An old formula of comedy asserts; tragedy plus time equals comedy—aside from that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the show? The Republican party, since 2007, has turned that axiom on its head. They have taken what usually would be comedic figures, elevated them, and turned the country’s fortunes into tragedy. The GOP’s 2008 main protagonist was lauded for a public admonition. In response to an anti-Arab/Muslim bigot, John McCain, vying for the presidency against Barack Obama, said, “No, ma’am. He’s a decent family man [and] citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues, and that’s what this campaign’s all about. He’s not [an Arab].”SenatorMcCain held enough cache in the room to make his point even over the audible grumbles. At the time, what we now know was a small minority of Republicans, pointed to McCain as the voice of anti-bigotry in the party.
My how times have changed
GOP Representative Lauren Boebert dispelled any notion of the big tent—Republicans have professed to be building for years. She joked that Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar is a terrorist bomber for the second time, raising both money and her Republican profile. Boebert’s unruly, which some might say is unhinged behavior, is not without history, including multiple arrests and failures to appear in court back in her home state of Colorado. While the Democrats have proudly ushered in a string of progressive minority women, including Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib, and Deb Haaland, the Republicans have answered with candidates who advocate for the Big Lie, QAnon, and defense of insurrectionists.
If it were not so tragic, a party in the thrall of a liar, someone less than an intellectual, without principles and legendarily dishonest, would be funny. So much so that the truth has become a GOP punchline, insurrection, murder of a journalist [Jamal Khashoggi], and backdoor deals with foreign powers benefiting his[Trump] children are now food for an elephant belly-laugh. Telling the world that he trusts the KGB’s former head over American intelligence should be hilarious, but...
Why am I retelling history, one might ask?
Some of my worst fears have come to light, debates over a violent siege of the Capitol Building and its legitimacy. Documentaries about whether Oprah and Tom Hanks are part of a baby-blood-drinking cabal. Entertainer and Trump supporter “Ye” (Kanye West) allegedly sent his publicist to threaten an election worker. If what has become the passive acceptance of the absurd were not dangerous, I could laugh. The last two Republican Presidents, George W. Bush and Donald J. Trump led the country to the verge of bankruptcy and the latter to the cusp of an endemic, with poor leadership, poor decisions, and poor responses. Former President Obama was left with cleanup on aisle 43, and the current President, Joe Biden, is cleaning up the mess left in aisle 45.
For their efforts, the former was opposed from day one by the same Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, who fancies himself as the grim reaper to progress. McConnell reasons, the left will destroy America: “You pass the Green New Deal and Medicare for All, you have fundamentally changed this country, fundamentally changed it into an unproductive place with significant unemployment and huge problems,”McConnell said.Coming out of the Trump presidencythat destroyed America’s reputation on the world stage, hastened the deaths of over 600,000 of its citizens, hollowed out the Justice and State Departments, raised the national debt to amounts never before seen because of unpaid tax cuts for the rich, and orchestrated a coup; I suggest Mr. McConnell reassess who fundamentally changed America.
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