After seeing the irreparable damage that Donald Trump has done to their party, it’s safe to say that the regrets are real when it comes to how House Republicans feel coming into the new year, knowing damn well they are going to be the minority once the Democrats take over.
The New York Times has just reported that Republican House members are pretty much throwing little temper tantrums behind closed doors, unable to cope with the disappointment of losing their power after the “blue wave” Trump influenced in the midterm.
The Times’ Carl Hulse reported just why this might be devastating to many GOPers:
About two-thirds of Republicans returning to the House for the 116th Congress this week have never experienced the exquisite pain of being on the outs in an institution where the party in charge is totally in charge. It will be a rude awakening for many who have known only their exalted majority status.”
Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) spoke out about what he expects for 2019, and he seemed less than happy about it:
They say you will have a lot more time on your hands and will vote ‘no’ a lot more often. We have come to grips with the shock of the election, but the shock of governing will still be a wake-up call for some people.”
Oklahoma Republican Tom Cole even offered some advice for his colleagues:
Oh. Sheesh. Smoke a lot; drink a lot. You are going to get some real disappointment. They are going to find out how good they had it in the majority, particularly when we had a Republican Senate, as frustrating as that could be.”
One longtime House Republican, Peter King (R-NY) whined:
You control nothing. As far as calling the shots, we have nothing like the Senate where one guy can filibuster. You have no recourse.”
King was also highly worried about the multiple House investigations into Trump, his campaign and his business dealings that will likely come in 2019. He said:
There are going to be a lot of investigations. We have to be ready to be on defense when the investigations go too far.”
It’s hard to feel sorry for these Republicans. They had two years in the majority to prove themselves with a Republican president, and they failed miserably. It’s time for a change.
Featured image via screen capture
