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Trying to line up votes in a legislative chamber has often been compared to "trying to herd cats." It is not an easy job. It has been made even tougher in the current Congress where a small minority of Republican extreme right-wingers have been dominating the House of Representatives.
Earlier this year, they forced 15 roll-call votes over several days before selecting Kevin McCarthy as Speaker. Then, just a few months later, on a single vote they ousted McCarthy. He wasn't conservative enough for them.
For three weeks, Jim Jordan of Ohio tried to "corral" this "chaos caucus," but he too failed, in part, because he seemed to be too close to it. He tried 3 times to become Speaker but couldn't get the needed votes. In the meantime, the House essentially shut down, unable to conduct any business.
Finally, last week, a relatively unknown Congressman by the name of Mike Johnson received enough votes to become Speaker. At first, his name sounded like that of a Swede from Jamestown... but, such he is not. He is pretty much a straight arrow MAGA conservative right out of the bayous of Louisiana.
What seemed to be Johnson's biggest attribute is that he is an affable guy and doesn't have a lot of political enemies. The Wall St. Journal described him as being "gracious, funny and smart." A fellow Republican Congressman from Colorado attributed Johnson's win to the fact that he "probably has the fewest enemies of anybody in the Republican Party."
Whatever the reason, the big political news is that all Republicans in the House, including the few moderates still left...voted to give Speaker Johnson a chance at leadership. Yet, it is sad when the vote seems to have been based on who was the least disliked potential choice.
What this also tells us is that there are a growing number of Republican representatives who realize that following the "chaos caucus" means sure disaster. The citizens of the country expect their House of Representatives to be up and functioning. If all the Republicans are able to accomplish is to shut down the government, they will surely be voted out of office.
This is especially true for some of the members representing districts here in New York State. Unlike our own safely Republican congressional district, there are several in the state that are competitive, where voters will switch between Republicans and Democrats. Such so-called "marginal districts" will determine whether or not the Republicans remain in control of the House after 2024.
If Speaker Johnson can appease the right-wingers and still lead the GOP to keep the federal government from defaulting, pass bills dealing with the ongoing wars in Israel and Ukraine, and actually enable the government to remain open and operating...then maybe the Republicans can maintain their slim majority in the House.
But, if they descend again into chaos, in the words of the Wall St. Journal: "They deserve to lose, and they probably will." Chaos is not a formula for victory.
Rolland Kidder is a Stow resident.