Bipartisanship is not a reason to oust the Speaker of the House. By failing to show any form of cooperation, Republican and Democratic members of Congress showed they have no desire to work together, only to be the most powerful party.
Failing to celebrate Kevin McCarthy’s passing of bipartisan legislation furthers the belief that political parties are supposed to work against each other, rather than with each other.
McCarthy, former Speaker of the House, was forcibly vacated from his Speaker of the House position after passing bipartisan legislation to prevent a government shutdown, according to the Associated Press.
A government shutdown is really shortsighted, especially given the conflict in the current world, including the Russo-Ukrainian War and the Israel-Hamas conflict.
“It’s (a government shutdown) a very fiscally irresponsible thing to do,” said Scot Schraufnagel, an NIU political science professor. “Especially, we’ve had plenty of natural disasters. We’re not directly involved in foreign wars right now. We have a lot of foreign wars going on. And, so, you know, the government shuts down and soldiers stop getting paid. And then all the disaster relief and stuff like that gets put on hold.”
Government shutdowns significantly limit Congress’ ability to do anything, but Congress does not need any help being ineffective. Congressional infighting and inability to reach across the aisle to find common ground is continually problematic and embarrassing.
“McCarthy, to his credit, said he’s not going to let that happen, right? And he joined forces with Democrats to pass a bipartisan law continuing resolution which kept the government operating for another 45 days,” Schraufnagel said.
McCarthy’s willingness to cooperate and put a functioning government before party politics is admirable; however, his fellow Republicans found the bipartisan legislation worthy of ousting.
While the search for the new speaker continues, Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina was chosen by McCarthy to serve as a temporary speaker – speaker pro tempore – until a new speaker is chosen.
The speaker pro tempore can perform very limited procedures, which forced Congress to adjourn, making them unable to do anything policy-related, Schraufnagel said. The tumultuous status of the U.S. and the world – continued foreign conflict, domestic political infighting and international natural disasters – demonstrate a need for a strong and functioning congressional body.
“It’s a dangerous situation and gives comfort to our enemies. It shows that democracy is dysfunctional,” Schraufnagel said.
Despite the relationship between dictatorships and democracies, Congress’ Republicans and Democrats are not showing the world why democracy is good. Instead, they are illustrating harmful party politics and a fear of moderation that nobody actually wants.
Maintaining a balanced and healthy democracy is increasingly difficult, especially when government officials are the ones making effective governing almost impossible.
McCarthy’s ability to reach across the aisle and pass bipartisan legislation should be celebrated, not denounced.
