This is an opinion column.

The goal for House Republicans is a speaker who delivers more conservative policy outcomes and a stronger House majority than Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). Either Republicans unite and rally behind a new speaker, or their egos prove them unqualified to continue governing.

Representative majorities rule in American politics. As simple as that proposition sounds, a handful of members within the House Republican Caucus refuse to acknowledge the majority within their own ranks to select a new speaker. Sticking with the results of a House Republican Conference vote is the only way for the GOP to pick the Speaker without making any concessions to Democrats.

In case you were hiding under a rock for the last few weeks, eight Republicans joined the House Democratic Caucus to jettison Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). Spare me your tough talk and spinning about what went down. The eight didn’t have the support in the Republican party, so they used Democrats to give them a governing majority on one issue.

Democrats were politically coordinated enough to help eight members of Congress throw the House of Representatives into disarray. Yes, a majority did choose to boot McCarthy, but Democrats overwhelmingly carried the vote. When a member looks in his vote column, and it’s almost entirely representatives who reject the policies his or her constituents support, there’s a good chance he is voting the wrong way.

With a government shutdown on the horizon and wars in Ukraine and Israel, the House appears on the brink of speaker roulette…again.

Let’s go over the basics.

The House needs a speaker. Conservatives should readily realize a Republican speaker is preferable to no speaker or a Democratic speaker. A majority of the House Republican Conference agreed to nominate Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) to be speaker. As such, Republicans should vote together to hand a Republican the Speaker’s gavel.

But no.

This time dozens of House Republicans announced their intentions to reject the conference results. Scalise has now withdrawn from the race realizing Republicans are again at an impasse. It’s an embarrassment to anyone who believes that Republicans in Congress should at least show up for the job and try to advance conservative policies to rein in spending, limit the bureaucratic state, and keep our nation safe.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) received fewer votes than Scalise in the Republican conference. Now he’s supposed to receive nearly unanimous approval from his colleagues because he’s the last man standing? At this point, Republicans should run down the roster of members internally until someone hits 217.

Stop with the bellicose talk about shutting down the government until a “true” conservative becomes speaker. That is exactly what Democrats want. “Just shut it down!” is the political equivalent of a child pitching a fit because his mother says it’s time to go home. The kid is going home one way or another. It’s just a matter of how, when, and the amount of pain created in the process.

Republicans shouldn’t be anarchists. Anti-government means anti-Constitution. Too many Americans clearly haven’t realized that the Constitution constitutes a government. We should spend far less than we are, but the process that demands we build governing majorities. There is no shortcut to the difficult work of actually enacting conservative laws.

Lazy Republicans think they can achieve fiscally conservative results without earning the votes by indefinitely grinding Congress to a halt. Democrats are happy to join them because they recognize it as the fastest political path to creating a governing majority of their own. Neither history nor political realities support long-term federal government shutdowns.

Back to the question of electing a speaker. The House Republican Conference is back to the drawing board with Scalise’s withdrawal. Sticking with a conference consensus pick remains the most direct path to Republicans achieving their goal. Democrats wouldn’t help out McCarthy. They aren’t about to vote with Republicans to put Jordan over the top.

More importantly, Jordan went head-to-head with Scalise and came up short. He shouldn’t be recycled. Give Patrick McHenry (R-NC) a shot. After one day on the job, he managed to get Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) out of office. Mike Johnson (R-LA) is a respected, competent conservative who is less of a bomb-thrower than Jordan. Draft someone like Bruce Westerman (R-AR) who manages to do his job well without seeking the spotlight. Republicans have plenty of options.

The GOP must stop with the performance politics and get their act together. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and company continue to sell the lies that a minority is a majority and shutting government down is the same as advancing a conservative agenda. Too many Republicans are more interested in being social media show ponies than actually governing. Rep. Nancy “Scarlet A” Mace (R-SC) is a perfect example. The American border is falling apart, kids are butchered in Israel, and we’re in debt up to our eyeballs, but she’s the real victim because of voting to oust McCarthy.

The saddest scene in this unnecessary drama will be when and if Democrats have success at the polls in 2024. The hostage-taking Republicans will conveniently forget their role in sowing discord and blame anyone but themselves for the Democratic agenda shoved down their throats. Then, our only choice as voters will be between their excuses and new representation.

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Smith is a recovering political attorney with four boys, two dogs, a bearded dragon, and an extremely patient wife. He’s a partner in Triptych Media, a business strategy wonk, and a regular on talk radio. Please direct outrage or agreement to [email protected] or @DCameronSmith on Twitter.