There's an old political cliche about "bread and circuses." When things were rough for Rome, the emperor would throw a big party with bread and circuses, to pump up what we'd now call his "approval ratings" and distract everyone from just how much everything sucked. It's become a shorthand for political distraction to refer to "bread and circuses" whenever a politician or party makes a lot of noise, but offers no substance. "We need X," you might say, "and he gives us bread and circuses."It's tempting to apply that old term to the Republican party, but these days it's become inapt. Not that they aren't all about distracting you from how much trouble you're in, it's just that they're ideologically opposed to giving away bread. That's a government handout and that's bad -- so all you're going to get from them are circuses. Mostly clowns, actually.
The big issue in Washington these days is health care reform. The US health care system is failing so badly that 1 in 6 American adults are uninsured. So no high wire or trapeze acts in the GOP's circuses. Someone might be injured and no one can afford that.
First up from the GOP Clown College is South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint, whose concern about the plight of uninsured Americans is as deep as his love for gays and atheists -- i.e., about as deep as a coat of paint. The breadth of DeMint's act runs the gamut from A to B -- when it gets that far -- with the primary purpose of government being to ensure that there's some reference to God written on every square inch of blank wall in America. Other than that, he really doesn't seem to be about anything. He's just a clown in the GOP circus and his act is to keep pounding away at religious wedge issues with a comically oversized wooden mallet... [CLICK TO READ FULL POST]
