Former Tea Party Republican lawmaker Joe Walsh (IL) voiced his dismay over the state of politics following the retirement announcement by Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) because he refused to support the massive spending bill that's now back in the hands of the House.
On Saturday, Tillis declared he would vote against the bill over cuts to Medicaid that put his constituents "at risk." Tillis predictably drew the ire of President Donald Trump who threatened to primary him in the midterm elections. In response, Tillis announced he would not run for reelection because, "I don't bow to anybody."
Walsh said that what happened next was stunning.
"What’s most revealing is what Tillis said next: now that he’s not seeking reelection, he finally has the 'freedom to call balls and strikes'—to vote his conscience," Walsh wrote. "Umm…what? Isn’t that your job already as a Member of Congress? You’re supposed to speak the truth and vote on principle regardless of political consequences."
Walsh claimed that "Tillis just said out loud what we all suspect: most politicians don’t do the right thing unless it’s politically safe. His announcement was less a retirement notice than an admission of how broken our politics really is."
"Today, Republicans are lining up to pass a big ugly bill that gives massive tax cuts to the wealthy, slashes healthcare and food aid for the poor, and adds trillions to the national debt," Walsh wrote, adding, "Most Republicans know it’s a bad bill. They know it will hurt them politically—and they’re doing it anyway, even though they don’t believe in it."
The result, according to Wash, was like watching his former party "walk off a plank."
"They may lose the House, the Senate, even their own seats—and they’re doing it for a bill they don’t even like," he wrote in the piece.