WASHINGTON — Today’s Democrats have an opportunity to make history and have a positive impact on America. With assistance, they can select which Republican will be the next Speaker of the House of Representatives. Well, a turnabout would be fair play.

After all, Democrats brought about former Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s demise along with just 4% of the Republican Conference. It would take a comparable number of real mainstream Republicans along with Democrats and Democrats can have a compromise choice for speaker, one that would have both Democrat and Republican support. It could be history making.

How did we get here? It starts with the elimination of moderate Republicans and conservative Democrats, a process that started at the end of the 20th Century. Both of these elements have been purged from their respective parties. Proof?

Well, how many Republican members of Congress are from New England? Or how about white Democrat members from Tennessee, Louisiana, Georgia, Arkansas, Mississippi, or Alabama combined? It’s the same answer to both questions – zero. And it has been like that for most of the 21 st Century.

House Republican leaders from the South pulled all NRCC (National Republican Congressional Committee) funding from New England candidates for Congress which contributed to nearly every Republican losing, including myself, and with only one eclipsing 50% of the vote in 1996. That was the beginning of the elimination of Republicans, mostly moderates, in the region.

But when you polarize America like these folks did and eliminate the silent and moderate middle, which represents the vast majority of Americans, it is problematic. It is due largely to politically gerrymandered districts. Safe Democrat districts make for safe Republican districts. The elected officials are thrilled and the public gets screwed as no one feels a need to compromise to get things done with the other political party. It is my way or else. And everyone gets re-elected to do the same thing year after year. The Supreme Court has determined that it is not unconstitutional to politically gerrymander congressional districts, unfortunately.

What we have witnessed in the last couple of weeks has been ugly and painful to watch, but it could bring about the rebirth of “moderates” in Congress, a “dirty word” today. OK. Let’s refer to them as “conservative Republicans” versus extreme-right Republicans. And Democrats do not want to be called “conservative Democrats.” So now we need to have Democrats versus the progressive Democrats.

Now that we have named the respective teams, conservatives must join with Democrats to get anything meaningful done in Congress. The progressives and extreme-right must not be able to control the majority in Congress – known as the tail-wagging-the-dog effect.

What the progressives and extreme-right folks have in common is the belief that we would be living in a utopia if everyone follows them. They surely know what is best for everyone. It is just that most of the country feels they do not represent them.

But these fringe politicians can live with that. They know that due to the numbers, the razor-thin margin of votes of each party, that they can act as the proverbial tail that wags the dog. By making it dysfunctional, they can rule Congress. Foolishly, they consider that a victory.

It would be disruptive, it would be ugly, but they believe that eventually they will be able to bend the will of just enough people, even if they need to use threats to fit that round peg into the square hole.

They fail to realize that forcing a square peg into a round hole has only two results: You either break the peg or you break the hole. Both result in “game over.”

Even if they did everything they wanted in the House, they would still fail.

They cannot be just about principles; they must be cognizant of what is realistic and basic math. The real adversary is father time, however.

Manipulation takes time. We have already lost two weeks because these folks (Problem -8 Team) did not have a backup plan after the ouster of McCarthy.

Most legislation the extreme right could push through the House would be stopped by a Democrat-controlled Senate. These efforts – unless moderated – would be a waste of time.

Thus, bipartisan moderation is mandatory. And that is not what the extreme right cares about.

Unless the GOP Conference can regain control and punish the Problem 8 Team, a Democrat takeover of Congress in 2024 is likely.

These extreme-right folks are tarnishing the GOP brand. Those folks in swing districts have tough choices. They can either go along with the extreme right and lose in 2024 or against the extreme right and block all legislation in Congress, which would also likely cause their defeat in 2024

The best option for (conservative) Republicans is to develop compromise legislation with Democrats on certain issues. Time will be saved as the Senate would also be more likely to do the same. Thus, America would win.

Consequently, the swing district Republican candidates would have their best chance of winning in 2024. And the extreme right would be crushed.

Democrats have already won. America over the last few days have seen how the minority of the majority within the GOP took over the whole party. They prevented the GOP from governing. It would be hard to impossible for the public to forget that fact.