Who’s really running the show? (I’ll give you one hint)

For the second time in five months, the federal government has not shut down. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Matt Gaetz, Lauren Boebert, and the bunch have once again failed to get their way. Predictably.

For all their bluster, these loudmouths are simply not influential, even within their own caucus. Savvy politicians know that getting your way on something like a budget battle is something you accomplish behind the scenes, not by yapping for the cameras.

Don’t get me wrong, I love that these embarrassing buffoons are the face of their party. That makes it so much easier to get more Democrats elected in moderate House districts. Outside of their own far right unhinged anti-government districts, goons like Greene and Gaetz are little more than free advertising for the Democratic Party.

But it really is remarkable that the Greene-Gaetz gang never does seem to get its way. They wanted to keep McCarthy from becoming Speaker to begin with. They wanted a shutdown in May of 2023. They wanted to oust McCarthy after the first shutdown didn’t happen. They wanted actual, voted-upon Biden impeachment hearings. They wanted a shutdown yesterday. And they didn’t get any of it.

Maybe it’s time we stop treating these House Republican loudmouths as if they have any real standing or influence. Sure, they run their mouths in controversial and insane fashion all day and provide the biggest soundbites, so the media (on both sides) naturally portrays them as being the most influential. But if you never actually get your way on anything, can you really be considered influential?

If two basketball players face off in a game, and one of them spends the entire time trash talking but scores no points, while the other quietly scores forty points and wins the game, no one would suggest that the trash talker got the better of the contest. The most influential person in the House is Democratic minority leader Hakeem Jeffries. He’s the one who keeps winning battles. McCarthy is just sort of there, while Greene and Gaetz are just loudmouths who never get their way. So let’s stop treating these types as if they’re calling the shots. And let’s resolve ourselves to put in the work required to make sure the Democrats win the competitive House “toss up” races in 2024, so the Democrats will have the majority and Jeffries can really work his magic.