Chuck Grassley reveals why the infinitely squalid Graham-Cassidy bill has garnered near-majority support in the Republican Senate.
"I could maybe give you 10 reasons why this bill shouldn’t be considered," said the GOP senator to Iowa reporters yesterday. "But Republicans campaigned on this so often that you have a responsibility to carry out what you said in the campaign. That’s pretty much as much of a reason as the substance of the bill."
I have always thought of Grassley as possessing maybe one or two IQ points more than his almost clinically imbecilic Republican colleague James Inhofe. Perhaps I should reassess. I doubt Inhofe's muddled mass of synaptic disconnects could come up with even one reason "why this bill shouldn't be considered."
That Grassley, however, would assert that Republicans must vote "yes" on even a catastrophic bill only to appease an unenlightened base is a startling admission of Raw Politics über Alles. That Grassley is not embarrassed by this is merely one indication of just how unenlightened the base is.
Because ...
The Unites States is a republic — not a democracy — and in sustainable republics politicians use their own (and presumably better informed) judgment, even if it sometimes conflicts with those who put them in office. Shouldn't a United States senator grasp this?