John Boehner has about a week and a half left until the day he said he’d be leaving Congress, but Congress doesn’t seem to be any closer to figuring out his replacement. In fact, things have only gotten crazier in the last month, and it’s starting to look like the Republican control of the House could collapse without a bailout from an unlikely source: Democrats.
That’s right — Republicans are so fractured at this point that they may need buy-in from Democrats in order to get a new Speaker of the House. Now’s your chance to really stick it to ’em, Democrats. Don’t fuck it up.
How fucked are the Republicans at this point? I’m glad you asked! The answer is: quite fucked indeed!
Behind the scenes, the far-right wing of the House has been pushing for a weakened Speaker role. Under their proposal, ordinary Congress-Monsters would have more authority over which bills are advanced. These folks call themselves “The Freedom Caucus,” which is terribly meaningful, and Representative Mick Mulvaney says, “We are looking for creative destruction in how the House operates.” Well, mission accomplished!
The conservatives seem to believe they have a better chance of getting their bills passed if they don’t have to make compromises with a central party authority. In other words, they’re blaming the House Speaker for their inability to repeal Obamacare.
Meanwhile, the least crazy of the Republicans are uniting behind Paul Ryan, who has repeatedly swatted them away and begged for someone else to take the job. But the conservative nuts aren’t fans of Ryan, in part because he’s not racist enough on “pro-amnesty” legislation. They prefer Daniel Webster, an obscure Republican from Florida who’s expressed hostility to immigrants, and they’ve signaled that they’ll do anything they can to make Paul Ryan’s nomination difficult.
Congress is the most openly hostile work environment ever conjured from the depths of hell.
Meanwhile, some moderate Republicans have hit on a perfect solution to this leadership crisis: they’ll just give up. Taking a page from the Sarah Palin playbook, various Republicans have said they’ll just resign if they wind up with a crazy Speaker.
“They’re hoping for a Ryan-type candidate. But if it’s not and it becomes a huge mess, why be sitting here?” said Sarah Chamberlain, chief operating and financial officer for the Republican Main Street Partnership.
Well, don’t let the door hit you, etc. etc.
And that brings us to the Democrat bailout. Apparently the Republican party’s slow crash and burn is the perfect opportunity for Democrats to twist the knife and remind the opposition just how fractured they are.
“There’s an openness to a bipartisan approach to this,” Nancy Pelosi said last weekend at a festival. (Yes, a festival! The Texas Tribune Festival in Austin. Sadly, it’s not as fun as it sounds — mostly keynotes and conference rooms. I can find no evidence of a BBQ of any sort.)
This would, of course, mean that Democrats would have to cast a vote for the opposition party’s speaker, something that never (and I mean NEVER) happens. But it would also mean that whoever gets elected would have to be some kind of mega-moderate — someone who considers both parties when guiding legislation. This is essentially a nightmare scenario for the Conservative bloc, so let’s sit back and enjoy the show.
