LETTER: House Republicans off to a rough start

The recent Review-Journal editorial counseling House Republicans of the 118th Congress to have policy proposals when the time comes is perfectly sound advice. Unfortunately, the struggle to select a speaker exposes the party as ineffectual, fragmented and a national embarrassment.

Here is a party that was held hostage by roughly 9 percent of its members. This is an abject failure of Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s leadership skills — or lack thereof. First, it was the midterm red trickle. An obvious foreshadowing that we, the independent voters, are fed up with right-wing conspirators, blowhards and nihilists who offer few policy solutions beyond MAGA bullet points and specious pay-back investigations. That doesn’t cut it.

The mid-terms should have been the wake-up call to Republican leaders. An accomplished leader of the House, Nancy Pelosi — however one may dislike her party’s policies — knew how to count votes and govern a very diverse, big tent party.

Should the party remain hijacked by a less moderate, more retributive, dysfunctional caucus, then 2024 will be worse than the most recent election cycle. The New Year’s resolution for House Republicans in 2023 should be reasonable bipartisanship policy, not intraparty chaos.