Dumb actions often have unseen consequences, like this one...
Well, there might be a bit of hyperbole in this claim – there surely have been a lot of dumb bills introduced into both houses of Congress over the decades. But the one I am about to disclose ranks pretty high.
First I must start with the second dumbest legislative proposal. I will be brief because this one has been vetted endlessly already. That would be shutting down the government by demanding defunding of Obamacare. It was dumb for lots of reasons, but the major one was obviously it had no possible chance of every passing either the Senate, or the signature of the president. It idea that Obama would preside over the demise of his signature piece of legislation was simply bizarre. Whoever concocted this absurd idea had to have his/her head up their tuchus to waste the time and money of the world’s most powerful legislative body. No matter how you describe it, that legislation was simply nonsense. A better description would be insane, because it has caused needless damage to our country.
Anyway, its futility eventually became clear, and the Republicans walked away from that idea, only to propose one that was not far from the ignorance of the first one: delay Obamacare for a year, just as the president did for large corporations. This too had no possibility of passage, and had the added flaw of assuming the individual mandate was comparable to that of the corporate one. In fact, the individual mandate was critical to the success of the program because a mix of individuals had to sign up to make the program actuarially sound.
Be that as it may, we now come to the number one dumbest legislative proposal in recent history: the piecemeal funding of various parts of government. After going for broke – and losing – on the Obamacare issue, the GOP’s fall back was to fund certain parts of government, after the ramifications of their actions began to create blowback. At first it was a few critical elements: some funding for the VA because of the publics’ respect for veterans; then the National Institutes of Health, when it was discovered there were some children’s cancer treatments at risk; and finally, the National Parks and monuments. Did the legislators who proposed this nonsense not realize there would be unforseen consequences to their actions?
Regarding the parks and monuments, Fox News derided the closing of open air parks and spaces (like the WWII memorial) by suggesting that folks go to the Black Hills and stare at Mount Rushmore in defiance of the administration. Also they sneered at the closing of the WWII memorial because it was not enclosed anyway. The only problem with this logic is, the park personnel who work these national treasures also protect them from vandalism and unauthorized activities, and while these government employees are furloughed, it is prudent to close these kinds of venues to the public. The outcry about the WWII memorial was especially strident, with the GOP blaming everyone – but themselves – for banning our vets from the WWII site.
As the ramifications continued to unfold in the shut down, the right wing Republicans list of “let’s also fund this” grew. At this point it became unclear, even to the Tea Party folks, what was going to be so unpopular they had better back off. Soon those discussions included such things as NASA, some added veterans’ services, Washington DC government employees, border security, the EPA, with others soon added to the list. Harry Reid, Senate Majority leader best described this process as “a wacky idea…to cherry pick those parts of the government (the Republicans) liked.” Nancy Pelosi’s comments were the plan was akin “to releasing one hostage at a time.” At any rate the plan was so flawed it began to crumble on its own. And it did not address the worst grievance: the furloughing of hundreds of thousands of government workers now without a paycheck (many of whom continued to work without getting paid and 30 percent of whom are also veterans).
Then the unthinkable happened. Five servicemen and women killed in action were denied (actually delayed) funeral rites and family benefits. The blame game began anew, with again Fox leading the way. Their hosts could not find words enough to excoriate the Obama administration. Despite the fact that everyone knew these brave men and women would eventually and quickly get the burial and respect they deserved, the charges about an uncaring president and administration were incredibly disingenuous.
At this point, I must repeat my previous observation: did the legislators who proposed this nonsense not realize there would be unforseen consequences to their actions?
Well, now the “dumbest legislative proposal in history” appears to be in our rear view mirror. The hard right Republicans quite likely are now concocting something equally bizarre to take its place. However, speaking of mirrors, perhaps a good idea would be to cover the walls of the House with mirrors, so the legislators there would know who to fault when dumb ideas are proposed.