Forget governance: Dysfunctional Republicans are putting on a show

Addressing the 1960 Republican Convention after Vice President Richard Nixon acceded to New York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller’s demands to adopt more liberal positions in the party’s platform, Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-Ariz) addressed his disappointed supporters: 

“Let’s grow up conservatives! If we want to take this party back — as I think we can someday — let’s get to work!” To that end, Goldwater articulated a conservative philosophy and built an organization that reached its pinnacle of success during the Reagan years.  

But if Barry Goldwater were to be resurrected from the dead, he would be aghast at today’s Republican Party. This month, a querulous group of eight Republicans ended the 269-day speakership of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). Instead of acting like grown-ups, who understand that compromising with Democrats who control both the White House and the Senate is essential, this Gang of Eight, in the words of Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa), acted as “chaos agents.” 

The childishness of today’s Republican Party is an outcome of our performative politics where outrageous statements generate social media clicks and campaign donations from aggrieved base voters. A recent example came from Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) who emblazoned a large scarlet A on her white shirt after she petulantly voted to oust McCarthy. MSNBC host and legal contributor Katie Phang called Mace’s publicity stunt “performative nonsense.” 

The politics of outrage, as perfected by Donald Trump and practiced by would-be Trump imitators, is augmented by general election outcomes that are often predetermined. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), the leader of the anti-McCarthy coup, is in a +19 percent Republican district which provides him with a reelection insurance policy. Taken together, the eight Republicans who ousted McCarthy represent just 1.8 percent of the U.S. population. For them, satisfying the id of their Republican base voters is paramount, while producing successful legislative outcomes and seeking compromise often takes a backseat. 

McCarthy’s get along, go along persona is often cited as a reason for what Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) derisively called his “incredibly shrinking Speakership.” In May, McCarthy broke his promise to President Biden to keep discretionary spending “roughly flat” for the coming fiscal year, rescinded COVID spending and imposed new work requirements for SNAP recipients — all in exchange for raising the debt ceiling. The Biden-McCarthy compromise would have avoided a government shutdown and the GOP’s present-day drama over McCarthy’s speakership had the California Republican stuck with it. 

Following his decision to keep the government open until Nov. 17, McCarthy told reporters, “There has to be an adult in the room.” And every member of the Democratic minority save one acted as a responsible adult and supported McCarthy’s measure.  

Inexplicably, the next day after calling the vote to keep the government open, McCarthy blamed House Democrats for wanting to shut down the government. Had McCarthy simply lived up to the deal he negotiated with Biden, it is likely that some Democrats would have voted present on the motion to vacate, allowing McCarthy to keep his job. Honoring deals may not be popular with Republican base voters, but it is the coin of the realm in Washington, D.C. To most Democrats and many Republicans, McCarthy’s backtracking meant that he could not be trusted. 

The childishness of many House Republicans is only half the problem. Handing control of the party to Donald Trump, and all of the hucksterism and showmanship that came with that decision, has created its own ideological incoherence. Trump’s policy somersaults — and the willingness of most Republicans to go along with them — are mindboggling. 

Consider that: 

• In 1999, Trump declared, “I am totally pro-choice,” only to reverse himself in 2011 telling the Conservative Political Action Conference, “I am pro-life.” Today, Trump is stepping back from his ardent pro-life position, calling a six-week ban on abortion “a terrible mistake.” 
• In 2016, Trump called NATO “a good thing,” only to reverse himself six days later, saying, “I think NATO is obsolete.” 
• Trump once strongly supported a ban on assault-style weapons only to later call himself “the strongest person running in favor of the Second Amendment.” As Trump revealingly stated at the time, “I’m very capable of changing to anything I want to change to.” 

Instead of making any pretense at ideological coherence, the governing philosophy of the Republican Party seems to be whatever is good for Donald Trump. 

Republican subservience to Trump’s whims and outrageous statements is stupefying. For example, when Trump called for the “execution” of former Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley, the response was muted. Asked if Trump’s comment should be disqualifying, Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley meekly answered, “You don’t need to say things like that.” Although President Biden noted that “a majority of Republicans” don’t believe Milley should be executed, he said the party’s silence on the subject was “deafening.”   

In many respects, Donald Trump’s Republican Party is undergoing something akin to the primal scream therapy of the late psychologist Arthur Janov. The unhinged cries from distraught Republicans are loud and clear and threaten the stability of our democracy. At a time when the world is in crisis and challenges are mounting at home, House Republicans cannot even perform the mandated tasks of governing. 

Taking note of yet another “we’ve never been here before” situation, Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wisc.) said: “It does seem like we’ve opened the Pandora’s Box of unrestrained ambition. People feel no loyalty to this institution.”  

This is what happens when a major party becomes dysfunctional and cannot govern. 

John Kenneth White is a professor of Politics at The Catholic University of America. His forthcoming book is titled “Grand Old Unraveling: The Republican Party, Donald Trump, and the Rise of Authoritarianism.” He can be reached at johnkennethwhite.com.