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Will Washington, D.C. Be Named “Reaganville?”
(Photo: Denise Cross Photography / Flickr)
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Will Washington, D.C. Be Named “Reaganville?”

(Photo: Denise Cross Photography / Flickr)

It’s easier to abolish women and to send undocumented immigrants to the moon than it is to improve our nation, at least for Republicans.

At a town hall meeting this past weekend, Republican Congressman Blake Farenthold of Texas told constituents that Republicans in the House “probably” have enough votes to impeach President Obama.

After being asked a question about Obama by one of his “birther” constituents, Farenthold responded by saying that, “You tie into a question I get a lot: ‘If everybody’s so unhappy with what the president’s done, why don’t you impeach him? I’ll give you a real frank answer about that: If we were to impeach the president tomorrow, you could probably get the votes in the House of Representatives to do it. But it would go to the Senate, and he wouldn’t be convicted.”

Of course, Farenthold didn’t go into specifics on just what Republicans could impeach President Obama for.

While the idea of Republicans trying to impeach President Obama without any reasonable cause is absurd, Farenthold does raise a good question: What else do Republicans “probably” have enough votes to do?

The folks over at Democratic Underground compiled a great tongue-in-cheek list of other things House Republicans “probably” have enough votes to do.

Democratic Underground talks about how Republicans “probably” have enough votes to rename Washington D.C. to “Reaganville.” Every Republican places Reagan on a pedestal, so what better way to honor “The Gipper” than to rename our nation’s capital after him?

Republicans also “probably” have enough votes to give full voting rights to fetuses, and to ensure that every pre-school in America is equipped with a gun range.

Republicans “probably” have enough votes to make teaching evolution in our schools illegal, and at the same time amend the Constitution’s opening line to read, “We, the Koch Brothers…”

Finally, Republicans “probably” have enough votes to abolish women from the United States, and to send every last undocumented immigrant to the Moon in a giant rocket ship

While Democratic Underground made its list to poke fun at Farenthold and his Republican colleagues in the House, thanks to the state of the Republican Party today and its absurd policies, Republicans in the House could foreseeably pass any of these outlandish ideas.

So what DON’T House Republicans have enough votes to pass?

For starters, they don’t have enough votes to pass their own plan for tackling America’s healthcare woes.

House Republicans have voted a staggering 40 times to repeal Obamacare since it was signed into law, but not once have they introduced their own plan to make healthcare more affordable and accessible for Americans.

Republicans in the House don’t have enough votes to pass comprehensive tax reform, which would make the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share to help support our economy.

At the same time, they don’t have the votes to close the corporate tax loopholes that allow corporations to make billions in profit, but pay next to nothing in income taxes.

In fact, since Reagan came into the White House, corporate profits have skyrocketed, while corporate income tax payments have dwindled.

For example, Bank of America had $17.2 billion in profits offshore in 2010, on which the company paid a big fat zero in taxes.

Similarly, telecommunications giant Verizon made $19.3 billion in U.S. pretax profits from 2008-2012 but thanks to corporate tax loopholes, Verizon paid no federal income taxes during that period and, instead, got $535 million in tax rebates from the government.

The chance of House Republicans passing corporate tax reform is about as likely as them passing any sort of comprehensive infrastructure bill.

America’s roads and bridges are collapsing, our transportation systems are incredibly outdated, and our electrical grid looks like something out of the 19th century.

But, despite our nation’s crumbling infrastructure, Republicans refuse to invest the money that is needed to usher America into the 21st century.

House Republicans also don’t have enough votes to help make higher education affordable to all Americans.

Right now, there’s between $900 billion and $1 trillion in total outstanding student loan debt in the United States, roughly $864 billion of which is federal student loan debt.

These staggering figures are thanks in large part to the fact that, according to the College Board, the price of attending a public four-year college has risen 27 percent beyond inflation over the past five years.

And, according to Bloomberg, college tuition and fees have increased 1,120 percent since records began in 1978.

Finally, House Republicans certainly don’t have enough votes to pass legislation tackling the greatest threat that our planet has ever faced: Climate change.

Despite study after study proving that climate change is very real, speeding up, and man-made, some Republicans continue to deny that it even exists, and a majority says they’re skeptical at best about it.

There are dozens of pressing issues facing America today, from the rising costs of education, to an out-of-whack tax system and a crumbling infrastructure.

But Republicans in Washington are blind to these issues, and are more likely to pass a bill saying that Democrats are the spawn of Satan, than they are to tackle the issues that really matter to all Americans.

It’s time for Americans to wake up to what the Republicans are all about – serving exclusively the rich, well-bred and well-fed – and vote them out of office.

We’re not going to stand for it. Are you?

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