Drowning In Stupidi-Tea

As some of our readers have mentioned over the last few years, we tend to point out the flaws in the Republican Party in specific, and the conservative movement in general, on a regular basis. Meanwhile, we haven't generally focused on the faults of the Democratic Party lately.

It's not because those on the political left or in the Democratic Party don't have faults. Ask any politically astute Democrat, and they'll be more than happy to give you a list of what they see is currently wrong on their side of the proverbial aisle. That said, the American political left and the Democratic Party aren't drowning in a sea of extremism, as the Republican Party is and has been for some time now.

The reactions to President Obama and Vice-President Biden's moves on gun violence reduction yesterday are a perfect example of this failure in the GOP.

President Obama's list of 'Gun Violence Reduction Executive Actions' released on Wednesday are sensible and broad, and not at all severe. They include items like "Publish a letter from ATF to federally licensed gun dealers providing guidance on how to run background checks for private sellers" and "Nominate an ATF director." In fact, Obama's executive actions on gun control aren't even as strong as the actions of previous Presidents on the same subject. Both George Bush Sr. and Ronald Reagan either supported or enacted more stringent gun control initiatives. Further, Obama's actions generally add to or augment gun safety policies that gun owners have already said they'd like to see.

Yet, for these simple and sensible actions, agreed to by a majority of gun owners, President Obama is now being mocked and implied that he's a traitor in right-wing media, and even threatened with impeachment by tea party Republican Congresspersons.

This is why the Republican Party is drowning in a political tea cup.

Even vaunted young conservative Republican media figures like Jonah Goldberg have finally begun to voice their concerns. No matter how "pure" any group's ideology is, if the group can't grow and convince a wider audience that their ideas have value and merit, that group will shrink and eventually die.

It's not just Goldberg who understands this.

Justin Green - a fellow Nebraskan and current assistant to sensible moderate Republican David Frum - also pointed out on Wednesday what we've thought was obvious, namely that "the GOP should be working to limit its losses over the next two years and prepare to recover in the midterms. Instead, we're seeing the hucksters of the movement claim the answer is to get madder, get louder, and to really ramp up the fight. In what way do they think this moves us closer to the our desired ends?"

Ideology without effecting any real progress is dead in the water - or tea, as is the case currently, with the GOP.

Progressive conservatism − being conservative, but still actually making progress by accomplishing legislation - is doable. It was done in Congress for years, on all kinds of small and large measures. Progressive liberals - more commonly thought of as progressives today - worked together in real bipartisanship with progressive conservatives to get the original PAYGO structure set up. That was one of the two key pillars that balanced the federal budget during the Clinton years.

The key now, that only one side seems to understand, is simple: Effective governing is the art of the possible.

If one of our two major political parties is going to let its most extreme elements determine the entire direction of every action in that party, then that political party will only be going one direction.

Down. Or, to be more specific, underwater.
Or in this case, tea.

The Problem

We have a problem in American politics today, one that many people still refuse to acknowledge.

Yesterday, the Republican-led House finally, grudgingly passed a $50.5 billion relief bill for victims of Superstorm Sandy, the storm that devastated the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut areas at the end of last fall. Tuesday's $50 billion aid package, added to the $9.7 billion federal flood aid package that was passed on Jan. 4, roughly matches the Senate's $60 billion package which they passed nearly three weeks ago, on Dec. 28.

While it's great that the relief measure finally passed the House, it is an embarrassment that it took our Congress this long to agree to a bill to help millions of Americans recover from a natural disaster. Instead of putting bipartisanship aside and helping their fellow Americans in an emergency, Congress - specifically House Republicans - effectively abandoned their fellow Americans during the holiday season. That kind of crazy behavior is simply inexcusable.

It has taken Congress twelve weeks to get this far, and the relief bill still isn't technically passed, in large part because we have a major problem in American politics.

As a comparison for how fast legislation can move when there isn't the same problem, the New York state Legislature passed sweeping new laws on gun safety - one of the most divisive issues in America - on day two of their 2013 session, yesterday, with solid bipartisan support.

Have you figured out what the problem is yet?

Today, we are 100% certain that problem will raise its ugly head again, when President Obama and Vice President Biden release their plans for new gun safety measures. We have no doubt, while many Republicans will be wailing about how gun control laws are evil and Democrats refuse to work with them out of one side their mouths, those same Republicans may as well be ringed with spikes as they spit fire about anyone who disagrees with them from the other side of their mouths.

For the record, President George W. Bush signed his own meager gun control five years ago this month, yet Republicans and the NRA didn't claim the world was coming to an end back then.

Still trying to figure out the problem?

We never remember seeing protestors prior to the second inauguration of Reagan, Clinton, or Bush, and we don't remember freshman House members ever threatening any President with impeachment if the President pushed forward on controversial legislation.

The problem, if you haven't figured it out by now, is the spiky, bipolar nature of the GOP right now.

Republicans like Rep. Michele Bachmann can't even find co-sponsors for their legislation right now due to their extremism. Meanwhile, more centrist-leaning Republicans like Alaska's Lisa Murkowski seem to be forced to quietly, desperately run away from insane tea party ideas like holding the nation's economy hostage over the debt ceiling.

The Republican Party can't claim that they want bipartisanship, and then insist bipartisanship means doing everything their way. That is the childish attitude of a group of individuals who have yet to understand that the political reality has changed.

The tea party is over. Time to hang up your costume and act like an adult. Quit your whining - seriously, shut up. Grow up. Compromise. Move on. As both Democrats and Republicans in New York state's legislature showed on gun control, a lot can be done in a very short time, if one simply stops being the problem, and instead focuses on being part of the solution.

America has work to do. Either get busy helpin' or get the hell out of the way.

Judgement Calls

Congress finally gets back to work today, and once again, it's anyone's guess whether they'll actually get anything accomplished by the end of the day.

Filibuster reform might happen in the 113th Congress, which would help to break the ugly pattern of Republican obstructionism in Congress. Then again, Harry Reid has already given hints he may wimp out, a judgement call that would be highly questionable, if not altogether expected from Reid.

Speaking of poor judgement calls, the extremist tea party Republicans, and whiny liberal Democrats will also be back today in the House, likely complaining about President Obama's choices for his second term cabinet. For anyone still questioning the qualifications of former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel to be President Obama's Defense Secretary, we're more than happy to point out two men, considered war criminals by some, who had far worse judgement than Hagel ever has shown: Former Defense Secretaries Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld.

Yes, the theme of Washington, DC this week, for most people, seems to be bad judgement calls - which is odd, as we always thought the bad judgement calls were supposed to come next week, after a late night of drinking and dancing at any one of a plethora of inaugural balls.

One of the uglier judgment calls this week was already made by many in the media on Monday, when President Obama gave a surprise press conference, his last 'presser' of his first term.

The President made clear at his event on Monday, more than once, that there will be absolutely no negotiation on the debt ceiling. And why should there be? As the President himself noted, "The debt ceiling is not a question of authorizing more spending. Raising the debt ceiling does not authorize more spending. It simply allows the country to pay for spending that Congress has already committed to… Republicans in Congress have two choices here: They can act responsibly and pay America's bills or they can act irresponsibly and put America through another economic crisis. But they will not collect a ransom in exchange for not crashing the American economy."

That didn't stop multiple members of the media from whining different versions of the same question to President Obama, "But what if the Republicans don't act responsibly?" That also didn't stop more than one question on the White House's efforts on new gun safety laws - which every member of the Press Corps knows will be the subject the White House is tackling today. It was obvious President Obama wasn't going to put up with either their whining or obtuseness.

Next time, maybe our fellow media colleagues should use slightly better judgement, and read the schedule the White House puts out for the week. Then those same media members might want to read some current events - for example, the recent polling that says Americans overwhelmingly favor common-sense gun control.

When it comes to poor judgement, it appears many in Washington, DC - and elsewhere - have proven so far this week, they're not making the best choices.

Maybe it's better they got their mistakes out of the way early this week, instead of next Monday, when some idiots will inevitably forget to wear their coats during the inauguration.

That's a failed judgement call you can be certain we won't be making.