By Drew McDowell
Today’s GOP prefers to govern by trolling rather than governing by what’s in the best interest of the American people. Recent talks and speculation that Donald Trump could be elected Speaker if Republicans win the House sounds like another troll under the bridge. But these talks must be taken seriously. Trump is out for revenge, and he’d love nothing more than to impeach President Biden for, well, anything.
His former Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows, told the recently indicted Steve Bannon, “You talk about melting down, people would go crazy… You don’t have to be an elected Member of Congress to be the Speaker. Pelosi would go from tearing up a speech to having to give the gavel to Donald Trump. Ohhhh she would go crazy!”
This is their brand of politics: own the libs and troll them for the fun of it.
Could Trump become Speaker of the House? Is it possible? Absolutely, let’s look at how.
Article 1 Section 2 Clause 5 of the Constitution states that members of the House of Representatives elect the Speaker of the House every two years. In order to win the election, the candidate for Speaker needs a simple majority in the House, which is usually 218 votes. Republicans currently hold 213 seats. Generic polling shows Republicans are in a strong position to take back the House in 2022. If Republicans hold 228 seats after the midterm elections, all Trump needs to do is make sure no more than 10 Republicans defect, and he becomes the first Speaker who isn’t an elected Member of Congress.
If that happens, what comes next? The answer is almost certainly Articles of Impeachment against President Biden just so Trump can taste that sweet, sweet revenge he so craves.
So how do we make sure this doesn’t happen? The answer to this is pretty simple.
We must, MUST, defend Renewer Democrats running in tossup seats. As a lifelong Conservative, I understand how this could be asking a lot. But we’re at a crossroads and the health of our Republic is at stake. I’ll put aside my Conservative policy beliefs for the sake of our Republic any day of the week.
We need to support Abigail Spanberger and Elaine Luria in Virginia. We need to support Matt Cartwright and Susan Wild in Pennsylvania. Same goes for Andy Kim and Josh Gottheimer in New Jersey. Cindy Axne, Jared Golden, Tom O’Halleran, and Elissa Slotkin all need Conservative backing to win re-election.
If we lose these strong, moderate Democrats, Trump as Speaker of the House isn’t just a troll under the bridge. It may very well become reality.
