Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, has openly questioned whether the GOP deserves to keep the House majority, lamenting the lack of accomplishments this Congress. He’s not alone.

When Congress began the new year, Rep. Andy Biggs gave a television interview and made a startling confession: House Republicans have done nothing they can run on.

“We have nothing. In my opinion, we have nothing to go out there and campaign on,” the Arizona Republican said on the conservative network Newsmax. “It’s embarrassing.”

Anchor Chris Salcedo responded with a bemused chuckle. “I know,” he said. “The Republican Party in the Congress majority has zero accomplishments.”

The exchange captured a dynamic that looms over Republican lawmakers heading into the 2024 election: They’ve passed little substantive legislation since winning the majority in 2022 and struggled to do the basics of governing with a Democratic-led Senate. Their first year was instead marked by fractiousness and chaos, complicating the party’s pitch to voters this fall. The challenge is accentuated by likely GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump making “retribution” against his enemies, rather than shared policy goals, the centerpiece of his comeback bid as he continues to spread fabricated claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him.

  • Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    To be fair, they do have achievements. They’re just incredibly unpopular with the general public.

    The got abortion banned, they brought back child labor in some states, and they blocked support for Russia’s invasion of Europe, they blocking bipartisan legislation on immigration so they continue to campaign on it, the got America’s Credit rating dropped again, and they’re about to make it so federal regulators can’t keep food, water, and workplaces safe.

    They were able to do a lot with their court appointments, local officials, and good old fashioned obstruction.

    • prole@sh.itjust.works
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      11 months ago

      and they’re about to make it so federal regulators can’t keep food, water, and workplaces safe.

      I’m glad someone is fucking paying attention to this… People seem to have no idea this is happening.

      • Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        Yeah, this is going to be like the campaign finance rulings. Unlike Dobbs, it doesn’t have a harsh impact that people will instantly feel. It will go through, and American life will slowly get shittier, and people won’t be aware of the source.

        It’ll be like slowly turning up the temperature on a frog in a pot.

    • Pipoca@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      The US House banned abortion federally in the last year? The US House is about to do away with chevron deference?

      This is a Republican House member complaining that their last session has mostly been embarrassing. The highest profile thing they’ve done is had a hard time keeping a speaker.

      And aren’t court appointments a senate thing?

  • BigMacHole@lemm.ee
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    11 months ago

    That’s NOT true! They have MANY accomplishments!

    They forced raped 10 year olds to give Birth! They forced poor people to pay back predatory student loans! They protected Rich CEOS who poisoned American Citizens! They ROLLED BACK Child Labor Laws! They banned the Bible and Dictionary! They made Healthcare ILLEGAL! They protected Cops who killed Kids or watched Kids DIE! They KILLED and TRAFFICKED people! They haven’t passed a Budget!

    These are EXACTLY why Republicans keep voting for them! To do EXACTLY this!

    • Nerii@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      Yeah I’m pretty certain if trump held his campaign solely based off of that, he’d get two-folds the amount of votes from republicans excited to punish women for thinking they have rights. /s

  • BombOmOm@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    They could start by passing a clean Ukraine lethal aid bill in the House that exceeds what Biden is asking for. Funding for high paying American jobs always sells well. And it’s a win-win that those high paying American jobs are to produce modern weapons like PrSM to upgrade the US Army’s capability, enabling them to pass old ATACMS to Ukraine to dispatch Russian invaders.

      • Jaderick@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        I think that guy is right though, strategically speaking. It would be in their (garbage republicans) best interest to pass some benefit for the military industrial complex that’s kept them in power, because right now they have nothing.

        It’s kind of hilarious that Russia was a US conservative’s worst enemy until 2015. 10 years ago a Ukraine bill would have basically no opposition (assuming post Maidan), but Russia has clearly made inroads with the far-right grifters lol.

        • kaitco@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          Russia has clearly made inroads with the far-right grifters

          This is why they won’t pass any massive military spending bills, especially those that have to do with Ukraine. They’re all being paid by the Russians, and allowing Ukraine to continue to do well hits them in the pockets more directly than all the other super PACs combined.

        • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          Putin bought them out after we started supplying/selling weapons to Ukraine after the 2014 Crimea invasion, with Obama and everyone pushing hard to get Ukraine out of Putin’s sphere of influence. (complete with supporting the Euromaidan, and “the revolution of dignity”… )

      • Garbanzo@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        Not necessarily, but it really demonstrates that they can’t deliver even when their base and Dem colleagues would support it.

  • Ann Archy@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    “We just wish we could have destroyed a bigger part of society and caused additional policy disasters… Sometimes I wonder if we are really evil anymore…”

  • asteriskeverything@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    Guess they can’t really brag about where they actually focus energy: stonewalling any and all progress and poisoning the public’s opinion and trust of “the Other”, whatever the target may be.

  • GoofSchmoofer@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    Bragging about accomplishments and compromise is the old way to campaign.

    The modern form of getting elected is not to actually do anything. Because if you solve a problem then you can’t scare your voters with that problem in the future.

    An example of this is abortion. Conservatives could always count on the one issue, “pro-life” voter to give them their vote to ban abortion. Now that it’s become easier for states to restrict abortion there is less incentive for these one issue voters to come out to the polls.

    I fear that the left is starting to see the effectiveness of the “scare the voter” strategy and will drag their feet on certain hot topic issues like abortion so they can get more votes.

  • Rapidcreek@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    What?

    Attempting to restrict medical care and the rights of gay people not sitting well with you?

  • Suavevillain@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    They have a base of people who don’t care about material change or want any policy that is net positive in their lives.