The Washington Post published an interesting op-ed piece on Wednesday asking whether “Is it too early to call the new GOP Congress a failure?” which had a great, albeit partial, checklist of Republican failures so far.
Below is our, more inclusive, list of failures of the new GOP Congress in no particular order:
1. The Failure To Even Take A Vote On A Proposed Abortion Ban
In a surprise revolt, several Republican congresswomen removed their support for the proposed 20-week abortion ban, causing GOP leaders to cancel the vote. Concerns were raised by the women over the narrow exception for victims of sexual assault – rape victims would only be able to claim exemption to the ban if they could prove they reported the incident to the police.
Needless to say, self-righteous GOP radicals freaked out. The right-wing media attacked House Republicans for their “cowardice” and had hissy-fits all over the Internet.
2. U.S. Senate Votes 98-1 That Climate Change ‘Is Not A Hoax’
As part of Republican efforts to get the Keystone Pipeline bill passed, they were convinced by Democrats to sign off on an amendment to that bill that was designed, at least in part, as a stab at Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) who is well-known for his skepticism regarding the science behind climate change. Additionally, NBC News reported that “a majority of the Senate, including 15 Republicans, are also on the record stating that human activity contributes to climate change.”
3. The Failure To Get The Keystone Pipeline Signed Into Law & Obama’s SOTU Smackdown
Sure, Republicans managed to finally get the Keystone Pipeline project passed in both houses, but with President Obama’s promise to veto that bill and Nancy Pelosi’s assurances the House will not override that veto, the Keystone Pipeline goes into the FAIL COLUMN. Additionally, as The Washington Post reported, “their timing wasn’t great, given that with gas at $2 a gallon, people aren’t feeling a desperate need for Canadian tar sands oil.”
On top of that, there is the little matter of President Obama smacking down Republicans over the project during his recent SOTU speech:
Twenty-first century businesses need 21st century infrastructure — modern ports, and stronger bridges, faster trains and the fastest Internet. Democrats and Republicans used to agree on this. So let’s set our sights higher than a single oil pipeline. Let’s pass a bipartisan infrastructure plan that could create more than 30 times as many jobs per year, and make this country stronger for decades to come. (Applause.) Let’s do it. Let’s get it done. Let’s get it done. (Applause.)
4. Republican Failure To Block Obama’s Immigration Actions
The Washington Post put it best when they reported that
Republicans tried to pass a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security and repeal President Obama’s executive actions on immigration. Senate Democrats filibustered it, and in its current form it’s dead, meaning we’re headed for another shutdown mini-crisis. Spoiler alert: Republicans will lose, caving in and funding the department.
There is also the pesky fact that Obama will never sign off on any bill undoing those actions, and better yet – the House Appropriations Committee actually told the Repubs in November that it would be absolutely “impossible” to defund Obama’s executive order on immigration by using a government spending bill. They simply cannot cut off the money needed for Obama’s plan because the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS), which is the primary agency responsible for implementing the President’s executive order, is actually totally funded by user fees.
That means that no matter what sort of defunding bill that the GOP tries to pass, the CIS would still continue to collect money and carry out their business at hand. As a matter of fact, even if the Republicans decided to force another government shutdown over this issue, the CIS would be completely unaffected.
5. The Ongoing Failure To Defund Obamacare And The $112+ Million Dollar Price Tag For Their Failed Votes
Not much to say here. Looking to The Washington Post article again, they reported that
The House took its 56th vote to repeal Obamacare, and as Dana Milbank reports, even Republicans themselves can’t get excited about that. “For much of the debate Tuesday afternoon, no more than a dozen seats were occupied on the pro-repeal side of the House. More than once, the GOP had nobody available to speak.”
6. The Deregulation Of Restaurants Requiring Hand-Washing After Restroom Breaks?!?
New GOP Star Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) has some ideas on how to lift what he sees as regulatory burdens on businesses-one of them being health department regulations that require employees to wash their hands after using the washroom.
7. John Boehner’s Invitation For Netanyahu To Speak Before Congress And His Destruction By Forbes In An Epic Smack Down
In a rare attack of this magnitude on the controversial Speaker of the House, Forbes author Rick Ungar wrote, in part, that “Considering that Speaker Boehner has failed to accomplish anything of note during his Speakership, I can only wonder how it must feel to have his legacy be his effort to disgrace the American President in the effort to bolster the political chances of a foreign leader.”
There is also the recent revelation that key high-ranking members of the DNC are considering skipping Netanyahu’s speech.
8. Ted Cruz
As NPR reported on Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has a real problem with the JUNIOR SENATOR from Texas, Ted Cruz. On Tuesday a bill funding the Department of Homeland Security failed in the Senate due to its inclusion of language seeking to block the president’s executive actions on immigration. The department’s budget runs on on February 27, leaving Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in a corner.
To further complicate matters, “potential presidential candidate Ted Cruz insists DHS not get any money unless Republicans get to undo the president’s immigration policies. That places McConnell in a dilemma — how does he placate Cruz and his allies while avoiding a shutdown of the agency?”
As NPR reports, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid says this story will ultimately end with the passage of a “Homeland Security bill with no strings attached to it,” but Cruz is a problem for McConnell and Congressional Republicans that is not going to disappear, particularly with his aspiration to run for president in 2016.
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