The Shutdown Bogeyman
New House Speaker Mike Johnson seems like a nice enough fellow — sincere, unassuming, soft spoken, and religious. All well and good, but, unfortunately, none of these qualities are helpful when it comes to dealing with Democrat evil. I guess it would be cruel to call Johnson “Kevin McCarthy 2.0,” but some Freedom Caucus members are implying as much.
So here we are again, another continuing resolution that gives Democrats what they want — unlimited spending without the money to pay for it. More specifically, it gives them the green light to further bankrupt the country by funding Democrat vote-buying legislation through the magic of deficit spending, which means adding to the already unpayable $33 trillion debt and printing more unbacked currency.
Democrats are bullies who are able to hold Republicans captive by threatening them with their proprietary version of kryptonite, commonly referred to as a “government shutdown.” The mere mention of the term causes Republican officeholders to pee their pants in unison. It’s worse than being called a racist.
If there’s a doubt in anyone’s mind just how bad of an idea another continuing resolution is, the ironclad proof is that both Chuck Schumer and bosom buddy Mitch McConnell actually praised Johnson for coming up with a CR without any spending cuts or policy riders (e.g., border security). To rub salt in the wound, even radical Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal called the continuing resolution a “very big win.” Not a good endorsement, Mike.
Naive folks desperately want to believe Republicans when they promise this will be the last time they cower at the thought of shutting down the government, but even Dave Portnoy wouldn’t bet on that one. What’s fascinating is that the government shutdown Republicans so fear is only a partial shutdown that temporarily puts on hold so-called non-essential services, most of which should probably be eliminated anyway. On top of that, everyone who is temporarily laid off gets full back pay. Some shutdown.
The truth be known, shutting down the government would be the best thing that could ever happen to the United States, because every day Congress is not in session is one less day politicians and bureaucrats are able to pass laws and enact regulations to further screw up the economy and tighten the government’s stranglehold on the freedom of everyday citizens.
So, why, exactly, do Republicans so fear a government shutdown? It’s not complicated: The thought of Democrats spreading propaganda about Republicans jeopardizing the country’s well-being is terrifying to them. It’s amazing how so many grown men and women who are all in for invading other countries cannot bear the thought of being criticized for carrying out the wishes of their own voters.
Those of us who have been around for a while have seen Republican administrations come and go, sometimes with full control of both houses of Congress, yet nothing ever changes. Regardless of who is in power, Democrats get their way. So much so that many Republican House members are openly pointing out the embarrassing reality that since they won control of the House, they have not accomplished a single thing they promised their constituents.
As to Mike Johnson, I want to be fair and give him a thumbs up for releasing the January 6 tapes, which have confirmed what we’ve all known for more than two years, namely that there was no insurrection on January 6 and hundreds of innocent people have been put in jail. Now, if Johnson really wants to make up for putting forward yet another destructive CR, he should direct House investigators to hold hearings on the crimes committed by Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger, Adam Schiff, and the rest of the January 6 Committee conspirators. Until people like this are put behind bars, Democrats will continue to violate the law with impunity, because they know there are no consequences to their actions.
That said, I’m quietly rooting for Mike Johnson to show he can stand up to Marxist Democrats, but even if he does, a majority of America’s problems are far beyond his control. Arguably, the one he is least able to control — ever-increasing interest rates — is the problem that is most likely to affect you personally. As the nation’s debt continues to spiral, the government has to pay ever-higher interest rates to borrow money, which raises consumer rates and depresses home sales, auto sales, and other big-ticket items.
From the standpoint of everyday Americans, temporarily shutting down the government is far less painful than continued out-of-control spending and high interest rates, but neither Democrats nor Republicans care about your pain. No matter how good Mike Johnson’s intentions may be, he is not likely to change that mentality, because good intentions are a threat to the swamp.
Robert Ringer is an American icon whose unique insights into life have helped millions of readers worldwide. He is also the author of two New York Times #1 bestselling books, both of which have been listed by The New York Times among the 15 best-selling motivational books of all time.
From robertringer.com