The John Boehner Mitch McConnell Gambit that crippled a Nation

In 2008, the Republican Party promised jobs, healthcare, tax reform and immigration reform.  They made other promises as well but far too many to count.  The opposition parties, Democrats and Independents, sat idly by and allowed the GOP to win big and capture both house of the government.  The promise of “once we get in, let us show you how to govern” went quickly out the window and control was now in the hands of those whose primary goal was never to govern because they didn’t know how.  Their primary goal was to disrupt and make the Obama Administration the laughing stock of the world.  In 2010, John Boehner and Mitch McConnell concocted a plan.  They pulled together a meeting in Hersey PA which was supposed to be a meeting where they debate and vote on many bills that had already bipartisan support but were never brought to the then Democratic led Senate.  They were intent on proving their point of knowing how to lead with John Boehner delivering the bills to Mitch McConnell and Mitch McConnell sending them straight to the president’s desk.  This was the plan and if all went well in that meeting, Boehner and McConnell was going to be heroes within their party and legends in the halls of the House and Senate.  When it was suggested that they not stir the pot too much because soon there would be a way to have a much stronger majority in both houses, Boehner and McConnell was elated because now they could allow members to vote as they felt necessary and still reach their goal as household names.  The only problem is those who were ushered in in 2010 did not get a copy of that memo. 

As described within this article titled “GOP plagued by Tea Party monster it created” written by Stephanie Schriock for The Hill Newspaper, sums it all up like this; “in 2010 when they were busy trying to grow the Republican rank-and-file and ride the Tea Party wave to elect first-time, conservative House candidates across the country.  What the Republican leadership didn’t see coming was the monster their Tea Party-dabbling was creating. Or that their strategy of using the redistricting process to gerrymander districts to ensure Republican victories and minimize the voting power of an increasingly diverse electorate was about to back fire, big time.  That’s because, by rigging the congressional map with safe Republican districts, the party triggered a primary process in favor of candidates from the extreme fringe of their party. When the only race in the House district is the low-voter-turnout primary, the winner is the radical right-wing candidate.  In combination with Citizens United, created the perfect extremist storm. Candidates, who are so far right that they wouldn’t have been electable before (or at least not electable in a general election), are now virtually guaranteed safe seats for life by winning these low-voter-turnout primaries, and these candidates now have unlimited funds to carry them through those primaries in districts that are already safely Republican.  To see the damage this system has done, you don’t have to look any further than the Freedom Caucus.  33 of the 36 Freedom Caucus Republicans won election (or reelection) in contested races in 2014—by an average of 65 percent of the general election vote.  That means they were running in districts that are so safely Republican, the only real competition in an election is among Republican candidates during the primary.  And even though they make up a minority in the House overall, the Freedom Caucus’s monolithic stature within the Republican caucus means its members have been able to position themselves successfully as a voting bloc with the power to obstruct the will of their own party’s leadership.

So now a nation looks on, wondering where it will go from here.  John Boehner begged, pleaded and cried for the hurting to stop but those who were doing the damage was having far too much fun and like school yard bullies, were not about to give it all up for the sake of anyone or anything even at the expense of a nation they claim to love.  So Boehner bails but Mitch McConnell sticks and stays because much of this dismay is in the House of Representatives which makes him feel untouchable as far as political placement and clout is concerned.  Neither did nothing to stop the gerrymandering, opposed Citizen’s United or demand civility as things became uncivil.  They stood by, demonstrating to those they were elected to lead that this is how true leaders act so the rest of those true blue Americans in either houses stood still as well.  And why not, the American public did the same, just stood by and allowed all this to take place.  Yes, there were a few small voices screaming at the top of their lungs but they were drowned out by the big money and the media which was so taken by this strange occurrence that nothing else mattered.

So what have we to show for our past travels into the twilight zone?  We have people still crying about President Obama being Muslim or foreign.  We have people whining about him being treasonous or a dictator for using executive orders.  We have people minimizing every single accomplishment this administration has ever made and we have people who flat out lie straight to the cameras as if all of us listening are not smart enough to know that they lied.  All this because of a decision of a few beginning with those Democrats and Independents who sat home instead of fighting for a nation they too claim to love.  It seems that when this nation needed us the worst, all those pretending to be so brave and bold happened to be conveniently absent and instead of showing up and staying strong at the voting booth are in full force on Facebook. 

The John Boehner Mitch McConnell gamble has done more damage to this nation than anything else in history because it truly did come from within.  Veterans who still support a group with nothing positive to add to the conversation and offer one solution to our issues are now failing this nation in a more despicable way.  We promised to serve and protect this nation from enemies foreign and domestic.  While we have done a tremendous job on those foreign we have dropped the ball big time on those domestic.  When it comes to people still crying about President Obama being Muslim or foreign, I guess being born in Hawaii could be considered foreign to fools and when you mention the U.S. Constitution doesn’t it also say that all religions are welcomed.  We have people whining about him being treasonous or a dictator for using executive orders when history tells us that epitome of the Republican Party used around 381 executive orders while the count from Obama is 157.  Does this now make Ronald Reagan a dictator?  Democrats, Republicans and Independents who sat on their hands during the last elections got what they wanted.  The Tea Party and Corporate America got what it wanted.  You wanted to be in charge so now you are and have been since 2008.  What have you done?  Terrorist create chaos by blowing up a building, you have created chaos by blowing up a nation.  Had enough yet or are there still much more to come from your style of leadership?

You tired of making your nation look like a bunch of fools to the world and wish to show you do have some backbone and can govern?  Try a couple of these suggestions; Term limits for all who serve.  Taxpayers vote on raises and reduction of Congress pay.  All political ads are free.  Politician’s vacations and expenses are paid out of pocket and restore majority rules without tricks.