A Very Angry America
By Alan Caruba
I have
been trying to remember when there was so much anger between the Democrats and
Republicans. Or maybe I should say between liberals and conservatives? Or maybe
I should say between the Tea Party and the Republican Party? Or maybe I should
say those who find the President of the United States a contemptible liar who
has diminished a once great superpower to an object of disrespect?
There is
plenty of anger to go around. The mood of the nation is one of anger from one
end of the political spectrum to the other.
What is
one to make of a White House senior advisor, Dan Pfeiffer, who compared
Republicans to arsonists, hostage-takers, and suicide bombers? The Majority
Leader in the Senate, Harry Reid, told Republicans that “There’s no need for
conversations” telling them to send over a continuing resolution without
defunding Obamacare. He has called Tea Party members of the House “anarchists.”
Meanwhile,
Republicans who do not want to see the government shut down are labeled “RINOs”
(Republicans in Name Only). Instead of keeping the spotlight on the Democrats
who foisted Obamacare on us, we have been watching the Republican Party tear
itself apart.
As the
Wall Street Journal columnist, Kimberly Strassel put it, “The
tragic reality is that this vote isn't shaping up to be all that perilous for
the owners of the law. Nobody is even talking about Democrats. Nobody has put
an iota of pressure on them for months. Every camera, every microphone has been
trained on the GOP.”
Her colleague, Daniel Henniger, described the
fratricide arising from the dispute over defunding Obamacare, saying, “This
effort has not, for some time now, been about victory. It has become as
RedState’s Erick Erickson put it with his usual eloquences, about shining a
light on the ‘cockroaches’ in the GOP. Ted Cruz has spent months berating his
own side as ‘appeasers’ who care only about ‘being invited to all the right
cocktail parties in town.”
The result has been a GOP in meltdown while
the President happily joined in on Friday calling the Tea Party members in
Congress—though not by name-- “extremists.”
All this has brought to mind Barry
Goldwater’s declaration to the Republican Party when he accepted their
nomination to run for President in 1964. “Let me remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no
vice. And moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.” He lost by a
landslide to the incumbent, President Lyndon B. Johnson.
I understood what Goldwater meant, but
extremism has never played well in American politics. Indeed, the Constitution
is constructed so that any form of extremism can be thwarted by the checks and
balances that slow any rush toward ill-considered legislation. That, however,
did not work when the Democrats controlled both houses of Congress and imposed
Obamacare on everyone.
Those who believe that, even with a
Republican majority after the 2014 midterm elections, President Obama would not
veto a bill to repeal Obamacare are deluding themselves.
Hating Obama is not
enough. Understanding how our republic works is essential.
Tea Party came about initially as a protest against Obamacare and then grew has a grassroots political movement that elected a number of those it supported to the House. It is this bloc of votes that Speaker John Boehner has struggled to work with. In the Senate, Tea Party members include Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Tom Coburn, Marco Rubio, and Pat Toomey.
Obama has many faults, but he has proven
himself a master manipulator. The current struggle over Obamacare has played
into his hands. That is unfortunate because what the GOP must do between now
and the 2014 midterm elections is to focus on defeating those Democrats up for
election who have supported Obama.
The general anger against Obamacare will gain
in momentum, but if the GOP is seen as a bunch of crazies, it will affect the
outcome. That’s the way it played out in 1964.
At this writing the possibility of a
government shutdown is fifty-fifty. It will be over quickly, but by then the
GOP will have dealt itself a disservice.
Until the GOP secures control of the Senate,
the House, and the White House Obamacare will remain the law of the land. That
is very bad news for all Americans and the future of America. Meanwhile, it is
a good idea to remember that many bad laws have been reversed and repealed.
© Alan Caruba, 2013
************************
Alan Caruba's commentaries are posted daily at "Warning Signs" and shared on dozens
of news and opinion websites. His blog recently passed more than 2.9 million page
views. If
you love to read, visit his monthly report on new books at Bookviews. For information on his professional
skills, Caruba Editorial Services is the place to go!
You can find Alan Caruba on both Facebook and Twitter as well.
**********************
No comments:
Post a Comment