Predictable GOP Collapse

Member Group : Lefty's Logic

Yogi Nailed It!

The latest Washington vaudeville act ended during the night of October 16th with a predictable conclusion. The can was kicked down the road with future generations paying the consequences. My barn cat Yogi predicted the congressional outcome eleven months ago in the column, "Polydactyl Wisdom." The column is repeated here. You be the judge as to whether we have the national will power to reestablish fiscal responsibility and common sense.

"The wind was blowing hard on Joe Hill and Old Sol was fighting a losing battle on a cold, cloudy day. Perfect time to stay indoors, poke at the wood fire, relax, and go easy rather than fight Mother Nature with outdoor chores that could wait till the next day.

My two loyal companions, Sweeney and Yogi, were keeping me company. Miss
Sweeney was stretched out beside the hearth half asleep while King Yogi sat in the window sill. It was one of those occasional moments of comparing mind thoughts.

I’d been contemplating our national economic health that has deteriorated to the point of becoming comatose. Yogi looked up, made eye contact, and snickered: "You’ve got to be kidding me Lefty" He always drops the Mister when he gets impatient. " The cause and solution to the problem is as plain as the whiskers on your face. Two words define the problem and two words outline the path to solution." All right smart guy, I retorted.

Share the wisdom!

"The problem is career politicians and the solution is better oversight." Continue, I thought as he now had my full attention. "Lets use an analogy" he said as he licked one of his polydactyl paws. " Right now the financial fate of the country is resting on a bad poker hand. Let’s review the cards we’ve been dealt. On the Republican side we’ve got two nice old guys with an image problem. John Boehner looks like a guy who spent too much time in a tanning booth and when he assumed the role of House Speaker, He cried like a little girl. There’s no crying in hard ball politics!" Yogie shouted, doing his best
Tom Hanks imitation. " Then there’s Mitch McConnell. Remember the old radio show, The Life Of Riley? He’s the perfect double for Digger O’Dell the Friendly Undertaker.

Nice guy, sharp as a tack, but remember, in career politics image is everything so he comes to the plate with an 0-2 count. Now let’s look at what the Democrats have to offer.

Nancy Pelosi? Get serious. One more Botox treatment and she’ll be playing The Joker in the next Batman movie and just when you think it can’t get any worse she opens her mouth and it does. Last but not least is poor old Harry Reid. If vaudeville needs another Charlie McCarthy, Harry will be there to fill the gig. With all the people in Congress who could instill confidence in the electorate, you humans have got to be masochistic to deal yourselves this hand." That’s only four I thought, then Yogie continued " Last and most important is the President. The guy’s brilliant and any Republican who can’t recognize that is deluding himself. Add to that intelligence, charisma that would give
Ronald Reagan and F.D.R. a run for their money and you’ve got the recipe for this disaster. President Obama’s the most important player in this game but here’s the rub.

Conciliation ain’t his cup of tea. He’s strictly a take no prisoners guy with a heavy dose of narcissism in play. When he was abandoned by his dad a Communist became his mentor. He served his short apprenticeship with the Chicago Machine so he actually believes government is the answer instead of the problem. The President knows he’s got the Republicans on the ropes. Now he’s maneuvering for the K.O. since the Republicans have an insatiable habit of snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory. With Obama’s first term track record they should have been able to select a winning candidate by holding a lottery. Instead they got completely out hustled by a Democratic grass roots effort that rivaled the plans for the Normandy Invasion. The Republicans still don’t get it: Marquess
of Queensberry Rules don’t stand a chance against a back alley street fighter, especially when their opponent learned his trade in Chicago. I’ll bet you a saucer of milk against one of your disgusting beers that when the smoke clears these five career pols and their congressional buddies will have put another band-aide on the economic hemorrhaging and continue to kick the can down the road toward your grand children."

Well Yogi, let’s pretend we rid Washington of careerists, then how do we fix the existing problem? " I already told you, better oversight. For the past fifty years career Pols have created a ton of programs but they haven’t been properly monitored for effectiveness and overlap. Do you think for one second any career bureaucrat who administers these monstrosities is going to report the ineffectiveness of the goose that’s laying their golden paycheck and obscene pension plan? You humans were handed the answer by Tom Coburn, a Republican Senator from Oklahoma, years ago. Coburn was a well respected
MD before he volunteered to do penance and serve two terms in the Senate. Dr Coburn has put out reports showing how ridiculous most programs performed since Lyndon Johnson started raiding the Social Security Lock Box, robbing Peter to pay Paul. More recently Coburn’s book, " The Debt Bomb", received bipartisan praise from veteran Washington insiders. Unfortunately, every program has a constituency and since in Washington reelection trumps doing the peoples’ business, the problem will only continue to get worse. It’s not a Big D vs Big R problem. There are good people on both sides of the aisle who go to Washington to serve, bringing diverse professional experience with them, then return to the real world. Senator Jim Webb of Virginia is an example of a Democrat who just finished serving two terms and is voluntarily stepping
aside. Tragically, Congress has become the reciprocal of Darwin’s Survival of the Fittest."

Gee Yogie, you’re message would depress a hyena. " What can I say Boss? Which do
you want: The truth or the sugar coating John Q Public seems to want?" With that final pronouncement Yogie jumped from the window sill and meowed to be let out. The mind thought exchange had been broken. As he left, all I heard was the cold wind outside."

Stratton Schaeffer
Retired Consulting Engineer and Farmer
December, 2012