Is Mike Johnson a Master Pol?

In new Speaker Mike Johnson the Democrats may be dealing with a much stronger and smarter opponent than they had in Kevin McCarthy.

Johnson’s opening moves seem masterful. The very first thing he did was tie aid for Israel to a cut in IRS funding. He had to know that would go nowhere, but it put capital in the bank with the hard-right. Then he averted a government shutdown — and even an eleventh hour deal — by making pretty much the same deal with Democrats that got McCarthy sacked just several weeks ago.

He was able to do that because he had goodwill in the bank with the hard-right. He’s one of them. He’s Nixon and avoiding the shutdown by working with the Dems is China. That’s not to say the right is happy, but they like Johnson and they sure as heck don’t want to take another hit over a renewed leadership fight. Credit Johnson for understanding where he is and how much room he has to maneuver.

For their part, Democrats expressed cautious optimism that Johnson is someone they might be able to work with. Chuck Schumer said that he was, “heartened, very cautiously,” by Johnson’s actions. He even indicated that he and Johnson had talked to find a way to structure his resolution in such a way as to ensure Democratic votes.

So, it’s possible that what we have in Johnson is a man secure enough in his own beliefs (far to the right as they may be) and with enough goodwill in the bank with his fellow hard-righters that he has room to move. That would make him a far more formidable opponent than McCarthy, but it also might wind up being good for the country if it means that Congress can get things done.

Of course, outside of that Congress didn’t look so good yesterday. As Republican Rep. Patrick McHenry said, “Congress has dumb days and dumber days and today was about the dumbest I’ve seen.” He was referring to McCarthy’s apparent elbow to the kidneys of his fellow Republican, but caucus opponent, Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee, and the near smack down between Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin and Teamsters Union President Sean O’Brien.

Mike Johnson looks like a smart guy. Some of his colleagues not so much.