Life in the Boomer Lane has been around for a long time, so long that she remembers when everyone listened to the same news and either agreed or disagreed. It’s a crazy thought now, the idea of our choices being limited to either agreeing or disagreeing. Now, we are on a different path. It’s like a married couple disagreeing about paint color, and, as a way to avoid argument, they simply burn the house down.
Rush Limbaugh, Deceased Mouth, and proponent of the Burn-the-House-Down strategy, announced on the air that he would rather see the nation fail, than see Obama succeed. It’s an interesting thought, giving up the welfare of the country for their own political gains. LBL remembers the old adage, “cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face.” We have become masters of self-mutilation.
The GOP learned a long time ago that it’s far easier to change the rules than try to convince people of anything. Convincing someone of something is hard, really hard. It takes a huge effort. Changing the rules is another Burn-the-House-Down tactic. Poof. Gone. No need to expend all that effort. Gerrymandering and voter suppression mean that the election goes the way one wants. It’s tyranny by the minority.
It’s a waste of time to refer to Trump, here. He simply wants to exercise power in order to make Money and be Important. His world is a big beautiful Ponzi scheme. There is no complexity, here. He’s a simple guy with a simple agenda.
Congress and GOP presidential wannabees, on the other hand, have learned that the threat to burn the house down (and coming armed with gasoline and matches to show how serious they are) are keys to re-election. It shows those who have it that they will continue to have it. It shows those who don’t have it that, even if they don’t have it, their elected officials do.
So we have now been brought to the brink of yet another debt ceiling crisis. You’d think after 30 years of this, we’d be used to it. But each time, the stakes are higher and the matches bigger. Each time, the GOP stands closer to the house, ready to toss that gas toward the front door. It’s so much easier than actually doing something that might benefit the country.
Life in the Boomer Lane 
Keith
October 7, 2021
Renee, thanks. Starting with something simple, I just want legislators to tell the truth more as they owe it to us to do so. Governing with facts is hard enough, but nigh impossible when they use misinformation or solve problems that are invented to draw attention. The bogus and planned claims of election fraud by the former president have not been proven in court (1 small court win versus over 65 court losses) and been called BS by his own Attorney General, but these claims are leading to voter restrictive legislation in some states and more audits.
I also want legislators to focus on doing their job more than focusing on keeping their job. Per retiring Congress people, 35% of their time is spent fundraising. That is asking people who pay their salaries for more money.
Call me crazy, but if they tell the truth and do their job, we will be better off. And, stop vilifying people who try to tell the truth. I do not agree with much of what Liz Cheney or Adam Kinzinger advocate as policy, but they deserve kudos and support for their political courage for telling the truth. It is shameful they are getting death threats for daring to call the former president out for his actions.
Keith
Life in the Boomer Lane
October 18, 2021
Outstanding comments, as always, Keith. We have created a culture in which personal greed (whether for money or power) overrides ethics. I don’t know how we can survive that.
Keith
October 18, 2021
Thanks Renee. Well said. I saw a statistic about eight years that likely still applies – most people leaving Congress have more wealth than when they entered. Insider trading knowledge explains part of it, but not all of it. Keith
erminerose
October 17, 2021
Excellent piece, LBL. Not sure what’s in store for the U.S., but a house divided against itself cannot stand. I’m somewhat hopeful that we will find our way; how, I’m not sure. My opinion is that white supremacy is the root cause of our situation, along with money and power, of course. The Repubs are truly deplorables and are not standing up for our supposedly sacred democracy.
Also, sure wish we could get that gold medal back from Rush’s estate. That was a travesty.
Life in the Boomer Lane
October 18, 2021
Agreed. White supremacy is the foundation of this country and continues to be at the root of almost all of our issues. And, I’ve thought about that medal several times. I’m sure, over time, that many other medals have been awarded to mouthpieces of authoritarian governments.