A House divided against itself cannot govern

Radical obstructionism of MAGA Republicans promotes chaos in pursuit of ideology and blocks progress on important issues

Before becoming President, Abraham Lincoln ominously predicted, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” Current-day Republicans are demonstrating that a House divided against itself cannot govern.

The fractious House GOP majority ousted the Speaker it elected nine months ago but failed to replace him for three weeks, leaving the House powerless to do anything but vote on a new Speaker. Two conservative Speaker candidates failed to muster the needed House floor votes to get the gavel. Another nine candidates lined up to try their luck. A moderate caucus member was nominated and four hours later dropped out after a negative social media post by Donald Trump.

After 21 speaker-less days, an exhausted Republican caucus selected unheralded, conservative Louisiana Congressman Mike Johnson, whose main credential for the job was Trump’s approval. That approval was based on Johnson’s lead role in denying the 2020 presidential election results and defending the former President in his second impeachment trial. Johnson has blamed mass shootings on teaching evolution in school and sponsored a bill to ban same-sex marriage. Congressman Matt Gaetz joyfully referred to Johnson as “MAGA Mike.”

In his first speech as Speaker, Johnson pledged to get the House back to work with an unspecified “new form of government.” Whatever that means, the work at hand is immense: Twelve appropriations, a defense authorization bill, a farm bill and a supplemental funding request for aid to Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan and the southern border. The stopgap funding measure that triggered the ouster of Speaker Kevin McCarthy expires November 17 and will need to be extended to avert a partial government shutdown.

A majority of Congress supports aid to Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan and the southern border, approval of appropriations and another continuing resolution to keep government running. That majority is meaningless unless the new speaker can solve the riddle of how to satisfy MAGA Republicans and still get measures passed in the Democrat-controlled Senate and signed by President Biden. An ominous threat came just after Johnson’s election from a spokesman for the Freedom Caucus threatening to withhold votes for a stopgap spending extension without a 30 percent cut in discretionary federal spending. The goal is to stigmatize consensus.

‘Radical Obstructionism’
Dysfunction has become a strategy in pursuit of right-wing ideological goals – shrinking federal spending, easing government regulation, banning abortion, ending military aid to Ukraine, opposing gun regulation and whitewashing history. Their objective is to win, not govern. Columnist Jamelle Bouie calls MAGA Republicanism ‘radical obstructionism.’

The obstruction extends beyond posturing and social media posts to intimidation and threats of violence. Georgia Congressman Drew Ferguson, one of the more than 20 House Republicans who voted against Jim Jordan for Speaker, told reporters, "When the pressure campaigns and attacks on fellow members ramped up, it became clear to me that the House Republican Conference does not need a bully as the Speaker." 

Those tactics weren’t spontaneous. Steve Bannon, who backed Jordan and is a MAGA Republican cheerleader, advised his hard-right podcast audience, "Call them and get in their grill. Let them know what you think … Email, call their local office, all of it, burn it down. That's right. Get up in their face."

Pundits of all political stripes are having a field day while American allies and adversaries look on in astonishment. They wonder if Americans have forgotten how to govern a democracy. Doubts about stable U.S. leadership, which arose during the Trump presidency, have exploded. Thoughtful Americans wonder how we got into this predicament – and how we can get out.

Lincoln’s Leadership Example
In hindsight, we can appreciate the farsightedness of Lincoln’s observation about a house divided and learn from his leadership to overcome division. NPR’s Steve Inskeep has written a new book titled Differ We Mustthat describes Lincoln’s struggle to build a working majority to hold together the Union amid a civil war:

“Lincoln practiced a different kind of politics than many people do today. it didn't mean getting along with everybody. The guy ended up being President during a war against his fellow citizens. So, some people he was not going to compromise with. But if America was going to remain a democratic country, somebody had to assemble a majority. And so he needed to figure out a way to reach out to people who differed with him on some things to find enough agreement that they could form that majority. That's a lesson for now.”

Differing points of view are unavoidable and often useful. As a country, we have lots to discuss and decide such as how to preserve Social Security, maintain world order and manage immigration. Differing opinions aren’t the problem. Our problem is refusing to have constructive conversations in search of progress, or at least a path forward.

Problem-Solvers Caucus Example
The congressional Problem Solvers Caucus has the right idea, bringing together equal numbers of open-minded members from both parties. The caucus is specifically designed to deal with conflict constructively. Solutions, not political brownie points, are the goal. They consider ideas rather than ideology.

To address congressional dysfunction and serve as a national example, this caucus should be expanded to include as many members of the House and Senate as are willing to look past partisanship and address problems.

As the 2024 elections roll around, voters should consider asking candidates – incumbents and challengers – where they stand on constructive politics and whether they would join the Problem-Solvers Caucus. It wouldn’t be inappropriate to remind them that Congress was designed to be a problem-solving body that considers concerns and interests of all regions and all people. You could also mention compromise isn’t a four-letter word.

Gary Conkling has been a newsman, congressional aide and public affairs professional for more than 50 years.