Everyone loves a circus! We are dazzled by the trapeze artists, awed by the elephants, amazed by the aerial acrobats and astonished by the high-wire daredevils. The clowns and clown cars always bring laughter and a smile to our faces, well, until now...
Today, when the words "clown car" are spoken you don't think about Bozo or Ringling Bros., but rather Republicans thinking of running for president. Like the circus, the Republican clown car just keeps adding more and more clowns to it hoping to excite and attract audiences.
Unfortunately, the clowns they are adding are Chris Christie, Rick Perry, Scott Walker, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Michele Bachmann, Paul Ryan, Ted Cruz, Mike Huckabee and the legendary Mitt Romney.
Similar to Barnum & Bailey, these disruptive Republican clowns are a constant driving force of the "show." Their interruptions, pranks, and antics are unchanging and can be witnessed at every performance. But, beware of the "Tea Party" car. It's running amok, scaring the audience with radical moves, and putting everyone in danger.
Like touring circuses, our American circus also utilizes three rings -- The Executive Branch, the House and the Senate. The main ringmaster, President Obama, stands in the center ring. Like former ringmasters, he wants to introduce, excite and describe activities happening in the other rings. At every performance, he attempts to announce new acts, but is constantly challenged by his troupe. But, when he sees the disarray in the "House" ring, the lack of showmanship and performance, he is unable to move the show forward for the American audience.
Speaker Boehner attempts to control the actions in his House ring, but the clowns have made the whole show a laughing spectacle. People from around the globe watch our circus and are amazed not by our aerial feats, but rather, the dysfunction of the House. While the circus infrastructure is crumbling, no one wants to invest or upgrade the equipment.
In our third ring, Senator Harry Reid has the majority of his group working to give the people what they want. But during his performances, a cowardly villain, Mitch McConnell, interrupts each act and ruins the show every chance he gets. Whenever a new act is introduced, he tries to block it from the show.
At each performance, he attempts to announce new acts, but is constantly challenged by his troupe.
Each of America's rings is meant to perform simultaneously and harmoniously. Our current circus show however, presents just the opposite.
This Republican circus is not entertaining and has cost the American people more than the price of their tickets. In touring circuses like Ringling Bros., trapeze artists are protected by safety nets. But in our American circus, the Republicans no longer want to provide a safety net for the poor or elderly. They don't want to provide health care to their workers should one fall or become ill. They want to lower people's wages and charge service fees so they can make even more money. If their performers can't afford food, that's too bad; they will just have to work harder and for longer hours. With big sponsors like the Koch Brothers, the owners don't worry about their investment or if the show might close early.
The problem is that for most circuses, after a couple of weeks, they move on. But in our American Circus, the Republican ideology and clowning will stick around indefinitely unless we hire new performers who want the show to go on!