As political bodies go, the current House GOP faces some serious headwinds. With the expulsion of George Santos, who was removed after being indicted, the Republican majority is so slim as to be nearly useless. Meanwhile, also-indicted Sen. Bob Menendez still has a security clearance because Democrats play for keeps.
Nonetheless, it's understandable that roadblocks exist. When you don't win elections, you don't have the power to act. No one should be expecting miracles from Speaker Mike Johnson and the rest of the GOP caucus. With that said, Republicans in the House have a "strongly worded letter" problem.
Take this latest revelation from Rep. Jim Jordan as an example.
There's nothing wrong with Jordan interviewing this whistleblower, and this article is not a critique of him personally. I will point out, though, that this isn't new. In fact, I wrote about this former Willis employee's claims nearly a month before this piece.
A Recording Has Leaked That Just Made Things Much Worse for Fani Willis
According to a new report, Willis may have improperly fired a whistleblower for trying to prevent illegal activity from occurring. Amanda Timpson, who is on the recording, was concerned that Michael Cuffee, an aide to Willis, was allegedly bragging about using a federal grant for "swag" and other disallowed expenses...
...During the call, Willis seemed sympathetic and even admitted that Timpson's version of events was not necessarily wrong. Yet, just two months later, the district attorney fired Timpson and had her frog-marched out of the building by armed guards. She would later claim that the former employee was a holdover who didn't "meet the standards of the new administration."
So what's the problem? I think the problem is that when you pile whistleblowers on top of whistleblowers spanning a range of topics (I've lost count of how many there are over the last two years), yet nothing tangible comes from any of it, House Republicans run the risk of disenchanting voters. I understand the challenges faced by not having the White House and having such a slim voting majority, but the GOP needs some actual skins on the wall going into 2024.
At this point, every new whistleblower serves as a reminder that the last whistleblower didn't end with someone being taken down, and when the culmination of various investigations turns out to be yet another "strongly worded letter" to some federal agency, it is expected that people are going to start becoming cynical. I've seen that play out online, with many people complaining that the GOP House is "all talk" or some variation of the phrase.
Again, I'm not blaming Jordan, Johnson, or House Republicans for that dynamic because it's not their fault other candidates didn't prevail in 2022. Still, there has to be some worry that continuing to hold up shiny objects while not delivering on the big promises is going to do more harm than good. Because of that, the current messaging may need to be refocused.
As I shared on Saturday, I spent nearly three weeks away from politics (and interacting with people I didn't otherwise know before), and none of them mentioned Fani Willis. That's not to say that she isn't corrupt or that she shouldn't be opposed. It's only to say that the economy, crime, and illegal immigration were the topics people actually brought up to me unprompted, and none of them were happy with Joe Biden.
Republicans would do well to circle the wagons around those big three. Another whistleblower probably isn't going to shift any votes. A ruthless focus on Democrat failures that affect every American will.