On August 15, 1786, George Washington responded to a letter he had received from John Jay, then serving as the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, that raised alarm about the condition of the country, and particularly the inadequacies of the Articles of Confederation to produce a functional national government with a united foreign policy. The 13 states were pursuing their own paths, in some cases violating the terms of peace with Great Britain, and failing to sufficiently fund operations. Washington shared Jay’s concerns, and here is some of what he had to say about where matters stood:
Your sentiments, that our affairs are drawing rapidly to a crisis, accord with my own…What astonishing changes a few years are capable of producing! I am told that even respectable characters speak of a monarchical form of government without horror. From thinking proceeds speaking, thence to acting is often but a single step. But how irrevocable and tremendous! What a triumph for the advocates of despotism to find that we are incapable of governing ourselves, and that systems founded on the basis of equal liberty are merely ideal and fallacious! Would to God that wise measures may be taken in time to avert the consequences we have but too much reason to apprehend.
Here’s is where I mention that Kevin McCarthy, the current Speaker of the House under the U.S. Constitution, has sent the House of Representatives home for the weekend because he, and they, are so “incapable of governing” that nothing profitable will occur if they stay at work.
As I began predicting back in December and January, McCarthy does not have the votes to pass spending bills that will keep the government operational. This means the government will shut down at the beginning of October. But eventually the government will be funded, and whatever majority comes together to pass that funding will be the true majority in Congress. It will be made up mostly of Democrats, and as a result it should have Democrats chairing at least some of the committees in the House. That’s the kind of bargain Democrats should drive now in negotiations with McCarthy.
If McCarthy wants to be Speaker, he must fund the government. He can only fund the government with Democratic help. When he accepts their help, there will be a motion to vacate the chair, which is a fancy way of saying the members of his own party will force a vote to remove McCarthy from power. The Democrats will then control McCarthy’s fate. If he wants the Democrats to save his job, he must enter into a new arrangement in which Democrats have control over the rules of the House. He must also end his absurd impeachment inquiry into Biden, which means he the committees charged with doing the investigations must be handed over to the Democrats.
If McCarthy doesn’t want to do these things, then the Democrats should allow him to be ousted and work with a coalition of moderate Republicans to elect a new Speaker who will equitably split power in a bipartisan manner and agree to fund the government.
At the beginning of the year, I said this will have to happen eventually, and it is now clear I was right.
As for foreign policy, McCarthy doesn’t seem to be able to fund Ukraine either, and that’s a national disgrace that must be rectified. I know George Washington would agree that America cannot fend off despotism at home and abroad with a government so dysfunctional that people begin contemplating Trump without horror.
So are there really “moderate Republicans” who are basically willing to fall on the sword and end their careers by actually compromising with Democrats to keep the country running, and allowing the other things to happen, as far as committees and the bogus impeachment investigation? Color me skeptical. I do remember Hakeem Jeffries, during the McCarthy speaker election clusterfuck, saying that a number of Republicans were whispering in his ear that when push came to shove, they would work with Democrats to keep a functional government in place, as it was obvious the clown car would eventually veer into the ditch and the wheels would come off. Well it looks like it’s time for the rubber to meet the road, and we’ll get to see if all that was only so much bullshit from those Republican members.
I not entirely certain the birthing of this magic House coalition is in the cards. McConnell and Schumer are probably going to have to jump to the head of the line and send something over to the House, but you always have people like Rand Paul who is only too willing to blow shit up over in the Senate. This cyclical clusterfuck is not going to end until either the GOP decides they once again want to be an actual governing political party, or the Democrats gain a large enough majority to make the current lunatics irrelevant. Right now both of those options seem like they are unreachable any time soon.
I’m truly afraid that there is no “moderate” Republican with that cares enough. I lost my mind watching the idiots trying to elect a speaker. It was for good reason.
I agree with your assessment that some moderates will join with Dems to pass a budget. Like others I think it comes from the Senate, they’re essentially told to take it or leave it, and it passes. How long the shutdown goes for is the only real question
That, and, I’m not sure what happens to McCarthy.