The Government Shutdown Ends, and the Republican Senate Leadership Shuts Out the People

The impasse over whether or not to raise the debt limit
has ended, and now what remains is the aftermath. One
of the points of contention had been what to do with
the Affordable Care Act, a/k/a Obamacare; to fund or
to defund? Coming into the deadline to pass a budget
and to raise the debt limit this has been a source of
hostility and rancor, as well as stubbornness and
pettiness.

Congressional Republicans were united, or at least
seemed to be, behind eliminating Obamacare; the
House had drafted and passed legislation to do just
that, only to see the measure voted down by the
Senate, sparing the bill the president's veto. But
here, the GOP in both chambers could have gotten
President Obama to at the very least concede some
ground regarding his health care plan which would
have placed one-sixth of the nation's economy under
government auspices. First, the Republicans told
Obama that they would be willing to raise the debt
limit and allow Obama's spending measures in the
budget to stand, provided that Obamacare would not
see implementation. Obama would have none of it.
Second, the Republicans changed their stance on
Obamacare to defund it, that is, letting the
program sink or swim with what it had been given.
Obama again refused. Third, the GOP changed
its tack to delaying Obamacare for one year so
people could get a chance to see what they would be
expected to buy for health insurance and get them-
selves financially prepared to pay the horrendously
costly premiums (remember when Obama told us
that his health plan would save us money? And
that if we already have health insurance that we
are happy with we could keep it? Yet more mule
fritters from the Liar-in-Chief!). Obama's response?
Nothing doing.

And all the while, Obama made sure to make the
government shutdown as painful as possible for as
many people as possible, and tried his damndest to
get people to believe that the Republicans were entirely
to blame. Remember what happened to the WWII
veterans who came to visit their memorial? That
was but one of many shocking examples of Obama's
arrogant, petty, vindictive behavior, showing him
as less of a president and more of a dictator.

But in the final version of the budget, the Republicans,
led by House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority
Leader Mitch McConnell, helped pass a budget that
does nothing --- NOTHING --- to address the most
serious fiscal problems facing our nation and does
nothing to repeal, defund, or delay Obamacare; the only
thing that the Republican jellyfish gained on the latter
was income verification measures to verify eligibility
for Obamacare subsidies to assist with the premium
payments. Crumbs off the table instead of a slice of
roast beef! The Republicans did what they all too often
do when in a fight; they wimp out and turn tail. But
there's more, and it ain't pretty.

Sen. McConnell was offered a sweetener by President
Obama: a $2.9 billion payment to build a dam in his
home state of Kentucky if he would accept Obamacare
as is and pipe down. Moderate-liberal Sen. Lamar
Alexander (R-TN) wrote the amendment into the bill
to seal the deal. Meanwhile, Kentuckians and their
families will see their health insurance premiums rise
and their number of available providers dwindle. No
relief for them, nor for anyone else in the other
forty-nine. Too bad, so sad. The elitists score big,
while us peasants get shut out. And their pals in
the pharmaceutical industry will reap big gains from
this foul bargain; $35 billion in profits. No wonder
so many Big Pharma corporate bigwigs were gung ho
for Obamacare! No defunding, no delays. And McConnell
gets his "Kentucky Kickback", and further invitations
to Washington cocktail parties as his thirty pieces of
silver. This is crony capitalism at its worst!

Then the bill was sent back to Boehner and the House.
In that chamber, the Republicans were split along
ideological lines, with 86 representatives voting for
this wholesale sellout and 144 stout souls sticking to
their principles and the people who sent them there
to rein in a runaway budget and bring down the mon-
strosity that is Obamacare.

Again, your enraged Peasant wishes to remind you, my
grand readers, that this sort of behavior by the GOP is
the reason why I left the party and have been a conser-
vative independent ever since. I saw this atrociousness
on other issues back during the second Bush admini-
stration, the selling out of the party's conservative core
and core supporters like myself, just to line some pockets
and get ingratiated with the D.C. "swells" as well as with
Wall Street and some big corporate interests, and it made
me sick to my stomach. And I know that this latest
fiasco from Washington is making you folks reach for the
barf bags and the Kaopectate as well. So here's the cure
for what ails us: starting with next year's elections, we
get rid of the spineless, the schemers, the sellouts, and
the hoity-toities who have gotten fat on the clubby
surroundings there in Washington, forgetting who sent
them there and the reasons why! We shall "primary"
these jerks by sending true conservatives with titanium
spines, crystal clear minds, and impeccable integrity.
We won't forget those on the other side of the aisle
either! We shall send candidates of this very caliber to
challenge and defeat them come the general election.
We'll strengthen the House and take the Senate, sending
the country clubbers packing along with the far-out,
far left-wing Democrats! And in 2016, we'll field a
true conservative --- not a "Beltway conservative" ---
to be the Republican presidential nominee, and field
a like-minded running mate for him/her. No more
McCains and Romneys! Only REAL conservatives
need apply! We need, and we must, nominate and
elect people who will fight for us and not tire quickly
of the battle, who will not retreat, who will never
surrender. Our country is in dire need of such leaders,
therefore our duty is clear. We can not depend on
many of those now in Congress; we must now depend
on ourselves.

And time is of the essence.


MEM