I’m an optimist...but let’s wait and see. Lot of the new breed is taking over.
“I’m an optimist...but let’s wait and see. Lot of the new breed is taking over.”
Gingrich led a Republican new wave in 1994 which included a takeover of the House majority by Republicans for the first time in decades. Over time the new wave of “conservative” Republicans in the 1990’s moved into leadership positions — among them: John Boehner, Paul Ryan, Lindsay Graham, Richard Burr, John Thune — moved into leadership positions and became committed to the establishment.
In 2010, an organic populist movement (the Tea Party) gave Republicans a majority in the House. After the election Republican leadership under new Speaker John Boehner promptly distanced itself from the Tea Party. In the 2012 presidential election, GOP candidate Mitt Romney wanted no Tea Party support.
The GOP won the House and Senate as well as the presidency in 2016. Instead of passing conservative legislation and rolling back the leviathan federal government, the GOP leadership in the House and Senate (Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell) spent two years fighting GOP President Trump and undermining his conservative populist agenda.
If the GOP wins both houses of Congress in the 2022 election, Kevin McCarthy will be Speaker of the House and Mitch McConnell will be Majority Leader of the Senate. Mitch has been around Washington forever and his track record shows he will oppose a MAGA agenda and support the inside the beltway agenda of the donors and the Bush wing of the party. Kevin McCarthy served as Republican Whip under GOP Speaker Boehner and Majority Leader under Speaker Paul Ryan. Since 2019 he has served as minority leader. McCarthy is pure establishment.
We can be optimistic. However, history suggests we will be disappointed.