This question has been bothering me lately as I contemplate a Trump victory combined with narrow majorities in the U.S. House U.S. and Senate:
Why can’t Republicans govern?
We always underperform. And, then we show our dysfunction to the whole world by needing thirty votes to elect a House speaker.
What’s our problem?
Well, let’s start with our leadership, speakers and Senate majority/minority leaders.
In my adult life I can only think of one GOP speaker of the House I'm actually proud of.
After 40 years in the congressional desert, Congressman Newt Gingrich created his "Contract for America" as his platform for House speaker; and our platform for House Majority.
It worked.
Why?
Because Gingrich "democratized" the House.
He gave us, the American voters, a clear choice.
It worked, mostly.
Newt and the other Congressional Republicans blinked on term limits.
Our mandates wound up with a "good-through" date.
Too little got done.
Those who followed, people like Bob Dole, John Boehner, Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan, and Kevin McCarthy never went to the electorate.
They couldn’t.
We didn’t want them.
We wanted more Newts, Republicans who laid out clear differences between us and the Democrats. To this day, we never got it. The Senate was no different.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., prides himself on his "Never Trump" stances.
Mitch does his best, and our worst, when he’s whipping for Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. At least he, McConnell, has the decency to retire as Senate Republican leader at the end of 2024.
More on the Senate Majority (hopefully) race at a later date.
One of the reasons for our widespread dissatisfaction with our leaders is their inability (or, unwillingness) to establish caucus discipline.
Here are a few names: Sens. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, Susan Collins, R-Maine, Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska; the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Fmr. Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo. They all have the same brand; putting a stick in the eye of the Republican rank-and-file.
McCain and Collins are totally responsible for Obamacare still infecting our healthcare. Rep. Liz Cheney gave Nancy Pelosi the cover to call her phony Jan. 6 committee "bipartisan."
Exactly who appointed Liz to that committee?
Then-Republican House Minority Leader Rep. McCarthy, R-Calif.
And, just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, in walks Larry Hogan, former Republican governor of bright blue Maryland; current Republican candidate for the United States Senate.
Hogan recently informed all of us that "the Republicans can’t count on my vote."
And, then there are the primaries.
The good recent news is that President Trump makes a large number of endorsements.
That makes things a lot easier.
Without those endorsements we, the Republicans, live in fear.
We worry that we’ll win a seat and wind up with another turncoat.
And we don’t know how to protect ourselves.
In Palm Beach County, Florida we have two very long-term blue congressional seats.
This year, between the two seats, we have nine Republican candidates; six in one race and three in the other. Just in case we have a chance, we can watch as all nine candidates spend all their money beating each other up.
Post-primary, Aug. 20, the two Republican "winners" will each have zero dollars.
The two incumbents can the spend their two-million-dollar war chests beating our brains out. Not our best strategy.
And how do we, the voters, know which Republicans to vote for?
With no Trump endorsements, probably because of the likelihood of the seats remaining blue, voters are flying blind.
If one were to actually become a congressman or congresswoman, how do we know they’ll stay loyal to the party?
We don’t.
Add it all up. The sum total of our selection process leaves us with little optimism that winning means governing.
Sid Dinerstein is a former chairman of the Palm Beach County Republican Party. Read More — Here.
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