When I first heard the rumor last week, my immediate reaction was, “Why?”

After the initial surprise, however, I thought that, given the current state of politics, “Why not?”

Why shouldn’t 1st Congressional District Congressman Jack Bergman join the crazy merry-go-round in Washington, D.C., otherwise known as the House Republican Speaker Club.

Or perhaps it wasn’t a merry-go-round, but, rather, the Mad Hatter amusement ride.

My wife worked for several summers during college at Kings Dominion Park in Virginia, running the Flying Bobs. Visitors would get into a cart that would speed in one direction, slow down, then speed back in reverse. It was a ride on which chaos ruled.

It reacted in much the same way as the GOP House membership has been acting in recent weeks — heading in one direction, stopping, and then heading in another direction, all the while in total chaos.

What a crock of, well you know. It took how long to actually choose a speaker this month?

If ever you wondered how the GOP would fare next year in the presidential race, well, now you know.

All I could think of during the whole fiasco was a picture of Nero fiddling while Rome was burning.

As I read about Bergman’s decision and reflected back on past conversations with him in my old office at the newspaper, I decided that his decision made just about as much sense as anyone else’s at that point, which is to say, “Who’s next in line for the Mad Hatter?”

That’s not true. I truly believe Bergman understood better than many the stakes that were involved if the House didn’t soon choose a leader, and he was willing to step up and serve his country once again as Congress transitioned from one session to another.

For that, I respect his decision to throw his hat in the ring (he didn’t get the speakership; the GOP-controlled House on Wednesday elected U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson, of Louisiana, as speaker).

While Bergman and I perhaps have not agreed 100% on all his decisions, we agree on the vast majority of them.

I believe he is sincere in his desire to represent his district well and his leadership abilities never have been a question in my mind.

As for much of the rest of the GOP House membership, I have some succinct advice: Grow up.

Put your big boy and big girl pants on, tell Donald Trump to get lost, and start doing what people from your districts sent you to Congress to do — govern.

There are important decisions that need to be made in the weeks ahead, and a House of Representatives stuck in neutral does no one any good.

The GOP House members already have done irreparable damage to the chances of winning next year’s elections. At this point, salvage what you can and finish the year stronger than you began it.

Lord knows that shouldn’t be too hard.

Bill Speer retired in 2021 as the publisher and editor of The News. He can be reached at bspeer@thealpenanews.com.