Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) described Republicans in his district as angry and upset that the GOP can’t pick a Speaker.
Buchanan said, “People are very angry, upset. I just got back from back in the district in Sarasota, Florida. And people are very worked up down there about that. They think all of us are, are incapable. Well, we’re gonna have to figure out how to get our act together. I mean, big boys and big girls have got to quit making excuses and we just got to go get it done.”
Video:
On the House stalemate: “People are very angry, upset. I just got back from my district in Sarasota, Florida, and people are very worked up down there. .. They think all of us are incapable,” said GOP Rep. Buchanan pic.twitter.com/JIdRrklA5d
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) October 24, 2023
The point has been reached where Republican voters see their own House majority as incapable. Imagine electing a House majority on the promise that they will serve as a check to the president of the opposing party only to see them get the majority and waste more than a month of it, including the McCarthy speaker fiasco in January not being able to perform the most basic function of a House majority.
Republicans have literally shut themselves down.
Democrats were already virtually certain to take back the majority next year due to some Republican gerrymanders being reversed, but the 2024 House election could be a blowout if Republican voters remain disgusted with their own party.
The situation was summed up by one House Republican as he left the latest failed conference meeting:
“It’s a dumpster fire, frankly,” said Rep. Huizenga as he exited the GOP meeting to settle on a speaker.
— Siobhan Hughes (@siobhanehughes) October 24, 2023
Dumpster fire, indeed.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association