A Lack of Imagination

Some House Republicans have decided they will oust Speaker Mike Johnson.  Congresswomen Lauren Boebert of Colorado and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, among others, argue that the Democrat are already in control of the House by proxy, so make it reality.  A sizable segment of the Republican base feels the same way.  They lack the imagination to think of reality.

It should be noted, first, this is emotional.  We live in post-modern times and people are no longer rational.  People act based on emotion.  Part of that emotion is grounded in individuals’ truths as opposed to actual truth.  When someone insists Mike Johnson is just an agent of the Democrats, they point to the House budget or Ukraine funding and never have to look at the reality of things Johnson has blocked.

It is easy to sell to people obvious things and spin yarns around those obvious things.  Johnson, his conservative critics claim, passed a budget that funds abortion.  But pay no attention to the House Republicans doing the same thing since before George W. Bush was President.  This is nothing new, even if it is bad policy.

Johnson funded Ukraine.  Yes, but he had no choice.  There would have been enough votes for the Ukraine package anyway.  A discharge petition was in the works.  With 218 votes, Johnson could not have stopped it.  Instead, he was able to modify it and included the TikTok divestment provisions held up in the Senate.  If 218 members had signed a discharge petition, the House would have passed the Senate’s package and Johnson would have been helpless to stop it.

Instead of the emotional arguments of shiny objects, how about his critics grapple with reality.  Democrats, every one of Johnson’s critics agree, always hold the line.  They are more collectivist than individualist.  They are more effective.  Johnson has to herd the individual cats of the GOP who, by nature, are each more prone to individual operation.  Therefore, with a two seat majority, individual members of the GOP are more likely to object to legislation than Democrats.

So, now, put Hakeem Jeffries in charge as Marjorie Taylor Greene would do.  Those Democrats would pass major legislation that Johnson has blocked.  There has been no DEI advancement.  There has been no expansion of green subsidies.  Johnson has even blocked the Senate immigration legislation.  Put Hakeem Jeffries in charge and the Democrats’ immigration plans get passed because they have enough Republican votes in the Senate to make it happen.

Then, on spending, the Senate Democrats only need 50 votes for a reconciliation measure.  Last time the Democrats controlled both the House and Senate with a bare majority, Senate Democrats passed the Green New Deal on reconciliation.  That Senate procedure bypasses the filibuster.  That procedure would allow tax increases and fully legalize the student loan bailouts that have otherwise been held up in courts.

Put Hakeem Jeffries in charge and watch House Republicans lose their committee chairmanships.  Put Hakeem Jeffries in charge and watch Ilhan Omar get away so with so much more. Put Hakeem Jeffries in charge and find out just what Democrat leadership looks like.

Marjorie Taylor Greene and the populists might have a temper tantrum and many outside Congress can whine about how bad Mike Johnson is, but they have had him blocking so much more than he has passed.  The reality is the Republicans have a one seat majority with  Congressman Mike Gallagher leaving and a Democrat in New York just winning a special election.  That majority will go back up by a few seats.  But an election is coming.

Johnson is not perfect.  He is playing a terrible hand dealt to him by Republican voters nominating clunker candidates in 2022 who lost winnable seats.  He is playing a terrible hand forced on him by the ouster of Kevin McCarthy and departures of colleagues tired of dealing with Kamikaze Republicans.  There are plenty of criticisms to make of the House Republicans and Johnson.  I have raised them.  But all one must do to understand why ousting Johnson is a bad idea is have the imagination to remember the reality of Democrats actually running the House.

The Antisemitism Awareness Act

Here’s a criticism of Johnson and the House GOP Leadership.

The Antisemitism Awareness Act, passed by the House with the help of Democrats, was designed to put Democrats in a tough spot. In fact, more Democrats voted against it than Republicans. But Democrats saved the measure from failing.

But I’d have had to vote against it if I were in the House.

The Act gives the Department of Education more powers to crack down on antisemitism on college campuses. We should not want the Department of Education, particularly the one run by the Biden Administration, to have more power.

Many of these universities have antisemitism committees. Those committees are overflowing with antisemites. This legislation will not actually fix things.

To be effective, the House GOP should be canceling federal student loan programs and taxing university endowments. Giving the education bureaucracy more power because it feels good and puts Democrats in an awkward position was not wise.