First there was the bipartisan gun bill, which was about a quarter of a loaf, but more than anyone reasonably expected. Then we had the passage of the Chinese chip bill with significant GOP support. Today, it appears that a small, but important, part of the BBB is going to squeak through the system. There is even a possibility that a gay marriage bill could pass the Senate with at least ten GOP votes. What in the name of Donald Trump is going on here? You could almost argue that Biden’s 2020 campaign optimism about the workings of the process had some basis in fact, and that the GOP has become a normal center-right party again.
A reasonably large number (not a majority, of course) of Republicans is actually behaving responsibly for a change, instead of trying to burn it down. Perhaps the pending election has caused them to concentrate; perhaps it is the backwash of the January 6 committee; or maybe it is just one of those inexplicable things. In any event, enjoy it while you can, because it won’t last. If the GOP wins the House, as expected, the next two years will feature a boatload of bogus Benghazi-style investigations, a horrific debt ceiling crisis, and God knows what else, because that’s what the red base wants.