If Congress was your co-worker....

Specifically, Republicans...

 

Out of the Mouths of Babes

Wow

House votes - again - to repeal Obamacare

This latest vote marked the 67th time the House has voted to entirely repeal, defund or change some provisions of President Barack Obama's signature health care law. Republican aides emphasize that 10 changes to the law have been signed into law by the President.

I am reminded of the following quote...

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result.

The Brick Wall

Big Things President Obama Did in 2014

Despite having to deal with the adolescents in Congress, the president accomplished some big things in 2014. Among them...

• Sweeping changes to immigration enforcement
• Actual progress on climate change 
• Remaking the federal courts for a generation 
• Beginning to transform U.S. relationships with Iran and Cuba 
• Greater protections for federal contractors

Hmm...must be why his approval ratings are on the rise...actually doing something and solving problems as opposed to stomping your feet and foaming at the mouth about wacky, ideological nonsense seems to be a better path.

Will the new Congress (controlled entirely by the GOP) follow suit?

The President Will Move On Immigration

In a recent CBS interview, the president vowed to move on immigration if Congress does not act. The Republicans may have won the most recent election but they are really in a corner on this one. If they act, they will piss off all the Tea Party types. If they don't act, say buh-bye to the White House for the next 8 years.

Worse, if they decide to impeach the president because he "poisoned the well," well....then they might lose all the gains they won last Tuesday.

The Imperial President?

The Christian Science Monitor had the following cover story last week.

Is Barack Obama an imperial president? 

As is usually the case with their reporting, it is very balanced and offers some very interesting critiques of the president. It's a lengthy piece but worth of a serious read as we, once again, debate the limits of presidential power.

My take on this issue is this. If Republican leaders in Congress are going to bitch about the limits of presidential power, then they should offer alternatives to what the president wants to do. It's easy to be a critic (which is essentially all the Right does these days...take a look at my comments section) but let's see some serious policy proposals to tackle the major issues of the day. Saying the government should just stay out of it isn't the answer either.

The president and the Democrats also need to bear in mind that Republicans are going to loathe to the core anyone who is the leader of this country and not a member of their tribe. They did it with Bill Clinton, they are doing it with Barack Obama, and they will do it with Hillary Clinton, if she runs and wins. They may bitch about government authority but when it's their guy, they love it and can't get enough of it. They want their Reagan-esque, father figure to tuck them in at night and say that it's all going to be OK.

So, whatever they do, the Right is going to irrational motivated by fear, anger, and hatred leading to bitching without any viable solutions of their own. They've essentially become like pop stars in which they sing the hits for their fans and then exit stage left. What they don't realize, though, is that most stars are famous for only 15 minutes. If they want to stay relevant, they are going to have to produce. That means that if the president produces (and this is mentioned at the end of the article), the debate about whether or not he is imperial will fade away. 

Shutdown A Go Go

The Republican adolescent temper tantrum has resulted in the first government shutdown in 18 years. It represents another nail in the coffin that is the conservative movement. They have been reduced to having one central ideology: be against anything and everything that the Democrats support. With this shutdown, that basically means the federal government...the same entity that employs them.

If the shutdown lasts more than a few weeks, it will likely erode our already fragile economic growth. Early estimates put .3 to .4 less GDP because of the shutdown. It makes sense given that 800,000 employees are being furloughed as of this morning. That's a hit to aggregate demand that will surely be felt in an extended shutdown.

I have to admit that part of me feels sorry for the Republicans. In reality, they had no choice.If they caved (which they will anyway), they would have seemed weak and the moonbats from their home districts and states would have primaried them. We don't have problems like that in the Democratic party. In fact, we like it when moderate Democrats win in red states:)