Guest Commentary: Has the U.S. House lost its collective mind?
What the hell is wrong with Republicans in the U.S. House?
Speaking as someone who’s lived a long life, and has a penchant for following this country’s political affairs, I hasten to ask, “What the hell is going on?”
House Republicans have been a pain in the ass for several years. But the current crop has simply gone bananas.
An impeachment committee, looking for evidence it can’t find, is trying to embarrass a sitting president who’s done nothing impeachable — a president who could conduct a graduate-level course in politics that most of them couldn’t pass.
A special committee trying to find evidence that doesn’t exist? Really?
There are 221 Republicans in the House.
Most are sane. Most are there to do the people’s work. Most have a sense of the importance of the positions they hold — the history, the responsibility.
But about 40 of them have no understanding of their roles in our democracy. They don’t understand the real work that must be done.
They offer nothing in the way of responsible legislation. They produce nothing constructive.
They make noises. They clutter the atmosphere with baseless charges. They engage in personal antics that should be embarrassing to them and certainly are to the rest of us.
If they were working in the private sector, it’s doubtful they’d remain so employed for long, given their disgraceful behavior. Facing the 2024 national election, you have to wonder if the folks at home will continue sending these miscreants back for another term.
I know. I know. Your good guy is my bad guy and my good guy is your bad guy. Heard it all before.
But Boebert? Taylor Greene? Gaetz? Biggs? Really?
All of this is getting out of hand. What’s needed is a speaker of the house who will crack the whip and get things quickly straightened out. But is it gonna happen?
Kevin McCarthy was clearly not up to the job. He proved time and time again he really didn’t understand all the details.
The situation was so bad, he couldn’t even manage to get Senate-passed bills considered in his chamber. Now he’s been voted out of the job.
The U.S. House appears to be very close to becoming ungovernable, thanks to so many caucuses of this and that, groups of 10 to 40 that vote as a block. In close votes, that can make all the difference.
The Senate, while splintered in philosophy as well, still seems to be able to get its work done. How long that will last is anyone’s guess.
Looking down the political road to the election of 2024, it’s clear that one’s going to be absolutely critical. If there is any chance to weed out the dug-in old guard with new, younger folks — and thus get things back on track — then Nov. 4, 2024, is the drop-dead date.
We can’t keep voting for the same old losers. What’s needed now is new blood and fresh faces — from either party.
Before retiring and settling in McMinnville, Air Force veteran Barrett Rainey covered the news for radio and TV stations from Cheyenne, Wyoming, to Washington, D.C.
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