The Republican takeover of the U.S. House offers the GOP a chance to get back in the game in national politics. It’s a golden opportunity – after Democratic domination in Washington since 2020 – to remind Americans of the fresh thinking Republicans bring to the table.

They have ideas to invigorate the economy, restore law and order – particularly at the U.S. border – and rein in runaway federal spending, among other pressing priorities. They also seek to stop the Biden administration’s deployment of legions of new IRS agents just in time for taxes.

Now, if only the Republicans could decide on a new speaker for the House. Really.

They can’t seem to take up that simple task at the moment because, even though they now hold the majority in the chamber, a handful of Republican holdouts is refusing to play ball. Among them is Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert.

As our news affiliate Colorado Politics reported Tuesday, Boebert was one of a dozen or so House Republicans who voted against the GOP’s outgoing minority leader and presumptive new House speaker, Kevin McCarthy of California.

As a result, a stalemate among Republicans over House leadership continues. The clock is ticking, America is watching, and this wholly unwarranted delay only exposes the House’s new majority to doubts about its ability to lead.

Which is to say Boebert and her cohorts’ obstructionism only serves the House’s new Democratic minority.

Let us be very clear: This is not why The Gazette editorial board endorsed Boebert in 2022.

We believed her reelection bid last fall – which turned out successful, but only after the closest of calls – reflected the values of her wide-ranging district. We defended her against critics from the Front Range who simply didn’t get her appeal to many CD-3 Republicans as well as unaffiliated voters.

Above all, however, we saw her as the candidate who could carry her district – so she could help roll out her party’s platform in the House for the benefit of Colorado and the rest of the country. That cannot happen so long as she and the House GOP’s other rebels without a cause are promoting petty political agendas of their own.

McCarthy isn’t perfect – just like all humans and certainly like everyone else serving in Congress. But, for the House GOP members who care, he is endorsed by Donald Trump.

For other Republicans, he is a true party standard-bearer on all the issues, checking all the boxes. And for Colorado’s and America’s many independent voters, McCarthy represents real hope for change and a path beyond the stasis gripping the federal government.

In that context, Boebert’s failure to advance her party’s interests with support for McCarthy is all the more befuddling. While Colorado’s two other House Republicans, U.S. Reps. Ken Buck and Doug Lamborn, supported McCarthy, Boebert voted for Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio.

Her reasons for undermining the GOP majority are vague, even cryptic, and hint at inside politics and a fixation on procedural minutiae: “Yesterday, we had a deal … for Kevin McCarthy to get him the gavel on the first ballot, and he eagerly dismissed us.”

What’s clearer from her actions thus far is what doesn’t seem to be motivating her: Any interest in advancing her party’s compelling policies on behalf of her country and her Colorado constituents.

Boebert should set aside her agenda immediately. This is no time for backroom politics. She should be helping her team win the battle of ideas.

Colorado Springs Gazette Editorial Board