This latest leadership shake up among House Republicans shows clearly that the Republicans are still not ready or capable of governing this country - five years after assuming control of the House. This particular crisis has been brewing for some time now, but there have been many other examples of a complete lack of leadership from the Republican Party.
Take for example the government shutdown in 2013 that accomplished nothing except a cost of $21B dollars, lost jobs, and a loss of confidence in our government. Or the brinkmanship over paying our government’s debts that lowered our national financial rating and shook the world economic system.
You can also cite the lack of long-term investment in our transportation funding. It all adds up to the same thing: when Republicans are in charge, we see less progress on key issues and a lack of action. The Democrats may resist using scare tactics to intimidate people or make them angry. But at least when Democrats are in charge, things get done.
The selection of a new speaker will tell us a lot about the direction the Republicans want to take our country in ahead of the 2016 presidential election. Will the out-of-touch, backwards-thinking agenda of the Tea Party push Republicans to double-down on even more dysfunction and conservative policies that voters have spoken out against?
That is certainly not the vision that Democrats have for our country. As we turn our attention to 2016, Democrats will fight even harder for the policies that reflect our values and vision of a country with a strong middle class economy where everyone has a fair shot to succeed. Electing more Democrats is the first step in taking back control of the House and turning our vision into reality.