Everybody knows a void sucks (a little science humor there to kick things off). Right now nobody knows that more than the members of the Republican Party, who despite controlling the White House and both houses of Congress are caught in the spiraling vortex of a disastrous leadership void. And what really sucks is that the prospects of filling that void anytime soon appear slimmer than Devin Nunes’ credibility.
That void is at or near the top of the reasons Trump/Ryan ScrewYouCare failed last week, the absolute lack of Republican leadership at every level.
Are you paying attention, Democrats?
The Republicans have no clothes. They are hip deep in ideology and agendas and plumb out of governance.
Following is an assessment of who should or could lead the Republicans out of the abyss and the main reasons they won’t or can’t:
THE “A” LIST
- At the top is Donald Trump. When the president is from your party, it’s generally assumed he’s your party’s leader. Except in this case. Donald Trump is not really a Republican. He’s never worked for or within the party. He’s given money willy-nilly to whoever he thinks can help him, Democrat and Republican alike, but he’s never paid his party dues. Is it any wonder the members of the Freedumb Carcass gave him and Steve Bannon the finger – with both hands – when they threatened them last week? Trump has no cred in Congress, and a decreasing amount with the GOP outside. Until he learns to say “Please” and “Thank you,” prominent Republicans, especially in Congress, will continue to treat him like the joke he is. And then there’s Russia.
- Mike Pence (the vice-president, remember?). Since he’s one of theirs – former governor, former congressman – you’d expect he’d be next man up in Trump’s absence as party leader. Only problem is, most of theirs don’t like him very much. He’s not very popular in his home state of Indiana, and he’s even less popular in Washington. Maybe that’s why he always looks like he just got back from the proctologist under ScrewYouCare. Add to that the fact he’s wedded to Trump (but not in a gay-marriage sort of way), so whether he wants to or not he owns Trump’s policies, Trump’s actions and Trump’s tweets. Then there’s the fact he’s a theocrat who wants the government run on Christian principles (well, some of them, not ALL of them). There are a few in Congress who talk that talk, but most aren’t ready to walk that walk. Mikie’s ready. Plus he’s nearly as much of a pathological liar as Trump, a fact to which I can personally attest. And finally, he’s got a little of that new Russia smell on him too.
- Paul Ryan. Who’d of thought that somebody someday would say that Paul Ryan couldn’t carry John Boehner’s jock strap. Well, I just did. Continuing the metaphor, and since we’re in March Madness, let’s just say that Pistol Paul chunked a slam dunk last week on ACA repeal and – cough(bullshit)cough – replace. Given 7-1/2 years to craft a replacement healthcare bill, and given a unanimous Republican mandate to kill Obamacare, and given a majority in the House and Senate, and given a Republican in the White House, Paul Ryan managed to spectacularly snatch defeat from the jaws of victory with a piece of crap bill that even school children were pointing out was nothing but a tax cut for the rich. He couldn’t even bribe enough members of his own party to vote for the turd. After giving Trump the double-digit bird, the Freedumb Carcass turned it on Ryan. The House Speaker has proven that, as we suspected, he is an ideologue with an agenda who has no interest or talent in governance. So long, Paulie.
- Mitch McConnell. Name one thing MM has accomplished, other than unconstitutionally blocking the nomination of Merrick Garland. He’s facing his own Freedumb Carcass-like problems in the near future.
- John Cronyn. I only mention him because he’s McConnell’s No. 2 in the Senate and probably more adept at wrangling votes than Mitch. Not leadership material, though.
- John “Old Man Yells At Clouds” McCain. Still a force, but with a shrinking base of supporters in and out of Washington. When on his meds he often makes a lot of sense but he tends to be pretty cautious with his “maverickiness” these days. Unlikely to be the party’s leader but could still play a role in deciding who it is.
- Ted Cruz. Cruz still needs to learn how to make more friends than enemies on a daily basis. And how to appeal to a majority of the Republican Party.
- George W. Bush. When the sitting president of your party can’t lead, you often turn to your past president. But W’s saying “I ain’t havin’ none o’ that. I did my time, now I’m an artiste. Go away or I’ll release the dogs.”
- Mitt Romney. Okay, your sitting president can’t lead and your past president won’t, so maybe you turn to your last presidential candidate. Except Mitt is saying, “Now you want my leadership? Go away, I’m busy making billions. And, hey, good luck with what’s his name.”
THE “B” LIST
These are in no particular order and are listed with minimal commentary.
- I coulda been a contender (former candidates) – Kevin McCarthy (House No. 2 who tepidly challenged Ryan for speaker and lost); Rand Paul (popular voice of the Freedumbers, but too small a base); Marco Rubio (a mile wide and an inch deep); Jeb! Bush (maybe the wizard will give him a heart since he didn’t show much of one in the campaign); Ben Carson (HUD? Really?); Chris Christie (Bridgegate will probably block him); Newt Gingrich (will this guy ever go away?); Rick Perry (or this guy?); Mike Huckabee (or this one?).
- The Scotts – Scott Brown, Scott Walker and Rick Scott. Each has grown and blown a constituency. Each carries baggage. None has shown the leadership ability to take over the party.
- The Hispanic governors – Brian Sandoval of Colorado and Susana Martinez of New Mexico. Sandoval has a lot of promise, but is probably too liberal for much of the Republican base. And there’s the marijuana. Martinez had promise, but after 6 years as governor her state has dropped to the bottom of the rankings in good things (employment, income, etc.) and risen to the top of the rankings in the bad things (poverty, crime, drugs, etc.), but she did manage to cut taxes for the rich.
- The longshots – Condolezza Rice and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Candy is still dandy with a lot of Republicans, and with this leadership void that might be all she needs. And although Arnold can’t become president, that doesn’t preclude the popular film star and ex-California governor with a considerable base (why does that sound familiar?) from taking the leadership of the party. His ratings are currently better than Trump’s.
I’ve been around 70 years and have been a news and political junkie since I was 10 thanks to my mom. I have never seen a crisis of leadership in a political party like this in my lifetime. And I have never seen less promise of a leader emerging from those who hold the power.
This is wonderful news for Democrats. All they need to do is exploit it. Make it as hard as possible for the party that can’t govern to try to govern. Seize every opportunity to sow turmoil among the party’s competing factions. Don’t let them accomplish anything easily. Continue to increase pressure on Trump over taxes and Russia, and work to weaken him at every turn. Take a few pages out of the Mitch McConnell playbook and block, block, block.
If they play it right, losing this election could be the best thing that ever happened to Democrats.