House Republicans have now entered their 4th week of infighting with still no selected Speaker of the House in sight. Is it time for the party of misfits to divorce each other, secede, and create a new party?
Politics :
It’s been exactly 3 weeks to the day since GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz and a gaggle of his MAGA cronies upended the US House of Representatives by giving former speaker Kevin McCarthy the boot. Although Gaetz and company gained some short-term fame from the Trump crazies by creating chaos on Capitol Hill, they caused long-term disgrace by failing to have a plan in place on what to do once McCarthy was gone.
Now, there’s gridlock like no tomorrow within the lower chamber of Congress and no viable plan in place on how to move forward.
Let’s take a look at some of the bright ideas the Grand Ol’ Party has recently suggested in order to solve their politically paralyzing stalemate:
After losing the speaker vote twice last week, Rep. Jim Jordan somehow convinced himself that a 3rd vote would be the charm. He even had his MAGA “henchmen” send threatening texts to the family members of several GOP lawmakers who dared to not support his candidacy (as if the threat of more January 6th-style violence was the solution to change their votes and their minds). Too bad for him but his plan failed miserably.
Taking it to a different level, Bacon tells me his wife even received multiple anonymous emails and texts from people over the past few days w/ implied message: vote Jordan or be booted
— Olivia Beavers (@Olivia_Beavers) October 17, 2023
Here are a few she received. https://t.co/VZQyfDCmeA https://t.co/ekFbEr24IM pic.twitter.com/FwwVvSrrvo
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Moderates are growing increasingly irritated with the tactics Jordan allies are using to pressure them into voting for him, with one member noting the Hannity show has gotten involved in the efforts sending potential defectors the email below. One lawmaker said the push is… pic.twitter.com/ulOn0ZEbts
— Juliegrace Brufke (@juliegraceb) October 15, 2023
Not only did he lose the 2nd vote by a margin greater than the 1st, but he then went on to lose the 3rd vote by a margin greater than the 2nd. Or, in other words, he’s out of the race — again.
Late last week, some Republicans spoke with moderate Democrats about the possibility of giving the temporary leader, House Speaker pro tempore Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC), special limited powers so that the House could at least pass a few bills piling up and get some of the people’s work done.
However, The Three Stooges, better known as anti-LGBTQ+ extremists Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), and Lauren Boebert (R-CO) each threw a hissy fit over the idea.
“I’m against Speaker-Light, I’m against Bud Light,” Gaetz was quoted as telling the GOP conference regarding the idea of an “almost” speaker. “Twisting and torturing the Constitution to empower a temporary speaker is having a ‘Speaker Light.’ That is not constitutionally contemplated, is deeply infirm, and I will do everything possible to stop it.”
“I will not sit back and watch a complete betrayal of the GOP base with this ‘plan’ that’s being discussed,” Boebert chimed in via a tweet. “I ran because I was sick and tired of politicians coming up here and cutting deals and releasing ‘holier than thou’ statements about why we just had to accept it.”
That’s when, according to NBC News, McHenry became so fed up with his party’s infighting that he delivered them an ultimatum: either elect him as the official Speaker of the House with all the powers and responsibilities that come with the job, or else he’ll quit if he is relegated to some temporary position with limited powers.
“If you guys try to do that, you’ll figure out who the next person on Kevin’s list is,” McHenry told his fellow Republicans, referring to former Speaker McCarthy’s secret list of GOP lawmakers he wanted as temporary speaker in the event of a vacancy.
Not long thereafter, the 8 rogue Republicans who ousted McCarthy came up with a scheme of their own. They told their party members they were “prepared to accept censure, suspension, or removal” for their actions under one condition: that members of the GOP hand Jim Jordan the gavel.
While I stand by my vote in support of the Motion to Vacate the Chair, I understand that it’s caused some anger and dissent across the Republican Conference.
— Matt Rosendale (@RepRosendale) October 20, 2023
The eight of us don’t want this anger to prevent Members from voting for Jim Jordan as Speaker, which is why we accept… pic.twitter.com/JmZ7DrYZwL
Their plan was swiftly rejected.
At some point over the weekend, 9 somewhat unknown Republicans came forward to announce that perhaps they would try their hand at running for Speaker of the House. They include House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.), Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.), Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), Rep. Jack Bergman (R-Mich.), Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.), Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas), Rep. Dan Meuser (R-Pa.), and Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Ala.).
Regrettably, there doesn’t appear to be a single candidate among the list of 9 who can get 217 Republicans to elect them as the next speaker. Moreover, even if one of them is elected, there is nothing in place to prevent them from losing the faith of their conference and facing the same fate as Kevin McCarthy in the weeks and months ahead.
“This is my 10th term in Congress. This is probably one of the most embarrassing things I’ve seen,” House Foreign Affairs Chair Michael McCaul (R-Texas) told ABC News on Sunday. “We’re essentially shut down as a government.”
Truer words were never spoken.
Let’s face it. House Republicans and, on a larger scale, the Republican Party is not a match made in heaven. More specifically, it’s no longer the Party of Lincoln or Reagan centered around a goal of fiscal conservatism and (in the words of Reagan) the 11th commandment: “Thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican.”
To put it bluntly, the Republican Party is no longer the Republican Party as we know it. It’s a mish-mash of splintered groups and individual factions whose only common ground is to hate Democrats, gays, and abortion. Aside from that, the MAGAs, moderates, militia members, racists, white supremacists, and gun-toting homophobes who make up this new Republican Party mix about as well as oil and water.
If the GOP ever wants to win another national election or appear capable of governing again, a divorce may be their only real hope. Perhaps it’s time for them to break off from the Trump/MAGA nutjobs. Perhaps it’s time to run political candidates for office who actually want to get things done (unlike Jim Jordan, who’s never sponsored a single bill in 16 years and whose only claim to fame is being a divider — yet, thought he was qualified to be a legislator and server as Speaker of the House).
Perhaps it’s time to create a new party!
OK WASSUP! discusses Politics:
Is it time for House Republicans to launch a new party?
Good post DJ! Of course none of them have the Courage, or the intelligence quite frankly, to break off from the Republican party and start a new party. These are NOT serious people. They are dangerous clownish children in adult bodies who have never created anything worth a dime in their life!
A sorry azz collective of Grifters, Lunatics and Morons. And they all hate each other..smh!