The politics of not wanting to get anything done

Wow, what a day for republicans. Every single one, in the House and Senate, 100% of them, no dissenters, all voted no on the jobs bill today. I wish I could say I am surprised by this, then it would be more disgusting. Let me remind you that this bill was not some weak refund check that the previous president offered us to “stimulate” the economy. What a bust that was. This bill was going to invest in rebuilding our infrastructure by putting tens of thousands of people to work in construction jobs rebuilding this country that is in dangerous, hazardous disrepair. Sounds like a perfect two-birds-with-one-stone situation to me. Of course, the measure did not pass because it would have raised taxes on the wealthiest 0.2% of the American people. Let’s do the math on this shall we, 0.2% multiplied by 308,745,538 people (as of the 2010 census) equals … wait for it … 617,491 people.

I have been hearing that the Republican Party is doing this to ensure that President Obama only gets one term. That they don’t want him to get credit for anything that would help him get re-elected. I wish I could say with any degree of certainty that this idea is completely out of the realm of possibility, that it is so un-American to even be contemplated; but I cannot say that. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) even said as much on November 4, 2010, “The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president.” Let me repeat, “the single most important thing.”

I firmly believe that this time is going to be looked back on as one of our darkest times in America. I didn’t live during the Great Depression so I do not have any authority to compare the two, but to call our current times a modern day Great Depression I don’t think is a stretch.

Related Links:

http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2010/10/25/126242/mcconnell-obama-one-term/

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/03/8619184-senate-blocks-60b-part-of-obama-jobs-plan