And so, the Republicans who control the U.S. House of Representatives have used their majority to vote in favor of suing the President of the United States. The media is currently enjoying touting how this is a first step toward presidential impeachment. Report after report dissects the political maneuvering that generated the suit and the political strategies that have the Republicans and the Democrats rattling sabers as we march to the November elections.
Personally, … Well, a friend of mine used to say of me when I would be raging on about this or foaming at the mouth about that or jump-up-and-down angry about some other thing, “Calm down or I’ll take you out back and hose you down.” Personally, I probably need a trip out back. But, what are We, the People to do?
We have a Congress that is completely ineffective. There are Republican members who seem to be set on destroying the government’s ability to do anything but help the uber-wealthy make more money. There are Democrats who seem to be focused solely on fundraising for their next campaign. It is shameful.
How many Americans even know what issue(s) form the substance of the House’s suit? Do you? I don’t blame the Republicans for this ignorance. I blame the Democrats. There seems to be a general consensus on the part of politicians that the American people are emotion-driven and basically stupid, that we only vote out of reactionary anger. (Hard to counter that assumption when 13 million fewer people voted in 2010 than did in 2008! But, I digress.) If our elected officials aren’t reeving up anger or biases, they are silent. There is no information, only sound bites, coming out of government in a societal climate where there is also very little journalism available to the general public. You know, the “who, what, where, when and why” variety. In other words, none of us know nuthin’!
Another, dare I say, “friend” of mine, commented before the 2010 elections that he would vote Republican because “it wouldn’t be good for one party to have control.” Haven’t been able to ask him how he feels that decision is working out. So many Americans voted against their own best interests as they elected right-wing ideologues who looked them in the eye and lied.
Leadership should lead us through rational consideration of issues and options toward intelligent solutions, not whip up emotional knee-jerk reactions against, or for, existing societal structures.
When Bill Clinton dropped the ball, along with his shorts, it enabled the Republicans to try out the strategy they are now perfecting. Just shut it down. Don’t do anything. Focus on whatever there might be to distract from the business of governing. First, they thought a focus on reducing the deficit as if the world would end tomorrow if the budget weren’t balanced immediately, would be enough to tide them over until Romney was elected in 2012. Oops!
The deficit has been reduced, substantially paid for by cuts to food stamps and other programs that address the needs of the most vulnerable among us, so there’s no longer any talk about that, especially since there is such massive waste of taxpayer monies on completely pointless and repeated votes against the Affordable Care Act and hearings on Benghazi. And, the obstruction strategies of delay that keep important appointments to important government positions floating around in limbo.
This is a good place to share why the Republicans are suing: they feel that providing delays in the implementation of the Affordable Care Act for large companies was outside of the President’s authority and therefore, he broke the law. If it weren’t so ludicrous, you’d have to laugh. The hypocrisy exceeds all bounds.
We have Republicans who are so anti-Obama that they undermine the President by making negative comparisons in favor of foreign leaders and visiting other countries to present their positions as if the President was not who he is, the leader of the richest, most powerful country in the world. THE leader. I feel this has emboldened actions in the hot spots of the world that might not have jumped off quite so blatantly if the Congress gave Obama the respect due his office and kept any dissensions as nobody’s business but our own.
The President was, and I think still is, committed to bipartisanship in government. It is moral on his part, but in the face of Republican response to his election, TWICE, it is highly unlikely to happen. At this point, I think that the American people need a third and a fourth political party. In the meantime, I think We, the People need to file a class-action suit against the Congress for failing to do the job they were elected to do. In case anyone is confused, that job is not to cover their collective political ass!
Since that is unlikely to happen, I can only recommend that everyone VOTE! It’s not good enough to say that you don’t like any of the candidates; that politicians are all corrupt; blah, blah, blah! Pick. one. and. V-O-T-E!
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