"One thing you learn if you follow politics is that politicians say stupid things at an alarming rate.
"Take last week, for example, when Mitch McConnell, a Republican senator from Kentucky, was giving a press conference and he talked about what the GOP’s priorities were going to be over the next couple of years. Now you’d think that the Republicans, who spent this entire election season talking about how they stood for the American people, that they understood their plight more than the Democrats did, would put fixing the economic crisis and get America out of its overall rut right?
"Unfortunately, McConnell said that the party’s top priority when they officially retake the House in January is to keep President Obama from being elected to a second term. I took two things from this when I saw the clip: First, I think McConnell might be a turtle in disguise (look at a picture of him, you’ll agree). Second, that this was an incredibly stupid thing to say.
"Ever since Obama got elected, there’s been a band of people, mostly from the Tea Party, who seem to think that he’s some kind of criminal, and that he should be impeached. The Republicans are already assembling an oversight committee to investigate the Obama administration for lapses in their programs and to get rid of what isn’t working. Not only is this a waste of tax payer money, but also savagely hypocritical. George Bush’s administration was one of the most corrupt in American history, but whenever any of the Democrats wanted him investigated and punished for using torture, starting a war on false pretenses and many other crimes, all of the Republicans cried foul. Everyone loses their minds when Obama’s administration does something trivial, but God forbid anybody lay a finger on Bush. The whole situation is just infuriating.
"Also, investigating Obama and keeping him from a second term should be way at the bottom of the Republcans’ to-do list. Obama is going to be the president until at least Jan. 20, 2013, and unless the GOP finds a miraculous candidate, it’s going to be a lot longer. They’ve been saying for months that the economy is a mess and people are struggling. The people who voted them into office should always be top priority. The Republicans of all people should know how fickle voters are. If they don’t produce results, they will throw all of them back out on the street. That’s how Obama and the Democrats took control in the first place, because the Republicans spent eight years screwing things up. America has a "what-have-you-done-for-me-lately" mentality, so if the Republicans are in it for the long haul, they need to do something that produces results.
"This also proves what a crock the whole "voice of the people" angle was. Very few politicians truly care about the people who vote for them, but there are too many historical examples that prove that a majority of them, especially Republicans, do not. They do not care about health care-theirs is completely free—and you can go on the Internet and see the billions of dollars the health care industry donates to Republican candidates year after year. They want to keep the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy not because they think they can boost the economy, but so they’re true constituents don’t cut off campaign donations. I know this is extremely cynical thinking, but it is also extremely accurate. Being in touch with the people isn’t a message, it is a lie, and nothing more.
