The demagogue is one who preaches doctrines he knows to be untrue to men he knows to be idiots.
- H.L. Mencken
Yeah, I know that Congressional Republicans like Eric Cantor are fond of repeating the talking point that their efforts are all about jobs. Right. There are the empty, hollow words…and then there are the actions, which in this case provide a much clearer picture of what the GOP agenda really is. Given what’s happened since Republicans assumed control of the House of Representatives, an observer could be forgiven that the Republican agenda consists of:
- redefining rape and codifying the GOP’s hatred of women and the silly idea that women should be allowed to control their bodies;
- restricting abortion rights in the most draconian manner imaginable; and
- pursuing all manner of other red meat Right-wing culture war issues.
JOBS! JOBS! JOBS! Or something like that….
I understand the nature and advantage of possessing a majority in a legislative body (something that seemed to escape Democrats during their time as the majority party in the House). You get to set the agenda and pursue ideological issues that are important to you and those who elected you. There’s nothing new or revelatory about that; you’re the majority party, that’s what you do. What you should NOT have the right to do, however, is to pursue all manner of slash-and-burn culture war issues AND spread the propaganda that all your efforts are centered around JOBS, JOBS, JOBS.
We have serious, legitimate problems in this country, problems that demand leadership and commitment…and what we’ve been given is a collection of zealots primarily interested in locking down a woman’s uterus and denying the President’s long-since-established citizenship. Somewhere along the line, Republicans (in particular and all of us in general) have lost sight of what’s going on around us. When debating the President’s religion (IS Barack Obama a secret America-hating Muslim?)…or birthplace…is deemed a legitimate issue for public discussion…well, it just makes me want to play Russian Roulette on my living room floor.
You want legitimate issues deserving of the attention of those we’ve elected to represent us? How about these for a start?
- Unemployment is dropping…because millions of Americans have simply stopped looking for work.
- Millions of Americans have been unemployed for so long that they’ve used up all available unemployment insurance…and few in leadership seems to care that we’re losing an entire generation.
- American businesses are enjoying record profits…and yet they’re not hiring, in part because they claim they’re over-regulated. Yeah, right….
- The gap between the “haves” and the “have nots” grows by the day…and the “haves” and the Congressman they’ve purchased are pretty OK with that idea.
- The social contract seems to be withering on the vine…if it hasn’t already died from a lack of commitment.
- Our infrastructure (roads, bridges, water and sewer systems, the electrical grid, etc.) is rapidly crumbling from lack of attention…and there seems to be no recognition of the urgency of addressing this pressing reality.
- Those on the Far Right seem to be concerned primarily and only with their own narrow self-interest. I got mine; you can damn well get your own. Ayn Rand lives….
- We’re fighting two wars that we can no longer afford and that are no longer accomplishing what we seem to think they are…if in fact they ever did.
- Millions of Americans lack health insurance, and in the most powerful country in the world, many Americans may be denied health care because they don’t have the money to pay for it.
- By one measure, the taxes we pay have fallen to the lowest level in decades …and it would seem that we’re getting exactly what we pay for.
I’m not going to sit here and opine that Liberals have the answers we need to move this country forward and Conservatives care for nothing that doesn’t impact and benefit them directly. However true that attitude may or may not be, it doesn’t get us any closer to where this great country (and it IS great) needs and deserves to be. What disturbs me is that there seems to be no commitment, from the President on down, to making the bold decisions and taking the decisive steps that need to happen in order for us to reverse the decline. ARE we the country that defeated Nazism and Communism and became a beacon of freedom and strength…or are we satisfied with “I got mine; you can damn well get your own”? ARE we the country that redefined innovation, courage, and commitment to moving forward…or we now a country that exalts the individual over the collective at any and all costs?
As I once heard Lawrence O’Donnell say, “Some things are worth fighting for…even if you lose.” I just can’t help but wonder how many of us are willing to fight for what’s needed to get this country moving forward? I’m not talking about a narrow ideological agenda. We can agree to disagree on some things, but we’re all Americans, and we’ve pulled together in past crises. I can’t help thinking that we have it within ourselves to pull together again, do what we need to do to get this country back on track…and THEN we can resume our regularly scheduled programming of tearing one another apart.
Then again, things could always be worse, right? At least we’re not outlawing flatulence….
