By Jeffrey A. Rendall
Conservatives are losing patience with a GOP Congress that isn’t justifying its existence
If you’ve glanced at the calendar recently and noted that we’ve reached the midpoint of summer and it still appears as though the Congress of the United States is mired in lethargy, you wouldn’t be the only one who harbored the thought.
Very little news originates from Capitol Hill these days, except for an occasional comment from Democrats about the Graham Platner fiasco in Maine or another conservative analyst expressing frustration that the SAVE AMERICA Act remains on semi-permanent hold – but the more days pass without substantive progress the more the frustration intensifies.
Longtime establishment Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell’s state of health – or lack thereof – has provided a bit of intrigue on the Senate side recently. But this matter will resolve itself one way or another, as Cocaine Mitch’s days as a MAGA obstructor are numbered one way or another.
Republicans aren’t committing incremental suicide, but it almost feels as though they’re purposely trying to lose additional momentum on these hot, humid summer days. In a succinctly argued piece titled, “The GOP’s Self-Inflicted Midterm Crisis”, Jeff Crouere wrote at The American Spectator last week:
“Excess congressional spending also includes Planned Parenthood, which began receiving additional funding on July 5. The one-year moratorium on funding the left-wing organization, known as the nation’s largest abortion provider, was not renewed by congressional Republicans.
“Planned Parenthood will now be eligible for ‘hundreds of millions’ of dollars in new Medicaid funding, thanks to inaction by the Republican Congress. Despite pressure from pro-life activists, congressional Republicans failed to renew the funding moratorium that was included in the ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill.’
“Now, a key group that will help the GOP maintain its control of Congress is ‘furious.’ As U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo) said, ‘The fact that congressional leaders decided not to defund them … is just beyond me.’ Hawley believes Republicans are ‘taking the pro-life movement and pro-life voters for granted’ and are a group Republicans are ‘depending on … to turn out and vote … in November.’ Upsetting pro-life voters is idiotic. Do GOP leaders even want to maintain control of Congress?”
Maybe someone should ask ‘em. The same or similar query could’ve been posed to President Donald Trump not too long ago, though the party leader and commander-in-chief seems to have gotten his messaging act together of late.
Automatically assuming Republicans earnestly desire to be in control is a fool’s errand, because they’re not acting like they want the responsibility. And the accountability. And they lack the humility to admit it.
Republicans do things that are counter-intuitive, even for politicians. It’s human nature to want to be liked or accepted or respected, yet the GOP congressional caucus doesn’t do the things that would win them these forms of acclimation. Why? Maybe it’s because they’re scared. Scared of whom? Or what?
It seems like many of them, at least from the RINO population, fears media scorn. Or establishment criticism. Or they’re worried about not being reelected, which seems almost certain to result anyway if they can’t bring themselves to accomplish something.
Now that the grand spectacle of the nation’s 250th anniversary has come and gone, Republicans in Congress have even fewer excuses for not moving some sort of an organized agenda to take advantage of the time they have remaining before November’s election will decide the partisan balance fate of the next Congress.
If this sounds like an ominous warning intended to inspire action – any action – it most definitely is that.
Today’s Republicans, as a group, remind people of that person in everyone’s life who recognizes they carry and maintain a serious flaw yet feel powerless to do anything to correct it. It could be an alcoholic, or a drug addict, or a compulsive gambler, or a shop-a-holic, or an unreformed procrastinator – something deeply hidden within the psyches of particular individuals that prevents them from saving themselves from the brink of disaster.
Afflicted citizens with do-nothing disease can always turn to therapists, clergymen or any number of government agencies to try and wrest themselves from the self-inflicted tailspin they’re in. Turning or returning to God is never a bad option.
But Republicans just can’t seem to do it. They’ve been gifted the opportunity of a political lifetime to consummate most of the policy outcomes they’ve always dreamed about. And the “stuff” they likely entered politics for in the first place. How many promises have been made? How many ethical compromises have been expended? How many excuses have been offered to cover their rear-ends for not having succeeded?
President Donald Trump has the luxury of knowing what he wants and then never settling for anything less than the realization of the intention. Republicans have witnessed Trump bearing the brunt of the so-called “loyal” opposition’s onslaught for more than a decade. Yet there’s no persuasive force on earth that can compel the rank-and-file legislative foot-soldiers to move.
As a group, Republicans are a bunch of cowards. The outcasts are usually labeled “purists” or “principled” by the pundits and bored and anticipatory Democrat politics commentators, yet it takes courage to set an agenda and then be willing to go to bat for themselves and their colleagues when the going gets a little rough and opinion poll percentages snipe at your flanks. No one ever expected the Democrats to simply lay down and allow Republicans to roll over them, but Democrats have learned, over the course of years, to do whatever it takes to compel Republicans to bend.
And bend the GOPers have always done. It’s a tortuous cycle.
Except for Donald Trump, of course. Sometimes to a fault, Trump never gives ground. Like General George S. Patton in World War II, Trump refuses to retreat and redeploy in order to win the same ground twice. As has been written about many times, Trump appears to enjoy the never-ending turmoil cloud that hangs over politics and his role in public discourse.
At times it looks as though Trump pursues alternative messaging lines just to drum up coverage.
The practice drives conservatives crazy, and I’ve argued that deliberately antagonizing the opposition has a “poking a bear” kind of quality to it, but Trump possesses unique talents to hold the MAGA base together. Trump is one of a kind.
For GOP leaders in Congress, however, they must do whatever they can to pass legislation that means something so candidates can hang their hats on accomplishments this fall rather than tossing out “If I’m elected to Congress, we’ll get stuff done. THIS time!” airy assurances.
As Crouere reported in his column, Republicans didn’t do themselves any favors by further ignoring and alienating the social conservative element of the traditional conservative 3-legged political stool. Pro-life proponents have been betrayed by Republicans too many times to count, and one wonders when the single-issue backers will declare that “the last time was one too many.”
The SAVE America Act is most likely dead in the water because of senate GOP inertia. Democrats aren’t about to reverse course in an election year and the chances of ditching the filibuster gets less and less as time goes on.
Will Senator Lindsey Graham’s untimely death move the needle? We shall see.
By appearances, Republicans appear content to: One, count on Donald Trump and his executive orders to do the heavy lifting for the party; two, depend on Trump to make his final midterm pitch pretty much by his lonesome; and three, hope like heck that the public will be scared off from the Democrats’ new fondness for communism/socialism to motivate Americans to keep Republicans in power.
Trump seems primed and prepared to make the 2026 midterm election about keeping the legislative branch out of the hands of the communists/socialists, and the new Democrats have given him something inspiring to talk about. The Supreme Court’s recent anti-common-sense rulings on birthright citizenship/birth tourism and the legality of counting mail-in ballots days after an election also breathed new life into the GOP messaging effort.
If they’ll only follow-up on the opportunity.
But the American public is sick of promises. They want action. Last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act was a landmark legislative achievement, but in politics, many citizens take a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately attitude as opposed to, what-will-you-do pledges to do better the next time. And reasonably so. The choice to not vote may be a popular one in 2026.
Republicans have a full list of challenges to overcome this year, and they can’t depend on President Trump to carry their water for them on everything. Congressional Republicans can make it easier on themselves by passing whatever they can to aid their campaign efforts.
Use reconciliation if possible. Just get it done. Pretend like you care, Republicans.
Jeff Rendall is editor and publisher of GolfintheUSA.com and has written about golf and politics for over a quarter of a century. A non-practicing attorney from California, he moved to the east coast three decades ago to pursue and combine his interests in all things American history and culture. Jeff has worked as an intern on Capitol Hill and in various capacities in grassroots organizing and conservative organizations and publications, including a nearly two-decade stint at ConservativeHQ.com. Column republishing or other inquiries: Rendall@msn.com .