Former Aberdeen mayor Mike Levsen: The GOP has lost its way, and is being led by dangerous and poorly informed idiots

What explains the ineptitude we have seen among elected Republicans in Washington, D.C.?

House speaker election follies, kangaroo committee hearings, self-destructive shutdowns, off-the-wall budget proposals, blocking military appointments, voting to overturn the election, trying to cut a cabinet secretary’s salary to $1, bumbling Hunter Biden press conferences, personal attacks on each other.

Their demeanor resembles middle school, and the quality of floor speeches is an embarrassment. Many turn into pretzels trying to demonstrate their Trumpiness.

Regardless of policy conflicts, in years past both parties have been able to actually function. Republicans typically worked together better than Democrats. Yet Nancy Pelosi succeeded with a paper-thin majority and Kevin McCarthy was powerless.

We do remember when there were plenty of smart, effective, patriotic Republicans.  What has happened?

Quality Republicans are present, but is it possible too many of those capable officials have been forced aside by the “B” or “C” team and that’s why things don’t work?

Picture a Republican primary election candidate holding these simple, demonstrably valid statements:

• Human activity contributes to threatening climate consequences.

• The earth is more than 6,000 years old, and the Noah’s Ark story is a nice legend. (By the way, what happened to all the water after dry land appeared?)

• Allowing almost any gun, any time, anywhere by anyone makes us unique among all countries.

• Face masks can help stop the spread of germs. (If you disagree, will you ask your surgical team to not wear them?)

• Government-tested and -approved vaccines help save lives and help avoid disease.

• Nearly two-thirds of Americans oppose some or all government limitations on abortion.

• LGBTQ citizens deserve the same constitutional rights as all others. 

• First-generation immigrants have a far lower crime rate than those born here.

• Joe Biden won the 2020 election.

• The Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capital was one of the worst events in our history.

Very, very difficult to argue that any of those are not accurate. However, admitting to even one could be enough to elicit outrage from Republican primary voters. Other perfectly rational ideas are potential killers, too.

So, who wins the primary contests?  It’s too often those who disregard the truth, those who are just cluelessly partisan, or those able to hide any heretical thinking. Not stupidity, but willful ignorance becomes a prerequisite. Many of our better Republicans are pushed out and what we get is what we see now.

Policy differences aside, there’s just not enough quality, capable folks to figure out what to do. Republican primaries have sometimes been an exercise to find the worst candidate.

Of course, incompetent Democrats are elected, too, but few enough so they can function when they have the majority.

Meanwhile, what about our South Dakotans? Sen. John Thune, Sen. Mike Rounds and Rep. Dusty Johnson — I’ve spent time with these three and found all to be intelligent, cordial, well-intentioned, and fully capable of doing good work in D.C. I like to think all three know the above statements are self-evidently true.

I also believe that if they said so publicly, their future in the national party would be gone and even re-election here would be difficult. I sympathize — it must be tough to swim in those waters every day. Can they tiptoe around and hang on long enough until the party rehabilitates itself? It would be political suicide right now to aggressively contradict the MAGA movement, and I don’t think it would accomplish much.

All three have eased themselves off the Trump bandwagon, but when he is nominated, will they have no choice but to hop back on? History will judge their place in the Trump (seen above in a public domain photo posted on wikimedia commons) phase of the Republican Party, but that’s not coming soon.

Meanwhile, we are stuck with what we have in Congress and the Senate.

Republican outcast Liz Cheney said this: “What we’ve done is create a situation where we are electing idiots.”

Meanwhile, don’t get me started talking about how this relates to members of our South Dakota Legislature.

Mike Levsen is a former mayor of Aberdeen