There’s an old axiom often attributed to Albert Einstein about the definition of insanity, which you’ve probably heard before, and it goes like this: “Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” While the tongue-in-cheek definition may or may not have originated with the German physicist, it is clearly applicable to the Washington establishment and the Republican party.
Ever since the 2014 mid-term election, the GOP has enjoyed full control of Capitol Hill. Under the feckless leadership Mitch McConnell in the Senate, in addition to John Boehner and John Boehner 2.0 (Paul Ryan) in the House, the party that was elected to stop Obama’s fundamental transformation of America was a colossal failure; becoming a rubber stamp for Obama’s agenda.
In the aftermath of an election where the GOP managed to retain control of Congress, in addition to snagging the White House, do you think these losers would be kicked out on their cans due to their poor job performance? Of course not. They’re insane, remember?
In unanimous votes–UNANIMOUS!–Republicans re-elected Senate Majority Leader Mitch “Lying Liar” McConnell and Speaker of the House Paul “Tax and Spend” Ryan to their respective positions. In addition, they re-elected their inner circles:
- In the Senate: John Cornyn (TX) will be Party Whip, John Thune (SD) will be Conference Chair, Roy Blunt (MO) will be Conference Vice Chair, and John Barrasso will be the Policy Committee Chair.
- In the House: Kevin McCarthy (CA) will be Majority Leader, Steve Scalise will be Party Whip, and Cathy McMorris Rogers will be Conference Chair.
Not a new name in the bunch. And only Steve Scalise has a passing grade with Conservative Review, coming in with a “D.” Early indications of just how bad it will be now that we know that the inmates will continue running the asylum can be seen in their activities during the lame duck.
In the House of Representatives, we’ve witnessed the creation of a government board designed to serve as a marketing arm to the concrete industry, and paid for with a new tax on concrete purchases.We’ve also seen a move by John Culberson (TX), Mike Rogers (AL), and Tom Rooney (FL)–three more members of Congress with a Conservative Review failing grade–to restore the earmarks to the budget process. This tool is used to help pass unpopular legislation, and buy votes back home when incumbents run for re-election. Ryan put the brakes on this effort yesterday, but only until the 1st quarter of 2017 when the “drain the swamp” pressure will have subsided.
And in the Senate, McConnell has already taken term limits off the table, is vacillating on changing the filibuster rules in order to repeal Obamacare and approve strict constitutionalist justices nominated to the Supreme Court.
Another quote attributed to Albert Einstein goes like this: “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
Once again, the words of Professor Einstein are clearly applicable to the Republican Party.
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.
