Government Shutdowns And Other Political Stuff

I’m tired of all of the political indignation by Washington Republican Party members of congress that leaves them with no choice but to shut down the government! Ouch, that hurts…everyone except members of congress and other high-level government officials and employees!  All of the rest of us (aka The Pawns) are left to grin and bear it until congress decides that it is okay for us to resume our lives again.

Here is a novel idea, why doesn’t congress pass a law that says whenever the government is shut down that – along with all of the other Americans who are not being paid, falling behind on their mortgage payments and other bills and are having their lives ruined, they too will not get paid until the government resumes normal operation? I would like to see something like this become a permanent law but even if they just gave it a trial run first by making it a sunset law I would bet that we would have fewer shutdowns or perhaps, none at all.

And even if congress did pass a law that would force them to forego their pay along with the rest of struggling Americans whenever there is a government shutdown, who on God’s green earth would want to place a Party in control of the US government whose solution to every problem is to shut it down? Obviously, the question is rhetorical because currently there are those who are willing to do this.  One can only hope that there are more voters who would not be willing to do it and that they will show up and vote in the 2016 general election.

And while I am venting my frustration, here is another thing that is still a constant irritant to me; have you ever thought when you hear the name US Chamber of Commerce that this organization is in some way affiliated with the federal government? Maybe you haven’t but I certainly have; albeit a very long time ago.  I know better now but I wonder how many people out there still think that the US Chamber of Commerce is somehow connected to the federal government?  I’m sure that I am not the only person in America who at one time or another thought that this was the case; and maybe there are still those who think so today.

Here is yet another novel idea, why don’t they rename the US Chamber of Commerce? Perhaps they could call it the ‘Chamber of Commerce in America’, ‘American’s Chamber of Commerce, ‘America’s states Chamber of Commerce’ or some other name that is much better than the ones mentioned here?  Then, if the state Chambers of Commerce also needed to change their names for the same or related reasons as those of the US Chamber of Commerce, they could.

For example, maybe instead of calling Colorado’s Chamber of Commerce the Colorado Chamber of Commerce they could rename it the ‘Chamber of Commerce of Colorado’, ‘Chamber of Commerce – Colorado or something of that nature. They could do this same thing in the other states.

Just don’t call it the US Chamber of Commerce or, as mentioned in the preceding example, the Colorado Chamber of Commerce. Why?  Because whether or not there are Americans who still believe that these Chambers of Commerce are affiliated with the federal or state government, the names imply that they are.  And many times when these organizations line up against certain candidates for public office, especially the office of US President, that implication can have an impact on the way that one will vote especially if they believe that it is an affiliate of the federal or state government that is recommending one candidate over another.

But right now, my concerns about potential government shutdowns and name changes pale in light of the current situation in the Republican Party, which is threatening our two Party system and has the potential to destroy it. At this point it looks a lot like the Republican Party has inadvertently initiated a countdown to assisted suicide.  I say ‘assisted’ suicide because it was high-level congressional Republican leaders who were instrumental in bringing many of those who are now a part of the rebellious Freedom Caucus into congress.

This happened by way of what I will refer to as a mini Trojan Horse scheme instigated by disgruntled conservative Republicans. Incumbent congressmen like Speaker John Boehner and Kevin McCarthy pulled these mini Trojan Horses inside the gates and once the imposters were elected the real candidates emerged from their hiding place and began to wreak havoc.  They have already brought about the demise of the two men who pulled them inside the gates, Speaker Boehner – who has agreed to remain in office until they can find someone to accept the speaker job, and Kevin McCarthy who was in line to replace Speaker Boehner but withdrew as a candidate as a result of pressure applied by these same rebels that pushed Speaker Boehner out of office.  Now they are baiting Paul Ryan to take the speaker job so that they can completely rid themselves of Speaker Boehner.  And then – if they do not get their way on every issue under Paul Ryan’s leadership, they will likely try to oust him.

Paul Ryan has made some demands as a condition of accepting the speaker job but he had better be very careful no matter what promises this so-called Freedom Caucus group might make to him. Would you ever have imagined before now that any politician would be running away from a job where the person in that position is third in the United States presidential line of succession?  This means that if something were to happen to the President, Vice President Joe Biden would be first in line to take his place and the next person would be the Speaker of the House.  Nonetheless, the fact is that no politician of consequence really wants the job.

I read an article in Vox recently where the author said that “the GOP might be in chaos, but Democrats are in a torpor.” He went on to talk about how the Democrats were not in any way preparing for or strategizing on how to support down-ballot candidates in 2016, which is where they really need to focus.  This author has a point but with all of the gerrymandering by Republican controlled statehouses that took place based on the 2010 census data it will be hard for Democrats to gain any ground in those states until the next time that districts are redrawn no matter how much preparing and strategizing they do now.  And even then things will not be easy.

But until then, Democrats will have to work hard to educate voters and sell them their message, which they believe is the best way for America to move forward. It will then be up to voters to get informed, reflect on what has happened and how our government has been run – especially over the past five years when a lot of new faces entered congress, and vote for candidates based on their voting record and what they have accomplished for their constituents and America instead of on sleek sound bites.

Eulus Dennis