We are a few weeks away from another potential government shut down and the GOP majority is still futzing around with finding a replacement speaker of the house. With all of the votes, secret and otherwise, the only potential nominee who has consistently earned more votes than any of the others is Hakeem Jeffries.
But, of course, he’s a Democrat. And if there is any overarching doctrine of the modern Republican Party credo, they won’t work with Democrats on anything.
Missouri’s Congresswoman Ann Wagner (R) once declared she would ‘absolutely not’ support Jim Jordan for U.S. House Speaker. (And, there is good reason to NOT support a man who has never passed a bill during his sixteen years in office.) However, yesterday Ann changed her mind.
Let me be clear, I am not, and will not, work with Democrats as our Republican Conference comes together to elect a conservative Speaker of the House.https://t.co/GjaVbVcMH7
— Ann Wagner (@RepAnnWagner) October 16, 2023
Per Ann, Confirming a bomb-thrower and ineffective legislator as speaker is preferable to working with Democrats to form a common sense coalition government.
I have friends who vote on both ends of the political spectrum, who disagree about a lot of issues, but there is one notion we ALL agree on. Our legislators must work together to achieve good results for the American people, and, if they can’t, they should be removed from office.
This is not a both-siderism issue. Right-wing extremists win and retain office purely by vilifying Democrats or centrist Republicans. Empathy is weakness, civility is political correctness, compromise is failure; or so says the billionaire-funded corporate media that promotes them. Political candidates who are persistently, belligerently aggrieved make terrible legislators when they take office.
Josh Hawley (R) the Virginia-homed Senator for Missouri has accomplished exactly nothing for our State. His pettiness is so evident that no one wants to work with him, on either side of the aisle.
Eric Schmitt (R) remains an intransigent election denier, unapologetic COVID denier and an anti-abortion absolutist. He failed to protect Missourians as Attorney General, preferring to sue local governments for acting to preserve the welfare of their constituents. He is now an un-serious and ineffective Senator.
At the Missouri State government level, the lack of comity and competence in our elected officials is evident in the limited legislation produced and the constant bickering – even within the Republican majority. Twenty years of this nonsense has reduced our State to the bottom ranks of every category that matters to Missouri citizens.
Hate is a poor motivator for cooperation. A lack of simple courtesy among those who represent us is sure-fire predictor of a failing democracy.
There seems to be no end to the politically motivated garbage spewing from anti-democratic media and candidates. So, this is on us all now.
We should judge future candidates for office for the substantive solutions they bring rather than the grievances, they can identify. We should evaluate politicians for their demonstrated competence in previous roles and their willingness to negotiate with peers in good faith. Most importantly, we need to elect legislators who don’t have an everlasting disdain for the institutions of democracy and the citizens they serve.
– Mark Toenjes