Peter —

Happy New Year, Forwardists! Welcome to 2023. While the calendar may have turned, by the looks of things in the new Congress, not much has changed. Gridlock—albeit a slightly different kind—remains its default mode.

For the first time in a century, a Speaker of the House was not elected on the first ballot yesterday. Or the second. Or the third. Or the fourth or fifth(as of this writing) today. Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy, who has long aspired to the House speakership, has thus far failed to earn enough votes to secure the gavel, having been blocked by 20 members of the far-right, MAGA-aligned wing of his own party.

Not only is it humiliating for McCarthy personally, but it speaks to the continuing identity crisis the GOP faces post-Trump. After the “red wave” that never materialized, the party is scrambling to figure itself out—Who are its leaders? What principles does it stand for? What are its legislative priorities? The Speaker battle points to a difficult road ahead for Republicans, as they take their slim majority in the House.

So why should we care about the Republican Party’s internal disarray? Simple—because it’s preventing Congress from conducting the people’s business. Without a Speaker, nothing happens. Representatives can’t be sworn in, committee chairs can’t be named, legislation can’t proceed. In short, Congress can’t get sh*t done. As usual.

• The House Speaker fight is a microcosm of the GOP’s national problem —The Washington Post
• How far-right are the 20 Republicans who voted against McCarthy? —The New York Times
• GOP warns members against accepting deals from Dems ahead of House Speaker vote —Pennsylvania Capital-Star
• AOC floats ‘coalition government’ after McCarthy fails to win House Speaker vote —Fox News
• Democrats, Republicans have sharply distinct priorities for 2023, AP-NORC poll finds —PBS NewsHour

OTHER NEWS & VIEWS

Yang to support RCV in South Carolina
Andrew Yang, founder and co-chair of the Forward Party, will join 11 organizations in South Carolina later this month to support overhauling the U.S. electoral process by moving to ranked-choice voting. Yang will rally at the Statehouse steps in Columbia on Jan. 23 to support the system, which allows voters to rank their first, second, and third choice of candidates in elections. Yang is a vocal supporter of RCV as a way to temper polarization in American politics. Other participating organizations include nonpartisan groups, minor political parties, and grassroots groups on the left, right, and center of the political spectrum. —The Post and Courier

Allen & Montejano: Can STAR and approval voting fix our elections?
“Approval voting and STAR voting offer more representative methods that amplify our voices and ensure our votes matter. Both methods effectively do so by simply counting all of the voter-marked preferences. Knowing their vote will be counted, will make a difference, and will help to elect a winner who will best represent them, voters can feel safe to list their honest preferences under these systems.” —Nate Allen and Ruben Michael Montejano on Divided We Fall

This week in ranked-choice voting
Pennsylvania: “New York City is not the only place to use ranked-choice voting. Maine and Alaska do, too, and Nevada adopted a similar system by referendum last month. It makes especially good sense in primaries: In a general election, many partisans would not even give a last place vote to a member of the opposing party, but in a primary, voters often would be happy with any one of a number of candidates from the same party. No process is perfect, but a consensus choice would ensure that Philadelphia has a mayor who represents more of the people.” —Kyle Sammin in The Philadelphia Inquirer

Maine: “Republicans are blocking the expansion of ranked-choice voting, while Democrats are blocking popular elections for secretary of state, attorney general, and treasurer. The reasoning behind each is simple political benefit—Republicans think ranked-choice voting will hurt them, while Democrats believe that allowing Mainers to pick their own constitutional officers means voters might pick someone legislative Democrats don’t like. In each case, the partisan position is tactically understandable but morally indefensible.” —Kiernan Majerus-Collins in Portland Press Herald

Let’s close today with these hopeful words from Forward Party co-chair Christine Todd Whitman: “Republican and Democratic party leaders would like you to think that there is no better way than the status quo. But America is waking up from that deterministic thinking. Many things define a Forward Party member, but perhaps the most fundamental trait is that we won’t stop looking for a better way to get things done.”

All the best,
The Forward Party Team

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