Being in opposition, after eight years of a Republican presidency and 12 years of GOP rule in Congress, suits many of them just fine. It's not that they were glad to lose. There are a lot of indignities involved in being the minority, and a pretty small minority at that. But talk to Republican lawmakers and insiders these days, and they speak as if an enormous weight has been lifted from their shoulders. Some of that weight was named George W. Bush, but in a larger sense, Republicans are relieved to be free of the burden of running things.
-Byron York, DC Examiner (via Political Wire)
"We weren’t very happy with the results of the election, and on through the inaugural, but I guarantee you, I’ve never seen the spirit of Republicans as high as it was at the GOP retreat,” Arizona Rep. John Shadegg told the Examiner's York. "When we held our guys together [on the House stimulus vote], that had people extremely excited. Then there were the ongoing scandals with Democratic tax cheats, and I think Republicans are beginning to say, ‘Ah, there could be some fun in the minority.'"
The joy is felt in the Senate, as well. "I’m much happier,” said Sen. Jim DeMint. “Our message was so muddled with Bush in the White House, often going the big-spending approach, that we could not define ourselves in any other way.”
Joy! Republicans don't have to worry about "the burden of running things" anymore. They're free to dick around and have fun. Of course, the problem with this new Republican happiness is that they're still Representatives and Senators -- their job is still to govern. "The burden of running things" is still squarely on their shoulders, as much as they seem to believe that it's not. And I'm not sure if their constituencies would approve of many of their ideas of "fun."... [CLICK TO READ FULL POST]
