The Republicans’ Radical Nihilism

[BridgeTheGap]

“Conservatives cannot govern well,” wrote Alan Wolfe in a widely circulated 2006 Washington Monthly essay, “for the same reason that vegetarians cannot prepare a world-class boeuf bourguignon: If you believe that what you are called upon to do is wrong, you are not likely to do it very well.”

Now that Republicans control the House of Representatives, thanks in no small part to the rabidly anti-government Tea Party movement, Wolfe has updated his thesis. Conservatives, now that they have a chance, simply won’t govern.

He writes in Democracy Journal:

Every indication we have suggests that in the wake of their midterm success, Republicans will continue on the same path of just saying no. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell all but gave the game away when he announced that “the single most important thing we want to achieve” was not the recovery of the economy or passage of any particular legislation but “for President Obama to be a one-term president.” The United States now has a major political party that has dropped policy entirely in favor of politics. The consequences for the future of American democracy will be serious indeed. …

Read more: http://www.utne.com/Politics/The-Republicans-Radical-Nihilism.aspx#ixzz1EzDOdUzi

[The Blue Flower]

1. Closing down the government is no badge of courage

Their threats reveal that they think failure is a winning strategy.

[bemildred]

2. Business as usual, a bit more extreme maybe.

Governing well has only rarely been a priority in US politics.