I was driving home from work this afternoon, listening to NPR News.
Some sort of "drama" in the Senate. Seems that the Democrats sat down with the Republicans and drafted a bill - together.
Said bill subsequently goes down in flames because those same Republicans voted against cloture. Filibustered. Again.
How is this drama? Is it drama when your neighbor puts out his trashcan on trash day? If you spit into the wind, is it drama if you get wet?
Not drama, and not a surprise.
What surprised me was . . . me, blurting out God Damn It! at the radio. I had to turn it off.
It's clear that Republicans have no interest in governing. McConnell comes out with his bullshit "we had to make a stand" whine. A stand against hungry kids who rely on food stamps. A stand against anything that benefits you or me. A stand against bridges that don't fall apart and kill people. A stand against healthy people, against poor kids going to college, against people in love getting married, against workplace safety, against the environment. Against voters. Against women. Against secular government. Against tolerance. A stand against all these fricken freeloaders out here trying to make a living on minimum wage, or searching for work.
Against everything this country used to strive for, against huge odds.
I thought they just hated Obama. They hate US. You and me. Or they just forgot we we're here, forgot to remember that any of us matter more than their "stand" and their anti-Obama posturing and their cynical lies.
Wah wah, we couldn't vote for it, what about our principles??
A stand against the truth.
But oh, no, this is not just about the Republicans. I hear the word filibuster and I want to freaking scream. F*cking Harry Reid! I yelled at the radio.
The Democrats are a bunch of enablers. No one could have known the gop scumbags would reneg on their deal, right? No one could have known they would agree to something and then filibuster it, right?
We knew. Everyone at Dkos who isn't here to troll knew. It's like 54 people on the planet are the only ones who didn't know, didn't realize they were getting okey-doked - yet again.
I don't even want to say this, it's so pathetic. I think Harry Reid actually thinks that, if the Republicans took the Senate, they would leave the filibuster as is.
No, I know, it's crazy, right??
But I think he has their word on it, spit in the palm super-secret handshake, wink and nudge. Harry, we won't pull the football er, make it more difficult to filibuster if you're ever in the minority! Fair's fair, Harry. We wouldn't do that to you!
Republicans are up to their asses in "stands".
Far too many democrats wouldn't know a "stand" if it hit them squarely between their eyes. "Stand" means messy and loud. It means you have to explain yourself. It means someone might not like you. Sometimes it means you have to be something other than a gentleman whose worst swear word is "poppycock".
Harry, these guys are the enemy. They aren't your friends. They will sock it to you before the spit in your palm is dry. You know what to do with the enemy, Harry. Drop that filibuster-busting bomb. Blow it up. Make them have to do something other than "this needs 60" in order to kill legislation that might make things better for us.
Harry, you're nice to them - and that means you are not being nice to us. Whining about mean untrustworthy republicans does not help us. Strongly worded statements and head and finger shaking don't help us.
Getting stuff passed helps us. Making sure the least of us, hungry kids, have enough to eat. That we leave them a livable planet with breathable air, clean water and extraordinary natural places. That we have the dignity of having jobs. That we can VOTE. That our infrastructure is not a huge deadly accident waiting to happen.
Today was just about the last straw for me. I can hardly stand the lot of them.
We here could probably go on for weeks talking about how fucked up the gop is without repeating ourselves.
Reid - what can I say?
Today I'm disgusted. He can't get anything done? Burn the filibuster, Harry. Wake the hell up. The GOP won't play so you have to give way on what used to be the fundamental underpinnings of the democratic platform? Oh hell no you don't.
Today Republicans in the Senate smeared a bill (that they helped craft) on the highway like roadkill. Democrats never saw it coming.
Sociopaths and their enablers.
Nothing more to say.