House Republican Bickering Results In Bailing On WV Retreat

House Republicans are sick of each other. Really. They don’t even want to be around each other these days, or so it has seemed. Now we have have actual proof they really can’t stand each other. Once upon a time they’d have skipped their kid’s school plays and ball games to get together at some posh hotel or resort for a conservative conclave. To plot how to “own the libs” in various ways, and drink toasts over this or that instance of (in their minds at least) having done so. Not anymore. THIS year the bulk of them are bailing on their annual “retreat.” Or maybe they are actually retreating, knowing not only will they be in the minority again next year but the way things are going might be before 2024 is over!

You know, The Greebriar is an awfully nice place. It’s a resort in West Virginia and though I’ve never been there I know people who have and I’m told it’s as stately and beautiful as it seems in the pictures. It would seem just like the kind of spot a bunch of politicians would gather for a series of meetings and speeches that could be a mix of public access (gotta get that news coverage) but capable of accommodating private meetings too. Given it’s a Presidential election year and with genuine concerns about how the hell they can hold on to their already razor thin majority you’d think House GOPers would want to get away from DC for a mix of figuring out a strategy, and a break from the intensity of DC these days. Have themselves a mix of R & R but also do some serious soul-searching. Trade ideas on how to stay in Trump’s good graces (and keep their seats) but also not just get re-elected but also be part of a continued majority.

However, as outlets including Newsweek are reporting this year’s gathering/retreat is a flop. Pretty much before it even started today!  That’s right folks, over half the GOP caucus bailed before they were even supposed to head to the Greenbriar!  As Newsweek states, Speaker Mike Johnson’s going to preside over a gathering most of his caucus wants no part of:

The annual retreat, used to discuss policy and hold debates, is scheduled to take place at the Greenbrier Resort on Wednesday and Thursday in West Virginia and will be the first with Johnson at the helm. But there will be empty of seats at the resort, as a number of Republicans have rejected their invitations, some publicly and some privately, according to reports.

I’d say “Poor Mike Johnson” but I have no sympathy for him. None. Zero. He’s the accidental Speaker. Even most in his own caucus said “Mike WHO?” when his name was put forward last fall after House Republican’s “Who’s Gonna Be Speaker?” sh*tshow 2.0 turned into worse than the days of failed vote after failed vote to give McCarthy the gavel.  But Johnson got the job and right off the bat proved he was way the hell out of his league. Oh, some have tried to give him a chance to grow into the job but instead the caucus has only fractured even more. And shrunk even more. An already too thin a majority to begin with it’s actually gotten thinner. A spider web has more substance than the House GOP majority, especially with Colorado Republican Ken Buck leaving. Next week. It’s too soon to be sure what will happen but the laws in that state are such that there might not be a chance for a special election to fill the seat!

How bad is this annual even cratering? Per the linked article:

CNN, which cited an unnamed source, reported that fewer than 100 Republicans have said they will be at the retreat, less than half the total of 219 Republican representatives in the House. It also reported that the event’s key note speaker, Fox Business’ Larry Kudlow, dropped out at the last minute, further throwing the event into disarray.

Politizoom’s Murfster likes to remind us that the current GOP House majority includes some twenty or so Congress Critters that come from “Biden Districts”, Congressional districts that were carried by President Biden in 2020. Over a dozen are in their first term and very much in danger of it also being their LAST term. Yet they have gone along with Trump’s orders on some key matters and you can bet those votes will be tied to them like aircraft carrier sized anchors once the general election season begins.

Then you have the Freedom Caucus, and its subset of Bratty Matty Gaetz’s FREE-DUMB caucus members pissing in the soup and throwing turds into the punchbowl. And Trump. He’s both fueling dissention and also now going to suck up all the money and support many were counting on from the RNC. Had the caucus stood up to Trump in recent months, and say passed if not a budget but at least a continuing resolution to fund the govt. until the new Congress convenes next year (at the levels McCarthy negotiated and then got dumped for), or passed that aid bill for Ukraine, Israel (and Taiwan) and also the border security they demanded (and got) things would be different.

Even now, with border security separated out from foreign aid legislation for both is dead in the water. Thanks to Johnson being both afraid to cross Trump (and the most extreme of the Free-Dumb caucus) and his just generally not having the gravitas for the job. No wonder the finger pointing and recriminations have gotten to this point. These asshats are on the verge of Lord of the Flies territory so I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised that that bulk of them are bailing on a getaway to a swanky resort. A place where after a couple of days of “official” conferencing they could hang out with family and pals from their caucus for some well-off person type fun. Golf. High end spa treatments, etc.

That’s how much they can’t stand each other these days!  Maybe labeling it a “Retreat” (as it’s always been called) was a little too much on the nose this year. Well, with less than half the caucus showing up (the final number who are there this morning will be interesting to learn) it’s more like a full out ROUT!