I was not surprised by Sen. Ted Cruz’s response to calls for gun control legislation after the Colorado mass shootings, complaining that “every time there’s a shooting, … this (Judiciary) Committee gets together and proposes a bunch of laws that would do nothing to stop these murders.” All I could think was, what law has Cruz ever proposed to help stop gun violence? This is but another example of how the Republican Party has devolved into the party of NO.

Over the past 10 years, when they controlled Congress, Republicans did little but approve the nominations of conservative judges to act as a backstop for their reactionary agenda and pass a huge tax cut that primarily benefits the rich. Otherwise they have proposed next to nothing: no gun control reform, no immigration reform, no infrastructure proposals, no long-promised “better” replacement for Obamacare, no action on climate change, nothing. Instead, the Republicans automatically say “no” to any Democratic initiatives.

This reminds me of the classic Monty Python skit “Argument Clinic,” in which John Cleese’s character pays to have an intelligent argument. The gag is that the bureaucrat assigned to the task does nothing but rotely contradict everything Cleese says, to his growing frustration.

As we know, history repeats itself. The 1850s gave us the xenophobic Know Nothing Party. We now have a “NO, Nothing” Party whose primary function has become obstructionism, led by their Naysayer in Chief, Mitch McConnell. Let’s have honest, open debate again.

Gary Massanek
Topsham

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