I created One Daily Link with two goals in mind. The first was to elevate calm discourse, the second to provide honest accounts of each party’s priorities. The two tend to go hand in hand but, occasionally, they stand at odds. Take this week, for instance. Democrats are, put mildly, dismayed by the Freedom Caucus’s newfound prominence in Congress. Their concerns aren’t unfounded — certain caucus members have said and done truly appalling things — yet it’s still unclear how much influence these members will actually yield. Balancing what we know with what we expect is tricky business; and while it’s always tempting to make predictions, sometimes we just shouldn’t bother. That’s the crux of today’s link, written by Stuart Rothenberg.

In his terrific column, Rothenberg opens with Democrats’ take on House Republicans’ past week — the right is disorganized and destined for failure. Then, as quickly as he introduces the narrative, he dismisses it. Why? Because tough as last week was, no one knows what next week will bring, or the week after, or the week after that. While parties try to dictate the issues of the day, larger concerns beyond their control — inflation, mass shootings, foreign conflicts — are bound to crop up. How Republicans confront these unforeseen problems will influence voters’ opinions far more than how long they took to elect a speaker. That’s not to say Rothenberg doesn’t have reservations about the current House majority. Again, though, he doesn’t know what the prevailing issues will be a year from now. His take might strike some as maddeningly inconclusive, but it strikes me as more honest than predicting unqualified success or unmitigated disaster without knowing what lies ahead. In such polarized times, it’s easy to forget “I don’t know” is a perfectly appropriate answer. Sometimes it’s the only answer. My hat’s off to Rothenberg for reminding me of that.