House Republicans Can Not Elect A Leader Amidst Their Own Chaos and Turmoil.

By James B. Ewers Jr. Ed.D.

Sometimes in life if you stay the course and don’t rock the boat, you will be rewarded. You say enough to get noticed and you wait your turn, then maybe you will get your turn.

We are all dealt different hands in life. Some start out average and end up amazing. We make lemonade out of the lemons we may receive. We are consistent in our work, and we get along with others.

Some would say that describes Republican Representative Steve Scalise from Louisiana. Mr. Scalise is the House Majority Leader. With Kevin McCarthy ousted as Speaker of the House, Mr. Scalise seemed to be the logical choice to take over.

It didn’t work out that way and he bowed out of consideration because he realized he couldn’t get the necessary votes for full consideration and wasn’t willing to make all the concessions that Mr. McCarthy made. That is my opinion.

Representative Jim Jordan from Ohio, a fellow Republican is now being considered. He is going to run into the same problem as Mr. Scalise did. It appears at this moment that he won’t be able to get the votes either.

Without much argument or debate, you can safely say that the Republican majority in the House is a collective embarrassment to the country. They are running on fumes with no gas station in sight.

Factions within the party have become obsessed and consumed with power. They are putting their personal needs before the needs of the country. As a result, the House is at a stalemate and can’t conduct the nation’s business.

What are the realistic chances of Mr. Jordan becoming the next speaker? We know that former president Trump has endorsed him. Mr. Trump is facing indictments and has legal woes facing him.

Moderate Republicans don’t care for him and what he represents. His legal troubles have “trumped” any clout that he has according to many members of the GOP.

If Representative Jordan can’t get the votes, then who will be the alternative? Will we see a second coming of Kevin McCarthy? This will only add to the circus-like atmosphere created by the Republicans. Frank Luntz, pollster and communications strategist calls McCarthy a good man.

Another possibility is to keep North Carolina Republican Patrick McHenry and give him additional powers in his role as speaker pro tempore. However Representative Zach Nunn, Republican from Iowa said, “We are in uncharted waters, but it’s also very clear we do not want to have a speaker pro tempore who is leading policy.”

On the other side of the issue is Arkansas Representative Steve Womack who favors giving Mr. McHenry additional powers. Both have made good points so we will see if these options gain some traction.

Old school Republicans like Mitt Romney are wondering what is happening to the GOP. Critics believe some Republicans will leave the party and become Independents and some may even become Democrats. Oh my!

If you are a member of the Republican Party, please send your representative a message about working for America and not against it. We are losing our standing in the world because of this speaker confusion.

Republicans! Have you no shame? Has the bar of democracy and fairness dropped so low for you? Can you get your act together?

So, in the coming days, we will see if the turmoil subsides, and they come to their senses. Republicans of longstanding don’t recognize this new group of men and women who use the GOP brand.

We the people are watching this unfold right in front of our political eyes. Don’t you care about the history of your party? Or maybe you don’t know the history of your party.

Well, come out of this political nightmare and get back to governing the country. You do know that’s why you are there, don’t you?