One of the funnier, albeit weird and annoying articles that I've read recently was one in RawStory about Republican senators and their staffers complaining about President Biden and Democrats passing bills without their participation. The senators and staffers in question were the so-called "G-10," the more moderate Republicans, like Susan Collins (R-ME), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA). Of course, a "moderate Republican" reminds me of the joke about how a moderate Arab is one who only holds a grudge for 10 generations. "If you get an invitation to the White House, you go to the White House," one of the staffers said. "But regardless, you're damned if you do and damned if you don't. When you go to the White House meeting you risk being used in a feigned attempt at bipartisanship. If you don't go then it's, 'Oh, Republicans won't even meet with me.' It all pivots on whether it's a genuine offer from the White House or just part of their messaging strategy." Well...yeah. For starters, it is not a "feigned attempt at bipartisanship" just because you're not willing willing to compromise enough to support a proposal. After all, something like 75% of all Americans supported Biden's Rescue Plan for America That included a heavy majority of Republican voters. And the Biden infrastructure bill has the support of around 65% of Americans -- which also includes a very strong majority of Republican voters. That's not only bipartisan with at least some Republican support, it's deeply bipartisan with majority support. The only Republican support it doesn't have is Republicans in Congress. And by "doesn't have," I mean zero -- even when a majority of their own party across America support these bills. And further, perhaps the main reason there is no Republican support -- zero -- is not because Joe Biden is supposedly "feigning" bipartisan support (he isn't, as GOP support across the country shows...), but rather because Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has said publicly that no Republicans will support the bills!! In the end, bills pass when there are enough votes to pass them. Mitch McConnell has known that and has lived by that at the core of his being. Indeed, it's the whole "Elections have consequences" mantra that all sides note when they win elections. If you can mesh that in Congress with also having the strong majority support of both sides of the American public, all the better, and you win the lottery, Another wonderful quote from a G-10 aide was -- "Everything they support is defined as either COVID relief or infrastructure, and everything they oppose is like … Jim Crow voter suppression and evil, and you constantly just feel like you're in this gaslighting chamber of insanity. But it's working." Well...yeah. Everything thus far has been defined as either COVID relief or infrastructure. That's because the two major pieces of legislation that the Biden Administration has pushed in its only first 84 days in office -- with haven't even hit the iconic "First 100 Days" mark yet -- have been for...COVID relief and infrastructure! And the one piece of legislation that the Biden Administration and Democrats oppose across the country are all the Jim Crow voter suppression bills in red states. Which begs the question -- why are these GOP aides whining about anyone being against "evil" voter suppression??? Are they for evil Jim Crow voter suppression?!! That complaint is really not a good look. And of course, none of this even takes into account the actions that the Republican Party took over the past four years when they had control of the Senate, House and White House. Cramming through Supreme Court nominations, federal judges, tax cuts for the wealthy and on and on, with no attempt to be bipartisan. In fact, "compromise" became a dirty word to Republicans, especially under Trump. Further, Republicans had a party leader who went out of his way to specifically avoid helping blue states during emergencies, including in the pandemic. So, please, don't even start weeping about the Biden Administration not being bipartisan enough. Most especially when a majority of your own freaking party supports these measures. "They have the majority in the House. They have the majority in the Senate. They have the White House. They have a majority of support by Democratic voters. And they have a majority of support by Republican voters. But they won't let us weaken their bills that the public wants and which we already said we wouldn't support" -- just doesn't ahve the ring they think it does. And yes, this is why the old standby held true for the past four years and still does -- this isn't about Trump, we know who he was. This is about the elected members of the Republican Party who enabled him, are complicit, and are just as fascist all on their own. And I'm sorry that they are upset by people who are against evil Jim Crow voter suppression laws. But then, that's just so GOP.
2 Comments
Douglass Abramson
4/15/2021 08:36:22 pm
These would be aides from the same party who has blocked Congressional recognition and honors for the heroes of 1/6; because their lawmakers DIDN'T LIKE THE VERBIAGE! The people who call liberals "snowflakes" threw a tantrum because their egos were bruised by the language in a bill to honor the people who saved them from their own voters; not that whining to the press because the White House understands how to use a numerical advantage shows much of the intestinal fortitude that the GOP likes to claim that only they and their voters posses.
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Robert Elisberg
4/18/2021 09:28:41 am
Yes, the concept of "Republicans as whiney snowflakes" did not escape my notice. Not this time, or all the other whiney times in the past...
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AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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