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“When this is over,” Thomas Massie observes in an interview about the pandemic with Nick Gillespie, [I hope we will see the aspects of this crisis] that “saved us were free markets and innovation and individuals and not the government. Maybe when this is over with, people will have less confidence in the government, a realistic view of what government’s role is.”
On the other side, the New York Times editorial board believes our salvation in these difficulties lies with Congress: “There has to be a better, safer way for Congress to conduct the people’s business under extraordinary conditions.” That sentence concludes an article about remote voting, and other things required if Congress cannot convene in Washington to ‘conduct the people’s business.’
Let’s go straight to the key point here. Congress does not conduct the people’s business. It conducts its own business at the people’s expense. Do you think its approval ratings hover just above single digits because people believe it acts in their interests? Actually, Congress as an institution does not have any business of its own anymore. Two herds of pigs fight for control of the sty. Members of each herd have one main concern, to be reelected every two years. These swine do not think far ahead.
The best outcome in the current difficulty would be to have Congress shut down for as long as possible. Do not let them do any more damage. If someone objects, “With that crazy strongman in the White House, who but the legislature counter-balance him?” Tell me, when did Congress last try to counter-balance the president? Impeachment? Mueller’s investigation? Impeachment turned into a joke that strengthened Mr. Hairdo. The investigation turned into a colossal distraction. As Democrats plotted their moves to ‘counter’ the president, they may as well have declared, “Let us write you a ticket for 270 plus one in the fall.”
Remember Mark Twain’s famous observation, “There is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress.” He also said that “fleas can be taught nearly anything that a Congressman can.” Moreover, he recognized that criminality and stupidity go together: “Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.”
Twain was famously dyspeptic. He had good reason to be. So pray congressmen stay home a while – a long while. Our republic needs you to stay home. At the least, with Congress out of his carefully combed hair, Trump may have freedom to make a mistake, or series of mistakes, that will truly finish him off. You may have to look some distance for a good alternative, though. Uncle Joe Biden has a friendly manner, but he spent most of his life in the sty.
The Jeffersonian 