Hard Feelings Breaking Things
You know the way Shakespeare created a portrait of a family's hard feelings in King Lear, his tragedy about a raging, storming English king with three daughters? That play, set in Gloucester, speaks to me now of how Congress and the country are falling apart.
It even takes me back to the Civil War.
Shakespeare got it right. Conflicts and conversations within a family may be buried alive but come back to haunt one when stepped upon, like a stone or a land mine. Words fly like, well, slings and arrows. They may never be taken back, forgotten or forgiven.
Congress, which I cover, is a mirror of those emotions writ large. The House of Representatives is so full of anger, cold and hot, that 44 members are quitting in disgust. (That's about 10% of the 435 Representatives.) Those rushing for the exits include their best and brightest Republicans.
The damage is lasting. "Broken" and "dysfunctional" are the words the leave-takers use most, just like a family.
They just can't take it anymore. I don't blame them. The verbal warfare on the floor and in committee work just never seems to stop. There are several pugnacious members, but one takes the cake.
Georgia's Marjorie Taylor Greene, the vocal MAGA destroyer, recently led an impeachment of a Cabinet member, which was dismissed in the Senate.
Now Greene is threatening to force a motion to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.). It is a dagger and distraction that House Democrats behold with bemusement, knowing their Republican colleagues are getting sick of her attacks poisoning the well of the House.
Greene's hard words have reached a breaking point within her own party.
Standing up to her threats, Johnson allowed a bipartisan vote on Ukraine military aid to go forward. This was a major moment of truth for dealing in good faith. As kind of a handshake, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) said his party will vote against a motion to remove Johnson.
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