New trouble for “Speaker” Mike Johnson

Mike Johnson finally did something right, and all hell broke loose. Several Democrats have indicated that they would vote against a motion to vacate. Both Tom Suozzi (D-NY) and Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) said that they will not join Republicans in ousting Johnson. Suozzi told Daily Beast: “You need to demonstrate that this chaos caucus doesn’t have the power that they think they have. We can’t allow them to punish him for doing the right thing.” Adam Smith (D-WA) has also indicated that other Democrats would keep Johnson in place should Greene, Gosar, and Massie try to remove him.

The chaos caucus, as Suozzi aptly named them, has been useless. They have no clue about governing, which obviously involves compromising and reaching across the aisle to secure victories for the American people and our allies. They are in the wrong business. Austin Scott (R-GA) told Daily Beast: “There’s nobody in the Republican conference today that can get 100% of the vote from the Republican conference, and if they take him out, by definition, they have given the Democrats control over who is the next Speaker of the House.” Many Republicans are also frankly sick of all the drama and chaos.

On his way out, Ken Buck nicknamed Marjorie Taylor Greene “Moscow Marjorie.” Now, the New York Post, owned by the Murdock family, has begun an attack against her. She’s on the front page of the latest edition, with a photoshopped fur cap on her head with the headline: “Nyet, Moscow Marjorie.” Fox has also taken shots at Greene recently with columnist Liz Peek calling her an “idiot,” and the Wall Street Journal referring to her as “Rep. Mayhem Taylor Greene.” The conservative media seems to just be getting started with Greene. According to the New Republic, Las Vegas Review-Journal writer Debra Saunders wants to know who put Greene in charge. At the rate this is going, Greene will find herself outside looking in and will have no power whatsoever to remove Mike Johnson, even with the help of the not-so-stable Paul Gosar, whose own family calls him crazy. It’s not only that Greene, Gosar, and others are crazy, but they are trying their best to destroy what everyone before them has built.

In a recent interview with Politico, Tom Cole (R-OK), who has been in Congress for over 20 years, said their behavior is “unproductive.” He doesn’t appreciate that a small number of extremists have been able to oust a sitting House speaker and use their influence over the rest of the party even though none of them have ever held leadership positions. People like Cole know how things are supposed to work in Washington and doesn’t appreciate these people coming in and trying to take over. Cole told Politico: “I would argue it’s a lack of respect for the institution and the wisdom of the institution. These things have evolved over not decades, but centuries. This is a 234-year-old institution.” They may have quashed the bipartisan border bill-for now-but they didn’t win this fight, and they won’t win the next.