Monday's Misty Absurdities: The Race Returns to Status Quo Ante as First Debate Looms

I long ago lost any enthusiasm for talking about the Kabuki Theater practiced by House Republicans and Speaker Mike Johnson. Everything they do these days, like the impeachment investigation of Old Joe Biden, is just for show. It all boils down to their lack of appetite for shutting down the government to force Democrats in the Senate to do the right thing for the country.

You know, like enacting the SAVE Act, the bill passed by the House with only 5 Democrats voting in favor in July. Last week, Speaker Johnson and GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik promised to roll that bill into the latest economically ruinous continuing resolution that will be considered at the end of September:

The SAVE Act, for those unaware, requires voters to provide proof of American citizenship in order to vote in federal elections. This is the biggest no-brainer requirement necessary to maintain the U.S. as a sovereign nation, so naturally the Democrats hate it.

The safest prediction any pundit could make is that Johnson, Stefanik, and every other House Republican will cave on this bit of theater at the first opportunity. They’ll point fingers at the evil Democrats for their hatred of America, no one but Fox News will cover it, and it will all go up in smoke as Johnson recruits 20-30 Democrats to help him get enough votes to enact the CR.

The lessons here are two-fold: