Several recent articles have been written outlining the zaniness of today’s GOP. (Sorry no links today.) Today I’d like to cover a few of the most outrageous and dangerous.

I have set an exceptionally low bar for the Republican controlled House in the 118th Congress. If it were a limbo contest the bar would be a world record height. I expect no positive legislation of any consequence. My only hope is that they somehow manage to keep the government open and not in default. Unfortunately, the path to that “success” is extremely unclear at this writing.

After taking five days to elect a speaker their next legislative session marked the passing of a rules package three pages of which were undisclosed to the majority of the chamber’s members.

As part of the continued cave to the far right they authorized a subcommittee of the Justice Committee officially called the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, or as many are calling it the Tin Foil Hat Committee. (Nothing like showing your prejudices up front.) Membership is still to be determined as of this writing but we know it will operate under the control of the almost human Jim Jordan of Ohio – enough said. Basically, the subcommittee will legitimize QAnon mythology. The most dangerous part of the body’s charge is to “oversee” ongoing federal law enforcement investigations. I expect that to be challenged in courts and who knows where that will end up with today’s Supreme Court majority should it reach them. The subcommittee’s authorization passed on a strict 221-211 party line vote.

The Subcommittee will have subpoena power. Didn’t several Republican House members fail to comply with subpoenas from the January 6th Committee in the 117th Congress? Didn’t that include Jordan?

One of the last acts of the 117th Congress was to pass a defense spending bill. Republican Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin slipped an amendment into it that requires the Department of Defense to investigate (in almost all case reinvestigate) all UFO reports from 1945 to the present. The only little green men in Wisconsin are a very few of the Packers who are undersized for the NFL. I could go on but I don’t think it is necessary, my point is made.

If you think the GOP bench will provide some better legislators down the road, think again! In Missouri, on its opening day, the Republican controlled House passed a new dress code for its female members (the male dress code remained unchanged). Now female legislators will be required to have their arms covered by approve clothing (cardigan sweaters need not “apply”). These are the same people who will laugh at the Taliban for their phobia about a woman’s elbows being uncovered. The Taliban’s theory is that the sight of a naked female elbow will make a male loose all sexual self-control.

As far as I know there is no history of women coming on the chamber’s floor wearing indecent attire. In fact, a compelling but ultimately unsuccessful argument was made in favor of the cardigan sweater in that a pregnant legislator’s body will change over the course of the pregnancy and the sweater will conform to the changing midsection eliminating the need to continually buy new attire. Is this the supposed party of family values discriminating against pregnant women?

Fasten your seatbelts, get a flame-resistant long coat and you may also want to occasionally borrow your crazy uncle’s tin foil hat. We are in for a wild ride the next two years!

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