The Republican Party is in conflict, and the Democratic Party is watching the show: American political stalemate for a century, exposing three major governance dilemmas

　　China News Service, January 6 (Reporter Meng Xiangjun) Just a few days after the start of 2023, the new US Congress fell into chaos.

After many rounds of voting, the next speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives is still "difficult to give birth", members cannot take the oath normally, and Congress cannot "open" normally. .

　　As the third person in the United States, the competition for the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives is very fierce. I thought that the Republican Party, which won the majority of the House of Representatives in the mid-term elections, would be sure to win. Unexpectedly, some people started a "rebellion"...

Data map: McCarthy, the Republican leader of the US House of Representatives.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Sha Hanting

Dystocia: Who will replace Pelosi?

Multiple

　　In the 2022 U.S. mid-term elections, the Republicans will regain the majority of the House of Representatives from the Democrats. There are 435 seats in the House of Representatives, 222 for the Republicans and 213 for the Democrats.

Since Virginia State Representative McEchin passed away not long ago, and a successor has not yet been selected, there are actually 434 members in the new House of Representatives.

　　For the new U.S. Congress to function normally, it must first elect a Speaker of the House of Representatives.

According to regulations, candidates for Speaker of the House of Representatives need to receive more than half of the support and get 218 votes to be elected.

Coupled with the abstention of a Republican representative this time, the candidate only needs to get 217 votes to win.

　　Due to the defeat of the Democratic Party, Pelosi, who has dominated the "throne" of the Speaker of the House of Representatives for a long time, had to withdraw from the center of the political stage sadly.

The Republican Party, which holds 222 seats, elected a new speaker of the House of Representatives to replace Pelosi, which can be said to be logical.

Data map: Pelosi, the outgoing speaker of the US House of Representatives.

　　However, during the voting process, there were huge differences within the Republican Party. At present, McCarthy, who received the highest support in his party, had only 203 votes in the first round, and 19 Republicans "turned back" and voted for other Republican congressmen.

Even Jeffries, the rival Democratic candidate for speaker of the House of Representatives, received 212 unanimous votes from the Democratic Party, more votes than McCarthy.

　　Up to now, 11 rounds of voting have been carried out, and the House of Representatives even "burned the lights" to expect the results. However, after rounds of voting, McCarthy's votes did not increase but decreased, from 203 votes to 201 votes, and then to 200 votes. , the deadlock seems to be getting more and more difficult to solve, and the embarrassment seems to be getting more and more obvious...

　　However, it is not only McCarthy who is embarrassed, there are similar "traditions" in the history of American politics.

Before the Civil War, the United States failed to get the speaker of the House of Representatives to make a final decision three times. In one case, it took up to two months and 133 votes before the dust was settled.

In 1923, the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives was elected after nine rounds of voting.

In the history of the United States, there have been multiple rounds of voting to determine the Speaker of the House of Representatives, with a maximum of 133 rounds of voting.

Image source: screenshot of "USA TODAY" report

Dilemma: How important is the Speaker of the House?

Without TA, Congress will not "open"

　　Although McCarthy was hit hard, he has no intention of retreating, claiming that he "doesn't mind creating a record for the most votes".

He believes that his approval rate in the Republican Party is still unmatched, and he will continue to sprint for the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives.

　　What kind of "sweet pastry" is the speaker of the US Congress who has made McCarthy repeatedly defeated and Pelosi is reluctant to part?

　　According to the U.S. Constitution, if the president and the vice president "get into trouble" and cannot perform their duties normally, the Speaker of the House of Representatives is the third person in the United States who takes over the scepter, and naturally holds the power.

　　You must know that the Speaker of the House of Representatives is the only leader of Congress stipulated in the U.S. Constitution, who is in charge of the agenda of the House of Representatives and the "pocket" of the government.

Without the Speaker, neither voting on appropriations for essential government functions, setting the rules for a new Congress, or taking the oath of office for elected members would be possible.

In the third to sixth rounds of voting for the new speaker of the US Congress, McCarthy's votes did not increase but decreased.

Image source: Screenshot of "USA TODAY" website report

　　In other words, as the world's number one power, the United States is not even able to maintain a normally functioning Congress for internal governance, which has at least three effects:

　　1. The U.S. Congress currently cannot authorize federal spending to respond to natural disasters, terrorist attacks, or acts of war.

　　Second, it is difficult for the U.S. government to promote economic, energy and border legislation on time.

　　3. The US Republican Party's own investigation process of President Biden and his government officials has been dragged down.

Dilemma: Biden, Trump speak up

Republicans infighting, Democrats watching the show

　　Democratic President Biden said in response to a reporter's question that this struggle within the Republican Party is not "a matter for him to consider", but "other countries in the world are watching", which is "somewhat embarrassing", "We Can we act in solidarity?"

Data map: US President Biden.

　　Former Republican President Trump and former Vice President Pence urgently expressed their support for McCarthy.

"Republicans, don't turn a great victory into a huge, embarrassing defeat." Trump called for Republican unity on his own social platform, and endorsed McCarthy, saying that he may "achieve a great cause."

　　But as rounds of voting took place, those voices were drowned out.

Singapore's "Lianhe Zaobao" stated that this is further proof that Trump's control and influence over the Republican Party has declined.

　　Bloomberg wrote an article pointing out that the infighting in the Republican Party has made McCarthy supporters and anti-establishment factions in the party "no longer care about face."

In this regard, the Democratic Party has a bit of a mentality of "watching the show", because this confirms its point of view of the Republican Party's "poor governance" during the midterm elections.

　　In the House of Representatives, where the gap in seats is not large, the "weak speaker and ineffective Republican Party" can give the Democrats greater control.

Embarrassment: When will the farce stop?

American political disorder makes the world laugh

　　Facing ridicule from the Democratic Party, why do the ultra-conservatives in the Republican Party still insist on "looking down on" McCarthy?

　　One, "too weak".

Although the outside world regards McCarthy as a representative of the hard-line conservatives, the Republicans still think he is "not conservative enough" and "made too many compromises" on the Biden administration's governing platform.

　　Second, "flashy but not real".

According to the analysis of the "Washington Post", McCarthy has painstakingly managed interpersonal relationships in Congress for many years, but he does not have the majesty of a political leader. Apart from playing tricks, he does not have much substantive policy ideas.

　　Third, "crisis of confidence".

Although previous analysis believed that if McCarthy was in power, it would be good for Trump to participate in the 2024 US presidential election, but the US "Business Insider" website revealed that after Trump supporters broke into Capitol Hill, McCarthy had reprimanded the other party for inciting riots and demanding Trump resigns.

However, according to foreign media, he later turned to defend Trump and was accused of being a "political chameleon" and "untrustworthy."

The vote for the speaker of the US House of Representatives is deadlocked, and McCarthy is said to intend to make key concessions.

Image source: CNN report screenshot

　　In short, in order to please these Republicans, McCarthy seems to have entered the role of "weak speaker" in the eyes of the Democratic Party in advance, and has tried his best.

　　In addition to stating that he will be tough on the Republican investigation of President Biden and his administration, he also previously promised to restore the "unreasonable rule" that the motion to remove the Speaker of the House of Representatives can be filed when the threshold of five people is restored.

　　And according to CNN, after losing all six rounds of voting, McCarthy even planned to lower the threshold for initiating a removal motion to only one person, further compromising.

　　The group of Republicans also demanded that specific members be added to the Ways and Means Committee, which controls taxation, trade, health policy and other aspects, and the Appropriations Committee, which allocates federal spending, to fight for greater priorities.

However, analysts believe that if these demands are agreed to, the internal struggle of the Republican Party will become more intense.

　　The "New York Times" and others in the United States believe that even if McCarthy wins the election, he will be coerced by the extreme conservatives of the Republican Party in the future, which will exacerbate the alienation of other factions in the Republican Party.

On January 4, local time, when McCarthy went to the U.S. House of Representatives, he was interviewed by the media.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Chen Mengtong

　　If McCarthy becomes an "abandoned son", Scalise, the Republican Whip of the U.S. House of Representatives, Jim Jordan, the "new star" of Ohio, and McHenry, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, are several "substitutes" that Republicans are optimistic about.

　　In the face of the "monolithic" Democratic Party, if more than four members of the Republican Party vote against it, McCarthy will never be the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

He will either continue to seek the support of at least 16 Republican representatives or some middle ground candidates, or let some people cast "blank votes", lowering the total vote threshold to meet the current situation.

　　Right now, intense lobbying and gaming within the Republican Party is still going on.

Political disorder, disorder, and incapacity, and the fierce partisanship in the United States have greatly threatened the normal operation of this country's governance institutions, further eroding the so-called "beacon of democracy".

The political elites in the United States once again let the whole world see a joke.

(use up)