OPINION:
Republicans in Congress are letting slip through their fingers a chance of a lifetime.
They’ve majorities in the House and the Senate, a friendly GOP face in the White House — and yet, they can’t get anything done. And now?
Now, party fundraisers are reportedly running for the horizon.
“You’re never going to get a more sympathetic Republican than I am,” said mega-donor Thomas Wachtell, at a recent dinner reported by Politico. “But I’m sick and tired of nothing happening.”
As we all are.
Republicans have become quite skilled at selling the message — at holding press conference after yawning press conference to explain where they’d like to legislatively go, but can’t, because of the mean ol’ Democrats.
They’ve been doing that, in fact, for years, particularly at campaign time, when it came time to pushing one supposed anti-Obamacare GOPer across the winning finish line after another. But now when there’s a Republican in the White House, too?!
Apparently, voters aren’t supposed to notice that Republicans haven’t really changed up their messaging any.
Lest it’s forgotten: The current Senate seats 52 Republicans, 46 Democrats and 2 Independents — who usually vote Dem. So it’s a 52-48 split in the GOP’s favor.
But according to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, that’s not enough. It’s not enough to get anything passed — not Obamacare repeal, not border wall building, not tax reform, not anything voters voted for over the last few years.
Nope, according to the sad head-shakers in the Republican leadership, 60 votes are needed to pass anything conservative in nature. Sixty votes, plus a permission slip from Chuck Schumer.
And that 60-vote head count means nothing Republican can pass. There’s nothing to do about it, nothing to see. Go home, my conservative friend.
That’s utter bull.
Republicans could — here’s a novel idea — fight.
That’s right. Fight.
Freakin’ fight a little about it — do the jobs the taxpayers pay for. Make a case. Make an argument. Get a little vicious and bloody with it.
Republicans schooled in the intricacies of closed-door dealings and wheelings, in the art of strategic blackmail and bribery — in the tactics of political intimidation and mudslinging — could come out of their shells, get in the game and get to work letting Democrats know just who’s in charge.
And Republicans — listen, don’t turn up your noses as such a thought, as if you’re above such fray. We know it’s not just Democrats who know how to go low.
We know Republicans, properly motivated, can inflict a bruising as well.
After all, plenty did on the campaign trail — to each other. Plenty did when Donald Trump won the White House — against Donald Trump.
Now if only these same GOPers could turn those arrows outward and shoot them Democrats’ way, maybe a bit of the long-promised conservative agenda could actually pass through Congress, into the White House, into law.
What a concept! Republicans fighting against Democrats, for Republicans — for Republican agendas and ideas and principles.
Don’t look now, but that could very well bring about the passage of — gasp! — a Republican agenda. It all starts with a determination to fight.
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