A More Perfect Union

Who will defend this guy? Richard Shelby has put a hold on all of Obama's nominations until his pork is plated. In an act akin to a two-year-old tantrumming (I declare that a word, properly spelled) in the supermarket, he's made it clear he has no regard for the people's business. In its outrageousness, it's only a more glaring example than usual of what the Congressional Republicans have all been doing for the last year: gimme what I want or you get nothing. America, go to hell.

Of course it speaks to the perversity of Senate rules, which are unlikely to get changed since both parties would like to be able to kibosh the other. (Prediction: when the Democrats are back in the minority in the Senate, they'll never be as piggish as the current crop of Republicans. They never have, for several reasons, not the least of which is that some will have a conscience.) That the rules have been abused in unheard of quantities since Obama's election goes without saying. The scorched earth tells the truth. One man: no vote. Fifty-nine percent of the votes: no legislation.

But it also makes clear, once again, in bigger font than we've seen, what the past year has been about. It's one thing, as John Boner tries to claim, to stand on principles. Yeah. Sure. They're a principled bunch, our Congresshoard. But (he says once again, sighing deeply) this is a democracy. There's another principle here, on which to put a foot, too, if ever so lightly: we need a government. No one (he repeats) has a right to expect to get his way in all things, all the time. Any of the time, for that matter. But the Republicans, those lovers of country, those believers in the Constitution, those (if briefly) "country firsters" couldn't care less. Is so far beyond appalling that there simply are no words. "Stand on principles." Translation: block the door until we get everything we want, while the people get... who cares what they get? Principled guy all right.

A strategy, it has been said, emerges: those pig-headed and unAmerican Republicans want Obama to fail, no matter the cost to the country. That much is clear. But now, it seems, they've doubled down: they're going to act so outrageously in so many ways over so many things so much of the time that there's simply no way to get noticed when complaining about it. Where do you start? It's brilliant, really. If there's one thing those guys are, it's brilliant at getting government to fail. They do it when they're in power, and they do it when they're out.

And they have the memory-bereft tea-baggers to cheer them on.

.