do we think no one is watching?
the crisis on the Hill and governing
Thank each of you for reading today’s musings, especially as I owe you an apology for my initial version laden with typographical errors yesterday. We were heading to old friends’ for supper and I really wanted a walk and I really missed the typos until I looked at my version upon returning home. I especially regret misspelling Damar Hamlin’s name. Lesson learned.
Things are just misfiring of late. My typographical errors pale in comparison to the failure in governing we see unfolding on Capitol Hill. It’s not merely that aspiring Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy apparently did not count votes well, a prerequisite for a successful quest both to win the job and also to pass legislation. No, it’s that the turbulence, as the BBC is calling it, on the floor of the House of Representatives is not subsiding.
The People’s House, as it is often called affectionately, has been a clown show over the past two days. I am not arguing that McCarthy should have had an automatic pass into the position. The Speaker must have support of those who he will lead and, by extension, support of the public who elected the Republican potential members (they have not been sworn in yet because of this mess) he seeks to lead. We cannot have a political system imposed by McCarthy’s desperation rather than a sense of creating a system representing the people who sent all of these folks to the Hill.
Roughly 20 fellow Republicans want the Party to run the House without governing. they apparently want perpetual upheaval. It is as simple as that. These Republicans seek destruction of the system and of the Party. They do not have a clear agenda except to prevent continuation of what the U.S. House and government have done over the years. Their defiance aims to assure their supporters that the Republicans are not beholden to compromise, a ‘corrupt’ political system, and those who ignore these supporters.
Never mind that no one can figure out who can work with roughly 50% of the country which is not these Republicans. Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the new leader of the Democrats, doesn’t currently appear as vile in their eyes as McCarthy. Indeed, a tweet this afternoon a ‘destruction Republican’ suggested supporting Jeffries over McCarthy as these recalcitrants would fight them all.
The problem is that ultimately every country requires governance which by extension requires policy choices, negotiations, and compromises. Governing requires systematic work. That is an iron clad law of democracy. There is not indication this evening that the Republican conference has a clue how to proceed. It’s not even clear to me that some of these Representatives understand that fact. I am not arguing precisely which policies we should implement, though I obviously have my preferences. I am arguing that we work strenuously for a serious country if we truly are a superpower.
In 2023 we will have a debt ceiling, a budget, a defense bill, and countless other policy decisions needing serious people. The evidence over the past couple of years, but especially the last two days, is that they are in short supply.
We currently appear abroad as broken beyond repair. The last time I can recall major dysfunction was the global financial crisis in 2007-2008. Following that crisis the People’s Republic of China (PRC) became markedly more aggressive in its actions against the United States and neighbours in the South China Sea. In April 2009, I heard Chinese financiers say that the U.S. was finished and it was China’s turn.
Does anyone doubt Putin and Xi are planning against this dysfunction? Kim Jong-Un with those nuclear weapons? The Mullahs with nuclear technology we worry about so often? The damage of chaos will endure for a long time, even if the dispute on the leadership question ends soon.
U.S. elected officials are weak, narcissistic, childish, and lost. Actions create consequences as we all know. These could pretty scary consequences in many ways. We cannot put the toothpaste back in the tube or walk this back. This is quite an era but not a positive one for the United States at home or abroad. We must show ourselves and others that our government can function, legislate, appropriate, and provide oversight for our nation.
What a beginning of 2023. FIN
Janet, your son noticed something significant. The unending partisanship was not a feature of our public service prior to the last 40 years. Professionalism was the ethos rather than trying to assure a partisan outcome which seems the norm now. Of course there ARE public servants, as we have discussed, who don't hue to nonpartisanship or who are incompetent or self-serving but it's the minority by far. interestingly Heather Cox Richardson made a somewhat similar observation last night by arguing that the Reagan moves against gov't were a back door way to protect one segment of our society at a high, high cost to others. Thank you for continuing to offer such pointed observations from your perch! Happy New Year!
Interesting observations. Clown show may be an understatement. Still, the seeds here go back to when the parties diverged from working to the benefit of the nation to the promotion of party over country. I don't pretend to know how that happened, but it feels like it happened around the Reagan presidency, reinforced by the Gingrich speakership, and the "Contract with America." Research on how members of Congress no longer crossed party lines for bi-partisan purposes goes back even a bit further. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/04/23/a-stunning-visualization-of-our-divided-congress/ is my favorite visualization of this separation. I heard rhetoric today about how the Republicans must save America from the Democrats. Really? I understand frustration with Democratic policy, regulatory policy, and so on from Republicans. But does the country need saving from that? Or does the country need saving from polarization? Because that's what I think is needed. Sigh.