The Senate RINOs (Republicans in Name Only) slavishly voted as Harry Reid ordered them to vote. They are an obedient bunch. And they know who their master is. The problem is, while they are faithful drudges to Dusty Harry, they cannot recognize their true masters. The rest of us. They serve their own personal interests first in the following order.
They want to stay in power. But as we saw in 1994, they don’t know how to run things if they fall into power (in 1994 on the coat tails of hapless Clinton and in a reaction to him). Being second fiddle to the Democrats because they aren’t as smart as the Democrats and can’t play to the electorate as well, doesn’t bother them.
There is a risk in “playing to the grandstand.” You must have some courage. What if your theatrics fall flat? There is the chance the people in the grandstands may not like you. They may hate you. Maybe the guys who composed your lines are dummies.
There was a lucrative profession during the Napoleonic era, which consisted of attending debuts of symphonies and plays. The practitioners were called “Clappers.” They were hired to applaud or jeer at the right moment to bolster or condemn the production. Modernly in the political arena, we call those guys the “Press.” They are paid to mess up any theatrics the Republicans (or more accurately, Conservatives) attempt in presenting their views or plans.
They got a jolt of a sense of their power when they hammered Nixon and haven’t been the same since. Unfortunately for them, while they learned that they can dethrone a king, they found making one is much more difficult. This frustrates them and makes them nasty, derisive and petulant. Their mindset is “If you think differently than me you are wrong … I am (by definition) right, …which means you are “Evil” … and … ergo … I can condemn you in every venue available.” It is circular logic, of course. But it makes liberals feel good about themselves because it allows them to look down on someone, which means they (liberals) are above the people they look down on … and superior to at least someone in the room, which feels really good if you know you really aren’t the smartest person in the room … as you may have claimed. This is a tremendous motivator, because liberals very seldom have anything to feel good about regarding themselves.
RINOs fear the media because liberals and their media lap doggies can start jeering your performance on cue and you’re a goner. So RINOs have very few ideas they want to trot onto the public stage. It’s just too risky. And they have discovered it is even safer to follow the Democrat herds because the press will not notice them. You’re under the radar.
Of course, the other reason RINOs want to stay in power is they like the power. Even if they are second fiddle to the Democrats they still get to enjoy the benefits of standing idly by in the corridors of power, even if they don’t get to yank the “levers of power” real hard whenever they want to, like their Democrat masters.
Even “second fiddle” power is sweet. People want your autograph and you can smugly deprive them. (They’re only dingy constituents. Screw ‘em! I’m engaging in fine dining in my favorite eatery, after all. Go away and take your street urchin progeny with you! How dare you?!?) You get your picture taken frequently and sometimes the press will even give you an approving caption, i.e., “Senator Second-fiddle was seen yesterday at Walter Reed Hospital cutting the ribbon on a new phrenology clinic for the Vets, many of whom stood silently around, but were unacknowledged by the good Senator.”
You might even get into a photo with Dusty Harry who might be seen giving you a mildly approving supercilious smirk. Hey … it’s better than his telling the press a nasty and politically damaging lie he made up about you (remember how Romney hadn’t paid taxes in ten years … or something like that?), which might actually be true about you! That’s always a risk!
Limousines, Congressional junkets with your family along, big fat salary with incredible benefits, lifetime gigantic pensions etc, etc, etc. Life is good. Really good, (just as long as you can avoid those often ugly Town Hall Meetings back home with those scruffy and nosey constituents with those pesky and uninformed queries about “Where in H%$&^LL our tax dollars are goin?” And their runny nosed kids and howling dogs … and their torches and pitchforks).
All those goodies in exchange for just keeping quiet, engaging in no grandstanding and going along to get along. There, there, that’s a nice RINO.
But the party may be nearing its conclusion.
People are waking up to the fact that politics matter. P.J. O’Rourke said, “Bad politics gets you dead.” Plato said “If you don’t take an interest in politics you will be doomed to governance by your lessers.” (With apologies to both fellows if I got the quotes fouled.)
These RINO jerks have to go.
