Democrats, Johnson told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt last week, “move in a herd” and “act like a union” following their leader because there’s no diversity of opinion causing them to stray. Their groupthink could even be described as the behavior of “socialists,” he asserted. Republicans, however, can’t be forced to unite because they’re “rugged individualists.”
That’s one way of putting it. What Johnson didn’t articulate was how a rowdy bunch of flamethrowers on his right flank — roughly 15 lawmakers, many of them members of the vocal Freedom Caucus — has pretty much sabotaged any hope of a conservative legislative agenda this Congress. These hard-liners have refused to compromise on issues ranging from immigration legislation to government spending and foreign aid for Ukraine, and in the process they have yielded power to a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers.
This stubborn adherence to ideological purity is causing the hard-liners to lose leverage in a House where the GOP has just a two-vote majority.
Given the threat looming over Johnson and their inability to compromise, Republicans will probably resort to passing noncontroversial legislation that doesn’t rankle their conference, while also prioritizing possibly cutting federal funds to universities and piecing together an “election integrity” bill that Johnson and former president Donald Trump floated earlier this month. (Voting by undocumented migrants is already illegal in the United States.)
But Congress must reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration by May 11 and fund the government for the 2025 fiscal year while reauthorizing a farm bill by Sept. 30. Given how the far right’s unrealistic demands to curtail spending plagued the last spending process, it’s unlikely that Republicans can notch aggressively conservative wins this time around.
Bullshit. Republican’s main problem is the opposite. They move together without thinking about it.
Even when Republicans know what they’re doing is wrong, they prioritize doing the wrong thing, but together. EDIT: Case in point: the reason why “RINO” is such an effective insult is because Republicans by-and-large understand this about themselves and the alliance they’ve formed.
Democrat’s problem is their lack of compromise on their philosophies and ideologies in my experience. A tiny bit more “practicality” and “pragmatism” (ie: embracing propaganda, embracing contradictions, etc. etc.) would make Democrats stronger.
Meanwhile, Republicans need to stop being so pragmatic. You don’t need to support Trump ya know? There were other options. I know Republicans do what is easiest in the short term, but they’re thinking way too short term here. Its going to eat away at the long-term prospects for their party.
democrats lack of compromise??? this is an. interesting take. Ill tell you their base certainly finds they compromise a lot. Many. The centerists. are by and large fine with it if it gets something else important. I don’t recall republicans compromising for anything but tax cuts.
Democrats will shit on each other and hang each other out to dry and abandon someone over the smallest inconvenience in their ideology.
Republicans will protect even grossly incompetent assholes who they disagree with in the name of party unity. (Exception: the “RINO” argument. If the overall Republican party believes someone is a RINO, they will shit on them and run them out of the party. This is the only sin that is worthy of expulsion inside of the Republican party).
ok yeah. I think its the individual politician vs the party. the democratic party compromises but not individual members wereas the republican party tends not to compromise wereas the individual members will for the party. It just sounds a bit wierd because usually people when discussing this are talking about the way the party behaves vs the individual members of it.
This article is about the House in Congress, not the people. Do you have any source for Dems in the house never getting anything done because of infighting?
My point is that Republicans are not driven by ideology as much as pragmatism. They are rather open about this too.
Compromise, lack of compromise. That doesn’t matter. The focus of the Republican party is party unity right now, no joke. They know that they’re in a tough spot politically and only sticking together is the only way they can possibly move forward.
You have to understand the mindset of Republicans. And honestly, its not a bad thing in all cases, its just overly strong right now in today’s Republican party.
Democrats need to learn from Republicans and become more pragmatic. Republicans need to learn from Democrats and take a few more Losses in the name of ideology (ie: Republicans should actually form a cohesive ideology and agree upon it, no matter how hard it is to do so).
Note that Republicans can’t even pass ideological “What the Party Believes in” like statements inside of the Republican National Committee right now. In part because they recognize its not important (which is… true… this current batch of Republicans is not about ideology). Meanwhile the Democrats get all tangled up in ideological arguments that the Republicans aren’t even playing with. So whatever, its seen as a win for the current batch of Republicans, but its not good for them in the long term IMO.
Republicans are all about rugged individualism…as long as that rugged individualism is exactly like theirs.
I’m a rugged individualist! So long as Trump says that’s okay
Exactly - Trump is the individual, and you’re the rug!
(Before the down votes come - yes, I understood the /s and am just restating the joke)
It has led to some privately calling for more time at home in their districts, knowing little will probably get done the rest of the year.
It’s April
Not that i want conservatives to accomplish anything, but goddamn.
I work all year. why can’t i afford groceries
Maybe they’re just saying that so the buttheads will go home and everyone else will sneak back to DC and pass bills without them?
The more these uncompromising GOP house members are voted out the better for the nation.
