Congress No Longer Functions, Since the Crazies Have Taken Over

Back in the day, liberals once had conservative values—and conservatives returned the favor by supporting certain useful liberal legislation.

I was a Republican for half my voting life, although I always voted a split-ticket and still do. But those were the days of fair taxes, a thriving middle class and a reasonable safety-net for the poor, supported by Republicans like Eisenhower, Nixon and the senior George Bush. Republicans, prior to Ronald Reagan’s presidency, believed in balanced budgets, keeping the infrastructure from falling apart and a rules-based CIA.

It seems to me that was before the radical right took control, and now there are no adults in charge

I’ve been voting since Eisenhower’s second term, but I’m eager to be educated in how Republicans define ‘conservatism,’ should such a thing be possible.

Tell me what’s ‘conservative’ about the current $34 trillion gross federal debt. To conserve means “to keep in safety and protect from harm, decay, loss, or destruction, essentially to use cautiously and frugally.” The last ‘balanced’ budget occurred in Bill Clinton’s presidency, and he actually paid down the national debt by $453 billion, the only time this happened between 1970 and today. Bill wasn’t perfect, no president is, but he got some things right.

Joe Biden increased the national debt by $4.7 trillion (16.67%) in his four years. In the same four-year time frame, Donald Trump raised the debt by twice that, $8.18 trillion (40.43%). His was lower than Barack Obama (69.98%) and George W. Bush (105.8%), but both of them averaged the increase over two terms.

What could possibly be ‘conservative’ about a Congress that has become so partisan that it cannot legislate? Is it ‘conservative’ to offshore our production capacity and destroy a healthy middle class? What does it ‘conserve’ to transfer the entire nation’s wealth to 1% of its inhabitants?

How did this idiocy begin, and continue to happen over half a century?

I’m glad you asked. Most of the voting public are too young to remember. And yes, there is a value to living a long life because it creates a living history, rather than one derived from books. I have lived such a life.

Thirty-eight years ago (before half of America was even born), an unelected private citizen managed to put a gun to the heads of congressional Republicans. A voice from out of the blue turned America from a lender to a debtor nation, all by himself, and by nothing more than intimidation. Grover Norquist, a political activist and tax reduction advocate, founded Americans for Tax Reform, an organization that opposes all tax increases.

I get that. It’s our democratic privilege to stand on a public soapbox and advocate whatever nit-witticisms we care to

But Grover threatened to unseat any Republican Senator or Representative who did not sign his no-tax pledge. And, with specific private funding to run them out of office, he accomplished just that, and has continued that threat over four decades. Not against all congressional members, but only (and specifically) Republicans.

Prior to the November 2012 election, the pledge had been signed by 95% of all Republican members of Congress and all but one of the candidates running for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman refused, and went on to serve in every presidential administration from Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump.

Even so, if you threatened members of Congress with a gun, the law would send you off to prison. If you threaten them with a loss at the ballot box, it’s perfectly legal, but it’s intimidation, none the less.

Today, hard as it is to believe, 42 senators and 189 House members (all Republicans) remain signed to the pledge. Additionally, as if any further abuse was possible, 171 Election Deniers (all Republicans) remain in Congress. Thus, almost one-third of the body believes the Biden administration is illegal.

Try to run a bipartisan government on that basis

Accordingly, Congress has failed to pass a budget on time almost every year for the last 45 years. The reason legislators can’t negotiate a budget anymore is because only one side is willing to come to the table. Democrats are willing to discuss the budget cuts Republicans want, but Republicans are not willing to discuss the tax increases Democrats claim are necessary.

You can thank Grover Norquist, and his Americans for Tax Reform for that.

Did you know Richard Nixon created the first Civil Rights Act?

Yep, back in the day, Republicans were liberal on many issues. Nixon is mostly known for having a strong record on foreign policy, but his record on domestic policy, especially Civil Rights at home, is largely overlooked. As vice president under Dwight Eisenhower, he ensured that minorities, primarily African Americans, weren’t discriminated against in federal contracts. He also worked with Congress to spearhead the Civil Rights Act of 1957, precursor to both the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965. In case you weren’t paying attention (or even born) at the time, those were bipartisan achievements.

We once worked together in Washington. Harry Truman (a Democrat) once said, “It’s amazing what you can get accomplished, if you don’t care who gets the credit.” Ah yes, we miss you, Harry. You knew where the buck stopped, and how to keep the ‘bi’ in partisan negotiations.

Liberal and conservative factions reside in both parties

In the 20th century, liberal Republican factions included the Progressive Republicans, the Reagan coalition, and the liberal Rockefeller Republicans. In this century, liberal Republican operate somewhat undercover (represented in the House by the Republican Study Committee and the Freedom Caucus). Moderates exist (represented in the House by the Republican Governance Group, Republican Main Street Caucus, and the Republican members of the Problem Solvers Caucus). Libertarians are represented by the Republican Liberty Caucus.

But when the votes are counted, all Republicans march in lockstep.

Democrat liberal factions included Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal, John F. Kennedy's New Frontier and Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society (the latter of which established Medicare and Medicaid) further establishing the popularity of liberalism in America. More recently, Bill Clinton's New Democrats briefly weakened the influence of social liberalism, while Barack Obama acted as an ideological bridge. Today, factional Democrats are so disorganized they can’t even agree on what they want, or who they represent.

When the votes are counted on important legislation, they can be counted upon to dither and splinter, because they still believe in bipartisan negotiation.

And there you have it, a brief interpretation of why the current Congress isn’t able to legislate anything meaningful.