Stop the pearl-clutching, my fellow Republicans. This drama over the House speakership is the best thing that could have happened. 

Well, maybe not the best thing: that would have been a 30-vote Republican majority in the House.  That would have stopped the Democrat’s big spending, radical leftist agenda dead in its tracks. That would have let the Speaker of the House to tell Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to pound sand. But the supermajority didn’t happen.  

The bitter battle to confirm Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as House Speaker is finally over, and the groundwork has been laid for the 118th Congress. 

But the multiday, historically long process laid bare the divisions and potential issues McCarthy and House Republicans face as they seek to pass legislation, launch investigations and get reelected in two years.

So what lies ahead for McCarthy, the GOP and Democrats? 

Here are six things to watch as Speaker McCarthy takes his seat:

How much did the Speaker battle weaken McCarthy?

On the fourth of 14 failed attempts this week to elect Kevin McCarthy as speaker, Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) complained that Democrats and the media were enjoying the House Republicans’ meltdown too much.

“In some ways they’re salivating,” the lawmaker complained in his speech re-re-renominating McCarthy. “The schadenfreude is palpable.”

No doubt some took pleasure in the Republicans’ pain. But as a longtime reviewer of political theater, I found nothing enjoyable about this performance.