Our boy, the Trust Fund Kid, must be wondering what he got himself into! Oh, for the halcyon days of life as minority leader of the NJ Senate! Nothing to do but to mindlessly oppose whatever came along, purse the lips and nod the head thoughtfully….
Unfortunately, as Jr. is discovering, pursing the lips and nodding thoughtfully does not accomplish much when you are actually in the majority, and governance is expected. We have suffered through four months of GOP inaction in the House since the budgetary agreement was reached in May as part of the debt ceiling negotiations. Kean touted that agreement in his June 6 newsletter to constituents as “a good bipartisan deal for America.” So what did he have to say as the extreme right wing of his party did their level best to shred that deal? Crickets…..
While Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, Paul Gosar and the rest of the Crazy Gang were lobbing benefit-shredding bombshells into the budget mix, we heard not one word about the blackmail the country was being subjected to, nor any comment on the stream of invective pouring out of Mar a Lago, and Trump’s calls to bring the country to a standstill. Indeed, when a constituent called his office to ask for Kean’s thoughts on the possibility of a government shutdown, she was told by an aide that “the Congressman had not shared his thoughts on the issue” with his staff!
Congressman, “masterful inactivity” in the face of a crisis is not why you were elected!
Finally, on Thursday 29th, Kean released a statement touting his support for the “Problem Solvers’ Caucus” proposal that would have kept the government running until January while budgets were negotiated, with full funding for Ukraine. Of course, that proposal had not a hope of being adopted by his Party, as well he knew. And just two days later, when McCarthy capitulated and ran for the cover of support from the Democrats in the House, we got a 45 day extension - and no funding for Ukraine.
We can be certain that this week’s newsletter will announce a victory for common sense, and his vote for “bipartisan support” of a “continuing resolution” that just kicks the can down the road while the internecine warfare in the GOP plays out in a struggle for the House Leadership.
We can be equally certain that none of these issues will be discussed in an open forum with his constituents. We may get another staged “Telephone Town Hall,” with scripted answers to softball questions, and biased surveys based on leading questions. But discussion of the threat to our democracy posed by the MAGA wing of his party? No.
While he will continue to play the role of a moderate centrist in his party, he must know the old maxim that people who stand in the middle of the road get run over. Maybe when Kean knots his tie in front of the mirror one morning, that Trust Fund income will start to look even more attractive. A decision not to stand for reelection in order to “focus time on the family and on my business interests” might be the easy way out for someone who is clearly not up to the job of representing his District. As Churchill said of an opponent, “he is a modest man - with much to be modest about.”
“Depart, I say, and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go!”
Comments