The crackup in the House GOP has gotten so bad that some Republicans are now asking Democrats for help in electing a speaker. So far, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the current favorite among the right, hasn’t gotten anywhere close to the 217 votes he needs to secure the job.

With Republicans fractured and in need of saving, what should happen is that a few vulnerable members (such as those representing districts Joe Biden won in 2020) join Democrats in supporting Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), for the position. But that’s unlikely, because any Republicans who dare to do this would see their careers implode.

The next best thing, then, is a deal that both sides can accept. Republicans will have to offer meaningful concessions to Democrats to have any hope of getting their support for a consensus, relatively moderate GOP speaker.

At an absolute minimum, a compromise would tackle the core problem: That a few extreme members can propel the House into total meltdown, rendering it ungovernable. Several high-profile, non-MAGA Republicans, such as Reps. Mike D. Rogers (Ala.) and María Elvira Salazar (Fla.), have publicly called on Democrats to specify what they would need to throw the GOP a lifeline — and Democrats have several ideas in mind.

  • atzanteol
    19·
    1 year ago

    Is it? Doesn’t the Republican Party hold 221 seats in the House? Isn’t it 217 needed to vote in a new speaker for this Congress?

    It is - because the GOP can’t get their shit together and Democrats don’t want to work with them because it’s advantageous to them to watch the GOP crash and burn. But the rest of us are stuck with a worsening credit rating because nobody trusts our government to do shit anymore.

    I’d like to see them cut a deal that gets some concessions with moderate Republicans. Maybe a group of moderates from both side who can hash out a budget? That sort of thing. it maybe what they’re trying to do - they wouldn’t advertise it unless it was likely to work. But we should want the parties working together. That’s how things are supposed to work.