Hypocrite is spelled p-o-l-i-t-i-c-i-a-n

 

Politicians are hypocrites. (Note: No D or R included.)

It is simply amazing that all politicians (no D or R included) think, no, believe, the voting public has a collective short memory? Voting history will tell you that the politicians are right because we keep electing the same yahoos and yahooettes over and over again to represent us in Washington-on-the-Deficit.

Do the Republicans really think that their flash-fire-partisan antics of the past five years will be forgotten by the 2014 election cycle? Do Democrats think that the start-up mess that is the Affordable Care Act will be erased from the memory landscape of voters within the next year?

As of this moment in time, the Republicans are losing the public relations war simply by adhering to the adage “Ignorance can be temporary; stupidity goes straight to bone and is forever.” In that party, the old cliché “the end justifies the means” is a solid golden oldie with lots of playtime still in its groove.

The mainstays of that party are determined to fight the Obama Administration on every appointment, every issue, every decision, every program. Why? The answer of “petty, partisan politics” is simply too simple, too convenient of an answer to be realistic. The truth is that many GOPers detest this president and will do anything – even harm the country they claim to love and do represent – to create problems for this administration and diminish the president’s legacy.

That’s where hypocrisy raises its ugly head.

Republicans recently announced a fierce fight is a certainty over an Obama nominee to head the Department of Homeland Security because, a couple of senators avowed, the nominee made a donation to Obama’s campaign.

What? Hello!

At various times in his administration, George W. Bush appointed two men to head up Homeland Security, both of whom had made donations to Bush’s campaign. Those two senators heartily approved both men to the post without much protest.

The GOP has also vowed to fight Obama’s nominee as chair of the Federal Reserve, Janet Yellin, the singularly logical choice for the job. On paper, no one deserves the job more. She’s worked at all levels of the federal reserve system, led the Federal Reserve Bank in San Francisco and has been vice chair of the central bank.

But the GOP will fight her nomination, not because she’s the best choice, but because of who nominated her.

All politicians talk about fiscal responsibility, then stick slabs of pork in every single bill that passes Congress to placate the voters back home.

It would be more honest if people like Rand Paul, Eric Cantor and Ted Cruz would simply say out loud for the record: “We don’t like nor respect Barack Obama. We consider him a usurper, but our opinion has nothing to do, honestly, with him being black.”

Obama – yes, he’s black and he’s not going to change colors, so get over it – has not been the best of presidents – lackluster is the term that comes to mind. His quiet brand of leadership (or benign delegation, take your pick) has not served this country exceptionally  well in these tumultuous times. However, It must be remembered he inherited the Mess of all Messes from George W. Bush and, regardless of what Obama’s detractors say, the Bush wars are winding down, Osama bin Laden is dead, and the economy is better than it was.

But the Republican Party’s vendetta against this two-term president is hurting the country, not helping their party. The fight is not just about the Affordable Care Act or nominees for various federal posts; the battle is about anything and everything.

The next fight is about immigration and the GOP is certain to shoot itself again in the foot by fighting the inevitable and, again, further alienating the nation’s fastest demographic segment of voters – Hispanics.

Further, politicians are mainly old, white men and it’s amazing to see mainly Republican male lawmakers – with not a single woman part among them – gang up to deny women the right to make decisions about their own bodies.

For the GOP, it’s just another voter bloc Xed out of the GOP column.

With the party record over the last five years, Republicans can forget about winning the presidency in 2016. You can alienate just so many voters before you can guarantee a landslide loss in that election … you know, like ... in the last one!

The Republicans are working hard to make sure that happens.

Imagine this is the thinking of a GOP candidate for president in 2016: “Which voter bloc did we hack off today? Hispanic? Check! Women? Check! Minorities? Check!

And just how exactly does this help them win a national election?

Stupid is as stupid does

-->

I give up!

Cry uncle!

Tickle-lock!

Calf rope!

Back down!

Waving the white flag!

Throw in the towel!

Chicken out!

Buckle under!

Cave in!

Cut out!

Quit!

What other synonyms can you think of for the word “surrender?”

Whatever the number of words or phrases, all – every last one of them – are being hurled at the national Republican Party thanks to House Speaker John Boehner, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and the Tea Party irregulars.

After costing the U.S. economy more than $24 billion, after shutting down a large portion of the federal government, after sending more than 800,000 federal employees home, after making promise after promise to defund the Affordable Health Care Act (Obamacare) and after promising to fight until they could fight no more, the fringe Republican faction held this country hostage for 16 days. Then, the Obama-aginners crumbled.

When economic bankruptcy of the U.S. was imminent, the GOPers caved and agreed to raise the debt ceiling, approve a temporary budget, forego any meaningful changes to the health care act … and basically, to swallow a bitter pill of defeat and a heaping, helping of crow.

In this sordid mess, there were no winners. President Obama did not display a White Knight mentality when it came to dealing with the recalcitrant Republicans.  His reticence strengthened the GOP just enough so they do get to have the “next battle” over the same issues in just a few months. The Democrats held ranks for the most part and showed a much more united front than their across-the-aisle counterparts, but some, assuredly, will have strong GOP challengers in the next election cycle.

The name-calling from House and Senate members and the members of the Executive Branch was childish at best and certainly prolonged the crisis of finances, leadership, anti-governance and ignorance.

What has transpired over the past two-plus weeks is a wretched example of poor leadership. House Speaker John Boehner was so afraid that the Ted Cruz-crazies would attempt an overthrow of power in the Republican-controlled House or, worse, push a radical righty into the GOP primary in his next election, that he buckled like a tin can hit by a sledgehammer. If this were a biblical tale instead of a sad tale of politics, you would have seen Boehner washing the feet of Cruz.

As far as the Democrat Party is concerned, if Caspar Milquetoast were a real person, he’d BE Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Can “boring” ever be a noun or pronoun?

Don’t be too giddy because a major financial disaster was averted. Don't’ get too comfortable thinking government is going to stay open. Don’t even contemplate  our elected officials will “play nice” in the future and do what’s right for the shareholders in American’s future.

You don’t have to be a political science major to know that what transpires in Washington-on-the-Deficit is and always be a game … an ego-driven, what’s-in-it-for-me volatile game.

It’s just sad that the losers in the game are the citizens, your and me, the same ones who selected the players.

P.S. What price did the taxpayers cough up at the end? Well, for one thing, Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell slid a “rider” in the final bill to avert economic bedlam by paying bills incurred by our government that sent $2 million back home to Kentucky to build a dam.

Conservative values, my posterior!