The lunacy never ends.
It's bad enough that one of the two great American political parties has gone completely off the deep end, indulging in magical thinking that says it can reverse the results of the last presidential election simply by politically holding its breath. Now they want us to see their political temper tantrum as the equivalent of the Civil Rights movement.
In today's Spartanburg Herald-Journal, my representative, Trey Gowdy (R-SC), said the following about the government shutdown and the Tea Party obsession with derailing the Affordable Care Act:
So let me state the obvious: a law that makes it possible for uninsured Americans to buy health insurance at a price they can afford is not comparable to segregation.
Gowdy postures as a man of principle, but anyone with an elementary understanding of what constitutes principles would understand the difference. Yes, the general idea (a law is not necessarily a good law) is true.
Everything else Gowdy says is despicable, an insult to everyone who fought to end segregation. Those people quite literally put their lives on the line to challenge a moral and constitutional injustice.
What has Trey Gowdy done?
He has refused to approve ongoing funding of the federal government because he insists on defunding a law he does not like.
And what has Trey Gowdy sacrificed for this "principle"?
He continues to draw his salary while hundreds of thousands of federal employees, many trying desperately to make ends meet, are furloughed and lose their incomes. He continues to enjoy the security of knowing that he and his family are well-insured if, God forbid, any health problems should arise, while he tries to prevent less fortunate people from having that same peace of mind.
A real profile in courage, that.
And what will happen if Trey Gowdy gets his way? Who will his principled stand help?
No one.
But he can be proud of having made a principled stand to free other people from the burden of having health insurance.
If Trey Gowdy were truly concerned with principle, he would take seriously the principle upon which our government rests: that our laws are the result of a process, one which was followed and ratified in every particular in the case of this law. It is not simply "what the President wants." It is the law of the land.
Trey Gowdy has every right--even the duty--to argue his case, to do all he can to convince Americans to elect representatives, senators, and a president who want to repeal the law. If he succeeds, people like me who favor the idea will have to accept repeal. Because we accept the legitimacy of the process.
But what he and his Tea Party cohort want is not to play by the rules, but to blow them up. They don't give a damn about process. If it does not serve their ends, they will manipulate it, undermine it, pervert it until they get what they want.
Their arguments failed to sway the Supreme Court, they failed to win the presidential election, they failed to gain control of the Senate, and they think none of that should matter. They should get their way regardless, because they are RIGHT.
After all, they think they are like the Civil Rights protesters.
The lunacy never ends.
It's bad enough that one of the two great American political parties has gone completely off the deep end, indulging in magical thinking that says it can reverse the results of the last presidential election simply by politically holding its breath. Now they want us to see their political temper tantrum as the equivalent of the Civil Rights movement.
In today's Spartanburg Herald-Journal, my representative, Trey Gowdy (R-SC), said the following about the government shutdown and the Tea Party obsession with derailing the Affordable Care Act:
“Some people might say that we should go along with what the President wants, and the Supreme Court ruling, but I would submit that just because it's law doesn't make it a good law,” Gowdy said. “There was a time when it would have been unlawful for (Sen.) Tim Scott and I to sit-down at a restaurant and eat together. There are bad laws and those worth staying and fighting for and I happen to think this is one of them.”It shouldn't be necessary to point out how utterly absurd this comparison is, but as George Orwell once said, "we have now sunk to a depth at which the restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men."
So let me state the obvious: a law that makes it possible for uninsured Americans to buy health insurance at a price they can afford is not comparable to segregation.
Gowdy postures as a man of principle, but anyone with an elementary understanding of what constitutes principles would understand the difference. Yes, the general idea (a law is not necessarily a good law) is true.
Everything else Gowdy says is despicable, an insult to everyone who fought to end segregation. Those people quite literally put their lives on the line to challenge a moral and constitutional injustice.
What has Trey Gowdy done?
 |
| Trey Gowdy, talking to a history class in his district. Hopefully he did not tell them that Obamacare is like segregation. |
He has refused to approve ongoing funding of the federal government because he insists on defunding a law he does not like.
And what has Trey Gowdy sacrificed for this "principle"?
He continues to draw his salary while hundreds of thousands of federal employees, many trying desperately to make ends meet, are furloughed and lose their incomes. He continues to enjoy the security of knowing that he and his family are well-insured if, God forbid, any health problems should arise, while he tries to prevent less fortunate people from having that same peace of mind.
A real profile in courage, that.
And what will happen if Trey Gowdy gets his way? Who will his principled stand help?
No one.
But he can be proud of having made a principled stand to free other people from the burden of having health insurance.
If Trey Gowdy were truly concerned with principle, he would take seriously the principle upon which our government rests: that our laws are the result of a process, one which was followed and ratified in every particular in the case of this law. It is not simply "what the President wants." It is the law of the land.
Trey Gowdy has every right--even the duty--to argue his case, to do all he can to convince Americans to elect representatives, senators, and a president who want to repeal the law. If he succeeds, people like me who favor the idea will have to accept repeal. Because we accept the legitimacy of the process.
But what he and his Tea Party cohort want is not to play by the rules, but to blow them up. They don't give a damn about process. If it does not serve their ends, they will manipulate it, undermine it, pervert it until they get what they want.
Their arguments failed to sway the Supreme Court, they failed to win the presidential election, they failed to gain control of the Senate, and they think none of that should matter. They should get their way regardless, because they are RIGHT.
After all, they think they are like the Civil Rights protesters.
The lunacy never ends.
This sort of thinking, that regardless of process 'I should have my way because I FEEL that I am right" trickles down into so many other aspects of our culture. Every time people like Gowdy, or the Tea Party or Republicans (or Democrats, for that matter) are allowed to get away with this, our society erodes a bit more. This attitude is disgusting. Thanks for pointing out the obvious - it needs to be tattooed on the faces of these pompous, cynical jerks.
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