[1]Right From the Start
Last Friday the congressional Republicans failed to “repeal and replace” Obamacare – a promise that they have been making for nearly seven years. A promise upon which they ran for seven years. A promise for which they always had an excuse for not being able to accomplish. First it was give us the House of Representatives and we will repeal and replace Obamacare. And then it was they could not do it unless they had the Senate – give us the Senate and we will repeal and replace Obamacare. And then it was they could not do it unless they had the President – elect a Republican president and we will repeal and replace Obamacare. The voters dutifully gave them everything that they asked for and they have now FAILED to repeal and replace Obamacare.
It isn’t the first or the last big promise that Congressional Republicans have made and failed to keep. Dating back to April of 2015 I chronicled the promises and failures of the congressional Republicans:
“During the 2014 congressional campaigns the Republicans told us that if we would give them a working majority in both Houses of Congress, they would stop Mr. Obama from unilaterally striking a deal with Iran and releasing the economic and trade sanctions previously imposed against Iran and the ayatollahs. We gave the Republicans a landslide victory in both houses of Congress and the result to date has been NOTHING.
“During the 2014 congressional campaigns the Republicans told us that if we would give them a working majority in both Houses of Congress, they would stop Mr. Obama from unilaterally granting amnesty from deportation to more than 5 Million illegal immigrants currently in America. We gave the Republicans a landslide victory in both houses of Congress and the result to date has been NOTHING.
“During the 2014 congressional campaigns the Republicans told us that if we would give them a working majority in both Houses of Congress, they would repeal and replace Obamacare. We gave the Republicans a landslide victory in both houses of Congress and the result to date has been NOTHING.
“During the 2014 congressional campaigns the Republicans told us that if we would give them a working majority in both Houses of Congress, they would enact meaningful tax reform. We gave the Republicans a landslide victory in both houses of Congress and the result to date has been NOTHING.
I updated that list and the failure of congressional Republicans to act on a quarterly basis until it was nauseating. I even asked why voters would return congressional Republicans to office given their consistent big talk and no action.
I have said – sometimes I think on a yearly basis – that I am a Conservative by choice and a Republican by default – there are no conservatives in the Democrat Party. There are no Democrats allowed to hold elective office that do not support taxpayer funded abortion on demand and the public employees unions. So long as those are a litmus test for Democrats I will never be a Democrat. I remain a conservative but a Republican I am no more. Electing Republicans to Congress has become a pointless exercise.
I want a new party.in response to a request from OregonCatalyst to rate and rank the Republican presidential candidates I said in part the following about now President Donald J. Trump:
“Smart, bombastic, combative but not presidential. Unless the Republican Congress begins to act instead of just talk, Trump should use his resources, organizational skills and media attraction to create a third party for the 2018 congressional elections. A new party consisting of disaffected Republicans, mainstreet business owners, skilled workers, and that part of the immigrant and minority population still in pursuit of the American dream would be a heady mixture. [Emphasis added]
I have not changed my mind. The national Republican Party is less a party than it is a style show for every politician who thinks (s)he should be President. There is no Republican caucus in the House or the Senate there is just a collection of individuals, each of whom thinks that only (s)he has the correct solution for every problem; and truth be told, cannot attract more than a couple colleagues for any issue – think Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX). This is the place where perfect is the absolute enemy of good – think Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC). This is the place where workable ideas go to die. This is the place where you are most likely to be injured if you are standing between one of these megalomaniacs and a television camera – think Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). This is the place where if any one member gets a “leg up” the rest rush to break it – think Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC) and Mr. McCain.
Mr. Trump identified an untapped reservoir of dissatisfaction among voters. A group of voters who were tired of the political elites promising everything but delivering nothing. A group of voters that recognized that the only thing that Congress seriously considered was their own re-election. They were tired of being ignored. They were tired of watching an economy drone on at anemic levels; watching job creation and real employment stuck at historic lows; and watching the cost of healthcare continue to accelerate at increasing rates. Wall Street got richer while middle income earners watched their real earning decline. They wanted change and they got it with Mr. Trump but they lost it with the congressional Republicans.
The demographics of the “Trump Revolution” were precisely as I had described as the base for a new party – disaffected Republicans, mainstreet business owners, skilled workers, and that part of the immigrant and minority population still in pursuit of the American dream. The greatest opportunity for expansion lies with that part of the immigrant and minority population still in pursuit of the American dream.
It isn’t too late for Mr. Trump to undertake this revolution. He should enlist the help of Carly Fiorina, Secretary Ben Carson and Gov. Bobby Jindahl (R-LA). And there is still room for current politicians like Sens. John Thune (R-SD), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Tom Tillis (R-NC), John Scott (R-SC), Joe Manchin (D-WV). And there are sitting governors and Representatives who could be welcomed.
There most assuredly would not be room for Sens. John McCain (R-AZ), Lindsay Graham (R-SC), Ted Cruz (R-TX) or Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
Time is running out.