Tag Archives: Boehner

Political Rants

News dump.

Wow, what a week. I had to laugh at NBC at one point, trying to pivot between the papal visit and the Boehner resignation. So much news, so little air time! Nothing the mass media loves more than information overload … you can hear the squeak of joy in their voices. Not sure where to start, but I’ll dive right in and let’s see where we go.

Arbiter of American "values"Carson’s law. Am I alone in thinking that Ben Carson is a truly creepy individual? He’s way too quiet, for one thing. And when he does talk, he says stuff like this response on Meet The Press to a question about the importance of a president’s faith:

DR. BEN CARSON:
Well, I guess it depends on what that faith is. If it’s inconsistent with the values and principles of America, then of course it should matter. But if it fits within the realm of America and consistent with the constitution, no problem.

CHUCK TODD:
So do you believe that Islam is consistent with the constitution?

DR. BEN CARSON:
No, I don’t, I do not. I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that.

Consistent with the constitution? What faith is “consistent with the constitution?” What exactly are these “values and principles” that he’s talking about? Anyone supporting Carson on the notion that he is not a politician is suffering from a severe delusion. This is just pandering of the most cynical kind. It happens that most of the Republican electorate agree with Carson – that’s not an accident. The famous neurosurgeon may not know a lot about most things outside of his medical discipline, but he does know how to read a poll.

Boehner out. I haven’t heard his reason for stepping down, and I’m not sure I’m interested, but my guess is that he doesn’t want to negotiate another government shutdown confrontation, which is plainly on the horizon, fueled by the ludicrous uproar over these heavily edited Planned Parenthood sting videos. This must certainly go down  as one of the least productive speakerships in the history of the republic. That may not be entirely a bad thing. Sometimes when Congress gets a lot done, it’s terrible for the country and the rest of the world (like the bipartisan vote for the Iraq invasion). A more effective speaker may have delivered on more of the Republican caucus’s priorities. So … we may miss you, Boehner. We’ll see.

Papal stances. Glad to see the Pope praising Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton in his remarks to Congress. (Martin King and Lincoln as well.) Christ, if he weren’t the Pope, I expect the entire southern delegation would have marched out of there whistling Dixie.

luv u,

jp

Political Rants

Difference making.

There’s little that can be said about the 2014 election that hasn’t been repeated seventy or eighty times by now. Did we get the Congress we deserve? Perhaps so. It’s the largest Republican majority in the House since the Second World War. So, expect the same — and more of it — as you saw from the present Congress. It also means that Barack Obama will soon be the only thing standing between us and massive cuts in social programs, vastly expanded militarism at home and abroad, and reactionary policies on a range of fronts, from abortion rights to immigration to health care and beyond. That’s where we stand.

Still just a numbers game.At least, that’s what’s left to us after a remarkably lackluster election in which about 37% of the American voting populace voted. That’s the lowest turnout since 1942, and it bears remembering that a lot of voting age men were in he military at the time. So if we can’t summon the will to vote, do we have the right to complain about the outcome? Sure, the Democratic party — including many of last Tuesday’s also-rans — is less than inspiring. But there is a small difference between the parties, and small differences can sometimes have an enormous impact on the nation’s most vulnerable. We owe it to them to go and mark the ballot, even if it means voting for some jerk-ass.

Of course, in my own upstate New York congressional district, our Republican House member ran unopposed. The Democratic party didn’t think the race was worth contesting, probably because our last Democratic congressman, Michael Arcuri, only held the seat for four years (2007-2011), barely winning a second term in 2008 and losing narrowly to Richard Hanna in 2010. Sure, the national Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee probably didn’t want to throw good money after bad, but the upshot is that we had no one to vote for. That was not the case everywhere. In Syracuse, Democrat Dan Maffei lost by close to 20 points to a Republican who pledged independence, moderation, and a commitment to aiding inner city communities.

Bullshit. Maffei’s replacement will vote to make Boehner Speaker once again. That will produce austerian policies that will extend and deepen the misery in Maffei’s district. The only way to avoid that was through voting. If I’m wrong, tell me how, exactly.

luv u,

jp

Political Rants

Failing up.

I’ve heard a lot over the past few days about how the Republicans were able to do so well in Tuesday’s election. What is uncontroversial is that the Congress of the last two years has been an unmitigated failure, with fewer bills passed by the House than in any session in living memory. They put forward draconian bills that they know will never go anywhere. They work a week and take two weeks off. They demonize their opponents and make compromise a four-letter word. Where did they go right? Not sure, but the mid-term electorate has spoken, and they have rewarded failure with two more years of power and Republican leadership in the Senate.

It's THIS guy who worries me.That can only serve as an endorsement of the GOP’s strategy of doing absolutely nothing and letting nothing be done by anyone else. Here we are, at a time when interest rates are at historic lows, letting our national infrastructure rust away when we could be rebuilding it under very favorable terms, putting people to work, and investing in the future. Instead, we’ve opted for austerity at both the federal and the state level, laying off people instead of putting them to work, squeezing the air out of the economy years after the financial crash.

So, sure … this means more reactionary policies than before. You know, Inhoffe in charge of the Environment committee in the Senate; McCain presiding over Armed Services, Fox in charge of the henhouse committee, and so on. But hey … we’ve been through this before, right? If you want to work for positive change, here are a few things to look for:

  • “Free” Trade – Lori Wallach of Global Trade Watch is warning that the fight over the TPP will take place in the House of Representatives, initially over fast-track authority. What you can do: Call your representative, Democrat or Republican, and ask where they stand on this issue; then tell them to do the right thing if they’re not already.
  • War in Syria – The Republican Senate will want to double-down on American military involvement in Syria. What you can do: We need to raise our voices against this and do it now.
  • Social Security / Medicare / Medicaid – The president will likely try to work with the GOP Senate to hammer out a version of his beloved “Grand Bargain”, giving away the store on Social Security and using the trust fund to pay for tax cuts, etc. What you can do: The president and our senators need to hear from us. Call them, email them, send up smoke signals.

Don’t give up. Organize. It’s the only thing we have … and the only thing we’ve ever had.

luv u,

jp