Shock, Disappointment

Betrayal is not too strong a term.

Feathers of Hope is a network of ordinary citizens who joined together around a shared commitment to diminishing the power and influence of MAGA extremists in the chamber.

Since January, we have been urging moderate Republicans and Democrats in the House of Representatives to form a bipartisan majority voting bloc for the purpose of electing a new Republican Speaker, one who owes nothing to the minority MAGA group.

Note: This site can also be accessed by entering FeathersOfHope.net in your browser window.

What just happened?

Yesterday, Republicans in the House of Representatives voted unanimously against seeking bipartisan cooperation in the crafting of essential legislation for the remainder of the 118th Congress. With ample opportunity to choose a Speaker who could lead with the support of a majority drawn from both parties, every Republican in the House instead voted to elect Mike Johnson (R-LA). Mr. Johnson is a committed ally of Donald Trump and the far-right Freedom Caucus in the House.

This vote is both shocking and disappointing.

In response to blatant obstruction of normal House procedures by MAGA allies of convicted January 6 insurrectionists, we in the Feathers Of Hope network have been working tirelessly for many months to nourish a potential cross-party alliance within the chamber.

Though most of our members are progressive/liberal Democrats, we have consistently advocated electing a traditional mainstream Republican Speaker in order to protect the People’s House from MAGA extremism. To no small degree, we were encouraged by repeated public declarations of support for this approach from Representative Don Bacon (R-NE).

As early as November of 2022, Mr. Bacon suggested his willingness to “work with like-minded people across the aisle to find someone agreeable for Speaker.” During the debt ceiling negotiations in May, and again during the effort to avoid a government shutdown in September, the Nebraska Republican made the case for a bipartisan majority to address those threats.

Just two weeks ago, theWashington Post reported that Mr. Bacon had rejected a proposal to give Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry enhanced powers, and had suggested instead that willing Republicans should work with Democrats to elect a consensus Speaker.

And yet, after leading the moderate opposition to Jim Jordan’s candidacy through three rounds of balloting last week, yesterday Don Bacon turned his back on the prospect of bipartisanship and voted for a far-right extremist Speaker of the House. There’s little doubt that his choice to do so was decisive for other “traditional” Republicans.

While acknowledging that he disagreed with Mr. Johnson’s votes against certifying President Biden’s 2020 election and against same-sex marriage protection, Mr. Bacon said this about the new Speaker: “He’s got a good heart. He is a decent person. I think he’s a moral person.”

The same could have been said about Don Bacon on Tuesday. But today, the only term that comes to mind when reflecting on the man whose word members of our network took at face value is this: betrayal.

And it is not only we who have been betrayed. The House of Representatives has been betrayed. The assault on our institutions of self-government by MAGA extremism, which momentarily seemed to be waning, feeds on betrayal.

Consequently, the task of defending our institutions has been made exponentially more difficult. But we will not surrender.

Now what? How do we proceed from here?

Still reeling from the shock of betrayal, we find ourselves wandering in the midst of cognitive dissonance. How did this happen? What will we do next? Our path ahead is clouded with uncertainty. Previously hopeful prospects now seem dismal.

Fortunately, we have an outstanding Democratic Leader in the House, one who is both skilled and inspiring. Following the election of the new Speaker yesterday, Mr. Hakeem Jeffries stepped to the rostrum at the front of the chamber and addressed the assembled members, andthe country as well. He reminded us of who we are, and of what we need to do:

“From the very beginning of this Congress, House Democrats have made clear that we will find bipartisan common ground with our Republican colleagues whenever and wherever possible, for the good of the American people. And House Democrats have repeatedly done just that.”

That was just the beginning. For all the dispirited among you this morning, there is nothing that could be more highly recommended than this:

Spend the next 12 minutes listening to Mr. Jeffries. You will be comforted; you will be encouraged. You will be inspired and uplifted.

Hakeem Jeffries’ address to the House

---

• Feathers of Hope will continue to defend the House of Representatives.

• We will follow Mr. Jeffries’ direction, and will continue advocating for bipartisanship whenever and wherever possible.

• And we will make certain that Hakeem Jeffries is Speaker of the House in 2025.

Beyond that, everyone is invited to share their reaction to yesterday’s events in the comment section of this post. Or write to me directly: JerryWeiss@substack.com

This is a network of ordinary citizens. In a democracy, we exercise our power by raising our voices. To be silent is to be powerless.