Watching the Republicans - Runaway Train

[richlevy]

Not too many years ago, the Republican party was a well oiled machine. With majorities in both houses and control of the White House, members of both houses moved almost in lockstep.

Today, the Republican party seems to be in disarray. The recent miscalculation that had the Republican Senate leader filibustering his own proposal demonstrated the amount of political miscalculation and desperation present in the Republican Senate caucus.

McConnell was hoping to put Democrats in the awkward position of having to vote for ceding Congress’s authority over the debt ceiling to the president. As he put it in his morning remarks, “by demanding the power to raise the debt limit whenever he wants by as much as he wants, he showed what he’s really after is assuming unprecedented power to spend taxpayer dollars without any limit.”
Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D) of Nevada objected, putting Democrats in the position of blocking a vote on their president’s proposal. Yet within hours, Democrats sensed a way to turn the tables – and were ready to call McConnell’s bluff.
They returned to the floor and offered to bring the matter up for a vote immediately, concluding that, politically speaking, they would be happy to argue that fixing the debt ceiling permanently was the fiscally responsible thing to do – even at the cost of congressional authority.

So what did Mitch McConnell do, facing a vote on his own suggestion from just hours before?
He offered two magic words – “I object” – and filibustered his own suggestion.

A few weeks later, the Speaker of the House, who has a real majority instead of a simple obstructive mechanism, attempted a similar maneuver. He attempted to push through his own budget proposal, weighted heavily but not entirely with provisions favorable to his party's positions and without agreement from the Democrats, hoping to force a veto from the President and to label the President obstructionist. He failed to get a majority of votes from his own party, forcing a very public failure which highlighted party divisions to the public.

Had there been a vote on Republican House Speaker John Boehner's "Plan B" to avert the so-called U.S. fiscal cliff on Thursday night, it would not have been close. He was probably 40 to 50 votes short of the number he needed to avoid a humiliating defeat at the hands of his own party, according to rough estimates from Republican members of Congress and staff members.

When the Democrats were a minority party under Bush Jr., I do not believe that I ever saw this level of self delusion and infighting.

[Adak]

Bohner has done a poor job as Speaker of the House. No doubt about that. No matter what happens with the fiscal cliff, his days as Speaker appear to be numbered.

Worse, the Republican party leader, have been making mis-steps, quite regularly. The party can't move forward when it's kicking itself in the shins on a regular basis.

[regular.joe]

The biggest problem with the Republican party is that enough of their voting base is obstructive to their goals. Most republicans I know, out here in the world, want the US to be a great country...they want great schools, primary and secondary, they want a great economy, they want great infrastructure for roads, water and electricity to support a country as great as the US. The weird thing is that they refuse to pay for it. And now that we are in debt up to our ears, no one wants to bite the long term bullet and live with less. Way less, the fiscal cliff is not going to ruin our economy....it's about time we got honest with bankers, who are a bunch of fear based kids any ways, it's time we made them get honest with value, worth, and our debt. It's time we stopped handing out bags of money to places like Afganistan, Iraq and Pakistan. It's time to pay for and invest in our own country. But wait, does that mean that I have to pay TAXES?!?! and down the Republican toilet bowel spiral we go.

[tw]

Originally Posted by Adak

Bohner has done a poor job as Speaker of the House.

Boehner was doing his job of negotiating a solutoin. He and Obama had an agreement long ago. Then Eric Cantor stabbed Boehner in the back (as Replublicans did to Gingrich over ten years ago). Boehner was forced to due what no honest negotiator does. He phoned Obama to say he was reneging on the deal. As a result, Boehner and Obama were not talking for weeks. Can you blame Obama? Boehner was not negotiating with good faith? And Boehner thought he was representing the house majority. Unfortunately too many are followers of Limbaugh and Norquist. A political agenda that says we want America to fail.

Problem is simple. Honest negotiators deal with facts. Ideologues negotiate only with a political agenda. Boehner, who wanted to negotiate in good faith, instead, found himself being stabbed in the back just like what happened to Gingrich when negotiating for his Contract with America with Clinton.

Ideology said it is important to harm America so that Obama will fail. Boehner could never get around that extremist political agenda.

[xoxoxoBruce]

It's all moot in Washington, just a dog & pony show. Where the Teapublicans are directing their efforts is at the state level, governorships and state legislators, so they can gerrymander districts to consolidate power.
They've been doing this successfully for awhile with good results... for them, not for us. They can do this because those left wing hippies and Cadillac driving welfare queens don't pay attention to mid-term and local elections.

[Ibby]

Daily Kos is having a fucking field day over republican infighting and self-destruction today.

These posts were consecutive today

It's civil war time for House Republicans

Peter King says anyone from New York or New Jersey would be nuts to support House Republicans

A delicious roundup of conservative-on-conservative violence

[Ibby]

followed by

Peter King shocked—shocked!—that being a heartless bastard is a Republican value actually

and

Chris Christie rips Boehner and House Republicans over refusal to provide Hurricane Sandy relief

[Spexxvet]

Republicans values require everyone who had damage from Sandy to pick themselves up by the bootstraps. That pussy Christie better get with the program, or he won't be invited to the next republican convention.

[classicman]

Bullshit. The relief bill was soaked with pork from the senate shitheads. Direct your ire at them. It would be more accurate.

[Lamplighter]

What's with the Repubicans ? George W. doesn't attend the Inaugation!
Romney and Bohner doesn't show either, and the re-Pubic's are saying it's a Democrat holiday.

For George, I can understand it because it just shows what a little man he is/was.
But Republicans couldn't be more un-patriotic than to try to make any U.S. President's Inauguration into a partisan issue.

But then, maybe a black U.S. President being inaugurated on a
federal holiday celebrating a black hero of civil rights is more
telling about today's Republican Party than it first appears.

[richlevy]

Originally Posted by Lamplighter

What's with the Repubicans ? George W. doesn't attend the Inaugation!
Romney and Bohner doesn't show either, and the re-Pubic's are saying it's a Democrat holiday.

Romney is a private citizen. Since he holds no office, I don't believe that he has any reason to attend. I don't know what the protocol is for the losing candidate.

Bush's father is pretty sick and cannot attend, so I can sort of see him not attending.

[BigV]

Originally Posted by Lamplighter

What's with the Repubicans ? --snip--

and the re-Pubic's are saying

--snip

Now, I'm all for foolin around, I read a book once on the subject of humor and liked it. Maybe you're just joking around--if so--I am sorry I missed the joke. However...

Dude. Please don't do shit like this. It was immature and unhelpful when other dwellars resorted to this kind of childish namecalling. Repeating such a mistake has zero upside. It makes you look like a fool. Don't talk like a fool and expect to be treated seriously.

[lookout123]

Originally Posted by Lamplighter

What's with the Repubicans ? George W. doesn't attend the Inaugation!
Romney and Bohner doesn't show either, and the re-Pubic's are saying it's a Democrat holiday.

For George, I can understand it because it just shows what a little man he is/was.
But Republicans couldn't be more un-patriotic than to try to make any U.S. President's Inauguration into a partisan issue.

But then, maybe a black U.S. President being inaugurated on a
federal holiday celebrating a black hero of civil rights is more
telling about today's Republican Party than it first appears.

or it could mean they simply have no respect for the man or his policies. or they don't like his shoes. or his wife. or maybe they just wanted to go fishing. or wash their hair.

Really, why does it matter? Seeing Obama sworn in with all the pomp and circumstance traditionally built into the event may be your wet dream, but for others it may not be all that thrilling, so why would they go?

[xoxoxoBruce]

Or maybe they weren't invited.

[DanaC]

Originally Posted by lookout123

Really, why does it matter? Seeing Obama sworn in with all the pomp and circumstance traditionally built into the event may be your wet dream, but for others it may not be all that thrilling, so why would they go?

Because fairly, or unfairly, it makes them look like petulant losers instead of statesmen engaged in the great game.

The inauguration of the President is important regardless of who is actually taking the oath. For a nation so jealous of its traditions and hard won political identity, it seems very strange for leading figures from the losing party not to attend. It seems pointed.