The crackup in the House GOP has gotten so bad that some Republicans are now asking Democrats for help in electing a speaker. So far, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the current favorite among the right, hasn’t gotten anywhere close to the 217 votes he needs to secure the job.
With Republicans fractured and in need of saving, what should happen is that a few vulnerable members (such as those representing districts Joe Biden won in 2020) join Democrats in supporting Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), for the position. But that’s unlikely, because any Republicans who dare to do this would see their careers implode.
The next best thing, then, is a deal that both sides can accept. Republicans will have to offer meaningful concessions to Democrats to have any hope of getting their support for a consensus, relatively moderate GOP speaker.
At an absolute minimum, a compromise would tackle the core problem: That a few extreme members can propel the House into total meltdown, rendering it ungovernable. Several high-profile, non-MAGA Republicans, such as Reps. Mike D. Rogers (Ala.) and María Elvira Salazar (Fla.), have publicly called on Democrats to specify what they would need to throw the GOP a lifeline — and Democrats have several ideas in mind.
This a republican mess. It’s not up to Democrats to clean it up.
I agree. Let the Republicans twist in the wind till they are begging and pleading for salvation. And don’t “ask” for concessions make demand.
People will vote for the extremist candidate regardless of what the current house Republicans do to keep our government functioning. They either grow a backbone and do their job or they keep looking like incompetent fools, which we know they are anyways.
You’re correct. Democrats are not responsible for cleaning up this mess. But unlike Republicans, Democrats have a vested interest in a functioning government and serving the people. That’s not happening while Republicans are milling about trying to grab power for themselves. Democrats can use their infighting against them to force some concessions that would restore the House to some semblance of functionality and resume the business of government.
But unlike Republicans, Democrats have a vested interest in a functioning government and serving the people.
I don’t think that’s true.
Exactly like the Republicans, Democrats have a vested interest in just creating enough of an appearance of serving the people to get re-elected, but not so much that it interferes with their actual goal of benefitting themselves and their wealthy cronies and patrons.
Republicans can do that fairly straightforwardly, by spinning lies about “deregulation” and “privatization” and such - by overtly pushing for legislation that will benefit the rich and just dressing it up in a sort of costume.
Democrats have a harder time of it because there’s no easy way to make legislation explicitly designed to benefit the oligarchy look like it’s designed to benefit the people at large. So Democrats’ role is mostly just to provide the illusion of opposition - to stand against Republican proposals but not quite manage to defeat them, and to make proposals of their own but not quite manage to pass them.
And as far as that goes, this is a perfect opportunity for them. They can, and certainly will, just make ineffectual noise and accomplish nothing of substance, then blame the Republicans for the failure to accomplish anything of substance.
But unlike Republicans, Democrats have a vested interest in a functioning government and serving the people. That’s not happening while Republicans are milling about trying to grab power for themselves.
Getting some concessions that the Republican majority would almost certainly reneg on would be both a tactical and strategic failure. A functioning government that serves the people is one with far fewer Republicans in it.
Agreed, but that’s our responsibility. House Democrats can’t do anything about that until we get out the votes.
You know why Jim Jordon didn’t get enough votes? Why he has never passed a piece of legislation in his 16 years in the House of Representative? You’re getting a real time explanation by watching his campaign to become speaker. He can’t build a coalition. His idea of soft power is twisting arms. Most House Democrats will tell you that they are ready to work with Republicans, no Republicans respond. Takes two to tango.
The article has some valid points about Dem options, but how can the Dems expect the Magats to act in good faith? As some shitty ex-president said,“Fool me once…”
I think the only way to get a good faith promise out of the Republicans is to insist on a Speaker of the Dem’s choice. Could be a Moderate Republican or a Moderate Democrat. But it has to be somebody who has a history of reaching across the aisle and keeping promises. With how the GOP of late has acted, I can’t think of a single candidate on the R side of the Aisle.
They don’t reach out to the MAGAts. They reach out to the ones voting against Gym and Scalise. The ones like McCarthy who are willing to cut a deal with Democrats in order to do their jobs instead of simply trolling the nation in the name of their Anointed One/God Emperor.
