I remember this as a protest slogan in 1968, as the world watched the violence that broke out at the 1968 Democratic Party convention in Chicago. Remember it?
We are currently experiencing another “the whole world is watching” moment. Tuesday of this week was a split-screen day: the GOP Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy, was stripped of his seat by his own party while #PO1135809, also a Republican, was seething, attacking court staff, posturing, and bloviating because he was finally facing justice in New York.
And the whole world is watching. Why? Because what the United States does matters. As the world’s most productive economy with the world’s most powerful military, actions taken by the US have a big impact on the shape of world affairs. Wednesday’s episode of the Pod Save the World podcast focused on the intersection of domestic and foreign policy, and it’s worth a listen.
One reason McCarthy lost his speakership was because the GOP can’t figure out where they stand on the issue of aid to Ukraine. While Team Normal recognizes, as Americans have since the 1940s, that one way to guarantee peace and prosperity at home is to work for peace and prosperity everywhere, Team Crazy chants slogans and simplistic rhetoric to create sound bits for Fox News. The events of Tuesday strike a particularly discordant note, as the news from Ukraine suggests that Ukrainian attacks on the Russian Black Sea Fleet have forced Russia to withdraw from its main base in annexed Crimea. No one is suggesting that Ukraine is on the verge of victory, but this is not the time to abandon the fight.
And China watches, taking its cue about whether the GOP, if allowed back in power, would be equally unwilling to respond if China decided to invade Taiwan.
#PO1135809 continues to tout his good relationship with international pariahs like Kim Jung Un, Vladimir Putin, and Xi Jinping, ready to place America on the side of the burgeoning autocracies these thugs lead. Meanwhile, the groups planning for a putative second term for #PO1135809 emphasize withdrawing the US from NATO and other alliances that have dominated the world for 70 years.
The de facto leader of the GOP, #PO1135809, ridicules people who serve in the military and calls for the assassination of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. This impacts military morale and readiness, further diminishing confidence in the United States around the world.
And that’s not all. Border security is another issue that got caught up in the most recent kerfuffle. The GOP demands draconian measures to stem migration – measures that violate both American law and international law. The party wants to use the American military to maintain order at the southern border – a violation of posse comitatus, a doctrine embodied in an 1878 law that removes the military from regular law enforcement. Other groups want to declare war on the Mexican cartels to stem the flow of migrants. Let’s ignore for a minute that the internationally accepted definition of “war” is a state of hostility between countries. Does anyone actually think that a US attack on the cartels in Mexico (which would be interpreted as a declaration of war against one of America’s closest neighbors) would stabilize the region? I don’t think so. But, again, the point is the sound bite, not the policy.
Should we wonder that the other countries of the world are wary of the United States these days? The country is poised to hold a presidential election in 2024 – an election that #PO1135809 has a more than a marginal chance of winning. No one outside of the country can understand this. Many people inside the country can’t understand it either.
So it’s fun to laugh at McCarthy’s demise. He is hoist on his own petard or something like that. It’s fun to mock Matt Gaetz’s forehead or Patrick McHenry’s bow tie. But these people and this party are doing real damage to the United States, both at home and abroad. In pursuit of what? They can’t tell us. Power something something own the libs anti-woke, I think. I’m not sure what that looks like in legislation.
Now the GOP is going to have to choose another Speaker, but they have adjourned the House for the next week. As I understand it, they were concerned that fistfights were going to break out among their members so they called a time-out and sent the miscreants to the naughty step.
And what does this mean? It means that if the US faces an emergency that requires Congressional action, the House will literally not be able to act. They don’t have a power structure with the legitimate authority to make decisions. Those who wish the US harm (both here and abroad) know this. They will be counting on the government’s paralysis to hinder any response. It’s really just a matter of time.
Governing is serious business, and the current GOP is run by fundamentally unserious people. We need to vote them all out.
Excellent. And so appallingly true. There are entirely too many toddlers in the House who never read a history book, believe that governing is actually about shouting inanities through various media methods, and don't give a fig about the value of our institutions to the rights that they so causally declare yet don't understand. I could just scream or cry. But I won't. I'll vote. And try to hold on by my fingertips.
A sobering situation. Very sad.