Pelosi Redux

Paul Ryan talks a good game ... but his performance on the field is sub par. When Ryan took over as Speaker of the House last fall he promised (read my lips) that he would follow "regular order" and pass a series of budget resolutions funding each department of our government separately ... obviating what had been the Democrats' strategy of leaving everything until the last minute. He hasn't done that ... for reasons one can speculate on ... but, as a consequence, the House is once again faced with passing an omnibus budget resolution which probably will be another Nancy Pelosi Christmas tree ... laden with billions of dollars of profligate spending. That is, if it is passed at all ... and, if not, another government shutdown looms ... see: Breitbart Article.

Yes, Republican Speaker John Boehner ran things between Pelosi and Ryan and he was no better at returning to "regular order." I guess that this means that irregular order is now regular order because it  provides so many opportunities for both parties to spend and spend ... although bad for our country, good for these sleazy politicians. This is another sad commentary on where we are now politically ... and why someone as marginal as Donald Trump can now have a shot at the presidency. Whether he will fix things is still a question, but we do know that the Democrats won't. "The fault dear Brutus lies not in the stars ..."

Insanity

"Insanity is repeating the same task over and over again and expecting different results." -- Albert Einstein

John Boehner believes that, if the Republicans have a deadlocked convention in July, they should pick Paul Ryan as their presidential standard bearer ... see: Politico Story. This is a perfect illustration of how out-of-touch the Republican establishment is ... for, to me, it was clear that Mitt Romney's picking of Paul Ryan as his running mate was the reason that Obummer won re-election in 2012.

Politicians

I thought of titling this blog “Corrupt Politicians” but then that would be a redundant appellation.  Judicial Watch has just named the ten most corrupt U.S. politicians … and it has a couple of surprises.  Here is the reference: Breitbart Story ... and then here is the list:

1 - Barack Obama (no surprise here)

2 – Hillary Clinton (the American public seems oblivious)

3 – Eric Holder (nice to have an Attorney General on the list)

4 – Harry Reid (just look at how he pulled off his last election victory)

5 – John Brennan (see my previous comments at Acolytes)

6 – John Boehner (finally a Republican!)

7 – Janet Napolitano (perhaps corruption was a gating item for the original Obama cabinet)

8 – Stephen Miller (former IRS chief … isn’t that special?)

9 – Saxby Chambliss (another Republican and … gasp! … also a Senator)

10 – Kathleen Sebelius (corrupt? … or just stunningly incompetent?)

Go back and read the Breitbart story above to see the litany of sins that these bozos have committed … and I’m sure that this is just scratching the surface.  Judicial Watch also includes an interesting list of dishonorable mentions … such as former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell (another Republican), new Democrat Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe (Virginians having traded a headache for an upset stomach), former Republican congressman Rick Renzi (now in prison), and finally Susan Rice (remember Benghazi?). 

Why, for heaven’s sake, is Nancy Pelosi not on this list … or even a dishonorable mention?  Oh hell, why not just do a roll call of most of Congress (paying particular attention to the Massachusetts delegation) and pretty much  the whole Obama administration?

The Tea Party’s Tea Party

The long knives of the Republican Party are out to emasculate the Tea Party.  Since Republican Representative Paul Ryan got his budget compromise (with Democrat Senator Patty Murray) passed into law, the establishment Republicans are feeling their oats … big mistake.  First John Boehner unloaded both barrels on Ted Cruz and the “Don’t tread on me” crowd … see: Huffington Post Story ... saying, “Frankly, I just think that they’ve [the Tea Party] lost all credibility.”  In the past I have thought that Boehner wasn’t immensely bright … but that he had good political senses.  I think he might have just disproved this supposition of mine.

Joining in this bashing of the right-wing of the Republican party are Karl Rove … see Breitbart Story and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce … see:  Another Breitbart Story  These have both been stalwarts of the Republican party but apparently believe that the ideological purity of the Tea Party members have cost their party too much in the polls and at the polling place.  Yes, to some degree these two representatives of the establishment of the GOP are correct.  But then one can also argue that this same wing of the Republican party have also had their share of political miscues … need I mention John McCain, Mitt Romney, Bob Dole, George H.W. Bush, etc.?  And even George W. Bush, Karl Rove’s hand puppet, did his level best to discourage the more conservative members of his party.

2010 was the coming-out victory for the Tea Party.  As a consequence, what did the Republican establishment do?  They did not monetarily support them (witness the recent governor’s race in Virginia) and did nothing to counter the smear campaign that the main-stream media has been reveling in ever since 2010. In other words, the Tea Party-ers are pariahs to not just Democrats … but also to establishment Republicans.  The Democrats have embraced their radical left, but the Republicans have been much too public in their opposition to their right wing.  How stupid can supposedly bright politicians be?!

The 2016 presidential election will be the acid test for establishment Republicans.  Paul Ryan and Chris Christie will fight for their nod … while Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz (maybe Sarah Palin?) will work the crowd on the Tea-Party right.  If the establishment Republicans nominate their candidate, they will lose once more. (As Rush Limbaugh often says, if voters have a choice between a Democrat and a Democrat, the Democrat ... Hillary Clinton ... will always win.)  If however the Tea Party prevails and the establishment Republicans, out of spite, abandon them in the Presidential election, I predict that this will also mean that Hillary will re-enter the White House.  But the Tea Party will not have lost everything.  They will, in effect, have replaced the old-guard GOPers as the future of their party.  That is, if we have a country left in 2020 to vie for.

Eating One’s Youngin’s

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has decided to eat some Republican youngin’s … at least figuratively.  He has blasted both barrels at John Boehner for not acting post haste and passing the $60 billion Sandy hurricane disaster relief bill that a generous Senate sent to the House last week … see: Washington Post Story

I think that trencherman Christie has grabbed his knife and fork a little too quickly in this case.  This Senate bill is chock-a-block full of unrelated pork (as emergency bills too often are) … and only about $9 billion of this money is really required for emergency relief.  The rest is open for debate … which is precisely what Boehner intended to do.  So now we see that fiscal-conservative Christie is really a RINO big-spender at heart … particularly when the money is coming from the other 49 states. 

Yes, disasters are a little special and this country has slipped into a modus operandi where the federal government makes everyone whole in such cases.  This really is our government assuming the role of a disaster insurance company that extracts no premiums from its clients.  In fact why would anyone buy flood or hurricane insurance when the Feds are just itching to give you money in such cases?  (Full disclosure … I too have received such unexpected largess). 

There really needs to be a set of rational and hard-and-fast rules established to deal with such disasters ... in order to keep our country from really falling off the fiscal cliff.  Or is this too much to ask of our self-serving lazy legislators and our ever-expansive Administration?

John Boehner's Breakfast

Apparently (cynical) politics trumps (good) policy once again ...

My Way or the ...



A highway somewhere in Nevada


A smirking President Obama and his pugalistic wing man, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid have responded to John Boehner's phone call to the White House in which he asked The Barry to send his economic advisors over to the House of Representatives to negotiate an end to the impasse over extending the payroll tax reduction for a full year ... see Boehner's Call. 

I think the technical translation for the Democrat reply was "pound sand!"  If Obama has to stay in the White House over Christmas and, maybe even New Years, the American people will start wailing, nashing their teeth and covering their heads with ashes from the Yule log.   The U.S. populus will then consult with Oprah, Dr. Phil and Joy Behar as to what they should do.  Need I tell you what their unified advice would then be?

OK, I'll enlighten you ... to a "whoop, whoop, whooping" audience, it will be "Take the Obama Turnpike straight to Penury!"

Stonewalling

Who is stonewalling in Washington?  Most media political pundits believe that the House Republicans have already lost this squabble over the continuation of the payroll tax reduction.  They have rejected the Senate's proposal for just a two month extension to U.S. employee's FICA tax reduction ... and, instead, are insisting that the Senate return to Washington and sit down with them in a Conference Committee to work out a compromise with the bill that the House had already passed. 

Harry Reid has once again saved The Barry from exercising any true Presidential leadership by flipping John Boehner off as he climbed aboard his jet to Nevada.  If you are not familiar with the details of this brouhaha, see: The NY Times' Take.  Meanwhile, back at the White House, Obama is playing the martyr as he stays ensconced there while the rest of his family is rollicking in the Aloha State's surf.  He has sworn not to follow them there until this bill has become law ... and he has already lost four days on the Kailua, Oahu links ... see: The White House's Site.  Funny how he can go from one of the four best Presidents this country has ever had to being a whimpering, simpering child ... all within a few short days.

Now, I usually make urine-poor political decisions, but I am greedily glad that Eric Cantor and John Boehner are playing Grinches in this case ... even if their only win turns out to be keeping the President stewing in his own "Holiday" juices for a few more days.  I just hope that the political cost is not too great for them.

Juxtaposition XXVI

Darth Vader

John Boehner

According to Nancy Pelosi ... see: Pelosi Snaps

High Noon

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists used to (and may still) have a doomsday clock that was always precariously close to midnight (or just as appropriately, high-noon).  One gets the feeling that we could apply this analogy to the current debt-ceiling situation.  The cable TV channels are wall-to-wall with speculation as to when and how this "crisis" is going to be resolved.  The Barry is Gary Cooper waiting in the dusty western street for high noon and the inevitable shoot-out with that dastardly Republican, John Boehner.

The American public has pulled their window curtains and are peeking out to see who survives this quick-draw duel. And just as Gary Cooper evinced that air of vincibility in that famous movie, so The Barry has recently been showing cracks in his bravado facade.  His recent speech, hoping to rally the American public around his cause, was full of tired cliches and fell pretty flat.  I don't know if this real-life drama is going to ape the movie and have The Barry prevail, but I do strongly suspect that if Obama doesn't win this gun-battle, he will not only be lying in the proverbial dust ... but his presidency will effectively be over.

Sour Grapes

Here are a few of Obama's recent sour-grapes comments:

“And then there are probably some aspects of the Tea Party that are a little darker, that have to do with anti-immigrant sentiment or are troubled by what I represent as the president.”

"When we passed a bill earlier this summer to help states save jobs -- the jobs of hundreds of thousands of teachers and nurses and police officers and firefighters that were about to be laid off -- they said no. And the Republican who thinks he's going to take over as speaker [John Boehner]... when he was asked about this, he dismissed those jobs as 'government jobs' that weren't worth saving. That's what he said, I'm quoting -- 'government jobs.'"

“Looks like the ‘Tan-Man’ [Boehner] keeps drinking from the tanning oil bottle with his buds.”

“We've got a tradition in this country of a press that oftentimes is opinionated. The golden age of an objective press was a pretty narrow span of time in our history. Before that, you had folks like Hearst who used their newspapers very intentionally to promote their viewpoints. I think Fox [News] is part of that tradition — it is part of the tradition that has a very clear, undeniable point of view. It's a point of view that I disagree with. It's a point of view that I think is ultimately destructive for the long-term growth of a country that has a vibrant middle class and is competitive in the world.”

“ What I'm seeing out of the Republican leadership over the last several years has been a set of policies that are just irresponsible. And we saw in their 'Pledge to America' a similar set of irresponsible policies.”

“ [The GOP Pledge promotes] the very same policies that led to the economic crisis in the first place. It is grounded in the same worn-out philosophy: cut taxes for millionaires and billionaires; cut the rules for Wall Street and the special interests; and cut the middle class loose to fend for itself. That’s not a prescription for a better future. It’s an echo of a disastrous decade we can’t afford to relive.”

“After they [the Republicans] drove the car into the ditch, made it as difficult as possible for us to pull it back, now they want to keys back. No! You can’t drive. We don’t want to have to go back into the ditch. We just got the car out.”

"It is inexcusable [for Democrats] to stand on the sidelines [this election year, given the prospect of big Republican gains]."

“Folks [Liberal audience] wake up! This is not some academic exercise. As Joe Biden put it, Don’t compare us to the Almighty, compare us to the alternative.”

"People [Democrat voters] need to shake off this lethargy. People need to buck up, if people now want to take their ball and go home, that tells me folks [his voters in 2008] weren't serious in the first place.”

All delivered in that snide, haughty, condescending, cadenced, high-handed, smirking manner that typifies Obama.  I ask, do these swipes sound Presidential?