Pat Caddell: America has gone from government of laws to semi-political banana republic

Fox News ^ | November 21, 2013 | Patrick Caddell

[2ndDivisionVet]

The rule of law has been replaced in Washington by "yes we can." The events we witnessed Thursday in the Senate, that is Majority Leader Harry Reid's success at invoking the so-called 'nuclear option,' stripping the minority party of its primary power to block nominations, have become a stunning capstone to what has been already a steady erosion of a government of laws down to a sort of semi-political banana republic.

We are now living in a republic in which politicians do what they want without regard to tradition or the best interests of our country.

The rule of more than 200 years since the Senate was formed, as described by James Madison, to be "...the saucer of the hot cup of the House" has been overthrown.

The role of the Senate is to be a deliberative body. The rule of filibuster was overthrown Thursday by a change in the rules....

[2ndDivisionVet]

Comments?

[laplata]

The man is correct. Good post-thanks.

[boycott]

Reid is a whimpy little thug.

[TigersEye]

Pat Caddell is right. This was a power grab with no regard for the Constitution, rule of law, American tradition or the will or welfare of the people. It was a betrayal of it all.

Pat has a good record of being spot on...

Pat Caddell called it. Do you believe it yet?

Pat Caddell slams the media: They have become an “enemy of the people” Sept. 29, 2012(video 26:00)

Emotional Pat Caddell on the MSM ignoring Benghazi: “These people have no honor!” Oct. 27, 2012 (video at link 4:06)

The MSM are enemies of the people!

[Eagles6]

Yes, he’s right. If only the stupid party would grow a pair.

[SunkenCiv]

Correct, other than the “semi-” part.

Thanks 2ndDivisionVet.

[867V309]

I feel, without question, that there will soon be open warfare between the great vast majority of the American people and this self-perpetuating and self-aggrandizing ruling class that is willing to put their ambitions and power above a government of the American people.

Your lips to God's ear, bro.

[The Great RJ]

I fear that our Republic is on its way to becoming little different than Venezuela or other banana republics run by tin horn dictators and corrupt politicians. Obama could declare himself president for life and there would be little more than a whimper from the GOP.

[rawhide]

If I am not mistaken, this nuclear option last only the next congress is sworn in? So if the Republicans win the Senate next year, they themselves would have to vote for this change to give them this same majority option the Rats voted for.

[Little Pig]

Doesn’t matter. The Dems have set the precedent (similar to the way Massachusetts Dems shot themselves in the foot vis a vis filling vacated congress/senate seats; they gimmicked the rules so they could put a ringer into Fat Teddy’s seat, and then screamed bloody murder when the same rule allowed Brown to take Kerry’s seat). Now the Republicans (assuming they ever grow a spine/brainstem) can do the same thing (and many other procedural violations) on the backs of all the Dem overreaches.

[Zakeet]

... and here's the top banana ...

[pepsionice]

About the only way to wrap up and fix this mess...is to limit Congressmen and Senators to only five work-days a month. You stay and live in your home state, fly in....do five days of business....and fly out. The idea of permanent Hollywood-characters playing out some soap opera daily....doesn’t work anymore.

[pepsionice]

About the only way to wrap up and fix this mess...is to limit Congressmen and Senators to only five work-days a month. You stay and live in your home state, fly in....do five days of business....and fly out. The idea of permanent Hollywood-characters playing out some soap opera daily....doesn’t work anymore.

[Jacquerie]

More than a few tea party candidates in 2010, 2012 have become rinos.

What do you suppose turned otherwise patriotic aspirants to national office into placeholders, men and women whose interest goes no further than retaining their jobs?

[Ann Archy]

Democrats are LAW-LESS because Republican Leaders are BALL-LESS!!!!!

[Ann Archy]

Reid is EVIL and VILE.

[Graewoulf]

MAKE DC LISTEN: TELL YOUR SENATORS, ESPECIALLY THE DEMOCRATS !

State .... Senator .... Party .... Phone

AK Mark Begich D (202) 224-3004
AK Lisa Murkowski R (202) 224-6665
AL Jeff Sessions R (202) 224-4124
AL Richard C. Shelby R (202) 224-5744
AR John Boozman R (202) 224-4843
AR Mark L. Pryor D (202) 224-2353
AZ Jeff Flake R (202) 224-4521
AZ John McCain R (202) 224-2235
CA Barbara Boxer D (202) 224-3553
CA Dianne Feinstein D (202) 224-3841
CO Michael F. Bennet D (202) 224-5852
CO Mark Udall D (202) 224-5941
CT Richard Blumenthal D (202) 224-2823
CT Christopher Murphy D (202) 224-4041
DE Thomas R. Carper D (202) 224-2441
DE Christopher A. Coons D (202) 224-5042
FL Bill Nelson D (202) 224-5274
FL Marco Rubio R (202) 224-3041
GA Saxby Chambliss R (202) 224-3521
GA Johnny Isakson R (202) 224-3643
HI Mazie K. Hirono D (202) 224-6361
HI Brian Schatz D (202) 224-3934
IA Chuck Grassley R (202) 224-3744
IA Tom Harkin D (202) 224-3254
ID Mike Crapo R (202) 224-6142
ID James E. Risch R (202) 224-2752
IL Richard J. Durbin D (202) 224-2152
IL Mark Kirk R (202) 224-2854
IN Daniel Coats R (202) 224-5623
IN Joe Donnelly D (202) 224-4814
KS Jerry Moran R (202) 224-6521
KS Pat Roberts R (202) 224-4774
KY Mitch McConnell R (202) 224-2541
KY Rand Paul R (202) 224-4343
LA Mary L. Landrieu D (202) 224-5824
LA David Vitter R (202) 224-4623
MA Edward Markey D (202) 224-2742
MA Elizabeth Warren D (202) 224-4543
MD Benjamin L. Cardin D (202) 224-4524
MD Barbara A. Mikulski D (202) 224-4654
ME Susan M. Collins R (202) 224-2523
ME Angus S. King I (202) 224-5344
MI Carl Levin D (202) 224-6221
MI Debbie Stabenow D (202) 224-4822
MN Al Franken D (202) 224-5641
MN Amy Klobuchar D (202) 224-3244
MO Roy Blunt R (202) 224-5721
MO Claire McCaskill D (202) 224-6154
MS Thad Cochran R (202) 224-5054
MS Roger F. Wicker R (202) 224-6253
MT Max Baucus D (202) 224-2651
MT Jon Tester D (202) 224-2644
NC Richard Burr R (202) 224-3154
NC Kay R. Hagan D (202) 224-6342
ND Heidi Heitkamp D (202) 224-2043
ND John Hoeven R (202) 224-2551
NE Deb Fischer R (202) 224-6551
NE Mike Johanns R (202) 224-4224
NH Kelly Ayotte R (202) 224-3324
NH Jeanne Shaheen D (202) 224-2841
NJ Jeff Chiesa R (202) 224-3224
NJ Robert Menendez D (202) 224-4744
NM Martin Heinrich D (202) 224-5521
NM Tom Udall D (202) 224-6621
NV Dean Heller R (202) 224-6244
NV Harry Reid D (202) 224-3542
NY Kirsten E. Gillibrand D (202) 224-4451
NY Charles E. Schumer D (202) 224-6542
OH Sherrod Brown D (202) 224-2315
OH Rob Portman R (202) 224-3353
OK Tom Coburn R (202) 224-5754
OK James M. Inhofe R (202) 224-4721
OR Jeff Merkley D (202) 224-3753
OR Ron Wyden D (202) 224-5244
PA Robert P. Casey D (202) 224-6324
PA Patrick J. Toomey R (202) 224-4254
RI Jack Reed D (202) 224-4642
RI Sheldon Whitehouse D (202) 224-2921
SC Lindsey Graham R (202) 224-5972
SC Tim Scott R (202) 224-6121
SD Tim Johnson D (202) 224-5842
SD John Thune R (202) 224-2321
TN Lamar Alexander R (202) 224-4944
TN Bob Corker R (202) 224-3344
TX John Cornyn R (202) 224-2934
UT Orrin G. Hatch R (202) 224-5251
UT Mike Lee R (202) 224-5444
VA Tim Kaine D (202) 224-4024
VA Mark R. Warner D (202) 224-2023
VT Patrick J. Leahy D (202) 224-4242
VT Bernard Sanders I (202) 224-5141
WA Maria Cantwell D (202) 224-3441
WA Patty Murray D (202) 224-2621
WI Tammy Baldwin D (202) 224-5653
WI Ron Johnson R (202) 224-5323
WV Joe Manchin D (202) 224-3954
WV John D. Rockefeller D (202) 224-6472
WY John Barrasso R (202) 224-6441
WY Michael B. Enzi R (202) 224-3424

- See more at: http://tedcruzforsenate.org/tell-your-senators-to-oppose-cloture-on-h-j-res-59/#sthash.CvqYzXvd.s4d7EOIg.dpuf

[lafarge]

Pat, what is it you don’t understand about the UniParty?

[Smokin' Joe]

Now the Republicans (assuming they ever grow a spine/brainstem) can do the same thing (and many other procedural violations) on the backs of all the Dem overreaches.

I still don't see where that can be considered a good thing. Not only will the Republicans fail to use such an advantage, with the stupidity of the GOP-e on display, if they did, it would not be to return the US Federal Government to its Constitutional boundaries.

Many of the fiscal and other problems this nation has can be directly traced to Federal overreach, and that will continue, regardless of who is wielding power.

More federal power is not the answer, no matter who in Washington D.C. has it. The system was intended to have numerous speed bumps to render the processes more deliberative, for the benefit of the Republic. Without that dampening effect, the legislative/regulatory/jusidicial environment for business, and even individuals will become significantly less predictable. That is not the road to prosperity nor stability for an individual nor a nation.

[Little Pig]

I never said it was a good thing. In reality it isn’t, since the likelihood of getting a whole batch of genuine constitutionally-savvy representatives into office (who could use the loophole to steamroll the Dem’s agenda and put the country back on the right track) is basically nil.

So we’ll see much the same overreach, only with (as you point out) a GOP-e flavor. The only bright spot is the schadenfreude resulting from watching the Dems get a taste of what they’ve been dishing out. Setting the precedent like this means the possibility of that is at least there, even if it doesn’t get much action.