Republicans Not Ready for Prime Time

Kevin McCarthy is finally the “king of the hill”. That’s Capitol Hill. After going through 15 agonizing votes to become Speaker of The House, and years of waiting in the wings, McCarthy has ascended to the mountain top of D.C. politics. It wasn’t an easy climb, as McCarthy “haters” pulled out all of the stops to deny McCarthy the speakership, when in most cases it is only a formality of who becomes the next speaker, as Democrats and Republicans both know ahead of time who they want. Take the example of Democrats, it was no contest that Hakeem Jeffries was elected speaker without any fanfare or controversy. He became the first Black Speaker in the nation’s history. It was also Democrats who nominated and elected Barack Obama as the first Black president in U.S. history. Nancy Pelosi was a powerful woman as Speaker, that even Republicans had to grudgingly admit that she was an effective leader that kept her party together even during the tough times. Republicans on the other hand have shown the world that even before they took control of the House, they still could not get their act together in a show of unity that they could imitate Democrats to show that they are serious about governing. Pelosi remained strong throughout her time as speaker, but the same can’t be said about McCarthy. He knew way ahead of time that some Republicans didn’t want him as speaker. It was just enough to keep him from getting a majority of 218 votes in the House which would have all come from Republicans. Democrats very seldom cross the aisle, as McCarthy had to practically give away everything to get the gavel, making him in effect a weak speaker in the eyes of even Fox News and other right-wing media. Now, as speaker, McCarthy will have to “show some toughness” because all of the knives have not been put away. One has to wonder just how effective McCarthy will be when it comes to challenging President Joe Biden’s policies in the next two years, as Republicans want Biden to preside over a lame duck presidency. That might have been the case if Republicans had won control over both the House and the Senate, as McCarthy will have to deal with Chuck Schemer. In fact, McCarthy may be more of a lame duck than Biden, because if things start to go south for Republicans, there could be some serious attempts to remove him from the speakership by Republicans with Democrats on the sidelines cheering them on. After all, there is a presidential inauguration two years from this January. Republicans will probably not sponsor measures to unite the nation, as that will only help Biden. They will be as controversial as they can be. One already that will be a rehash of 2022 is abortion. The Supreme Court didn’t satisfy them with the Roe v. Wade decision because that didn’t help them deliver the red wave that they expected. They are once again looking for campaign issues leading to 2024. They will try to portray Democrats as extreme even though abortion initiatives failed in conservative states that they hope that their voters forget. Then there are the promised investigations that Republicans in the House will seek against Hunter Biden and anything else connected to Democrats, all the while not bringing any legislation that will benefit the nation as a whole. In other words, having a gridlock in Congress and keeping Biden on defense, is going to be their winning combination in 2024. The debacle of electing a speaker showed that Republicans are not ready for prime time. If they can’t come together and elect a leader from among their midst, then needless investigations by far-right Republicans that will tie up lawmakers from trying to resolve the serious problems that never seem to go away in this nation. So, Kevin McCarthy should enjoy his moment in the sun, because he knows that his tenure as speaker may be the shortest in history. Lately Republicans speakers don’t last long. Ask John Boehner and Paul Ryan. The knives are already out. Remember, the world is watching. So is God.