The Republican strategy to undermine and ultimately defeat President Obama was in full bloom with the recent defeat of his jobs bill. It appears the Republican stratagem is a scorched earth policy that will leave the economic landscape decimated.
From a political perspective, it makes Machiavellian sense to obstruct the president with countless filibusters and procedural machinations to achieve the optimal end state: complete control of the White House and Congress. The pressing concern is that in their relentless and myopic pursuit of absolute power, there is the issue of collateral damage. I use the sterile euphemism instead of saying damage to living and breathing human beings because I imagine it is the way Republican politicians must think about the majority of Americans who are currently stuck in this economic quagmire.
What the Republican Party is truly afraid of is that the jobs plan may actually work and that the president will be re-elected. So what if it helps the middle class and the poor? So what if it helps create jobs and enables us to fix our eroding infrastructure? So what if it is ultimately good for America?
