Many Americans naively believe people are elected to Congress to formulate legislation to solve national and local problems and work to make life better for all Americans, provide for national security, and create an environment where everyone can pursue ‘life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.’ That may be true for some Congresspeople, however, it is becoming more and more clear there is a faction of the Republican party that have no interest in actually governing but are in a relentless quest for power at any cost so they can push an agenda that is widely unpopular with a majority of Americans.
The current immigration issue is a prime example. Immigration has been at the forefront of political campaigns for years. The fact is, the Republicans do not want to solve this problem or even try to work with Democrats to come up with any kind of solution. First of all, that would require using that four-letter word “compromise” which has become anathema to the Republican extremists and, secondly, it would take away one of the key issues which they constantly harp about. As Heather Cox Richardson wrote in her latest post, “Representative Troy Nehls (R-TX) said to Manu Raju, Melanie Zanona, and Lauren Fox of CNN, “Let me tell you, I’m not willing to do too damn much right now to help a Democrat and to help Joe Biden’s approval rating.”
The Republicans have absolutely no incentive or desire to collaborate with Democrats to come up with some kind of meaningful immigration reform and border policy. The adults in the Senate are working on a compromise solution but Mike Johnson and his extremist colleagues in the House are saying that it is DOA. They either get their way totally, or there is no deal.
They are once again going to try to blackmail the administration by 1) threatening another government shutdown and 2) refusing to pass additional funding for Ukraine unless their demands are totally met. This is not governing. This is extortion and once again, the American people will pay the price. Meanwhile, Valdimir Putin and President Xi are laughing their butts off. Putin doesn’t need to conscript any more soldiers for his war on Ukraine – he has the U.S. House of Representatives.
As I said in a previous post, I am currently reading, “American Psychosis: A Historical Investigation of How the Republican Party Went Crazy,” by David Corn. It is a truly frightening tale of how a minority of right-wing zealots in America through ruthless political deal making, sowing fear and division, and operating freely in the realm of conspiracy theories, which was once viewed as being on the fringe, is now in unbelievable positions of power and have become the new Republican Party. There is no doubt that if they capture the White House and control both houses of congress, we will be living in a vastly different America next year.
