Tea Party Inaction
AJ Robinson

Back in grade school, I learned that, following the Revolutionary War, there was talk of making Washington King of American. He refused, saying we were done with kings and the people should rule and, thus, the presidency was born. I bring this up because I find the support for Donald Trump to fly in the face of this principle.

Trump supporters speak of frustration with the political system.

They wanti to send a message to the politicians. They want a president that won't worry about being PC. He or she will just get things done.

Here's where my third grade civics lesson comes into play. News flash, people, our president is not a king, despite what the conservatives say about Obama. He does not exist in a vacuum, he does not rule by edict like some Roman dictator of old.

You want to elect Trump president, go right ahead. He won't be able to do any of the insane policies or actions he's promising. There's the little matter of the Constitution, you know, that thing the Tea Baggers are always insisting we follow, despite apparently not having read it. Then there's Congress, the place where the lunatics control the asylum.

You can elect Donald or Bernie Sanders, even Hillary Clinton, and it won't mean diddlysquat, as long as they have to deal with the same jokers in Congress. This is the separation of powers, a central part of the US Constitution, and a piece of paper the looney tunes rant about. I would laugh, but it’s too sad.

Trump supporters say they're frustrated.

They don’t like the way Washington, the Capitol, works. Well, go look in the mirror because that's who made it that way.

Let's review recent political activity, shall we? The looney tunes sent to Congress a bunch of people openly contemptuous of government. Women and men that think the term 'compromise' is a dirty word. People bought and paid for with special interest money.

Now, they, the looney tunes, have the gall to act surprised that they can't get anything done. This makes me think of that scene from the movie, “Casablanca”: “I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here,” Louie says as he pockets his winnings. Don't say they promised to get things done and it was Obama's fault that nothing was done or the Democrats in general.

During his first two years in office, Obama got things done: the fair pay act, the ACA and the stimulus package, to name only three. Now, keep in mind, I said those passed, I did not call them positive or negative; I leave it to history to judge them.

Obama accomplished much.

The point is Obama accomplished much of what he set out to do. In the years since, can you name any accomplishments of the Tea Bag Congress? Also, do not insult my intelligence by saying they promised to do things.

What did the looney tunes promise? We, to repeal the ACA, cut spending, cut taxes and, somehow magically, make the deficit and debt go down.

Let’s delve into looney tunes agenda. Item one, the repeal of the ACT is not going to happen while Obama in office; we all know that. It doesn't matter if the House passes it forty, fifty or even sixty times! Again, it’s not going to happen. Two, the looneys want to cut spending; what spending, foreign aid. Do you have any idea what a tiny fraction of the federal budget that is? Maybe the looneys want to cut unemployment and food stamps, which, again, is a minute portion of the budget.

As for taxes, we've been cutting those for decades and have yet to see it transform into deficit reduction. How many more years do we have to experiment with it before you people accept reality? Trickledown economics only works when applied to raw sewage; who's at the bottom of that trickle? Little hint: it's not Trump and his ilk!

This has been the do nothingest Congress in decades and, yet, voters continue to send the same jokers back there. Einstein said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different outcome. Folks, if you’re not going to change Congress, news flash: nothing will change.

Consider that when you step into the voting booth and contemplate ‘sending a message to the politicians.’ Send a real message: elect a workable Congress.