Hakeem Jeffries harrowing headache

Remember when the Washington, DC punditocracy wrung their hands wondering if Kevin McCarthy would become Speaker? Remember when the Washington, DC punditocracy wondered if Speaker McCarthy would be able to pull his tiny majority together and get something meaningful done?

Of course, we remember those things like they were yesterday. That's because, unlike with Joe Biden, our absent-minded Oval Office occupant, we remember things that happened all the way back to January. Wy back then, the punditocracy didn't predict problems for Hakeem Jeffries, the incoming House Minority Leader. His job was just to oppose everything proposed by Republicans and regurgitate the phrase "extreme MAGA Republicans" whenever it seemed fitting, which is frequently in the minds of the vast majority of Democrats.

A few funny things happened after those events in January. Kevin McCarthy became Speaker McCarthy. Speaker McCarthy united his conference. (Thank you very much.) Then the House GOP passed lots of important, pro-growth legislation. That includes passing the Limit, Save, Grow Act, which raises the debt limit, limits the size of the growth in spending, saves the COVID money that still hasn't been spent and that grows the economy by putting us back on a path towards energy independence.

Meanwhile, Leader Jeffries has a handful of headaches:

Progressives don’t want cuts at all. Moderates don’t want work requirements. Swing district Democrats don’t want to rock the boat in what could be a bad electoral year. Everyone has complaints, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is in the rather unenviable position of fielding all those complaints and playing go-between. He and his leadership team are taking complaints from the caucus and getting… well, very little from the White House.

That's the definition of a sticky wicked. I wouldn't wish that on even a Democrat. Let me revise and extend my remarks. I would wish that on Democrats. In fact, after wishing that, I'd invite Mr. McCarthy, Gov. DeSantis and my Congressman (House Majority Whip Tom Emmer) over for a BBQ. After the BBQ, I'd pop some popcorn for dessert.

Seriously, this is what happens when politicians don't have a leader figure to follow. Democrat legislators not only don't have a leader to follow. They're stuck following Joe Biden. The Joe Biden that once shook hands with a ghost after a speech:

Hakeem Jeffries is new on the job. Sen. Chuck Schumer is living on borrowed time as the Senate Majority Leader, especially after making threats like this:

This isn't what unity looks like:

The leadership trio warned the White House that it can’t just assume 80 to 100 Democrats will back any Biden-McCarthy deal. Tougher work requirements for social-welfare programs is the most sensitive issue for many Democrats, with McCarthy continuing to press the White House to give in on this front. "We've been exceedingly clear where we are depending on what’s in it,” said a senior Democratic aide, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

That's what confusion looks like. After the 10th round of voting for Speaker, who would've predicted this scenario? A: While I didn't predict this scenario, I predicted that Kevin McCarthy would benefit from the fighting and negotiating with Chip Roy and Dan Bishop. As a result, Speaker McCarthy is pushing through bills that have a chance of making the U.S. economy much stronger and that might pave the way for an administration that's led by a movement conservative. Who would've thunk that back in January?