A coalition of moderates made so much sense that one wonders why it didn't happen. The difficulty of forming such a coalition is due to the separate party primary elections by which candidates for the House are nominated in nearly all states.
There was an obvious solution to the prolonged inability of the House of Representatives to elect a new speaker, but a major political obstacle stood in the way. Although overcoming this obstacle was not impossible, doing so could have threatened the careers of politicians from both parties.
The Senate had its act in order but could not enact legislation without the concurrence of the House. This system makes it risky for legislators to make compromises with the other party, no matter how much sense they might make and how much they might appeal to majorities in the next general election.
Alaska recently replaced separate party primaries with a single primary in which members of both main parties as well as independents and minor party members compete. The top four or five winners then go on the ballot for a ranked choice general election. The election of Mike Johnson as speaker indicates that political courage is still lacking. His narrow victory on the secret ballot in the Republican conference suggests that many of his Republican colleagues did not regard him with enthusiasm. But in a subsequent open vote they overwhelmingly supported him.
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