Holier Than Thou...

This is what aggravates me...among other things such as snow, stale cookies and The Real (yeah, right...!) Housewives of Beverly Hills.

The unbridled arrogance of the Republican Party.

I apologize, in advance for two things. First, I'm sorry if I have been kvetching lately. Kvetching, as you may remember from a previous post, is Yiddish for "complain." Anyway, I have been kvetching about a lot of things lately, but, frankly, there are a lot of things that are kvetchworthy.

Secondly, I apologize to any of my readers who may be now, or at one time were, card carrying members of the Republican Party. "It ain't personal. It's business."

I must admit that I am not wholly deaf to your point of view. Some of the basic principles of the GOP are valid and worth taking seriously. Personal responsibility, small government, low taxes, a strong national defense.

I think those are pretty good things to believe in.

I also will admit that the Democrats are not devoid of their share of arrogance either. They can posture and preen with the best of them. And when it comes to scandals both parties have had their share. It's hard to decide which is worse, Watergate or Monica Lewinksy when it comes to staining the party. Albeit Watergate was a crisis for the country whereas Monica was more of a crisis for the Clinton family, but both scandals put a mark on their respective political parties.

And the Democrats have some very good ideas and basic principles too. Can't beat The New Deal or quarrel good quality health care. And, after all, somebody has to pay for all of the entitlements to which we have become so accustomed. Taxes seem to help in that department, don't you think?

But I can't help but react to the latest crop of Republicans astride Capitol Hill full of vim, vigor and bull.

John Boehner's tears? Are you kidding me? He's not crying with sadness for the corrupted Constitution. He's crying with joy because he's imagining all of the money he's going to make for many years to come, in and out of elected office. And his taxes will be next to nil because of the Bush cuts that he will certainly engineer into perpetuity.

These men, and they are mostly men mind you, are so full of baloney and themselves that they really seem oblivious about the damage they are doing to this great country.

It shouldn't be about us and them. It shouldn't be about rich and poor, about have and have-not.

It should be about basic humanity and fairness. Our political heroes have been replaced with whining, pompous blowdried blowhards who don't care one wit about anything but the lining of their own pockets and the perks of high office.

I saw Clint Eastwood's "Invictus" last night with Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela.

Mandela persuaded Matt Damon's character, Francois Pienaar, the captain of the 1995 South African Rugby team, to try to win the World Cup for South Africa.

Pienaar agreed and, by golly, ("by golly, gee willikers, holy cow...?" I must be getting old...!) he succeeded. But it was Mandela's inspiration, rooted in the notion that he presided over one country, not a fractious group of competing constituencies. His was one South Africa, black, white, ANC and former Apartheid.

He brought the country together by the force of his example. He was a good man who was willing to endure prison on behalf of a greater good, that of his homeland and countrymen. Can you imagine any of our current "leaders" doing that? Now that would make for a terrific reality show. "Sarah Palin's Prison" (Stop laughing. Stop right now or I'll send you to your room without dessert.)

Where's Mandela in this Congress? Boehner? Cantor? McConnell? Bachmann?

I think not.