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Update November 7, 2012
Looks like we were right
Opinion October 16, 2010 By Steven E. Greer
It is a foregone conclusion that the Republicans will take control of the House of Representatives this November. However, will this be exactly what President Obama needs, and indeed has orchestrated, to be re-elected in 2012?
It was only four years ago that the American voters fired the GOP, and the duo of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid led what would become a completely Democrat-controlled congress and executive branch. The GOP had become an out-of-touch political party catering to the special interests of Wall Street, Big Oil, Big Pharma, etc. Independents turned away from the Republican Party in droves and formed the Tea Party movement.
The GOP, along with plenty of help from Democrats, allowed the subprime mortgage bubble to balloon into the largest global financial catastrophe ever. The Republican Bush administration also led the country into the longest series of wars in history, costing trillions, as the deficit reached record levels. What has the GOP done since 2006, and the election of President Obama in 2008, to learn from their mistakes and recruit better leaders into the party? Are they ready to lead the country again so soon?
The top leadership of the GOP still does not seem to have gotten the message. RNC chairman Michael Steele has made a series of gaffes on par with Joe Biden. There are no popular stars in the party with novel ideas. Very few Americans have ever heard of soon-to-be Speaker of the House Boehner, and the Tea Party has all of the name recognition with Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, etc.
There are many indications that the new Republicans, soon to be control of the House, will squander this political goodwill faster than Lindsay Lohan violates probation. Numerous wackos with little experience at public speaking are stumbling over each other to make headlines, ala Mr. Paladino in New York and Christie O’Donnell in Delaware. The late night talk shows will graciously welcome all of this. Jay Leno is already poking fun at the lame appearances of Senate leader Mitch McConnell (see video below).
President Obama was accused a few months ago of throwing Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats under the bus when he mentioned that the GOP could take control of the House. Indeed, Rahm Emanuel might very well have been genius enough to have had Pelosi and Reid do the dirty work of passing Obama-care knowing that the subsequent rise of the GOP in 2010 would help the President get elected in 2012. If the economy continues to stall, the housing market continues to fester, and unstable European debt is not addressed before 2012, having a GOP-run congress to blame is President Obama’s only hope for re-election. Conversely, if all of the problems improve, then the GOP could take credit.