PETER FENN

By PETER FENN

If all the predictions are correct, Democrats will clean up in Virginia and Chris Christie will rock ‘n roll in New Jersey.

Is this another wake-up call for the Republican Party? After 2012, after shutdown politics and after the devastating impact of the Cruz wing of the party, it all seems pretty obvious. More over-the-top candidates spell defeat for the Republicans.

Rep. Peter King, R.-N.Y., specifically suggests targeting Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz with such pithy slogans as: “Ted Cruz cost the economy $24 billion” and “Ted Cruz forced the Republican Party to its lowest levels ever.” (Can Democrats steal those?)

[See a collection of editorial cartoons on Ted Cruz.]

In Virginia, it will be interesting to watch the margins in the governor’s race and lt. governor’s race, but also whether or not Democrats sweep the Attorney General’s contest and pick up seats in the legislature. How extensive is the blowback to extreme right wing candidates at the top of the ticket and down ballot?

In New Jersey, does Christie have any pull in the races for state legislative seats or is this just a Christie-factor?

What many wise Republicans may be looking at are the latest Gallup numbers on the tea party. Nationally, the percentage of people identifying with the tea party has dropped ten points from 2010, down to 22 percent. That number is still nothing to sneeze at, especially given the ferocity of that group within the Republican Party.

[See a collection of political cartoons on the Republican Party.]

However, in 2010, 65 percent of Republicans said they supported the tea party and that number has dropped almost 30 points to 38 percent. Still, that is four-in-ten Republicans who are still committed. And they certainly yell the loudest.

On issues such as gay and lesbian rights, immigration and the harsh tactics of shutting down the government, will there be a resurgence of the regular Republicans like Peter King and Chris Christie or will Ted Cruz and his tea party crowd call the shots?

It is hard to imagine that the Republican Party is not in for a long and bitter winter.

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November 05, 2013, 01:22 pm

Waterloo for the Republicans: Will the Cruz, Paul, Palin, Lee, Bachmann wing win out?

By PETER FENN

Watch out for the hobgoblins! The knives are out. The hearings are on. The charges are flying. Obamacare is on the hot seat … again!

The sad result is that as we get these unconfirmed anecdotes, these stories about problems with insurance companies, these people who face hardship supposedly because of Obamacare, few Republicans think back to pre-2010. Then the costs of health care were skyrocketing – from $1,000 per person in 1980 to about $3,000 in 1990 to $4,000 in 2000 to nearly $8,000 before the Affordable Care Act was passed. The next highest nation for cost: Norway at $5,352.

[See a collection of political cartoons on Obamacare.]

According to the Commonwealth Fund, 49.9 million Americans were without health insurance in 2009, up 13 million from 2000. Houston, we have a problem.

And remember the stories of pre-existing conditions? Getting kicked off your health insurance or unable to get coverage? How about caps on your care? Or huge deductibles, especially for women? Horror story after horror story.

The facts are clear: 17 million Americans had pre-existing conditions; 34 percent lacked coverage for mental health; 62 percent lacked maternity coverage.

How soon we forget the problems that the ACA was written to solve. Right now, only 5 percent of Americans are covered by individual plans – if you had your plan prior to 2010, you are grandfathered in and can keep it. If the insurance companies want to kick you off they have to alter your plan, but they can no longer kick you off because of a pre-existing condition or because you cost them too much.

Most of these individual plans are renewed yearly and,  according to current figures, 48 percent of those with individual plans would get a tax credit under the Affordable Care Act. The average “rebate” would be $5,500, not exactly chump change. Nearly half of those who believe they are suffering sticker shock from their insurance companies would get better coverage for less money.

So, before more and more people are dragged up before Republican-led congressional committees and berated, maybe it is time to get the facts. Maybe it is also time to work to fix what problems may exist and to offer solutions and not engage in more Salem-like witch trials just before Halloween.

By PETER FENN

I am not talking about poll numbers. I am not talking about the Republicans’ record unpopularity. I am not talking about declining support for the tea party. I am not even talking about election results.

I am focusing on the following numbers: 85, 49, 87 and 87 again.

Those are not Powerball numbers … well, in a sense maybe they are!

What are they? These are the “YES” votes from Republican members of the House of Representatives on four pieces of legislation that Speaker John Boehner brought to the floor of the House, ignoring the Hastert rule. That, of course, is the rather absurd self-imposed rule that says you shouldn’t bring up a bill if it does not have majority support from your caucus.

Here are the bills:

• 85 Republican votes to approve the fiscal cliff deal at the end of 2012.
• 49 Republican votes to approve emergency funding for hurricane Sandy.
• 87 Republican votes to approve extending the Violence Against Women Act.
• 87 Republican votes to approve opening the government this week.

Combined with nearly unanimous support from Democrats, all these bills passed.

Now, that meant that 151 votes, 179 votes, 138 votes and 144 votes were cast against these four bills, respectively, by Republican House members.

The point here is that the problem with Republicans is not just several dozen Tea Party activists – it is a caucus that won’t truly stand up to those extreme elements of the party. Too much attention is being paid to the gladiator TV hard core “stars” of the Republican Party such as Sens. Ted Cruz and Mike Lee and Reps. Raul Labrador, Michele Bachmann, Steve King and a handful of others.

They have somehow convinced the House Republican caucus that the best way to take on Obama and the Democrats is scorched earth.

The real question now is whether the pragmatic, reasoned, responsible gene present in many Republican House members will assert itself. Will they negotiate bills on fiscal matters, immigration reform, entitlements and taxes that lead to progress? Or will they let the tea party members role them over and over again?

The hope for many is that this horrendous shutdown and brinkmanship may have taken many members to the edge – they see the absurdity and suicidal nature of the action – and they are ready to stand up to the extremists within their own party. When we start seeing the numbers switch and  more than 100 Republican members begin to accept reasonable legislation then we will know that they are no longer going to kow-tow to the Tea Party. We can all hope for that day.

‘Lost’

I have to confess that I was not a huge fan of the TV show “Lost,” certainly not nearly as addicted to it as my kids. But the current state of the Republicans, particularly in the House, strikes me as the political equivalent.

The report of a not-so-secret meeting last night at the Tortilla Coast restaurant between Ted Cruz and about 15 to 20 of the most outlandish Republicans from the House was like the crew from “Lost.” The long-abandoned island resembles where these members of the suicide caucus may soon end up, complete with bickering, intrigue and increasingly bizarre behavior.

Actually, many reasonable Republicans would probably just as soon exile this crowd to a desert island somewhere far, far away.

Of course, so would the American public. Gallup polling has the Republican Party’s approval sinking 10 points, to an all-time low of 28 percent. And an NBC/Wall Street Journal survey has them at 24 percent, the lowest since the poll began nearly 25 years ago. Furthermore, the blame for fiscal chaos is coming down hard on the Republicans and will get much worse if they blow up a bipartisan deal that the Senate is crafting. 

Think down the road for a moment. If Republicans were to be so foolish as to allow a debt default and the stock market were to tank, retirement plans and 401(k) accounts would be devastated. Furious seniors who are Republican voters would desert their party, as would those who are approaching retirement. Folks, this is the only age demographic the Republican Party has been able to win in the past two presidential elections.

Plus, if this same crisis scenario is perpetrated again by the extreme wing of the Republican caucus, with support from the leadership and the vast majority of House members, do you really think the American public is going to stand for it? If this happened again in January or March or June, who will get the political blame? The Republican Party will, as well it should, for devastating the American and world economies.

The Republicans will lose the House. And the nation, composed of moderate-thinking, pragmatic, reasonable voters, will be ready to export the Tea Party caucus to sip tea on some desert island, out of sight and out of mind.

Home > Opinion > Peter Fenn > More Signs the House GOP Wants to Keep the Government Shut Down

The House Republican Shutdown

October 15, 2013 RSS Feed Print

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I know, I know, who wants to wade through arcane rules in the Congress and get into the weeds of the government shutdown?

Well, it turns out that as of this morning more than 1.7 million Americans (judging by the YouTube view counter) wanted to watch Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., take apart the Republicans’ underhanded effort to change the rules and prevent a vote on a clean bill to keep the government open. You can watch it for yourself here:

 

 

[See a collection of political cartoons on the government shutdown.]

On Oct. 1 the Republicans jammed through House Resolution 368 that changed the chamber’s standing rules to prevent any member from calling for a vote on the Senate amendment on funding the government. Now, only the majority leader, Eric Cantor, R-Va., or his designee can move such a resolution. The rules were rigged to change Rule XXII, Clause 4 – under which any member could have brought the Senate bill to the House floor – to ensure a government shutdown.

Let’s walk through this.

Speaker Boehner tells America that there aren’t the votes to pass a clean bill to keep the government open in the House. But he won’t bring it up for a vote. He changes the House rules at the last minute to prevent it from coming up.

The Republicans stage a series of photo-ops at the World War II Memorial decrying the shutdown they caused.

The House engages in gimmicks, selecting which government shutdown hostages they favor releasing, a tactic that goes nowhere.

The polls for the Republicans plummet because the American people realize the game that is being played on them.

Now, the reasonable, responsible voices in the Senate are crafting a way out of the economic abyss and where is the House? Sadly, they seem ready to create economic chaos by acceding to the will of the tea party wing, bringing down our country. They seem ready to use any means available, any approach that terrorizes the other side, any means to an end that they cannot articulate. The suicide caucus strikes again.

The real question is: where are the rational, reasonable, responsible Republican members of the House of Representatives?