House Republicans have taken doing nothing to a whole new level by announcing that they won’t be passing any notable legislation this year.
The Washington Post reported:
After a tumultuous week of party infighting and leadership stumbles, congressional Republicans are focused on calming their divided ranks in the months ahead, mostly by touting proposals that have wide backing within the GOP and shelving any big-ticket legislation for the rest of the year.
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
Comprehensive immigration reform, tax reform, tweaks to the federal health-care law — bipartisan deals on each are probably dead in the water for the rest of this Congress.
It is not surprising that Republicans are not going to do anything this year. What is surprising is that the House Republicans have given up the pretense of doing anything. There aren’t going to be anymore show votes that are labeled jobs bills, or immigration reform. Boehner and the House leadership have simply given up.
They aren’t even trying to fool the American people into believing that House Republicans are doing something for them. The ruse is over. Republicans aren’t going to do anything, but run back to their districts in a desperate bid to save their seats. At least Boehner can stop going in front of the cameras, and trying to sell his absurd excuses for doing nothing as benefitting the American people.
2014 is going to be another lost year in American politics. Republicans are calling President Obama a dictator and making claims of constitutional violations, but it is clear that the president heads up the only branch of government that is trying to move the country forward by doing something.
Republicans have given the voters no reason to reelect them this year. They have no agenda. They have done nothing but obstruct progress, and now Boehner and company have the nerve to announce that they aren’t going to go to work, but they still are expecting your votes in November.
The House will remain dysfunctional until the members who see doing nothing as their job are replaced. If We The People want a government that works, we need to elect candidates who are willing to do the job.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
