Bunning Scared

The word "arrogant" has been aimed like a dart at President Obama's back by conservative pundits thousands of times since he took office. It's a synonym for "uppity", of course, but it doesn't really stick. If conservatives (or anyone else) would truly like to see a walking, talking example of arrogance, they can look to Republican Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky.

It is Bunning, after all, who has put a hold on a Senate bill that would extend unemployment benefits to some 400,000 American workers. Bunning's obstruction has also laid off 2,000 federal highway workers. The same bill he stands athwart also delivers satellite signals to those in rural communities. And his stance cuts off COBRA recipients whose health insurance went out the door with their jobs.

There are ways around Jim Bunning. He doesn't actually possess the sort of muscle he's trying to flex in Washington. This is an expedited bill that would have dovetailed the new benefits with the ones that have just expired. When the entire bill goes before the Senate for a vote, he's going to be on the "yea" side, just as he was last time.

So what's his deal? Kentucky is a state that suffers from unemployment to the tune of 10.7 percent, higher than the national average, so why is he doing this to his own constituents? Nobody really knows, not even him. He'd like us to believe that he wants this spending bill to be deficit-neutral, but when the Senate wanted pay-as-you-go rules, Bunning was against that.

Whatever his problem might be, he's certainly not going to exhibit even an ounce of class as he works it out. On the floor of the Senate, while under pressure from his Democratic colleagues to release his stranglehold on the bill, Bunning responded with words that would have made Dick Cheney proud. "Tough shit," he said.

Got that? Tough shit.

On Monday, ABC News caught up with Bunning, who ducked into a "Senators-only" elevator to avoid the scrutiny which he has brought solely upon himself. The questions asked by reporters were not complicated. They just wanted to know why he was holding up the bill. He would not answer them, repeatedly yelling "excuse me" instead. As he made his escape he extended to them his middle finger. Everyone knows what that means.

Fuck you. Understand?

That has been the message from Jim Bunning, and all Republicans, to the American people for well over a year. Some will say Bunning's just a gruff guy, made so by his years in Major League Baseball (back before there were lights in stadiums). That's a hard case to make, though, since his fellow Kentucky Senator is Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

If Bunning's approach wasn't the strategy of the GOP, McConnell would tell him to knock off the playground antics and let the bill proceed. That isn't happening. This is all a very calculated game that they're playing with our livelihoods. Lost your job? Tough shit. Don't like it? Fuck you.

These next few elections, like the last few, have come to represent more than just which Party should govern from the pilot's seat. The politics of the moment are really nothing less than a struggle for America's soul.

One Party wants to care for the sick, wants to feed the hungry, wants to shelter those who have no home. The other is the Party of Tough Shit. The Party of Fuck You. The Party of No.

As always, both Parties would like you to reward them for their actions, or punish them, accordingly. There's an old tradition in American politics. It's called voting your conscience. It only applies if you have one. Take yours for a test drive today: Jim Bunning's phone number in Washington is 202-224-4343.

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