To understand what’s happening in the House, it’s first necessary to read through the Republican Party platform. There. That’s done.
In 2020, the Republican Party decided it didn’t need a platform. Or rather, it couldn’t decided on what to put in a platform in time for the convention in August. This came after an earlier report that Donald Trump wanted a “radical overhaul” of the platform, that would reduce all Republican positions down to a “ single card that fits in people's pockets.” In the end, Republicans got more radical than that—they just didn’t write a platform.
Unable to agree on the basic principles for which they stand, or provide a list of critical issues that would motivate the party over the next four years, the GOP turned in a blank sheet of paper. It was a clear announcement that they are a party without a purpose, without any core beliefs, and with no goals other than winning. What’s remarkable in the wake of this open admission, is not that they lost the White House, but that they won anything at all.
That Republicans are conducting this farce in the form of a speaker election, is a sign of just how reflexively Americans have been taught to take out their frustrations on the party in power, even if the alternative offers them nothing at all. And now Republicans are giving a textbook demonstration of what it means to have no principles, no morals, no plans, and no loyalty.
The Republican Party is dead. But hey, its corpse can still put on a show.
Campaign Action
You don’t have to trust me that the Republican Party is a badly animated cadaver going through the motions of governance. Republicans have said it themselves. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-run away), declared that the party was dead and that it was “Time to bury it,” following the less-than-tidal performance in the midterms. He’s not wrong. The only time a Republican carried home a majority of the presidential election in this century was when George Bush carried it off while America was still doing a post-9/11 patriotism lockstep.
It’s easy to complain that, over the last several election cycles, Republicans have had no positions except that they hate everyone and everything about the Democrats. Only that’s exactly what’s left of the GOP. Shambling about moaning “Woke! Woke!” is all the zombie can do. Still, they’ve done pretty well getting along on momentum and heavy prodding from Fox News. It’s almost admirable. They’re zombies, but they keep on trying. Sort of.
If only they didn’t drop scraps of disgusting rot across the American political landscape in the process.
What happened in the House on Tuesday is exactly what you would expect from a party that has no platform. For a party populated by people whose idea of loyalty extends no further than their own flaking skin. A party where ideas like “greater good” and “diversity” are treated with the enthusiasm of vampires sitting down to garlic toast.
Maybe Republicans will finally get a speaker nailed down on Wednesday. If they do, it won’t be because they all banded together around some core principles. It will be because Kevin McCarthy—if the winner even turns out to be McCarthy—gave away enough of his power to satisfy the individual thirsts of the members of his horde.
Or maybe Republicans will keep sharpening their own stake and finally put an end to this macabre farce. The answer isn’t clear. Certainly Republicans don’t know.
If someone could actually clean up the remains of the GOP and put a vital opposition party in its place, that might seem like a bad thing for Democrats. It wouldn’t be. It would be good for them, for Republicans, and for the nation.
Because right now, no matter how funny the latest round of voting may be, this zombie party isn’t good for anyone. Not even the zombies.
What better way to start the year than by previewing the biggest contests of 2023 on this week's episode of The Downballot? Progressives will want to focus on a Jan. 10 special election for the Virginia state Senate that would allow them to expand their skinny majority; the April 4 battle for the Wisconsin Supreme Court that could let progressives take control from conservatives; Chicago's mayoral race; gubernatorial contests in Kentucky and Louisiana; and much, much more.
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In 2020, the Republican Party decided it didn’t need a platform. Or rather, it couldn’t decided on what to put in a platform in time for the convention in August. This came after an earlier report that Donald Trump wanted a “radical overhaul” of the platform, that would reduce all Republican positions down to a “ single card that fits in people's pockets.” In the end, Republicans got more radical than that—they just didn’t write a platform.
Unable to agree on the basic principles for which they stand, or provide a list of critical issues that would motivate the party over the next four years, the GOP turned in a blank sheet of paper. It was a clear announcement that they are a party without a purpose, without any core beliefs, and with no goals other than winning. What’s remarkable in the wake of this open admission, is not that they lost the White House, but that they won anything at all.
That Republicans are conducting this farce in the form of a speaker election, is a sign of just how reflexively Americans have been taught to take out their frustrations on the party in power, even if the alternative offers them nothing at all. And now Republicans are giving a textbook demonstration of what it means to have no principles, no morals, no plans, and no loyalty.
The Republican Party is dead. But hey, its corpse can still put on a show.
Campaign Action
You don’t have to trust me that the Republican Party is a badly animated cadaver going through the motions of governance. Republicans have said it themselves. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-run away), declared that the party was dead and that it was “Time to bury it,” following the less-than-tidal performance in the midterms. He’s not wrong. The only time a Republican carried home a majority of the presidential election in this century was when George Bush carried it off while America was still doing a post-9/11 patriotism lockstep.
It’s easy to complain that, over the last several election cycles, Republicans have had no positions except that they hate everyone and everything about the Democrats. Only that’s exactly what’s left of the GOP. Shambling about moaning “Woke! Woke!” is all the zombie can do. Still, they’ve done pretty well getting along on momentum and heavy prodding from Fox News. It’s almost admirable. They’re zombies, but they keep on trying. Sort of.
If only they didn’t drop scraps of disgusting rot across the American political landscape in the process.
What happened in the House on Tuesday is exactly what you would expect from a party that has no platform. For a party populated by people whose idea of loyalty extends no further than their own flaking skin. A party where ideas like “greater good” and “diversity” are treated with the enthusiasm of vampires sitting down to garlic toast.
Maybe Republicans will finally get a speaker nailed down on Wednesday. If they do, it won’t be because they all banded together around some core principles. It will be because Kevin McCarthy—if the winner even turns out to be McCarthy—gave away enough of his power to satisfy the individual thirsts of the members of his horde.
Or maybe Republicans will keep sharpening their own stake and finally put an end to this macabre farce. The answer isn’t clear. Certainly Republicans don’t know.
If someone could actually clean up the remains of the GOP and put a vital opposition party in its place, that might seem like a bad thing for Democrats. It wouldn’t be. It would be good for them, for Republicans, and for the nation.
Because right now, no matter how funny the latest round of voting may be, this zombie party isn’t good for anyone. Not even the zombies.
What better way to start the year than by previewing the biggest contests of 2023 on this week's episode of The Downballot? Progressives will want to focus on a Jan. 10 special election for the Virginia state Senate that would allow them to expand their skinny majority; the April 4 battle for the Wisconsin Supreme Court that could let progressives take control from conservatives; Chicago's mayoral race; gubernatorial contests in Kentucky and Louisiana; and much, much more.
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