No Big Surprise

           Congressional leaders profess cooperation with the President, but there is no evidence of their sincerity. The evidence indicates mere posturing. You don’t start a cooperative relationship (and after six years, it hasn’t yet started) by issuing ultimatums to the President. Crap like, ‘If you do anything about carbon emissions,’ or ‘do anything to help immigrants, you are poisoning the well of good will,’ (that we have never extended and now allegedly offer) is so transparently nasty that it will be an achievement for reasonable people to accept.

           Congress, this self-serving, obstructive, juggernaut of special interest has just had its license renewed by a mid-term election comprising a small percentage of America’s eligible voters. By no means does it have a mandate to crank up the corporate steam roller. Anyone who interprets the election result as a passport to ignore the persistent issues of fairness, so far abandoned by congress, is making a mistake. The election merely validated the tactics used by campaigners and state governments. In short, voters failed to hit ‘refresh’ and now we’re back on a familiar and well-worn path.

           Our President is far from perfect, but our congress has no room to talk—it is, and has been, profoundly dysfunctional. Around here, we think somebody has to do something to move the needle for ordinary Americans, and for our planet. It’s clear that congress isn’t going to be that somebody. They’ll be the ones, once again, complaining that their failures are the President’s fault. “Surprise!” said nobody.