Insanity Writ Large

I know you have all heard Einstein’s famous definition of insanity, “doing the same thing over and over and expecting to get a different result,” or something like that. What, then, are we to make of the 37 (count ‘em) times the House of Representatives has voted to repeal Obamacare. Doesn’t this probably set a record for insanity? Not that much of anything Republicans try to do these days shouldn’t be considered insanity.

But with Bachmann, Gohmert, Inhofe, and a few others crazy all the time, and the rest of the Republican base crazy most of the time, and the few remaining more traditional Republicans crazy once in a while, what else might one expect? The only thing you might say in their favor is that they make President Obama look really good in comparison. When you throw in a few Republican talk show people like Limbaugh, Hannity, Malkin, and a few others, they make Obama look like the greatest thing since the invention of fire, warts and all.

Remember, Inhofe famously announced that “Much of the debate over global warming is predicated on fear, rather than science.”

Gohmert recently asserted that terrorist are being trained to “act Hispanic” in order to carry out their plots.

Bachmann has announced that “Everyone wants to see Obama impeached,” and assured her Tea Party followers that, “This is bigger than Watergate,” referring to the IRS non-scandal Republicans are desperate to turn into one.

Representative Kevin Cramer tells us that gun violence is occurring because of Roe vs Wade.

The American Family Association has said that AARP is “a fringe organization that promotes homosexuality.”

Marco Rubio tells us “You cannot do anything without God. It's a profound and elemental truth. Not, you cannot do most things without God. You will not be able to do anything that you want, truly, in fulfillment, without God.”

Speaker Boehner has assured us that “Each and every day, Israel's very existence is at stake.”

With clever Republicans like these around it is not fear itself we have to fear but more of the same, and there is plenty more of the same coming day by day.

I guess Rubio’s quote,  “Every nation on the Earth that embraces market economics and the free enterprise system is pulling millions of its people out of poverty. The free enterprise system creates prosperity, not denies it,” is my favorite because it reminds me of the joys of capitalism.

I can’t help but think of Walmart as a great example. Walmart has 2 million employees almost all working for less than living wages, without health insurance, prevented from unionizing, and, in fact, subsidized by our tax dollars. The vast majority of their products come from China where those who make them also exist on very low wages and work mostly in “sweatshops.” One of the providers in Bangladesh had a building collapse killing more than 1000 employees who were working for exceedingly low wages under terrible conditions. Walmart is resisting any change in the law to increase employee safety. Thus Walmart customers, mostly relatively poor themselves, are provided with not very good products at low prices, products made to become obsolete or inoperable fairly soon so they will have to be replaced.

The heirs to Walmart’s success (four or five people, I believe) have between them more wealth than 40% of the U.S. population. So, you see how it is that free market economy, just as Rubio has assured us, “is pulling millions out of poverty.” It certainly “creates prosperity,” especially for a remarkably small number of the obscenely wealthy and corporate CEO’s.

In politics, absurdity is not a handicap.

Napoleon Bonaparte