In Genesis, the pharaoh looks out over the Nile “And, behold, there came up out of the River seven cows, handsome and fat of flesh, and they fed in the reed grass. And, behold, seven other cows came up after them out of the River, ugly and lean of flesh, and stood by the other cows upon the bank of the River. And the ugly and lean cows ate up the seven handsome and fat cows.”
The Obama years were seven years of lean for Republicans. They could only promise, for seven long years as the people suffered under the oppression of the (not so) Affordable Care Act (ACA), to repeal and replace when they to give voters seven years of plenty.
Last November, the skies parted, a new day dawned. Prosperity was on the horizon. The seven years of plenty had arrived. A Republican president, a Republican House, a Republican Senate meant promises made would be promises kept and seven handsome years would commence as ObamaCare would be stricken from the lands.
I believed it when Dean Heller told me, “as soon as we can vote, ObamaCare will be repealed and replaced.” I know the President. He, like me, is a doer, a businessman, who gets things done. He took Republicans at their word, that, given the chance, they would make ACA a goner. Trump delegated the task of ridding America of the scourge to Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell, and the soldiers beneath them, like Senator Heller.
The result was a failure of biblical proportions. Heller’s promise to me was as ugly, lean and empty as those cows that came forth from the river. Heller talks about prosperity, he produces lean.
His constituents might wonder, “Why doesn’t Senator Heller support the President’s agenda and do the right thing?” He likes attention. As he waffles, he’s gone from being a nobody to suddenly everyone knowing his name. A Politico headline shouted “Heller under fire over Obamacare gymnastics.” They talk about him on Fox and CNN. The New York Times has featured the Silver State Lightweight. He’s now famous for his flimflam.
You can grade your Senator on Google (1 to 5 stars) and Senator Heller is currently rated an inflated 1.7 stars (because the lowest rating is 1 star). “Indivisible Vegas” sums up the feelings of many, “If we could give Dean Heller a ZERO we would. This man is not a public servant. He is a public menace. He is a proven LIAR and coward. If you live in Southern Nevada, he will lie to your face, but only if you’re lucky enough to corner him while he is at a fundraiser. Because he refuses to speak with constituents in the area. He refuses to hold public town halls. His staff is 100% useless. They can’t answer any questions and can’t help you understand what the Senator is thinking, because he won’t talk to them, or they are under direction to not answer anything. Dean Heller is a bought and paid for empty suit.”
Though his poll numbers are sinking, Heller’s vote for a skinny Obamacare repeal put money in his pocket. His vote and ideology are blowing in the wind, but always for sale. As Slate reports, “a SuperPAC linked to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says it will spend seven figures to defend him — including fending off any primary challenge. ‘We were Senator Heller’s biggest independent supporter in 2012 and we expect to be in 2018,’ said Steven Law, McConnell’s former chief of staff who now oversees the Senate Leadership Fund.”
McConnell doesn’t want real Republicans in the senate. He wants to surround himself in the Swamp with spineless, reptilian Republicans, like Senator Heller.
