The House Hara Kiri, Act II ? wherein ?The Party of No? becomes ?The Party of No Clue? | Raucous Caucus | Tom Cushing | DanvilleSanRamon.com |

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The House Hara Kiri, Act II ? wherein ?The Party of No? becomes ?The Party of No Clue?

Uploaded: Mar 3, 2015
On Tuesday, under cover of Israeli PM Netanyahu's domination of the news cycle (more on that tomorrow, or so), House Speaker Boehner allowed the minority Dems to bail him out ? again. He brought a clean Homeland Security funding bill to the House floor, whereupon it passed with mostly Democratic votes.

Thus ended a bizarre couple of months, wherein The Party of No demonstrated that it has become The Party of No Clue. First, it concocted this pre-fab crisis in December -- withholding only Homeland Security funding from a general budget bill, in order to link it with a repeal of the President's executive actions on immigration. Next, when that bluff was called and the GOP Senate passed a clean bill and a Three-week stop-gap bill, the GOP House rejected both ? in favor of a One-week bill, as if that timing difference was somehow significant to anything.

Then on Sunday, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of our fair state went on Meet the Press with guns a-blazin'. He tried to make two points to an incredulous Chuck Todd: first, that the House action was necessary to defend the Constitution against Mr. Obama's actions, and second, that the House would stand firm and solve this problem in conference with the Senate, despite Harry Reid (for some reason ? McCarthy might better have mentioned Mitch McConnell as a foe in this fight).

As to those points, it's no more the role of Congress to correct the President's actions than it is the President's role to exceed his authority ? IF, indeed, he did. In our system of checks-and-balances, your teenager will rightly tell you that's the job of the Courts. You know ? those courts in which the GOP partisans have already won Round One of this battle?

And on his second point, somewhere in the swamps around Washington DC, poor Congressman McCarthy is searching in vain for his missing knees. Psssst ? Kevin! The Speaker's got 'em. He's keeping them safe ? along with all those unused teeth-and-nails with which he had promised to engage The Enemy, but didn't.

So, the immediate artificial struggle has been resolved. What are some of the take-aways? I think there are a few.

First, Speaker Boehner is over-matched. His serial tactical blunders in the name of mollifying the fringe-y lunatics of his far right wing have been sorry public spectacles, damaging to the national interest and fatal to his credibility as a leader. Then late last week in response to on-point press questions, he was reduced to babbling an unrelated nursery rhyme, and blowing sarcastic (I think?) kisses to the room. Finally, he abruptly reversed course on this bill, contradicting his prior statements and undercutting his lieutenants. 'Erratic' is an adjective that springs to mind.

Second, and if I keep saying this I may be right someday, I think we have perhaps seen the end of these brinkman's bluffs. They have gone badly for the GOP each time. Sen. Cruz was largely mute in this one; perhaps the other wild-and-crazy guys of the Far Right can be similarly House-broken?

Finally, and more charitably to Speaker Boehner, the GOP House may simply be unmanageable. The rogue 50-75 elephants in that caucus don't seem to have much in common with the rest of the herd. I wonder if we are entering a time when the House becomes further fractured, perhaps on both sides of the aisle, so that wild and wonderful bedfellowage will ensue on specific matters.

Granted that Rep. Pelosi has a much better grip on her Party Faithful, as amply demonstrated this week ? but there is always great diversity in the Dems' big tent. Might a majority coalition of moderate Dems and Republicans emerge and actually, I dunno, DO stuff? Nah, probably not ? but there are just enough rays of hope escaping from that infinitely dense Black Hole to suggest that it might happen again.

In fact, that may be the Only way that ANYthing gets done. As always, stay tuned.
Democracy.
What is it worth to you?

Comments

Posted by M&P Shield, a resident of Walnut Creek,
on Mar 3, 2015 at 10:12 pm

You mean your President with no clue. Right? Got it.

Meanwhile... The weakling that resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., continues to negotiate with a country that supports state sponsored terrorism. But let us not stop there, after all, Iran built a mock Nimitz class aircraft carrier and used it for target practice in the gulf during current negotiations. Naw, the Iranians don't hate us. The Iranians have threatened to wipe Israel off the face of the planet. Naw, they don't mean that, do they? Yet your President eased up on restrictions against Iran, only to have them dictate how what they want out of the process.

Grow a pair.








Posted by Herman Glates, a resident of Danville,
on Mar 4, 2015 at 9:58 am

Herman Glates is a registered user.

Kudos to the GOP for standing up to the tyrant Obama.

Keep standing up for the rule of law, for the America that once was. Don?t give up.

You?re a raggedy bunch. But you?re all we?ve got. Don?t forget, America fired the Democrats and chose Republicans to manage Congress. You represent America.

America hasn?t lost the Supreme Court yet. They?re fighting Obama as best as they can. They?ve revoked scores of Obama?s illegal orders. They rebuke him in scathing opinions, often ruling 9-0 against Obama. Even Obama?s liberal court appointees can?t support his illegal actions.

Stay strong. Obama will be gone soon enough. America can return to greatness again.


Posted by Tom Cushing, a resident of Alamo,
on Mar 4, 2015 at 10:32 am

@Shields: you seem to be working yourself into a lather over a blog that hasn't been written yet. Patience, sir!

I won't be stealing my own thunder to suggest that Nobody thinks the Iranian regime is our friends. You don't negotiate with others because you necessarily like 'em, you do so because there's an exchange possible that'll leave both sides better-off. We negotiate with Russia all the time, for instance, even though -- and because -- they are distinctly Not our friends. Somehow that latter factoid doesn't provoke your ire.

As to my 'pair,' I'm quite happy with 'em, generally -- but then I don't ask them to lead me astray on foreign policy matters. The last guy who led with his manly bits mired us in two tragic land wars. Imagine how many lives, limbs and jobs could've been saved or created if we'd devoted those several $trillions to infrastructure at home. .


Posted by Ben J., a resident of Birdland,
on Mar 4, 2015 at 6:28 pm

Ben J. is a registered user.

Someone please tell me a law that I, as an American citizen, can break with the full knowledge of my government and deputized lawmen & women, in which I will be embraced and given money from my government for breaking said law. And, if there is no law that can be named, can I pick one of my own choosing and start a 'social' movement that will force my government and lawmen & women to look the other way, as I profit from breaking such law while at the same time receiving money from my government, with no worries of ever being prosecuted?


Posted by Ben J., a resident of Birdland,
on Mar 4, 2015 at 6:36 pm

Ben J. is a registered user.

Progressive 'legal' illegal immigration; "Imagine how many...jobs could have been saved if we'd devoted those several $trillions to infrastructure at home." (Instead of GIVING illegal immigrants, AKA criminals, money, housing, schooling, medical, etc.)


Posted by Tsar Head, a resident of San Ramon,
on Mar 4, 2015 at 6:43 pm

Cushing said:

"We negotiate with Russia all the time, for instance, even though -- and because -- they are distinctly Not our friends."

Way to go Tom! You fell right into the trap filled with spikes. LOL! Russia, the former Soviet Union, already has nukes. They have had nukes for a very long time. Russia, unlike Iran, is not threatening to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. And let us not forget about that clown to the north of South Korea. They too have nukes. And yes, they cry all the time about the U.S. and it's relationship with the South. But again, North Korea already has nukes.

The emphasis, is on not allowing Iran to have any nukes. Period. Man, what part of this don't you get? You only see things along party lines. I'm quit sure you would have followed Pelosi right out the door when she walked out before the end of Bibi's speech. No class there, bro.

Anyhoo, keep on writing for your own self interest. After all, writing is therapeutic.


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