What Did GOP Moderates Get?

Part of me is relieved that House Republicans finally got their dysfunctional caucus functioning well enough to elect a new Speaker. The other part of me laments that it’s a radical conservative.

Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana was instrumental in working behind the scenes against certification of the free and fair 2020 election. In normal times that alone would cast him as a radical and unfit for office, much less the speakership. His other positions are simply very conservative. Nothing wrong with that, but some of his views are way out of synch with those of the bulk of the American people. Johnson is rabidly anti-abortion and he opposes same sex marriage and aid to Ukraine. All positions at odds with those of a majority of Americans.

Sometimes Speakers set aside their personal views to simply get things done. By November 17th the nation faces the very same government shutdown that cost Kevin McCarthy his job simply because he did the responsible thing. So, Johnson’s first big test comes within weeks.

But there’s reason to see Johnson’s elevation as another big blow to the center. The ousting of McCarthy and the installation of Johnson amounts to a big victory for radicals, like Matt Gaetz. They have to be feeling empowered and, no doubt, they’re being loudly cheered on by hard-right media and social media. This is a world that doesn’t appreciate the idea of gaining power to govern responsibly. You fight to get the keys so that you can run the car into the ditch.

So, why did Republican moderates cave? They rejected a high-profile version of Johnson in Rep. Jim Jordan. There were reports that the moderates had finally had enough and were going to stand their ground, infuriated by both the sacking of McCarthy and Jordan’s hardball tactics. But within a few days it was all over. They saw one of their own, Rep. Tom Emmer, go down without so much as a floor vote. After that, they gave up and gave in and we wound up with a Speaker who makes McCarthy look like AOC.

And what did the moderates get for their capitulation? When McCarthy was elected in January the radicals demanded a long list of concessions. If there were any promises made to the moderates by Johnson it hasn’t been reported. They could have demanded that Johnson use his capital with the hard-right to prevent a shutdown next month. They could have demanded a floor vote on aid to Ukraine. But did they?

Maybe it’s just the nature of moderates to want to put out the fire, to want to make things work, to compromise. Those are all laudable traits and, in fact, it’s what we stand for here at YSDA. And yet, sometimes, rarely, you really have to dig in in the interests of the long-term good. If the radicals and the bullies know that they will always win in the end if they just out-wait you, you’re going to lose every time.

Maybe Johnson will prove to be a wily tactician who will find a way to govern. He is described as affable, a word never used to describe Jordan or Gaetz. But this morning it feels like another sad day for our democracy.