American Disingenuity

I feel like we’re living in the Twilight Zone. All that’s missing is Rod Serling’s narration. The Republican Party, which once upon a time stood for smaller government, has decided that it would rather have none at all. The House of Representatives, under the “leadership” of Kevin McCarthy and Mike Johnson, has devolved into a morass of subterfuge as they’ve tried to blame all of their misdeeds on the Democrats, who are the only ones who seem interested in actually governing. Perhaps it’s time for the Democrats to put an end to this nonsense, and force the Republicans to replace their Speaker.

The latest demonstration of the Republicans’ disingenousness is Mike Johnson’s headspinning reversals and dungslinging regarding the crisis-of-their-own-making at the southern border. After the Senate worked for several months to negotiate a bill that included defense aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan in exchange for substantial border and immigration reform that the former Republican Party could have only imagined previously, Johnson said that a bill that included border and immigration reform was “dead on arrival” in the House. So the Senate reworked the bill and stripped the border and immigration stuff out of it, and now Johnson says he won’t allow a vote on it in the House because it doesn’t address the border and immigration. Seriously???!!!

As I said in my previous piece, House of Reprehensitives, the first “announcement by the ersatz Speaker of the House regarding the bipartisan border/Ukraine/Israel bill put forth by the Senate, the House has cemented its place as the concrete overshoes of the 118^th Congress.” With his latest shenanigans, he’s added chains and anchors.

Add to that yesterday’s redux of the Mayorkas impeachment vote, where Republicans impeached him for doing his job while they made it as difficult as possible for him to do so. Add to that the grossly inappropriate Hur report, and the Republicans’ plans to investigate it further. Add to that the incessant investigations into “wrongdoing” by anybody but their own, for the express purpose of smearing Democrats to make themselves look better. How low the bar has been set.

Apparently Mike Johnson has managed to avoid the wrath of the MAGA crowd in the House, and they’re not (presently) talking about vacating the chair like they were a couple of weeks ago. It’s only a matter of time before he steps on one of their landmines and finds himself in a no-win situation. But time is precious, especially with the vote needed for the stripped Senate bill, and the looming (yet again) budget crisis. Maybe it’s time for Democrats to take charge by calling for a discharge petition to get around Johnson’s roadblock. Such a move might either break the logjam, or encourage someone (even a courageous Democrat) to call for his ouster.

The “disingenuity” displayed by the Republicans in the House (and Senate to a degree) is becoming their norm, and the world is watching. While Johnson’s demise as Speaker of the House may result in a period of chaos and uncertainty, as with Kevin McCarthy’s ouster, it will likely be worth the momentary pain. Perhaps the biggest concern, though, is how deep in the well the Republicans will go for their next “leader.”