The Sky Will Fall On Our Heads. Guaranteed.

We know that all manner of dire things are going to happen in the next Congress if Republicans wrest control of the House. But what if they fail? How different would things really be?

Humor me. I realize that nobody actually expects the Democrats to hold on to a majority in the House. But consider this just a thought experiment.

Republican obstructionism has been bad enough since Obama took office. If all the Republicans who have been fondly looking forward to becoming Speaker of the House or taking that huge leap from ranking member to committee chairman wake up on November 3 to find that their wet dreams have suddenly dried up (or even worse, if they already know this before they go to bed on November 2), can you even begin to imagine the resulting howl of rage? Can there be any doubt that we would then witness the biggest political temper tantrum this country has ever seen? Can there be any doubt that House Republicans — and Senate Republicans too, in sympathetic frustration — will hold their breath till not just they turn royal blue in the face, but we too?

If Republicans do take the House, we can look forward to endless witch-hunt investigations, and a total shutdown of any meaningful process of government. If Republicans fail to take the House, yes, we will be spared the endless witch-hunt investigations. But that’s just an annoying waste-of-taxpayer-dollars sideshow. Can there be any doubt that we will still be treated to a total shutdown of any meaningful process of government? Treated to obstructionism on a scale we have never seen before, that we cannot even conceive of at this point.

If Republicans win the House, the sky will fall on our heads. If they lose the House, the sky will still fall on our heads, I think.

Comments

Lauren says:

October 5, 2010 at 12:28 am

Wow. I think you just made me feel better. Thanks?
sarabeth says:

October 5, 2010 at 4:09 am

You’re welcome, but I can’t take credit for what I don’t deserve. You need to be thanking Boehner, McConnell, et al.
Don SinFalta says:

October 6, 2010 at 9:03 pm

This sort of analysis can be extended decades beyond the next midterm elections. And what do you get when you do that? A pretty good reason to be unenthusiastic about anything to do with American politics.
sarabeth says:

October 7, 2010 at 5:22 am

I doubt that the prevailing Republican model of political participation — run everything into the ground when you’re in power (to reward all the big money interests—millionaires, big corporations, lobbyists), obstruct all remedial measures when you’re out of power — is sustainable in the long-term.

At some point, voters are going to comprehensively hand Republicans their ass, and the Republican Party will have to reinvent itself. Of course, there’s no telling whether it will do so constructively, so that it remains a relevant political force, or destructively, so that it turns into a fringe element, no doubt to be replaced by some other, more reasonable, centrist force.

If the economy wasn’t so comprehensively in the toilet this election cycle, it might even have started to happen now. Or maybe not. Maybe the disenchantment the Obama democracy has spawned among Democrats would be enough to let them get away with it this time (without a serious drubbing, that is). But there will, undoubtedly, be a reckoning at some point. I doubt very much it will take decades.

If the Republican Party had any real leaders who cared about the long-term future of the party, and who commanded any respect and influence in the party, they would be doing something about it right now. But they only have Boehners and McConnells, and Palins and Romneys. And McCains. And so all we have is the Republican Clown Show.