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Politics for Partisan Sake
Author: BobR
Date: 09/02/2009 12:18:12
Surely we deserve better. As a child, I remember learning about our political system, and how parties played into it. It used to be the Democrats pushed for change, and the Republicans tried to slow it down, and we would make slow assured progress. Both parties had the essentially the same goals but one varied only in the speed with which they wanted to get there. At least - that's how I remember it was supposed to work.
For the past 20 years or so, what I see instead is a Republican party that automatically knee-jerk opposes anything the Democrats propose, and will stop at nothing to prevent them from accomplishing anything. Generally, this means a combination of smears, lies, and propaganda, and all done so in admirably unified fashion. The latest health care reform debate is a perfect example.
South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint famously said of the health care reform bill "If we’re able to stop Obama on this it will be his Waterloo. It will break him." This is what is known in poker as "showing your hand". It's a clear indication that the Republicans are more interested in "breaking" President Obama than they are in ensuring all Americans have access to affordable health care.
They are already loading their guns in anticipation of a big showdown:
So the Republicans are essentially saying they want to stop the bill completely to undermine the President, but if they are unable to that, they will try to make the bill a huge waste of time and resources. Good to see they are spending our tax dollars wisely. This is political posturing at its worst.
Republicans are good at the posturing, though. When the House recently changed the "on hold" music for the phone system from good ol' patriotic tunes to "lite jazz", you'd think they'd passed a resolution praising Satan and making puppies one of the four basic food groups:
Outraged?... Outraged??... Do these guys have any reaction other than outrage? Reality calling - please pick up the phone...
So what's going to be the next outrage on the House floor (or FOX News)? Perhaps it will be President Obama hosting a Ramadan dinner. After all, he's a "muslin", right? He's following in the traditions of all his fellow "muslins" like... um... George W. Bush:
Or perhaps it will be his recommendation that everyone get a swine flu vaccination shot. That's all part of his socialist plot to Nazify America by... um... protecting everyone's health (despite the fact that 50 Emory students are currently quarantined because of a swine flu outbreak).
Democrats must hate America if they want us to be healthy. At least - that's what the Republican leadership would have you believe these days...
For the past 20 years or so, what I see instead is a Republican party that automatically knee-jerk opposes anything the Democrats propose, and will stop at nothing to prevent them from accomplishing anything. Generally, this means a combination of smears, lies, and propaganda, and all done so in admirably unified fashion. The latest health care reform debate is a perfect example.
South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint famously said of the health care reform bill "If we’re able to stop Obama on this it will be his Waterloo. It will break him." This is what is known in poker as "showing your hand". It's a clear indication that the Republicans are more interested in "breaking" President Obama than they are in ensuring all Americans have access to affordable health care.
They are already loading their guns in anticipation of a big showdown:
Sen. Judd Gregg has hundreds of procedural objections ready for a health care plan Democrats want to speed through the Senate.
Gregg (N.H.), the senior Republican on the Budget Committee, told The Hill in a recent interview that Republicans will wage a vicious fight if Democrats try to circumvent Senate rules and use a budget maneuver to pass a trillion-dollar health care plan with a simple majority.
[...]
Republicans, however, warn that if Democrats attempt the maneuver, their healthcare bill will end up looking like Swiss cheese.
Gregg said that Republicans could file “hundreds” of points-of-order objections to the bill, each one requiring 60 votes to waive.
So the Republicans are essentially saying they want to stop the bill completely to undermine the President, but if they are unable to that, they will try to make the bill a huge waste of time and resources. Good to see they are spending our tax dollars wisely. This is political posturing at its worst.
Republicans are good at the posturing, though. When the House recently changed the "on hold" music for the phone system from good ol' patriotic tunes to "lite jazz", you'd think they'd passed a resolution praising Satan and making puppies one of the four basic food groups:
The House switched its on-hold telephone music back to patriot tunes Tuesday after a three-week experiment with smooth jazz and elevator music was judged to be offensive.
Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) was so outraged that his constituents were subjected to more anodyne jazz selections that he wrote a letter to the office that oversees the music selection asking for the situation to be reversed.
Outraged?... Outraged??... Do these guys have any reaction other than outrage? Reality calling - please pick up the phone...
So what's going to be the next outrage on the House floor (or FOX News)? Perhaps it will be President Obama hosting a Ramadan dinner. After all, he's a "muslin", right? He's following in the traditions of all his fellow "muslins" like... um... George W. Bush:
The White House has held annual Ramadan dinners since November 2001, when President George W. Bush began the tradition.
Or perhaps it will be his recommendation that everyone get a swine flu vaccination shot. That's all part of his socialist plot to Nazify America by... um... protecting everyone's health (despite the fact that 50 Emory students are currently quarantined because of a swine flu outbreak).
Democrats must hate America if they want us to be healthy. At least - that's what the Republican leadership would have you believe these days...
