They Shoot Watermelons Don’t They? Tales of the GOP Congress

[McCamy Taylor]

What, you say? Democrats in Congress are just the same as Republicans in Congress? Because the 111th Congress gave us half a start at universal health care instead of certified grade A UK style National Health care? Because we got banking reform laws but no public trials for the Banksters? Because we got the “Fair Pay Act” but no “Employee Free Choice Act”? Because we got a stimulus bill that did not put everyone back to work? Because we got the “Credit CARD Act of 2009”----but you are still maxed out on your Visa?

Yesterday I wrote about Math . Today, I will discuss something even ickier. History. As in recent history that every American of voting age knows but maybe has forgotten. Tales from the Crypt aka the Republican Congress.

I. The Republican Congress That Tried to Bail Out Enron

Mere days after 9-11, the Republican controlled House put together a “financial stimulus” package that would have given the failing Enron billions of dollars of your tax money to flush down the toilet with all your other money that the company had already stolen. They did not call it the “Enron Bailout of 2001 Bill”. But that is what it was. The White House lobbied for it. The Democratic Senate considered it…

And Democrats decided that Enron did not deserve a bailout. Too bad if their hopes of building a Trans-Afghanistan pipeline had been crushed by the collapse of the World Trade Center. What were Ken Lay and the Bush administration doing promising a “carpet of gold” to the Taliban anyway? We do not negotiate with terrorists, and we certainly do not sign contracts with terrorists!



II. The Republican Congress That Tried to Take Away Your Right to Die With Dignity

Remember Terri Shiavo? Remember how the GOP decided that they needed to “excite the pro-life base”? Remember how they wrote a law, known as “The Palm Sunday Compromise” that applied only to Shiavo’s parents---breaking the law in the process, since Congress is not allowed to pass laws in respect to persons? Remember how President Bush staged a flight back to DC to sign this bogus piece of legislation? Remember the many hours of TV footage we were shown of poor Ms. Shiavo in her vegetative state? Death with dignity? Don’t make me laugh. The Republican Congress under Tom Delay turned that poor woman’s death into a three ring media circus.

III. The Republican Congress That Threatened to Go Nuclear

The 109th U.S. Congress did things like give Big Oil a multibillion dollar tax break---as if they needed an incentive to drill with gas prices over $4 a gallon. And they saddled you with credit card and medical debt until the end of time.

But…but…Democrats did not filibuster it!

Remember the so called “Nuclear option”? I am not here to argue for or against the legality of the “Nuclear option”. I want to discuss the mindset of politicians who do not simply threaten to hold their breath until their faces turn blue. No, they declare that they will drop a great big atomic bomb on the Government if they do not get their way. There is something very disturbing about this image. It shows a lack of respect for the rule of law---and human life. Remember how Rep. Sam Johnson (R-Texas) offered to fly a jet over Syria and drop a couple of nukes on that country?

IV. The Republican Congress that Killed the Federal Government

1995 was not a very merry Christmas if you were a veteran in need of services or a retiree dependent upon your Social Security or a federal employee with bills to pay. In 1995, Newt’s Republican Congress decided that the country did not need a federal government---and so they shut it down. Remember why Newt did it? Because Clinton made him sit at the back of Air Force One.



V. The Republican Congressman Who Shoots Watermelons….and Harasses the President

Remember Rep. Dan Burton (R-Indiana)? The GOP stuck a sock in his mouth after Bush stole the 2000 election. But before that, he used his position on the House Government Reform Committee to investigate Clinton. And Clinton again. And yet more Clinton. Did not matter what the president did. Old rootin’ tootin’ shootin’ Dan was there to mail out subpoenas and call witnesses.

Dan Burton became a legend in his own time by inviting reporters to watch him shoot watermelons in his backyard. No, he was not drunk (I don’t think). He wanted to prove his theory that Vince Foster did not commit suicide.

I have deliberately avoided cluttering this OP with links, however, I could not resist this one. If the GOP takes over the House, they have a new “Dan Burton” just waiting to take over the 24-7 job of harassing President Obama. Darrell Issa, the Republican Congressman from California, who got Democratic Governor Gray Davis kicked out of office in California, so that Arnold could quietly shut down the Enron civil suit. That case could have been a serious embarrassment to the Bush administration had witnesses been deposed.

http://www.newsweek.com/2010/09/07/darrell-issa-could-investigate-president-obama.html
Darrell Issa has already proven that he can take out one elected Democrat. In the new, Republican 112th Congressional House of Representatives, he is going to set his sights higher.

[Richardo]

1. K&R

Excellent food for thought - would that it could be read by every independent voter in the country by the close of polling tomorrow.

[pinboy3niner]

2. K&R

I contributed to Issa's challenger, Howard Katz, though he probably doesn't have a snowball's chance.

[RaleighNCDUer]

3. Pttthhhht!!

Nobody is saying Democrats are the same as Republicans.

And no realistic person is saying the the Democratic failures we've seen are victories. They are, at best, really poor compromises - unnecessary compromises, seeing as how even the compromised bills were 100% boycotted by the Republicans.

The people who stole BILLIONS from American investors SHOULD have gone to prison.

The health care bill did NOT put us half-way to universal healthcare - it cemented healthcare into the structure of private insurance, guaranteeing that we will NEVER get universal healthcare.

We KNOW the Republicans are worse - there's no need to lie about our so-called accomplishments in order to make them worse. That is mere propaganda.

[Drale]

4. OH MY GOD!

Its so sad how republicans act so much like cartman on south park.(Yes I know he was meant to be the stereotypical right wing nut job but he was meant to be the worst of the worst and now almost everyone of the republicans are just like him or worst.)

[McCamy Taylor]

5. Interesting thought. Do right wing extremists WANT to appear extreme?

Do they have to work to exceed even characatures of themselves, lest they lose their 24 Hour News marketability? If that is the case, the 112th GOP Congress will be even wilder and whackier than some that have come before.

[bliss_eternal]

6. most excellent post...

bookmarking and kicking...can't believe this isn't getting more attention. rec'd. :thumbsup:

[Demeter]

7. If anyone truly believes they got anything out of the Democrats

they are buying the sizzle, and not getting any more steak than they would from the GOP, and getting insulted, to boot.

Banking reform? In your dreams. There are no reforms, and the bailouts of the too=big=to=fail Zombie Banks continue while wealth continues to gush to the Obscenely Wealthy, stolen from the workers who produced it.

Half a health care plan? Not even close. The only party to benefit from this obscenity is the Insurance Industry--which is a misnomer if ever there was one. Insurance creates nothing. It merely skims the cream off the consumers, and several layers of skin.

Endless war, endless fraud, the USA reduced to a wholly own subsidiary of Global Corporate, Inc. No discernible difference in results--just better trained actors with more ability to con the public and stroke the egos of people who really aren't paying attention to anything but the surface. Democracy is more than skin deep, or it isn't at all.

[inna]

8. kr

[BanTheGOP]

9. IF THE GOP WERE A COMPANY

...they would be criminally charged until kingdom come. SO WHY HAVEN'T WE STARTED THE INVESTIGATION YET???

[chriscruzan]

10. I just voted in Indiana

And DID NOT vote for the watermelon shooter. My electronic ballot consisted of 6 pages. 3 of which had ONLY republicans listed as candidates. ( Hamilton,Co. Indiana ! Does it get any more red?) Later in the afternoon, I chanced upon a giant billboard with a picture of President Obama that read, "Socialism- Trickle up Economics". WTF ?

[barbtries]

11. i was too late to rec this

but i can kick it. thank you for the refresher course. VOTE for democrats.