Hamlet is one of my favorite Shakespearean plays. It is a tragedy that ends in the demise of almost all the characters, but it addresses a range of deep themes and motifs. One such theme is inaction. Enter Speaker of The House, John Boehner.
Recently, Speaker Boehner announced that he was considering a lawsuit against President Obama. Yes, I'm serious (he has some time on his hands). In a press conference, Boehner bemoaned the executive actions of the President, but when he spoke, he failed to mention any particular violations with specificity. Despite this oversight, he was indignantly confident that Obama was failing to execute the laws of the land. Ergo a lawsuit is required; the king must be stopped in his tracks.
The media loved the drama of course -- being more akin to a reality show than an actual policy question.
But, in reality, it is quite sad that our conservative leaders have decided that this is the best course of action for our country. Instead of introducing any bipartisan (bills devoid of poison pills, i.e. amendments to repeal Obamacare, EPA requirements, and food stamps) legislation or allowing Senate-passed bills to come to the House floor, Boehner has elected for litigation.
There is a hint of bad faith here. The Republicans in Congress have refused to entertain any compromise whatsoever. It is a bad word -- and can hurt them in the primaries. Thus, it is in their interest to block, obfuscate, delay, filibuster, and complain. The added benefit is that it undermines the public's opinion about the federal government.
When you run on a platform that all government is bad, it is in your interest to clog any federal action. Not only does it stop the federal government from accomplishing anything, it harms the people's faith in public institutions. Private corporations and states get to fill the void -- just as they wanted and advocated for.
Moreover, the GOP's reasoning has been unsound on this issue. When Boehner said that he did not want to embrace comprehensive immigration reform, he cited the lack of faith that he had in the President to execute the law. Senate Schumer cleverly and quickly retorted that they could approve immigration reform now, but delay its implementation until after President Obama's second term. Boehner declined. He did not provide a justification.
Just like Hamlet, Boehner is plagued by his inability to act. He cannot control his conference. He is unable to pass anything at all -- although resolutions, symbolic gestures, are now popular. Further, Boehner cannot formulate a winning strategy for Republicans in Congress. In the end, he will end up hurting the party -- like when Hamlet stabbed himself with his own poisoned-laced blade.
You see, Americans are smart enough to figure out that intransigence is not beneficial for the country. To the contrary, if we do not compromise, we will fall behind the rest of the world. People, independents and moderates, will eventually see what the lawsuit is all about: faux outrage to get the die-hard conservatives to the polls.
There is truly something rotten in the United States. And I fear that lest we do something about it, it could end up bad for all of us. Certainly, that would be a tragedy.
