No one running for the GOP nomination discussed the greatest violation of popular government’s norms—never mind the Constitution—to have occurred in two hundred years, namely, the practice, agreed upon by mainstream Republicans and Democrats, of rolling all of the government’s expenditures into a single bill. This eliminates elected officials’ responsibility for any of the government’s actions, and reduces them either to approving all that the government does without reservation, or the allegedly revolutionary, disloyal act of “shutting down the government.”Case in point: the Republican majorities in both the Senate and the House caved in last night to the Democrats, voted for everything the Democrats demanded to support the latest blockbuster continuing resolution, and left town to campaign for their own re-election. As the article just linked puts it:
Rather than talk about how to restrain or shrink government, Republican candidates talked about how to do more with government. The Wall Street Journal called that “having a positive agenda.” Hence, Republicans by and large joined the Democrats in relegating the U.S. Constitution to history’s dustbin.
[The Republicans] managed to give Democrats everything they wanted in both houses, got it all passed by violating their own rules, and left town to campaign for re-election so they can ... er … well … ahh ... beat Democrats and ... er ... well ... enact some more Democrat policies.The continuing resolution contained a number of significant giveaways, including surrender of America's veto over Internet domain policies:
This bill funded every major Democratic policy priority with no meaningful limitations on a single illegal, abusive, or harmful executive action taken by the president. It contained no limitations or reforms to Obamacare, Planned Parenthood funding, Obama’s transgender bathroom mandate on the states, sanctuary cities, or DACA amnesty. What was particularly disturbing about this blank check is that the timing of the budget deadline coincided with two new harmful unilateral policies of the Obama administration: the giveaway of oversight over internet IP addresses to a foreign entity and a net increase in refugee admission for the new fiscal year — all on top of the existing increase in refugees from the Middle East during a time of grave homeland security concerns.The surrender by Congress and Obama of America's right to supervise domain name policies is an irretrievable one -- there is now no going back. What will happen to control future Internet content and writers is now out of our hands, and there are lots of unpleasant results that might -- nay, inevitably will, given the tendency toward more control by the ruling class identified in the first article above -- ensue. (For the technically minded, here is a full explanation of what is involved.)
The budget bill also reflected Obama’s spending priorities instead of the spending figures reflected in the Republican budget. It wasted $1.1 billion on Zika funding that was unnecessary and funded Planned Parenthood with those extra funds. While one expects compromise with divided government, this blank check was truly breathtaking in completely reflecting Democrat values — as if Republicans had no control over Congress.
United States citizens no longer have any representation in their supposedly "representative" government. We have become a nation of peons ruled by Beltway elites for their own profit and satisfaction, i.e., no different from a third-world dictatorship or oligarchy. They not only continually ignore us; they seem to relish sticking their elitist thumbs in our eyes, again and again and again.
And yet they have the gall to marvel at the constituency that a narcissistic showman has assembled? A showman who at least tries to connect, now and then, with the resentments that are driving the rest of us? As this article has it, our upcoming election is properly dubbed "the Flight 93 election." It's our last chance -- and even then, it may be too late, unless we can turn it into a total rout of all incumbents.
No citizen who cherishes America's ideals has any business voting for any of their Senators or Representatives who voted for the latest continuing resolution. Make it your business to go to the House or Senate Web sites and mark their names.
Voting "as usual" means "business as usual." Our democracy can no longer afford business as usual. Like it or not, something has got to change. You can either play a part in trying to stop it, or stand back and watch the train wreck.
[Note: A tip of the Rumpolean bowler to Chris Johnson at The Midwest Conservative Journal for calling my attention to some of the articles cited above. His is a blog (linked at the right) that should always be one of your regular stops -- at least, while we still have an Internet that will allow it.]
One of my Republican Senators from Texas voted Nay. Perhaps you've heard of him, Ted Cruz.
ReplyDeleteI've often thought that Rs in Congress have a lot of dirt that they don't want dug up, and that this need for leaving that dirt right where it is helps to explain how the executive officer is able to get everything he wants out of them. This betrayal started a long time ago in Congress, and I think that these people are either corrupted or scared out of their wits.
ReplyDeleteThe Clintons and the Obamas have reputations for radical agendas (and more) and they have effectively used many people to get their ways.
On a high note, I've just finished reading a manuscript (the happy part of my current work). It is refreshing to think about how we can fight on the American battlefield of ideas. Our family reads the Bible together and then we discuss how to share the light with others. It is remarkably positive.