Dem
51
GOP
49
You probably know Kevin Cramer. He is one of the North Dakota's two Republican senators. You probably don't know Patrick T. Brown. He is a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a Washington, D.C. think tank. Both Cramer and Brown are staunch fiscal conservatives. Both really dislike the omnibus budget bill that is likely to be adopted by Congress this week. And both think that Senate Republicans have no choice but to pass the bill nonetheless, so as to protect everyone (including House Republicans) from House Republicans.
Cramer appeared on CNN yesterday, and was asked about wannabe speaker Kevin McCarthy's (R-CA) attack on Senate Republicans. McCarthy has called the senators RINOs, traitors, etc., and has warned that he will never bring up any bill in the House sponsored by senators who vote for the omnibus bill. In response to the question about McCathy, Cramer said:
Kevin's in a tough spot, but I don't think it's the type of rhetoric that further endears the public to the process or to the institution of Congress. In fact, I think it probably, you know, statements like that and statements coming from House Republicans is the very reason that some Senate Republicans feel they probably should spare them from the burden of having to govern.
The CNN host who was interviewing Cramer, Manu Raju, was clearly stunned by this admission.
Meanwhile, Brown penned an op-ed for CNN that makes the same point. He writes:
For now, avoiding at least one self-inflicted wound may be the best parting gift Republicans could ask for from an era of unified Democratic control. And the fact that 21 GOP senators voted yes on a procedural motion to advance the deal suggests many in the upper chamber know that...
No one is saying rank-and-file House Republicans must like the lame-duck omnibus deal. But they should quietly thank cooler heads in the Senate from saving them from themselves.
Brown notes also that this is just a temporary reprieve, and it's only a matter of time until "future opportunities for legislative brinksmanship" present themselves.
Pause for a moment to think about how remarkable this is. Cramer and Brown are not staff members at The Daily Beast, or professors at Berkeley, or members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. The two men are basically on the same page with McCarthy & Co. on policy, and in particular on economic policy. And yet, both Cramer and Brown (and unnamed other Republican officeholders they both allude to) have absolutely zero confidence in the ability of the soon-to-be House Republican majority to govern. And we're not even talking about "it would be nice" stuff, like legislation on abortion or immigration or taxes, or any other Republican issues. We're talking about basic and essential functions of government, like adopting a budget.
Barring something of a miracle, the House is going to be a train wreck next year. Insiders think so and non-insiders think so. Democrats think so and Republicans think so. Politicians think so and pundits think so. And, like an actual train wreck, all these folks see what's coming and can't do a damn thing to stop it. (Z)