Deconstructing Roskam's plea to be number three
In a previous post I pointed out how Tea Partier David Brat's stunning defeat of House GOP Majority Leader Eric Cantor may pull my congressman Peter Roskam (IL-6) further to the right "if that's possible." This post will translate for us ordinary citizens, Roskam's letter to House Republicans seeking support to elevate him from No. 4 House GOP leader, Chief Deputy Whip, to No. 3 leader, Majority Whip. Quoting Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, no less, who said "The ground of liberty is to be gained by inches," Roskam couched his bid to move up to the American Revolution. In other words, if you liked the American Revolution, you'll love Roskam as House GOP Majority Whip.
Then he touted his past three years as Chief Deputy Whip saying he lead on "the difficult skirmishes on spending, on healthcare, on taxes, and above all on government intrusion and heavy handedness in a dizzying number of areas of our public and private lives."
Translation: "I shut down the government for you guys to prevent 40 million Americans from getting health insurance and maybe not go bankrupt, incur ill health or possibly die. Doesn't that prove my Tea Party bonifides?"
Not to completely ignore GOP incompetence, Roskam offers this: "We haven't always played smart. We haven't always worked as a team. In some situations, we haven't scored any points, or won the match."
Translation: "We opposed everything most Americans want and need and made utter fools or ourselves in the process."
Roskam then lamented how frustrating it was: "to watch our economy and our core values backslide under the onslaught of President Obama and Harry Reid's class warfare and welfare state agenda, we don't have to live this way."
Translation: "Unemployment is down; GDP is up; deficit is down; consumer confidence is up. Of course I'm going to fib about how wonderfully America has improved under President Obama."
Not content to cite just Thomas Jefferson to boost his House Whip bid, Roskam invoked his patron saint and predecessor Henry Hyde declaring: "Henry redefined for generations what it means to be a principled conservative, scoring unparalleled victories on the most sacred of all issues we touch in our work here, the sanctity of human life. He did it by being passionate, by being outspoken, by being unyielding in his faith and conviction, and by fighting inch by inch on the field of battle to achieve a more perfect union."
Translation: "OK, all he did was work mightily to deny reproductive health to women while supporting President Bush's criminal war in Iraq that killed hundreds of thousands. But then, I did too".
The vote comes this Thursday. David Brat won't be voting since he still must win the November election to become a House Republican. But his shadow will loom large over the House GOP leadership vote as Republicans scramble to determine how far right they must tilt to placate the Tea Party. As for Congressman Roskam? He's so right he's wrong.
Then he touted his past three years as Chief Deputy Whip saying he lead on "the difficult skirmishes on spending, on healthcare, on taxes, and above all on government intrusion and heavy handedness in a dizzying number of areas of our public and private lives."
Translation: "I shut down the government for you guys to prevent 40 million Americans from getting health insurance and maybe not go bankrupt, incur ill health or possibly die. Doesn't that prove my Tea Party bonifides?"
Not to completely ignore GOP incompetence, Roskam offers this: "We haven't always played smart. We haven't always worked as a team. In some situations, we haven't scored any points, or won the match."
Translation: "We opposed everything most Americans want and need and made utter fools or ourselves in the process."
Roskam then lamented how frustrating it was: "to watch our economy and our core values backslide under the onslaught of President Obama and Harry Reid's class warfare and welfare state agenda, we don't have to live this way."
Translation: "Unemployment is down; GDP is up; deficit is down; consumer confidence is up. Of course I'm going to fib about how wonderfully America has improved under President Obama."
Not content to cite just Thomas Jefferson to boost his House Whip bid, Roskam invoked his patron saint and predecessor Henry Hyde declaring: "Henry redefined for generations what it means to be a principled conservative, scoring unparalleled victories on the most sacred of all issues we touch in our work here, the sanctity of human life. He did it by being passionate, by being outspoken, by being unyielding in his faith and conviction, and by fighting inch by inch on the field of battle to achieve a more perfect union."
Translation: "OK, all he did was work mightily to deny reproductive health to women while supporting President Bush's criminal war in Iraq that killed hundreds of thousands. But then, I did too".
The vote comes this Thursday. David Brat won't be voting since he still must win the November election to become a House Republican. But his shadow will loom large over the House GOP leadership vote as Republicans scramble to determine how far right they must tilt to placate the Tea Party. As for Congressman Roskam? He's so right he's wrong.
posted by Walt Zlotow at 9:05 AM
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