By Hook or By Crook, We Will

The oddest moment during the last night of the Republican National Convention wasn’t the awkward pantomime by Clint Eastwood.  It came later, during Mitt Romney’s acceptance speech.  He spent part of his time introducing himself, going on about his family history, how he likes strong women, and so forth; and part of the time bashing President Obama.  Since he spent very little time doing the former during the protracted Republican primary process, it made sense that he would spend time “introducing” himself to the country.  And since he’s an outsider trying to defeat an incumbent, it made sense that he would spend time pointing out what he viewed as the incumbent’s flaws.  But it was during one of his “bash Obama” parts of the speech that he let go a zinger that should have caused everyone watching to go, “Huh?”  It was when he said, “I wish President Obama had succeeded, because I want America to succeed.”

I say again, huh?

Of all the bald-faced lies told during the Convention — and bald-faced lies were not in short supply this week in Tampa — this was by far the baldest.  As the Republican Party nominee for president, Mr. Romney is now the standard bearer for the party.  Are we to then believe that the Republican Party has wanted President Obama to succeed during his first term in office?  Wait, someone’s standing in my doorway.  Oh, what was that you said, Mr. Minority Leader?

Our top political priority over the next two years should be to deny President Obama a second term.
From YouTube.

Oh, that’s right.  You want to make sure that President Obama is a one-term president.  Right!

And by golly, they have.  By hook or by crook, they have done everything in their power to tar this president with failure.  This has included bringing the US economy to the brink of disaster, like the time when they turned raising the debt ceiling into an irresponsible and costly protracted fight.  Maneuvers like this, large and small, pepper the headlines over the past two years.  Senator McConnell and his colleagues have so freely used the filibuster to keep items from reaching a vote, that the procedure is now pointless.  Instead of deliberation, which presumably is what the filibuster is supposed to encourage, the procedure has ended debate with a bolder-sized period.  And things are worse in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, which has spent most of its time in quixotic attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

Between the filibustering Senate and the do-nothing-but-repeal-Obamacare House everything has ground to a halt in Congress.  Many articles and commentators have already noted that the 112th Congress could well be the least productive since the end of World War II.  The reason?  If they pass even the most modest of the Obama Administrations proposals, it might result in a positive outcome for the country, which, in their myopic eyes, would result in a positive outcome for the President.

So no, Mr. Romney, you and your party do not wish that President Obama had succeeded, and you don’t care how much the country suffers as a result.  The record in this matter is quite crystal clear.  Since the beginning of the Obama Administration, the Republican Party has maintained a doctrinaire, “my way or the highway” attitude towards governing.  They want all the marbles all of the time.  If they can’t get them, then screw you.  And rest assured, that they will unleash more dirty tricks and more lies to ensure victory in November.  By hook or by crook.  The country be damned.

© 2012, gar. All rights reserved.