We are now living in a country where a candidate earns $100,000 of goodwill in 24 hours for assaulting a reporter and is rewarded with a congressional seat.
Republican Greg Gianforte’s victory was undoubtedly helped by the fact that most voters had already cast their ballot by the time news broke of Gianforte’s reprehensible attack on a reporter Wednesday night. But it’s not as if Montanans hadn’t a clue about the GOP candidate’s moral fiber.
Gianforte’s a multi-millionaire who ran on promises to “drain the swamp!” and joked about ganging up on a reporter after one of his supporters declared, “Our biggest enemy is the news media.” Sound familiar? Gianforte also repeatedly refused to publicly state what he thought of the GOP healthcare bill that guts pre-existing condition protections and will cause tens of millions of Americans to lose their insurance. But dodging questions wasn’t good enough, he eventually just unloaded on a reporter who asked him one question too many (i.e. two questions) about the legislation. Be warned, journalists: No follow ups for Gainforte or you’ll get clocked.
Suffice it to say, the guy doesn’t have a lot policy finesse and the days of John McCain correcting a supporter who wrongly called Barack Obama an “Arab” in ’08 are clearly over. Now we have direct political descendants of Donald Trump—rich, unaccountable and above the law—being elevated as supporting cast members for Trump’s Oval Office freak show. An old saying comes to mind for every Gianforte voter along with the three major Montana newspapers that originally endorsed him: Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.
If those voters like what they are seeing in Washington—and they clearly do—they just voted for more of the same. And they will reap what they sow: complete and total governmental dysfunction.
The GOP trifecta of control over the executive and both Congressional chambers (not to mention their Supreme Court edge) has done nothing but highlight the leaderless Republican rabble now presiding over a paucity of ideas. Paul Ryan was exceedingly lucky to even push through a health care bill that’s turned out to be so politically toxic, GOP candidates are now attacking reporters who dare inquire about it.
from Daily Kos http://ift.tt/2rscre0
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