A moment of silence for John Boehner, please. The dour weepy House speaker, I mean. Remember?
A square peg in a deep round hole dug by the beastly carnivores in the Republican caucus who , of all things, considered him too liberal for their suicidal quest to rule anybody who wasn't as certifiably crazy. His efforts to please often led him at times to be certifiably crazy , too. The more than 50 failed attempts to kill Obamacare in the House. The loopy invitation to Bibi Netanyahu to be his guest to kill the Iran deal.
Folks, don't let them fool you. With Boehner's opponents, it has nothing to do with ideology. Instead, it springs from idiot-ology. They would shut down the government over Planned Parenthood, for God's sake?
We normally would say history won't be kind for such servility by the speaker in the face of his Potomac enemies. In this instance, Boehner fell on his sword, saying enough is enough as he made instant history to save future historians the trouble of panning him. .
Among the Ohioan's more toxic Republican tormentors was his fellow Buckeye from a farm in southwestern Ohio, Rep. Jim Jordan, a possessed hoofbeater who heads the congressional Freedom Caucus and is regarded around Capitol Hill as in the arch-conservative crazy class.
Summit County Republicans may know him as a featured guest at one of the local party's
(i.e., Chairman Alex Arshinkoff's) glistening dinners. On other festive occasions as the locals moved farther to the right, Alex also enjoyed the camaraderie on the dinner dais of Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum in their Sunday clothes. Nothing reslly worked as the chairman continued to raise money for local candidates who didn't win, including former Republican mainstay, failed former Cuyahoga Falls Mayor Don Robart.
I wasn't among Boehner's fans, but when the wild bunch now shaping the party
talked of impeaching the speaker (Jordan thought it might be nice if a strong
Tea Partier challenged the speaker in his own district) I at least had a shiver over how far the GOP has fallen. And will continue to fall.
Am I right, Sen.McConnell? You could be next. It would be ironic, I'd think, that as the one who dedicated himself to the instant demise of President Obama, you might be gone before the president.
Showing posts with label John Boehner. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John Boehner. Show all posts
Sunday, September 27, 2015
Sunday, March 22, 2015
Jordanites accuse Boehner Republicans of cannibalism
Republicans who will be laying down $50 or more for the Summit County party's annual Lincoln (!) Day dinner Saturday night will be treated to an upfront look at the guy who has dedicated himself to tearing the national party into oblivion. I refer, of course, to the local event's prized speaker, Rep. Jim Jordan of Urbana, a fringe conservative who has been leading a poisonous assault on Speaker John Boehner & Co. through Jordan's House Freedom Caucus - one of those wacko far right outfits that lean more toward anarchy than to whatever might be left of Republican centrism.
Anyone attempting to digest dinner at Quaker Station won't hear any of the negatives that night because the way Chairman Alex Arshinkoff has put it in the invitation, his guest is a national recognized conservative and "second to none watchdog of President Obama's failed...(fill in the many blanks) policies."
As has been evidenced many times in the past, The Boss can get absolutely hysterical when he starts damning the people he doesn't like. But does Jordan represent the new norm for the county party's more sober days under the late Ray Bliss, who never encouraged a raised voice against any other Republican?
On the other hand, Jordan has close ties with Rep. Steve King of Iowa, who seldom lets a week go by without saying something stupid, and enjoys doing so from his outpost somewhere out in Iowa.
Jordan and King were among those maddening congressmen who condemned Boehner for not agreeing to shut down the Homeland Security Department in the fracas over Obama's immigration policies. Their scandalous motives have so enraged the Boehner side of wealthy influential Republicans that the latter staged a $300,000 advertising campaign accusing Jordan and a couple of his congressional buddies on national TV , including Fox News, of placing America's "security at risk."
That peeved King, who described the ads as party "cannibalism," or as King went on to explain:
"It looks like cannibalism by leadership to me. I mean when you go after your own people, what else would you call it?"
Well, I would say it's a lot like what the anti-Boehner crowd in the party has been doing to the Speaker. (Trust me: I do not speak as an ally of Boehner, either.)
So, isn't it fair to ask whether the Summit gang under Arshinkoff has stooped to a shameful new norm in a party that once was known for centrism and quiet reflection by Ray Bliss?
Keep that in mind, Republicans, when Alex lights the fuse after dinner to introduce Jordan with a flood of compliments. When you stop to think about what the chairman won't tell you - as I just did - you'll know what I'm talking about. And it didn't cost me fifty bucks.
P.S. Jordan sent out a release thanking Benjamin Netanyahu for speaking to Congress as a man who wants to secure Israel from its enemies. Homeland Security for Americans? Apparently he'll think about it.
Anyone attempting to digest dinner at Quaker Station won't hear any of the negatives that night because the way Chairman Alex Arshinkoff has put it in the invitation, his guest is a national recognized conservative and "second to none watchdog of President Obama's failed...(fill in the many blanks) policies."
As has been evidenced many times in the past, The Boss can get absolutely hysterical when he starts damning the people he doesn't like. But does Jordan represent the new norm for the county party's more sober days under the late Ray Bliss, who never encouraged a raised voice against any other Republican?
On the other hand, Jordan has close ties with Rep. Steve King of Iowa, who seldom lets a week go by without saying something stupid, and enjoys doing so from his outpost somewhere out in Iowa.
Jordan and King were among those maddening congressmen who condemned Boehner for not agreeing to shut down the Homeland Security Department in the fracas over Obama's immigration policies. Their scandalous motives have so enraged the Boehner side of wealthy influential Republicans that the latter staged a $300,000 advertising campaign accusing Jordan and a couple of his congressional buddies on national TV , including Fox News, of placing America's "security at risk."That peeved King, who described the ads as party "cannibalism," or as King went on to explain:
"It looks like cannibalism by leadership to me. I mean when you go after your own people, what else would you call it?"
Well, I would say it's a lot like what the anti-Boehner crowd in the party has been doing to the Speaker. (Trust me: I do not speak as an ally of Boehner, either.)
So, isn't it fair to ask whether the Summit gang under Arshinkoff has stooped to a shameful new norm in a party that once was known for centrism and quiet reflection by Ray Bliss?
Keep that in mind, Republicans, when Alex lights the fuse after dinner to introduce Jordan with a flood of compliments. When you stop to think about what the chairman won't tell you - as I just did - you'll know what I'm talking about. And it didn't cost me fifty bucks.
P.S. Jordan sent out a release thanking Benjamin Netanyahu for speaking to Congress as a man who wants to secure Israel from its enemies. Homeland Security for Americans? Apparently he'll think about it.
Sunday, July 13, 2014
ObamaScare to be featured at GOP convention
In August 2013, I blogged on Grumpy Abe and Plunderbund that the 2016
Republican National Convention would be in Disney World. The rationale seemed obvious: The Republicans wanted a comfort zone for the many clowns in their party.
But as we learned the past week, my predictions are hardly foolproof. Soon after the party announced that it was going to Cleveland instead, I called a source at the RNC headquarters in Washington, known only by his code name of Whirlybird, and asked why the party would turn down such a friendly place as Tampa.
"Obama." he said, emphatically. "Cleveland is overrun by Democrats. If anything should happen to get negative headlines during the convention, Boehner will have the mike, the stage and the audience to blame it all on the president. We're prepared to call it ObamaScare in the rise of Art Modell, Dennis Kucinich and even Asian carp. After careful deliberation, we couldn't think of a better place than Cleveland for demonstrating to the world why Democrat Obama should be impeached."
Saturday, May 10, 2014
Be happy that the big carved Indian didn't go anywhere..
It's been a busy week of comings and goings around here. Despite being groomed for the University of Akron job, Jim Tressel is headed to Youngstown State University, and University of Toledo provost Scott Scarborough is coming to UA. Then, in case you strangely missed it, a young man roaringly celebrated as Johnny Football, a.k.a, Manziel, was grabbed by the Browns to rise to the heights of a franchise quarterback beginning with pre-season ticket and T-shirt sales.
Virtually unnoticed in the area media has been the frenzied uprising by GOP House members with certificates of excellence from the Philadelphia School of Circus Arts. That may include at least half of the Republican reps who want a seat on Speaker John Boehner's Select House (kangaroo) committee to damn well get to the bottom of Benghazi by the next presidential election. There's probably no group on Capitol Hill more qualified to investigate the ad hoc scandal than this fishy gang of bottom feeders.
Also going away were six more Beacon Journal staffers who accepted buyouts, including Jim Carney, Jewell Cardwell and Dave Scott. That reduced the size of the staff, reported the BJ Retirees blog, to 30 pct. of what it was in 1991.
And coming to Akron was Rick Santorum to sell his books and non-existent presidential credentials to an Ohio Christian Alliance lunch crowd. But I think I already mentioned that earlier, didn't I?
Gone, too, for at least a year is Browns' star wide receiver Josh Gordon, who was suspended for drug violations. The Browns couldn't even get through 24 hours of Manziel madness without a cloudburst on their parade. You have to wonder what they ever did to offend the gods.
That left the big carved Indian on West Market Street as the only figure of interest in place.
.
.
Virtually unnoticed in the area media has been the frenzied uprising by GOP House members with certificates of excellence from the Philadelphia School of Circus Arts. That may include at least half of the Republican reps who want a seat on Speaker John Boehner's Select House (kangaroo) committee to damn well get to the bottom of Benghazi by the next presidential election. There's probably no group on Capitol Hill more qualified to investigate the ad hoc scandal than this fishy gang of bottom feeders.
Also going away were six more Beacon Journal staffers who accepted buyouts, including Jim Carney, Jewell Cardwell and Dave Scott. That reduced the size of the staff, reported the BJ Retirees blog, to 30 pct. of what it was in 1991.
And coming to Akron was Rick Santorum to sell his books and non-existent presidential credentials to an Ohio Christian Alliance lunch crowd. But I think I already mentioned that earlier, didn't I?
Gone, too, for at least a year is Browns' star wide receiver Josh Gordon, who was suspended for drug violations. The Browns couldn't even get through 24 hours of Manziel madness without a cloudburst on their parade. You have to wonder what they ever did to offend the gods.
That left the big carved Indian on West Market Street as the only figure of interest in place.
.
.
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Hey Randy: She didn't vote for the shutdown, you did
DAY THREE: Government Shutdown
Has there ever been a time when the comments of nitwits intruded upon the public conscious more than in their current assault on the public conscience?
A couple of samples should suffice:
Rep. Randy Neugebauer, a Texas Republican, berated a Park Ranger for the closing of the World War II Memorial because of the national shutdown of federal parks. He blamed the woman, who was only doing her job, for denying visitors access to the site. The congressman, who had voted earlier for the government shutdown, was now in her face. An NBC reporter picked up this exchange:
"The Park Service should be ashamed of themselves," Neugebauer huffed.
Standing her ground, the ranger replied: "I'm not ashamed."
And then there is Rep. Marlin Stutzman, an Indiana Republican, who less than nimbly rushed to the defense of his party's tilt to anarchy: "We're not going to be disrespected," he boasted, in a comment that has gone virile in the digital media. "We have to get something out of this. And I don't know what that even is."
With apologies to Pogo, we would add, "Republicans have met the moronic enemies and it is them."
* * * * *
Once again, it is worth repeating to the tone-deaf conservatives in the House: Obamacare is constitutional. The U.S. Court has already said so of the law.
* * * * *
One unconfirmed rumor following the unsuccessful meeting between President Obama and House leaders yesterday is that the talks broke down when Speaker Boehner started crying when Obama failed to serve his guests leftover Reagan jelly beans.
On to sports: There's also unconfirmed word that Terry Pluto's book on the Indians' season with a chapter on the Tribe's playoff loss to Tampa Bay is already published and headed to the bookstores. Amazing, if true.
Has there ever been a time when the comments of nitwits intruded upon the public conscious more than in their current assault on the public conscience?
A couple of samples should suffice:
Rep. Randy Neugebauer, a Texas Republican, berated a Park Ranger for the closing of the World War II Memorial because of the national shutdown of federal parks. He blamed the woman, who was only doing her job, for denying visitors access to the site. The congressman, who had voted earlier for the government shutdown, was now in her face. An NBC reporter picked up this exchange:
"The Park Service should be ashamed of themselves," Neugebauer huffed.
Standing her ground, the ranger replied: "I'm not ashamed."
And then there is Rep. Marlin Stutzman, an Indiana Republican, who less than nimbly rushed to the defense of his party's tilt to anarchy: "We're not going to be disrespected," he boasted, in a comment that has gone virile in the digital media. "We have to get something out of this. And I don't know what that even is."
With apologies to Pogo, we would add, "Republicans have met the moronic enemies and it is them."
* * * * *
Once again, it is worth repeating to the tone-deaf conservatives in the House: Obamacare is constitutional. The U.S. Court has already said so of the law.
* * * * *
One unconfirmed rumor following the unsuccessful meeting between President Obama and House leaders yesterday is that the talks broke down when Speaker Boehner started crying when Obama failed to serve his guests leftover Reagan jelly beans.
On to sports: There's also unconfirmed word that Terry Pluto's book on the Indians' season with a chapter on the Tribe's playoff loss to Tampa Bay is already published and headed to the bookstores. Amazing, if true.
Sunday, September 22, 2013
A liveried John Boehner doing his thing for Tea Party
It hasn't been a good week for John Boehner, the Tea Party's liveried delivery man in its stable. In fact, it has been an awful week for the in-name-only House speaker. He has become the poster child for subservience to a modern political scourge.
This has been coming on for some time since Mitch McConnell declared five years ago that his first order of business was to make Barack Obama a one-term president. We all know how that turned out, leaving Obama's (hence, Obamacare) enemies to explain to the white guys how an African-American got into the White House without breaking a lock.
Not that Boehner will admit his obsequious dead-end role in the service of the brutal right-wing House caucus. He needs his old title, and the perks, even if he is forced to blackmail the sane folks with a threat to take down the whole government with him. (He really can't - but at least it will be shabby performance art that might warrant his survival a bit longer.)
Columnist Dana Milbank refers to the speaker's abject surrender to the loonies as "followership" and he is a lot closer to the scene than I am. Boehner, southwest Ohio's gift to Tea Party-style governance, is obsessed with killing Obamacare, which he calls a train wreck. In this respect, he's fully supported by the 80 or so Tea Partyers in the House who have the finest health insurance that they could enact for themselves.
How could Boehner be so obtuse to judge an act that has yet to be tried? He's not dumb, which means he wants all of us to fear the fictional Wabash Cannonball roaring down the tracks. As hyperbole, train wreck conjures up bloody messes.
Trouble is, neither Boehner nor the Tea Party's other minions on Capitol Hill give much of a damn about how history will judge them after their duties in the stable finally come to an end. In other words, you can't insult, ridicule, blaspheme nor mention how their grandchildren might have to explain them someday. They are short-term historical figures.
But for those hundreds of millions of us who must live in their midst, a government shutdown would be the real train wreck. And that ain't fiction, folks.
This has been coming on for some time since Mitch McConnell declared five years ago that his first order of business was to make Barack Obama a one-term president. We all know how that turned out, leaving Obama's (hence, Obamacare) enemies to explain to the white guys how an African-American got into the White House without breaking a lock.
Not that Boehner will admit his obsequious dead-end role in the service of the brutal right-wing House caucus. He needs his old title, and the perks, even if he is forced to blackmail the sane folks with a threat to take down the whole government with him. (He really can't - but at least it will be shabby performance art that might warrant his survival a bit longer.)
Columnist Dana Milbank refers to the speaker's abject surrender to the loonies as "followership" and he is a lot closer to the scene than I am. Boehner, southwest Ohio's gift to Tea Party-style governance, is obsessed with killing Obamacare, which he calls a train wreck. In this respect, he's fully supported by the 80 or so Tea Partyers in the House who have the finest health insurance that they could enact for themselves.
How could Boehner be so obtuse to judge an act that has yet to be tried? He's not dumb, which means he wants all of us to fear the fictional Wabash Cannonball roaring down the tracks. As hyperbole, train wreck conjures up bloody messes.
Trouble is, neither Boehner nor the Tea Party's other minions on Capitol Hill give much of a damn about how history will judge them after their duties in the stable finally come to an end. In other words, you can't insult, ridicule, blaspheme nor mention how their grandchildren might have to explain them someday. They are short-term historical figures.
But for those hundreds of millions of us who must live in their midst, a government shutdown would be the real train wreck. And that ain't fiction, folks.
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Note to Speaker Boehner: Steve King's YOUR problem.
Rep. Steve King, the Iowa Republican, had no sooner likened the kids of undocumented immigrants to "drug mules" with bulging calves the size of "cantaloupes," than some of his GOP colleagues shuddered at his metaphor. Doesn't the maniacal Iowan realize that some Republicans are doing their damnedest to convince Latinos that they are all brothers and sisters of wholesome Americans? Apparently not, which is why Speaker John Boehner, departing briefly from his sky-is-falling rants against President Obama, promptly described the remarks as "hateful and ignorant".
Worse yet, Rep. Raul Labrador, Idaho Republican, blamed the media for reporting King's comments. Ah, but there's a problem here. The last time I looked, Steve King's House roll call vote on any issue counted as much as Boehner's or Labrador's. I'd say King, who is among those who have jolted the party's derangement still farther to the Right, is the GOP's problem, not the media's, which doesn't have a vote.
Worse yet, Rep. Raul Labrador, Idaho Republican, blamed the media for reporting King's comments. Ah, but there's a problem here. The last time I looked, Steve King's House roll call vote on any issue counted as much as Boehner's or Labrador's. I'd say King, who is among those who have jolted the party's derangement still farther to the Right, is the GOP's problem, not the media's, which doesn't have a vote.
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Boehner may need a Plan B on scandals
I can't imagine the kind of weekend the anti-Obama goon squad must have spent bouncing around in the afterlife of the Republican Party. For days, the national media - print and talking heads - have been sounding off about the president's approaching end of days in the wake of a scandalized administration. The only question, House Speaker John Boehner scowled, was who would "got to jail". I'm not sure which scandal's smoking gun would merit time in the pokey. Still, jail is jail and Boehner has yet to give us a clue to whether he would dispense with trials.
Maybe I'm being too harsh with Boehner, a forever grim-faced guy who claims to be obsessed with Benghazi. But in his search for political gold, he needs to know that 40 pct. of his shrunken Republican base can't even tell you where Benghazi is. It wouldn't surprise me if that same percentage applied to his unruly House caucus.
More trouble arrived for the speaker in the polls showing that Obama hasn't lost a point in his public approval rating, which is around 53 pct. That's about 52 points higher than the public's attitude toward Congress these days.
Assuming there's a Plan B if those scandals fizzle short of satisfying the goons talking impeachment these days, what is left in the arsenal of hate for a black man who has twice denied his opponents the cigar on election night?
I will share with you a leak from a taxi driver on Capitol Hill who overheard a high-level conversation about Plan B.
Here are some of the replacement scandals - Boehner squawking points, really - being discussed to deny the president a night's sleep:
A revival of the Chicago Black Sox scandal: Chicago. Get it?
A Christmas card turned up in Obama's private collection from the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
An Al Capone mood ring passed down to Obama. Chicago. Get it?
A Saul Alinsky organzation manual warmly inscribed to Obama.
Finally a report that former Chicago Mayor Richard Daley gave Obama a box seat ticket to a White Sox game. (Sox lost that one, too.)
Meantime, may I add the mini-scandal of Boehner handing out tobacco company money (bribes) to his colleagues on the House floor just before a key vote affecting the tobacco industry? It's a start!
Maybe I'm being too harsh with Boehner, a forever grim-faced guy who claims to be obsessed with Benghazi. But in his search for political gold, he needs to know that 40 pct. of his shrunken Republican base can't even tell you where Benghazi is. It wouldn't surprise me if that same percentage applied to his unruly House caucus.
More trouble arrived for the speaker in the polls showing that Obama hasn't lost a point in his public approval rating, which is around 53 pct. That's about 52 points higher than the public's attitude toward Congress these days.
Assuming there's a Plan B if those scandals fizzle short of satisfying the goons talking impeachment these days, what is left in the arsenal of hate for a black man who has twice denied his opponents the cigar on election night?
I will share with you a leak from a taxi driver on Capitol Hill who overheard a high-level conversation about Plan B.
Here are some of the replacement scandals - Boehner squawking points, really - being discussed to deny the president a night's sleep:
A revival of the Chicago Black Sox scandal: Chicago. Get it?
A Christmas card turned up in Obama's private collection from the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
An Al Capone mood ring passed down to Obama. Chicago. Get it?
A Saul Alinsky organzation manual warmly inscribed to Obama.
Finally a report that former Chicago Mayor Richard Daley gave Obama a box seat ticket to a White Sox game. (Sox lost that one, too.)
Meantime, may I add the mini-scandal of Boehner handing out tobacco company money (bribes) to his colleagues on the House floor just before a key vote affecting the tobacco industry? It's a start!
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Rayburn House Office building in an expanding mood!
BULLETIN: We've just gotten word that as part of the Republicans' fix-up,clean-up, move-up Spring cleaning chores, they have cleared space in the Rayburn House Office Building to accommodate some very important new residents.
One of the new offices adjoining Speaker John Boehner's digs will go to the NRA's Wayne LaPierre, a non-elected VIP who will be conveniently on hand to advise the troops on their next move in the gun control debate. Just down the hall will be an office for David Keene, the NRA's president. And a few paces beyond that will be the double office of the Koch Brothers, a nice office for Grover Norquist, as well as smaller offices for Karl Rove, Donald Trump, Rush Limbaugh, and several bank and health insurance company lobbyists.
Boehner, who is in charge of the we-are-family overhaul, said it will be classified as another move by the GOP not only to satisfy its base but also to prove once again that the party is not ungrateful for the grassroots help it has received from right-wing lobbyists.
"They will be closer than an e-mail away from the heart and soul of our business on Capitol Hill," Boehner said.
Some of the space will be sliced from Nancy Pelosi's office and that of a half dozen Democrats who sit as a minority on House committees. "They don't need the space anymore now," Bohner said, forcing a sly smile as he blew another smoke ring from his cigaret. "They don't have anything to do anyway."
The interview was interrupted by an aide who hurriedly advised the Speaker that Mr.LaPierre was on the phone and wanted to see him in the million-dollar gun lobbyist's office next door - without delay!"
Boehner rushed out without even asking what the call was all about.
One of the new offices adjoining Speaker John Boehner's digs will go to the NRA's Wayne LaPierre, a non-elected VIP who will be conveniently on hand to advise the troops on their next move in the gun control debate. Just down the hall will be an office for David Keene, the NRA's president. And a few paces beyond that will be the double office of the Koch Brothers, a nice office for Grover Norquist, as well as smaller offices for Karl Rove, Donald Trump, Rush Limbaugh, and several bank and health insurance company lobbyists.
Boehner, who is in charge of the we-are-family overhaul, said it will be classified as another move by the GOP not only to satisfy its base but also to prove once again that the party is not ungrateful for the grassroots help it has received from right-wing lobbyists.
"They will be closer than an e-mail away from the heart and soul of our business on Capitol Hill," Boehner said.
Some of the space will be sliced from Nancy Pelosi's office and that of a half dozen Democrats who sit as a minority on House committees. "They don't need the space anymore now," Bohner said, forcing a sly smile as he blew another smoke ring from his cigaret. "They don't have anything to do anyway."
The interview was interrupted by an aide who hurriedly advised the Speaker that Mr.LaPierre was on the phone and wanted to see him in the million-dollar gun lobbyist's office next door - without delay!"
Boehner rushed out without even asking what the call was all about.
Monday, March 4, 2013
Is Boehner headed for giving up his kingdom?
In the wake of the November election, did you ever think for a moment that President Obama would be spending a lot of his time dealing with the shop foreman of the Tea Party, namely Speaker John Boehner? Folks, that's where we are today on the sequester with the assembly line at a dead standstill.
Under threats from the the Teabaggers, Boehner seems to be lip-syncing the talking points from the gang on the rigid right, fearful of a blowback that will lead him to race through the halls of Congress shouting, "the House, the House, my kingdom for the House!"
* * * * *
We're still trying to figure out Ann Romney's comments to Chris Wallace on Fox news that Mitt's defeat was a "crushing disappointment not for us, but for the country". She explained that his problem was that people didn't get to know the real Mitt who now has no "anger or depression" even if his GOP critics believed he was too big to fail. (We, in fact, knew the real Mitt. He was the fellow with a car elevator attached to his luxurious home.)
* * * * *
Italy's politics have long been the inexhaustible treasury of comedy, and now the latest chapter has featured the real thing, comedian Beppe Grillo, who got 25 pct of the vote in the latest electoral free-for-all. Soon the Italian brand will rival the U.S. House for the most laughs.
Under threats from the the Teabaggers, Boehner seems to be lip-syncing the talking points from the gang on the rigid right, fearful of a blowback that will lead him to race through the halls of Congress shouting, "the House, the House, my kingdom for the House!"
* * * * *
We're still trying to figure out Ann Romney's comments to Chris Wallace on Fox news that Mitt's defeat was a "crushing disappointment not for us, but for the country". She explained that his problem was that people didn't get to know the real Mitt who now has no "anger or depression" even if his GOP critics believed he was too big to fail. (We, in fact, knew the real Mitt. He was the fellow with a car elevator attached to his luxurious home.)
* * * * *
Italy's politics have long been the inexhaustible treasury of comedy, and now the latest chapter has featured the real thing, comedian Beppe Grillo, who got 25 pct of the vote in the latest electoral free-for-all. Soon the Italian brand will rival the U.S. House for the most laughs.
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Today's GOP: a group of leaderless old white guys
The Obama Inaugural festivities are now over and the reviews are in. While many national pundits parse every sentence in the president's rousing speech, one thing is certain: For the grim Republicans and their fellow-snivelers, there is no joy in Mudville. The Grand Old Party is neither grand nor a party. It is rather a chaotic collection of old white guys in vain search of a leader. Twice defeated by an African-American Democrat - the latest by 5 million votes! - who has deftly connected with a new generation of voters, woebegone Republicans have only a beleaguered John Boehner to try to put his House in order in a cave teeming with Tea Partyers.
Still, there is no evidence that Obama's opponents have learned anything as they whimper that the "foxy" Obama must come out of the chicken coop to meet them halfway in solving the nation's problems. Of all things, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is demanding compromise - a word that collides with his notorious earlier mission for his routed party after Obama's first victory:
Their post-inaugural chorus was filled out by many of the usual tattered suspects complaining about the usual irritants that guaranteed them a shot at the usual TV cameras. Sens. McCain and Graham, a couple of tiresome cronies from past debacles, expressed their displeasure, to name a few. And Wayne LaPierre, the NRA megaphone, pathetic as he is, isn't going to let anybody forget that tyrannical government is at the doorstep and you can only be saved by even arming department store mannequins. Fox News, Rush Limbaugh and the Tea Partyers were heaped among the vanquished.
These folks will never change. Their work is too profitable. And as Tennessee Ernie Ford used to sing: They owe their soul to the company store.
There was another aspect of the Inaugural that was lost in the excitement: Mitt Romney's absence from the historic event. Few people asked, and most couldn't care less. Where was he? We learned that he was at home in California.
Watching the parade as a broadly-grinning Obama waved and Joe Biden sprinted here and there, I tried to imagine what the scene would have been if Romney and Paul Ryan had won. It would have been a dreadful setback for a nation whose people would have been so well ahead of its new team: a presidential candidate of whom his son asserted never wanted the job anyway, and a vice president who is a disciple of Ayn Rand. Neither Mitt nor his Tonto had much to say about the dramatic change underway in America because they didn't recognize it.
To the vanquished go the snivels. And why not? It's the only thing that seems to make the losers happy these days.
Still, there is no evidence that Obama's opponents have learned anything as they whimper that the "foxy" Obama must come out of the chicken coop to meet them halfway in solving the nation's problems. Of all things, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is demanding compromise - a word that collides with his notorious earlier mission for his routed party after Obama's first victory:
"The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president"The quote even made page 190 of the Mann-Ornstein best- seller, It's Even Worse than It Looks. And that was published before the 2012 election. Can anyone now guess what Mitch's second most important thing is?
Their post-inaugural chorus was filled out by many of the usual tattered suspects complaining about the usual irritants that guaranteed them a shot at the usual TV cameras. Sens. McCain and Graham, a couple of tiresome cronies from past debacles, expressed their displeasure, to name a few. And Wayne LaPierre, the NRA megaphone, pathetic as he is, isn't going to let anybody forget that tyrannical government is at the doorstep and you can only be saved by even arming department store mannequins. Fox News, Rush Limbaugh and the Tea Partyers were heaped among the vanquished.
These folks will never change. Their work is too profitable. And as Tennessee Ernie Ford used to sing: They owe their soul to the company store.
They could only deal in playground dares as Obama reeled off his agenda that was immediately described as liberal but dealt with ideas and programs that a majority of Americans support. It's now OK to mention liberalism in polite circles. And about time!
There was another aspect of the Inaugural that was lost in the excitement: Mitt Romney's absence from the historic event. Few people asked, and most couldn't care less. Where was he? We learned that he was at home in California.
Watching the parade as a broadly-grinning Obama waved and Joe Biden sprinted here and there, I tried to imagine what the scene would have been if Romney and Paul Ryan had won. It would have been a dreadful setback for a nation whose people would have been so well ahead of its new team: a presidential candidate of whom his son asserted never wanted the job anyway, and a vice president who is a disciple of Ayn Rand. Neither Mitt nor his Tonto had much to say about the dramatic change underway in America because they didn't recognize it.
To the vanquished go the snivels. And why not? It's the only thing that seems to make the losers happy these days.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
The Boehner fountain in Gubbio
In the quaint Umbrian town of Gubbio they tell a somber story of madness. It is typical of the lore that I've encountered on my many visits to Europe, where every cobblestone is honored in its historical context.
There's a tale about the fountain in Gubbio's Piazza del Bargello that leaves the tourist with a view of the dark side. Some of the townspeople take shuddering delight noting that the fountain has a special effect on anyone who walks around it three times: you go mad.
I have to ask whether John Boehner is one of the fountain's victims as he arrives at the TV cameras each day to foolishly repeat his laps around the fiscal cliff.
There's a tale about the fountain in Gubbio's Piazza del Bargello that leaves the tourist with a view of the dark side. Some of the townspeople take shuddering delight noting that the fountain has a special effect on anyone who walks around it three times: you go mad.
I have to ask whether John Boehner is one of the fountain's victims as he arrives at the TV cameras each day to foolishly repeat his laps around the fiscal cliff.
Monday, December 3, 2012
Grover's alert to a perfect storm of Tea Party Two
No matter what he tells you, it wasn't one of Grover Norquist's better weeks. Not when some of his anti-tax fraternity pledges have decided that there might be a life after the Big Bad Wolf has huffed and puffed to blow their vulnerable house down.
As you have probably heard a million times since the election, Grover Norquist is the self-righteous operative who runs Americans for Tax Reform, which argues that it really will not put up with a single tax increase for anybody (particularly for the wealthy who subsidize his lobby).
How big of an operative? For the 2012 election he managed to have 238 of the 242 House Republicans and 41 of 47 R's in the Senate who signed up. Even the non-congressional sheep like Ohio Gov. John Kasich signed his stupid handiwork. (It will soon become overwhelmingly obvious that Kasich is already running for reelection and doesn't need the distraction of a Tea Party candidate in the Republican primary, even if the Secretary of State Jon Husted is hungry for the job.) .
Norquist's only inducement was the threat that if they turned him down he would field a Tea Party candidate against them in the mid-term elections. Notice that none of the defectors turned up before the November election.
But don't count on Grover giving up his livelihood that easily. He was back on Meet the Press on Sunday for damage control , defiantly boasting that if the president leads America over the fiscal cliff, there will be a second Tea Party that will "dwarf Tea Party One" that will seek unmerciful revenge against the taxers. Nobody knows that more than Speaker John Boehner, who will be back on the biennial ballot. He is currently acting like the captain of Norquist's ship, the last mortal to abandon it when the sea slaps across the deck.
Imagine that: A non-elected lobbyist is presiding over a majority of Republican congressmen to set policy for the entire country. A former newspaper colleague used to refer to him as the "101st senator" because of his extraordinary influence over the elected ones. But as Tea Party One failed to prevent Obama Two, will Grover's Tea Party Two be any more effective against the defectors?
As you have probably heard a million times since the election, Grover Norquist is the self-righteous operative who runs Americans for Tax Reform, which argues that it really will not put up with a single tax increase for anybody (particularly for the wealthy who subsidize his lobby).
How big of an operative? For the 2012 election he managed to have 238 of the 242 House Republicans and 41 of 47 R's in the Senate who signed up. Even the non-congressional sheep like Ohio Gov. John Kasich signed his stupid handiwork. (It will soon become overwhelmingly obvious that Kasich is already running for reelection and doesn't need the distraction of a Tea Party candidate in the Republican primary, even if the Secretary of State Jon Husted is hungry for the job.) .
Norquist's only inducement was the threat that if they turned him down he would field a Tea Party candidate against them in the mid-term elections. Notice that none of the defectors turned up before the November election.
But don't count on Grover giving up his livelihood that easily. He was back on Meet the Press on Sunday for damage control , defiantly boasting that if the president leads America over the fiscal cliff, there will be a second Tea Party that will "dwarf Tea Party One" that will seek unmerciful revenge against the taxers. Nobody knows that more than Speaker John Boehner, who will be back on the biennial ballot. He is currently acting like the captain of Norquist's ship, the last mortal to abandon it when the sea slaps across the deck.
Imagine that: A non-elected lobbyist is presiding over a majority of Republican congressmen to set policy for the entire country. A former newspaper colleague used to refer to him as the "101st senator" because of his extraordinary influence over the elected ones. But as Tea Party One failed to prevent Obama Two, will Grover's Tea Party Two be any more effective against the defectors?
Monday, July 2, 2012
boehner's words on gas prices: A pain is a pain
At the barber shop this morning, where you can hear a lot of things, I learned that the price of gas had dropped to $3.14 at the Medina County town of Wadsworth. The messenger did not mention President Obama as the guy responsible for the price decline. Of course, he wouldn't deserve any praise in the matter. Presidents have no role in the rise or fall of oil prices. On the other hand, weren't there a lot of Republican critics out there accusing him of being an enemy of the people for driving up gas prices at the pump?
The current Economist Magazine reminded me of something that House Speaker John Boehner said when experts warned us the price could reach $4.50 by July. Sayeth the Grim Speaker in early April:
"The President holds the key to addressing the pain...at the gas pump. My question for the president is: What are you waiting for?"
I should tell you that one way to reduce America's pain is to retire Boehner. John: What are you waiting for?
Monday, April 30, 2012
Stranger-than fiction campaign dumbly moves on
AFTER A RELAXING Sunday afternoon family cookout, I've now found my way back to the big shovel in the garage to report on the stranger-than-fiction presidential campaign. These items fall into the category of, the more things stay the same, the more they stay the same.
We can always count on John Boehner to give us a lift by continually saying things that are grimly foolish. For example, without tearing up, Boehner asserted that he fully expected Romney to win because he is a proven success and the voters don't like losers. Was he thinking about President Obama as the loser who isn't worth a couple of hundred million dollars because his father, well...blah, blah, blah? As he put it:
+ + + + +
Here's another in championship political style:
Romney advisor Hank Brown predicted that his man can win the youth vote because...because..because at 65, Mitt is "younger'" and "more dynamic"than John McCain was in 2008. He said what??? Pause, while I get another shovel.
(In the inspirational words of our former president: "Brownie, you are doing a heck of a job.")
+ + + + +
It was good to read this paragraph from Economist magazine's report on the NRA's recent convention in St.Louis:
Finally, what's with the big stink from Republicans over President Obama's references to Osama Bin Laden? And Romney's laughing remark that even Jimmy Carter would have acted in the same manner. Good grief, once again history has been trashed. Obama, all authoritative accounts have since reported, was warned by some of his top advisors that it was a high-risk deal that could ruin him if it went awry. And wasn't it the very same Romney who urged college students to take risks if they wanted to succeed in the post-collegiate world? It's an opportunity that Obama can't replicate because the carrier is now headed for the Bush Library.
.
.
We can always count on John Boehner to give us a lift by continually saying things that are grimly foolish. For example, without tearing up, Boehner asserted that he fully expected Romney to win because he is a proven success and the voters don't like losers. Was he thinking about President Obama as the loser who isn't worth a couple of hundred million dollars because his father, well...blah, blah, blah? As he put it:
"The American people don't want to vote for a loser. They don't want to vote for someone that hasn't been successful. I think Mitt Romney has an opportunity to show the American people that they, too, can succeed." (As we've previously noted, there isn't a million or two difference between Dubya and Romney. )At what point will Romney''s Midas card be shelved?
+ + + + +
Here's another in championship political style:
Romney advisor Hank Brown predicted that his man can win the youth vote because...because..because at 65, Mitt is "younger'" and "more dynamic"than John McCain was in 2008. He said what??? Pause, while I get another shovel.
(In the inspirational words of our former president: "Brownie, you are doing a heck of a job.")
+ + + + +
It was good to read this paragraph from Economist magazine's report on the NRA's recent convention in St.Louis:
"The [NRA's] future does not look bright , either. Despite attempts to attract women, most convention-goers in St.Louis were white men over the age of 40 - a segment of the population in decline. The classified sections in NRA magazines such as American Rifleman feature, besides all the weaponry, advertisements for gardening equipment and Viagra."+ + + + +
Finally, what's with the big stink from Republicans over President Obama's references to Osama Bin Laden? And Romney's laughing remark that even Jimmy Carter would have acted in the same manner. Good grief, once again history has been trashed. Obama, all authoritative accounts have since reported, was warned by some of his top advisors that it was a high-risk deal that could ruin him if it went awry. And wasn't it the very same Romney who urged college students to take risks if they wanted to succeed in the post-collegiate world? It's an opportunity that Obama can't replicate because the carrier is now headed for the Bush Library.
.
.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Romney's reliance on cognitive dissonance
NOW THAT MCMITT has twirled himself as the principal dancer in the Republican spin to the convention, a few questions still remain unanswered. I refer to Number Three in the Grumpy Laws of Political Dissonance which, until now, argued that two conflicting ideas cannot occupy the same human skull at the same time.
For example, it has long been shown by Newton or somebody that two masses cannot occupy the same space at the same time. That's true of ideas, too - even the subatomic weightless ones that Mr. Romney has been casting about. (So have some of his fellow-Republicans like John Boehner. But does anybody really think that he counts for anything these days?) Look at it this way: Can you believe that a door is both locked and unlocked at the same instant? Or be confident that your checkbook will precisely balance while conceding that it never has when you receive the statement? Tell me I'm wrong, folks!
With McMitt, he will confidently tell you that although he agrees the economy is improving, President Obama has made it worse. Or that even though Osama bin Laden is dead, we're finally out of Iraq and the president was absolutely correct on Libya, Obama has been a total failure on foreign policy. (I prefer Joe Biden's trenchant view that "Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive."
There's a fancy term for Romney's blustery contradictory thoughts: cognitive dissonance. If you agree, the remainder of this dreadfully long campaign will be fun.
P.S. Today newspapers carried a photo of McMitt, in his designer jeans and open- collar white shirt casually walking somewhere with his grandchildren. He is trying so hard to be a "regular" ($250 million) guy, don't you think? His tactic would be more persuasive if I saw him standing in a long line at a supermarket checkout clutching a fistful of discount coupons on Super Bowl Sunday.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Part Two: A fun House divided
THEY'RE BACK FOR A NEW SEASON OF FUN-FILLED DEMOCRACY! (By the way, which one is Stephen Colbert?)
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
As the Tea Party goes, so goes (down) Boehner
OH FOR Santa's sake! Let's stop picking on John Boehner, the cipher who is otherwise known as the House Speaker. It isn't enough that he's lost control of the Tea Party- controlled House Republicans. Or that he has to contend with the persistent Cheshire cat smile of Eric Cantor, who figures to replace him. Or that he is being accused of being the grinch that stole Christmas from the middle class by bucking the two-month tax cut extension that most of the Republican senators supported. Or that he sobs a lot .
No. We now see the conservative Wall Street Journal accusing the House Republicans of "thoroughly botched politics" while fiendishly noting that President Obama is in a "stronger re-election position today than he was a year ago." As Seinfeld's Kramer would shudder, "Whoa,Mama". (Even John McCain said he fully agreed with WSJ)
Obviously it is taking a toll on Boehner. When Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer tried to forced an up-or-down voted on the tax cut extention, the C-SPAN live TV coverage was cut off, an obvious move by Boehner, who has control over the House TV cameras. The message: Boehner has not only lost control of the House, he's lost control of himself.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Boehner and Cantor: Good for a laugh!
Ho, Ho, Ho....Ha, Ha, Ha....Why are these two guys laughing, you ask? Well, they are in some way celebrating their succcess in blocking a two-month extension of a tax cut for you and me. Funny, huh? A real hoot? These Republicans are too much . And as Adlai Stevenson once said, "It hurts too much to laugh and I'm too old to cry." But as John Boehner and Eric Cantor tell it...Ha, Ha, Ha, Ho, Ho, Ho......... And Hee, Hee, Hee....
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