Representative Majorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) has filed a motion to oust Speaker Mike Johnson and throw the House of Representatives into another month of chaos. Representative Ken Buck (R-OH), who had already announced his retirement at the end of the current Congress, suddenly resigned, further narrowing the Republican majority in the House (a good thing) but also further empowering nutcases like Matt Gaetz, Jim Jordan, and a host of other Freedom Caucus members.
Do you need more evidence that idiots, or, in the case of some elected representatives, simply dysfunctional people, should not be in Congress? I do not think so.
Today’s Congress includes people disinterested in legislating. Some of them facilitated the January 6th attack on the Capitol, needed the help of Capitol Police to avoid being killed by rioters, and have since joined Donald Trump in dubbing the insurrectionists “patriots” and “political prisoners.” Who can forget Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) fist-pumping rioters as they marched towards the Capitol with the intention of ransacking it and later witnessing Hawley running towards safety to escape the same people a few hours later?
I count Hawley, educated at Stanford and Yale, among the idiots. He should not be in Congress. And what about Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson, a vocal Trump champion, being called an enabler of Russian disinformation? If the allegation is true, Johnson should face trial for treason.
Although I follow politics closely, I am more familiar with the likes of Lauren Boebert (R-CO) and the right-wing dentist Paul Gosar (R-AZ), whose “service” in Congress has been condemned by his own family, than I am with members of Congress who view service in Washington as a sacred trust. This situation is sad. It should not be this way. The problem is that while constructive members of Congress do their best to make Congress work, the idiots are often in charge and use their power to block aid to Ukraine, hold ridiculous hearings, and attempt to shut down government by blocking essential appropriations.
I fear we are reaching the critical mass of idiots that renders Congress the joke that authoritarians think it is. As Congress becomes irretrievably deadlocked, arguments for more executive power are strengthened. The idea of a president becoming a “dictator for a day” becomes more appealing to many voters, especially if that president shares their values and is effective in painting their political opponents as communists, lunatics, RINOs and worse.
Many of us wish there were provisions in the Constitution that would preclude the likes of Matt Gaetz (R-FL) from being elected to Congress. Should candidates for Federal office be required to swear an oath to uphold the Constitution and support the functioning of Congress? Maybe. But it is easy to imagine dysfunctional candidates ignoring whatever pledge they make.
Should candidates running for election to Congress be required to pass a test demonstrating knowledge of how Congress works? I wonder whether Marjorie Taylor Green can differentiate between authorizing, appropriations, and budget committees. Could Paul Gosar explain how a bill becomes a law? Does Matt Gaetz understand Separation of Powers and why the framers included it in the Constitution? I doubt it.
And let us add one more requirement—any legislator winning election must pledge to serve the entire term except in truly exceptional circumstances, such as serious illness or incapacity or the need to care for an ailing child or spouse. Other than that, election to Congress should be seen as a contract. Legislators leaving office early should forfeit their retirement benefits, and any unused campaign funds should be seized to pay for any special elections held to fill their vacated seats. Sorry Ken Buck.
Should a member of Congress, such as New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), facing criminal indictment for bribery, be allowed to run for re-election? No. No more than a man facing multiple indictments and dozens of felony counts should be allowed to run for president.
Although new Constitutional provisions designed to keep idiots and compromised candidates out of Congress and the presidency may not work, they may be worth a shot, even if political parties and individuals seek to circumvent them. It is worth a try.
Americans are losing faith in the structure of government specified in the Constitution. In the last week, I have heard various people suggest the Supreme Court’s transition into a political entity has destroyed the balance of power in what are supposed to be three separate and equal branches of government. I have heard people suggest that “every” member of Congress is “crooked.
Can American Democracy, as reflected in the Constitution, be saved? I hope so. But it may depend on driving the “idiots” out of government.
J.E. Dean is a retired attorney and public affairs consultant writing on politics, government, and, all too infrequently, other subjects.
William Keppen says
You cannot drive the idiots, and the self-serving insurrectionists out of congress when there are so many idiots and self-serving insurrectionists voting to elect them. Too many Americans have forgotten, or do not care, what America stands for. It is we the people.
John Dean says
Thank you for reading the piece and for your comment. One reason I write about “idiots” is the hope that voters will start taking their responsibilities as citizens more seriously. I believe that if they did, there would be fewer idiots in Congress and we would not be worrying about the possibility of Trump returning to power.
Alan Boisvert says
These idiots are elected by we the people. Therefore, they are a reflection of we the people(as designed by our forefathers). So, who are the idiots?
John Dean says
Thanks for reading the piece. Some of the “idiots” in Congress do not reflect the people who elected them. George Santos, for example, lied about his background, so voters who supported him thought they were voting for a very different person. Similarly, lazy or misinformed voters have given us people like Lauren Boebert, who won by appealing to people who cannot be called informed voters and eligible voters who were too lazy to vote.
I believe that many of the people currently supporting Trump would not do so if they took a closer look at who he is, what he has done in the past, and the nonsensical remarks he makes at campaign rallies.
Robin Westre says
A security clearance should be required for every member in Congress, and especially for the president of the United States and anyone else working in the White House. Because there isn’t a requirement in place for a clearance, anyone can run for office and sometimes get elected. That trump is a serious contender and could quite conceivably be elected to the highest office in the country, is a sad commentary on our country. The intelligent world is watching in disbelief. I shudder to think of what havoc he could wreak if elected.
Wilson Dean says
Like others, I too am concerned we are fast approaching a threshold where—in spite of having a wonderful form of government based on a balanced separation of powers—the poor quality of both our government representatives and the people electing them will destroy our democracy. I believe a major source of this is the emergence of the Trump era. Trump and his followers in government have legitimized willful ignorance of facts and consequently encouraged a large voting bloc in this country who are not concerned with the truth but rather believe whatever they want to believe is true, even if (in most cases) it is not.
William Penn already knew this in the 17th century when he said “Let men be good, and the government cannot be bad; if it be ill,they will cure it. But, if men be bad, let the government be never so good, they will endeavor to warp and spoil it to their turn.”
Kim Cassady says
I take great offense that you only call Republicans idiots. I agree there are idiots in congress but Republicans do not have a corner on the market. I don’t know the House well, too many of them but suggest that Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders qualify as idiots. They continually propose bills that have zero chance to pass this wasting time. What about term limits as a partial solution?
Deirdre LaMotte says
Ah, Warren and Sanders are US Senators, not members of the House.
There are there for the people, not to blindly follow a man who is hocking Bibles to pay for legal fees
Michael Davis says
Mr. Dean, I thoroughly enjoyed this article, but it is scary. To the list of your idiots, I would add our own Congressman Andy Harris. He is a member of the Freedom Caucus, he takes an oath to defend the Constitution and then violates it, and he continues to vote against every bill that funds the government. Oh, but he’s not shy to claim he had something to do with funding Eastern Shore projects that he voted against. Sadly, as other commenters wrote, we get the government we deserve. Too many people in Andy’s district vote for an idiot to represent them.
John Dean says
Thanks for raising the question of Andy Harris. He lost me by attempting to carry a loaded handgun onto the Floor of the House and blindly following Trump. The Eastern Shore desires much better representation.
Mickey Terrone says
Hello John. I fully concur in your assessment of some of these radical federal officials and I’m very concerned about driving the idiots out of government. The real problem however, are the idiots who actually walked into voting booths and voted for them. Some folks in Georgia voted for a person who expressed concern about a Jewish Space Laser. I’d like to think no one related to me was involved in that.
But when you consider how their fearless furher posted that “Crooked Joe Buden disinformates and misinformates all the time…..” there should be no doubt that the Zombie Apocolypse has struck the Republican Party, and bigly. This stable genius and all his followers are blissfully waving American flags and selling Bibles and golden sneakers while Trump has already claimed if he loses it will be due to the rigged system. This is insanity but his supporters mindlessly ignore reality.
I have to laugh to keep from crying.
John Dean says
Mickey: Thanks for reading the piece and for your comment. I remain hopeful that if enough “idiot” candidates are called out, more voters will refuse to support them.
David Taylor says
Let’s add to your idiots in Congress this list: AOC, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, Jamaal Bowman, and Cory Bush. If you want your opinion pieces to have any credibility, have a little impartiality.
Alan Boisvert says
David, perhaps you or someone of your political persuasion should author an opinion piece detailing that of which you speak instead of throwing a barb. Looking forward to reading it.
David Taylor says
We could start with their antisemitism, or desire to defund police, or any other of their far left positions they take which are so far out of the mainstream that moderate Democrats go out of their way to avoid being associated with them.
Alan Boisvert says
Change the channel Dave.
John Dean says
Thanks for reading the piecer and for your comment. I am familiar with the six House members you mention. I agree with you on some of them. Hopefully, my piece has some credibility despite not focusing on any Democrats. The members I mentioned are either “idiots” (Boebert, for example) or dysfunctional (Buck, who resigned).
In any case, thanks for the comment.
Deirdre LaMotte says
All women or people of color. What a surprise!
What a peach you are. s/
David Taylor says
Does that make them above criticism?
Mickey Terrone says
Yes, Mr. Taylor! I ask that if you believe AOC, Ms. Talib and the others you mentioned are idiots, what did they do to qualify for that criticism? I don’t think any of them said they agree about a Jewish Space Laser. They didn’t vote against the 2020 electoral college results and support the attempt to disqualify the results of our free and fair election. They haven’t hollered out each other like banshees or at the president and threatened any of their peers in Congress, have they? They don’t repeat crazed QANON conspiracy theories, do they? They don’t take the idiotic position that the 2020 election was stolen despite the absence of any evidence whatsoever and 60+ court cases thrown out of courts, some by Trump appointees. None of the Democrat representatives were involved in groping incidents in movie theaters that I know of. Are they positioned on the far left of the Democratic Party? Yes, but if that can be considered “crazy”, then Green, Boebert, Goemert, Gosar et al have to be considered bat crazy. All of the above examples, added to the mindless undermining of our national security and federal law enforcement agencies like the FBI, slashing social security, shutting down the IRS, eliminating low cost health care insurance for millions of older Americans make these Republicans dangerously irresponsible to our country. Omar, AOC et al Democrats support these crucial national security and social support functions of the US government. No?