US House Of Representatives

113th Congress Far Worse Than Least Productive Congress In American History, 112th Congress!

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The 112th Congress of 2011-2012 produced the fewest laws in modern history, a total of 283. It was thought that was a low that could not be surpassed.

But the present 113th Congress is reaching a new low that is hard to conceptualize, as it has passed only 36 laws, and the public opinion rating of Congress is at an all time low, about 10 percent, with a poll showing that a majority of Americans believe that a random group of people chosen to replace the present Congress could do a better job!

Both parties are suffering in public opinion, but the Republican Party brand is in free fall, as a result of shutting down the government for 16 days and threatening rejection of the raising of the debt ceiling. The GOP is involved in a civil war between the establishment and the libertarians and Tea Party Movement, and Wall Street is working to support establishment, mainstream conservatives over the Tea Party brand in Congressional races for 2014, with the distinct possibility that the Democrats have a chance to gain control of the House of Representatives, and keep control of the US Senate.

The gerrymandering of House districts, however, makes taking over the House a major problem for Democrats for the remainder of the decade, but since only 17 seats are needed to gain the majority, the potential is there, if the public opinion ratings of the Republicans continue their collapse that is going on at the moment.

The problem is that a year is a long time in American politics, and anything can happen, as people have short memories!

The Worst Possible Scenario: A Republican House And Democratic Senate!

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History has taught us that the worst possible scenario in Congress is a Republican House of Representatives and Democratic Senate.

Since 2011, we have had this scenario, and it has been a total disaster as the GOP has made it impossible to deal with the aftermath of the Great Recession.

The last time we had such a scenario is a century and a half earlier in 1859-1861, when James Buchanan was President, and the GOP was a new party, and anarchy and chaos reigned in the nation’s capital.

When we have had a Democratic House and Republican Senate as under William Howard Taft (1911-1913), Herbert Hoover (1931-1933), and Ronald Reagan (1981-1987), all Republican Presidents, some progress and cooperation has been possible.

Notice that when Buchanan was in office, and Obama now, it was Democratic Presidents facing an impossible situation with a party dedicated to no cooperation at all on anything!

While the Republican Party of the 1850s was more to be admired for principles, the fact is that Republican control of the lower House has led to stalemate and gridlock.

One could argue that even if the GOP won the Senate, it would not change things much, as the requirement for a 60 vote majority to invoke cloture and overcome a filibuster makes the Senate always a problem in any situation, but the power of the purse in the House makes that chamber MORE important to control.

So for Obama’s last two years, control of the House, which brought about more productivity in 2009-2010 than any modern Congress, and was under Democratic control, is more urgent than control of the US Senate.

And when the opposition party has controlled both houses of Congress, as has occurred a lot in recent history, much more gets done than in a split Congress.

These are the facts of Congressional history, like it or not!

The One Virtue Of The Government Shutdown: John Boehner And Mitch McConnell Will NOT Support Another Such Shutdown!

Ronald 5 Comments

The one virtue that comes out of the federal government shutdown, which cost the Gross Domestic Product $1.5 billion a day, a total of $24 billion for 16 days, is that it has convinced GOP leaders that the tactic will not work,

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has stated that he will NOT allow another government shutdown, as he is well aware how it has hurt the Republican brand, with nothing gained by the action. He will face a Tea Party opponent in the Kentucky Senate primary, including the opposition of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and Senator Ted Cruz, but this should make a good case for opposition to those Tea Party lunatics who have no concern about the effect on the American economy of what they supported.

Speaker John Boehner has not stated quite the same sentiments, but it is clear that he will not support such a looney concept the next time, as he ended up backing away at the brink of the crisis.

Yes, McConnell and Boehner are both to be condemned for their handling of the situation, but at the end, both were ultimately responsible when push came to shove, and they and the Establishment Republicans have learned a hard lesson,

With the help of Wall Street, the Tea Party lunatics will face challenges in the primaries from mainstream Republican conservatives, and hopefully, some will lose their seats either to these establishment types, or the seats will swing over to the Democrats, with the chance of a Democratic takeover growing, and the likelihood of a Republican takeover of the US Senate a less likely scenario, as a result of the government shutdown and debt ceiling debacle.

As Barack Obama declared, it is time for serious action on immigration, tax reform, and the farm bill, instead of wasting time on what is ultimately a lost cause, the destruction of ObamaCare by repeal, which is NOT going to happen.

Anyone who seriously thinks the Tea Party Movement will triumph in 2014 and elect Ted Cruz President in 2016, with a Republican House and Senate, is certainly using hallucinatory drugs, and needs to be hospitalized for mental observation!

The Tea Party Threat To Conservative Republican Senators In 2014

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The Tea Party Movement is now threatening conservative Republican Senators coming up for re-election in 2014, who they regard as not conservative enough, including

Lindsey Graham of South Carolina
Lamar Alexander of Tennessee
Mitch McConnell of Kentucky
Pat Roberts of Kansas
Thad Cochran of Mississippi

It is not as if any of these five Senators are flaming liberals, or even know what the word “moderate” is, but to the Tea Party Movement, they are RINOS (Republican In Name Only).

The effect of the right wing attack on these Senators is that some, or all of them, may be replaced by more extremist candidates, and in some cases, Democrats might win the seats.

And it makes the idea of cooperation and “crossing the aisle” in the future even more unlikely, and makes stalemate and gridlock the long term future in the Senate, as well as it already is in the House of Representatives.

Imagine having to root for these Senators to keep their seats, or their possible replacement by Democrats, by far the better scenario!

Such is the craziness of the Tea Party Movement, and its disastrous effect on American politics! It needs to be rooted out as a cancer that must be eradicated as undermining the American future, and bringing us back to the 19th century!

Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Paul Ryan: You Have Disqualified Yourself From The Presidency By Refusing To Uphold The Payment Of Government Debts!

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Memo to Senator Ted Cruz of Texas; Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky; Senator Marco Rubio of Florida; and Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan:

You have all disqualified yourselves from becoming President by refusing to uphold the payment of government debts, when the ultimate moment of decision came yesterday, October 16, in the US Senate and US House of Representatives!

The four of you are considered so called front runners for the Republican Presidential nomination in 2016, but by doing what you have done, you have put into the forefront such contenders as:

Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey
Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin
Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush
Governor John Kasich of Ohio

It is not as if these governors and former governors are ideal choices, as none of them are such, but they have known what it is to govern a state, and they are not looney enough as you have been, to do something which would undermine the nation and the world economy, as you demonstrated in your irresponsible vote.

So goodbye to all four of you, and have a good time associating with the Tea Party Traitors to America!

20 Women Senators Work Together, Vote Together On Government Shutdown And Debt Ceiling! Why Can’t The Women In The House Of Representatives Do The Same?

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It is amazing to behold, but the 20 women in the US Senate get along well, cooperate on many issues, and the 16 Democrats and 4 Republicans all were against the government shutdown and voted to prevent a government bankruptcy yesterday.

The same could not be said about Republican women in the House of Representatives, most of whom voted to let the country go bankrupt—including Michele Bachmann, Marsha Blackburn, and Virginia Foxx.

These women and other GOP House members who are female, are a disgrace to their gender and to their nation, and one can only wish that they would all go the way of Michele Bachmann, who has decided not to run for reelection, knowing she is under investigation for corruption, and would have a tough time, in any case, getting reelected.

When one sees any of these three women and others as well, it is noted that they never shut up for a minute to let someone get a word in edgewise, and one can only wonder about the meanness, narrow mindedness, and prejudices of these women, and wish one could place a muzzle on their mouths!

Republican Suicide As Result of Government Shutdown And Debt Ceiling: Long Term Damage!

Ronald 3 Comments

The Republican Party has seen 144 members of the House of Representatives and 18 in the US Senate voting for default on the national debt!

The Republican Party has seen itself held accountable for an increase in government spending caused by the shutdown of the government, to the tune of $24 billion, instead of having 800,000 civil servants working for 16 days, but now getting back pay rightfully for their forced period out of work!

The Republican Party has shown it does not give a damn for the economic and emotional turmoil it caused millions of Americans by their reckless, selfish, delusional behavior!

The Republican Party has shown it has no limits in its determination to destroy this President, but it has failed miserably!

The Republican Party allowed itself to be hijacked by Ted Cruz and the Tea Party Movement, and it has lost all respectability and credibility to achieve control of the White House, the Senate, and at some point, the House of Representatives, as they have shown themselves to be no longer representative of a broad coalition needed to be taken seriously as a national party based on coalition and compromise!

Public opinion polls show the GOP in crisis mode, with the lowest ratings in recorded history for a major political party since polls began in the mid 1930s!

The only hope for a revival of the Republican Party is to:

Repudiate Ted Cruz, Mike Lee, Rand Paul, James Inhofe, Marco Rubio and other Tea Party Senators.

Repudiate the Tea Party Movement in the House of Representatives.

Repudiate the talk show hosts on radio and Fox News Channel.

Repudiate the Heritage Foundation and other right wing think tanks, and come back to the moderate center which led to the elections of Eisenhower, Nixon, the Bushes, and yes, even Ronald Reagan, who would be mortified as to how right wing extremist the GOP has allowed itself to become.

But will the Republican Party take any or all of these actions? Do not hold your breath on this!

Ted Cruz, Mike Lee, Sarah Palin And The Confederate Flag At The White House: Reprehensible!

Ronald 3 Comments

A crowd descended on the gates at the White House on Sunday, led by Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, Senator Mike Lee of Utah, and former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, the 2008 GOP Vice Presidential nominee.

They stood by as Confederate flags were brandished, and a speaker said it was time for Barack Obama to stop obeying the Muslim faith, and to resign from the Presidency!

What a spectacle it was, with National Park police called out in riot gear, in case the demonstration became unruly or worse.

These three demagogues—Cruz, Lee, and Palin—who are destroying the Republican brand with their fight to undermine the federal government, blamed Obama for the shutdown of the federal government, rather than Cruz and Lee taking responsibility for encouraging House Tea Party Republicans to do what everyone knows they provoked, intimidating Speaker John Boehner into what has become a disaster for the Republican Party brand!

By appearing with these Confederate, secessionist, states rights riight wingers, they are encouraging violent insurrection against the government, and poisoning the atmosphere for peaceful resolution of differences, and also undermining respect for the office of the Presidency!

Republican leadership—much more than Senator John McCain of Arizona and Congressman Peter King of New York—must speak up and denounce these tactics, or the GOP is totally doomed as a major political party for the long run!

Disgust With Federal Government At All Time High: What Can Be Done About It?

Ronald 4 Comments

Polls this past week demonstrate how a majority of Americans are totally disgusted with the stalemate and gridlock in the federal government, which has become a norm of American politics.

Sixty percent in a poll would want to replace every member of Congress, and only eleven percent have a positive view of Congress, an all time low.

The Republican Party brand has suffered heavily, although the Democrats are not exactly looked upon as a paragon of virtue either by the American people.

Of course, there is no way that all members of Congress could be defeated due to the fact that the US Senate has only one third of its seats up for election every two years.

Additionally, while the House of Representatives faces election of all of its members every two years, the reality of gerrymandering makes replacement of incumbents highly unlikely, with maybe ten percent of the seats truly competitive, if that much.

And of course, were it possible to defeat all members, it would be unwise, because that would leave us with new members with total lack of experience and expertise, and this is the the problem with the Tea Party Republicans, who mostly come into government without any knowledge or understanding of what is possible in government, and the role of compromise in making a political system work.

All that a new Congress would accomplish is the growing power of unelected staff, which would be the only continuity in American government, and that would not be a good situation.

What can be done is to have higher turnout for midterm elections, with the hope that it might lead to the party of whoever is President having a real mandate to accomplish the goals that any President has been elected on two years earlier. The tradition has been that the party in the White House loses seats, with a lower turnout by party faithful.

Of course, if somehow, gerrymandering could be overcome, and the filibuster in the Senate modified, real progress and continuity and compromise would be more likely, but that is, at this time, a utopian dream, sad to say!

House Republicans Are Wreaking Havoc On The Economy, Equivalent Of Sedition!

Ronald 8 Comments

The House of Representatives Republican majority has become a party committing sedition, undermining the economic stability and security of America, and they will never be able to recover from this, as they face repudiation by all sensible Americans! 70 percent oppose the government shutdown, and only 24 percent now perceive the Republican Party in a favorable light, and only 17 percent see Speaker of the House John Boehner in a positive fashion!

With the government shutdown nearing two weeks, we are seeing many desperate people who have no paycheck forthcoming; businesses that are going bankrupt for lack of customers at national parks and monuments and other government buildings that bring millions of tourists annually; undermining of our ability to be prepared for bad weather, disease outbreaks, monitoring of food and drug imports; and so many other manifestations of what has become a total disaster!

The House GOP has also undermined any respect for our government, and sowed hatred toward our President, putting him in greater danger of assassination by their poisonous condemnations of everything emanating from the White House since January 20, 2009!

And the Senate and Gubernatorial Republicans do not get a free ride from guilt in this mess, as they have shown no concern for the effect on ordinary people by their insensitive, uncaring statements and policies!

And the Tea Party Movement and its heroes—Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Mike Lee, and even Marco Rubio–are scarred by their reckless, seditious behavior—and their future dreams of the White House are guaranteed to fail, without any doubt!

The likelihood is that the Tea Party lunatics will break with the GOP, which is the only hope for the revival of the Republican Party, but will benefit the Democratic Party for years to come!

Barack Obama is totally correct in refusing a six week extension of the debt ceiling, without an ending of the government shutdown immediately! And the irony that the six week extension would end on November 22, the 50th Anniversary of the John F. Kennedy Assassination, is totally reprehensible!