Gross Incompetence

22 June 2018

 

Cogito Ergo Non Serviam

House Fails to Pass Immigration Bills

 

Further proof of the inability of the Republican Party to govern came out of the House of Representatives yesterday. With the immigration debate roiling the country, the House failed to pass a bill that would address some of the issues involved. The Republicans have 235 seats, the Democrats 193, and at present, there are 7 vacant seats. The bill brought to the floor yesterday garnered only 193 yeas against 231 nays. Some 41 Republicans voted against the bill. House leaders decided to hold off on a less radical bill until at least next week. Despite being in the majority, the Republicans can't pass a bill on immigration despite their president having made it a cornerstone of both his campaign and administration. It is gross incompetence.

The defeated bill, sponsored by Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), would have "provided funding for a wall along the southern border, ended the diversity visa lottery program, limited family-based visas, created an agriculture guest worker program require employers to use the E-Verify program -- a pivotal provision in garnering conservative support -- and allowed for the administration to cut funding toward sanctuary cities," according to TheHill.com.

The second, so-called "compromise" bill, sponsored by Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) and drafted without input from Democrats, "would provide a pathway to citizenship for up to 1.8 millions 'Dreamers,' provide $25 billion for Trump's border wall and other security measures, and prevent families from being separated at the border," the website says.

Naturally, President Trump pitched a fit when the bill failed to pass. He tweeted, "It's the Democrats fault, they won't give us the votes needed to pass good immigration legislation . . ."  Obviously, the man is innumerate, and so, it is not hard to see how his casinos went bankrupt. His GOP majority didn't turn up.

In the Senate, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has canceled the traditional August recess in hopes of getting something accomplished. Unfortunately for him, the crowd at the other end of the Capitol is still scheduled to leave town. So, unless there is legislation that the House has passed that the Senate has not (and one couldn't find a single substantive bill in that category this morning), the Senate may as well go home for a month.

The Republican Party used to be competent when it comes to governing. However, the last time one could point to a well-run Republican administration was in 1992, and the House and Senate stopped being able to function under the GOP sometime in the 1990s. Since the new millennium, the GOP has either been enablers of authoritarian behavior (2001-2009, 2017 to the present), or viciously obstructionist (2009-2017). Their ability to implement their policies has been mercifully circumscribed by their belief that government doesn't really matter. In order to govern well, one must first believe that it is possible to govern well, and the GOP doesn't subscribe to that notion.

The remainder of this Congress (which goes out of business the first week in January) was likely to be dull under any circumstances. Autumn in even numbered years is for campaigning and begging for re-election. Congressional leaders schedule nothing important for September and October unless it will give them soundbites and headlines to swing the votes of the soft-headed. The trouble lies in the fact that this particular Congress has achieved nothing more than a tax cut for the very richest. The issues that matter to the people who voted for the Republican ticket go unaddressed.

The reason for all of this, as this journal has maintained for literally years, is that America has a de facto three-party system, and the Trumpist-Republican coalition has failed to work. This November one faction or the other is going to lose substantial seats, and the Democrats are likely to take control of the House. That will set the stage for the 2020 presidential campaign, and as a result, nothing will continue to get done. The Republicans blew their chance.


© Copyright 2018 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.


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