While waiting for a football or basketball game to come on TV, I end up listening to part of Hardball on MSNBC. I know I shouldn't, but it is one way to hear the usual empty headed Beltway political analysis, especially from Chris Matthews who channels David Broder and all things centrist. And during 2014 Election night and since, Matthews has not disappointed. I have never heard so much patently ignorant, anachronistic, useless, and dead from the neck up political BS in such a short time period.
Matthews and the Beltway pundits have never really processed or conveniently forgotten who wrecked the federal government: Mitch McConnell. Yet, here we have Matthews applauding McConnell's victory speech and his supposed change of heart on working with President Obama. The man who has done his utmost, and succeeded, in hurting the country while stripping the gears of the government NOW wants to make government work?
And Matthews is loving it that Obama and McConnell will work together to make the country move forward because NOTHING says moving forward like bipartisan or centrist legislation. Newsflash: we have had plenty of bipartisanship since the 1990s, and it has produced a host of rotten policies.
Let me count the ways:
NAFTA and the other free trade deals that shipped American jobs overseas.
There was the bipartisan deal to let accounting firms not be held financially liable for their clients bad behavior. This directly lead to such frauds as Enron.
There was the repeal of Glass-Stegall, which lead to the worst financial crises since the Great Depression and wrecked the American economy.
There was "reform" of Welfare.
The Bush Tax Cuts.
The second Iraq War.
No Child Left Behind.
Bankruptcy "reform."
The Patriots Act.
And I'm sure that I have missed some other beauts of bad policies, but you get the idea. So since when is something that is centrist or bipartisan a guaranteed good deal? Maybe in some long forgotten age centrism might have produced some good policy, but given the reactionary policies of the Republicans, how do we get to the middle when the other party is living in the 19th Century?
And I do not take McConnell at his word. I've watched this man lie like a cheap rug for years, and his behavior in the last few years has only gotten worse. Everytime he and the other Republicans ring a concession out of Obama, they move the goal post and demand more. This course has succeeded for McConnell, so why should he change now? It doesn't make any political sense for him to quit a winning strategy of moving the country rightwards.
A deal on something like immigration? Don't make me laugh. There are not enough Latinos in KY to matter to Mitch. Hell, even Grimes felt safe insulting Latinos during the campaign. And the racists in my state only want to impeach Obama, not work with him on anything. After impeaching Obama, they want to deport anyone with a Spanish surname. But you have to get rid of Obama FIRST!
All of these and many other reasons make me do double takes when I hear Matthews regurgitate Beltway "wisdom."