DANIEL VAUGHAN: Removing A House Speaker Is Dumb - Which Explains Why Some Republicans Want To Do It

By 
 April 22, 2024

It's an election year, and we're heading into the Congressional doldrums of summer, which means it's time for a House Republican to find something dumb to do. The House passed a set of legislation to get funding to Ukraine and Israel, ban TikTok, and more. And because it only takes one person to bring it up, three Republicans now want to remove Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson.

And just like the last time, the looney bin is running the asylum. When brought on Maria Bartiromo's Sunday Morning Futures show, Rep. Marie Taylor-Greene couldn't offer any plan for replacing Speaker Johnson or even a cohesive reason for getting rid of him. Johnson passed through a similar set of measures that Kevin McCarthy passed during his Speakership.

Even though Greene calls for Johnson's removal, she's not even calling for a vote. Bartiromo called Greene out on this directly,"' With all due respect, you didn't give me a plan for the speaker's role ... And again, does this mean you are going to file that motion at some point?' Greene again refused to voice any kind of plan and simply reiterated her vow to remove Johnson."

A similar scene happened with Neil Cavuto and essentially any other interview in which Greene, Gaetz, or the other knuckle-headed caucus members go to grunt and scratch out responses to the press. They don't have a plan for Congress, they aren't legislating anything important, and they're just gurgling out primal rage that risks giving the House over to Democrats.

For all Greene's anger at the legislation passed, she offered no critiques or amendments of substance. She tried offering an amendment to the Israeli aid that was all about Jewish space lasers. American troops are in the region, actively engaged in shooting down. Iranian missiles and drones, and Greene is legislating as a comedian.

With no plan on replacing Johnson, Greene's push to kick Johnson out would spin the House back into the chaos it had after Gaetz removed McCarthy. There's no clear frontrunner, and Republicans, already down to a one-vote majority, couldn't figure out a new person.

Even more telling, if Greene had the votes to pull this stunt off, she could have put it on the floor. She pulled it, which signals neither Republicans nor Democrats are interested in another Speakership meltdown. Greene is like Gaetz, a petulant toddler raging at Congress, more interested in personal battles than having a functioning government.

Greene doesn't have answers in interviews, on X/Twitter, or as an anonymous source. She doesn't represent the direction of the Republican Party, either. Donald Trump signaled his support for Johnson and the legislation. Greene is a loose cannon doing nothing but aiding Democrats in the House.

At this stage, we're likely to see two outcomes if Greene pushes through with her attempt to remove Johnson. Outcome one: Democrats use the chaos to take the majority and make Hakeem Jeffries, Nancy Pelosi's handpicked successor, Speaker of the House. Outcome two: Democrats block Greene's attempt by voting for Johnson, saving his Speakership, to ensure Republicans eat all the bad headlines heading into the election.

Nothing about Greene's intra-party squabbles aids Republicans, conservatism, or the country. All it does is boost Democrats heading into November. The fact that she's doing this in an election year is the mindset of a perpetual loser who has never led a single organization in her life.

Congress is evenly divided and both parties are dealing with a coalition environment. There is no grand solution until one part has a decisive majority over the other. Until then, you must get the victories you can and minimize the damage where possible. That's just the reality of politics, given the division.

Greene, Gaetz, and their ilk live in a fantasy world where they get cheered for accomplishing nothing. Republicans are more divided at the moment with multiple wars and numerous issues facing the country. We should be trying to solve them, not settle political scores.

What the House looks like after November is anyone's guess. We may see Republicans gain seats or lose them. We can revisit leadership then, and everyone can get a firmer foundation underneath them. Picking a fight heading into an election is the dumbest possible outcome. And given the people who have consistently pushed Speakership fights, this makes sense. Only people lacking any wisdom at all would take this path.

And you don't have to take my word for it. Watch the lack of answers from Greene or anyone like her on television. The dodges are getting old while the problems are real. If she and the others can't meet this moment, they should resign and let others step in to lead.

" A free people [claim] their rights, as derived from the laws of nature."
Thomas Jefferson
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