Health & Fitness
The Embarrassed Republican: Heading for a showdown when you forgot your pants
It’s coming, even though tacticians, strategists and just about anyone with good sense has advised against it. Less than 50 republican congressman are on the rocket train to shut down the government. That’s enough, by the way, without those votes the House will not be able to deal with raising the debt limit.
The really sad part about this is that it also means that there will be no constructive budgetary legislation to come out of this infamous moment. This time the government shutdown will not be like the 1995 shut down. At that time congress had been working all year, funding bills were passed contingency funds were in place and the full faith and credit of the country was not even close to hanging in the balance. This time Congress had been deadlocked for the last 2 years and nothing has gotten done. The one thing they did accomplish, the sequester, has emptied the government’s reserves setting us all up for a really hard time.
It was all fun and games for the last 2 years, more than 40 failed votes against “Obamacare” and no progress on our entire nation’s rapidly failing infrastructure. I’m in Chicago for the week and there are crews working daily to sweep up the chunks of concrete that drop off the bottoms of bridges and overpasses here. It’s much the same back in our towns. All the jobs that could be created to repair and improve our roads, bridges and every other means of getting our goods to market remain unfilled. Meanwhile, we watch unemployment struggle to move a tenth of a percent lower. Americans watch congressional unconcern and in greater and greater numbers are giving up looking for jobs. Who blames them? An unemployed middle aged man or woman doesn’t stand out against the spectacle of rising to your hind legs to shoot your mouth off against “the scourge of our nation.” Especially when it doesn’t cost you anything. Congressional healthcare is already paid for.
Find out what's happening in Morris Township-Morris Plainswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Like most moderate Republicans, I’ve been dreading what’s coming. However, after voting for a bunch of loudmouths we certainly deserve it. In America today there are more Democrats than Republicans, a lot more. Those are the numbers, it doesn’t matter what Fox news has told us about the “true hearts and minds” of the American people, or what the fantasies of a few well-connected bloggers say. It’s why Mitt Romney’s team were convinced they were coming in by a landslide. They believed the hype. Republicans are the lesser party. The people who make a solid difference in the voting booths today are the Independents, and they are tired of the fooling around. Republicans let them down.
The Independents are tired of Ted Cruz blowing up himself like a balloon and out-gassing on Sunday morning talk shows. They are tired of the “No action” party. They are tired of the votes “to make a point” that everyone is bored to tears with. They aren’t listening anymore. To make matters worse Republican Presidential contenders are already declaring themselves, (seriously Peter King?)so we can be sure of yet another two years of embarrassing soundbites, quotes and debates to bury any chance we had of taking the Presidency. But it’s the next congressional election that we’re rapidly loosing right now. Considering the last two years, I’m not so sure that’s a bad thing.
Find out what's happening in Morris Township-Morris Plainswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Do we really want more of the same? More bombastic blowhards threatening to defund Healthcare or destroy the foodstamp program? Even if that’s what voter’s want, has it happened? No, and it’s not going to, so anyone who promises that is either incredibly naive, up to something or just thrilled to hear their own voice. But some of us will still keep voting for them, and help to crowd out any more sensible candidates. You’d think an older population would be a wiser population, guess not.
The Tea Party candidates voted into office can’t wait to take those fateful votes just because they will matter. For one brief shining moment in time their vote will mean something, it doesn’t matter if it hurts the rest of us for the next ten years. They will have made their non-sensical stand and then they can go home to their voters and say “I fought the good fight!.” But it won’t last long, they’re not looking ahead, not even to the day after. They are about to be the target of the slings and arrows of a well deserved fortune. The loudmouth jerks who downgraded the nation.
Everyone has tried to warn them, even Karl Rove one of the architects of the Republican conservative movement made it very clear in his recent article in the Washington post. The plan won’t work, it’s going to backfire, bigtime. They have a chance to sensibly legislate the debt and the budget going forward, but they don’t have a plan for that. Their plan is to shout because it feels good, make a lot of noise because it draws votes and to hell with everything else. After all, it’s not their healthcare and they don’t like the country the way it actually is. It’s not what they imagined it should be. By the way, if you have any doubts, that’s not the definition of a patriot.
However, take heart Moderate (or at least not suicidal) Republicans everywhere, the groups that watered and fed the "Grass roots" Tea party over many long years have noticed their dog has slipped the leash. They've just gone home for the cattle prod and the sack. Hurry back please.