Bobby "Boom-Boom" Jindal

For the last couple of days the Repugnants had been telling anyone who would listen that after Obama's Congressional Address they would introduce their new powerhouse to America by having this person deliver the party's response. Liberals, Progressives and others were shaking in their boots. From the sounds of it, the Repugnants were going to be sending in someone equivalent to Mr. T to knock that skinny Obama kid back on his heels. They were gonna show us!

It came time for the response and out walks this guy looking for all the world like Caspar Milquetoast or Arnold Stang and he says: "Good Evening America & Happy Mardi Gras..." In this timid voice, as if he is apologizing for interupting...AND his speech went downhill from there...Basically he trotted out the same old Repugnant themes of lower taxes, less government and the free market...To bolster his argument he cited the governments response to Hurricane Katrina! Hello!?! Uh, Governor, that was a fuck-up by your own party. Why would you bring that up?

Then of course he went to the nitpicking of different aspects of Obama's proposals. He didn't think the government should spend money to monitor volcano activity. Sort of like saying that the government shouldn't spend money on levees...

Even the right wing commentators on Fox News got on his case. Someone said having Jindal follow Obama was like having the Rolling Stones open for Air Supply! More like sending in a one-legged man into an ass kicking contest, if you ask me...Naturally, Rush Limpdick was standing by Jindal...Next we'll hear that it's racist to criticize the guy...

The Republican Party is on the ropes. John McCain crashed and burned. Sarah Palin was some Republican version of eye candy gone awry. Michael Steele, chair of the RNC, recently promised that the GOP is going to come out with a message that will electrify the electorate by appealing to the urban multi-ethnic population. The GOP is going hip-hop. Word. The rest of us will just have to get jiggy wid it. And then they tried to foist Bobby Jindal on us....Are they on acid???

I have no reasonable explanation for the actions of the GOP in recent days. They're sounding more like the Reverend Jim from the old Taxi TV series...It's as though they are divorced from reality. People used to talk that kind of crap when they were unduly influenced by drugs and people sort of sniggered up their sleeves and walked away from them. I think that is what is going to happen to the Republicans if they don't hurry up and do a serious gut check.

Now, probably more so than any other time in our history we desperately need an opposition party that can contribute to the national discourse. That can offer practical, workable solutions to the problems we face. Haven't we learned anything from the days of Newt Gingrich, Tom Delay and Dick Armey? If you don't have serious opposition, if you don't have reasonable alternatives--you're going to get crap legislation and you're going to have to live with it. In the long run, it hurts us all. The Republicans seriously need to get their shit in one sock. They are floundering.

That's not to say that the Democrats in Congress are any better. If I were Obama, I'd get Pelosi, Reid, Barney Frank and Chris Dodd (to name a few) in a room and knock their heads together and tell them to quit posturing and get to work.

That's it in a nutshell: The election is over, now get to work!

The real shame is that neither party in Congress has anyone of stature. There doesn't seem to be anyone who is speaking for the little guy or even to the little guy. We aren't even an afterthought to most of them.

At times like these we need someone who can be the conscience of the Congress. Like Everett Dirksen or Sam Nunn or Howard Baker. They spoke for the Republican Party and they worked with the Democrats and passed legislation that helped the entire country. I mean, LBJ and Everett Dirksen hammered out the Civil Rights Act of 1964. How would you have liked to have been in the room when those two were working that out??? Somehow or the other they put party politics aside and produced a piece of legislation that was good for the whole country. I'm not seeing that with the clowns we have in this session of Congress. It seems as though they are all posturing for the next election. They are not in the here and now. They aren't keeping their eye on the ball. They're acting more like neutered autistic puppies and they sound shrill.

What is lacking is a serious debate on the issues. All these clowns are still in campaign mode. They do all of us a disservice by not working out the merits of any proposed legislation.

Anyone who has ever been in any kind of an elective office knows that in order to achieve anything worthwhile you have to work with your counterparts and even those who seriously oppose you. Sometimes you have to give a little, to get a little. It sounds trite but it is true. It's called working out a compromise. We aren't getting any kind of compromise legislation from this Congress. And it's not like any of them are fast learners. They hustled through the first bank bailout legislation and forgot to put in any accountability for the money they doled out to the banks. That should have been a wake up call to all of these Bozos.

I'm not a Republican by any stretch of the imagination but I find myself feeling sorry for them. They have an opportunity here to act in the interest of the American people and to bolster their image and they are letting it slip away.

Both parties need to shitcan the theatrics, the posturing, the finger-pointing--the sideshow antics AND get down to business. If they don't, they will become irrelevant and will leave the door open for third and fourth parties to emerge on the scene. I don't think the American people are going to stand for too much more of this clowning around.

That's it. I'm outa here. I'm going out on the back deck, have a smoke and a cup of coffee, watch the sun rise and listen to the birdies sing. Maybe later I'll go take a walk and clear my head. Okay. Go have a cup of strong coffee and make the most of your day. Later.