Hocus Pocus You’ve Lost Your Focus

What happens when you get 80 new Republicans in the US House of Representatives and have lost 63 Democratic seats in the same body? Well, it seems to be the same thing that happens when you get a super-majority of Republicans in the Texas State House.

You get out your top hats, handkerchiefs, cards, wands and rabbits because its time to deflect everyone's attention from what is important with smoke, mirrors and sleight of hand.

In congress, Republicans are making exactly the same mistake that the Obama Administration did in 2009.

In 2009, when Americans asked where were the jobs Obama gave them healthcare reform. Not a bad deal, but Republicans spun up such a festival of lies about it that it was easy to alarm and enrage voters that this was something that they didn’t want, and where were the jobs?

In 2011, Republicans are busy trying to pass legislation to undo the undoable, to repeal the Affordable Healthcare Act. Next they want to go after abortion. Their second favorite topic: taxpayer funding of abortions.

From NPR:

“At the federal level, anti-abortion forces scored significant gains in the House of Representatives, and majority Republicans introduced two bills Thursday to toughen restrictions on taxpayer funding of abortions. One is aimed specifically at Obama's health care law; the other would establish a permanent, government-wide ban on federal subsidies for most abortions.”

Taxpayers pay for abortions? Since when?

Nevertheless, this is truly magical because these are two red meat issues with the conservative base, and this will convince them that they did the right thing last November when they sent some pretty interesting characters to Washington to legislate.

But Americans will still ask the important question: Where are the jobs? What are you doing to bring the jobs back?

And Austin mirrors DC like nothing before.

In Austin Governor Perry has just designated legislation to require a photo ID for voters to gain access to polling places be an “emergency item.” An emergency item so that they may start the voting process before the mandatory 60-day waiting period.

An emergency item.

So. . . the $27 billion deficit is not an emergency then? Is that what Governor Perry is saying? That he’s got it handled?

Not when you ask the hundreds of school boards across the state, all of which are looking at a bare cupboard when it comes to state funding.

But there it is, in black and white, in the Austin American-Statesman:

“Gov. Rick Perry designated the legislation known as voter ID as an emergency item, meaning the Legislature can take it up within the first 60 days of its 140-day session. Hours later, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst told state senators that they will consider the bill next week — a highly unusual move less than two weeks into a session.”

State Rep Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio has it exact when he said this:

“Things apparently are all shiny and bright in Rick Perry's world. For the rest of Texas, we want to take some serious emergency action on the budget.”

Because while Governor Perry and his conservative clique fiddle with voter ID legislation, Texas surely burns with the possibility of thousands of state workers and teachers taking on the new roles of unproductive non-tax-paying citizens.

But it makes for a great magic act, doesn’t it?