Saturday, November 15, 2003
It's a Tom DeLay World
GOP Hails Deal on Energy Bill0 comments
Today marks the official start of our new One Party System of Government.
It's been heading here ever since the Republicans took control of the White House, as well as both Houses of Congress (and soon, the entire Judiciary).
But, now Congressional Republicans can enact legislation and not even bother with any Democratic input to get in the way.
Because this is no longer Everett Dirkson's Republican Party. Or even Eisenhower's or Nixon's. There are no longer any messy factions or groups within the Party to battle over what part of the Republican view is best for their own constituents.
If you've been paying attention the last three years, you've noticed that Congressional members of the Republican Party have had the devil's own time in attempting to vote either their consciences or the wishes of their constituencies. The few who still care, that is. The rest are just happy to be on the bus.
Republican heavyweights have recruited the most like-minded candidates they could find, schooled them carefully on the new party orthodoxy, raised an obscene amount of cash for them, then made sure they clearly understood just who got them this seat at the table with the big boys and what would be expected of them upon their arrival in D.C.
As a result, votes on issues in every committee are pre-ordained and end in a 10-9 party line vote; and almost every vote on the floor of either the House or the Senate is a foregone conclusion as well. It's no longer an issue of whether the Republican leadership can muster enough votes to barely pass a measure.
There's no more wheeling and dealing with Democrats on legislation since they couldn't count on their own members, because with the Republicans acting as such a cohesive unit, Democrats are now simply superfluous.
Being elected to a Democratic seat in the House any more is tantamount to a 2-year vacation. You get to be paid to go fishing or sit by the pool for all the impact you'll have legislatively.
If a Republican were to vote against the White House or party leadership these days, Tom DeLay would simply have the transgressor electrocuted for Treason. Rep. Voinovich of Ohio barely got out of his moment of crossing the leadership with his skin.
The word comes from Rep. Tom DeLay or Sen. Bill Frist, or directly from the White House, and that's the end of it.
But, as the saying goes, "the lobster scrambles the eggs."
Everything from here on out gets blamed on the Republican Party. Even as they encourage their friends to back up the truck, and take what they want.
The pillaging of the U.S. Treasury has begun.
posted by Gotham 8:24 PM
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