The Freedom Caucus: A Bunch of “Pissed off Guys” Hold the Government Hostage

I guess it’s just too difficult for Congress to understand that they are, by definition, part and parcel of the United States Government. The Republicans and the Democrats are both equally liable for the treaties and covenants that are in place when they take office. It does not matter that they disagree with those treaties and covenants. Those agreements are binding on all of us as citizens of the US. That includes the debt we owe. There is no question about this fact. My question is, why do we even countenance legislative terrorists in Congress who are actively justifying personal agendas in the name of religion or political party in order to undermine those treaties and covenants? That Donald Trump can dictate the behavior of the United States Congress to deny allies aid in time of war and still be supported by members of Congress, is beyond any justification.

It’s true that the man is a loser, but that’s not the scary part. He’s not bright and he can not accept that he is what he is. He’s still trying to please his daddy even though the original impetus has, due to the passing of time, morphed into something more nearly related to, “I can have my way about anything I want because I can.” And, “I have so much money I can look down on anyone I so desire to look down upon.” In business dealings, these attitudes have a certain charm simply because anyone in business has to cope with the future, and someone addressing the future is often welcome. If someone has more money than you, it’s customary to give them deference when predictions are involved.

That same set of parameters does not exist in governance. Both influence and power must be shared with as many demographics as possible for governance to function. In governance, the focus must necessarily be on extending power and influence outward from the center of the society. In business, power and influence is centered around a nexus and is drawn inward toward that nexus. Therefore, a populist government cannot sustain itself because it is fueled by inbred ideas. It isn’t as though these are new concepts. Societies have experimented with these ideas for thousands of years. Come to think of it, if I remember correctly, the French tried a form of Trumpism and the Head Trumpers of the day, well, they up and lost their heads. And they lost them in public. I think the same fatal events transpired for the ruling elite of Germany one time, too.

For some strange reason, nearly the entire Republican Congressional contingent have begun to act out in self-destructive ways. I guess we could say that it all started a-ways back when the Freedom Caucus was formed. It was supposed to be disruptive from the start. It was actually started by a group of “pissed off guys.”

The caucus originated during the mid–January 2015 Republican congressional retreat in Hershey, Pennsylvania. According to founding member Mick Mulvaney, “that was the first time we got together and decided we were a group, and not just a bunch of pissed-off guys.”¹

The Freedom Caucus was designed to gum up the works of Congress in order to essentially punch above their weight. They formed a voting bloc because they all, by club rules no less, must vote together if 80% of the members agree on an issue. In just a few days from this writing, the Congress is scheduled to vote on a continuing resolution to keep the government open. The vote will not pass unless Democrats vote with the Republican majority, again. Hopefully that will happen as outlined here. However, because we are dealing with the Freedom Caucus and the caucus is made up of some of the most tin-hatted of the tin hat tribe, it is not likely that they will be willing to simply vote to keep the government open. It is highly likely that they will do all they can to prevent that bill from passing. Why? Because they can and that’s the reason for their existence.

Now then, I do not understand how in the hell Donald Trump and Mike Johnson can unilaterally set US foreign policy because they’re mad that Trump lost the election. Besides, Mike wants to install a Christian Theocracy as a replacement for the Democracy we currently enjoy. Look, I get that it’s kind of expected to bitch about the government and about taxes and about the price of gas and about a hundred other things that we all bitch about all the time. But no one will enjoy Mikey’s wannabe-Christian Theocracy any more than they will enjoy Trump’s wannabe-authoritarian regime. They’re both stupid ideas that have never worked for long in all of history. Those political concepts have been tried and have brought us to where we are, but we must push beyond those limited concepts into concepts which allow us the pursuit of happiness. Going back to subjugation of women and trading in slaves is not desirable, guys.

Still we have chosen these myopic individuals as our national leaders. What these guys are proposing is not popular. Their idea of minding anyone’s business other than their own is more than disgusting. It’s just being rude and therefore loutish to the point of expulsion from the societal discourse. When Hannity sides with Trump on air and thereby influences people to consider what he and Trump are saying, it is understandable from the standpoint of financial gain, but when “The News” reports the mindlessly anti-societal statements of Trump’s poor pumpkin laments every day, they are complicit with him. Not deliberately perhaps, but complicit nonetheless.

The other day, Morning Joe had a live telephone call with Trump. The man could not maintain a civil conversation. Joe had to hang up on him because Trump would not allow questions to be asked. He could only demand attention. Children do that kind of thing all the time. Trump is not a child. Because he can only demand attention, he is not a President either. We know the man lies. We know the man has no understanding of international cooperation. We know that he kisses up to dictators and even praises them for consolidating power around them, even if it is to the detriment of their people. We know that the man thinks he’s better than anyone. He is not for the common man. He is for exploiting the common man and demonstrates that by grifting off his ever-increasing woe. Folks, this is not Presidential material.

At the risk of being overbearing on this, we cannot have troublemakers in government. If a Congressperson is disruptive in the way that the Freedom Caucus is disruptive, that Congressperson needs to find something more to his or her liking back home in the Parish. Maybe help a local religious group feed the homeless, or even use his or her influence to do something that gives hope to the people where that Congressperson lives. Maybe then those Congresspeople will contribute to society as opposed to stressing society at every turn.

These Freedom Caucus terrorists must be replaced with people who have at least a modicum of common sense. It doesn’t make any difference if they are Republicans or Democrats. It’s common sense we require. It wouldn’t hurt if they could honor the treaties and covenants we currently hold in the world. How hard could that be, anyway?

References

1. Lizza, R. (2015, December 6). The Freedom Caucus and the War in the Republican Party. The New Yorker. Retrieved March 6, 2024, from https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/12/14/a-house-divided

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