Dealing with a crybaby is frustrating. They whine, complain and stomp their feet while making some very strange demands. Yet, when you finally relent, they continue to whine and complain that what you gave them wasn’t what they wanted in the first place. As exasperating as this is with a child, it’s far more infuriating when it’s members of Congress.
But that’s what the fringe elements of the Republican Party are doing on a daily basis. Rather than setting policy that would be beneficial to the voters they are supposed to represent, they are focused on personal vendettas and manufactured crises. And because Republicans hold such a slim majority in the House of Representatives, the majority of the party is forced to cave into the demands of the minority wing to get anything accomplished.
So far, they have accomplished very little other than to amplify the demands of those who call themselves The Freedom Caucus. However, given their history of inciting drama, they should more accurately be called The GOP Crybaby Caucus.
What Does the GOP Crybaby Caucus Want?
The Crybaby Caucus has a very limited agenda. They want to blame immigrants for all the nation’s ills, and they want to impeach…anybody, so long as they are Democrats. None of this is helping the average American, yet they are refusing to budge even at the expense of their own constituents.
Membership in the Crybaby Caucus has two distinct requirements. First, you have to embrace conspiracy theories like the belief that the 2020 election was stolen, and second, absolute devotion to Donald Trump. Those who question the election results or are willing to cross the aisle to get things done, are immediately, and unceremoniously, booted from this exclusive group. Likewise, any perceived criticism of Lord God Emperor Trump is met with equally swift consequences, which usually results in the member losing their seat in Congress.
Smoke and Mirrors
The Crybaby Caucus is only too willing to point fingers, so long as they are pointed in the other direction. Their habit of investigating the investigators is founded in multiple conspiracy theories, such as the events of January 6th being an inside job, with the rioters being encouraged by infiltrators from the FBI, Black Lives Matter or Antifa.
Because of this, once they assumed the majority in the House of Representatives, they immediately disbanded the Select Committee Investigating January 6th and replaced it with the Committee Investigating the Weaponization of the Federal Government. The committee is chaired by chief crybaby Jim Jordan and is a transparent effort to absolve Donald Trump of all blame for the events of January 6th by hinting that those who attacked the Capitol were actually left-wing instigators with the goal of smearing the former president.
Thus far, the committee has only succeeded in exposing corruption in its own ranks, but that isn’t stopping them from continuing their efforts, even as the clock is ticking towards a government shutdown.
Because Donald Trump was impeached, twice, it's only natural that the GOP Crybaby Caucus would want to impeach President Biden. And they've tried, multiple times. They wanted to launch an impeachment inquiry into the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, but that would expose the fact that it was Trump who initiated the withdrawal. They sought to impeach him over the Southern Border “crisis”. And they even wanted to impeach him over COVID restrictions and vaccine mandates that resulted in stemming the pandemic.
The current impeachment efforts are being led by Crybaby Caucus member James Comer (R_KY), who is leading a committee investigating President Biden’s son, Hunter. His probe is seeking to link the younger Biden, who is not a government employee, but is facing multiple legal issues, to alleged wrongdoings committed by President Biden.
Despite claiming multiple times to have found the “smoking gun”, in the form of taped conversations, receipts, and eyewitness testimony that allegedly connects the two with criminal activity, the investigation has thus far produced zero evidence. This isn't stopping them because they want to use even the hint of impropriety to offset the multiple legal issues Donald Trump is facing.
The Boogeyman at the Border
If there’s one thing the Crybaby Caucus likes to talk about, it’s the “crisis at the border”. Ever since Donald Trump ascended the Golden Escalator and declared Mexicans to be rapist, bringing drugs, crime and human trafficking with them as they illegally entered the United States, the MAGA-inspired faction has made every piece of legislation about the border.
When Democrats controlled the House, this was a minor annoyance. Republicans would demand funds for Trump’s Border Wall in exchange for backing Democratic proposals. Such demands led to a government shutdown and threats of several other fear-motivated scenarios.
Now that Republicans control the lower chamber, Border funding is being attached to any legislative effort. This has pretty much halted anything from passing the House unless it has bipartisan support. Such a move caused a never heard of ousting of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy when he dared to reach an agreement with Democrats to avoid a costly shutdown. Now that Mike Johnson has made a similar deal, he is facing the same threats.
Except, the Crybaby Caucus doesn’t want a solution. Instead, it only wants to use the issue to rile up support. The White House has offered to strengthen the border only to be rebuffed. Instead, caucus members, at the urging of Donald Trump, have been told to reject any border deal to avoid giving President Biden a victory.
The plan may blow up in their faces. In their effort to “own the Libs”, the Crybaby Caucus may be handing President Biden the victory they are seeking to avoid. Should they block the Senate’s bipartisan border deal, which they seem likely to do, it would allow Biden to campaign on the fact that he supports enhanced border restrictions, but is being opposed by those in the House who only want to obstruct the process because of their devotion to the MAGA agenda.
Meanwhile, they continue to push impeachment proceedings against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for refusing to address the border crisis. It is an effort in futility as it falls far short of the “high crimes and misdemeanors” standard necessary to pursue an impeachment. They also obviously fail to see the irony in their dual approaches to the immigration issue. By opposing the Senate’s proposal, it is they who are refusing to address the border crisis.
Save the Children?
Far-right Republicans have long tried to smear Democrats with the wildest conspiracy theories. One of the vilest lies is the claim that prominent Democrats engage in ritualistic child abuse. It’s an accusation without evidence, and it’s not even original. It’s actually a re-packaging of a centuries-old campaign against the Jews in the Middle Ages called Blood Libel, when Jews were persecuted by Christians who claimed children were being used in bizarre religious rituals where they were drained of their blood and otherwise abused.
It's a fact that many Christian religious ceremonies include a ritual called transubstantiation, where wine is magically converted into the blood of Jesus Christ. Congregants are then invited to share in drinking this “blood”, so they are the ones who actually engage in this form of religiously sanctioned cannabalism.
Save the Children is an organization that was established in 1919, following World War I. Its goal is to address the needs of children around the world who are faced with hunger and health issues as the result of war, famine or natural disasters.
Far-right conspiracy theorists have co-opted the term as a means of baselessly attacking their Democratic opponents. They’ve adopted the mantra, Save the Children, to imply that those on the left have resurrected the ancient Jewish Blood Libel rituals and are even engaged in more despicable forms of child abuse.
So, how is the Crybaby Caucus responding? By withholding money meant to go to needy children, of course.
When Democrats controlled the House, they were able to pass many bills aimed at benefitting a majority of Americans. The Inflation Reduction Act, Infrastructure Bill and Child Tax Credit were all seen as a boon to those who needed it most. They are so popular that many Republican lawmakers are claiming credit for them even though they voted against each of these bills.
In order to gain Republican approval of the Child Tax Credit, which prevents almost half a million children from living in poverty, Democrats had to agree to an annual re-authorization. In the past, this has breezed through both houses of Congress, but this year, being a presidential election year, it is having a more difficult time. While the House allowed the bill to go through, Republicans in the Senate are opposed to it, even though it will essentially require no additional funds.
In order to pay for this year’s cost, Democrats have eliminated funding for the pandemic-era Employment Retention Act. The purpose of this law was to reward employers for not firing workers during the pandemic. Now that pandemic restrictions have been lifted and unemployment remains under 4%, the law is no longer needed, so these funds can be reallocated to pay for the Child Tax Credit.
Republican Senator Chuck Grassley said the quiet part out loud when he declared that he was opposed to reauthorizing the hugely popular credit because it would give President Biden a political victory.
So, once again, the Crybaby Caucus is proving it is not interested in doing what is right for America. Their only purpose is to obstruct, deny and delay instead of doing the job they were elected to do.
It’s all the more reason to Vote Blue!