The U.S. House of Omnishambles
A decade ago, then-British Labour Party leader Ed Miliband popularized the phrase "omnishambles," describing something shambolic, or screwed up, from every possible angle.
Miliband first used it in 2012 to describe the ruling government's budget, but it had so many political applications that the Oxford English Dictionary christened "omnishambles" as the Word of the Year.
Today, no better word captures the state of the Republican House majority than omnishambles.
Having lost two floor votes for the House speaker gavel, this morning the conservative firebrand Jim Jordan proposed suspending his bid and supporting a resolution temporarily empowering the acting Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry to open the House floor for legislation.
Also this morning, for the Washington Monthly I made the case that Democrats and Republicans should join forces to support empowering McHenry, sidelining the far-right nihilists agitating for a government shutdown.
For a brief moment, with Jordan's capitulation, this seemed possible.
But after an angry House GOP conference meeting, where many Republicans recoiled at the idea of a bipartisan solution, Jordan withdrew the idea and stayed in the speaker race.
Yet the divisive Jordan still lacks the votes to secure the needed majority on the House floor.
I stand by the conclusion of my article:
Am I optimistic that a bipartisan solution will prevail? Not at all. The same mistrust that took down [Kevin] McCarthy hasn’t dissipated. But at the time, I don’t see any other way out.
Something has to budge before November 17, when the stopgap bill keeping the government funded expires.
As I noted in my column, most Republicans voted to keep the government open last month. Presumably, most want to do the same next month. If the House GOP conference is irrevocably divided, then the only remaining path for those Republicans who want to end the dysfunction is the bipartisan path.
If they can't accept that reality, omnishambles.
Also on the Washington Monthly website:
The Case for Hope in Israel and Gaza. Really.: Storer H. Rowley explores the possibility that "a Gazan Sadat or a new Israeli Rabin" will eventually emerge. Click here for the full story.
Crossing the (Jim) Jordan: Executive Editor, Digital Matthew Cooper explores why some normally level-headed members of the House GOP conference are still ready to back the man John Boehner called a "legislative terrorist." Click here for the full story.
The October 17th edition of the Washington Monthly newsletter fact checks Donald Trump's recent tall tale about Benjamin Netanyahu. Click here for the full story.
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Best,
Bill