Dem
51
GOP
49
Who are the two most offensive members of the House Republican Conference? We can see a case being made for Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Paul Gosar (R-AZ) and Jim Jordan (R-OH), but we think that if a vote were held, Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Matt Gaetz (R-FL) would come out on top. Really, the Conference is an embarrassment of riches, when it comes to obnoxious people. Or maybe we should just write "Really, the Conference is an embarrassment." We are confident that even some Republican members would admit, with sadness and off the record, that is true these days.
Anyhow, the dynamic duo each suffered setbacks yesterday. Starting with Greene, the cat is now officially out of the bag: House Democrats say they will save Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) if a motion to vacate is called. Undoubtedly, the blue team is not thrilled to be sorta partners with a guy who supported Donald Trump's efforts to steal the election, but you have to work with the people you've got, not the people you wish you had. And, as they say, "my enemy's enemy is my friend."
It's not exactly clear how many Democrats would vote in support of Johnson. Presumably just enough, and only members from purple or reddish districts, like Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA). Still, with Greene struggling to scrape together even a handful of Republican votes, the fact that the Democrats won't vote against Johnson unanimously is fatal to the motion-to-vacate plans. Clearly, this arrangement was put in place during the negotiations over the Ukraine/Israel funding, and clearly Greene completely missed that fact. She told reporters yesterday that she's holding off on the MTV for now. Maybe she'll eventually move forward, just for show purposes, but either way, Greene just became a lot less important. Not less obnoxious mind you, just less important.
Meanwhile, just before the Florida filing deadline, Gaetz drew a primary opponent: Navy pilot Aaron Dimmock, who was recruited by, and has the financial backing of, former speaker Kevin McCarthy's political network. The far-right Daily Caller reported the news with the headline "Matt Gaetz Gets Primary Challenge From McCarthy-Aligned BLM Supporter," while Gaetz himself got on eX-Twitter and decreed: "I'm excited to welcome Missouri-based DEI instructor Aaron Dimmock to the campaign. Aaron is not in Kansas City anymore. This is Trump Country. Our pronouns are USA and MAGA." C'mon, folks, you forgot "pedophile," "trans," "communist" and "Antifa." Let's keep our eye on the ball here.
We haven't the faintest idea what Dimmock's chances are. Sometimes, these far-right show horses aggravate their constituents to the point that they're thrown overboard in favor of a more normal conservative politician (See: Cawthorn: A Tragicomedy in Three Acts). That said, Gaetz comes from a deep-red district (R+19), and districts like that tend to have a lot of voters who enjoy owning the libs. So, maybe they are thrilled to have the biggest show horse since Mr. Ed as their representative. (Z)