GOP House Speaker battle looked like this

Republicans don’t know how to govern effectively, but they do know how to grab the media spotlight. This was demonstrated during the recent Republican battle for U.S. House Speaker. After narrowly winning the House majority in the 2022 midterm elections, the GOP’s first task in the new year was to elect a Speaker. They failed miserably at this job, requiring a historic 15 votes before finally electing Kevin McCarthy.

But what seemed to get everyone’s attention were the 20 or so Republican House representatives-elect, many of whom are members of the so-called “Freedom Caucus,” who battled against McCarthy’s speakership, and at least one who fought on McCarthy’s side. The members who seemed to be on camera or in front of microphones all the time especially included Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz. Others on hand to a slightly lesser extent were familiar names such as Lauren Boebert and Jim (“Gym”) Jordan, so nicknamed because of his alleged involvement in a sexual abuse scandal involving wrestlers at Ohio State University. We’re not going to mention these names again in this post. Such representatives are known more for being superficial blowhards who say outrageous things rather than for the often dull but crucial work of legislating.

In short order, the GOP House Speaker election became about Republican media stars rather than about policy and substance. Such camera-hogging tactics worked, as McCarthy reportedly had to make numerous concessions to these members in order to secure their votes. What we call the GOP Civil War, also known as Republicans in Disarray, was on full, ugly display. But we already saw how a media celebrity made it into the White House six years ago, and the disastrous results that followed. The last thing we should do is feed that shallow, destructive process again by focusing our full attention on those Republican media hustlers.

Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. and U.S. Senate candidate John Fetterman

The 2022 Pennsylvania U.S. Senate race between television personality Dr. Mehmet Oz on the Republican side and Democratic Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman is capturing tons of national media attention, but not for the reasons Dr. Oz would prefer. The  Oz campaign has been especially tone-deaf, making one mistake after another, and Fetterman and his campaign have been quick to capitalize on each one.

Essentially, the Oz-Fetterman race has turned into a Culture War, to the great disadvantage of Dr. Oz. Usually, it’s the Republicans who try to run on Culture War issues, whether it’s abortion, attacking LGBTQ people and their rights, book banning, guns, etc., mostly as a distraction, because Republicans are extremely unpopular on economic and other issues of importance to most Americans. In Pennsylvania, however, Fetterman has turned the tables on Republicans regarding cultural issues.