As we watch the Democratic Party continue to sit on its hands in Washington and squander away a super majority in record time, it has been fascinating to observe the Republicans take up the mantle—and the media attention—and begin splintering apart in less than two weeks. This GOP squabbling, finger-pointing, and re-writing of history are all things the Democrats have been accused of for years and rightfully so. What’s so astounding is how quickly the Republicans have adopted this hari-kari like behavior.
The newest elected Republican, Senator Scott Brown from Massachusetts, who just a few a weeks ago was the Republican golden boy, has been excoriated in the Republican/conservative press for the unforgiveable audacity of voting to allow the jobs bill to be discussed on the Senate floor and thus bucking the party line. Inexplicably, the GOP rallying cry of “Jobs, jobs, jobs” of a few months ago has been all but forgotten—let alone what the country needs right now. Turning common sense on its Congressional ear, Democratic Senators Bill Nelson and Blanche Lincoln both also voted against any further discussion of jobs and the bill.
Thankfully, the Senate passed the bill on Thursday with a 70-28 vote. A drop in the bucket for what is necessary to cure this country’s employment problem, but at least it’s a first step. To put things in perspective, the pared-down $18 billion price tag for the jobs bill is at least $2 billion less than what Wall Street is paying itself in bonuses right now. This is the same Wall Street that we gave close to a trillion dollars to last year because of their monumental errors in judgment and their near-failure.
Outrageous—of course it is—just ask Senator and former presidential candidate John McCain. Mr. Maverick is now running around willy-nilly claiming he was duped when it came to the financial bailout. It’s unclear if this duping occurred during his campaign break or later. Nor do we know who is responsible for pulling the proverbial wool over McCain’s eyes. Was it Republican President George W. Bush and his Treasury Secretary Hank Paulsen? Bush-nominated Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke? Or was this a months-long duping that spanned two administrations? With this latest McCain about-face it’s getting very difficult to take whatever he says seriously. I truly respect the man, but I am getting worried he will show up at the Capitol soon wearing a tin-foil hat.
In another episode of “Who can you trust?” the CIA has released the memos that former-VP Cheney claimed would prove that the torture of terrorists worked. Unfortunately, regardless of what Cheney says, the facts simply don’t agree with him—at least in the specific case and memos he cited. Cheney claims that the water-boarding of Abu Zubaydah in the fall of 2002 led to the capture of Jose Padilla (a.k.a. “the dirty bomber”) in May 2003, but Padilla was captured in May 2002.
So Cheney got his dates wrong, but which ones? Accepting the fact that Padilla was arrested before Zubaydah’s enhanced interrogation suggests the two events aren’t connected—yet Cheney does connect them. This begs the question as to whether or not Zubaydah’s water-boarding began before the fall of 2002 and specifically before Padilla’s capture in May 2002.
Why is this important? Cheney’s counsels David Addington and John Yoo had not written their legal briefs that authorized the use of torture prior to Padilla’s capture. So was unauthorized torture used on Zubaydah? This possible Cheney slip could prove interesting over the next several months for him, his legacy and Republicans who believe that the Bush/Cheney anti-terrorist tactics and strategies were and are correct.
Republican Colin Powell—someone most of us respect—in his tight-lipped manner has found the above unacceptable, drawing a line in the sand that many GOP members may have trouble crossing over in the months to come.
No discussion of Republican hypocrisy would be complete without Senate Minority Leader John Boehner. For months now, the man with the surreal tan has been whining every time he sees a camera that the Democrats are legislating behind closed doors and alienating him and his GOP cohorts. When President Obama extended a White House invitation to him and his fellow Congressional party members to discuss health care reform—in a sense, opening those closed doors—Boehner, being the savvy politician he is, sensed a trap. He immediately began complaining that he didn’t know what room the meeting would be held in, what the set-up would be and who would be sitting next to him. All serious considerations if you’re an adolescent or maybe Boehner realized he was going to have to put his money where his mouth is.
Remember, this is the same guy who complained that health care reform wasn’t transparent enough and then pooh-poohed the idea of TV cameras in the Senate Chambers because “some would use them for just publicity means.” Horror of horrors, thank God he’d never stoop that low. The piece de resistance was Boehner’s complaint the latest health care bill is just much too short. This, of course, occurred after he complained the last one was much too long. Much like Goldilocks, nothing satisfies this guy.
Last but by no means least, is RNC Chairman Michael Steele, who has been under fire since he took charge, now under financial scrutiny. He inherited a $10 million-dollar surplus in the GOP coffers, which he has whittled down to $8 million. Some of his Republican peers claim this is due to his extravagant spending, including private planes and cars. His latest spending spree, moving the annual RNC meeting from Washington, D.C. to Hawaii raised $10 million, but the event itself cost $9 million.
Power abhors a vacuum and with both parties having immense trouble finding their way, this year’s mid-term elections could prove to be historic.
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