It’s not any fun to be a Republican member of Congress these days. Don’t believe me? Well, let’s look at three stories in the news on Tuesday. In the first, Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma apparently had to be restrained by Bernie Sanders of all people from physically attacking a witness during a hearing of the Senate HELP Committee. The witness, a leader of the Teamsters labor union named Sean M. O’Brien, reportedly told Sen. Mullin, “You’re biggest thug here.” Bloomberg reporter Ian Kullgren, who was present for the confrontation, said that Mullin and O’Brien have had a “longstanding beef on Twitter that spilled over into real life.”
Then there’s an incident witnessed by National Public Radio congressional correspondent Claudia Grisales. She was speaking to Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee in the halls of Congress when former Speaker Kevin McCarthy walked by. Suddenly, Burchett lurched forward toward Grisales after apparently taking a McCarthy elbow to the kidney.
Burchett responded jokingly as McCarthy kept walking, “Sorry Kevin didn’t mean to elbow –” then seriously yelled, “why’d you elbow me in the back Kevin?! Hey Kevin, you got any guts!?” That’s when the chase ensued. Burchett took off after McCarthy and his detail. I chased behind with my mic. yelled after catching up to McCarthy, “Hey Kevin, why’d you walk behind me and elbow me in the back?”
KM: “I didn’t elbow you in the back.”
Burchett: “You got no guts, you did so, …the reporter said it right there, what kind of chicken move is that…” Burchett con’t: “You got no guts, you did so, …the reporter said it right there, what kind of chicken move is that? You’re pathetic man, you are so pathetic.”
Burchett starts to walk away from McCarthy, tells me, “What a jerk,” and then yells back, “You need security Kevin!”
Burchett tells me that’s the first point of “communication” with McCarthy since Burchett voted for McCarthy’s ouster as speaker last month: “That’s just it” for communication since ouster vote, “He’s just a jerk. He’s just a childish little…”
Burchett adds, “did you just see that?” he asks in disbelief. I’m stunned, too. Says he won’t follow up with McCarthy on what happened, “he’s on a downhill spiral… he just, that was pretty gutless of him. I’m disappointed in his, in him.”
Burchett reiterates he hasn’t talked to McCarthy since he voted against him. “No, no that was it. That’s it. He’s got $17 million to work against me. And he’s just a — he should have kept his word. I think that just showed what he’s about and it’s unfortunate.”
That’s pretty stunning, I think. But here’s something I’ve never seen before. The Texas Tribune reports that Rep. Pat Fallon from the Ft. Worth area is retiring from the U.S. House of Representatives to run for his old seat in the Texas Senate. He was quoted as saying that his previous time in the state Senate was “the best two years I ever spent” in politics.
Needless to say, this is the exact opposite of how things normally work, which is that you first get elected to your state legislature and then get promoted to Congress. I’m sure there must be, in the long history of our country, some other example of the reverse happening, but it’s unprecedented as far as I know.
It’s just a joyless thing to be a Republican officeholder right now, at least in Washington DC. Can’t say I’m unhappy about it either.
Adding to the fun:
Back in the 1990s, Nolan Richardson made the University of Arkansas a men’s basketball powerhouse and 1994 NCAA champions with his “40 Minutes of Hell” defense. Basically, Arkansas would pressure the ball the entire game, refusing to allow their opponents to advance the ball uncontested for a single foot of the length of the court.
The relevant point is this: eventually the pressure made their opponents crack.
In addition to these examples from Congress, Trump’s increasingly frenetic tweets and increasingly incoherent speeches are other examples.
For many liberals (and pro-democracy centrists and conservatives), it’s frustrating to wake up every morning having to deal with a fascist/fascist-like opposition. What Nolan Richardson understood is how to beat them: put pressure on them every opportunity you have, even when you’re tired and don’t *want* to. Eventually they’ll crack, make mistakes, and ultimately, lose.
Kudos for bringing Nolan Richardson to the conversation!
I think we found the Republican solution to the house speaker problem. Elect a new speaker, there’s a short grace period where they are allowed to bring forth a clean CR, then they’re out, rinse and repeat. JC, what a party.
So, if you try the same thing over and over its what? The definition of what?