Rob Meyne
- Dec. 23, 2020
- 4 min read
One of the oldest sayings regarding politics is this: If you have any respect for sausage, or the law, you should never watch either being made.
That comes to mind in the wake legislation providing Covid “relief” to the American people. If you can watch this fecal festival without screaming or throwing things against the wall, you’re bereft of standards or simply just don’t care.
To paraphrase William F. Buckley, I would rather be governed by the first 535 names in the Terre Haute, Indiana, phone book than by the U. S. Congress. It would be a step up.
The political process itself can be reprehensible without the parties being equally so. I have voted Republican over the years for the simple reason that it is the party most likely to actually offer up reasonably conservative candidates. The chances of a conservative Democrat achieving any success and notoriety on the national stage are precisely zero. There simply are no nationally prominent conservative Democrats. At least with the GOP there is a chance you’ll find one. The Republicans have a few folks who make a show of being conservative and even vote that way on occasion. You don’t have to like either party to conclude they are different. Just not different enough.
If you spent your single days chasing after the girl who was least ugly, you may feel satisfied with the differences between the parties. Otherwise, not so much.
The bigger issue is the extent to which they are the same. Neither party should be confused with one who values the trust you have put in them, places your interests above their own, or believes government should act accountably, transparently, and ethically. Pablum like “follow the science” is spewed by people who think chromosomes, and the resultant genitalia, do not determine sex. “Deficit reduction” is discussed by people who think it would be just swell to be debt to the tune of 29 trillion, but not 30. And so on.
The recent legislation is insulting to every American and any other sentient mammal that happens to waddle by. If Mitch McConnell and Nancy Pelosi can say with straight faces that they are proud of the dreck they’ve vomited into the public square they should both resign in shame.
Ah, but there’s the rub. Being a powerful legislator on the national scene apparently requires you to have an innate ability to pretend to be something you obviously are not: caring, principled, dedicated. They know no shame and are unaware of the irony of it all.
Americans are suffering. The lockdowns that have been shoved down our collective gullet have damaged America in ways we may not fully understand in our lifetimes. Even the WHO has come out in opposition to lockdowns since they create more problems than they solve. But still, Dem governors and many GOPs advocate them. They often claim to value science but are adept at ignoring facts when it is convenient for them.
Thousands of private shops have been driven out of business, lives shattered, dreams trashed. Mom and pop establishments in the retail, restaurant, and service sectors have been swept into bankruptcy while the biggest, richest players – Wal-Mart, COSTCO, Kroger – have been given a free pass. The U. S. government has set restrictions that favored the businesses that needed it least. It is easier for COSTCO to write a big check than Bob’s Hot Dogs. Anyone who claims most of our leaders exist to protect the little guy, or even care about them, should be euthanized on the spot. The fact that there are still people who buy into that fiction is proof positive you can fool some of the people all the time.
The $2.3 billion Covid bill and government funding measure gives just $600 to most Americans, while handing out payoffs to foreign countries and powerful lawmakers. It does contain a $300 weekly PUA payment, extension of unemployment benefits, and $284 billion in loans to small businesses.
They also gave $700 million to the Sudan. They funded two new museums for the National Mall. There is $101 million to combat “the transnational threat of wildlife poaching and trafficking,” $500 million for Israeli defense systems and $250 million for Palestinian economic aid.
They also inserted a new rule that the US Postal Service can no longer deliver e-cigarettes. Got that? In the midst of the worst pandemic in our lifetimes, Congress is worried about mailing e-cigarettes. I am sure that will help you sleep soundly tonight.
And there is $10 million to Pakistan for gender research. (I can save them the trouble. It it’s got a penis, it is a male. There. I saved them $10 million.)
What does any of that have to do with helping our citizens with Covid? Not a thing.
The bill was 5,593 pages, and wasn’t even available for review until 2 pm on the day it was voted on, at 9 p. m. That means if you didn’t have anything else on your calendar, skipped dinner, took no phone calls, didn’t go to the bathroom, and can read 700 pages an hour you could have read it before voting on it.
As of this writing, President Trump has announced he will veto the bill. Thank God.
If you wonder why some of us are Trump fans, this is why. He is the sole major figure with the testicular fortitude to call foul on the phonies who run Congress. If this is the last major act of his presidency, we can respect it. He’s asking for less pork, less foreign aid, and more direct aid to Americans. If that sounds like a radical notion, it tells you just how ineffective our national government has become.
If you aren’t disgusted by Washington, at this point, you are simply not paying attention. On the plus side, you may yet emerge from all of this with your sanity intact.
Cheers.