No doubt you have heard the phrase, “turnabout is fair play.” The proverb arose in the mid-1700s in reference to gaming. But we now use it to suggest that it may be appropriate to respond in kind to someone who has been doing it to you.

A few pundits have applied this to next year. Assuming Republicans take the House and perhaps the Senate, what would be the reaction if the Republicans treated Democrats the way Democrats have been treating Republicans? The question was hypothetical, but it illustrates the larger point.

For example, what if the new Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy was seen on national television tearing up the text of President Biden’s State of the Union address?

What if the new Republican majority almost immediately began impeaching President Biden over previous actions? It could be justified because of the botched withdrawal of Afghanistan, not enforcing the border and immigration laws, or even over phone calls to the president of Ukraine.

What if the leadership established a special committee to investigate the rioting that occurred in the summer of 2020? And what would be the reaction if Speaker McCarthy decided to veto any Democratic committee member and only appoint selected Democrats to the committee? What if the Republican Congress called for a special counsel to investigate the Biden family’s financial connections to China and Ukraine?

These are interesting hypothetical questions. But then I read something that made me wonder if this was more than a hypothetical discussion. Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich said that if Republicans do take control of Congress, “The wolves are going to find out that they’re now sheep” and added that some may “face a real risk of jail for the kinds of laws they’re breaking.”

It’s possible that some of that speculation may not be hypothetical, and that will make these midterm elections even more intense than in the past.