The Republican majority 118th House has been in session for over 18 months now and has largely been a joke. Too bad all the late night talk shows are currently shuttered. The monologue jokes would all but write themselves. I hope it won’t but I fear it will get worse in the run up to the 2024 elections.
Under Kevin McCarthy’s “leadership” the GOP has passed some DOA in the Senate legislation and held investigations that have usually blown up in their faces on the hearing day. (Sometimes the hearing day never happens because key witnesses prove to be unavailable, at least one because he was a fugitive from federal justice.)
McCarthy is anything but a strong leader. He appears to live in constant fear of Donald Trump and the furthest right members of his caucus. If you doubt that McCarthy is desperate for numbers I offer the Representative currently known as George Santos as an example and rest my case. Now McCarthy appears to be on the verge of pacifying Trump and the loonies by allowing an impeachment resolution(s) to come to the floor. The target is somewhat murky. Most likely it is President Joe Biden but I wouldn’t rule out a Cabinet member(s) as a substitute or supplement. The far right of today’s GOP isn’t bothered with things like facts or the truth so the lack of an impeachable offense(s) is irrelevant to them.
It takes a majority of the House to impeach someone and two-thirds of the Senate to convict them. The latter isn’t going to happen. It is that plain and simple. As to the former that is anything but a slam dunk and if it were to happen it would at great political peril to several House Republicans who hail from districts that Biden won in 2020 and will most likely win again in 2024. McCarthy’s margin in the House is razor thin. Does he really want to put several of his members in jeopardy in 2024? I’m among those who feel the Democrats will most likely take back the House in 2024. McCarthy could make that a much stronger probability.
We the taxpayers pay the salaries of the members of Congress. (Minimum wage is $174,000 per year.) Much like these fake investigations (my adjective) any impeachment(s) would be a waste of our money. My concern is the true cost which is much, much higher.
While McCarthy lets the idiots go on their Trump pleasing wild goose chases many important things are going unaddressed. Climate change is not only being inadequately addressed much of the Republican party actually calls it a hoax. They are demonstrably incorrect!
Education, particularly public education, is the lifeblood of the American economy yet we are doing precious little to improve it. Making it more equitable and widely available is almost anathema to the GOP. Look no further than Florida’s erasure of the truth and history. If you need another and much aligned example look at Texas’ influence on textbooks.
Speaking of books, instead of promoting literacy programs and making books more widely available the right wing is concentrating their efforts on banning them. The right spent decades not talking to young people about sex in an effort to eradicate pregnancies outside of marriage. How has that worked out? Now they want to erase “uncomfortable” history like slavery. Revising history doesn’t eliminate facts and the facts will eventually emerge.
Speaking of revisionist history, the Trump aligned far right Republicans in the House also want to introduce legislation that would expunge Trump’s two impeachments. (I’m not even sure if that is a legal possibility.) There is a chance that such a measure could pass the House – again the issue of vulnerable House Republicans made much more vulnerable in 2024 is a huge factor – but it would be DOA in the Senate. Number one, Chuck Schumer would never put it on the floor for a vote. If he did it would be filibustered and the then needed 60 votes simply are not there.
Unfounded impeachments, unmerited (and still only theatrical) expungements, much like the investigations, are merely “shiny objects” political strategies meant to distract from the real issues.
I only hit on a few opportunity costs above. There are many, many more examples. Think of what a radical right Republican House is really costing. America cannot afford one. Remember that when you vote in 2024 and beyond.
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