Leadership crisis for GOP
One Republican actually ventured a thought that the chaos in the process of choosing the next U.S. House speaker might warrant some kind of bipartisan compromise. No one who has watched the House since Republicans assumed control believes there’s the slightest chance of Democratic-Republican cooperation.
No, following the sudden withdrawal of favorite Kevin McCarthy of California, lame duck Speaker John Boehner will stay on, and the non-tea party Republicans will hope for a quick decision. Emerging is Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, the GOP’s 2012 vice presidential nominee. But Ryan, not a tea partyer, may not want the job Boehner once described as trying to keep all the bullfrogs in a wheelbarrow.
Tea partyers, who seem willing to let the government go into default by not raising the debt ceiling and to shut down the government absent the defunding of Planned Parenthood, are a minority in the GOP, yet their reckless and unbending demands intimidate the leadership.
If Congress followed the radical views of the tea partyers who make up the so-called Freedom Caucus, the United States economy would be in chaos and its image in the world in free fall.That’s why it’s important that Republicans find a speaker who is not afraid to stand up to a splinter group within the party and get things done even in the face of a partisan divide between the White House and the GOP majority in Congress.
The speaker’s chair needs a practical leader who recognizes that rabid partisanship must not be allowed to bring the government to a standstill. Even if the GOP continues to block some of the president’s goals, delay approval of his judicial nominees and do nothing until the next president takes office, that’s preferable to seriously damaging the nation’s economy and its global standing.
McCarthy stumbled when he admitted the Republicans’ investigation of Hillary Clinton was motivated by trying to harm her presidential campaign. But even before that gaffe, he seemed a weak choice in terms of leadership experience.
Those in the Freedom Caucus – more accurately described by its nickname, the “hell no” caucus – don’t care about the public’s opinion of them outside of their gerrymandered districts. But mainstream members of Congress surely are concerned that their standing is at rock bottom. That’s not because of partisanship. It’s because the public wants leadership; the people want things to get done. If another do-nothing Congress rules until January 2017, its members may be sure there will be some new faces on Capitol Hill for the next president’s first session.
This story was originally published October 9, 2015 at 7:40 PM with the headline "Leadership crisis for GOP."