Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Time for a Capitol Hill showdown

After the 2016 election, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wis., welcomed "The dawn of a new unified Republican government." Reince Priebus, who was to be President Trump's first chief of staff, declared that it was time "To put up and show up." Vice President Mike Pence warned lawmakers to "Buckle up." For the second time since President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the GOP controlled the House, Senate, and White House at the same time.

Republicans have less than six months until the midterm elections to convince voters to renew their majorities.

Some will even point to the limited rollback of the Dodd-Frank financial regulation, and they can legitimately point to the more extensive cutting of red tape.

Republicans have decided they won't even try to pass a budget this year.

If Republicans can't do the easy little things, what confidence does the country have that they will do the difficult big things?

The committee rambled for the better part of two hours as one by one, Republican senators headed for the exits.

So many staffers have started rescheduling their vacation plans that it seems McConnell will cut August recess back by a couple weeks or even scrap it all together.

The prime directive of the Republican majority appears to be avoid difficult votes at all costs.

Republicans ought to use every parliamentary tool at their disposal, such as budget reconciliation, and take on every big issue, such as Obamacare repeal.

Success isn't guaranteed, but failure is inevitable if Republicans don't even try.

If they don't even try during "The dawn of a new unified Republican government," it might already be high noon, and November may prove to be dusk.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/editorials/republican-high-noon-time-for-a-capitol-hill-showdown 

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