HAVE REPUBLICANS moved the federal government to a little country town?
I ask because in the aftermath of President Obama’s victory on the healthcare law, John Boehner and his House colleagues seem to be living in Petticoat Junction. That’s the only explanation I can think of, because I’ve never seen anything so petty in all my life.
For those who’ve been sleeping under a rock for the last few days, here’s what happened.
John Boehner’s petty lawsuit
Wednesday, in an “Are you serious?” moment, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and his minions voted to sue President Obama because—get this—Obama decided to delay the implementation of the employer mandate in his healthcare law. The employer mandate is the part that says certain employers have to provide insurance to full time employees. Boehner and the Republicans are against the employer mandate, and in fact, they voted to have it delayed.
So wait, why are they angry if a delay is what they wanted? They’re mad because Obama delayed it himself instead of letting them do it. It’s sort of like saying, “I wanted that thing you just gave me, but I’m mad at you for giving it to me, so now my friends and I are going to say really mean things about you.”
Next they’ll be cornering Obama in the locker room after gym and threatening to scratch his eyes out. Or maybe they’ll send him really mean texts with angry selfies. Maybe they’ll even spread vicious rumors about him.
Oh, that’s right … they’ve already done that last one.
So why are Boehner and the boys acting like the chicks on “Pretty Little Liars?” It’s actually not that complicated.
After losing at every turn while trying to defeat President Obama’s Affordable Care Act, the Republicans are looking for ways to energize their anti-Obama supporters. So rather than addressing immigration, or the minimum wage, or skyrocketing college costs, or struggling public schools, they came up with a better idea.
It’s like some twisted combination of “Mean Girls” and “All the President’s Men.” I only wish I could grab some cosmic remote control and turn this mess off. I’m tried of watching political hissy fits.
They decided to get back at Obama. Why? Because Obama heard their complaints and used executive orders to give them what they said they wanted.
So what’s the big deal about that? It’s pretty simple. The Republicans didn’t just want to delay key parts of the healthcare law. They wanted to do so through the legislative process. That way they could’ve held hearings, staged press conferences, engaged in some good old demagoguery, done some grandstanding, and scored some political points by embarrassing the President.
Obama didn’t give them that opportunity, so now they’re telling the American people that the Boehner lawsuit is about the Constitution.
“[Boehner] expressed at the judiciary committee that, unfortunately, the president has overstepped his authority under the constitution, fairly clearly, that the House of Representatives has a very strong and firm basis to object and that an action would have merit,” Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick (R- PA) told the Philadelphia Inquirer before the vote. “I would hope the president would come to Congress and ask for changes to the law rather than ignoring, bypassing or skirting the law, that’s what we seek.”
Other Republicans went so far as to say the administration has been lawless.
That’s a crock, and the Republicans know it.
Ripped from a Mean Girls script
From my vantage point, the Boehner lawsuit is not about the law. It’s not about the Constitution. It’s not about the American people. It’s about the fact that Obama won, the Republicans lost, and now they’re trying to do anything they can to make him look bad.
It’s like some twisted combination of “Mean Girls” and “All the President’s Men.” I only wish I could grab some cosmic remote control and turn this mess off. I’m tried of watching political hissy fits.
With Central American children being sent to the border by desperate parents, American public schools in disarray, and working people unable to support themselves on a shamefully low minimum wage, Republicans are suing the President.
I’ve only got one question: Don’t they have anything better to do?
Solomon Jones is an Essence bestselling author and award-winning columnist. He is the creator and editor of Solomonjones.com. Click here to learn more about Solomon
