Today is Monday, January 22, 2024.    Displaying obvious frustration over their caucus’s inability to draft laws and enact true societal change, House repugnicans are finally publicly complaining about their party’s lack of accomplishments.   This robust assessment of how ineffective the Republican Party really is at this fraught moment in our history is provided in an online article for The New Republic written by Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling entitled “‘We will pay the price’:  Republicans Are Seriously Worried About 2024.”  

Speaking to Newsmax’s Chris Salcedo, Arizona Representative Andy Biggs told the outlet that “We have nothing.  In my opinion we have nothing to go out there and campaign on.   It’s embarrassing.”

The anchor for one of the most extreme far-right news platforms concurred with Biggs.  He stated, “The Republican Party in the Congress majority has zero accomplishments.”  

“That’s in part thanks to the party’s incredibly slim majority in the House, which can currently only afford two defections on any given vote, as well as a growing rift in the Republican Party that has split lawmakers between long-standing conservative ideals and Trumpian loyalism.” 

The 118th Congress has passed fewer than 30 bills thus far, a paltry showing compared to previous congresses, which have generally passed more than 300.

With just 10 months until Election Day, this lackluster record is hanging heavily over many repugnicans, who fear it may be a death knell for their political ambitions.   I dare say it will result in their defeat at the ballot box.  

Some imminent wins for repugnicans could include a spending deal negotiated with House Democrats and an immigration deal leading to tighter border security, but the repugnican caucus is so fractured these days between the more extreme members of Congress that moderation has just taken a back seat to total chaos. 

The party is actually threatening to oust MAGA Mike from the speakership because of his willingness to work with Democrats over a funding bill.   The party is opting instead to waste precious time on a meritless impeachment of President Joe Biden, which even some members have admitted there is “no evidence” of anything there.

Other repugnicans are predicting Johnson’s speakership will end nevertheless should the party lose – please, please, God! – its majority in the House this fall.  Just like the banishment of Ron DeSatan from the presidential race, Johnson’s removal will definitely be celebrated by this scribe. 

Even Freedom Caucus Representative Chip Roy criticized his own party for continually failing to follow through on campaign promises, even when it had the majority in the House, Senate, and White House during Chump’s presidency.  He sadly noted, “One thing. I want my Republican colleagues to give me one thing. One. That I can go campaign on and say we did.  One!     Talked a big game about building a wall and having Mexico pay for it.   Ain’t no wall, and Mexico didn’t pay for it, and we didn’t pass any border security.”    At least there is a glimpse of truth here from one of the party’s leading extremists about the failure of his own party in doing anything for the average American. 

For those of us who are shaking our heads over the inevitability of a Dump bid for the 2024 presidency, one former repugnican lawmaker said that Little Donnie’s return to the White House is not a fait accompli for one simple reason:  he’s a thug.    This unsurprising assessment of the repugnican frontrunner is covered in an online article for RawStory entitled “Former Republican lashes out at ‘thug’ Trump in no-holds-barred attack” by Kathleen Culliton.

The man showering blistering criticism on the Orange Hemorrhoid is former Illinois Lieutenant Governor Bob Kustra writing for the Herald Sun.  He states, “He is the mob boss of the Republican family, who makes Don Corleone look like a Boy Scout leader.  He makes ‘The Manchurian Candidate’ look like an innocent bystander.”

Kustra’s vicious takedown of Dump – and the mainstream media he blames for normalizing Dump’s “thuggery” – arrived one day before the former president faces off against former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley in the New Hampshire primary.

The Illinois Republican warns readers not to discount Haley as a repugnican presidential contender on the basis of media coverage that, he argues, belittles the impact of his words. 

Saying the damn honest truth about the January 6th insurrectionist, Kustra states, “He represents the antithesis of civility and the rule of law in a democratic society.  His is abnormal behavior for anyone who seeks to be president, and it cannot be ignored as ‘Trump being Trump.'” 

Going along with Kustra’s nonendorsement of the former president, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, who enjoys a 63 percent approval rating, endorsed Haley and is blanketing the state urging support for her campaign.  Kustra writes, “Half of the primary voters in Iowa chose someone other than Trump.”

And to put the Donald’s depressing win in perspective, Kustra reminds readers of Republican presidential hopefuls Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum, and Senator Ted Cruz, all of whom won Iowa before their campaigns fizzled out.    So there’s hope yet that this monster could be put out to pasture before even one of his trials get under way.

Kustra certainly doesn’t believe Dump’s defeat is a fait accompli either, which may explain the ink he spends detailing the scandals that outrage him the most, such as Dump’s “rot in hell” Christmas missive and the Day 1 dictator comment.

“Do we have any idea how much harm a dictator could do to our constitutional democracy in 24 hours?” he asks.  He adds, “Trump’s egregious behavior this time around is considerably more dangerous and predictive of strongman rule if he is elected.”

The former Illinois repugnican’s closing message is one of hope in the form of an operatic truism. 

Kustra concludes, “They say ‘it ain’t over till the fat lady sings.’  I can already hear her, but she’s not loud enough yet to put Trump back in the White House.”   We must heed this critic’s prediction for a Trumpless victory in November. 

As for tomorrow’s primary, Joe Biden’s name will not be on the ballots as the Democratic National Committee shook up its 2024 presidential nominating calendar electing South Carolina as the first-in-the-nation primary, a move backed by Biden but contrary to state law, which New Hampshire officials, led by repugnicans, declined to change.

But this doesn’t mean that Democrats cannot write in the President’s name on their ballots on Tuesday, which could deliver a win to the incumbent tomorrow, as the state’s independent voters outnumber registered Republicans or Democrats and who are allowed to cast ballots in the primary. 

If President Biden comes out on Tuesday and wins, that’s a huge accomplishment for the campaign and a really good sign for what’s to come.   

Anything is possible then tomorrow in New Hampshire.   I will be glued to the TV set tomorrow night and I will be praying for a different-than-expected outcome.  

Stay safe and be well.