Response to The Third Story

(See: Just Above Sunset: The Third Story)

Josh Marshall, remarking on the fact that you wouldn't see a reaction comparable to that of the Republicans if something like this had happened on our side of the aisle, settles on the juxtaposition of two words that beautifully illustrates that there really is more than what has been called "a dime's worth of difference" between the two parties:

Yes, there’s been base clamoring against Nancy Pelosi and even more at certain times with Harry Reid. But it simply doesn’t compare to the angry joy we’re seeing now toward a quarter-century member of the House.

It's that phrase, "angry joy"!

Exactly! I remain convinced that, someday, scientists will discover what it is that makes conservatives derive so much joy from their own anger.

But what now? For example, in the short term, how is it that John Boehner's resignation has, as has been claimed, "lessened the chance of a government shutdown"?

In fact, that deal was largely agreed to on Thursday, the day before Boehner dropped his bomb, when he announced plans to offer up a clean budget bill, including nothing about Planned Parenthood, that would keep the government open through December 11th, but also a Budget Reconciliation Bill that would defund both Planned Parenthood and Obamacare.

According to the Washington Post:

Reconciliation bills — which are a joint effort between the House and Senate — are considered under special rules that require only a simple majority for approval, and cannot be filibustered in the Senate. The reconciliation bill is expected to easily pass Congress, allowing Republicans to force President Obama to veto the legislation. 

Even if that happens, the move would ensure the debate over abortion policy remains a priority in Congress and in the media.

But there's also talk that Boehner could try to get some stuff done before he leaves that he probably wouldn't otherwise have even attempted:

Some Republicans are speculating that Boehner’s lame-duck status could free his hand to act on other measures that have bipartisan support but are despised by hard-line conservatives. 

Those measures could include an reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank, an extension of the federal debt ceiling, or a long-term highway bill. All of them have been opposed by the same conservatives who have pushed for Boehner’s ouster. 

“He gets a chance to really go out on a high note and now I think you’ll see a few things in October,” said Rep. Steve Stivers (R-Ohio). “I expect to see a very busy month in October.” 

Mulvaney said Boehner’s resignation “probably” makes it more likely Ex-Im or a debt ceiling extension moves forward. But he warned that it might not be so simple. 

“They have to pass rules in order to accomplish that,” he said. “There’s a good rule of thumb: If you’re counting on Democrats to pass a piece of legislation, you better count on them to pass a rule.”

Which means we may get a chance to see what has really been on his mind all these years -- in other words, to finally discover if he's really the tragic closet good guy that so many Democrats suspected he was, or the actual jerk suspected by others.

When my wife came and informed me that Boehner had resigned, I started to laugh out loud, to which she admonished, "I'm not so sure this is a good thing!" Yeah, I know what you mean, I told her, but I always figure that, either way, whether Boehner goes or whether he stays, it will always be a mixed-blessing:

* If he goes and they replace him with someone even more in tune with the nutcase minority, it means the Republicans will have marginalized themselves even more than they are now, and will be even less inclined to cooperate with us -- which could be good because it also means we don't have to meet them halfway on their crackpot ideas -- but also means maybe mainstream America will finally give up on them and turn to the Democrats. 

But the bad news is, until then, gridlock will still ensure nothing gets done, and worst case, the country might actually fall apart, as Spanish political scientist Juan Linz once suggested. After all, although our system has survived over two hundred years, we are living in deceptively dangerous times. 

* And if the opposite happens, that someone somewhat sane replaces him, and the so-called moderates regain control of the Republican Party? Then we're back to normal, which is good for America, because we become a functioning nation again, which might help convince people that America can work after all. 

But the bad news is, we'd then have to seriously negotiate compromise with a party that has, at least in recent history, seemingly defined the word "moderate" as "a conservative who, although he did drink the Kool-Aid, did so only reluctantly".

For example, ultra-conservative John Boehner has been seen as almost a moderate, and yet, as Slate’s Jamelle Bouie says in Slate:

After Barack Obama took office, Boehner immediately moved to opposition, accusing him of “snuffing out” the America he knew and comparing politics in 2010 to America’s fight against Great Britain. “There’s a political rebellion brewing,” he said, “and I don’t think we’ve seen anything like it since 1776.”

Tragic character? Closet good guy? Not sure I'm buying that yet, at least until after I see what he does in October.

And okay, I always find myself quibbling with conservatives who seem to think that it was them what won the American Revolution, but here it is again.

Truth is, as everyone knows, the fight back then was between Whigs and Tories, but what they don't all realize is that, if anything, the Whigs were the liberals and the Tories were the conservatives. The Whigs won that war, and many of the Tories then took off for England and Canada.

To put that another way, the liberals, in the name of political change, won the American Revolution, while the "angrily-joyous" conservatives, fighting to keep everything as miserable as it always had been, lost that war.

But the battles have been continuing ever since.