Here's An Idea: No Speaker Race Until November
Mark Davis
4/12/2018 12:01:00 AM - Mark Davis
This may be an idea that nearly violates the laws of physics, but here goes: As everyone assembles horserace stories and betting lines for Paul Ryan’s successor, how about hitting a seven-month pause button?
I know how crazy this sounds. Every manual for seeking office suggests a crisp, early start. That would mean every candidate looking to run for Speaker of the House should start positioning right now, while attention to the vacancy remains high. But as Ryan announced his retirement intention Tuesday, one thought rushed to the foreground as I evaluated the big names likely to announce, and maybe even some potential surprises. It occurred to me: shouldn’t we see if a Republican Speaker’s race is even going to happen?
This is not driven by pessimism. As loud choruses sing of a Blue Wave that will hand the House of Representatives back to Democrats, I remain deeply skeptical. Of course the left is mightily torqued off and ready to derail the Trump agenda; but I foresee as autumn unfolds a surge of realization among Republicans that losing the house in November means articles of impeachment in January. That obstacle to every item on the Trump agenda should mobilize every conservative voter to show up to mitigate the pushback that usually accompanies the midterms following a presidential win.
But in a year where anything is possible, the smartest Republican strategy involves focusing on that main goal: keeping the majority. A busy, tense, distracting Speaker’s race is not helpful toward that end.
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https://townhall.com/columnists/markdavis/2018/04/12/heres-an-idea-no-speaker-race-until-november-n2470212
