Outgoing Republicans trash the place

[Jon8503]

by kos

Do you remember all those stories that made the rounds after the 2000 election about outgoing Clinton officials trashing Air Force One and the White House before skipping town? There was nothing to it, of course: a few pranks here and there, but otherwise just the normal wear and tear typical of previous transitions, according the General Services Administration, which had (naturally) been called in to do a scorched-earth investigation. Finally, after weeks of anonymous leaks accusing the Clintonites of major vandalism, the director of the White House Office of Administration was forced to admit that he couldn't document any damage or repairs.

But the stories! There were hundreds of them, all agog over the news that a few staffers had removed the W keys from their keyboards. So immature! So childish!

But Republican legislators punting on half a trillion dollars worth of spending bills because they're "tired" and they want to gum up the works for the incoming Democrats? It's barely worth a yawn. Some priorities, eh?

This is what's happening:

Like a retreating army, Republicans are tearing up railroad track and planting legislative land mines to make it harder for Democrats to govern when they take power in Congress next month <...>

With Congress turning off the lights this week, there seems no chance of saving the appropriations process. Instead, most of the government will remain on a stopgap bill through Feb. 15, and in kicking this can down the road, the Republican leadership has no idea where it will stop rolling.

"It's a demonstration of the irresponsibility of Republicans that they would leave this country with this mess," said the next House speaker, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.). "But we won, we will deal with it."

Republicans have talked a good game about "bipartisanship", but they don't mean it. And while Pelosi changes the rules to be friendlier to the minority (draconian rules institute by the GOP to punish Democrats), Republicans are still doing what they can to frak over the incoming Democratic majority.

Remember, moderate Republicans were mostly wiped out this year. What's left are the fire-breathers. Pelosi can talk all she wants about cooperation and bipartisanship, as long as her actions acknowledge that Republicans have no interest in that sort of thing.

http://www.dailykos.com/

[butterfly77]

1. I wonder how much shredding is going on...

[xultar]

2. Cheney started way early...what was it...September? August?

[butterfly77]

8. There was a truck for shredding outside his house...

right before or right after the election...

[nam78_two]

3. K&R

yeah like what they have done in the last 6 yrs was too little :eyes:

[UTUSN]

4. K&R numbero five-oh n/t

[The Backlash Cometh]

5. If I'm not mistaken, wasn't Tony Snow part of that Snow-job, but later

had a melt-down and apologized for his participation?

[Art_from_Ark]

12. You're confusing "Snow" jobs

You're thinking about John Snow, former Treasury secretary who had the meltdown. Tony Snow is the current unabashed mouthpiece, a.k.a "press secretary", for bu$h who came on board from FOX "News".

[The Backlash Cometh]

13. No, I'm pretty sure it was Tony Snow from FoxNews who reported

on the Clinton team trashing the White House & Air Force One, then later was the first guy to apologize for misinforming the public.

[Art_from_Ark]

15. As far as I know, no one ever apologized for that

[The Backlash Cometh]

17. Yes, there was a "weasely" one as per democrats.com

"(Go to www.mediawhoresonline.com for Snow's weasely apology). " http://archive.democrats.com/preview.cfm?term=Clinton+Vandalism

But, of course, mediawhoresonline is now defunct.

[Art_from_Ark]

18. Considering that Tony Snow was leading the attack

and that he has since taken the job as bu$h misadministration mouthpiece, I can only imagine that his weasly apology went something like this:

"You remember the Clinton White House vandalism scandal? Where we said that they painted graffiti on the walls, damaged all the computers, and basically made a terrible mess of the place ? Well, it wasn't *quite* as bad as that, and if I gave anyone the impression that the Clinton team was a horde of juvenile delinquents high on crack that had no respect for the heritage that we Americans hold dear, then perhaps I made a tiny error."

[DemoTex]

6. Salting the fallow fields.

Some day they will pay.

[ck4829]

7. Nancy Pelosi: "We won, WE will deal with it."

A stark contrast to the immaturity of Cons and their "We won, YOU deal with it."

[quiet.american]

10. Excellent point. n/t

[LSK]

9. quite frankly, Id rather have the GOP do nothing instead of more damage

All they know how to do is fuck things up so for them to do nothing is progress IMO.

[redacted]

11. Republican holdovers have NO interest in cooperation and bipartisanship

and it's getting tougher and tougher to justify why our Democratic members of Congress should.

[ebayfool]

14. Yup, WSJ Online had this yesterday - petulant little things, aren't they?

That's probably not all they have up their sleeves, either. The grownups can handle the tantrums ... this will just show the voters that they made the right choice.


http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB116537033474441872-cPFTnuPnOq5O8ZJmEfdfVC8Fg4U_20071206.html

[badgerpup]

16. Remember this in 2008.

For these Republicans, governing and caring for the country- the job that WE THE PEOPLE hired them to do- has been reduced to a joke, and a not very funny one at that.

Their whole focus, their entire raison de etre has become staying in power by any means, legal or not, and if people...meaning the entire country...suffers in this, well, that's just too bad. To them, the end justifies the means.

Like the abusive spouse..."If I can't have you, then I will make damn sure no one else will either!"

Remember this.