I personally will never forget the horrendous 2009 Christmas Eve Senate vote for Obamacare.
Around the same time, the “stimulus” legislation that eventually became the American Recovery and Investment Act was being bandied about the halls of Congress with tons of hyper-partisan theater.
Now, it seems the House of Representatives will continue the pattern of legislation-by-panic in addressing the dreaded “Fiscal Cliff” this holiday season.
Call me a “Grinch”, but one of the benefits of being a Tea Party Democrat is that I remain highly skeptical that most power-players within the Beltway of either party will do anything under any circumstance that will weaken their grip on the clout they think they possess. Frankly, it is my suspicion that Speaker of the House John Boehner already knows exactly what deal will be made during another Christmas season filled with fiscal drama, despite press coverage otherwise. I hope my fellow citizens will not get sucked into the this year’s production, and be ready to make personal economic adjustments while focusing on state and local level protections from the upcoming chaos.
Boehner’s recent action removing fiscal conservatives from key committee positions forecasts that the only real losers in the upcoming “negotiations” will be the taxpayers. SoCal Tax Revolt Coalition pundit and San Diego citizen activist Shane Atwell has this analysis of Boehner’s long-term treatment of Tea Party supported representatives.
Boehner’s move is the latest and most significant in the war between the established GOP moderates and the other more principled wings of the party. The moderate (and sometimes the religious) wing have not had much good to say about the Tea Party or Ron Paul wings…unless they wanted votes (see Orin Hatch and Brian Bilbray). Even after 2010, Ron Paul was only given a sub-committee.
There was the disenfranchisement of the Ron Paul vote in Maine and again in the GOP convention. There was the successful Florida GOP effort to get rid of Allen West through redistricting. There was the tepid support of Richard Mourdock in Indiana by the GOP. The Tea Party and the fiscally conservative Republicans have won a few battles (Ted Cruz), but lost more (debt ceiling, budget proposals, Patriot act reauthorization…).
Boehner’s latest move has all the marks of standard leftist techniques, perhaps because he agrees with the statists so much. As a moderate, a bridge between statism and freedom, he knows he has no argument, so he uses bully tactics. “We’re watching your votes.” Well at least the issue is coming out in the open.
Conservative writer Dan Riehl expresses a similar sentiment:
By his actions, Boehner has made himself the tanned poster child of everything that is wrong with Washington. It’s two parties vying for power, the will of the American people be damned! What does this idiot Boehner hope to do, split the party officially?
Given all the evidence, I hope Tea Party supporters are mindful that all the statements and stances coming from Boehner’s offices during the fiscal cliff negotiations are there to serve him and his supporters first. Given the failures of Obamacare and the “Stimulus“, if the fiscal cliff deal does anything positive for the average American, it will be a Christmas miracle.
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Comments
The most depressing aspect of this entire episode is how the party, through Boehner, is giving Obama and his party exactly what they angled for in the first place. It is an open and well publicized (by media, mostly thrilled) splitting of the fiscal conservatives from the party. Isolate. Then minimize (or destroy?). Whether willingly or not, they have allowed that maneuver to be very successful.
Prediction: 2013 and 2014 will be the era of the Dems and GOP doing everything possible to further marginalize the Tea Party. The GOP may be less aggressive and open, but it seems like the goal is still obvious. I am not an active Tea Party person, but to me it seems so clear.
If a third party becomes the only survival mechanism for the Tea Party, we may be doomed to a long history of Dems in power (POTUS and perhaps Senate) since they have so successfully split-off their own ‘unwanteds’, the moderate or blue-dogs. It seems a bizarre strategy for the GOP.
I think we need to make our voice clear that we want a new Speaker of the House. One who doesn’t wear one of Michelle’s hand me downs.
Being practical – people try to hold onto power for as long as possible. Boehner & existing GOP apparatchiks are no exception. Look at their choices: (a) work with TeaParty (that disagrees with a lot of what they believe in), and voluntarily give up power/influence to TP believers within GOP, or (b) shut them out and hope they go away, or at least until Boehner and company can retire.
Churchill said that politicians think about the next election, and statemen about the next generation. Boehner is no statesman.
So don’t get mad at Boehner being who he is – that’s just denying reality.
The real question for the TeaParty people out there is – what are they going to do instead? Take over the GOP from inside out? Take over Democratic Party from inside out? Start a 3rd party? Give up and go home and whine? Those are really the only 4 options that are physically feasible.
Personally, I like the idea of the TeaParty taking over the Dem from inside out – after all, it’s the group most hostile to what the TeaParty believes in – if you’re going to do a hostile takeover, might as well be your biggest enemy.
Small, highly organized groups have always been successful at taking over larger political organizations.
radiofreeca – I like the way you think, and I will have to share this sentiment with my California Tea Party groups.
There is near zero probability of an ‘inside out’ takeover of the Dems by the TP. Not only have the electorate been well taught/conditioned, but the media watchdogs are the first line of defense for the party and would never allow it to happen. After all, the primary belief for most every person sympathetic to or engaged in the TP is the reduction of taxes, and by reaction the reduction of government in everyone’s lives. However, the Dems and modern culture/media have persuaded most to believe that raising taxes right now (on the evil rich) is a GOOD thing as per polling. That crossed party lines for the most part. Until that is reversed, any influence on the Dem party is a fantasy.
The ‘Dems’ as you call them have already been taken over by hard-core Islamofascist, communist, socialist, black supremacists, various other activist groups from the abortionists to the pansexualists to the radical environmentalists.
Who knew Boehner attended Rahm’s school?
A more accurate title would be ‘The Debtstacker Ballet’.
I’m fine with Boehner smoking–LIKE it, in fact–but, damn man, STOP the Tanning Salon thingy…PLEASE!!