Donald Trump surprised the world by exceeding the expectations of the experts and winning the race to become America’s 45th president. Surprisingly, he wasn’t the only one. Even though early indications were that Mitch McConnell was likely to become the Senate Minority Leader as a result of Republicans losing control of the Senate, the GOP ended up keeping the majority, even though they lost seats in Illinois and New Hampshire. In addition, Republicans maintained a solid majority in the House of Representatives.
So, with the Republicans in control of Congress and the White House, we should be able to expect the GOP to finally keep the campaign promises they made in 2014 on issues such as: repealing Obamacare, defunding Planned Parenthood, reducing burdensome regulations, lowering taxes and reducing spending. After all, if the reason Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan were unable to keep their promises in these areas was due to Obama’s presidency, that hurdle has now been removed, so getting things done should be a breeze. Right?
Well, before we jump to any conclusions, we need to remember that this is McConnell and Ryan we’re talking about.
After the election, Ryan issued a statement about how Trump had “earned a mandate,” and could therefore count on his support to advance Trump’s agenda. However, Ryan isn’t called Boehner 2.0 for nothing. He has a well-established track record of deeds worthy of his status as a Washington RINO. There’s also the fact that the Representative from Wisconsin is in Trump’s dog house for his lukewarm support of the New York Liberal’s campaign. According to a spokesperson at Trump’s Personal Pravda–Sean Hannity of Faux News–Ryan’s position as House Speaker is in jeopardy.
And then there’s McConnell, who has elevated the practice of surrendering for political advantage into an art form. Even after his recent statement about making the repeal of Obamacare a top priority, it’s important to remember that he made the same promise in 2014 when he was lying to get votes and campaign finance money for his re-election, so there are no guarantees in McConnell’s world.
The Kentucky Senator has bragged about his talent to work “across-the-aisle” as he served as a rubber stamp to Obama’s agenda over the past two years. If Democrats object to any effort he makes to advance the Republican agenda, as they certainly will, the chances of McConnell caving to his Democrat friends remain quite high, as we see in his unwillingness to change the filibuster rule.
I wrote a few days ago about the importance of voting down ballot in support of Conservatives and Republicans in order to help the GOP maintain control of the Senate in order to stop Hillary or help Trump, depending on who won. With the outcome now decided, and with Washington fully under Republican rule, it’s time for the GOP to put up or shut up concerning the issues important to America.
David Leach is the owner of The Strident Conservative, your source for opinion that’s politically-incorrect and always “right.” His articles can also be found on RedState.com.
His daily radio commentary is nationally syndicated with Salem Radio Network and can be heard on stations across America.
