A month ago, congressional Republicans were so desperate to avoid discussing the substance of U.S. policy towards Iraq, they decided a newspaper ad from MoveOn.org was the single biggest threat to Western Civilization in recent history. The coordinated hissy fit was a transparent effort to distract attention from the issue at hand, but it was also a largely successful sham — Republicans stopped talking about Bush’s failed policy and started talking about the NYT’s ad rates.
This month, those same congressional Republicans are so desperate to avoid discussing the substance of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP), they’ve decided Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.) has replaced MoveOn as Public Enemy #1. (For reasons that defy logic, CNN has decided that the GOP’s feigned outrage is a really important story.)
Far be it for me to give Republicans advice, but I don’t think they’ve thought this one through. Stark’s comments may have been intemperate, but the coordinated hysteria we’ve seen over the last few days is more than misguided; it’s silly.
I’m reminded of a great column Michael Kinsley wrote in the wake of the “Betray Us” nonsense.
Goodness gracious. Oh, my paws and whiskers. Some of the meanest, most ornery hombres around are suddenly feeling faint. Notorious tough guys are swooning with the vapors. The biggest beasts in the barnyard are all aflutter over something they read in the New York Times. It’s that ad from MoveOn.org — the one that calls General David Petraeus, the head of U.S. forces in Iraq, general betray us. All across the radio spectrum, right-wing shock jocks are themselves shocked. How could anybody say such a thing? It’s horrifying. It’s outrageous. It’s disgraceful. It’s just beyond the pale … It’s … oh, my heavens … say, is it a bit stuffy in here? … I think I’m going to … Could I have a glass of … oh, dear [thud].
The same dynamic is playing out this week in response to Stark. The GOP might think it makes Dems look bad, but the reality is that Republicans aren’t doing themselves any favors.
There’s just no reason for apoplexy here. Stark said something mean about Bush during a congressional debate. The president is a big boy; I think he can handle it. But by throwing a tantrum, congressional Republicans are suggesting that they can’t handle it. They’re not grown-ups. Random, intemperate criticism of Bush is just too much for the fragile, virgin ears.
In other words, by throwing a fit, Republicans end up looking weak and hysterical. Indeed, it reinforces the least flattering GOP caricature of all — these guys can’t govern, but they can fall onto a fainting couch like nobody’s business.
For years, Republicans worked to create the opposite reputation. They’re tough. This is the macho “daddy party.” They don’t care about “political correctness” and wussies who cry over words that rub people the wrong way. This is a crowd that calls it like they see it, and doesn’t look back or apologize.
And yet, they’ve now spent the better part of a year trembling over mild rebukes from liberals. If Democrats were smart, they’d look at this as an opportunity to rebrand the GOP as pathetic cry-babies who can barely go a week without throwing a hissy fit over one manufactured outrage or another. Alas, it doesn’t look like Dems are smart at all — the House leadership is already distancing itself from Stark.
For their part, Republicans, as part of the drive to perfect the art of the tantrum, are planning to — you guessed it — introduce a resolution condemning Stark for his remarks. It’d be amusing if it weren’t so ridiculous.