have been construed as meaningful conservative legislation.
The ouster of Kevin McCarthy on October 3, 2023, as Speaker, which included a necessary 8 Republican votes, was but another example regarding the lack of cohesion, vision, or any sense of mission that Republicans have for using their legislative power to accomplish the hallowed goals of the Republican Party or anything related to a conservative political agenda.
My hat is off to you, Dems. While you are steering America off a cliff into a dystopian Leftist society, your philosopher kings, i.e., Marx, Mao, Castro, Guevara, Alinsky, etc., have kept you on course. You haven't veered from your mission since the days of FDR, and in that regard, I admire your determination.
As for so-called "Conservative Republicans", your accomplishments are few, and the "Luck of the Irish" won't save you… Just ask Kevin McCarthy.
-Emes