Just shy of 8 years ago, on the night of the inauguration of President Barack Obama, the leaders of the Republican Party met to discuss their strategy for the upcoming administration. Recall that they had just lost the Presidency to Obama, and they were faced with a Democratic House and Senate as well. The results of their discussion have become abundantly clear over the last 8 years: they decided to do everything they could to prevent Obama’s administration from being successful. Mitch McConnell stated in 2010 that “The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president.”
Seriously? The single most important thing?? Not, oh maybe helping people get an education so they could improve their lot in life? Not ending institutional racism? Not helping to fix health care? What about taking some kind of action to help end what turned out to be the worst recession in 80 years, that was the result of their poor oversight of banking policies? And let’s not mention doing a little to extricate us from the longest and most costly war in American history? Nope; his one and only mission was to obstruct Obama from getting re-elected. And he and his cronies did everything they could to prevent anything President Obama proposed.
How did that work out for ya, Mitch, ol’ buddy? Remind me again…didn’t Obama get re-elected anyway? And didn’t he have the highest approval ratings of any outgoing President in history? And didn’t you preside over the collapse of the Republican hegemony, allowing a buffoon like Trump to get elected? Remember, he defeated something like 30 other Republican candidates, every one of whom had more of the backing of the Republican party, right? (True, now you’re crowing about your phony “mandate,” but remember that Trump actually lost the general election by 3 million votes, or 49% to 51%. But that’s another rant). And in contrast to President Obama’s historically high approval rating, your Congress (controlled by the Republicans, remember) had the lowest approval rating in the history of the country.
Anyhow, against all predictions (including from Republicans themselves), Trump won. And now the very same people that he viciously mocked during the campaign are falling all over themselves to march in his parade. Marco Rubio seems to forget that Trump called him “little Marco” and implied that his father had something to do with JFK’s assassination. He called Cruz “Lyin’ Ted” and said that Carson was too boring (or low energy) to hold office. And on and on. But they’re all slobbering over themselves in support of this moron, because they think they can get a place at the trough. Even Romney, when Trump dangled a Cabinet position in front of him, gave a speech extolling the guy he called “a phony” during the campaign.
And now we’re hearing the calls from this same Republican leadership that it’s time to “come together” in support of our new President-elect. When I hear that I think of the 70-plus times the Republicans voted to appeal the Affordable Care Act (which, lest we forget, was patterned after Massachusetts’ plan, a Republican creation). I think of their refusal to do their Constitutionally-mandated job and hold hearings (and a vote) on the President’s Supreme Court nominee. I think of all the ways they refused to do their job, let alone work toward a consensus (or any agreement at all). I think of all the ways they obstructed an honest, decent man and see nothing but hypocrisy. And now they have the hubris, having lost the election by 3 million votes, to ask for the majority of the voters to get behind this ludicrous buffoon.
And I think, “Nope, I won’t be coming together with them.”
About BigBill
Stats: Married male boomer.
Hobbies: Hiking, woodworking, reading, philosophy, good conversation.
I won’t be “coming together” to support Trump
Seriously? The single most important thing?? Not, oh maybe helping people get an education so they could improve their lot in life? Not ending institutional racism? Not helping to fix health care? What about taking some kind of action to help end what turned out to be the worst recession in 80 years, that was the result of their poor oversight of banking policies? And let’s not mention doing a little to extricate us from the longest and most costly war in American history? Nope; his one and only mission was to obstruct Obama from getting re-elected. And he and his cronies did everything they could to prevent anything President Obama proposed.
How did that work out for ya, Mitch, ol’ buddy? Remind me again…didn’t Obama get re-elected anyway? And didn’t he have the highest approval ratings of any outgoing President in history? And didn’t you preside over the collapse of the Republican hegemony, allowing a buffoon like Trump to get elected? Remember, he defeated something like 30 other Republican candidates, every one of whom had more of the backing of the Republican party, right? (True, now you’re crowing about your phony “mandate,” but remember that Trump actually lost the general election by 3 million votes, or 49% to 51%. But that’s another rant). And in contrast to President Obama’s historically high approval rating, your Congress (controlled by the Republicans, remember) had the lowest approval rating in the history of the country.
Anyhow, against all predictions (including from Republicans themselves), Trump won. And now the very same people that he viciously mocked during the campaign are falling all over themselves to march in his parade. Marco Rubio seems to forget that Trump called him “little Marco” and implied that his father had something to do with JFK’s assassination. He called Cruz “Lyin’ Ted” and said that Carson was too boring (or low energy) to hold office. And on and on. But they’re all slobbering over themselves in support of this moron, because they think they can get a place at the trough. Even Romney, when Trump dangled a Cabinet position in front of him, gave a speech extolling the guy he called “a phony” during the campaign.
And now we’re hearing the calls from this same Republican leadership that it’s time to “come together” in support of our new President-elect. When I hear that I think of the 70-plus times the Republicans voted to appeal the Affordable Care Act (which, lest we forget, was patterned after Massachusetts’ plan, a Republican creation). I think of their refusal to do their Constitutionally-mandated job and hold hearings (and a vote) on the President’s Supreme Court nominee. I think of all the ways they refused to do their job, let alone work toward a consensus (or any agreement at all). I think of all the ways they obstructed an honest, decent man and see nothing but hypocrisy. And now they have the hubris, having lost the election by 3 million votes, to ask for the majority of the voters to get behind this ludicrous buffoon.
And I think, “Nope, I won’t be coming together with them.”
About BigBill
Stats: Married male boomer. Hobbies: Hiking, woodworking, reading, philosophy, good conversation.