SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE

Republicans have had bad luck with their Speakers of the House of Representatives. When New Gingrich was Speaker, beginning in 1997 during the Clinton Administration, he alienated the Republican members of the House because of his ethics violations and his failure in the 1998 election when Republicans lost seats in the House. When Republicans again secured a majority in the House, they elected John Boehner, they created such a chaotic mess during his leadership that he finally was so frustrated that he not only resigned the Speakership in 2015, he quit Congress altogether. Paul Ryan was persuaded to take the job and he agreed. But Ryan found the same chaotic mess with his own Republican members that he followed Boehner’s path out of the House  after serving for just two years, quitting in disgust in 2017 and retiring to a less troubled life in Ohio.

Republicans, whether in Congress or in the general public, have made it clear that what they crave is chaos in government. They elect mischievous scoundrels like Lauren Boebert, Matt Gates and Marjorie Taylor Greene who not only fight among themselves, they do what they can to gum up the workings of government and make life miserable for whoever is Speaker of the House. There are enough additional members of their party in the House that they can cause real damage. Other more moderate House Republicans lack the courage and will to contain the excesses of their far-right boisterous colleagues so the necessary business of the House to provide for governmental progress is stymied.

Now that McCarthy is removed from the Speakership, the interim Speaker’s first priority is to kick Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer out of their offices while the Republicans take a week’s vacation before trying to find agreement on the next Speaker. With the party divided into a variety of cliques and factions, it will be a miracle if some agreement can be found soon, if ever. A major crisis will occur if the House cannot pass a spending bill by the deadline of November 17 before the government shuts down. Thanks to the Republicans, the year ahead will be pure chaos. Out in the Boonies, will the grassroots Republicans come to their senses and see what their elected representatives have done and shut them down? We can only hope.