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October 11, 2013 08:48 AM UTC

Whose "Waterloo" Now?

  • 26 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

Reps. Cory Gardner, Mike Coffman, Scott Tipton, and Doug Lamborn.
Reps. Cory Gardner, Mike Coffman, Scott Tipton, and Doug Lamborn.
​

As Politico reports, Republicans in Congress are in a state of full, chaotic retreat this Friday morning, as Democrats hold firm through the ongoing shutdown of the federal government and threats of debt default, and public support for the GOP's ill-advised campaign to force the defunding or delay of the Affordable Care Act, a.k.a. "Obamacare," collapses.

After Oct. 1, when the government shut down and registration for Obamacare’s health exchanges opened, Republicans began to have trouble defining what it was they were after.

“We’re not going to be disrespected,” Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-Ind.) told the Washington Examiner. “We have to get something out of this. And I don’t know what that even is.”

By early this week, with polling showing they were losing the fight, Republicans in Congress began looking for a way out of their political mess. While the House GOP wants to raise the debt limit for six weeks while continuing to negotiate over the budget, some Senate Republicans have seen enough of this movie and might vote for the one-year debt-limit hike Reid plans to bring to the floor on Saturday.

A Wall Street Journal/NBC poll released Thursday night — and no doubt reflecting what both White House and Republican pollsters already knew — showed the public approval rating for Republicans at 24 percent, an all-time low in the history of the survey. Seventy percent of respondents said the congressional GOP was putting politics before the good of the country, and, worst for the GOP, the numbers for Obamacare have actually risen during the shutdown.

Local Republicans typify the intra-GOP chaos that has ensued in Washington. Rep. Cory's Gardner's efforts at a "Grand Bargain" appear to have been overtaken by the more general capitulation underway. Rep. Mike Coffman received praise for paying lip service this week to supporting a "clean" continuing resolution to fund the government, then proceeded to reverse himself again just a day later, saying he wants a resolution to deal with both the shutdown and the debt limit–nothing "clean" about that. Rep. Doug Lamborn, one of our state's most obstinate safe-seat conservatives, was actually one of the first to give up as the damage from the shutdown in his government-heavy district mounted. As for Rep. Scott Tipton, he's still going on about wanting to delay Obamacare. We suspect he'll vote how he's told in the end, of course.

As the engineered dual crises over the ongoing shutdown of the federal government and the potential default by the government on its debt obligations enter what appears to be their terminal phase, we're left wondering just how much this situation will impact the upcoming 2014 election cycle–both nationally and here in Colorado. This latest polling referred to above, if accurate, shows a devastating loss of support for the Republican Party as a direct consequence of their actions in the last few weeks. Will it be enough to break the momentum Colorado Republicans insist they have in our state following the summer's historic recall elections?

As Republicans kept up their withering rhetorical assault on President Barack Obama's signature health care reform law, according to this latest poll, support for the new law actually grew. The fact is, the rollout of major public-facing components of the law has had more than its share of problems, but the GOP hobbled their ability to capitalize on these temporary problems by focusing the nation's attention on the harm they were willfully doing. After all the years spent building up to this moment, the failure of Republicans to control the message as the insurance exchanges sputtered to life could well be the cardinal error in this comedy of political errors.

Back in July of 2009, then-Sen. Jim DeMint predicted that health care reform would be Obama's "Waterloo." Today, it kind of seems that way–except that Republicans collectively, and not Obama, are playing Napoleon.

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26 thoughts on “Whose “Waterloo” Now?”

  1. The silver lining in this is that a lot more American people now realize what useless fucking morons these people are.  The next step is to throw their asses out and get some adult leadership back in Congress again.

    1. And that the government they love to hate in the abstract does a lot of specific things that really need to be done. That lots of things you really want, need or like are functions of the federal government and when it shuts down, it's not nearly as great as the Tea Partiers said it would be.

      Then there are the Charles Krauthammers. For a completely delusional take on the  shut down and the meaning of the latest polls read his op-ed in today's Denver Post. To give some idea, the title is something about how this should be a win/win for the GO(T)P.

  2. And I would add that the most disturbingly un-American, party-first-country-second behavior always comes from these types of wide eyed flag waving faux patriots.  Irony on steroids. 

     

    These people have the good fortune to be part of a governing body of what I still think is the greatest country in the world.  It shouldn't be too much to ask them to at least act the part.  Get your head out of your ass and step up your game !

  3. Come on guys — let's get this thing hammered out, huh?  

    Time to make this personal and bring the facts of life home . . .  Isn't it about time for your fall Congressional break?? — get cracking or that luxury vacation fact-finding trip to Dubai is gonna' have to wait another couple of months . . .

  4. What we are seeing it the fault line between Republican fantasies and the rest of the country.  The longer the insurance exchanges stay open the more chances to get things working smoothly.  In some ways, Republicans gave cover to the roll out by diverting peoples attention away from the startup problems.  Public opinion is starting to turn more favorably towards the Affordable Care Act which is going to weaken Republicans even further.  They took their best shot at stopping the exchanges on October 1 and now they have no way to retreat with any semblence of honor.  Coffman's phony mea culpa isn't going to stand up to 214 election scrutiny.

  5. I do think it's a delicate situation, though.

    Should the President accept anything short of absolute, unequivical unconditional surrender from the house pinkos, it will be a sign to ffuture seditionist republicans that extortion works.

    Any concession on the President's part would be bad going forward.

    Anything. 

    The reds painted themselves into an airtight corner. We now know that even the most wild eyed baggers in the most uncivilized and ignorant red districts are now screaming for "thier" Federal Government (Funny how a bagger comes to believe it"s "our" government when "evil guvbmint" turns out to be a factor in so much of the bagger existance).

    lamborn is getting creamed. We've seen the pinko polls at 24%. 45 minute senator tedi cruz was heckled and jeered at a "values summit" this morning………BY BAGGERS! The very goobers that blindly followed the retail senator to the brink!

    The old reds are turning on the bag 40. McCain calls it a "fool's errand".

    Now is the the President's Eisenhower moment, May 1, 1945. himmler requested a meeting to "discuss terms" SHAEF replied "Why would we do that?".

    You have to wonder though. Lincoln spurned Grant's and Sherman's advice to execute all rebel officers, cage all rebel soldiers, burn the south to the ground. President Lincoln misread the southern mentality.  He ordered the Union Army to treat the rebellionists like Americans.. Even allowed the traitors back into the Halls of Congress. It was possibly a huge mistake, one we pay for now. The south rose again to endanger the American way of life.

    cruz, lamborn, gardner, braun, mulvaney,  the list goes on to at least forty.

    How do you treat a traitor?

    I guess we'll see.

     

     

  6. oh for god's sake,rpn.  This is called hyperpole.  Cruz wasn't even born in this country, let alone a confederacy sympathizer.  What about Jimmy Carter? He is a real son of the South…you like him?  

    Did Truman/Eisenhower/Marshall/MacArther make a mistake in rebuiding Europe?Japan?

    As for me, I won't cancel all those noveans to St. Jude, Saint of the Impossible Causes or quit wearing the garlic necklace until or unless, the government is open, the debt limit raised with a respectble time line, and we all get to sit down to a Thanksgiving Dinner, bought totally with food stampes, if necessary;   and the dems stop sending me all those damm emails.

     

    2. There you have it.

      boehner now says he's willing to release some hostages in return for spending cuts.

      Dwyer, never trust a republican. I've read you enough to know that while we have many overlapping beliefs, you tend to fall for pinko chicanery and overreact to thier threats, boasts, bullshit, and intimidation tactics. They seem to scare you. I've often suspected you of having stockholm syndrome.

      All republicans legislators back down when cornered. It's part of the "fear everything and everyone" gene a conservative is hard wired with. The problem is, too often no one calls them on thier bluff. When they can't steal, they back away. 

      My previous post simply compared the seditionist wing of the republican party in general and the bagger 40 in particular to the confederacy 1861-1865. The same shamefull traits that drove the States below Mason-Dixon infest the current republican party. While yes, there are some northern reds ((tar baby)lamborn, (I don't think the President is an American in thought)coffman, (the President is trying to destroy the country)gardner, and (too many to quote) tipton to name 4 Colorado baggers share thier southern bretheren's outright inability to breathe while the President is a man not wholly white, the vast majority of the secessionists are southern.

      President Lincoln's slapdown of the south directly led to the bombarment of Fort Sumpter. Those "sons of the sons of the south" haunt the halls of Congress today. There was no "teabagger" untill this President was elected. "Deficits don't matter" if shooter is VP. The Debt ceiling was never questioned untill the 44th President. 

      boehner is cornered. the red menace is cornered. You need to hope this President stays carbonite strong and snaps the pinko spine.

      Then you can stop being afraid of republicans

      1. Rocco — as a many generation Southerner, I need to reply to that part of your comments.  Lincoln's healing of the Civil War wounds by forgiving the South was brilliant. 

        You're old enough to remember this question and answer:  What was the primary cause of WWII?  WWI — we crippled the post-WWI German government giving rise to even worse radicals.

        Had Lincoln condoned the punishment of the South, a cycle of revolt and civil wars tearing apart the U.S. would have continued much as we have seen in the Middle East for generations.

        Dwyer also has it right about the benefits of the Marshall Plan after WWII.

        Just sayin'

      2. But on the otherhand, now that the GOP boat appears to be sinking, I would think we should help by tossing them an anchor 🙂

        Then we pick up the ones floating in the ocean.

        1. Copy on that. Both posts.

          I will say during my time in the US Military, I went through training with, deployed with, spent plenty of time with guys from the South. It never entered my mind That just because they were from the South, they might be anything but what they were…………..great Americans, in combat up to our ears, scared, pissed, and wanting to come home whole.

          My problem's with the republicans. I compare the South 1861-1865 to the republican party because both entities represent the tearing and shredding of this Union.Outright disrespect of the Constituion and of the entire of the nation. The outright hate by the republicans of this mixed race President..because of his race…..is as disgusting as slavery was. This isn't me saying it. This is republicans, base, legislators, theparty as a whole, saying what they say and doing what they do. 

          But I fully agree with you. Reconstruction was bad enough. The Quantrill effect lasted till after Jesse James' day, even north of Missouri. The carpetbagging was shamefull. Had the punishment called for by the Union Officer Corps been implemented, you're right, it would have been unsustainable.

          FYI, I read you all the time. I have great respect for you.

            1. Us Navy, 1966-1970.  Went to US Army Jump School Jan of 1969.

              Was never at Fort Hood, but could you please thank him for me for his service.

              FYI, my dog did 2 years US Embassy Baghdad. She's one of my heroes. My wife's the other.

              1. I will — headed back East where he retired to see him in a couple of weeks.  He was stationed stateside, in the aerospace rescue squadron in Florida.  He got to participate in a couple of space landing recoveries!

                And thank you for putting your life on the line in Vietnam.  The draft was the only lottery I ever "won".

      3. @rpn

        First of all, thank you very much for reading what I have written.  That warms my heart and I am appreciative.  Now, to clarify what I thought was the take away from my comments.

        1) I don't trust republicans.  that is why I think the victory laps are premature and I will not yet toss off my garlic necklace…..until the government is open'; the debt ceiling raised…etc…

        2) You are damm right I am scared of republicans and you should be too…..they are lean and hungry….they have had real success in consolidating their power…not nationally,…but in the individual states…in a federal system (the preservation of which was secured by the civil war)  controlling state governments can be a powerful base to deadlock the federal government….. a strategy that I think they are pursuing..

        3) If there is a collapse of the power of the republicans in the House, that does not impact the power of the republicans in the individual state legislatures where they hold sway….northern states like Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania…….

        4) I don't know nor does anyone know what will happen when this crisis is over and the smoke clears.  It may mean the end of the teaparty.  It may not.

        If the teaparty grip in Congress is over and Boehner is revealed as an empty puppet, and the dems are winners, then the dem strategy of letting the repubs self destruct and standing by and picking up the pieces….which is actually what worked for dems in Colorado in 2010…at least at the top of the ticket..then I will revise my opinion of democratic strategists….but not yet.

        5) Back in the day, and I have no idea what decade that would be for you, but for me is was the four decades of the cold war, "pinko" and "red meance"  and "reds" refered to the soviet union and their communistic sympathizers….so I don't know to whom you are referring with these terms, today.  Honest.  (Although quite frankly, I don't trust Rafel Cruz)

        6) The only current secessionists are Northern….right here in good old Colorado.

        7) The state of the democratic party in the south is of genuine concern. Certainly, Nixon's "Southern Strategy" is still influencing political outcomes. Certainly, there is poloraziation in this country, but there are many, many, factors at work. 

        8) "stockholm syndrome"? UH?

        9)  Lincoln didn't "slap" the southern boys.  He just got himself elected.

        10) "The problem is, too often no one calls them on thier bluff. – See more at: http://coloradopols.com/diary/50557/whose-waterloo-now#comments" 

        At long last, you and I are in agreement.

        1. I'd love to take issue with this, any of it, but quite frankly, you've said nothing in your above post I disagree with. You're absolutely right. The true pinko grip is in the States. What is it, 30 Governorships, something like 15 all red legislatures? In States like Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan, a huge majority portion of the electorate votes Democratic, but gerrymandering has allowed reds to keep majorities in both houses nonetheless. Democratic districts encompass huge swaths, but several tiny republican enclave districts give them the edge.

          I'm afraid of what they can do, but not of them. I live in 19, so I'm part of the effort to cuff the goonies in this recall. I recognize the recall in 19 has nothing to do with guns. It's a battle for control of the Colorado Senate. The reds will use the goonies' i"passion" to go 18-17 if left ucchecked. So we need to mobilize to hold the signature count under 19,000. It was Duke the other day that told a bagger poster that this is "Our" government  as much as it is "thiers". I agree, and I'm well aware how shitty things are with a red majority.

          As far as "reds", "pinkos" "redlegs", other handles I give republicans, they describe the evil and danger republicans represent just as those words described the Soviets of the 40's through 1986. "redlegs" describe the young republicans that dodged the draft via numerous means while 3 million Americans served during the Viet Nam era, then supported the war while "deferred" ala romney, Jack Kemp, cheney, limbaugh, lamborn, beauprez, etc, and then went on to claim the tough guy role of "kill 'em all patriots" as old men. redleg also describes young republicans who rooted on the Iraq war but never enlisted.

          "Stockholm Syndrome" is incorrect in describing you. I know that after reading your post. I'm sorry.

          I know one thing………It'll take every one of us to beat these assholes.

          Thanks for your reply.

          1. I'm becoming increasingly convinced these recalls are about much more than guns.  It's all a nice, convenient distraction. Giron and Morse were supportive of increasing renewable energy standards and natural gas regulations.  If the R's can wrestle control of the Senate, any effort to reign Xcel in on their war on net-metering will be stalled; any effort to address and regulate fugitive methane emissions will be killed.  While RMGO might be the face of this, I'd bet money if one could scratch deep enough you'd find a lot of ALEC and natural gas money driving this.  

            1. Concur.

              As far as ALEC is invested, because of ALEC, there's no Director of the ATF. It's actually illegal because of ALEC Influenced Federal  legislation passed for ATF agents to perform audits on gun shops. ALEC has been insideously prevalent in every pro gun piece of legislation since '10.

              Trayvon Martin died because of ALEC influence that got Theresa Corley into the DA job in Stanford Florida, The "stand your ground" law passed by republicans and Medicare fraud felon Rick Scott elected Governor. ALEC oversaw the rigged prosecution that bungled the zimmerman murder trial well enough to get a dirty "not guilty" verdict from a less than balanced group of white females that bullied one dissenter into giving up.

              Oh yeah, Mr. Bowman, I agree with you. ALEC's on the Hudak recall, and the ferocity of mercenary petition sales people will soon be upon us. Guns, shmuns, as far as the republicans and ALEC are concerned. It's control of the Colorado Senate.

              What ALEC and the republican party have going for them is the buffoonery of the goon demographic. We've yet to see a gun type on this site that can name all 5 Bills. Few know about the ban on violent abusers, some know about the mag 15 round max, most are really pissed about paying for thirer own Background checks. The entitlement syndrome of the gun type has been drummed into these types since way back. 

              The goons will be the foot soldiers in this recall, pass or fail. They'll be the screamers that destroy Town Halls, berate shoppers at King Soopers parking lots, intimidate voters. But in the end, whether they get 19,000 signatures or not, the shadow players, laughing at these hay seeds all the way, will be the republicans, firearm manufacturers and ALEC. 

          2. @rpn.

            Thank you, for your patience and the explanation.  Now, I understand. Republican controlled states (or electoral college votes in the state) are called Red States….hence, reds, pinkos, etc.   I am slow, now I get the reference.

  7. GOTP antigovernment, pro shutdown, pro default, guys  had no exit strategy. I don't think they thought they were going to "win".  I think they thought they were going to fundraise off this, stir up the base all through to Oct 201 and win re-election.

    1. I'm sure the wackos are contributing heavily to the GOTPers but Dems are really fund raising off this like crazy. Discouraged Dems who have been very displeased on so many fronts have been heartened by the formerly unseen resolve of Obama and the Dem leadership, have seen the polls, are smelling blood and opening wallets again.  

      We haven't won this battle quite yet, much less the war but it's really beginning to look as though the Tea Party has so over-reached and the rest of the GOTP has so lost control, this could be a real turning point, a tipping that could change things in a big, big way. We might even be blessed with a rightie schism that gives rise to a third rightie party, dividing the garden variety conservatives from the Tea Party wing and allowing lots of congressional Dem wins.

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