Former Pennsylvania Republican congressman Charlie Dent is letting it be known that for the House to get in order they need to reach over the aisle with an olive branch. “The House Republican Conference is deeply fractured,” he said during an appearance on MSNBC’s “Alex Wagner Tonight.”
I guess for each rep it comes down to whether they think the folks in their district will be upset more because they let the government grind to a halt or they colluded with Democrats.
I’m worried that in many districts, voters are so polarized that they would see working across the aisle as heresy. It’s the same reason Jordan got 190ish votes publicly, but only 86 in a secret ballot.
Bunch of fucking unprincipled cowards that less than half of the people who voted for him publicly would do so in private. That really paints a picture of a party that has created a monster in their constituents that has clearly gotten out of control. Idiots.
I think it’s because many rank-and-file voters form their political opinions by watching TV. TV pundits can spout all sorts of bullshit, and by the time those lies are exposed nobody cares, because they are now on a different set of lies. TV pundits don’t have to actually try to get things passed, and it’s always easier to tear things down than build them up.
So, Republicans in very red districts have to decide whether to be effective, or be electable. It’s hard for them to be both.