Who can corral the Crazy Caucus?

By Jim Hightower

OtherWords

House Speaker John Boehner gave up his position because he couldn’t stand the job anymore. Next in line was Rep. Kevin McCarthy, who started running but quickly backed off. Rep. Paul Ryan says he’s (seeking) the job, even though he doesn’t want it.

What’s at work here is the Crazy Caucus.

At one level or another, nearly all Republican House members belong to it. But I’m talking here about 50 or so hyper-crazies who believe that the greatest problems facing our country are Hillary Clinton’s emails, Planned Parenthood, the existence of public services and Mexicans who sneak into our country so they can vote for Democrats.

It’s the job of the House Speaker to try “leading” these mad dogs to an occasional bit of sanity, like voting to fund the government. Who really wants to do that – or even thinks it’s possible anymore?

Well, several of the mad dogs themselves say they should be put in charge.

Mike Pompeo of Kansas, a prince of right-wing pomposity who was elected by the billionaire Koch brothers to be their personal representative in Washington, also says he’s ready to lead the House ... toward a Koch-headed plutocracy.

That’s pathetic. But wait – we have another surprising choice. It’s a little known fact, but the speaker of our House of Representatives doesn’t actually have to be a member of Congress.

So why don’t we choose someone who isn’t even a politician?

Maybe a group psychologist is what the place really needs.

OtherWords columnist Jim Hightower is a radio commentator, writer, and public speaker. He’s also the editor of the populist newsletter, The Hightower Lowdown.