New House Speaker Mike Johnson leads a GOP majority weakened by decades of declining party authority

  After the House of Representatives took the unprecedented step on Oct. 3, 2023 of removing its own speaker, Kevin McCarthy of California, with eight Republicans joining all 208 voting Democrats to “vacate the chair,” what followed was weeks of uncertainty. Until conservative Louisiana Rep. Mike Johnson was elected speaker of the House on Oct. 25, no candidate had been able to secure the necessary number of Republicans to win a vote on the House floor. And without an elected speaker, the chamber was effectively stuck.

The weaponization of the federal government has a long history

  Now that House Republicans have created a “Select Subcommittee on Weaponization of the Federal Government,” let’s revisit a classic of that power-abusing genre, featuring its greatest star, Richard M. Nixon.

  The subcommittee’s express purpose is investigating federal investigators for alleged “illegal or improper, unconstitutional, or unethical activities,” at which Nixon was an acknowledged master. I’ve been listening to Nixon abuse power on the secret White House tapes for two decades with the University of Virginia’s Miller Center. I’ve written about his decisions to sabotage Vietnam peace talks to damage the Democrats’ 1968 presidential campaign, to time his withdrawal from Vietnam to help his 1972 reelection campaign, and to spring former Teamsters president Jimmy Hoffa from prison in return for the union’s political support.

Why the US House of Representatives has 435 seats – and how that could change

  As the population of the U.S. has grown over the past century, the House of Representatives has gotten worse at being representative of the people it serves. That doesn’t have to happen – and it wasn’t always the case.

  The House is the one segment of the federal government that was created from the beginning to directly channel the views of the people to Washington, D.C. But over the past century, the ability of any individual members of the House to truly represent their constituents has been diluted.

Craig Ford: Slush fund for congressmen included in coronavirus relief bill

  Having served in the Alabama House of Representatives as opposed to the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, D.C., I usually limit my editorials to state politics rather than national politics. But I can't stay silent about the most recent piece of legislation to come out of the Congress.

  Most of what’s in that bill is good. There’s a lot of help for families that are struggling to get by during these difficult times; help that is essential for those who get paid by the hour.

  But hidden within that $2 trillion bill is a $25 million line item for Congress. No, it’s not a pay raise for congressman. But it’s almost just as bad.

The conservative life of the lie

  Attempting to bolster the spirits of conservatives in the wake of the Democrat takeover of the U.S. House of Representatives, Kay Coles James, the president of the Heritage Foundation - the premier conservative think tank in the country - sent out an email to her fellow conservatives that states in part:

    Now is not the time to falter and shrink, but rather the moment to fight harder, send more resources and become more committed to preserving the principles of limited government, freedom, opportunity and a flourishing civil society.

Voters repudiate President Trump and GOP policy agenda—2020 re-election is uncertain

  Americans took to the polls in record numbers in the 2018 midterms, shifting party control of the House of Representatives and sending a clear message of disapproval to President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans. Although the president and his party gained ground in the U.S. Senate, primarily in states Trump won handily, they failed to capitalize on the low unemployment rate or overall positive sentiments about the economy. The signature GOP legislative achievement of the first two years—the $1.5 trillion tax cut that passed last year —failed to boost Republicans’ chances overall and hurt candidates in several seats. Subsequently, they lost in major suburban and urban districts across the country and also lost ground in some rural areas.

The benefit to Republicans in losing the House

  If Republicans lose control over the U.S House of Representatives in the mid-term elections, they don’t have to be totally depressed. The reason? They will then be able, once again, to campaign in the 2020 elections on the promise that if control over the House is restored to the Republicans, they will be able to rein in the out-of-control federal spending and debt that is threatening to take our country down.

Anti-gay conversion therapy plank should not be part of GOP platform

  The Southern Poverty Law Center strongly condemns the possible inclusion of an anti-gay, conversion therapy plank in the Republican Party platform that will be adopted at the party’s convention next week.

  Modern science has entirely and thoroughly debunked conversion therapy – a term used to describe the discredited practices that purportedly can change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: What Congressional redistricting and the Electoral College mean to us today

  You know the outcomes of our presidential primaries yesterday. I do too, today; however, this column had to go to press a few days prior to the primary. Therefore, I will have to report and analyze your voting in a later column.

  One thing I do know is that we had a lot more attention paid to us in the Heart of Dixie because we had an early primary. The legislature is to be applauded for moving us up to participate in the March 1st "SEC" primary.

  It was fun while it lasted, but we can say goodbye to presidential candidates in the Heart of Dixie for the remainder of the campaign. Whoever wins the nominations will have to concentrate on the 10 battleground states during the fall.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: Alabama's House delegation

  Last week’s column expounded on the two different styles that members of congress perceive their roles to be in Washington. Our two senators are classic but different examples. Jeff Sessions is the quintessential ideologue and Richard Shelby is the classic caretaker.

  What about our seven members of congress? We have seven congress people, six Republicans and one Democrat. All seven pretty much toe the party line. All six Republicans vote straight down the party line and our lone Democrat votes with the Democratic leadership. Therefore, you would have to classify them all as ideologues.

Michael Linden and Harry Stein: The Senate continuing resolution is already a compromise

  The Senate-passed measure to keep the government operating represents an enormous compromise by progressives to avoid a damaging government shutdown. The Democrat-controlled Senate agreed to temporary funding levels that are far closer to the Republican-controlled House budget plan than they are to the Senate’s own budget for fiscal year 2014. Moreover, this concession is only the latest of many such compromises over the past several years.

Our Stand: Roby unfit to represent 2nd District… or anyone else

  Alabama U.S. Representative Martha Roby (District 2) has made a political life of contradictions and unabashed hypocrisy. She routinely bemoans government spending yet gloats without shame whenever she secures more government spending for her district. Roby incessantly condemns so-called “redistribution of wealth” and yet is an unapologetic cheerleader for farm subsidies (agricultural welfare). She is quick to bash “government interference” in our daily lives, but she’s more than happy to support measures that facilitate interference (assaulting women’s reproductive rights for example) when it suits her personal agenda.

  But a recent appearance at a Wetumpka Tea Party function proves without question that she should not be representing anyone through elected office.