They Hatin’
House GOP Focused On Suing President Obama Instead Of Solving Our Country’s Problems
With just two days left before Congress heads
out for the month long August recess, House Republicans are busy. Not raising
the minimum wage or ensuring equal pay for equal work; not investing in an
infrastructure for the 21st century; not preventing corporations from moving
their addresses overseas in order to dodge paying their fair share of taxes.
Instead, they are focused on authorizing a lawsuit against President Obama.
Like the House GOP’s 50-plus votes to repeal or
dismantle the Affordable Care Act, this lawsuit is a political stunt to appeal
to the far right wing of their party. Like the millions of dollars they have spent investigating
and re-investigating Benghazi, it is a waste of taxpayer money.
And you don’t need to take our word for it. The
Editorial Board of USA Today concluded that “a fair-minded look at the suit’s
merits suggests it’s really more of a political grudge match.” And Candice
Miller (R-MI), the member of Congress overseeing the lawsuit, admitted that “we
don’t know yet” how much the stunt will cost taxpayers.
Another House Republican, Rep. Walter Jones
(R-NC), has come out against the lawsuit and in the process revealed what could be the second act of this
sideshow: impeachment. Calling the lawsuit “theater,” Jones asked, “Why not
impeach instead of wasting $1 million to $2 million of the taxpayers’ money? …
If you’re serious about this, use what the founders of the Constitution gave
us.”
It’s not as if there is nothing else going on
for these House Republicans to focus on. Unless action is taken before August,
there will be a construction shutdown as the Highway Trust Fund
runs out of funding, putting thousands of construction projects up to 700,000 jobs at risk. The House and Senate
have been ping-ponging different versions of a short-term fix back and forth
because the House GOP refuses to develop a long-term solution that invests in
our nation’s infrastructure and keeps America working.
And earlier today, Senate Republicans blocked a bill to close the “corporate desertion” tax loophole. The loophole
allows corporations that earn most of their money in America to renounce their
corporate citizenship by moving their address to a tax haven and avoid paying
U.S. tax obligations.
In spite of these and many other issues that
need to be addressed, the House GOP priority lies with suing the President.
Meanwhile, President Obama doesn’t appear too threatened: “Stop being mad all
the time,” he said of Republicans at an event today, chuckling.
“Stop just hatin’ all the time. Let’s get some work done.”
BOTTOM LINE: Instead of doing
their job to help millions of Americans, the House GOP is focused on another
political stunt to sue President Obama that will likely cost millions in
taxpayer dollars. At the same time, deadlines loom and if Congress doesn’t act
it will deal the economy a self-inflected wound at just the wrong time.
THINKPROGRESS |
Center for American Progress Action Fund
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1333 H Street NW, 10th Floor | Washington, DC 20005
