Dr. Forbush Thinks

The most notable thing about the current congress is the lack of confrontation with the White House. How many bills have been vetoed? Where are the late night sessions where the House leaderships works to hammer out a deal with the President so that he’ll sign the tough legislation? How many times has the Vice President been called in to break the close tie vote in the Senate? None of these things have happened, because the Congress has been a rubber stamp of the administration. But we all know what Shakespeare said, “All the world’s a stage,” and maybe that is exactly what the Republican Party has in mind.

Instead of strong leadership in the congress fighting for the American people, the congress has taken to supporting the talking money of the lobbyists. The truth here is that the Republican Party that told you back in the early 1990s that they would rid government of “special interests” has brought their own brand of special interests to Washington. Instead of groups wanting laws to keep the air and water clean, we have groups that want companies to be able to drill for oil wherever they please and not be responsible to clean up afterward. Instead of groups fighting for fair labor conditions across the board at all companies in America, we have groups of companies that want to hire cheap labor who will work 24/7 without regulation of any kind. The interests have changed, but the “special interest” groups are still calling the shots in Washington. And, the Republican Party has made their job even more efficient than the Democrats ever did.

With such an organized effort going on, there isn’t any room for conflict, or even a pothole in the road. Unfortunately for the Republican congress the lack of conflict looks like the congress is in lock step with the President. If the two branches of government are working together, then what’s the problem?

Well, the problem is that the President’s approval ratings are awfully low. The Congress’s approval ratings are awfully low. Logic would have you believe that if the approval rating are low and there is no conflict, then the government is not doing what the people would like the government to do. This makes sense to the average American. This makes sense to the Congress and the Bush administration as well.

So, maybe the brilliant political mind of Karl Rove has decided to create some theatrics in order to help the congress get reelected. After all, it doesn’t really matter what the President’s approval ratings are this year. But, it does matter what the approval ratings are for 33 members of the Senate and the entire House of Representatives. Perhaps if a few of the close races were to be energized with a little screaming of sorts, then the people would feel as if their congressman was actually fighting the good fight against the tyranny in the form of a misguided President. And, maybe the conflict could be resolved just before the election with the President changing his mind on a key issue or two. Perhaps then the Republicans could get back to screwing the American people in the name of special interests.

 
 


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Don't forget what Stephen Colbert said, "Reality has a well-known liberal bias."

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Politics