Month: October 2013

Most Americans Think a GOP-Controlled House Is a Bad Thing

Buck Banks

54%


Of Americans say it’s a bad thing that the Republican party controls the House of Representatives, up 11 points from last December, soon after the 2012 elections when the Republicans kept control of the chamber, a new CNN/ORC poll finds. Only 38% say it’s a good thing the GOP controls the House, a 13-point dive from the end of last year.

More on the Inability of Conservatives to Take Responsibility for Their Actions

Buck Banks

There’s nothing in this for conservatives. Not even a bright or shiny object. I don’t know how you negotiate up from this capitulation. I think the long faces are a result of the realization, if not the vocalization yet, that this sets the precedent for this Congress.

— Rep. Tom Massie (R-KY), quoted by TPM, on the deal to end the government shutdown and lift the debt ceiling.

A Possible GOP Diagnosis: ‘Hysterical Delusional Affirmation’

Buck Banks

Charlie Cook has a fun piece in the National Journal that makes a good case for the GOP to get its collective head examined:

Here’s a question for conservatives and Republicans: Going into the 2012 Election Day, or even in the last few days before Election Day, did you think Mitt Romney was going to win? A couple of months ago, did you think the strategy of threatening to shut down the government or prevent raising the debt ceiling, to force the outright repeal or defunding of Obamacare, would really work?

So the question is whether conservatives and Republicans should begin to worry if their instincts—specifically, their judgment on matters of politics and policy—are a bit off. Maybe “spectacularly wrong” would be more accurate. Does that worry anyone on the right or in the Republican Party? Are they concerned that continuing to follow such awful political instincts could lead to catastrophic consequences for their movement and their party?

“Hysterical delusional affirmation” and “delusional synergy” aren’t terms normally associated with the political process, but after the spectacle of the past few weeks, they seem pretty apt. While many Republicans—those who are clear-eyed about today’s political realities—are exempt, these terms apply to enough of them that it may be time for the GOP’s Non-delusional Caucus to stage an intervention. Otherwise the party may be headed for some voter-administered therapy.

Read more here.

Cruz Needs a Dog

Buck Banks

It might be time for Ted Cruz to get a dog. Because as the saying goes, if you want a friend in Washington, that’s what you do. And by the time Cruz’s crusade to defund Obamacare finally crashed to a halt Wednesday, the Texas senator had precious few friends left. The government shutdown alienated colleagues in both parties. It generated fresh animosity toward the tea party and a flurry of recriminations toward Cruz. Voter support for the Republican Party plunged. And the health care law survived unscathed.

— Dallas Morning News editorial.

The Long, Slow Story Is Far More Damaging Than the Short, Hot One

Buck Banks

Damaging as the shutdown is for governance, it is minor compared with the long-term damage of the sequester. The FBI has had to reduce its focus on white-collar and organized crime to deal with the higher, immediate priority of cybersecurity. The food-inspection infrastructure has been hit, reducing the number of inspectors in the U.S. and in foreign plants that ship food to the United States. This will undoubtedly lead to more outbreaks of salmonella and E. coli, with a weakened Centers for Disease Control less able to cope with the epidemics. Basic research, as I have written before, is taking devastating hits–starting with NIH but including DARPA and every other area done primarily by the federal government. Some of the damage will never be repaired. And the nation’s economy will grow more slowly, adding to our deficits and debt.


— Norm Ornstein, in National Journal.

McConnell: There Won’t Be Another Shutdown

Buck Banks

One of my favorite old Kentucky sayings is there’s no education in the second kick of a mule. The first kick of a mule was when we shut the government down in the mid 1990s and the second kick was over the last 16 days. There is no education in the second kick of a mule. There will not be a government shutdown. … I think we have fully now acquainted our new members with what a losing strategy that is.

— Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), telling The Hill that he will not allow another government shutdown as part of a strategy to repeal Obamacare.