In the seventeen-second ad below, “Why Monitor a Problem?” a credit monitoring service is in the role of what appears to be a dentist. He looks inside the patient’s mouth, tells the patient he has the worst cavity he’s ever seen, puts his instruments down, swivels away, then tells him to have a good day as he gets up to leave. The patient, horrified, is then informed the dentist isn’t an actual dentist; he’s just a dental monitor.  

That's the problem with Congress: our Republican leaders aren't using the power they have, they're just monitoring things.  They can diagnose the problems. But, gosh, they just can't seem to access the same power the Democrats have accessed to do a darn thing about it.

This ad came to mind when I was reading a recent post at The Conservative Treehouse. 

It included a video clip which Sundance described this way:

“…(Fox’s) Maria Bartiromo gets very angry with South Carolina Republican Representative Russell Fry who talks about the political attacks against President Trump. Congressman Fry outlines the problem, yet provides no solution.

Again, this is the problem. To be fair, the Legislative branch cannot put anyone in handcuffs, no matter how many referrals they send to DOJ, because those who can won’t. Doesn’t mean they shouldn’t send them. They should. But what’s also fair, and painfully clear, is the lack of a unified voice, from the top down, making un-ignorable hay out of all the wrong we’re seeing.

It shouldn’t be some backbencher on television “outlining” the problem.  It should be House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, with an army of Republicans behind them, every single day, in every single committee, all over television, radio, print, everywhere, all the time, with not only the blessing of leadership, but the urgent encouragement of leadership, with dozens and dozens of Republicans standing behind them.

The country is incinerating and these clowns are wondering if it’s hot in here. “Norms and institutions” are being violated, weaponized, transmogrified, and this president is (actually) doing things the last guy was (wrongly and absurdly) impeached for, and what’s Speaker Johnson doing?

Tweeting through it, here, here, and here.  There’s even a strongly worded letter.

Withholding weapons from Israel is a catastrophic policy.

This will be devastating and go directly against the will of Congress. pic.twitter.com/iLPK3fyCmn

— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) May 9, 2024

Gotta love the two word tweet, “Never Again,” featuring the gates of Auschwitz on May 8th, then on May 9th the Johnson tweet which stated “Withholding weapons from Israel is a catastrophic policy. This will be devastating and go directly against the will of Congress.” 

Notice it’s been up for two days and unless my Twitter counter isn't working, the video has zero views. Zero. Not even a reporter. Not even one member of the press cares what the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States of America has to say.  The guy is third in line to be POTUS.  And no one. Not one. Not one. Anywhere. On planet earth or any other planet.  Nobody cares what this “leader” with the power to impeach has to say about this ghastly, lethal betrayal of an ally.

October 7 was the worst single day loss of life for Jews since the Holocaust and they’re in a hot war, right now, with the enemy.  America has the largest population of Jews anywhere outside of Israel, and nobody cared enough what this “leader” had to say to click “play.”

Because everyone knows.  Everyone knows he won’t do anything meaningful.

Everyone knows.

But nothing gets past you, Mike!  There was no May 10th tweet, or any tweet, actually, in which you followed up your May 9 and May 10 Twitter outrage with a plan to actually use the power you have, but you’re monitoring it!  Yes you are!

They should be fighting like a girl … well, like a pint-sized octogenarian from San Francisco. Nancy Pelosi is many things, but her most valuable trait is her ability to rally the troops and make one hell of a noise, everywhere, all the time.  Gallons of ink have been spilled on the hagiography that is Speaker Pelosi; editorials, columns, news items, round-tables, glamour shoots in fashion magazines with the airbrush burning hot, and lighting guys on two coasts getting the Speaker’s keylight angled juuuuuust right before her friendly cable news hit.

Speaker Johnson can’t get anyone to click “play.”

Because everyone knows.

Everyone knows he’s just a congressional hall monitor.  His job is to monitor the incineration of this country with just enough outrage to make us think he might actually, maybe, really, soon, do something; use his power like Nancy Pelosi did.

Really.

But in the meantime, if you want to know what the problem is, Speaker Johnson, and all his GOP flying monkeys can “outline” the problem.  They can see there's a cavity there. They don’t dare use the sharp instruments to do anything meaningful about it, but they’re aware of it, by golly.

So take your two tweets in the morning and shut up.

All this monitoring is exhausting.  Sh-t’s going sideways everywhere.

Image: Twitter screen shot