
<p>For those who follow my commentaries, you know that I have been calling on Congress to get its rear in gear and provide necessary funding to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan – with reform of immigration law to end the crisis at the southern border. ; We need to be all in on all of those problems.</p>



<p>For months, a divided and cantankerous House and a divided and cantankerous Senate have been politically mud wrestling on all of these issues. ; A lot of it had to do with HOW to package the legislation – and how to placate the extremes of both of the political parties.</p>



<p>The problem on the Republican side stems from an excessive consideration of the small number of legislators on the fringe of the Party with extremist and isolationist views – including ceding Ukraine to Russia. ; That group is very small, but very vocal. ; Their one political asset is the nuclear option of unseating a Speaker in midterm because of a totally ridiculous rule. ; So far, the move to oust Johnson only has two votes. Even if there are more nutcases voting to vacate the chair, Johnson would likely pick up Democrat votes – which McCarthy foolishly rejected.</p>



<p>On the Democrat side, President Biden has a more existential problem. ; The radical extremists compose a significant portion of the Democrat base – in Congress and back home. ; While they are mostly all in for Ukraine, they are opposed to Israel military aid – and in some cases, the existence of Israel, itself. ; They are more than a fringe – as we see in the street protests across the nation.</p>



<p>The fringe in the GOP is not a threat to a Trump reelection prospect. ; They are part of his base. ; However, the radical left in the Democratic Party is a serious threat to Biden’s reelection – and potentially any hope of Democrats maintaining control of the Senate and winning control of the House.</p>



<p>Johnson has announced that he will create four free standing bills. ; Members of the House can vote on what they like without having to support what they do not like. ; Those on the extreme right in the GOP can vote for aid to Israel, Taiwan and border security, and not vote for aid to Ukraine. ; The anti-Israel (pro-Hamas?) faction in the House can vote for Ukraine and Taiwan, and vote against aid to Israel and the bill to secure the border.</p>



<p>Most likely, all the bills will be passed in the House by a significant bipartisan majority. ; They will then be sent to the Senate for consideration – with the same dynamics at play. ; The bills would pass with a bipartisan majority in the upper chamber IF (ß a big if) Senate Majority Leader does not use his power to block them – as he did the immigration reform bill that the House sent to the Senate almost a year ago.</p>



<p>Johnson’s commonsense plan seems so logical that the only question is what has taken it so long? ; But no matter. ; Hopefully Johnson’s bills will be passed with lightning speed. ;</p>



<p>Unfortunately, there is always a chance someone – or some group – will throw the proverbial monkey wrench into the work. ; If that happens, Congress should change the dress code to require size 17 shoes and bulbous red noses.</p>



<p>So, there ‘tis.</p>

Speaker Johnson is getting it right … finally
