Dear America,
My wife and I watched some of the Grammy Awards last weekend, and we all have seen the advertisements for the various other awards programs that will be airing in the near future. Some of them are of near universal interest...the Oscars come immediately to mind for example. We all watch movies, and for some reason many people are interested in which of them Hollywood likes as much as we do. I, for one, don't really care how much even Meryl Streep likes a particular movie, but the idea of designating something as the best example of a class of things--movie, actor, actress, director--oddly has wide-spread appeal in this, perhaps the most competitive society in the world. And the process might have some utility in an arena in which things in the real world matter, like politics. So I am initiating a new award: the LIAR in American politics. LIAR is an acronym for Lack of Integrity And Responsibility. Of course, the Republicans will always have an advantage in the competition for the honor as they are so adept at avoiding responsibility for their actions by blaming others for not doing things the Republican way, but in the end, some Democrats might well be high in the running too...Bart Stupak comes to mind in that regard...but I digress. I think the award should be given once a month, and a yearly award should be given in any year in which a single individual wins the monthly award more than once. Of course, given the politics of the 21st century, there will have to be multiple winners in most years.
For February--this will be the first monthly award--even this early there are two stand-out contenders: Mitch McConnell, of late the Majority Leader in The Senate, and John Boehner, The Speaker of The House. There has been an ongoing squabble over immigration reform, not just between conservatives and liberals, but within the Republican Party as well. As you may recall, a bipartisan immigration reform bill--actually two of them as I recall--went from The Senate to The House of Representatives early in 2013 just after the 113th congress began. At that time, even Mitch McConnell was cajoling the Republicans in The House to pass it, but one man, Boehner, not only prevented the bill from being passed, he prevented it from even coming to a vote by having his majority party give him or his designee...in that case the former deputy obstructionist/liar in chief, Eric Cantor...the exclusive right to call for a vote on the bills, which is a right that House rules bestows on every member except when such a special rule is passed by a majority, and the Republicans had one. So, the reason that the executive orders issued by President Obama are such a bone of contention with Republicans now is that Boehner wouldn't allow them to be resolved by putting the matter to a vote...the hallmark of American Democracy everywhere but in congress. Now, The President having gone around the 113th congress, in the 114th congress Boehner and his Republican colleagues have resorted to an often-used Republican tactic: extortion. They have attached to a bill funding the Homeland Security Department a provision that reverses The President's executive orders, which exempt those who have been dubbed "Dreamers" (undocumented immigrants who were brought here by their parents when they were too young to make their own decisions in such matters) from deportation for a period of time in contemplation of immigration reform that should address their status. That funding, or appropriation bill was sent to The Senate where the Democrats did to the Republican majority what the Republican Majority did to them about a hundred times in the last session of congress: they filibustered it by simply voting against cloture. It takes 60 votes in The Senate to allow a bill to get voted on because there is a "gentlemen's agreement" to pretend that a filibuster--stalling a bill by talking endlessly so as to prevent a vote--is in progress unless a sixty vote majority declines to pretend anymore. That kind of vote is called cloture, and the Republicans didn't have the 60 votes required, so it was prevented from passing, though not defeated. Now here's how these two guys shot to the front of the pack of contenders for the February LIAR in American Politics award.
First, McConnell, in a tacit admission of the fact that others had done unto him what he had done unto them, publicly called Boehner out by saying that the Republican majority in The House had to send The Senate another bill such as would get through The Senate--appropriations bills have to originate in The House under the American Constitution--even though that is the last thing he wants. But Boehner wasn't having any, and he shot back that, "It's time for the Senate to do their work," which is McConnell's responsibility. And he went on to suggest to McConnell that he should "...go ask the Senate Democrats when they are going to get off their ass [sic] and do something other than voting no..." as if Hell has already frozen over. Boehner is famous for crying when he makes profound pronouncements, but this time the only crying was of crocodile tears. They are of the same variety as were cried when Newt Gingrich refused to pass a budget in The House during the Clinton administration...which lost the Republicans seats and Gingrich his job as Speaker...and which hurt the Republicans the last time they tried it under the aegis of McConnell's and Boehner's leadership. With the figurative butter dripping from his lips, Boehner effectively swore that it hadn't melted in his mouth, and he apparently thinks that this time, the American people won't notice.
So, while McConnell is just politically disingenuous this month, Boehner is definitely this month's LIAR, and I can't think of any event that could occur in the balance of February that would change that. Are you voters going to give him the good news or should I?
Your friend,
Mike
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