Why are some men in Congress being so emotional? They should try smiling more | Opinion

According to research I’ve conducted in the last few weeks, (not peer-reviewed, unless you count social media) it’s becoming increasingly clear that men are simply too emotional to govern effectively.

They should take their unstable testosterone levels and toxic masculinity far from the halls of power. Maybe go outside and chop down some trees, as God intended.

Take for example, the slew of embarrassing incidents that have occurred just this week between men who are supposedly “serving” in Congress.

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On Tuesday, Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., accused former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., of elbowing him in the back in the middle of a hallway — calling it “a clean shot to the kidney” — while Burchett was speaking to an NPR reporter. Burchett then chased McCarthy down the hallway to confront him.

That’s not even the first time McCarthy has been involved in a near-physical altercation inside congressional halls.

In July, he and Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell were heard exchanging professional pleasantries such as Swalwell calling McCarthy a misogynistic and derogatory word that, when hurled between men, signifies that neither hold much respect for women. McCarthy apparently responded equally maturely.

Also last Tuesday — an unusually busy day for unwarranted displays of machismo — in a hearing of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma called out Sean O’Brien, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, inviting him to what can only be construed as a round of fisticuffs right there in the Senate committee meeting.

“You want to run your mouth, or we can be two consenting adults and we can finish it here,” Mullin said, apparently confusing the Senate conference room with the parking lot at an Applebee’s; only to have the escalating fight broken up by 82-year-old Vermont Senator, Bernie Sanders, coming in clutch with some excellent finger-wagging.

If there was ever a clear sign of emotional instability, it had to be challenging a Teamster to a fight. That alone should be an automatic disqualification from the Senate, but don’t worry, Mullin doubled down, telling a podcast host the next day that he’s “not afraid of biting. I will bite.” Then he posed with his guns on X, formerly Twitter, stating “Let’s do it. Anyplace, anytime.”

(As an aside, according to a tip Politico received from former Rep. David Trott (R-Mich.), Mullin once walked up and down a tour bus with his camera during a trip to Israel sponsored by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. He would stick his finger up the nose of anyone who was asleep and taking a picture of it.)

While I’m cataloging the absurdity of the current Congressional roster, I would be remiss to leave out New York Republican Rep. George Santos, who had to drop his bid for reelection on Thursday, after the Ethics Committee found he’d used campaign funds to finance botox treatment, shop at Hermes and Sephora and make “purchases at OnlyFans.”

He’s also lately been arraigned on 23 federal felony charges, with his trial expected to begin next year — and we still don’t know where he keeps getting all these babies from.

Nor have we, here in Sacramento, been spared the local indignity of an elected man proving he’s unfit to lead after Sacramento County Supervisor Phil Serna railed at a constituent via his Facebook page last week. Serna called the man “pathetic,” “disgusting,” a “coward,” accused him of being a Hamas apologist and blatantly suggested that a specific part of the voter’s nether regions wasn’t big enough to run for public office “and ALL the sacrifice that comes with it.”

Can you even begin to imagine the public reaction if former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had even once shoulder-checked the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein in a hallway? It would be sheer chaos.

What if California Senate candidate Rep. Barbara Lee questioned the size of Rep. Katie Porter’s ovaries? My queens would never.

It simply wouldn’t happen, because women are statistically better equipped to be leaders.

In a recent study of more than 60,000 leaders — 22,603 women and 40,187 men — the Harvard Business Review found that women outscored men on most leadership competencies, including taking initiative, leading and inspiring others, building relationships, championing change, innovation, solving problems and valuing diversity.

In a 2022 Pew Research Center report on what makes a good leader, the general public said it more highly values leadership characteristics such as honesty, intelligence, compassion and innovation, which respondents generally said they found more often in women.

The 118th Congress has a record number of women, including Rep. Becca Balint, the first woman and the first openly LGBTQ person elected to Congress from Vermont. On Thursday, U.S. Senator Patty Murray, Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced $8.7 million in federal funding for five Environmental Water Resources Projects in Washington state; U.S. Senator Susan Collins co-introduced the Supporting Seniors with Opioid Use Disorder Act; and, earlier this month, U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) urged the Department of Education to reimburse students who were taken advantage of by for-profit colleges like the University of Phoenix and Ashford University.

So while Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg are planning a cage match, Gov. Gavin Newsom and Gov. Ron DeSantis have their adorable little home run-hitting contest and Santos shops at Sephora, the women will be at work like they always have, getting stuff done.