The GOP is not a serious governing party

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The TanMan, Weeper of the House John Boehner, the GOP "leader" who has lost control of his Tea-Publican caucus and cannot muster the votes from his own caucus to pass the "easy" appropriations bills like the agriculture bill GOP push to slash foodstamps puts farm bill in jeopardy, and the transportation and housing bill House
Republicans pull spending measure, focus on bills to embarrass White
House
, is instead wasting the limited time of Congress on more symbolic votes directed at the GOP crazy base and the conservative media entertainment complex, and fundraising for GOP candidates. Recess-bound House votes to gut Obama health care law for 40th time:

Capping a legislative work period more noted for what it failed to
pass than for what it completed
, the House voted for the 40th time on
Friday to repeal President Barack Obama's health care reform law before
heading home for a five week recess.

The GOP-controlled House voted to approve a measure to prevent the IRS from enforcing “Obamacare” in a 232-185 vote.

The legislation faces virtually no chance of advancing in the Senate, which is controlled by Democrats.

By
most measures, Friday's vote marked the 40th time that Republicans have
voted to gut the national health care overhaul, which was signed into
law in March 2010.

Congress limps into its monthlong recess having only enacted 15 laws,
putting it on pace to be one of the most unproductive sessions in
history
(though recent legislation regarding student loans has yet to be
signed into law).

Every Republican present and four Democrats — John Barrow (GA), Jim Matheson (UT), Mike McIntyre (NC), and Collin Peterson (MN) voted in favor.

Steve Benen comments, And then there were 40:

How many House Republicans voted for repeal? All of them who were on the Hill this morning.

If
we include the Senate, the total number of votes held by congressional
Republicans to repeal all or part of the federal health care law is 68.

We're talking about a group of folks who are very slow learners.

At
this point, what more can be said about such ridiculous congressional
antics? Perhaps just this: with each one of these repeal votes,
Republicans reinforce the impression that they're not a serious
governing party. On the contrary, they're becoming rather pathetic.

Paul Krugman noted
in passing last night, "[N]either you nor I should forget that the
madness of the GOP is the central issue of our time." This wasn't in
response to health care, but it might as well have been.

Whether GOP leaders are reluctant to do unglamorous work or not,
Congress has an enormous amount of work it should be doing right now.
This is especially true in the House, where lawmakers are supposed to be
passing appropriations bills, working on the farm bill, negotiating on a
budget, and if we're really lucky, avoiding a debt-ceiling crisis in
the fall.

* * *

But that was before Republicans decided governing was for saps. Why
get real work done when there are talking points to repeat, partisan
stunts to execute, and "message votes" to push?

GOP lawmakers have
already wasted months championing culture-war bills they know can't
pass and obsessing over discredited "scandals," so there's something
oddly fitting about voting 40 times to take away Americans health care
benefits, not because they expect their legislation to pass, but because
vanity exercises like these make Republicans feel warm and fuzzy.

It's as if Americans elected children to control half of legislative branch of government.

Update: Americans United for Change released a new
video this afternoon, driving home exactly what the House GOP voted for
(all 40 times).

1 thought on “The GOP is not a serious governing party”

  1. This is part and parcel of Ronnie Raygun’s whole sctick. “Government is the problem” and if it’s not, make Government the problem.

    And so we’ve come to the point that ‘Nominating people to fill empty District Court seats while Democrat” is the same as ‘Court-packing’.

    Fear not, soon the screech monkeys in the state legislatures will be redefining ‘Voting while Democrat’ to mean ‘voter fraud’. Seriously. At the rate they’re going I foresee some bright ALEC intern coming up with model legislation to that effect.

    Soon followed by the ‘Corporations are People My Friends, So They Get A Whole Bunch of Votes’ act..

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