OPINION:
Lots of talk about language this week. Anthony Scaramucci, the ousted pick for White House communications director, was removed, apparently, for a variety of reasons, the most public being a vulgarity-laced conversation with a reporter.
When the writer from The New Yorker first made public the “colorful” comments that Mr. Scaramucci thought were off the record, it was fascinating to watch pretty much everyone from the establishment rush to their fainting couch.
This from the same sort of know-it-alls that were bragging about lying to the American people about Obamacare, with Jonathan Gruber speaking publicly about the “stupidity” of the American voter. Or Ben Rhodes, an aide to former President Barack Obama, crowing to The New York Times about how easy it was to use reporters to help spread lies to the American people about the Iran deal.
Just this week in The Washingtonian, former House Republican Majority Leader Eric Cantor admitted all the Republican promises of repealing Obamacare were a fraud to win elections.
“Cantor was at the forefront of the charge to repeal former President Obama’s signature policy, making the hot button issue a central part of the GOP rhetoric. Supporters were promised that if and when Republicans ruled the Senate and House, they would get the job done,” Bizpac Review reported.
“But Cantor, who was defeated in his 2014 primary by unknown economics professor Dave Brat, seemed to admit the GOP battle-cry was just a charade. … ’We sort of all got what was going on, that there was this disconnect in terms of communication, because no one wanted to take the time out in the general public to even think about ’Wait a minute — that can’t happen,’ ” he said.
“If you’ve got that anger working for you, you’re gonna let it be,” Mr. Cantor added.
Masterminding a charade, promising to end something you believe will never happen, but you do it anyway because, heck, that “anger is working for you,” is damaging, vile and obscene. But at least they weren’t vulgar while lying to everyone to get elected and destroying our health care system.
At a speech last week, former House Speaker John Boehner also became a victim of the compulsion to confess. During his remarks in Las Vegas, he said he used to “sneak into” the White House to see Mr. Obama to avoid scrutiny from the “right-wing press,” according to CNS News and a report in The Washington Post. He also proffered:
“What’s making everything even worse today is because we have so much news, people get to choose where they get their news,” Mr. Boehner said, according to The Post. “It used to be we had three big TV networks, five big newspapers, and five big radio stations and whatever they said was the news. Everybody else followed what they do.”
Sen. John McCain, having returned to the Senate after brain surgery to vote on the effort to repeal the debacle of Obamacare, also lashed out at the open discussions Americans are now able to have courtesy of new media and talk radio. During a speech calling for bipartisanship and coming together to get things done, Mr. McCain knows who keeps the esteemed Senate all bogged down: It’s those pesky people who have debates and conversations about the issues on radio and television. He then couldn’t help himself and confessed his loathing for those who dare to declare the emperor naked. From the C-SPAN transcript:
MCCAIN: Stop listening to the bombastic loudmouths on the radio and television and the internet. To hell with them.
(APPLAUSE)
MCCAIN: They don’t want anything done for the public good. Our incapacity is their livelihood.
Really? It’s pundits who allowed the Islamic State terror group to thrive? Talking heads created a $20 trillion debt, bankrupted Social Security, destroyed the health care infrastructure, sent Iran, the world’s largest sponsor of terrorism, $33.6 billion dollars, looked away while North Korea developed nuclear weapons, targeted political opponents with the IRS, and sent thousands of guns to Mexican drug lords contributing to the murders of hundreds of innocent Mexicans?
Then ironically, as though to punish everyone for not showing enough respect for him and the Senate, Mr. McCain voted no on a bill that would at least allow the beginning of the dismantling the scourge of Obamacare.
Many saw his vote as an act of revenge against Mr. Trump but also as a bitter response meant to punish the voters who rejected him in the past and dared to elect the outspoken New Yorker.
And then there’s Arizona’s other Republican Sen. Jeff Flake, up for re-election in 2018. He, too, had choice words for the American electorate when he appeared on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” Mr. Flake, ironically shilling for his new book titled “Conscience of a Conservative: A Rejection of Destructive Politics and a Return to Principle,” fretted that the Republican Party “has lost its way,” and given in to nativism, protectionism, and even xenophobia.
Sure, totally sounds like he’s rejecting destructive politics. But make no mistake here: When Mr. Flake refers to the “Republican Party,” he’s referring to the Republican base, ergo, voters who put Donald Trump in the White House.
The silver lining of this debacle? We’re finally getting honesty and transparency from politicians, but only after we fired or forced them out. The good news is the 2018 election is right around the corner, and it’s clear there’s more housecleaning to do.
• Tammy Bruce, author and Fox News contributor, is a radio talk show host.
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