Steve Scalise continues to drone on about “hard working families,” and pledging to fight hard on their behalf, but what about the rest of us?
I get tired just listening to politicians who won't shut up about how hard it is to “put food on the table.” When it comes to trotting out cliches, the competition is tough but Scalise is never lost for one.
Wake me up if he ever has a serious point to make.
He will have to, of course, because he is a real big shot these days, second in the GOP House pecking order behind Kevin McCarthy, who is too much of an opportunistic wimp for the taste of red-blooded colleagues. With the GOP about to resume control of the House and McCarthy facing challenges from the rank-and-file, Scalise's ascent to speaker is surely just a matter of time.
He deserves it, as a hard worker who never fails to toe the party line. McCarthy, meanwhile, goes whichever way the wind blows. He can denounce ex-President Donald Trump one minute and suck up the next.
His detractors are right; he is despicable.
Scalise's rise in the political firmament does not indicate any great talent, for it is longevity that leads to eminence. The most powerful people in government are often most remarkable for seeming so ordinary. When Bob Livingston was poised to take over as speaker several years ago, the thought occurred, as it does now, how precarious the Republic must be if run-of-the-mill Louisiana politicians can run the show.
The ascent of ordinary mortals is perhaps the essence of democracy, so, when Scalise promises to rein in inflation and plug the holes in the southern border, everyone smiles indulgently. Nobody thinks he can pull it off but it is a treat to see old Steve enjoying the limelight.
We can all rejoice with him for he was most grievously wounded when that nutter opened fire on congressmen at baseball practice.
The experience did not change Scalise's mind on the merits of gun regulation, which is a pity now that he is in a position to sway public policy. He will not exploit his clout to disarm a new generation of nutters, having in recent years embraced the cop-out pretense that the carnage can be reduced by improving mental health care. This is obviously nonsense, for all countries are beset by mental illness, but this is the only one where citizens are shot by the thousands every year.
So long as we pretend that we have a mental health problem instead of a firearms problem, the carnage will continue. Scalise and all the other Second Amendment stalwarts will make sure of that, and chances that he will change his mind are zero.
Still, the more Louisiana politicians rise to the top, the more we can prosper through their efforts. If Scalise should climb to the speakership, and inherit a decisive influence on the congressional agenda, celebrations will be in order around here,
Scalise's ideas on gun regulation are not in order, however. When he got shot, he rejected any suggestion of enhanced controls and declared himself in favor of investigating the possibility of arming teachers in a response to the frequent shootings at schools.
Such a move would almost certainly mean more gun deaths, but the notion that the answer to gun violence is more guns is proving difficult to dislodge, although it is clearly perverse.
Email James Gill at gill504nola@gmail.com.