Yes, I do feel a bit sorry for Boehner, who now has something else to cry about. He thought he was the leader of the Republican Party in the House of Representatives, but, though he should have known before now, he is not the leader of the GOP, because there is no longer a Republican Party to speak of, but only a group of individuals, each with his own agenda, who are responsible only to those who gave them money to get elected and feel no responsibility whatsoever to govern the country. Charles Pierce says it best: There is no possible definition by which the Republicans can be considered an actual political party any more. They can be defined as a loose universe of inchoate hatreds, or a sprawling confederation of collected resentments, or an unwieldy conglomeration of self-negating orthodoxies, or an atonal choir of rabid complaint, or a cargo cult of quasi-religious politics and quasi-political religion, or simply the deafening abandoned YAWP of our bitter national Id. But they are not a political party because they have rendered themselves incapable of politics.With whom does President Obama negotiate if and when talks about avoiding the fiscal cliff resume? Obviously, Boehner cannot call the troops to order. Is another Republican in the House capable of doing the job? Anyway, Obama was giving away far too much in the deal, but the Republican members of the House did not have the good sense to appreciate their Christmas gift and and ended up saving the president and certain Democrats from themselves. So it's probably off the cliff or the gentle incline - take your choice. The Republicans really need to stop scaring investors, banksters, and financiers with their brinkmanship in this fragile economy.
Oh, and to change the subject, Obama nominated John Kerry as Secretary of State. Kerry is an excellent choice, but he is likely to be swiftboated all over again (yawn), just as Susan Rice was swiftboated out of contention for the cabinet post, through no fault of her own.
I think many Republicans are beside themselves with glee over getting Ms. Rice out of the way. But I believe they've been cheering in the background for Kerry because they believe his appointment will give them a strong chance at winning back a Senate seat. No?
ReplyDeleteYes, I'm sure the GOP hopes to put Scott Brown back in the Senate, but Brown hurt himself with his nasty campaign against Elizabeth Warren.
DeleteRenz, Susan Rice bowed out, certainly under pressure, but I don't think the pressure was from Obama, who, so far as I know, supported her till the end. I believe Rice had enough and decided the job wasn't worth what she'd have to go through and put the country through in the Senate. I believe hers was an honest letter declining to be considered for the post.
ReplyDeleteThere'll be no swiftboating because, as noted above, the appointment will open up a Senate opportunity for Scott Brown and his party. I've seen enough of the Republicans this past 20 years to have suspected very strongly for some weeks now that their attacks on Susan Rice were primarily motivated neither by racism nor sexism, but were a cynical ploy to place Kerry at the head of the list, get him out of the Senate and, with luck, get Brown back in.
ReplyDeleteLapin, you may be right, but Republicans should not be overconfident about Brown's reelection. We'll see if even getting the appointment Republicans want will prevent them from yielding to their worst instincts to make Obama's life as difficult as possible.
DeleteWhat? John Kerry getting swiftboated? Impossible.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I'm inclined to agree: Even with a surefire Senate seat as a reward for confirming Kerry (surefire in the same way as Romney's 312 electoral votes), can they really restrain themselves?
Something about scorpions and crossing rivers.
Yes, Porlock, at this point it's possible the GOP can't help but oppose anyone Obama nominates.
DeleteCf. Andrew Sullivan's post yesterday, wherein he makes the point vividly that the Republican Party is unfit to govern.
ReplyDeleteWhich is personally rather gratifying, because I have been using the same phrase for the last five years.
http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2012/12/enough.html
The GOP, or what's left of it to call a party, is unfit. They don't care about governing. I remember back when Andrew Sullivan was a Republican, which puzzled me, because I never understood how any LGTB person could be a Republican
DeleteI think Poor Andrew assumed the Republicans were Conservatives. You know, like back when Eisenhower was President.
ReplyDeleteWade, Andrew cried and complained so about the Republican Party and the Roman Catholic Church that I stopped reading his blog. He finally left the GOP, but I believe he's still Roman Catholic. I never quite got back into the habit of breading him, but I do check in, from time to time
DeleteHe gives me many things to think about, so I keep reading. You know, if it were just the gay thing I'd have stayed Catholic myself, and fought. But I couldn't continue to belong to what I came to see as a world-wide criminal syndicate that protects child abusers.
DeleteThe child abuse and cover-up is what made me decide to go, too, Wade. I simply could not be a part of supporting the church any longer. And the church insults women as well as gays, but I put up with that for a long time.
DeleteYou make a good point, after joining The Episcopal Church my eyes are even more open to what the Romans are losing as a Church by rejecting so many of those whom God has called to Holy Orders.
DeleteMore and more members of the flock are coming to the same realization, Wade.
Delete