Commending Incompetence, The New Republican Schema

Many folks often portray the two parties in terms of mother and father. The Democratic Party is considered the maternal party, and the Republican Party the paternal. Through the years one could make a reasonable case for this characterization. However, after gaining governing authority for the past ten years Republicans have relinquished and abandoned their obligation to govern in a responsible and sensible manner. Republicans have become the deadbeat dad.

Record spending, lobbying scandals, no weapons of mass destruction, and criminally poor prosecution of a war are just the highlights of Republicans' recent and tragic follies. In light of all that has and continues to go wrong, Republicans can't stop patting each other on the back. They have essentially developed a delusional and warped schema for commending incompetence. Past examples include George Tennant's receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his "slam dunk" intelligence, and Brownie doing a "heck of a job" during the Katrina fiasco.

Most recently though, Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-Lubbock) commended President Bush's 2008 budget proposal for "placing an emphasis on support for our military," and "providing our troops with the equipment needed to get the job done." Since when does doing your job deserve commendation? The Commander in Chief is supposed to support the military and provide them the equipment they need to prosecute a war. Since when have we lowered the bar so low that fulfilling your most basic duties deserves commendation?