By Jack Bernard, contributing columnist
PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. | The Grand Old Party (GOP) just does not have its act together, as shown by the fight to elect a Speaker. Our country narrowly averted a government shutdown last month when then conservative House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R) made a last-minute deal with Democrats to pass a continuing resolution (HR 5860) to keep the government open for 45 days at existing spending rates. It passed. But no thanks to Georgia’s Rep. Mike Collins, representing Georgia’s 10th District, including part of Gwinnett.
Collins voted against the bill because it was not one-sided enough and did not cover totally unrelated items like border security. However, this was never supposed to be a border security bill. It was a compromise, a straightforward stop gap measure to keep the doors open while the GOP controlled House could finally figure out how to do its job.
Apparently, if the above action by Collins is an example of his thought process. He is a trucking executive but does not understand how politics works in a two-party system. In a democracy, we have something called compromising to get things done. We do not shut down our government because we cannot get our way. Congressmen should not behave as though they were all six-year-olds, Rep. Collins. I hope you do not run your trucking outfit like you vote.
Collins
In any case, the new, unimproved MAGA version of the GOP has shown itself unable to govern. After right winger McCarthy finally compromised, the even more extreme members of his party came for his head. In an astonishing feat, McCarthy was kicked out as speaker because a handful of his own party members, led by an accused pedophile, would not support him. So, for the first time since 1776, we have no Speaker of the House. Way to go GOP; that will show those Democrats!
For those of you who are too young to remember, Congress was once functional. And it was not that long ago. The parties disagreed on many things, but they were led by pragmatists who wanted to get matters accomplished and respected the opposition. And they knew that with three branches of government that they would not always get their own way.
The reasons for the change are complex and include the incitement of Trump, who believes that all-out warfare between the two parties will put him back in the White House. But there are other factors.
Under the Voting Rights Act, the courts were once active in ensuring that votes were equal. But under the radical Supreme Court led by Roberts that changed. As things now stand, House Districts are politically gerrymandered, drawn to elect partisans like Rep. Collins. Often, via splitting counties, the intent is to minimize the impact of black and Hispanic voters in counties like in Gwinnett. Until we have a Supreme Court that is willing to stand up for true democracy, these abuses will continue.
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