John Boehner, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and his republican cohorts read aloud the U.S. Constitution before members of Congress last week. Boehner said the House will operate according to the Constitution. Their new found discovery of the Constitution is consistent with their phony ideology and their new pronouncements of cutting federal spending and the repeal of the Health Care legislation that was passed last year and signed into law by the President.
Never mind that Mr. Boehner, Mitch McConnel and the republican party controlled both houses of congress during the first 6 years of the Bush administration and had the opportunity and votes to (1) cut federal spending and (2) operate according to the Constitution during those 6 years and failed on both accounts. Instead the republican party and Mr. Bush gave the country record deficit spending and debt. They never saw a budget deficit they did not love. They also backed Mr. Bush's secret surveillance program which the courts found unconstitutional.
Democratic Senator Harry Byrd carried a copy of the Constitution in his pocket at all times and voted against the war in Iraq over WMD that did not exist because he pointed out only and act of congress can commit the nation to war. The republicans could have learned a lot from Senator Byrd concerning the Constitution. He believed it was a living document. The republicans use the Constitution like they use various issues to divide the American people. While Senator Byrd lived the Constitution, republicans were using it as a ploy.
The past is still the key to the future. In the past under Bush the republicans had a great opportunity to cut federal spending and never even tried. In fact their actions show their aim is to bankrupt the federal government with debt. Boehner and the republicans have already showed their hand. They want to kill health care legislation even though the CBO says to do so will add $230 billion to the budget deficit. That goes along with their objective of adding to the deficit in order to deprive the federal government of needed revenue.
The democratic controlled Senate needs to vote down the republicans right wing agenda and the President needs to stand fast, especially now with the economic recovery well under way.
