Pathetic Courage Demonstrated Only When Absolutely Useless

The traditionalist right responsibly spits upon what happened, recently, in terms of national politics, meaning the solidarity vote of the Republicans.   Why this extremely harsh statement?    From 1994, after over 40 years of Democratic Party dominance of the US Congress, and through and up to before the 2006 elections, the Republican Party had failed always, through needed congressional action, to ever send to the states, for their requisite ratification, a Right to Life Amendment for the Constitution. 

When, quite recently in historical time, the Republicans had, in fact, the Congress, White House, and were appointing fairly conservative justices to the Supreme Court, meaning, in effect, having all three branches of the Federal government, still nothing was done; actions that could have most significantly halted or, perhaps, mainly reversed the terrible and nihilistic movement of the Culture of Death in America were, thus, never taken.

Much Ado About Nothing

As Mike Savage and other informed commentators have cogently expressed the matter, the Republican Party, especially at the national level, tends to only demonstrate unity, tenacity, creativity, cohesion, principle, fortitude, courage, and determination— when actually out of power.   For instance, all members of the Republican Party in the US House of Representatives, on January 28, 2009, had voted no to the pork-overfilled, so-called stimulus package that will, ironically, just help to prolong the recession, even if eventually passed.  Most conservatives, of course, have so greatly applauded this “solidly” hollow achievement and, thus, disgustingly banal and excessively dubious accomplishment of really nothing.

When the Republican Party in Congress is most impotent to affect events or outcomes, it then can come up with the amazing ability to show an elaborate aggressiveness and adamant spirit that it rarely, if ever, demonstrates when it is in the majority.  As Savage has wisely noted, perhaps, it really is best to keep the Republicans a minority in the national legislature, so that they do not have the chance to become complacent or politically flabby, when not being in the minority.  

It was rather dramatically noticed how, during that historical vote, they were able to tremendously muster an absolute and unanimous majority vote on their part, joined in, no less, by an additional 11 Democrats, to make it a truly bipartisan vote against the heavily pork-oriented bill.

Can someone explain the peculiar political paradox of how such unanimity of concerted purpose and focused action can only be easily obtained, it appears, when the cause itself is totally useless, meaning a moot or academic point having no true effect whatsoever on the future outcome of events?    It is known that, since the bill is so greatly top heavy with bold ear marks to eagerly go to many different and diverse political constituencies all across America, the bill will, surely, get voted on favorably in the US Senate to, thus, secure its expected and final passage.  

How is it that when the Republicans are in the majority they seem or tend to not have the durable ability, over a long period of time, to substantially form a definite and working consensus in clear favor of conservatism on a truly consistent basis to effectuate legislative action on a grand scale?   Is it the often reported corrupting effects of the Washington, DC Beltway mentality that favors liberal and leftist-oriented thinking and actions, which ends up, thus, also influencing (eventually) most Republican politicians?

When it appears, supposedly, only most useless to do so, they then come forth heroically to stand firmly on manifestly conservative principle unhesitatingly, though knowing full well, nonetheless, that no real consequences of a positive nature will result politically; this is meaning explicitly in verifiable terms of actual affect on national legislative outcomes.  There is readily observed a rather pathetic courage that gets uniquely demonstrated only when noticeably useless or hollow consequences can be both competently and completely secured.  

There Is No There There

The national-level Republicans, on conservative issues, decisively do manifest many highly skillful and politically-dynamic abilities, remarkable talents, and parliamentary-style skills, when the empirically-perceived outcome is completely or totally meaningless.   This appears to be, ironically, a rather too bizarre situation to behold in that the purpose of politics is to rationally and determinedly seek to do things that will or, at least, might have solid political results, which in the particular case of the US Congress, of course, pertains necessarily to often vital or important legislative matters.  

Rush Limbaugh and other conservatives and even many neoconservatives insist that the Republicans in the US House of Representatives do still genuinely deserve some praise for being united in such a dramatic way.  From the point of view of the traditionalist right, however, such obnoxious and vacuous activity, which is equivalent to dramatically shutting the barn door – only after all the horses have already run out, is rather an asinine act of empty braggadocio and witless bunkum that had boldly best be ignored.  (As, e.g., Ambrose Bierce or H. L. Mencken would have definitely agreed.)  

And, this reaction is another important instance of the truly major difference between the critically-informed thinking of the traditionalist right versus what, in an often rancid sense, passes for conservatism, these days, in America. 

When, therefore, the hopeless point has been unfortunately reached in that the cause has certainly been lost politically, then and solely then do the Republican conservatives mightily rally, quite vehemently and valiantly, to heatedly charge— at the proverbial windmill (along with Don Quixote).   The congressional Republicans in the House of Representatives have, therefore, supremely proven themselves, once again, to be exceedingly successful, dominantly purposeful, when arduously trying to accomplish nothing.   

For that, these vigorous conservative champions (of noted uselessness in political action) do then deserve a most wildly enthusiastic and quite profoundly heart-felt Bronx cheer!   Why?  

Champions of Lilliputian Greatness: Congressional Republicans

Their past performance as political players, in their not standing up forcefully for conservatism, had then allowed national conditions to terribly develop, in 2004 through to 2008, which brought about a truly left-leaning Democratic Party majority in Congress, along with a leftist Democratic President as well.  No more really needs to be said, furthermore, about these putatively “courageous” heroes.