Or perhaps a better question… do they really want to?
It’s worth contemplating because it seems that our lawmakers have something of a very short memory. At a time when Congress has hit a point of historic divisiveness and the country stands on the brink of another potential government shut down, House Democrats have remained mostly mum on the cause for all of this chaos. But Democrats are not the reason that Comprehensive Immigration reform hasn’t been passed. Democrats are not the reason that local communities are being deprived of vital funds to repair our nation’s crumbling infrastructure. And Democrats are not the ones threatening to make matters worse just to hold Obamacare hostage. All of these things are being done exclusively by the GOP.
Many are saying that John Boehner is possibly the worst speaker ever thanks to his abysmal record of not being able to influence his caucus… a problem that Minority Leader and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi never had in all her tenure. Yet, back in 2010, the GOP was able to take Nancy Pelosi’s Speakership and drag it so far through the mud that they booted her out of office.
Remember the “Fire Pelosi” bus tour? “Fire Pelosi” bumper stickers, campaign signs, pins and hats? It was a bold calculation by then RNC chairman Michael Steele to go after the Speaker of the House, and it was marvelously orchestrated. Rep. Nancy Pelosi became more hated than anyone else in Washington, and, perhaps most importantly, she became a house-hold name directly associated with all that was wrong in our government. The general public, even those that didn’t follow politics, knew that in order to “Fire Pelosi” you had to vote the Democrats out of the House. The phrase was everywhere in 2010, and the campaign was so successful in fact that it helped raise millions of dollars for the RNC. Even back in March of 2010, “Fire Nancy Pelosi” was trending on Google!! It’s a testament to the effectiveness with which the GOP apparatus operates. Who cares if the message wasn’t predicated in truth or facts? It WORKED.
Heard any talks of a “Fire Boehner” campaign? That’s because no one is even considering it. But we should be. The Republican brand is in crisis mode right now, and even the party faithful are beginning to question whether the GOP has a place for them. The National Memo even came out with a piece discussing the 5 reasons Republicans are worried they could lose the House, and Democrats should be at the ready to remind voters of these reasons. Chief among them is Boehner’s failure to act on Immigration reform. The Speaker knows that his party’s true intention for the bill is to see it die. But instead of exposing the GOP’s lies, Democrats have chosen to sheepishly hide from confrontation, and as a result, provide them cover to steal another election.
The Left has got to break this cycle of never fighting back. They’ve tried being the “nice guys”… hoping the GOP would eventually see the logic of doing the right thing. I’m here to tell y’all, it ain’t gonna happen in the House. It’s time for the party to wake up… there is a real possibility that Dems could lose the Senate in 2014. Republican control of both Houses of Congress would be unacceptable at this point. They have proven time and again that they have no interest in actually governing the nation. Eventually, the Left must admit to themselves that this kind of back-biting against the other party is necessary. We need to stand together and launch an attack on the GOP. If we don’t, Republicans might pull a fast one like they did in 2010.
