Republicans will now taste their bitter harvest

[Arkansas Granny]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/katrina-vanden-heuvel-republicans-will-now-taste-their-bitter-harvest/2014/11/11/eb4c640e-6906-11e4-a31c-77759fc1eacc_story.html

In the early 3rd century B.C., after King Pyrrhus of Epirus again took brutal casualties in defeating the Romans, he told one person who offered congratulations, “If we are victorious in one more battle with the Romans, we shall be utterly ruined.” In his more sober moments, Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), about to achieve his lifelong ambition of becoming Senate majority leader, may wonder whether he, too, has achieved a pyrrhic victory.

Republicans are still crowing about the sweeping victories in 2014 that give them control of both houses of Congress. They will set the agenda, deciding what gets considered, investigated and voted on. Their ideas will drive the debate.

But Republicans have no mandate because they offered no agenda. Republicans reaped the rewards of McConnell’s scorched-earth strategy, obstructing President Obama relentlessly, helping to create the failure that voters would pin on the party in power. But the collateral damage is that the “party of ‘no’?” has no agreement on what is yes. Instead of using the years in the wilderness to develop new ideas and a clear vision, Republicans have used them only to sharpen their tongues, grow their claws and practice their backhands.

Republicans paid no penalty for obstructing every measure that might have given the recovery more juice, blocking even the infrastructure spending that has been a bipartisan response in every downturn. They paid no penalty for shutting down the government and forcing mindless austerity that cost jobs. They paid no penalty for their perfervid hysteria on foreign policy issues – screeching about phantom terrors of pregnant immigrants helping Islamic State terrorists and Ebola victims slip in the country to kill us here at home. They never needed to fill in the magic asterisks in Rep. Paul Ryan’s risible budgets, enabling him to deny the damage to Medicare, education, food stamps and the most vulnerable that his plans would require.

More at link.

[unblock]

1. they're used to not having a mandate, it never stops them from claiming one.

mostly they have a mandate to not be black, and they will have a pretty easy time delivering on that.

beyond that, they always wrote their own ticket throughout shrub's highly unpopular administration, why would they look to the people now for their mandate?

[cprise]

2. Indeed. The OP shows Liberal wishful thinking. n/t

[Judi Lynn]

3. Really love the author.Good to see her thought on these perverted clowns.Thanks,Arkansas Granny. n/t

[bvar22]

4. Thr Republicans have the same "agenda" they have always had.

*Disenfranchise Minorities

*Destroy Social Security and any other programs that assist anyone below their class.

*Privatize the Public School System/ Bust the Teachers Union

*Target ALL Unions or any other Organization that gives voice to The Poor/Working Classd

*Lower Taxes on the already RICH

*Deregulate everything

*Defund the Watch Dog agencies

*Expand the Empire of Global Corporations


These should be a surprise to nobody.

[Arkansas Granny]

7. This has been their agenda for a long time. Somehow, they've sold their base

into believing that these actions are moral and patriotic. It has certainly worked here in Arkansas, as you well know.

[czarjak]

5. More wealth for the wealthy...

Of course there's an agenda.

[blkmusclmachine]

6. Here is the GOP agenda ~>

Pass Keystone Pipeline.
Pass Trans Pacific Partnership.
"Reform" Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid.
Tax cuts for Big Business.
Deregulate EVERYTHING.
Kill National Health Care (but keep the tax bill).
Pass US Federal Marriage Amendment barring gay people.
Input on Supreme Court Justice replacement.
Kill Minimum Wage.
Finish off Roe v. Wade.
50 state Voter ID for 2016.


...and they'll get enough "Democrats" on board so the Media can run against our Candidate in 2016.

[4dsc]

8. So what, if you don't vote don't complain

of course the GOP is going to attack the poor and middle class but those people didn't vote so there is not protecting them now.

[Arkansas Granny]

9. So, those of us who do vote share the same consequences.