18 January—We should be grateful that the currently Republican-majority U.S. House of Representative and the currently Democrat-majority U.S. Senate are so stubbornly, unreasonably, just plain stupidly partisan these days. That’s not to say it’s a novelty, to be sure, since partisanship for the sake of partisanship has afflicted our national legislature since the beginning of the republic. (Rest assured the tradition isn’t unique to the United States and in fact goes back to the earliest legislatures, probably even to proto-legislatures before recorded history. That’s human nature.)

We should be grateful because as long as the indefatigable capitol whores indulge in worthless partisan pissing contests they can’t do any really serious damage by actually legislating. The overriding interest of individual members is, of course, themselves; and anything they may do on behalf of their parties (or, infrequently, on behalf of constituents and/or the country) invariably is to serve their own interest.

The narrow-majority Republicans in the House are making utter fools of themselves as a caucus and individually by threatening, promising, and going so far as staging hearings about Hunter Biden and impeaching his father and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. And who knows what other Democrats? Who cares?

Congressional hearings are purely political and Hunter Biden’s indiscretion and culpability, such as they may have been (and his father’s at worst tangential and at best innocent involvement—or the other way around for Republicans), are properly the subject for judicial proceedings. But since the Republicans are party-bound to do whatever they can to embarrass—make that destroy—Joe Biden, there you have it.

Impeachment is also purely political and the House Republicans know full well that even if they get as far as sending articles of impeachment to the Democrat-majority (forget about a two-thirds Republican majority, possibly ever) Senate, nothing will be accomplished. Except, that is, to make a purely partisan political point, whatever it may be. And, in the circumstance, that’s all they want to do, even though nobody really gives a damn.

And that’s precisely what the equally reprehensible and embarrassing House Democrats did with Donald Trump’s impeachment travesties. Nothing but a theatrical waste of time that allowed Capitol whores to perform. But at least they didn’t get to make more laws . . .