House GOP: Call Them Irresponsible

It is true that we can and often do learn something new (and sometimes useful) every day.

After living and working in Washington, DC for the great majority of my adult life, including a stint in the White House, I have heard Hail to the Chief hundreds of times. The mere sound of it -- the notes, the cadence -- still thrills and inspires me, regardless of who occupies the Oval Office at any given time. I have been known to tear up, John Boehner-like, when it has been played at state events.

However, just today I learned that there are actually lyrics to Hail to the Chief. And they say something about the state of politics in our country, and what has been lost or trivialized by the ideological divisions and partisan posturing of recent years:

Hail to the Chief we have chosen for the nation, Hail to the Chief! We salute him, one and all.

Hail to the Chief, as we pledge cooperation, In proud fulfillment of a great, noble call

Yours is the aim to make this grand country grander, This you will do, that's our strong, firm belief.

Hail to the one we selected as commander, Hail to the President! Hail to the Chief!

Four short stanzas say it all, but I was struck by the first two in particular:

Hail to the Chief we have chosen for the nation, Hail to the Chief! We salute him, one and all.

Hail to the Chief, as we pledge cooperation, In proud fulfillment of a great, noble call.

“We salute him, one and all”. We respect the office---it is quite simple, but it has been forgotten by too many. And “we pledge cooperation” to serve and benefit the country. What, pray tell, am I missing here? I have been brought to this point of bewilderment, quickly turning to disgust, by the latest Republican ploy in sulking out of the debt limit talks.

Republicans in Congress seem determined to drive the country over the cliff in order to damage President Obama’s political standing with the voters. Not quite “in proud fulfillment of a great, noble call.”

Now that we know that Hail to the Chief has lyrics, I have concluded that the Republican leadership on Capitol Hill deserves its own song. I have tried to come up with something fitting, but I just cannot improve on words immortalized by Frank Sinatra and others.

So  I propose that the House of Representatives institute a new procedure: Following its daily prayer and Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, the Members from the majority are encouraged to sing the following (which, with apologies to the memories of Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen, contains one ever so slight modification from the original version):

Call me irresponsible -- call me unreliable

Throw in undependable, too

Do my foolish alibis bore you?

Well I’m not too clever -- I just oppose you.

A “hymn” of sorts especially for Congress …

It’s only fair that it has its very own song, lest imbalance between the branches of government take hold and imperil the Republic.