Artwork by Michael DiMilo
By Geoff Carter
When the toy store Toys “R” Us was still around, I popped into one nearby on a Saturday afternoon to look for a present for a nephew, who was about to celebrate his ninth birthday. I went by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle stuff, the Nintendo stuff, and a lot of other stuff, looking for the right present.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, I heard a blood-curdling shriek from a few aisles down. I hurried over and witnessed a four or five-year old girl having a monster temper tantrum. She was screaming, crying, running around the aisle, and knocking packages off the shelves. She then turned to her mother and started pummeling her legs, screaming all the time like a rabid banshee. Mom, apparently used to this, at first tried to reason gently with the child, then began to scold and admonish her. When that didn’t help, she caved and gave the little monster what she wanted—which of course guaranteed another of what would be, I’m sure, a long line of tantrums. The little girl knew what she wanted. She didn’t care about how she got it, or who she hurt to get it, but she knew that creating a scene would get it for her. And she was right. In order to avoid a scene (a bigger scene) at the store, her mother caved.
There are more than a few passing similarities between this spoiled brat and the Republican Freedom Caucus, but there is also one significant difference. That little girl knew what she wanted. The Freedom Caucus doesn’t seem to have the faintest clue what they want.
They rant about balancing the budget, cutting defense spending and social programs, and securing the border, but will not—or cannot—offer reasonable policy solutions to address these issues. All they seem to be able to do is raise hell and create chaos and make absurd demands—like the little girl in the store. The Republicans can’t even elect their own Speaker of the House, thanks to these juvenile antics. The caucus, having hamstrung and then fired Kevin McCarthy, their previous leader, are preventing their party from electing another leader—mostly just because they can. To be fair, this is not just Freedom Caucus members doing this anymore. Nancy Mace, a Republican representative from South Carolina, came to work wearing a shirt with a red letter “A” emblazoned on the front, saying it symbolized her ostracism from the moderate Republican faction for voting to oust McCarthy.
Stalwart FC member Harriet Hageman appeared at party caucus with a lasso (no one knows why). It’s sad to think that this is the person who replaced Liz Cheney—one of the few Republican voices of reason pretty much left on Earth. While they are engaged in games of one-upmanship and trying to be the center of attention—not unlike the little girl at Toys “R” Us—they are neglecting their jobs—governing the country. And we need a lot of leadership right now.
Israel, newly engaged in an all-out war with Hamas after a heinous and deadly terrorist attack on kibbutzes bordering Gaza, will need American military support—very soon. President Biden has already deployed an Aircraft Carrier Group in the air to be on standby. The Ukraine, engaged in war with Russia for over a year, is going to continue to need more funding for weapons. Our own country needs to address the possibility of government shutdown if a long-term spending bill—which has been derailed by the Freedom Caucus—is not passed. There is an immigration crisis at the border.
But the entire government is at a standstill because a few selfish politicians are throwing tantrums and making demands that have no possibility of passing through the Senate or escaping a presidential veto. The Freedom Caucus said its official position was that its members would oppose any bill unless it includes “its preferred language about border security, new laws to address what it calls the “weaponization” of the Justice Department and the FBI and a shift in some of the Defense Department’s policies — although it didn’t detail all the changes it wants.” (NBC News)
When former Speaker Kevin McCarthy forced through the last stop-gap spending bill without addressing all of these issues, he raised the ire of conservative wing of the party, particularly its most vocal and malignant member, Matt Gaetz, who started the expulsion process that forced McCarthy from the speakership.
Gaetz and the other seven Republicans who voted McCarthy out of office, Nancy Mace, Ken Buck, Andy Biggs, Tim Burchett, Eli Crane, Bob Good, and Matt Rosendale, were very much like that little girl throwing that tantrum. They wanted to get their way—an impossibility. They wanted everything (not unlike Veruca Salt) in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and when they didn’t, screamed and yelled and carried on anyway. They’re still carrying on.
These seven were not alone in their childlike antics before the ouster of McCarthy. Even though she was recently ejected by the Freedom Caucus, Marjory Taylor Green is still a stalwart Trump supporter, and still vociferously proclaims the 2020 election was stolen. During McCarthy’s confirmation hearing, she acquired a reputation for her bullying and intimidating tactics in her campaign to support McCarthy. Her ongoing feud with fellow representative Lauren Boebert culminated in a shouting match at a caucus meeting in which Green allegedly called Boebert a little bitch. Shades of mean girls, Batman!!
Lauren Boebert, for her part, was recently caught on surveillance video in the audience at a Denver theater during a performance of the musical Beetlejuice. The video shows her vaping, filming the show (against house rules), singing along with the show, and groping her date. Hardly behavior befitting a United States congress person. Afterwards, while being ushered out of the theater, she swore at the attendants and flipped them off, all the while demanding if they knew who she was.
Now that Kevin McCarthy is gone, the Republicans cannot agree on a new speaker. Steve Scalise bowed out after coming up short during a party caucus. Ultra-conservatives and moderates could not come to an agreement about his candidacy. Jim Jordan is up next, but his election is doubtful. While his close alliance to Trump might appease the Freedom Caucus, most mainstream Republicans are likely to reject his candidacy.
Even though Israel and Ukraine, two of our staunchest allies, badly need American assistance, it seems unlikely that they are going to get it anytime soon. The immature behavior of Matt Gaetz and his ilk will also jeopardize the paychecks and benefits of millions of Americans should they fail to pass a spending bill. But they don’t care. They’re going to hold their breaths until they turn blue, lie on the floor and scream, or simply—like Boebert in the theater—do exactly what they want, no matter who it hurts.
If this brand of selfish grandstanding were seen only occasionally, in one or two outliers, it wouldn’t be much of a concern, but it lately seems to be a growing trend in the Republican party, probably stemming from the success of one Donald Trump, whose egomaniacal and narcissistic antics somehow propelled him into the presidency. Apparently, some people liked this behavior well enough to elect him.
Is this what our society has become? Do we really like this sort of bullying, juvenile, and self-centered behavior? Will Veruca Salt become a teen idol? Would the brat in the Toys “R” Us be cheered on today? We can complain about the mentality and the lack of responsibility in our government, but in the final analysis, that blames with us, the voters.
We are exactly like that mother in the toy store. We caved and we continue to cave. We can’t cave anymore. This isn’t a game. Lives are at stake. Make the kids sit in the back seat.
Notes
- https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/freedom-caucus-rebels-short-term-funding-bill-new-demands-rcna100993
- https://edition.cnn.com/2023/10/03/politics/republicans-vote-remove-mccarthy-house-speaker/index.html
- https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/nancy-mace-scarlet-letter-shirt-house-speaker-b2427785.html