Extreme and Fringe... And Don't Forget Crazy

On Thursday Justin Amash (R-MI) told a crowd of libertarians at the Liberty Political Action Conference that Senators John McCain (R-AZ), and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) "are on the extreme fringes of American society in terms of their views on war.” Amash is correct about McCain and Graham but this week he voted to slash $40 billion from food stamps and also voted to hold hostage keeping the government open to ending Obamacare. That would be just as extreme and fringe as McCain and Graham.

Yesterday Paul Krugman dubbed the whole lot of them, The Crazy Party. "In recent months, he wrote, "the G.O.P. seems to have transitioned from being the stupid party to being the crazy party... Republicans are coming off an election in which they failed to retake the presidency despite a weak economy, failed to retake the Senate even though far more Democratic than Republican seats were at risk, and held the House only through a combination of gerrymandering and the vagaries of districting. Democrats actually won the popular ballot for the House by 1.4 million votes. This is not a party that, by any conceivable standard of legitimacy, has the right to make extreme demands on the president."

Yet, at the moment, it seems highly likely that the Republican Party will refuse to fund the government, forcing a shutdown at the beginning of next month, unless President Obama dismantles the health reform that is the signature achievement of his presidency. Republican leaders realize that this is a bad idea, but, until recently, their notion of preaching moderation was to urge party radicals not to hold America hostage over the federal budget so they could wait a few weeks and hold it hostage over the debt ceiling instead. Now they’ve given up even on that delaying tactic. The latest news is that John Boehner, the speaker of the House, has abandoned his efforts to craft a face-saving climbdown on the budget, which means that we’re all set for shutdown, possibly followed by debt crisis.

There are more than a few congressmen who embody all the worst of the McCain/Graham warmongering, the deranged class warfare against working people and the insanity that Krugman shows has gripped the party. But only one of them represents part of Los Angeles and that's Buck McKeon, the corrupt drone guy from Santa Clarita.

Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and founder of the congressional Drone Caucus, last cycle McKeon took more in legalistic bribes from arms manufacturers and military contractors than any two Members of Congress combined!

• Buck McKeon (R-CA)- $566,850
• Scott Brown (R-MA)- $283,288
• Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD)- $233,550

McKeon has relentlessly banged the drums of war as loudly and persistently as McCain and Graham, only with a personal twist. His family owns a military lobbying firm that he is widely expected to take over after he retires or is defeated. Lining the pockets of his family-- although he owes a fortune to Adelson and is personally in debt to the tune of around a million dollars-- is a McKeon specialty and he has funneled large amounts of taxpayer dollars and campaign funds into his wife's, his sons', his brothers' and his nephews' accounts.

This week he voted to cut $40 billion from the food stamps programs for the very neediest Americans and he voted to shut down the government if Obama doesn't allow the GOP to repeal Obamacare. His opponent is a nationally acclaimed surgeon, Lee Rogers of Simi Valley. His statement puts the blame for the mess in Washington right into McKeon's lap:

Because McKeon’s bill is not a serious budget proposal, unless he concedes, it will surely result in a government shutdown. This is an irresponsible vote...

While the Affordable Care Act is not a perfect bill, it should be fixed, not scrapped. It is already helping patients and keeps insurance companies in check so that you can’t get thrown off your plan if you get sick. You can’t be prevented from obtaining insurance if you have a pre-existing condition. It mandates 85% of insurance company profits to be spent on actual health care.

In recent years, Congress only governs from crisis to crisis. But what’s most appalling is that these crises are often created by Congress. Our district deserves better than a Congressman who-- unless he gets his way on rejecting health care benefits for millions of Americans-- will take hostage our troops’ pay, national parks, the federal judicial system, and workers who process Social Security payments.

This morning, Rogers went further, telling us that "The debt ceiling debacle in 2011, which led to the near default on the full faith and credit of the United States, is one of the reasons I started running for Congress. The House Majority seemed bent on doing anything possible to push their extremist ideology, even if that included damaging America. Now history repeats itself. The Majority isn't interested in governing, they're interested in gumming up the works, unless they get their way on gutting healthcare. They're happy putting insurance companies back in the driver's seat, but they've been driving recklessly for decades. I can't simply stand by while this occurs. This strengthens my resolve to run for Congress."