Dissension in the GOP Ranks
And it’s bad news for Boebert
The news that one Republican member of Congress is resigning may not seem like a big deal. But with such a slim majority in the House, another GOP representative’s bailing out means it’s just that much harder to get anything done, such as funding the federal government. Deadlocked? We ain’t seen nothing yet.
Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado, who was not seeking reelection but had promised to serve out his term in the House of Representatives, announced he’s moving up his departure. Now he’ll be gone by the end of next week. And he’s hinting he may not be the last out the door.
Buck’s unexpected resignation has implications in Congress as well as for Republicans in Colorado. House Republicans’ razor-thin margin is now down to two, and Buck hinted to Axios what might be even bigger news: More resignations could be coming.
“I think it’s the next three people that leave that they’re going to be worried about.”
Does Buck know something that we don’t, or is he speculating? A special election in a very blue district in New York in April could shrink the GOP majority even more.
As of today, Speaker Mike Johnson is two bad colds away from having to reach across the aisle to get anything done, such as keeping the government open and functioning. A vote on funding 70% of the federal government is just days away.
As for Buck, the representative from Colorado’s eastern plains is a rare Republican indeed. He didn’t bend the knee to Donald Trump. Just listen to what he had to say about the clown show that is the GOP-led House.
“We’ve taken impeachment and we’ve made it a social media issue as opposed to a constitutional concept. This place keeps going downhill and I don’t need to spend more time here,” Buck said in a statement Tuesday.
Buck is not buying the alternate universe that has paralyzed so many Republicans in Congress, all due to the whims and wishes of the presumptive presidential nominee.
“But really we’re at a time in American politics, that I am not going to lie on behalf of my presidential candidate, on behalf of my party. And I’m very sad that others in my party have taken the position that, as long as we get the White House, it doesn’t really matter what we say,” Buck added.
It’s unfortunate that Republicans often say things like this only when they are on their way out the door. But while in Congress, Buck, a member of the ultra-conservative Freedom Caucus, did break with his brethren on key issues.
He criticized those who backed Donald Trump’s claims of a stolen election in 2020. He questioned whether Republicans had found sufficient evidence to start an impeachment inquiry into President Biden. He was one of three Republicans to vote against impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Republicans in the House have not had a stellar year. After the debacle of electing a speaker (remember, it took 15 floor votes for Kevin McCarthy to win), far-right extremists displeased with McCarthy’s willingness to work with President Biden essentially fired him less than nine months later.
The decision by Buck to leave early has thrown the Colorado Republican Party into chaos. A special election to fill Buck’s empty seat has been called for June 25, the same day as Colorado’s congressional primary. Many Colorado Republicans have now joined the race. That’s very bad news for the mask-hating, vaccine-denying, gun-toting Rep. Lauren Boebert, a MAGA firebrand who has redefined the concept of bad behavior in theaters. She had switched districts, hoping to return to Congress in friendlier GOP environs. Now she finds herself with more competition — and could soon find herself on the outside looking in. Bye-bye Boebert is now a definite possibility.
What will the American electorate think about all this chaos? Come November, the current Republican House majority could become the minority real quick. The old Marines command may apply: lead, follow, or get out of the way.
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"Bye-bye Boebert is now a definite possibility." I certainly hope so, although any Republican who runs instead of Boebert will, in all likelihood, be MAGA, but she really needs to go.
Perhaps the house of cards is starting to tumble.